13 posts from April 2008

I want this more than I can say.
I should get a bumper sticker of it, and I can put it on my car right next to the one that says "Voldemort votes Republican".  Yeah, I'm pretty sure that would be a good way to get my church to pray for me.

I just finished this book.

  It is the third in the Uglies trilogy.  Probably the only book in the series that disappointed me.  It wasn't bad, it was just....hmmmm....lacking.  I think this was the only book where I actually thought...yeah right, that will never happen.  Surprising, since the premise is a futuristic society where people have operations to make them pretty at the age of 16 and, unbeknownst to them, a lesion is put in their brains to keep them mellow, and control the societies.  I guess what made it the most frustrating was the introduction of things that hadn't been mentioned before, just for the purpose of amping up the story's conflicts to the next level.  I was also very disappointed with the convenient death of Tally's love interest, in order to bring a neat conclusion to the love triangle that was playing out. 
In all this was a good series, and I enjoyed reading them, and using them in the mentoring/reading/virtues group I've been co-leading.  I'm glad they didn't go all Po-mo on the ending, and leave things devastatingly unresolved, but this last book could have been better. Instead it was rather anti-climactic.  Oh well, can't win em all

Apparently it takes 2 tags to get me moving.  So if you're disappointed at the end you can blame Kelly and rogue for daring me to let you know about my life.

The rules

• Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
  
• People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own eight random things, and post these rules.
• Tag eight more people.

1.  I have been in more weddings than I can count.  I have interesting stories from many, but the best was one where I did the bride and bridesmaids hair and makeup, and jewelry, and also did the music.  The flowers for that wedding were really cool tropical flowers.  I was sitting on the piano playing preservice music, when I started smelling really bad armpit odor.  I was so freaked that i had accidentally not worn deodorant. I started surreptitiously  smelling my arm pits, and  blushing, convinced that I was reeking to high heaven.  It wasn't until I sat down after the  processional that I realized the odor was emanating from the corsage.  That was also the wedding where I realized that the reason I'm not married is because the only people I want to do music for my wedding are Bono and the Edge, and I don't know them yet.:)

2.  I have solved a Rubicks cube a number of times in my life time.

3.  I skipped 8th grade.

4.  The only guy I ever fell for as an adult decided he was gay.  Yeah, that was pleasant.

5.  Two years ago I spoke at my old high school, and told them that I never wanted to be a pastor or a prostitute, and that the school still smelled the same as It did when I was there.  I did come close to being a pastor though, still holding out on the prostitution front.

6.  When I was in Secondary School I had a poster of Aha on my wall, and would turn away from it to undress because I irrationally (and knew it was irrational) thought they could watch me undress.

7.  I used to work in a nursing home, and one day this very religious lady thought I'd performed a miracle, and was telling everyone that I raised her roommate from the dead.

8.  We never had a t.v. growing up, but we had the church t.v. in the closet at our house.  When mom would go to weight watchers on Wed dad would make his fabulous meal (the only one he could) of pork chops, sauerkraut, and fried potato's and onions, and break out the telly and let us watch the a-team and knight rider or air wolf.  Mom used to get so mad (I don't think its good exposing our kids to this violence) and Dad never gave in (no one ever dies, no matter how many bullets fly) and we always looked forward to Wednesdays.

Ok I tag Amanda and Family,Amberella, anniebug, Artzy Carmen, courtneyldavidson, Breanna Banana, inmediasres, marlafb2000  Have fun and surprise me

Finished three

more books: 
All were good stories, all by authors I love.  Pyramids was again very satirical, and enjoyable to read.  This time Pratchett was picking on the ancient Egyptian culture, and It was hilarious.  Most amusing were the names such as Ptraci, a belly dancer/ concubine and Djellibabie, the country she lived in.  Also the portrayal of Camels as incredibly rude, but exceptional at geometry.  The whole nation was saved by one such creature, who's name was "Old Bastard".  Enjoyable yet again.

Perfect Match was another Jodi Picoult novel.  Sidebar:(I'm using legalese since the main character is a lawyer and the court system features heavily in the novel) My sister met her this week. She got me a signed copy of 19 minutes, and asked Jodi some questions. She also told Jodi that she justified my sister as a reader. "What do you mean" said Jodi.  Bethany responded. "My sister is always telling me what to read.  She can speed read, and finds all these great authors.  You're the only one I've introduced her to"
Ok, this book bugged me.  For many reasons!  First of all the premise was too 'Law and Order ripped from the headlines'. In addition the person reading the book was from Australia and she her accent kept coming through in the worst places like pronouncing Valium with a strong a, like play, not cab.  By the time I was on the last cd (12 of them all together) I literally said "Oh thank GOD this is the last one".  Very glad I'm finished.

The Giver was an excellent book, however I didn't like the ending. Have any of you seen the movie "The Negotiator"  with Kevin Spacey?  In that movie the two main characters have an argument about the western "Shane". One sees it as hopeful, The cowboy hero riding off into the sunset, the other sees it as the sad ending.  The cowboy hero dead on the back of his horse after saving the people.  All depends if you're seeing the glass half full or half empty.
Guess which one I am.
Yeah.  I was all for this book, learning about Jonas's life. Watching him learn to see color, learning to experience love, getting the memories of the community that only the Giver carries.  However, when he leaves the community with the toddler Gabriel in tow, in an attempt to save his life, he embarks on an arduous journey that I believe took his life.
At the end of the movie, Jonas and Gabe are dehydrated, freezing, hungry, and walking up a mountain through snow. Then the ending gets purposefully vague, and yet hopeful, but I don't buy it.
You expect me to believe that just when he was dying that he found the sled of his memories, and slid down the hill to a city of his memories?  Yeah, that never happened.  I think he died.
Because I am the most cynical person I know.
Gaahh.

 

My friend KT has runs an Occupational Therapy Center for Kids.  They just recently had to move to a new building.  Today I spent the day painting things on the walls for them.  Here is what I accomplished today

I'm pretty proud of them, espically since I posess little artistic talent. 

Can you tell that the dog is meant to be Toby?  The therapy kids could...but I doubt I would have been able to if I didn't know.

 

 

sent me the most wonderful thing.
I opened up my door yesterday to find a package addressed to me.  I knew something was coming, sometime soon, but its always fun to open the door, and find something waiting, with your name on it.
I was on my way to a meeting, so I tucked it under my arm and headed for the car.
I can't handle waiting for anything, so I opened it with one hand while driving down the road.
Pretty soon I was doing the best one-armed-one-foot-on-the-gas-happy dance you've ever seen.  It was because I found this

and this inside it.
Seriously.  Can life get any better?
It's Shrute-tastic.
lostdwarf You are my hero!
I'm glad you were my secret santa :)

I forgot that I would love to own Planet Earth as well.

While this may make me seem a little more intellectual, it's mostly because I really loved the 300 ft pile of guano covered in cockroaches.

Sorry I've not been around.  Training new people at work takes up all my internet time.

So I felt complete random and felt like making a some useless lists.

TV Shows I own Completely:
1. Seasons 1,2, 2.5, and 3 of Battlestar Galactica (the new one)...though Technically the second seasons are on itunes, and I wish I had them on Dvd.
2. All seasons of Alias
3. All seasons of Veronica Mars
4. All Seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
5. All Seasons of Angel
6. Firefly
7. Wonderfalls
8. Seasons 1-10 of the Simpsons
9.  Some seasons of Red Dwarf (would like all of these on dvd!!!!)
10. Keeping Up Appearances (thanks Mum)

TV Shows I wish I had on dvd:
1. The Muppet Show
2. Pinkey and the Brain
3. All of Red Dwarf
4. Lost
5. Sex and the City
6.Torchwood
7. MI-5 (Spooks to you Brits)
8. How I met your mother
9. The Cosby Show
10. Both versions of The Office
11. ITV's Jane Austen series (the very recent ones)
12. Heroes
13. Pushing Daisies (when it comes)
14. Flight of the Chonchords
15. The A team
16. Scooby Doo (first two seasons before they went to crap with scrappy-doo)
17.  Anne of Green gables
18. Spaced.

TV shows I was nostalgic for and then realized what a load of crap they were:
1. The young ones
2. Knight Rider

Enjoy the very useless facts about me.

What indulgence always makes your grocery list?

Boursin cheese.  Doesn't matter how many times I tell myself to put the stuff back.  I love it.  Gets me every time.

So I lead worship [1] today at church.

My voice was very weak, and perpetually sharp, so I'm pretty sure I'm coming down with something.

I also led a song which, by popular consensus, was the closest thing to country [2] I've ever come.  It also had quite a few 'th's' [3] in it.  Not a very big fan of the 'th's' [4] as they often obscure the message with cumbersomeness, and archanitry.

I also noticed that I ended every song with a minor ritardando [5].  That has to stop.  I'm all for the use of modulation, tonality, pitch, and volume to create a mood, but that brings all the schmaltzyness of Vegas home to roost. I've not capitulated, and gone to the traditionally charismatic sound section on my keyboard [6], and I won't relax my expectiations on this either. Stop it Ginger! [7] [8].

That is all. [9] [10]

 

1. aprox 30 min of corporate singing, encouraging one another, and honoring God musically.

2.  spits twice, makes sign of cross, throws salt over left shoulder, wards off the evil eye.

3.  loveth, knoweth, etceth.

4.  as if God actually speaks today in a syntax that existed 300 years ago, the gramatic equivalent of 'like' and 'not' and 'as if' and 'rebellious much?' of today's "English".  Seriously.  A Thee or Thou doesn't make things more holy.

5.  slowing down of the last few measures till the finale.

6.  nice 80's style electric piano, snyth strings and the like.

7.  slaps herself.

8.  not to be read as a self depricating reproach, or incessant, insecure self analysis, but instead as an "oh I noticed this today and must remember not to do it again if I possible can"

9.  for now

10.  format stole from the ever imitable John