t
o
n
y
a
n
g
'
s
 
w
e
b
l
o
g


a simple stop at my parents' place for dinner left me stranded here overnight. while checking my driver's license, i realized it'd expired a few weeks ago on my birthday. the RMV never contacted me about renewing, that's why i didn't remember to take care of it. it wouldn't be a problem except i'm flying off to birmingham tomorrow afternoon, and an expired driver's license is not an acceptable form of travel id. i would've most likely used my passport instead, but the nearest RMV is just one suburb over in watertown, and if i spend the night in belmont, i can borrow the car and drive down to the registry early tomorrow and renew my driver's license. that'll give me just enough time to get back to cambridge and complete a lengthy todo list before i leave for alabama.

this afternoon i made my own way to belmont via bus. we were supposed to get a few inches of snow but it all came down as a drizzle. the bus driver seemed like a newbie, arrived at the station with an "out of service" sign when it fact it was the 73 bus. at the fork between mt.auburn and belmont street, she headed in the wrong direction of watertown (the 71 route), before the passengers nearly staged a mutiny to make her realize she was off course. i had an umbrella but it was buried so deep in my bag and with both my arms full, i never bothered to take it out. i brought home the popcorn popper and made a few batches. hailey waited nearby to catch and eat any stray popcorn. i also managed to get my mother to give me a quick haircut.

the oscars was tonight. when hugh jackman burst out into song and dance right from the start, i wasn't very optimistic. but by the end of the show around midnight, it was one of the better oscar telecasts. i love the new format where past winners introduce each of the nominees in their respective category. i thought it was unnecessarily long-winded at first when they did it for the best supporting actress, but found it pretty touching to watch the wellspring of genuine emotion, and when the winner was announced, it's like they're inducted in an exclusive club surrounded by already members. slumdog won all the categories it was nominated except for one. i know everyone in my family was rooting for this movie because it was the only one we've seen. i was a little bit afraid it wouldn't win for best picture because sean penn won best actor for milk, but that didn't turn out to be the case. having not seen milk but did see the wrestler, i was rooting for mickey rourke. i'm sad that he lost, but sean penn did give rourke some on-stage recognition and it'll be interesting to see what projects rourke will do next. as talented as he is, that body of his (old broken down piece of meat) is so beat up that it's not particularly attractive photogenically. i was also hoping marisa tomei might win for the wrestler as well, but she's won before, so i didn't mind it going to penelope cruz. as far as red carpet fashion, i noticed a lot of silvery dresses. the hottest person on stage was alicia keys by far.