Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Guns & Hookers

Remind me to tell you the story of the hooker who got shot next to my office building and the gun and bullets that were found in our dumpster... by a mentally disabled employee of ours who ran through the building carrying a loaded gun and scared the crap out of the store manager...


Well... that's pretty much the story. oh lordy.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

4 months

Ok, wow... I'm sorry. A lot has happened in the last 4 months, and I kept wanting to write about it, and for whatever reasons, never did. But the like 4 people who read this know I'm still alive, so I think we'll get through this. ; )

Let's see, well, in March I started feeling pain and soreness in my upper back and shoulders, but didn't know why. I figured it was sore muscles and waited it out. 2 weeks later when it hadn't improved, I went to my Dr, paranoid that I had some awful spinal disease. Sure enough... it IS a spinal issue. She scared the beegeesus out of me by asking if there was Lupus in the family (no)... and then mentioned diseases like Fibromyalgia and Cervical Spine Spondylosis. She sent me for bloodwork and then X-rays... all 40+ of them, and I went home to build my paranoia with web searches and accounts of horrible lifelong pain. What fun. Thankfully, the results weren't quite so dire, though it wasn't "nothing" as I had expected her to tell me. It doesn't seem to have an official name... but it's a degenerating disc disease in my thorasic spine. Kind of an arthritis. So, I've been doing exercises, and spent a couple of weeks going to a physical therapist to learn the right stretches, exercises, and posture to help alleviate the pain and prevent it from getting worse. It's about 7 weeks later now, and I think it's starting to get better.... let's hope.

And then... in the middle of that... I broke my tailbone (the coccyx) in April. I had a bad meeting at work (got yelled at for no reason), and left to get lunch early... and promtly FELL DOWN THE STAIRCASE. Bam, Bam, Bam... down 3-4 concrete steps. I was shaking and crying by the time I got to my car... and in pretty severe pain. The next morning I went to the Dr again... and more X-rays, which was a very painful process because they made me lie on the hard surface on my back... and that's not something I could do without pain. Okay, so officially, it's not fractured, but pretty much the same thing in terms of pain. I have my special cushion to sit on (if you EVER hurt your bum, by this from Brookstone!!). Don't let anyone talk you into a "donut" pillow... those things are weird and uncomfortable. So, I carry this pillow with me everywhere.... in the car, into work, back to the car at lunch, etc. It's getting a little old. The most fun was taking it on a trip to NY at the end of April for a wedding... and using it on airplanes and in the airport, when I had to sit at JFK for EIGHT HORRID HOURS. I kept bursting into tears; I'm sure people had no idea what the hell my problem was. Ah well, that seems like a long time ago now. At work, people are calling me "Broken Butt", and asking me daily, "hey, how's your Ass?" *sigh* This too shall pass.

The other lovely bit of fallout from my fall, aside from the name-calling and my new pillow, was that I had to cancel our vacation home to California and to my beloved Ranch. I shed a few tears over that, because I was really looking forward to a break from work, seeing friends and family I haven't seen for 2 1/2 years (!!), and getting to my ranch for the first time in 5 years. Damn. But luckily, we were able to reschedule for September, so.... I have that to look forward to!

Until then, we have a lot to keep us busy this Summer... visits from family and friends... a little trip to the Hamptons, which should be very interesting and hopefully relaxing. More on all that as it happens... if I can keep up now... ; )



Friday, May 18, 2007

Excellent Day

Today was a great day. And I have the best husband in the world.
: )
'nuff said.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Oscar Noms were at 8:38 AM

Ok, I’ve been buzzing with excitement for days, in anticipation of this morning’s Oscar Nominations. I love awards ceremonies… the drama, the joy of winning, the pain of defeat. I get very emotional. In fact, I usually cry while watching the nominations, as I imagine some of those dark-horse or first-time nominees at home jumping up and down… And then, when they’ve all been announced… I start to boil with anger over the grievous errors in voting. And this year is no exception.

2006 was actually a great year for films and performances… there were many high-quality endeavors that are scattered across the field of nominees.

The Yays : )
  • THE DEPARTED fitting securely in it’s Best Picture and Best Director categories. Please let this be Scorcese’s year!
  • LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE getting so much recognition, including Best Picture nom and a nom for little Abigail Breslin, who was adorable. And Yay for Alan Arkin getting a Supporting Actor nod – he was fantastically funny.
  • UNITED 93 getting a Best Director nod for Paul Greengrass. It was a powerful film, and perhaps it can win for editing.
  • I haven't seen NOTES ON A SCANDAL yet, but I'm pleased with those nominations. And as impressive as Jennifer Hudson was in DREAMGIRLS, I'd kind of like Cate Blanchett to win it.
  • Congrats to Al Gore for the nomination for AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH for Best Documentary. I hope it wins!
  • And I can't wait for ELLEN to host... she's just freaking wonderful....

The Shocks & Disappointments : (

  • DREAMGIRLS shut out from Best Picture and Best Director. Whaaa????!!
    We just saw DREAMGIRLS last weekend and it was fantastic. The performances, the music, the direction – all beautiful, inspiring, and worthy of awards. As long as Scorcese wins Director, I would have been okay with DREAMGIRLS winning Best Picture. *sigh* But Bill Condon definitely deserved a nod for directing a great visual and emotional film.
  • Jack Nicholson not nominated for Best Supporting Actor for THE DEPARTED. I know he’s already award-laden, but this performance was the best of the year. His delivery of the one-liners alone deserves an ovation. Marky-Mark getting the nomination… priceless, and also well-deserved.
  • Brad Pitt not nominated for Best Supporting Actor for BABEL . Granted, I haven’t seen the film, but I hear he was great, and it is a surprise he’s not nominated.
  • As much as I love Meryl Streep and thought she was fantastic in DEVIL WEARS PRADA, I don't think she deserves an Oscar for it. It was a supporting role, for goodness sake. I would have preferred to see someone else get a chance
  • Woah... that Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for BLOOD DIAMOND instead of DEPARTED. I bet that if he were allowed to be nominated twice, he DID have enough votes to be there for both roles. I desperately want him to win it.
  • I'm disappointed that THE GOOD SHEPARD didn't garner any of the top nominations. It was a great script and well done. But it's tough competition this year.

I’m sure I’ll have more random feelings about this as we get closer to the awards…
Let the race begin!!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Dreamgirls -- WOW

We finally saw DREAMGIRLS... and wow... it was stunning and powerful and great. All the performances are award-worthy, and holy crap, Jennifer Hudson does indeed sing the shi* out of the song "And I Am Telling You..." Wow. I was shaking and crying for the last hour of the film -- I just felt very emotionally moved by the music and the story. Wow.

I think it was beautifully done, and will deserve whatever Oscars it wins. BUT... I still want Scorcese to win Best Director for "The Departed".

I know I haven't kept up with posting.... oops. Life is just flying by too fast... I'll try not to stay away too long...