Inappropriate Crushes

My mother is adorable. She’s coming into town next week on business and promised to bring with her the Korean drama (그들이 사는 세상 – The World That They Live In) we started back when I visiting my family in Los Angeles featuring my favourite actress Song Hye Gyo (송혜교). My other also recommended one called The Beethoven Virus in an email the other day.

Hey Sarah,

It was good to talk to you.
Check out the link: here

I love this drama!!
Talk to you later this week.

Love,
Mom

Oh Mum, with her multiple exclamation points and recent discovery of YouTube. My parents might be technologically inept, but they try to keep abreast of the times. (You wouldn’t believe the flurry of texts I got from “ur teenage dad” once my brother taught him to how text message people.) “The main guy isn’t that good-looking,” she warned about The Beethoven Virus, “But he’s a very good actor.”

“I don’t know,” I said after I saw the clip (and accompanying trailer), “I think he’s kind of cute.”

Certainly 김명민 (Kim Myung-Min) isn’t one of the “flower-faced” boys that proliferate most Asian dramas these days, but then again, I’ve always liked my men a little rough around the edges. Or evil. When I met up with The Inimitable Bex at Think the other day, the conversation steered towards LOST.

“Who would you sleep with on the show?” she asked.

And without a second thought I replied, “Ben.”

Yes, Benjamin Linus. Yes, I am fully aware he’s not quite on the level of physical (or even personal) attractiveness as characters like Sayid, Desmond, or Sawyer (my next three, in order) but I can’t help it; I love me some creepy weasels and the fact that he even looks like a creepy little weasel just makes my heart go a-flutter. I am aware my standards may be just a bit askew from the general population, but I really, really, really love villains. In a slightly (well, highly) inappropriate way. For instance, when I read The Scarlet Letter for the first time, my initial thought was, “Why, Hester, why go for Dimmesdale when you’ve got a hunka hunka chillin’ villain love? He is cool, like ice! His name is even Chillingworth!” Chillingworth was the first in a long line of Villains I Preferred Over the Romantic Hero, which includes Alec Stoke-D’Urberville from Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Chuck Bass from TV’s Gossip Girl (see, I am high-brow and low-brow!).

The creepier and even pathetically emo (“I baked you a delicious ham, Juliet”) Ben gets, the more attractive he becomes to me. I think this is where my love of vampires got mislaid; I yearn for baddies instead. And I’m not talking about I-Wear-Black-Leather-and-Ride-Motorcycles Bad, I mean I-Strangled-Puppies-and-Ruthlessly-Tortured-and-Killed-Millions Bad. Perhaps, somewhere within me, there is a secret masochist. Or not so secret masochist. For me, it’s the danger that is mesmerizing. My biggest complaint with Twilight was that Edward (he’s a fucking vampire, for God’s sake!) was so tame. Bella never once fears for her life; he loves her too much to hurt her.

BORING.

The element of tiptoe-ing that edge, the fact that yes, he might love you but he also might love hurting you more is kinda hot. There, I said it. Sometimes I want a romantic hero to slap me around, pull my hair, call me a bitch, and make me cry. Unfortunately, my preference for this sort of Bad Guy seems to be overshadowed and overruled by those who love Outwardly-Sarcastic-Inwardly-Hurting-But-Will-Be-Saved-By-The-Love-Of-A-Good-Woman Bad Guys. Alas.

Today at lunch my boss took me to buy some yarn. I spent an obscene amount of money but now I have some fabulous wools to work with and I’m excited to get home and start playing with them. I’m tired of the simple ribbed stitch of knit-knit-purl-purl and want to try some new patterns. Can anyone recommend me? One of my coworker’s suggested Knitty, but I unfortunately don’t have any cable needles and many of the patterns seem to call for them. Help?

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