Nice school surprise

So I rush home from work, late AGAIN, so so so much work to still do (down several staff and a manager), in a panic because i have to write a paper and a presentation for class on Thursday.

Not due until NEXT Thursday.

yea yea yea.

I'll get to watch House and Nip/Tuck guilt-free.

Back to work -- one of my managers left, without the best hand-off, and I'm now doing her job on top of my already >40 hour/week job, and dealing with the inevitable fall out from the staff who resent change.

At least my cats love me!!!

More Book, TV and Movie Reviews

GREAT audio book, at least so far (I've been mesmerized and can't wait to find out what happens, even while dreading it): Philip Roth's The Plot Against America. Might even inspire you to read real US and WWII history.

In my august opinion, Lost was a GREAT season opener. More mysteries, more over the top improbabilities, more chewing of my nails. Can't wait to see how this turns out, and they'd better not cancel the show prematurely!

So-so = Surface and Invasion. Better than reality TV, that's for sure! But not as nail chewing as Lost started out last year.

OVER THE TOP, as usual, Nip/Tuck. Here I was thinking there was hope for Christian after all, then he's back in action with his hot threesome. Nothing's sacred, every emotion's explored, everyone's flawed, seems like one should be sanitized or otherwise cleansed after watching . . . can't wait for this week's episode!

Movies:

Hitchhiker's Guide: Very strong start straight into a lackluster finish. I was disappointed by the end, but, hey, it's still better than the old BBC miniseries with the bobbing mannikin head taped to a shoulder!

The Aviator: Is Scorsese only going to make DiCaprio movies now? Is DiCaprio the new DeNiro (I think not, gentle readers)? Great great cast. Oscar nods well-deserved. Kind of hit the "so what" factor by the end. Also, GREAT sound track, makeup and costumes.

Peter Pan (2003, I think): OK, I'm a sucker for fairy tales, but I really did enjoy this. Obviously a kid's movie, but with beautiful costuming, makeup, special effects, etc. I was VERY tired after a 1.5 day conference watching it, which may have made it all the more enjoyable, but I found it a simple, lovely and magical little fairy tale. (p.s. I didn't rent or netflix this -- found gem on cable).

The Ballad of Jack and Rose: Brilliant, disturbing, hopeful, depressing, nailbiting, gorgeous, sad, happy. Daniel Day Lewis indie movie, which is all it took to suck me in. While not for the faint of heart, it was such a deeply moving, and disturbing, movie that I have to recommend it.

Warm Springs: HBO movie with Kenneth Brannaugh and Cynthia Nixon, story of FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt. GO WATCH THIS GEM IMMEDIATELY!!! Can't recommend highly enough. I might even buy this one. Enough said.

Back to studying, paper writing, and work.

The pets in Louisiana

From the IFAW.org website at http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=141854&MSOURCE=NL10201DCA.




After a VERY long day (work, then school until 10, crazy traffic, not home until 10:30), I spent some time exploring fellow blogger's sites. And was immediately sucked into the Hurricane Katrina sites, which are completely overwhelming and unbelievable; however, I lived in the San Jose area during and following the 1989 earthquake, so have a very small sense of the nightmare that folks are living.

I listed to an NPR (national public radio) interview last night with an animal rescue worker. Now anyone who's perused my site may know I'm a little devoted to my two pets, and my friends know what a soft heart I have for any animal. I was a mess by the end of the interview, thinking of the abandoned cats, kittens, puppies, dogs, birds, farm animals, what have you.

I've told my friends that my little blog is basically a whinefest -- I haven't been creative enough yet to do anything significant. I'm ashamed now that I'm whining about Castlevania when the world is full of phenomenally important issues and problems.

HOWEVER . . . I am human. I am very overloaded and beyond stressed with work demands, two classes, and just trying to take care of my own health issues. If Castlevania, whiny blogs, and my self-important movie or book reviews help me cope, then I embrace my pathetic life.

Please do consider giving to your local SPCA, and perhaps to the Houston humane society, which has more than opened its doors and its heart to pets rescued from New Orleans. I'll be posting links to appropriate sites. And don't forget that your local humane society doesn't necessarily need money. They often accept donations such as newspapers (great beds after shredding), old towels or blankets, the unopened pet food that your picky pet won't eat, toys, etc.

Before anyone goes off on me for caring about animals more than humans, know that I've made significant financial donations to human relief organizations specific to Katrina in the last two weeks. Of course, people are important, and the stories are so overwhelming that I have to shut off the news and stop reading the reports.

Hug your loved ones, whether human or fuzzy or (fill in the blank), embrace that which makes you happy and helps you cope, and I'll look for Survivor postings tomorrow, since I'll be missing it thanks to school!

Musings from a geek . . . and proud of it

Lament of Innocence

So the ankle is FINE, though it still likes to tell me about it now and then. What a drama queen.

Big news of the week -- I got past the level that I was stuck on in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence! I even beat The Forgotten One (not on the first few tries, I must admit!)! I've been resoundly killed by Walter Bernhard, so am stocking up on more goodies. Found a GREAT trick to duplicate items in inventory. Nine diamonds for healing!

I'm very excited about Lost starting next week. I was sucked in to that show from the very second I started watching it. I'm also VERY happy to see very few reality shows on the Fall lineup. Maybe I'll start watching TV again . . .

Movie review from this weekend (when I should have been writing a paper!):

Cold Mountain: You just can't go wrong with this movie. GREAT soundtrack. I really don't like any of the lead actors, yet they were all so marvelous. Great romance. I always cry. LOVE this movie.

I started my LAST TWO CLASSES for my undergrad degree last week (yea!). Nothing like the 24 year degree program. Good grief, how does that happen? 24 years since high school??? Both are in organizational behavior, which I really enjoy, and if I log off of this, I can finish my reading and start a paper and a presentation due on Thursday. AND do another hour of work, maybe.

This post is a little ADD. Sorry, I just got home, need to go get my lentil stew (homemade yesterday) from the microwave, pay some attentions to my babies, and R - E - L - A - X.

Bad luck or what???

So I leave a work meeting, proud of myself for participating in a University-wide committee, expanding my sphere of influence (ha ha). I step outside of the building, car keys in my right hand, thinking I'm looking pretty good in my new work duds. Out of nowhere, I trip. I don't just TRIP, though; instead, I fall HARD on my left ankle and side, hear a crunch in my right ankle, purse flies in one direction, one of my shoes flies in another, I hear my keys flying behind me, and even the barrette in my hair flies off.

So I'm sitting in this tangled up heap, doing a body check (no blood, good, did I hit my head, no, is my right ankle OK, NO, can I stand up, not yet), and literally seeing stars. I finally gather my wits, get myself to my feet, find I can't bear weight on my right foot, gimp around collecting my shoe, my barrette, my purse, my keys . . . wait a minute . . . where are my keys???

I spent >30 minutes looking for my keys. No luck. I call my office, beg a ride back to the office. Wait for another 20 minutes with a throbbing ankle and in a panic because I have no keys.

From my office, rent a car (rental office is two blocks from me), HOBBLE to the car rental office, get my nifty little Kia (if you were at all tempted, DON'T buy one). Drive home to get another key to my apartment. The mgmt office "loans" me a master key with a big old tag on it, so I have to go make a copy. I wait >20 minutes to get a key cut, while the lady in front of me ponders color and design choices (IT'S A FRIGGIN' KEY, LADY!!!), then decides to have additional keys made. I'm now nauseas from the pain in my ankle/foot, and in dire need of a wash room. I finally get my turn . . . and the guy can't make the key, because of the freaking tag. I'm near tears, tired, in pain, feeling new pains arising in my other foot and in my hip and back. Go back to my apt complex, they'll make a copy for $25 (!!!!), but "the guy" is doing something else right now, so I'll have to wait. Now I'm also livid, tears start in anger and frustration, the oh so kind (NOT) receptionist says she'll let me go open my door with the key if I bring it right back. Good to know what I'm paying more than $1,000/month for, eh?

The Kia was supposed to be back by 5pm for the special hourly rate. It's now 4pm. I fell at 11:30. Do the math. I'm pretty sure at this point that I've broken something in my foot and I have yet to elevate it, put ice on it, take something for the pain. Getting to the 3rd floor of my building (NO elevators!) reminded me of the time I hiked >10 miles with strep throat and a foot so blistered that when I took my hiking boot off, all the skin from my toes and heel came off with it. Neat, huh? In other words, sheer will power despite the pain. And then to get that key back to them, and get back up the stairs again . . . I'll probably have nightmares about that for a long time.

So I get it, thank god, my own bathroom, thank god, get these clothes off, and get those shoes off. Foot's nicely swollen. Elevate. Ice. Motrin. Found back up car keys, but I can't go get my car, because I can't lock my front door.

At 6pm, when the mgmt office closes, that bratty little receptionist calls to tell me my key's ready and to pick it up from the security office, she's closing. I'll bet a million dollars my key was ready in 20 minutes.

By this time, I've already embraced the situation, rather than continue railing.

This morning, my foot is MUCH better, I drop off the Kia, one of my staff offers to take me to my car at 4pm. I can't walk too far with my foot wrapped up and with a limp and pain, so I cancel some meetings that would have required me to walk.

Once I FINALLY get my car, which I could have hugged and kissed, I felt like everything was OK.

I guess the moral of this story is to have a back up set of keys in your office. And now I do.

Movie "Reviews"

I wanted to go see "The Brothers Grimm" this weekend, because I'm so excited that a new Terry Gilliam movie is out. Instead, spend the weekend in with cats. Watched (cable, free!):

• Roxanne (Steve Martin, Darryl Hannah): GREAT movie. Darryl Hannah pre-plastic surgery (have you noticed how sharply pointed her eyebrows have become?). Steve Martin as the heroic small town fire department captain smitten by the rocket scientist and cursed/blessed by his enormous nose. Great to watch after a good 10 year absence, and after having read Cyrano and watched the Gerard Depardieu version. Stands the test of time, a sweet romance and very funny movie.
• Against All Odds (Jeff Bridges, Rachel Ward): I haven't seen this since I saw it in the theater more than 20 years ago. How time flies! Jeff Bridges, one forgets, was once very very hot (he still is, but we get to see a lot of abs in this movie). Rather formulaic, lots of cow eyes, but a good movie over all. Great sound track!
• Howard's End (Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins): GREAT movie from Merchant Ivory Productions. Anthony Hopkins hasn't always been Hannibal Lecter. He's actually known, O Gen X'ers, for his strong perfomances in wonderful period pieces. Fantastic costumes, etc.
• New York, New York (Robert DeNiro, Liza Minelli): This is the first time that I've watched this highly regarded film by Martin Scorsese. Great movie, fantastic music (though I was thinking about throwing myself out the window during the over the top musical menage near the end). I actually really really really hate musicals. I'm one of the two or three people who hated Chicago. I didn't know what to expect, but nearly immediately realized that this wouldn't be a happy story with DeNiro in it, who is so over the top intense that you almost have to take breaks from the movie to get away from him. I also have to add that older DeNiro is much more attractive than younger DeNiro. I couldn't think of a movie of his in which he's actually played a good guy, but I'm sure one or two might exist? Good movie. Fabulous costumes, makeup, etc. The last 20 minutes could have been condensed into 2 minutes.
• Neverwhere (BBC miniseries): Oh, the wonders of Netflix. I loved reading the book, so when I saw the miniseries, I immediately put it in my cue. Little did I realize that the book was based on the miniseries. It was good, not overwhelmingly fabulous, but good. I'm re-reading the book (I've had it on my re-read shelf for years) now, and have faces to put to names.

Other recent movies that I've watched or turned off in horror/disdain:

• Pink Flamingos (John Walters, Divine, et al). Good Lord, I can't believe they put this on cable. I think, oh 20 years ago or so, when I was in my "I can outshock/outstand/outwhatever anyone and anything" phase, that I might have appreciated this more. Like watching I Spit On Your Grave to prove to my brother that I was a tough chick, then found out he slept through the whole thing. Well, this baby is meant to disgust, and it succeeds. At least I can say that I've seen it. Too bad I can't remove it from my brain cells.
• Bride and Prejudice. Bollywood, Jane Austen, Naveen Andrews, need I say more? It was OK, not wonderful, but fun. Yes, I hate musicals, but it's hard not to get caught up in the camp of Bollywood musicals. Definitely a very fun movie.
• The Station Agent. GREAT movie. I was a bit set up, since everyone's gone on and on about what an incredible movie this is. I did truly love it, particularly watching how so many damaged people came together to create their own family and heal. Peter Dinklage, as the "station agent," put in an incredible performance.
• A Very Long Engagement (Audrey Tatou). A very very very incredible movie. In my opinion, the best movie this year, by far. World War I, an amnesiac war victim, his disabled fiance who won't give up on finding him. This isn't an easy movie to watch -- lots of brutality and violence that seems reasonable given that this is war, but certainly not desirable to watch. Many layers to unravel--I'm still processing--with such incredible and beautiful cinematography and unique storytelling.

My advice: NEVER see Pink Flamingos (Sorry, Mr. Walters), DEFINITELY see A Very Long Engagement and The Station Agent.

I'm looking forward to The Aviator, American Splendor and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy next (Netflix!).

End of a very relaxing Labor Day

It's hard to type this, given than Fiona is sort of wrapped around my left hand, and insists on using my laptop's touch pad as a pillow. Veeeeeerry relaxed cat, she is. Molly's curled up on my flannel p.j.'s, semi-fresh out of the dryer. Both are OUT. Wish I was too!

My goals this three-day weekend were simple: beat Castlevania/Lament of Innocence; spend major time relaxing with the cats; get my bedroom more organized; major kitchen cleaning; laundry; drive as little as possible (gas >$3/gallon???); find a pair of work slacks on major sale.

Reality:

• Darn Castlevania! I can't get past the ding-danged room in the Misty Pagoda/whatever it's called that needs all of the lamps switched on. I'm using the blasted wolf's paw. I keep re-amping my MP by getting repeatedly bashed by the ogres/trolls/whatever. But those $*&##$ thingamajiggers keep me from succeeding with the lamps. Any advice, before I lose my mind??? (other than giving up, getting a life, whatever....)
• On Friday, when I came home from work at 7:20pm, instead of my more recent pattern of 8:30pm (end of fiscal year crunch), Fiona came running out to greet me, then froze, tail fluffed, and ran away under the bed. OMG. All I could figure is (a) she literally thought I was some stranger, (b) I need to spend more focused time with my pets, (c) maybe a weirdo was in the house (nope, I looked), and/or (d) Fiona's nuts. Well, Fiona is a bit daft (I think she was a street cat, much abused, before I adopted her). Nevertheless, what it really told me is that I need to be work on my work/life balance. Molly, who is NOT a lap cat by any stretch of the imagination, spent a lot of time on my lap this weekend. Very telling. So I relaxed with movies, books, as little TV as possible, stooopid Castlevania, music (jazz), etc. Good weekend. Cats like me again. More importantly, they know me and seem to feel safe again.
• How do bedrooms evolve into such pits of junk and despair? Maybe it's just mine. In any event, got clothes put away, threw away bits of junk, major vacuuming, ironed lots of clothes, put all of my shoes in one place, put lots of things away, cleaned out bathroom drawers, filled a hefty bag with all sort of junk, etc. Sigh. Much happier.
• Same for the kitchen. Still have to scrub the floor, but it's in much better shape.
• ONE load of laundry left to do!!! Yea!!!
• Only drove to the mall (slacks), local Safeway (groceries), and library (turn in overdues). Yea. The gas situation is out of control.
• Macy's major sale snagged me two VERY nice pairs of work slacks and a very nice blouse, original total = $249, sale = $70. Can't beat that.

Even as I type this, I realize how meaningless anything I'm writing about is in comparison to the after effects of Katrina and the flooding in New Orleans/surrounding area. I have no complaints. I have beloved friends, family, pets, a roof over my head, belongings, etc. So, I don't have health, but who cares??? I'm alive and well. I can't complain about anything. I feel very blessed.