I can't believe it's New Year's already. We just watched the countdown in Times Square, so it's 2011 in New York. That was on the news, though. They are tape-delaying Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve for one hour (does that make sense to anyone?), so we'll get it at 11pm. Silly, silly. I caught about two minutes of Carson Daly talking with Bono and the Edge . . . of course I miss the good stuff! Geez!
This month has flown. It feels like yesterday that we had Thanksgiving, then the following weekend was the NFCP, then work and car drama. I could hardly believe it when Christmas Eve was here and now it's New Years. Good grief.
Well, Christmas was good. Busy, but good. Here's a slideshow of the highlights:
The kids had fun, I think. Benji's favorite toy was the slinky (not his, of course, though Lily was good to share with him). Dinner wasn't nearly as organized as it was at Thanksgiving, so there weren't any cranberries. I'm not sure if there was any pie or not, though there was some awesome cheesecake. We did the kids' Christmas in the morning, had dinner, then waited for a couple of hours and did the adult gifts. It was a nice day, though I think we forgot the line-up. Oh well.
Anyway, that was Christmas. We had to come back to SLC on Christmas night so I could deal with church stuff, then I worked on Monday at Riverton and Tuesday uptown, and Wednesday I got my tonsils out. Turns out we had more than $1,000 left in our flex-spending, which is use-it-or-lose-it by the end of the year. I'm not really regretting it, but it SUCKS. Swallowing is really painful, so I'm living on popsicles, pudding and percocet. I have no energy right now (it has taken me two hours to write this so far).
I wish they'd just and over NYRE to Ryan Seacrest. Poor Dick Clark has got to go back into cryofreeze. I do have to say that the New Kids are looking pretty good. They have aged well, though they could really use some new music. It's funny to see 30-40 year old guys singing "Step By Step."
Okay, I would like to post this before the new year. So here you go. And remember--I'm on drugs right now.
31 December 2010
11 December 2010
My Automobile is a Piece of Crap
Oh, Gigi. You have served me well.
I was driving to work yesterday, just as I have done every weekday for the past six months. 6:30 a.m. on I-15, 65mph. I had the music up pretty loud, so I don't remember hearing anything, but I noticed that the check engine light came on. Then the battery light came on. I coasted to the side of the freeway, which happened to be right at an exit. I called work to tell them I probably wasn't going to make it in today.
I called AAA (thanks again, Granny), and they sent a tow-truck out. He picked us up and took us back to the repair shop (which hadn't even opened yet). Luckily there was someone there, who took my information and told me they'd get to it sometime that day. About that time, Allen was getting off from his night shift, so he came to pick me up. Then we picked up Benji and came home. I did a bit of laundry and dishes and waited for them to call me. When they did, they told me they drained the oil out of the engine (there was only a pint of oil left, and it's supposed to hold four quarts), and they found bits of brass in the oil. That means that the ball bearings are totally chewed up, and basically the engine is now worthless. To replace Gigi's motor would cost more than the entire car is worth at this point, so she has been declared dead. She was seventeen years old.
I am sad. She has been a great car, and she was a great little commuter. When I went to clean her out, I tried to step back and take a look at her--she was in pretty rough shape. She had a lot of dings and dents, holes where the speakers should be, the totally non-functioning interior door handles that are barely hanging on, the sagging cloth on the ceiling, the frayed seatbelts and torn upholstery . . . yeah, she was a piece of crap. But she was my totally paid-for piece of crap, and she got me from point A to point B with 33+ mpg.
So, out of necessity (or so I tell myself), I decided I needed a to buy a car that day so I could get to work this morning. But I am a very poor negotiator. I hate confrontation and competition--I'll avoid it whenever I can. This is why I needed my brother Dave to come with me. He has a lot of experience buying cars ;o), and being a salesperson, he knows how to work the system. We test-drove a couple of cars, but from the beginning we were looking at the Suzuki GrandVitara. They had two models--one very basic red 2008 (stick-shift, which I don't mind) model with only 19,000 miles on it, and one suped-up silver 2006 with 65,000 miles. They both started at about the same price, and I was having a really hard time deciding between the two. We played the game for a little while, but the owner (the one the salesman had to go make our offer to) also played us (and I hate knowing that). He wanted to sell the silver one, since it had been on the lot longer. When we saw the actual numbers and the upgrades on the silver one added to the mark-up, I was definitely leaning toward the red. He decided that he couldn't give me a better deal on the red, and came a lot closer to my offer with the silver. So that's the one I purchased. Yes, I drove it off the lot that night, because I needed it to get to work (although when I got home, Allen couldn't find his badge and thus couldn't go to work, so I could have driven his car and taken more time with this enormous purchase . . . "That's what you'd call ironic."). I'm not sure I got the best deal possible, but I think I did pretty well; and that was 99% thanks to Dave. I was much more confident with him there and I'm sure they didn't take advantage of me nearly as much as they would have had I been alone.
So I got a pretty sweet rig. I have tried to take a picture, but it has been raining all day. So here's an image from our friend Google:
I think this is a newer model, but the body style is just about the same. Mine, however, has a sunroof, racks on top, leather seats, keyless entry, power everything, and ridiculous rims. Seriously. I'm afraid I'll come out to find my car on cinder blocks because someone has stolen them. I almost want to get factory wheels put back on and sell the rims just so they don't attract attention. Don't get me wrong, they look awesome, but they are totally unnecessary. Actually, the idea of this much of an upgrade is still mind-blowing to me, and I honestly can't believe I purchased a car, let alone a super-sweet ride like this.
I love driving it, but . . .
a) I feel like a sell-out: driving Gigi was almost a badge of honor, an in-your-face maneuver to a crappy economy. This car totally buys into the American attitude of excess.
b) I'm still reeling from having made such a huge purchase in one day. I don't need this much car, and I REALLY don't want to be making car payments for the rest of my life.
c) I don't feel like I deserve it. I wish I were at a point in my life where I could justify luxurious things, but I'm certainly not, and unfortunately, I sincerely doubt I ever would be able to justify it in my brain.
There is a clause in the contract that says I can bring it back within 14 days and we can forget the whole thing. It's tempting, and honestly, I should do it and get something more practical. It's not like this is a muscle car or a convertible--it's a small SUV with relatively low miles that really will last me for years (if I can manage to not destroy the engine). That's what I really wanted; the rest are just perks. I'm not 100% sure about Suzuki, but they have a 7 year/100,000 mile warranty that is still in effect and it has a good safety rating. It's big enough to haul stuff (another requirement, one which Gigi simply could not fulfill), it has cruise control and a fantastic cup-holder and bun warmers and a decent stereo, and I really like the leather seats so I don't have to deal with nasty upholstery. No, it doesn't have a DVD player, but if we need to we can get one installed. It has some quirks, but all-in-all it really is a great car. I'll probably end up keeping it, even though I shouldn't.
Now . . . who wants a ride? (And what should I name her?)
I was driving to work yesterday, just as I have done every weekday for the past six months. 6:30 a.m. on I-15, 65mph. I had the music up pretty loud, so I don't remember hearing anything, but I noticed that the check engine light came on. Then the battery light came on. I coasted to the side of the freeway, which happened to be right at an exit. I called work to tell them I probably wasn't going to make it in today.
I called AAA (thanks again, Granny), and they sent a tow-truck out. He picked us up and took us back to the repair shop (which hadn't even opened yet). Luckily there was someone there, who took my information and told me they'd get to it sometime that day. About that time, Allen was getting off from his night shift, so he came to pick me up. Then we picked up Benji and came home. I did a bit of laundry and dishes and waited for them to call me. When they did, they told me they drained the oil out of the engine (there was only a pint of oil left, and it's supposed to hold four quarts), and they found bits of brass in the oil. That means that the ball bearings are totally chewed up, and basically the engine is now worthless. To replace Gigi's motor would cost more than the entire car is worth at this point, so she has been declared dead. She was seventeen years old.
I am sad. She has been a great car, and she was a great little commuter. When I went to clean her out, I tried to step back and take a look at her--she was in pretty rough shape. She had a lot of dings and dents, holes where the speakers should be, the totally non-functioning interior door handles that are barely hanging on, the sagging cloth on the ceiling, the frayed seatbelts and torn upholstery . . . yeah, she was a piece of crap. But she was my totally paid-for piece of crap, and she got me from point A to point B with 33+ mpg.
So, out of necessity (or so I tell myself), I decided I needed a to buy a car that day so I could get to work this morning. But I am a very poor negotiator. I hate confrontation and competition--I'll avoid it whenever I can. This is why I needed my brother Dave to come with me. He has a lot of experience buying cars ;o), and being a salesperson, he knows how to work the system. We test-drove a couple of cars, but from the beginning we were looking at the Suzuki GrandVitara. They had two models--one very basic red 2008 (stick-shift, which I don't mind) model with only 19,000 miles on it, and one suped-up silver 2006 with 65,000 miles. They both started at about the same price, and I was having a really hard time deciding between the two. We played the game for a little while, but the owner (the one the salesman had to go make our offer to) also played us (and I hate knowing that). He wanted to sell the silver one, since it had been on the lot longer. When we saw the actual numbers and the upgrades on the silver one added to the mark-up, I was definitely leaning toward the red. He decided that he couldn't give me a better deal on the red, and came a lot closer to my offer with the silver. So that's the one I purchased. Yes, I drove it off the lot that night, because I needed it to get to work (although when I got home, Allen couldn't find his badge and thus couldn't go to work, so I could have driven his car and taken more time with this enormous purchase . . . "That's what you'd call ironic."). I'm not sure I got the best deal possible, but I think I did pretty well; and that was 99% thanks to Dave. I was much more confident with him there and I'm sure they didn't take advantage of me nearly as much as they would have had I been alone.
So I got a pretty sweet rig. I have tried to take a picture, but it has been raining all day. So here's an image from our friend Google:
I think this is a newer model, but the body style is just about the same. Mine, however, has a sunroof, racks on top, leather seats, keyless entry, power everything, and ridiculous rims. Seriously. I'm afraid I'll come out to find my car on cinder blocks because someone has stolen them. I almost want to get factory wheels put back on and sell the rims just so they don't attract attention. Don't get me wrong, they look awesome, but they are totally unnecessary. Actually, the idea of this much of an upgrade is still mind-blowing to me, and I honestly can't believe I purchased a car, let alone a super-sweet ride like this.
I love driving it, but . . .
a) I feel like a sell-out: driving Gigi was almost a badge of honor, an in-your-face maneuver to a crappy economy. This car totally buys into the American attitude of excess.
b) I'm still reeling from having made such a huge purchase in one day. I don't need this much car, and I REALLY don't want to be making car payments for the rest of my life.
c) I don't feel like I deserve it. I wish I were at a point in my life where I could justify luxurious things, but I'm certainly not, and unfortunately, I sincerely doubt I ever would be able to justify it in my brain.
There is a clause in the contract that says I can bring it back within 14 days and we can forget the whole thing. It's tempting, and honestly, I should do it and get something more practical. It's not like this is a muscle car or a convertible--it's a small SUV with relatively low miles that really will last me for years (if I can manage to not destroy the engine). That's what I really wanted; the rest are just perks. I'm not 100% sure about Suzuki, but they have a 7 year/100,000 mile warranty that is still in effect and it has a good safety rating. It's big enough to haul stuff (another requirement, one which Gigi simply could not fulfill), it has cruise control and a fantastic cup-holder and bun warmers and a decent stereo, and I really like the leather seats so I don't have to deal with nasty upholstery. No, it doesn't have a DVD player, but if we need to we can get one installed. It has some quirks, but all-in-all it really is a great car. I'll probably end up keeping it, even though I shouldn't.
Now . . . who wants a ride? (And what should I name her?)
30 November 2010
Our Work has Come Asunder
Well, I think I'll do a Thanksgiving re-cap. We'll start with last Tuesday.
I have been floating to different facilities a lot lately. I don't mind; I like the variety, and I appreciate getting my hours, but it can be difficult sometimes too. Last Tuesday was pretty good, though at the end of the day I was told that we were in for "the worst storm in 20 years." There was a blizzard warning, which I have never heard of in Utah. My supervisor offered me a "snow day" (a day off) on Wednesday, which I took advantage of. I went home and started packing, thinking I could outrun the storm and make it to Logan that evening. Once I got myself and Benjamin packed and loaded in the car, it started to snow. We stopped at the McDonalds near the freeway for some chickie nuggets for the boy, and in that ten minutes between our apartment and I-15, visibility went down to almost nothing. It was some crazy snow and wind, and I drove about two miles before I realized how stupid it would be to drive during this thing when I didn't have to. So we turned around and came back. We left on Wednesday morning, and to my surprise, there was only about two inches of snow on the ground. Really? After all that? I was a little disappointed, to be honest. I was expecting a couple of feet. Oh well.
So on Wednesday, we went up and hung out. I don't remember what we did the rest of that day, though Rach, Wow & the diva brigade came that evening. Thursday was nice. We started cooking early, and we were almost ready by 1pm (it was closer to 2, but that's okay). I was put on potato duty. I'm not really sure why I decided to do all 20 lbs of potatoes, but I did. And my fingers haven't entirely recovered yet. Actually I didn't do all of it, but I washed and peeled and cut and boiled them. Mach mashed them so I could go take a shower.
Dinner was excellent as usual. Rebecca's yams were particularly excellent, and the rolls were super-fluffy. My friend Shannah Leigh was in town visiting her in-laws, and she came over to chat for a bit after dinner. It was good to see her; we were BFFs in High School, but we haven't been able to see much of each other since then. She is a superstar.
I had to come back to SLC on Thursday, since I was on-call that night at Primary Children's. They called while I was on the road, so I drove right to the hospital. I was there for about three hours: not too bad. When I came back to my apartment, I decided I should just go to Target and wait in line. I knew there would be a lot of people who wanted the same TV I did, so I left about midnight (after having received a very special picture message from Dave . . .). There was a bit of a line already, but it wasn't bad when I got there. Luckily the people in line with me were friendly. We talked and joked and commiserated on how cold we were. Around 2:30am, it got really cold. One gal's father brought a propane flame heater, which was AWESOME. It made the cold bearable for the last hour or so. The fire only lasted for about 15 minutes, but man--so nice.
Around 3:30, everyone started getting excited and the line started building and squeezing together. It was kind-of exciting, and when the doors opened, it was a mad rush. If I hadn't run, I would have been trampled. Seriously. At least I got what I went in for (a 40" HDTV for $299!!), and I was out by 4:30am. I had to tie it into my trunk and I drove home really slowly. I unloaded and went back out to Best Buy. I got a bluRay player and some DVDs there. I came back, and it was about 6:30. I sat down for a couple of minutes and realized I was really tired, so I slept for a bit.
I drove back to Logan on Friday, and hung out with the fam for the rest of the day. Saturday was nice too. Most of everyone left early in the afternoon. Benji and I left a bit later, since I needed to be back for church on Sunday morning. When I got back, I realized I had Allen's keys. I was super-excited about that. So we went to church in the morning, and left on Sunday afternoon to drive back up to Logan. When the weather is good, it is normally an hour-and-a-half. It took about two hours on the way up, and closer to three on the way back. And, incidentally, we got a lot more snow out of the "winter storm" on Sunday than from the blizzard on Tuesday.
It was nice to have five days off in a row. It has been a long time since I have had that long off! It was kinda hard coming back to work, especially when I had to work at IMC on Monday. It was fun seeing my friends, but it's not easy jumping into something you haven't done in nine months. It was interesting. A lot of people said they hadn't seen me in a while; I don't think they even realized I had left. There are lots of people who work there, and I tried not to make it a big deal when I left. It's just funny. Even the anesthesiologist noticed that we hadn't worked together for a while. I told him he has just been very lucky for the past nine months. Anyway, it was a pretty good day. Then today, I worked at the main OR at Riverton. It was a pretty good day there too, but I am exhausted. I'm glad I actually get to work at my home unit tomorrow. I'm happy to float, and I'm glad I can be useful and that my services are appreciated elsewhere, but there's a reason why I choose to work where I do.
I have been floating to different facilities a lot lately. I don't mind; I like the variety, and I appreciate getting my hours, but it can be difficult sometimes too. Last Tuesday was pretty good, though at the end of the day I was told that we were in for "the worst storm in 20 years." There was a blizzard warning, which I have never heard of in Utah. My supervisor offered me a "snow day" (a day off) on Wednesday, which I took advantage of. I went home and started packing, thinking I could outrun the storm and make it to Logan that evening. Once I got myself and Benjamin packed and loaded in the car, it started to snow. We stopped at the McDonalds near the freeway for some chickie nuggets for the boy, and in that ten minutes between our apartment and I-15, visibility went down to almost nothing. It was some crazy snow and wind, and I drove about two miles before I realized how stupid it would be to drive during this thing when I didn't have to. So we turned around and came back. We left on Wednesday morning, and to my surprise, there was only about two inches of snow on the ground. Really? After all that? I was a little disappointed, to be honest. I was expecting a couple of feet. Oh well.
So on Wednesday, we went up and hung out. I don't remember what we did the rest of that day, though Rach, Wow & the diva brigade came that evening. Thursday was nice. We started cooking early, and we were almost ready by 1pm (it was closer to 2, but that's okay). I was put on potato duty. I'm not really sure why I decided to do all 20 lbs of potatoes, but I did. And my fingers haven't entirely recovered yet. Actually I didn't do all of it, but I washed and peeled and cut and boiled them. Mach mashed them so I could go take a shower.
Dinner was excellent as usual. Rebecca's yams were particularly excellent, and the rolls were super-fluffy. My friend Shannah Leigh was in town visiting her in-laws, and she came over to chat for a bit after dinner. It was good to see her; we were BFFs in High School, but we haven't been able to see much of each other since then. She is a superstar.
I had to come back to SLC on Thursday, since I was on-call that night at Primary Children's. They called while I was on the road, so I drove right to the hospital. I was there for about three hours: not too bad. When I came back to my apartment, I decided I should just go to Target and wait in line. I knew there would be a lot of people who wanted the same TV I did, so I left about midnight (after having received a very special picture message from Dave . . .). There was a bit of a line already, but it wasn't bad when I got there. Luckily the people in line with me were friendly. We talked and joked and commiserated on how cold we were. Around 2:30am, it got really cold. One gal's father brought a propane flame heater, which was AWESOME. It made the cold bearable for the last hour or so. The fire only lasted for about 15 minutes, but man--so nice.
Around 3:30, everyone started getting excited and the line started building and squeezing together. It was kind-of exciting, and when the doors opened, it was a mad rush. If I hadn't run, I would have been trampled. Seriously. At least I got what I went in for (a 40" HDTV for $299!!), and I was out by 4:30am. I had to tie it into my trunk and I drove home really slowly. I unloaded and went back out to Best Buy. I got a bluRay player and some DVDs there. I came back, and it was about 6:30. I sat down for a couple of minutes and realized I was really tired, so I slept for a bit.
I drove back to Logan on Friday, and hung out with the fam for the rest of the day. Saturday was nice too. Most of everyone left early in the afternoon. Benji and I left a bit later, since I needed to be back for church on Sunday morning. When I got back, I realized I had Allen's keys. I was super-excited about that. So we went to church in the morning, and left on Sunday afternoon to drive back up to Logan. When the weather is good, it is normally an hour-and-a-half. It took about two hours on the way up, and closer to three on the way back. And, incidentally, we got a lot more snow out of the "winter storm" on Sunday than from the blizzard on Tuesday.
It was nice to have five days off in a row. It has been a long time since I have had that long off! It was kinda hard coming back to work, especially when I had to work at IMC on Monday. It was fun seeing my friends, but it's not easy jumping into something you haven't done in nine months. It was interesting. A lot of people said they hadn't seen me in a while; I don't think they even realized I had left. There are lots of people who work there, and I tried not to make it a big deal when I left. It's just funny. Even the anesthesiologist noticed that we hadn't worked together for a while. I told him he has just been very lucky for the past nine months. Anyway, it was a pretty good day. Then today, I worked at the main OR at Riverton. It was a pretty good day there too, but I am exhausted. I'm glad I actually get to work at my home unit tomorrow. I'm happy to float, and I'm glad I can be useful and that my services are appreciated elsewhere, but there's a reason why I choose to work where I do.
20 November 2010
The Good and Bad Times
Okay, so we just got back from watching "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One" and I'm honestly not too sure how I feel about it. I LOVE THE BOOK. DH is my favorite of all the books; to me, it is perfect. The journey, the conflicted emotions, weaving all the stories together in sublime culmination. The movie does capture the essence of the story, but it leaves out so many of the exquisite details, I can't help but be a little disappointed. I guess I expected it to be more personal, because of how I feel about the story, of how much I love it, and how intimately connected I feel to the characters. I can't imagine trying to turn such a beloved story into an epic film franchise, attempting to remain faithful to the story and trying to move it along in a Hollywood-type atmosphere. I'm sure it was difficult, and I'm just not a huge fan of David Yates (the director of movies 5, 6, 7.1 and 7.2). I don't love the shaky camera, which was made all the worse because we watched it from the second row of an IMAX theater. Blah, blah, blah. Here's a list of pros and cons, that is, things I liked and things I wasn't so fond of.
Pro: Cast. I love the cast, and I feel like I know them. I have been on this journey with them for the past 8 years.
Con: Director. He's okay, but I don't love his style. The 4th movie (Goblet of Fire) is my favorite, and I think it is mostly because of the director. The shaggy hair and hot Cedric Diggory didn't hurt either. ;o)
Pro: Overall faithfulness to the story. It gets the main points right, and you do feel the helplessness and the difficulty and gravity of the situations they find themselves in.
Con: Skipping some of the details. There are some things that are just easier to leave out, I'm sure. But to me, it detracts from the perfection of the story.
Pro: Harry and Hermione's relationship. I love the dancing scene. It made me a little uncomfortable, because it's nowhere to be found in the novel, but it shows them finding a few precious moments of joy in such a difficult time.
Con: Harry and Hermione's relationship. The infamous (and totally unnecessary) nude scene was just weird. Yes, it was imaginary, designed to torture Ron, but still . . . I just didn't like it. After Ron destroys the horcrux in the book, Harry explains that he loves Hermione as a sister, quelling any speculation of their being 'together.' I can see why the director would leave that out, in order to keep the audience speculating. It's unfortunate that the only time we see or hear of Ginny is in the first fifteen minutes of the movie. In the book, Harry spends a fair amount of time thinking about her, because she's the one he loves that way.
Pro: the tale of the Three Brothers animation. It didn't seem to fit at first, but I like the way it explained the Hallows.
Cons: Harry's invisibility cloak is nowhere to be seen in this movie, and it's a pretty important key to the story.
Here are some things I would have done: made Xenophilius Lovegood more eccentric. He was a little too sedate for my taste, and we never got to see the headdress or the erumpent horn or Luna's room, etc. I would have made Rufus Scrimgeour more lion-like--longer hair, a bit of a beard, more powerful and imposing. He was a little wimpy, and the scene with Dumbledore's will was far too civil. I would have spent a little more time in the planning stages of the journey, with Bill and Fleur's wedding, Harry's coming-of-age birthday, his relationship with Ginny, etc. It's hard to say which parts I would be able to cut out/add in were I the director, because I feel like every part of the beginning is necessary to understand the end. I would have made Voldemort more intimidating, showing his anger and cruelty in the visions Harry sees, and although I liked most of the scene at Godric's Hollow, I was disappointed that we didn't see how very close Harry was to being caught by the Dark Lord himself.
There are other things I would rather they included, but God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. I'll grow to love it, I'm sure.
Pro: Cast. I love the cast, and I feel like I know them. I have been on this journey with them for the past 8 years.
Con: Director. He's okay, but I don't love his style. The 4th movie (Goblet of Fire) is my favorite, and I think it is mostly because of the director. The shaggy hair and hot Cedric Diggory didn't hurt either. ;o)
Pro: Overall faithfulness to the story. It gets the main points right, and you do feel the helplessness and the difficulty and gravity of the situations they find themselves in.
Con: Skipping some of the details. There are some things that are just easier to leave out, I'm sure. But to me, it detracts from the perfection of the story.
Pro: Harry and Hermione's relationship. I love the dancing scene. It made me a little uncomfortable, because it's nowhere to be found in the novel, but it shows them finding a few precious moments of joy in such a difficult time.
Con: Harry and Hermione's relationship. The infamous (and totally unnecessary) nude scene was just weird. Yes, it was imaginary, designed to torture Ron, but still . . . I just didn't like it. After Ron destroys the horcrux in the book, Harry explains that he loves Hermione as a sister, quelling any speculation of their being 'together.' I can see why the director would leave that out, in order to keep the audience speculating. It's unfortunate that the only time we see or hear of Ginny is in the first fifteen minutes of the movie. In the book, Harry spends a fair amount of time thinking about her, because she's the one he loves that way.
Pro: the tale of the Three Brothers animation. It didn't seem to fit at first, but I like the way it explained the Hallows.
Cons: Harry's invisibility cloak is nowhere to be seen in this movie, and it's a pretty important key to the story.
Here are some things I would have done: made Xenophilius Lovegood more eccentric. He was a little too sedate for my taste, and we never got to see the headdress or the erumpent horn or Luna's room, etc. I would have made Rufus Scrimgeour more lion-like--longer hair, a bit of a beard, more powerful and imposing. He was a little wimpy, and the scene with Dumbledore's will was far too civil. I would have spent a little more time in the planning stages of the journey, with Bill and Fleur's wedding, Harry's coming-of-age birthday, his relationship with Ginny, etc. It's hard to say which parts I would be able to cut out/add in were I the director, because I feel like every part of the beginning is necessary to understand the end. I would have made Voldemort more intimidating, showing his anger and cruelty in the visions Harry sees, and although I liked most of the scene at Godric's Hollow, I was disappointed that we didn't see how very close Harry was to being caught by the Dark Lord himself.
There are other things I would rather they included, but God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. I'll grow to love it, I'm sure.
14 November 2010
Random Thoughts
I don't know why I thought I could write every day. I have grand plans, but they rarely come to fruition . . . more evidence of my flakiness, I suppose.
I made a green bean casserole for dinner tonight. It wasn't too bad, and--wonder of wonders--Benji ate it. Two bowls worth! It probably helps that he didn't eat dinner at all last night (not from our lack of trying, believe me), but it still puts a little warm in my heart.
I went to the choir practice again tonight. We were a bit greater in number, which was helpful. I think I'll try out for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir again next year . . . though I have a fair amount of work to do before I can get to that point.
I need to go to bed. I just finished watching the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize honoring Tina Fey. Too funny. She really is brilliant. Jimmy Fallon did a Bono-impression tribute, "Beautiful Fey." Hilarious.
Sorry, this is just some random thoughts. I hope there will be something deeper for you tomorrow.
I made a green bean casserole for dinner tonight. It wasn't too bad, and--wonder of wonders--Benji ate it. Two bowls worth! It probably helps that he didn't eat dinner at all last night (not from our lack of trying, believe me), but it still puts a little warm in my heart.
I went to the choir practice again tonight. We were a bit greater in number, which was helpful. I think I'll try out for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir again next year . . . though I have a fair amount of work to do before I can get to that point.
I need to go to bed. I just finished watching the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize honoring Tina Fey. Too funny. She really is brilliant. Jimmy Fallon did a Bono-impression tribute, "Beautiful Fey." Hilarious.
Sorry, this is just some random thoughts. I hope there will be something deeper for you tomorrow.
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