Category Archives: Media

the term "sister-wives" does still freak me out, though

Posted on by

One of the perks of my starting a part-time job was that it would give me a lot of free time to do the million or so projects around the house that need to be done before the baby gets here. I mean, three-day weekends every week, right? And even the four days of the week that I do work, I’m only there for 5 or 6 hours.

Clearly, with so much time on my hands, I should be getting all kinds of things done. But, HA! My butt hardly left the couch for three solid days this weekend.

First of all, I had DVR’ed the entire first season of Big Love a long time ago, but I had never gotten around to watching it. Have you seen this show? Do you know how addictive it is? I watched all twelve episodes in three days. The last few nights, I’ve even been dreaming about polygamists, although luckily, they’ve been the types of dreams where I’m an observer, not where I’m actually involved in what’s happening. But man, that show is awesome, and I’m totally annoyed that I don’t even know when season two is going to begin.

One scary moment while doing my “Big Love” marathon yesterday – I got up off the couch to refill my water glass. I had a head rush when I stood up, but I get those fairly often. (Moreso since I got pregnant.) Usually I can just grab on to the wall or some nearby piece of furniture to steady myself until it passes. Yesterday, though, my legs gave out. I just fell down, landed on all fours, and suddenly tears were involuntarily coming out of my eyes and I was gasping for breath. It was the strangest sensation, and I still don’t know what it was. I didn’t lose consciousness, so I can’t say that I fainted – I guess it was just a near-faint?

I yelled for Dave; I think it freaked him out to find me on the floor between the dining room and the kitchen. He got my glass of water for me and I crawled (literally, I was scared to stand up) back to the couch. For the rest of the day, though, I had to be really careful every time I stood up. I couldn’t seem to get rid of that shaky feeling in my legs. I thought I was supposed to be getting over that stuff now that I’m almost in my second trimester, but I guess “almost” doesn’t count.

Abruptly switching topics back to fun stuff: while I’ve been camping out with my butt glued to the couch, there have been movies too. Recaps!
* Shopgirl – A little disappointing, only because I don’t care for Jason Schwartzman at all and I really thought that Claire Danes could do better. But it was ok.

* The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada – This is one that Dave picked, but I watched it because I generally like Tommy Lee Jones. I really hated this movie, though. I liked the beginning because it started off as kind of a sad story. Then it turned into some weird gross-out/torture flick and I just couldn’t handle it. I covered my face for a pretty significant portion of the second half of the movie. Oh, and also? The ending sucked.

* Transamerica – Ok, technically we watched this over a week ago, but I’m including it here because I loved it. I now think that Felicity Huffman should’ve won the Oscar for Best Actress. Great movie.

* Eight Below – I coerced Dave into watching this with me last night. And yeah, I know, it’s a Disney movie. But oh, how I cried. I mean, the human actors, meh. I didn’t really give a flip about them or their lame little storyline. But the dogs! The pretty huskies and malamutes with the beautiful doggie faces! They broke my heart. I sobbed – a lot.

And as much as I hate to admit it, I have kind of a new respect for Paul Walker. He was so good with the dogs that it made me think that he must love animals in real life. Because honestly, he’s not a good actor by any stretch, so I just can’t imagine that he could’ve pulled it off if he wasn’t really a dog person.

mentally destroyed on a Sunday

Posted on by

This afternoon, I met up with a couple of friends to see “Brokeback Mountain.” I’ve heard and read so much about the film over the past couple of months that I thought I had pretty well prepared myself for it. I mean, there’s been so much hype about it that I figured it would either be a let-down, or else I’d find myself studying the actors rather than getting involved with the characters in the story. And I guess I was sort of right – watching the movie was pretty intense (moreso than I expected), but I didn’t cry or anything. (I cry a lot during movies. Way more than I do in real life.) Now, several hours later, I can’t seem to get that movie out of my head. I think it’s probably messed me up for the next couple of days. I won’t give away any spoilers for those who haven’t seen it, just… damn.

Random aside: There were several old ladies in the theater with us, which I didn’t even notice until halfway through the movie. I really wonder what on earth they thought about the more graphic scenes. They must have been ok with it since they didn’t get up and leave. I guess by their age, they’ve probably seen it all.

After the movie, I went for lunch with the ladies, which was nice. I spent the rest of the afternoon running errands getting ready for my road trip with Kris later this week. I hit a few motels to get their national directories (good to have when you don’t have a specific plan of exactly where you’re going to stop on the road), and I bought one of those big road atlas books that has maps of all the states. Because hey, MapQuest isn’t always 100% accurate, so it’s good to have a back-up reference.

I can’t quite believe that I’m going to be in Memphis in 4 days. Well ok, the going to Memphis part really isn’t that big a deal – hell, I was there less than a year ago. I think what’s more shocking is the fact that Kris is finally moving here after talking about it for the past five years. I’m so happy about that, and a little nervous because I want her to find all of the happiness and success that she deserves, and all I can do is hope that this is the place where she’ll find it. I’m confident that she has a better chance of finding it here than in Memphis, so at least I know she’s making a step in a positive direction for her life. But I also know from experience that major transitions are never easy, so I just pray that hers is as smooth and painless as possible.

Monday update

Posted on by

Ok, the interview today? I have absolutely no idea how that went. I went into it with no expectations – I knew the qualifications that they were looking for, and I knew that I fit the description pretty well. But I didn’t really understand what it is that this group actually does (and yes, this is yet another team at the Giant Software Company), and I’m still not sure that I completely get it, even after being interviewed by three different people. So that’s kind of strange. I honestly just don’t know how well I did in the interview process – that big one a couple of weeks ago really shook my confidence, and these people all had poker faces, so I couldn’t tell at all if they liked me or not.

Bottom line: if they offer the job to me? I’ll take it. It’s a 6-month contract, so even if I end up hating it, it’s only temporary. And we could use the extra income. (More importantly: my ego needs the income to feel like a useful & productive member of this household.) But based on what I know of it, I don’t think I’ll hate it. It sounds like something that I would enjoy, and that I could do well. And if they don’t offer it to me? Meh. I don’t really care. Just have to wait and see, I guess.

In other news, after all that panic and chaos, the hurricane didn’t even cause my brother in Houston to lose electricity. Absolutely nuts. And in other, other news: I did nothing all weekend except play video games (Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker! Aaaaah! I’m reliving my childhood!) and watch season 1 of “Lost” on DVD. We still have a few episodes left, so don’t give me any spoilers. But man, I am totally loving that show.

weekend happenings

Posted on by

Saturday, Dave had to work all day (poor guy), so I took advantage of my day alone to tidy up & do the five or six loads of laundry that had been piling up. (I’m such the domesticated little wifey, no?)Somewhere near the end of the day, I went into the laundry room, and there was a mouse on top of the washing machine. Not that mice are uncommon out in the boonies where we live, but usually when I find them, one or more of our cats are playing with and/or nibbling on their lifeless little bodies. So this mouse was noteworthy because it’s the first live one that I’ve ever seen in our house. He was very little, and sort of cute. He didn’t run away either, he just sat there and stared at me. He had a ding in one of his ears, and he reminded me a little bit of Ralph Mouse from those Beverly Cleary books. Like if I got him a little toy motorcycle and half a ping-pong ball to wear as a helmet, he’d be Evil Knievel-ing all over our house. But, then reality sets in, and I know that he’s probably carrying Bubonic Plague or something equally horrible, so we’re supposed to be enemies. And besides, if the cats find him, he will meet a very prompt untimely demise. I was thinking about putting a pot over him and scooting him off the edge of the washer and using the lid as a base, so I could take him somewhere safe (like the woods) and set him free, but I’m pretty sure those little critters can run pretty fast when they want to, so I wasn’t sure I’d be able to catch him.

So I ran into the next room, grabbed the phone & called my mom. She told me to put one of the cats in the room with the mouse and close the door. Keep in mind that while we were talking, I had walked back into the laundry room, and the mouse was still sitting there, just looking at me. And dammit, he was so cute, and I didn’t want to listen to the cats kill him – the little mouse death screech is a sound that makes me cry and I absolutely can’t stand it. So I got off the phone with my mom and called Kris. She told me that I should make my husband deal with it. Luckily, around that time, my husband came home. I ran to the front door to get him, and by the time we went into the laundry room, the mouse was gone. I hope he found his way out of the house, but most likely, he’s probably in the wall behind the washing machine. Great. Stay tuned, folks, I think we’ll probably be seeing Mr. Ralph S. Mouse again sometime.

Totally unrelated: I don’t usually talk about my dreams here, because they’re usually very random and strange (whose aren’t?), but I had one on Saturday about another blogger, so I thought I’d share. I dreamed that Sally came to visit me, along with her dog, Lulu Mae Barnes. Only I kept calling her (Sally, not Lulu) by her pseudonym, not her real name. And she was really, REALLY pregnant. Like to the point where she was talking about how she was going to be induced if the kid didn’t come out on its own in the next week. And then, she, Lulu, Teenie and I broke into my next door neighbor’s house just to be nosy and see how they decorated the place. Admittedly, in real life the outside of their house is god-awful, so I am somewhat curious to know what’s going on inside. But yeah, that was weird. Especially since I’ve never actually met Sally in real life, although I think that the next time I’m in my hometown, we should totally meet up & go out for creamy margaritas. (Note to Sally: That’s assuming that you aren’t 9 months pregnant at the time, like you were in my dream.)

Movies watched this weekend:
* Hide and Seek – What a pile of crap. Yes yes, Dakota Fanning is a brilliant little child actress, but seriously. Every scary movie cliche you can think of was used in this movie. Shaky light fixtures and unreliable sources of electricity? Check. Something scary in yonder bathroom looms? Check. (Side note: what is up with scary things happening in bathrooms? I can think of at least a dozen movies off the top of my head where this happens. Does it have something to do with “Psycho”?) Creepy children’s singing voices? Check. Dopey policeman? You got it. Knife rack and one of the knives is missing? No doubt.
* Constantine – I’m still not sure what I thought of this. I guess it was ok? It was very weird. I think Dave liked it. Um, I don’t really have anything else.

I just don't get it

Posted on by

Ok, I’m probably going to get bashed for this, but seriously y’all, the Harry Potter thing? Why?? I’m reading on so many people’s blogs that they’re reading (and loving) this book, and I just don’t understand it. The people I know who are into these books are all intelligent and well-read, and I have the utmost respect for their opinions on literature 99% of the time. (Case in point: Angie, I just bought “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult based on your description of it. And I often check out Sally’s recommendations, too.) But I don’t get why anyone over the age of 14 would want to read a children’s book. Yes yes, everyone says they’re fantastic, and I admit that I have never attempted to read one to see if it held my interest, so perhaps I’m just totally talking out of my ass here. I did watch the first movie, and I thought it was just ok. Cool special effects, but it didn’t do that much for me. Granted, I was on a really awkward date at the time, with a guy who kept trying to run his hand up my leg, and I kept trying to either push his hand down closer to my knee, or remove it from touching me altogether, so I was a bit distracted during my viewing of the film. But why am I, as a 29 year-old American female, supposed to care about a pre-pubescent English boy who wants to learn how to cast spells and be a wizard (or whatever the hell it is he’s learning at that school)? Can anyone explain this to me? The overwhelming crazed popularity of those books makes no sense to me at all.

However, I am crazily looking forward to John Irving’s new book, “Until I Find You.” There was a great interview with him in last week’s Entertainment Weekly (the one with Ewan McGregor & Scarlett Johansen on the cover; you can see the beginning of the article here, but you have to subscribe to read the whole thing), and I am so-so-SO psyched for that book. I have 4 books in my to-read stack at the moment, but they may all get postponed for Mr. Irving.

not much to say

Posted on by

It’s strange how I’ll often think of something – a story, anecdote, whatever – that would make a good blog entry, and I think to myself that I’ll write it down the next day. Then, the next day, something like this happens, and all the clever funny stuff just flies right out of my head. Or at the very least, it seems totally irrelevant now. The first thing I did when I heard about the London attacks this morning was call Dave to check to see if he knows people there. He does, but he’s pretty sure none of them work downtown, so all of his friends and relatives should be safe. Thank God for that, but still. It’s absolutely horrible, I can’t imagine what it’s like over there right now.

A co-worker of mine mentioned that sometime in the next week or two, I should check to see if airline prices plummet, since we were going to fly through Heathrow for our honeymoon this fall. Um, yeah. Because when dozens of people die horribly, the first thing I think about is how I can angle it into a way to save myself a couple of hundred bucks on a plane ticket. God.

In other news that somewhat relates to current events, I’ve been sort of moody for the past few days. Nothing major, just typical girl stuff. But when I told Dave that Tropical Storm Cindy had hit, his response was along the lines of, “I’ll say it has.” Ha.