Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Gah

I've spent the last week fighting with my CFO over content and communication style for our Website. It's totally ridiculous. And, I'm sorry... what's my job again? *sigh*

Monday, February 27, 2006

My library card

So, Peter and I have (finally) discovered the marvels of our Public Library system and I have a library card for the first time since about 8th grade. We can borrow DVDs! We can reserve them online and be on waiting lists and get email alerts when they're ready to be picked up! They aren't delivered to our mailbox, but hey, they're FREE!! So, it's all very exciting, and though we can only have an online reserve list of 5 films at a time, we're slowing emptying our Netflix list.

This weekend I watched two films that I really enjoyed. Neither was what I expected, so the surprise factor was fun.

THE WAY WE WERE --
Yup... Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. I had never seen this film and so many people declare it to be their favorite (well, no one I actually know personally, but...), so I felt that before I could make judgements about people actually liking Barbra Streisand, I had to see it for myself. I expected a gushy romance movie, and that is so NOT what it is! It's about politics, about will, about the Bill of Rights and McCarthyism, war vs. peace, men vs. women, and whether love can survive passionate differences of opinions and priorities. It was quite a fascinating movie and very interesting after having loved GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK just a few months ago. The actual love story is a slow build and not at all mushy, but the character development is deep and believeable. Both characters are wonderfully flawed and they don't have a perfect ending. Yes, I did cry at the end, but it wasn't my regular "sappy movie" cry (because I'll cry at anything sappy), it was a very true feeling of pain and sadness because it was recognizable and it was real. Kudos to Redford and yes to Streisand too, for wonderfully layered performances. The other (annoying surprise) is that THAT DAMN SONG is played in the opening credits already! But, honestly, it works, and I didn't hate it so much by the end.

MOSTLY MARTHA --
I rented (oops, I mean borrowed!) this movie because it's German and I had heard great things about it. I feel an obligation as well as a personal interest to see good German films and support not only their work, but also my own need to immerse myself in the language and culture a little bit whenever I can. I loved this movie! It's now on my "I want to own this" list because it really touched me and I did love ignoring the subtitles and enjoying the German language even when I couldn't understand every word. The title actress is wonderful and magnetic and I really related to her character. She's a bit set in her ways and becomes completely unglued when her life gets shaken up on her. Cooking seems to be her best (and sometimes only) way of communicating with other people... she's awkward and unfortable in normal social situations. The storyline isn't what I'd call an award-winning screenplay, but it's a lovely story with characters you grow to care for. The little girl, Lina, is a great distraction and you just find yourself rooting for her to get whatever she wants. And the food is rich and somehow passionate... as if it were it's own character. A lovely film.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

pizza and ice cream

Ok, those of you who know me KNOW that pizza and ice cream are two of my favorite things. I can eat them any time of day and while I might get too full to keep eating pizza, I honestly don't think I'd ever refuse decent ice cream. So I had to work this weekend and I was annoyed about that because all I wanted to do was sleep and watch movies with Peter and snuggle with the dog. But, guess where I spent my time....? The Midwest Pizza and Ice Cream Convention. Yup. That's right. I had an exhibitor badge around my neck and got to spend 15 minutes taking "official company photos", 30 minutes handing out our catalog and helping customers find their way to our cash register (because I couldn't do much else since I know NOTHING about what we sell!), and about 5 hours wandering the exhibit hall eating freshly baked pizzas and homemade ice creams and gelatos. mmmmmm. Life was good. Of course, I didn't sit down for 6 hours and my legs were falling off, but I suppose it's good I kept walking since I was eating non-stop. mmmmmm. Good times. Oh, and I *did* get too full for more pizza... or as I told people "NO MORE SOLIDS!", but there was always more room for ice cream....

Friday, February 10, 2006

Broken blog

Gah! I'm trying post, but it won't let me upload images, so.... *sigh* I have nothing to say. Except I'm so glad it's Friday. Oh, and tonight on Fox they are running the final 4 episodes of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, one of the funniest and most original shows to grace the TV in recent memory. It's a true shame that it's being cancelled. And even more pathetic that they're running them in a 2 hour block, up against the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies, and on a different night than it's ever played on. And they never advertised it. Just throwing it up in the air and shooting it. SHAME SHAME SHAME on them. If you don't have other plans, watch it tonight, and you'll understand my sadness.... And hopefully someday my Blogger will let me upload picts again.

Oh and if you scroll down you'll see a "new" post about our trip to Vegas. Don't know why they won't let me change the date... annoying feature. Or "missing feature", I should say.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

What is Cute?

Holy crap. I just spent my entire lunch break playing around on this site Peter found...
Check it out...!
As he warned me it would be, it's ridiculously addicting. Recommended page: go to the "Coveted Cuteness Trifecta" section... and scroll down for some amazing inter-species picts... very cute!

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Vegas, baby!

A couple of weekends ago, Peter and I spent 2 1/2 days in Las Vegas on an incentive trip for his company. We stayed at the Bellagio (beautiful hotel) and had a blast. We saw the Cirque du Soleil show "O", which was jaw-droppingly amazing. And ate lots of food at the buffet and played Blackjack at all hours of the night. I preferred to play it on the computerized machines, where I felt a little "safer" with my 25 cent bets... A few times I was up $20 at BJ or even $65 at Roulette... only to lose it all again. Peter, we discovered, loses when I'm in the room. But does great when I'm not. So, after I was on a plane bound for Ohio and out of the STATE... he won $500 at the Blackjack tables! Woo-hoo! Kind of sad that I can't ever witness his winning streaks, and a little sadder that I'm his "bad luck charm".... ah well... The winnings paid for my flight, so that's good.
The choreographed fountains at the Bellagio Hotel... with the Paris hotel in the background...