photo courtesy the web
It’s kind of my life work to be remembered when I’m gone. I told my niece that I want to be the photo bomb in her stash of Polaroid memories. A little creepy? Perhaps. But being memorable takes a lot of work. Sometimes you just don’t know when a Pavlov trigger is planted. Sometimes you have little control over the associations that bring you to mind. Oh shucks.
Connection: 1) the joining together of two or more people, things, or parts. 2) something that links two or more things (Encarta).
I like to feel connected. Apparently. I used to have this – for lack of a better word – game I played with my mom. I never really knew any of my grandparents so I’d have her tell me stories about them. Mainly my grandmas. I wanted to know who I looked like, who I acted like, what traits I inherited, and blah blah blah.
I had a week and a half off from work. A stay-cation. What did I do with all that time on my hands? I went to the movies. Three movies in five days to be exact. Probably a good idea I’m back at work. I need to earn money to pay for my movie-watching habit (if the ticket price doesn’t get you the snacks will. $6.50 for a small popcorn – that I polished off during the previews – and pop?!) But let me tell you about the movies I went to.
photo courtesy the web
Jack Reacher. The latest ego-boost vehicle for Tom Cruise. Haven’t heard of it? I only saw previews about a week before I went. Plus, there was a little bit of buzz because the opening was delayed after the Connecticut shooting. The first five minutes explains why. It was a little unnerving to watch the shooter’s perspective and see the victims’ in the crosshairs of a gun. Especially the children. I admit I got a little more teary than I normally would have when the lawyer interviewed the victims’ families.
But would I recommend the movie?
Sure. Why not? If you liked Cruise’s Knight and Day (2010) you’ll probably like this. Mainly because he’s almost redoing the same character. The movie contained a whole lot of action with some humor thrown in. Cruise is at his bravado best but doesn’t take himself as seriously as his Ethan Hunt role. Some cringe worthy scenes to beware of. The finger scene left an awkward feeling afterwards. If you’ve seen it, you know what I’m talking about. You probably had your fists clenched the whole time to protect your fingers. And the eye scene made my eye water. Out of the three movies, I’d give this a 2. As if in, the second movie I would go to.
photo courtesy the web
Les Miserables. There is a whole lot of singing in this movie. I mean a WHOLE LOTTA singing. I was warned. But I really like the book (although I recommend reading the abridged version). The nuts and bolts of the story are very moving. It’s a powerful tale of the redemptive power of love. It doesn’t get much better.
But would I recommend the movie?
Do you like musicals? Do you like it when even the dialogue is sung? Can you keep a straight face when actors act their hearts out – while singing? Do you have the maturity to sit through almost three hours of singing? If you answered yes, then yeah, go see it. Let me warn you though, you may answer yes – especially to that last question but this movie will test you. For example, Jean Valjean is hiding from Javert in the church courtyard. At first he whispers. That makes sense. And then he starts singing. The appropriate response is probably to appreciate his sacrifice to save Cosette. And to keep your mouth closed. The inappropriate response is to shush him for suddenly breaking into song while he’s supposed to be hiding. The people in the theater probably won’t appreciate it. Trust me. You will get shushed yourself.
Let me sum it up like this, if I were to have a bucket list (which I don’t) I would probably take off seeing an opera (which I would never put on there in the first place). Out of the three movies, I’d give this a 3. This is the last movie I would go to out of the three choices. In fact, I’d wait for it to come out on DVD so that I could watch it in the comfort in my home. Where I wouldn’t get shushed. And where I could do other things like write a blog while watching the movie.
photo courtesy the web
Parental Guidance. I was the most hesitant about this movie. But I wanted to get my dad out of the house for New Year’s Day. Plus, I needed to redeem myself a little bit for our last New Year’s Day movie. Who knew We Bought a Zoo (2011) was about a widower? Talk about bad timing. So, when dad mentioned Parental Guidance looked good I resolved to make sure he saw it. The movie is about that delicate parent-child-grandchild relationship. It had humor and truth to it. Billy Crystal’s face looked a little more relaxed and normal than when he hosted the Oscar’s. What? Surely I wasn’t the only one watching the broadcast this past year wondering what happened. Followed by, “That doesn’t look quite right.”
This movie has a hidden bonus. Well, it would be hidden if I wasn’t about to expose it right now. It happens in the restaurant scene. We are introduced to a character named Mr. Cheng. It took a moment. He looked familiar. I thought, “Is that…”
“It’s Long Duk Dong!” somebody behind me not so quietly whispered.
“Yeah,” I agreed in my head because I know how to keep quiet during a movie. I learned that skill while watching Les Mis the other day. “It’s Long Duk Dong. An old Long Duk Dong” (Sixteen Candles 1984).
I can’t tell you what was said during that scene because I spent the rest of the time thinking, “Long Duk Dong is soooo old! And balding.” It was a little more drawn out than that and yes, it took the rest of the scene for me to get my focus back.
But would I recommend the movie?
Actually, yes. It may have everything to do with my low expectation rule (the lower the expectation the more I like the movie. Conversely the higher the expectation the more chance I’ll be disappointed). Out of the three movies, this would have been the number 1 movie I’d go see. Of course, if that were truly the case, I’d have higher expectations of it and would have been disappointed. This would have lowered the rating. Tricky system here, isn’t it?
What movies did you see over the holiday season? Did you see any of the three I mentioned? What did you think about them?
Yes, I am back
and my time off was swell.
What happened last week –
I couldn’t really tell.
On paper and in my head it sure sounded like a good idea. When the HR rep informed me I had to 48 hours of annual leave and 16 hours of PTO to take by December 31 I was excited. Who wouldn’t be? With no place to go I decided to treat myself to a couple of stay-cations. It worked out that I’d get a whole week off for Thanksgiving and with the two holidays, a week and a half for Christmas.
Who in their right mind would argue with that?
Not me.
The Monday after Thanksgiving was not a productive day. In fact, that whole week my mind felt like mush. The simplest of tasks about did me in. And that was only after one week.
I haven’t worked since Friday, December 21. Today may very well be the death of me.
Only kidding. Well, only mostly kidding.
There have been flags already. Monday, December 24 (yes, as if in Christmas Eve) I couldn’t remember which day it was. I almost OD’d on my medication because I could have sworn Christmas was on Wednesday making Christmas Eve a Tuesday. Luckily, after about five minutes of seriously trying to figure out what day of the week it was, I did not take more pills than prescribed.
While watching a movie late Thursday night I realized I did not have a blog ready for Friday. How can I disappoint my fans (okay, fan)? 1:30 Friday morning I stared at the create a post window. It was blank. I had no idea how to fill it up. At 1:30 in the morning I was afraid of what I would produce. So I chickened out and reposted an old one. I was on vacation! I was supposed to be letting the creative juices flow free. Instead, the hamster on the wheel took a snooze. Way to let me (and my two fans) down, hamster, way to go.
Friday I totally forgot to do laundry. Not a big deal? I’ve done laundry every Friday for – let’s just say a whole lotta years. I remembered at midnight. Not cool.
By Sunday evening I realized I would in fact have to return to work on Wednesday. This caused me to slump into a depression. My Christmas miracle has eluded me once again. Come on Santa, I’ve watched enough Hallmark Christmas movies to know I have the perfect circumstances to receive some Christmas magic. I’m not asking for much. A new job. A new life. Your single son falling in love with me would be nice. Just sayin.
Is it too soon to count down to the weekend? How about MLK Day?
I’ve stated it before and I’ll say it again. I’m not big on goals. So this whole New Year Resolution thing is not really my forte. There have been a few times I wanted to become a better person by resolving to do better. Be better. Come February, however, I make an important discovery. And that is this – I like me! Or at least, I’m comfortable with me. Why change?
Pretty much based on a true story. More or less.
Perhaps you have not heard the story of how Christmas almost was not.
All because two little girls who decided, Santa must be caught!
Now, I know what you might think – you might say, “There is no cause!
Why would someone want to try to catch Santa Claus?”
Dear Ancient Mayan Calendar Makers,
I realize your job may have gotten a bit boring filled with a whole lot of repetition. It couldn’t have been easy to carve those little symbols into stone. I imagine hand cramps were a hazard of the job. Hopefully, you received a just compensation for all your effort.
When you made your calendar, you probably had no idea the chaos you’d cause. The worry. I mean, making a calendar that lasted thousands of years was going above and beyond the call of duty. Perhaps you figured it was good enough. After all, you covered your days, your children’s days, your grandchildren’s days, and even your great-grandchildren’s days – what more could we want?
I don’t blame you for choosing the first day of winter as the final day. It is one short, bleak, dark day. If I were to choose a day to end all days it would probably be the same.
My only beef with this whole thing is the fact the last, final, ultimate day will be on a Friday. Was this a conspiracy with your CEO of calendars? Make sure us peons finish the work week before being wiped off the face of the planet. To top it off, it happens to be my last day of work before I start a vacation for the rest of the year.
Not cool, Mayans, not cool.
Here’s what the smarty-pants at NASA have to say about all this hub-bub.
Okay, we are going to mix it up a bit here at ck’s days. We are going to take a very unscientific poll of your favorite Christmas movie. Choose your answer wisely because it will speak volumes of your personality. Uh, 😉 😉
Ready?
I’m an odd duck. This I know. (sigh) This I’ve always known. There are many facets and many levels of my peculiarity. One major factor I get a lot of grief for is my lack of a sweet tooth. Considering I am my mother’s child, this is an even bigger oddity. One my mother either didn’t believe or couldn’t understand. One of her ways to express love was to share goodies. I still have the last chocolate Easter Bunny she gave me sitting on my shelf. If you have read this blog for any amount of time you’ll get the drift. That bunny is a bit old.
ck's days 