So we rented a coupla movies last night. Here's the scoop:
Vicky Christina Barcelona - written and directed by Woody Allen - need I say more! lol Starring Penelope Cruz, Patricia Clarkson, Scarlett Johansson, & Javier Bardem.
The movie ended, Nik looked over at me and sez, "I'm pretty sure I liked it, but if you asked me what I just watched, I'd be hard pressed to describe it!"
lolol
Typical of Woody - who I'm sure must walk around with a perpetual one! lol
It was interesting, though the story was a typical Allen romp thru sexual depravity. I just wish they had displayed more of the beauty of Barcelona. The cinematography left much to be desired. It is a story of two friends that spend the summer in Barcelona and all the fun that ensues.
Penelope Cruz played an awesome psychotic Spaniard, as usual!
I give it 3 rages.
The next movie was a Lions Gate film called The Lucky Ones, starring Tim Robbins, Michael Pena and Rachel McAdams.
The story was not well written, but the acting and directing made up for it. It is the story of three wounded Iraq War vets on leave and how they deal with the fallout of what their time in the sandbox has caused, emotionally, financially, and most obviously, physically.
They travel across the country, each with a separate goal in mind. These goals change as they evolve through their experiences.
I nearly cried. It was worth the watch if you've been personally touched by the war, or any other similar experience. Other wise, I can't imagine really understanding what these three are going through.
I give this one 3.5 Rages
Oh, and my car died today...the Karma World Tour just keeps on blasting thru my life! Yeah!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
You think you have stress???
Okay, so I thought I was making some marked improvements in handling my current situation (ie, losing my job and possibly my house and nearly my mind!)
I've been diligently forcing myself to go to the gym on my regular gym days, even if I don't feel like it. It's always nice to visit with the group of "regulars" I associate with when I'm there and also I like to take in the Arizona Dry Heat room for a little soothing heat and meditation even if I don't "work out".
I've been TRYING (mostly unsuccessfully) to stick to my eating plan. I've been hitting about 70% - but I just can't seem to keep the comfort foods off my plate!
I've been going out for drinks with the girls to keep social (and sometimes to vent, thank you girls!)
I've been trying to avoid situations that will just make me angrier/sadder/more frustrated.
I've been avoiding the news, though some of it slips through. (don't get me started about the Sect of Treasure appointment or the $871 billion dollar "stimulus" package.)
It's funny how stress can rear it's ugly (and sometimes humorous) head.
So, I disembark my vehicle upon returning from the gym the other day. I grab my bags out of the back seat, and with keys in hand, slide up the icy walk to the porch. As I approach the porch, I slide my key fob between my thumb and index finger "Hmmmm", I think to myself. "I wonder why it's not clicking?" I try this several more times, getting really perturbed when it suddenly dawns on me, "The car unlock button doesn't unlock the front door to the house!"
I quickly glance around to make sure no one witnessed my utterly STUPID act. UGH!
Once inside the house, I quickly rid myself of my bags, coat, shoes, etc and head straight for the "pharmacy". I opened a bottle of *Ghetto Neegro and dispensed 1 healthy dose of the stuff that makes it all better! Thank you God for fermented grapes!
So, at break time, I make a run for the little girls room. After taking care of business, I washed my hands and dried them with paper towel. I turned and walked over to the can to throw away my used towel. Once in front of the can, I stuck out my right leg and tapped the tiles on the floor.
Nothing happened.
I tried again.
Nothing happened.
I tried a third time, and realized mid-tap that I was trying to open the lid to my can at home, which has a foot pedal, and this one didn't!
Gah!
So, I'm going home after I'm done stealing these interwebz and dosing myself amply!
Ahhhhh, vino, the sweet nectar of avoidance and denial!
*Ghetto Neegro is my besties kids mispronunciation of our recently discovered, wonderfully tasting cheap, grocery store wine, Gato Negro, sold at a Meijer near you! Usually on sale 3/$10!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
customer disservice
So, my trusty, crusty old cell phone crapped out yesterday in the middle of a phone call. That darn thing has been to hell and back. It had seen better days. It has been in a river during a canoe trip. Fallen from great heights. Dropped repeatedly. Stepped on a few times. The battery only held a charge for a few hours. But it was a good phone. I had EVERY # I've ever had in there. That phone was better travelled than most people I knew.
So, reluctantly, I set off for the Sprint store to see if they could repair it. Of course the first thing the CSR does is try to convince me that it would be better to let her hook me up with one of the "free" phones. She tells me that since the phone is so old, and because I don't have insurance on it, there will be a $35 fee to fix or replace this one. Duh! I had insurance on my son's first phone. And when he broke it, there was a $50 "co-pay" to get it replaced under the insurance. Mind you, I'd made an $8.99 "insurance" payment on the phone for 19 months. That's a sum total of $171. The phone was only $79 to start with! Ugh! So, I paid the $50 and cancelled the insurance. At this rate, I could have had 2 new phones! So, then when he broke the second phone, It cost me $79 to get him the new one. When he broke that one, I refused to replace it and he talked one of his friends into letting him have her old phone. Then he broke the screen on that one and he's stuck with it cuz I'm not a money tree!
So, when the CSR looked at me like I had a third eye in the middle of my forehead because I would rather pay $35 for a new phone than to get a "free" phone (with a new 2 year activation which will cost you $250 to get out of if and WHEN the phone service turns to crap and you want out of your contract - come on August!) I just laughed and told her that yes, I would like to pay the fee, try and fix the phone and if it can't be fixed, give me a new one.
After about 45 minutes the service girl comes out of the back, tells me she couldn't access anything on my old phone and was the fee explained to me? I said yes, it was and yes, I agree to it and she shows me my new pone and tells me she will bring it back up when she gets it all programmed and that I would need to see the cashier to pay. No problem. $37 and change and I'm ready to start collecting phone # and learn how to use this new phone. Off I go to Panera to steal some interwebs.
I start loading up phone #s and notice I have a voice mail. I try to retrieve it and I get this error message. So, I call the Customer Disservice # and they tell me the phone has to be activated. I say, okay, so activate it. They tell me I have to have another phone I can call them on so they can activate it remotely. Apparently, with all the frikken technology we have, we can't activate phones while they are in use. My only other option is to go to a store and have them activate it there. UGH! I WAS THERE! FOR OVER 1 1/2 HOURS!!!!
Frikkkkkkkkkk........
So, send me an email or give me a call with your new #s. I won't be able to use them, though, til the store opens up tomorrow....grrrrrrrr........
So, reluctantly, I set off for the Sprint store to see if they could repair it. Of course the first thing the CSR does is try to convince me that it would be better to let her hook me up with one of the "free" phones. She tells me that since the phone is so old, and because I don't have insurance on it, there will be a $35 fee to fix or replace this one. Duh! I had insurance on my son's first phone. And when he broke it, there was a $50 "co-pay" to get it replaced under the insurance. Mind you, I'd made an $8.99 "insurance" payment on the phone for 19 months. That's a sum total of $171. The phone was only $79 to start with! Ugh! So, I paid the $50 and cancelled the insurance. At this rate, I could have had 2 new phones! So, then when he broke the second phone, It cost me $79 to get him the new one. When he broke that one, I refused to replace it and he talked one of his friends into letting him have her old phone. Then he broke the screen on that one and he's stuck with it cuz I'm not a money tree!
So, when the CSR looked at me like I had a third eye in the middle of my forehead because I would rather pay $35 for a new phone than to get a "free" phone (with a new 2 year activation which will cost you $250 to get out of if and WHEN the phone service turns to crap and you want out of your contract - come on August!) I just laughed and told her that yes, I would like to pay the fee, try and fix the phone and if it can't be fixed, give me a new one.
After about 45 minutes the service girl comes out of the back, tells me she couldn't access anything on my old phone and was the fee explained to me? I said yes, it was and yes, I agree to it and she shows me my new pone and tells me she will bring it back up when she gets it all programmed and that I would need to see the cashier to pay. No problem. $37 and change and I'm ready to start collecting phone # and learn how to use this new phone. Off I go to Panera to steal some interwebs.
I start loading up phone #s and notice I have a voice mail. I try to retrieve it and I get this error message. So, I call the Customer Disservice # and they tell me the phone has to be activated. I say, okay, so activate it. They tell me I have to have another phone I can call them on so they can activate it remotely. Apparently, with all the frikken technology we have, we can't activate phones while they are in use. My only other option is to go to a store and have them activate it there. UGH! I WAS THERE! FOR OVER 1 1/2 HOURS!!!!
Frikkkkkkkkkk........
So, send me an email or give me a call with your new #s. I won't be able to use them, though, til the store opens up tomorrow....grrrrrrrr........
Thursday, January 22, 2009
For my friend
When you get to work on March 3rd and you can't IM me yet cuz I'm still sleeping, just remember:
“If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together...there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart...I’ll always be with you. ”
— Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
“If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together...there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart...I’ll always be with you. ”
— Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
In the jungle, the mighty jungle...
OMG! this very well could be me in a year! lol
(credit goes to one of my fave blogs: http://listoftheday.blogspot.com/
Monday, January 19, 2009
Absent Fathers
I am getting so sick of all the talk and debate and studies about how kids are more likely to grow up to be successful if they are being raised in home where the father is present vs being raised by a single mom.
At no time in these discussions/debates/studies do they address a. the quality of the parenting or 2. the desire of the child to succeed.
These are two VERY important factors in formulating a child's chance for success in life.
I don't think a child is going to benefit in a home where the father is a drunk, or a workaholic, or a cold, withholding bastard! And the same stands for single moms.
This morning on NPR they went on and on ad nauseum about how Barrack (famously) dreamt of his father. Okay, can we just say for the record, Barrack is THE perfect example of just how frikken successful a child can be when raised without a father in the home? And he's mixed race! We can crush two stigmas with one White House!
Puuuuleeeease! There are more than a few people out there that I am more than certain have benefited from not knowing their fathers!
I by no means set out to be a single mom. I'm sure there were times when my son could have benefited from having a man around. But that wasn't going to be just any man. As it happens, I never found a suitable partner. For what it's worth, most of the men in my young life weren't worth the testosterone they were full of, among other things!
It's quality over quantity when it comes to the ideal # of parents required to raise a child properly. And I will still come right back and point out to you all of the highly dysfunctional adults I know who grew up in "ideal" homes with a present, participating father and (oh, shock!) a stay at home mom...this is not the "winning formula" most people ascribe to. I think our world has changed, and with it the family unit. I think rather that lamenting about how we've gone wrong, lets embrace the "it takes a village" precept and start looking around our community for opportunities to help make every child's circumstances better.
Be a mentor, a foster parent, a foster-grand parent, or a friend. If you know a single mom, see if there is any thing you can do to help her give her children the most rounded childhood possible. Volunteer you help kids with homework, or coach a little league team. Children who have strong role models and adults they can turn to when they need advice are more likely to grow up to be successful.
Don't sit and judge just because someone constructed their family "out of order". Get with the times, there is no order!
At no time in these discussions/debates/studies do they address a. the quality of the parenting or 2. the desire of the child to succeed.
These are two VERY important factors in formulating a child's chance for success in life.
I don't think a child is going to benefit in a home where the father is a drunk, or a workaholic, or a cold, withholding bastard! And the same stands for single moms.
This morning on NPR they went on and on ad nauseum about how Barrack (famously) dreamt of his father. Okay, can we just say for the record, Barrack is THE perfect example of just how frikken successful a child can be when raised without a father in the home? And he's mixed race! We can crush two stigmas with one White House!
Puuuuleeeease! There are more than a few people out there that I am more than certain have benefited from not knowing their fathers!
I by no means set out to be a single mom. I'm sure there were times when my son could have benefited from having a man around. But that wasn't going to be just any man. As it happens, I never found a suitable partner. For what it's worth, most of the men in my young life weren't worth the testosterone they were full of, among other things!
It's quality over quantity when it comes to the ideal # of parents required to raise a child properly. And I will still come right back and point out to you all of the highly dysfunctional adults I know who grew up in "ideal" homes with a present, participating father and (oh, shock!) a stay at home mom...this is not the "winning formula" most people ascribe to. I think our world has changed, and with it the family unit. I think rather that lamenting about how we've gone wrong, lets embrace the "it takes a village" precept and start looking around our community for opportunities to help make every child's circumstances better.
Be a mentor, a foster parent, a foster-grand parent, or a friend. If you know a single mom, see if there is any thing you can do to help her give her children the most rounded childhood possible. Volunteer you help kids with homework, or coach a little league team. Children who have strong role models and adults they can turn to when they need advice are more likely to grow up to be successful.
Don't sit and judge just because someone constructed their family "out of order". Get with the times, there is no order!
Weekend at the Movies
Friday night I rented “Ghost Town” with Greg Kinnear, Tea Leone, and Ricky Gervais. This was my first time seeing a movie with Ricky Gervais in front of camera. He’s funny! What a sad little pudgy dork he is! The story was sweet, but not original at all. Lots of funny moments without going below the belt. A good family flick. Worth the rental fee.
Saturday night I attended the Lobsinger’s Musical Movie Night. I missed the first half of Mary Poppins, always a favorite! The next movie up was Chicago. The little guy didn’t want to go to bed, so mom had to cover his eyes and distract him past the naughty bits. He finally gave up the ghost about ½ an hour into it and then we all relaxed and enjoyed the remainder of the movie. Gotta love a flick that turns Richard Gere into a crooning ladies man!
The main attraction was Mamma Mia! I have to admit, I was more interested in seeing Meryl Streep prance and dance and sing than I was in the actual story. I’ve never really been that big an ABBA fan so I probably never would have rented the movie on my own. It was actually better than I expected! I almost wish I had seen it on stage. I started out thinking there was only one ABBA song that I’d recognize, “Dancing Queen”. Turns out I knew at least 3 songs, maybe 4.
Okay, I admit, we all could have lived a lifetime without ever having to hear Pierce Brosnan singing. It was AWFUL! I felt bad for him! And I’m terribly disappointed in the fate of Colin Firth’s character’s sexuality. The scenery is spectacular. It makes me want to chuck it all and go find a villa in the Greek Isles and try to run my own little piece of paradise! (Much like I felt after watching “Under the Tuscan Sun” with Diane Lane.)
Oh, and we watched it with the sing-a-long option on. That was very useful for the many ABBA songs I didn’t know. We definitely want to recommend this one to the Redford.
So, in review, Ghost Town – 3 out of 4
Mamma Mia – 3 out of 4
Happy Monday!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Why being 17 sucks
1. you know EVERYTHING and nobody recognizes your superior knowledge
2. you're parents disrespect you and your friends with everything they say and everything they do and everything they don't say and everything they don't do, and then get pissed when you dish it back at them
3. your divine birthright to your parents every possession is not properly recognized by said parents
4. although you have the antithesis of an "ATTITUDE" you are continually accused of such and then your parents have the audacity to ground you until you get rid of same unpossessed "ATTITUDE"
5. you are perfectly capable of making life-altering decisions yet your parents insist on giving you a curfew!
Oh, how I wax nostalgic for those days of my youth! (NOT!)
2. you're parents disrespect you and your friends with everything they say and everything they do and everything they don't say and everything they don't do, and then get pissed when you dish it back at them
3. your divine birthright to your parents every possession is not properly recognized by said parents
4. although you have the antithesis of an "ATTITUDE" you are continually accused of such and then your parents have the audacity to ground you until you get rid of same unpossessed "ATTITUDE"
5. you are perfectly capable of making life-altering decisions yet your parents insist on giving you a curfew!
Oh, how I wax nostalgic for those days of my youth! (NOT!)
Thursday, January 8, 2009
My New Favorite Author
Okay, I admit it. Since finding out I am no longer employed, I have made it my mission to waste as much time at work on the Internet as I can. As a matter of principle, I am determined not to do anything even remotely responsible if I can help it. (alright, AMB, stop laughing. Yes, I am still doing most of my work, but I'm not doing it enthusiastically, juste ainsi vous savez !)
So one of the things I've been endeavoring to do is read more magazines and blogs. My current blog list is now longer than the rest of my favorites combined. So when I stumbled upon this article in Costco Connection magazine, I had to look this woman up! I swear she is speaking my language. And I didn't even realize I HAD a language until I recognized it pouring out of her blog posts!
But don't take my word for it, check her out at http://www.jennsylvania.com/
Oh, and click the image above to read the article.
So one of the things I've been endeavoring to do is read more magazines and blogs. My current blog list is now longer than the rest of my favorites combined. So when I stumbled upon this article in Costco Connection magazine, I had to look this woman up! I swear she is speaking my language. And I didn't even realize I HAD a language until I recognized it pouring out of her blog posts!
But don't take my word for it, check her out at http://www.jennsylvania.com/
Oh, and click the image above to read the article.
I'm thinking of starting my own Jen Lancaster fan club/book club. Let me know if you are interested...
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