I watched about 8 episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm this weekend, as my boss lent me the DVD set of season one. Larry seems much more a victim of circumstance and of speaking before thinking than he does in the current shows, where he just comes off as a complete bastard. Also, the endings of the episode one shows are abrupt: Cheryl takes off her seatbelt in order to give Larry the in-the-car blowjob he won from her in a bet; Larry walks slowly up the stairs to where Cheryl is waiting for her anti-itch prescription cream. I like it when it ends with a bang, like when Jeff's parents come upon Larry watching porn in Jeff's bedroom.

Anyway, besides all of the TV watching, I also had some fun times outside of the house. I went to Harry's for the first time since they remade the pool room into a smoky fishbowl. I went to a party at an apartment of people I'd never met. I went to the Smith botanical garden's bulb show, which was gorgeous. Their jungle room is all high-tech now, with water misters on timers and piped-in rainforest sounds. It's actually very nice. I also went to the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round, which I'd never seen. It's kind of a slightly-shabbier version of the Prospect Park carousel in Brooklyn. It's very nice, still, though, and at a buck a ride, the price isn't bad.

I also did my favorite trail loop on Mt. Tom; a section of the M-M trail that forms a circuit with the Beau Bridge trail. The roadway was open for the first time in a while. They did, however, close the Rte. 141 entrance at 4:00, which I had assumed was a bluff. We just drove through the park to the Rt. 5 exit instead, which was closer to where we wanted to be anyway. I just love that park. I visited there with my aunt when I was a kid, so there's a nostalgic connection, but I also just like the slightly aged, user-friendly feel to it. Plus, the loop I like goes through pine forest, up to the peak with a great view and benches to sit on, through stands of mountain laurel, winding down to an area criss-crossed by streams and waterfalls girdled by wooden footbridges. And it ends up back in the same place you parked your car. Just don't go in the beginning of mosquito season, as I was once nearly smothered by them there. Ugh.

Spring is here, is what I'm trying to say, and just ignore the stupid snow currently falling from the sky, because it's melting as soon as it hits anything important. The snowdrops are up, the crocuses aren't far behind (they're up and blooming outside near the botanical gardens), and stupid people are buying forsythia for $5 a bunch at Stop and Shop when they could just cut some from their neighbor's bush and put them in water for a few days and get the same flowers for free. Things really are going to be okay.