Sopranos (Don't Worry, No Spoilers)

As of five minutes ago, our dishwasher is completely and totally dead. This is the first day I have allowed the air conditioner to go on. Could the two be related? Can't a girl enjoy both cool air and clean dishes, washed by machine?

It's under warranty but still, dealing with broken household things is never fun.

And about the air, at heart I am an energy conservationist. All this Al Gore global warming talk seems to focus on the size of cars and not so much on everything else. I was a kid in the seventies when we learned about saving electricity at school. Turn the lights out when you leave a room and don't run the dishwasher half empty. My sister had a badge that said, "Watt Watcher." A few years later California had a drought and we had to conserve water, too. Am I the only person scratching my head, wondering how having giant concerts all over the globe is going to raise environmental awareness?

Wouldn't a better idea be: stay at home day? All private motorized transportation would be prohibited. Only emergencies excepted. Everyone could ride their bikes on the freeway and/or stay home and read books or play board games and visit with their families and neighbors. How come no one has this idea?

I like my house warm in winter but I keep the thermostat low and wear sweaters and fuzzy socks inside and now that we've had a warm streak I've hesitated to turn on the air. Who decided the gold standard was 70 degrees for air conditioning? Is there anyone who doesn't carry a sweater with them so they don't freeze to death in the movies/office/mall/etc. during the summer? I waited until the interior hit 78.

Tonight, between 7pm and 9pm the temperature dropped about 20 degrees. I have windows open now. We have a cooler week ahead.

We watched the second to the last Sopranos tonight. Aiee! I came late to the Sopranos. We had some tapes that were floating around the family and Bob had watched the first season and said I would probably like it. I was relaxing one afternoon and nothing else was on so I threw in the tape and ten minutes into it, I was completely and totally hooked. I watched all 39 episodes of the first three seasons in 3 and a half weeks so I could begin with the fourth season.

Don't you love when that happens? I saw the first three minutes of Freaks and Geeks and not only did I love it, but I knew my husband would love it, too. I'm trying to think of other shows that hooked me that fast. Twin Peaks? Weeds? Battlestar Galactica? I don't know. Sometimes it takes me a few episodes to be sure.

Anyway, as this final season started I said to a friend that I didn't want this to end all depressing with everyone dead or in dire straits. And my friend said, "They're gangsters. I don't think you're going to get what you want." Okay. Good point. But still. This is a hard show. These last few episodes have taken years off my life. I have one eye on the screen and one eye on my husband and I repeat over and over, "I don't think I can watch this." (No spoilers but #@$! and *&^%!).

I have a hard time with movie tension. (e.g. Matchpoint, Punch Drunk Love.) Don't get me wrong. I think it's brilliant filmmaking when I'm squirming in my seat, biting my nails and my heart pounding. I just don't like it.

Each year we cancel our HBO when Sopranos ends and renew when Sopranos begins. This year they had a special deal (Hello, Comcast, always a special deal!) so now we have every single channel, soon to expire, for a special price. Thus, I am catching up on last season of Weeds. There's always something new to hook you in when you have cable. I love TV but I always have so many other things I'm up to when the weather is so good. I still haven't watched Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee which is no big surprise since I weep just reading the synopsis on the book's dust jacket.

My final comment of the day has to do with our yard. Remember I have this adult onset fear of dogs although I'll tell you, it's gotten a lot better. Our neighbors next door got a new dog and every time I set my weeding kit near that fence (which is really a hedge) and start to work, their dog comes running over and snarls loudly. He's gotten into our yard twice. He looks very sweet but that fact that he never wags his tail and runs up to say "hi" and instead makes mean barking noises means that I've generally avoided working on that already under-worked side of the yard. Today he was apparently not home or inside so I worked as quickly as possible, sunburn or tired arms be damned!