Chessed out

Have you ever played chess? Don't do it! It's incredibly taxing. I just played half a round with Andy and my brain feels like I've taken seven SATs, read a bunch of 'magical realism' (GAWD, that genre) and threaded a tiny needle whilst reciting the Gettysburg Address from memory.

Translation: chess is hard.

I start out confident, then I get antsy, discouraged and stressed out as I watch my one-inch army get knocked out one solider at a time. I struggle to visualize the horse's movements. Three and then one OR one and then three. An 'L' shape. It's difficult for me.

Patience is the missing piece. If I was patient, I wouldn't take my queen out into the front lines.

If I was patient, I would think beyond bishop blood and set my sights higher up the line of succession.

If I was patient, I could win. At least once, I could win.

I'm silver. How do I get out of this mess? 

Not to make excuses, but I jammed my finger on a baseball earlier today. We were playing catch on the beach. Maybe if my finger wasn't throbbing, I would have seen that rook coming.

Love,
Margaret

P.S. Remember when Kyle told Lisa that being friends with her was like playing chess with Bobby Fischer? Season 3 reunion. That was great. Do you think Mauricio told her to say it?

RHOBH is BACK!

If you listened to my first podcast, then you know that I have good taste in TV. OK, so I don't 'get' the Homeland praise, but I'm right there with the rest of the world in loving Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire and all those other HBO/Showtime greats.

Clearly, my TV palate is refined enough to enjoy those wonderfully scripted, brilliantly acted shows - so why is it that I enjoy the Real Housewives franchise just as much (if not a bit more)?

Image via Realitytea.com

I watch Real Housewives of Beverly Hills because I genuinely love it. It's not a guilty pleasure. I am not watching it ironically. Honestly, nothing beats sitting up in bed with a mug of tea, a toasted bagel, and the latest installment of RHOBH.

My theory is that reality TV actually really helps me switch off my manic brain. When you stare at a computer all day pretending and then eventually convincing yourself that the work you're doing matters, it's hard to stop caring at the stroke of 5:10 (yes, my job bizarrely ends at 5:10). But the Real Housewives, their odd lives and (probably fake) drama is like a vacation for my brain. I don't get that from more 'serious' shows, like The Wire or Mad Men. Those shows are great, but their characters' lives stress me out. Not true of RHOBH, RuPaul's Drag Race and Geordie Shore.

Season 3 airs TONIGHT, which means I'll be able to watch it tomorrow (time difference). Cannae wait.

Do you watch any Housewives? Which ones? I watch New York, Beverly Hills and occasionally Orange County. I also watched Washington D.C. for the one season it was on.

Cheers,
Margaret