I'm a pretty big fan of the Byrds song Turn! Turn! Turn! (I also love writing out the title to that song, it seems like it should be a fun and upbeat song. Kind of like the Twist). Every once in a while the lyrics really seem to make sense in your life. Like right now, for example, I think I am going through a minor transition period in my life. You might wonder why, since nothing in my life is changing that drastically, but sometimes it's the minor changes that make a significant impact.
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together
The path you thought you would take is not always the path you end up taking. And sometimes the path is chosen for you - and it's not the one you would have chosen for yourself. I think sometimes you need to realize you are meant to go down a different path, no matter how much you'd rather stick with the old, familiar, happy path.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
I am not an idiot
Growing up the youngest child with my older sibling being very smart, people (and when I say people, I do mean my parents and sibling) just kind of assumed I was an idiot and they made fun of me a lot. It hurt my feelings. But if I ever said anything about it, they would make fun of me some more. I spent a lot of time in my room crying after they made fun of me. Maybe that's why I was (am?) so attached to my Winnie. He never made fun of me. I'm not stupid. I'm actually pretty intelligent. Except when it comes to any type of mathematical subject. I will be the first to tell you, I have some kind of mental block with math. I don't like it and it doesn't like me. With enough practice I can handle it though... it just takes a while and it's a struggle. But hey, I'm taking graduate level math classes right now, and though painful, I've maintained the 3.0 GPA necessary to stay in the program. Actually my GPA is 3.7 something - so you know what? I'm not stupid.
I wish I could say that my family no longer makes fun of me. But they still do and it still hurts my feelings and if I said anything they would still make fun of me even more. I don't want to give the wrong impression of my family. They aren't terrible people. I don't think they actually realize what they are doing. But sometimes they just send me over the edge. Today for example I was taking hypothetically about taking the boat out by myself and beaching it. Clearly that isn't going to happen because: 1) it's not my boat so my father would have to give the okay for me to take it and as previously mentioned they all think I am an idiot, so I don't think that would happen and 2) Where we beach the boat you need a minimum of 2 people to throw the anchors out at the appropriate time. So, again, clearly I am not going to beaching the boat by myself anytime soon. Which I thought was understood. But my parents and my sibling thought that was just hysterical and said they wanted to watch as I did it. I thought at first they meant that it would be funny to watch one person beach the boat. Because as previously stated, that would be almost impossible for one person to do alone. But no... no they think I'm so moronic that I wouldn't be able to handle the boat. Because my small brain can't handle such a responsibility. Umm..... yeah. I'm not that dumb. Not only am I not an idiot, but I have been handling boats by myself since I was 8. Sail boats and power boats. I can dock a boat with my eyes closed, and yet my brother seemed to think that the very idea of me docking a boat was hysterical. Then the hilarity ensued and they all chimed in about me and handling the boat and lining up to watch me do it. Forget the fact that I have been handling boats for 18 years. Forget the fact that I have owned my own boats in the past. Forget the fact that I have been a sailing instructor and was in charge of all the boats and their upkeep. Forget all of that. I am an idiot who cannot get out of her own way.
So I left the table because I don't get the enjoyment out of the unfounded ridicule that they do. I know I am not an idiot and I know defending myself will create more ridicule. Unfortunately Winnie isn't here to absorb the tears so I didn't give in to the pity party. I should still travel with him like I did when I was a kid.
I wish I could say that my family no longer makes fun of me. But they still do and it still hurts my feelings and if I said anything they would still make fun of me even more. I don't want to give the wrong impression of my family. They aren't terrible people. I don't think they actually realize what they are doing. But sometimes they just send me over the edge. Today for example I was taking hypothetically about taking the boat out by myself and beaching it. Clearly that isn't going to happen because: 1) it's not my boat so my father would have to give the okay for me to take it and as previously mentioned they all think I am an idiot, so I don't think that would happen and 2) Where we beach the boat you need a minimum of 2 people to throw the anchors out at the appropriate time. So, again, clearly I am not going to beaching the boat by myself anytime soon. Which I thought was understood. But my parents and my sibling thought that was just hysterical and said they wanted to watch as I did it. I thought at first they meant that it would be funny to watch one person beach the boat. Because as previously stated, that would be almost impossible for one person to do alone. But no... no they think I'm so moronic that I wouldn't be able to handle the boat. Because my small brain can't handle such a responsibility. Umm..... yeah. I'm not that dumb. Not only am I not an idiot, but I have been handling boats by myself since I was 8. Sail boats and power boats. I can dock a boat with my eyes closed, and yet my brother seemed to think that the very idea of me docking a boat was hysterical. Then the hilarity ensued and they all chimed in about me and handling the boat and lining up to watch me do it. Forget the fact that I have been handling boats for 18 years. Forget the fact that I have owned my own boats in the past. Forget the fact that I have been a sailing instructor and was in charge of all the boats and their upkeep. Forget all of that. I am an idiot who cannot get out of her own way.
So I left the table because I don't get the enjoyment out of the unfounded ridicule that they do. I know I am not an idiot and I know defending myself will create more ridicule. Unfortunately Winnie isn't here to absorb the tears so I didn't give in to the pity party. I should still travel with him like I did when I was a kid.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
HP7 (warning, contains spoilers)
This post contains plot spoilers about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Please proceed with caution. I'm not kidding. You will regret reading this post if you haven't read the book yet.
stop!
okay, at this point, you want to see the post.
Well. It's over. It's been an enjoyable ride for me. And J.K. Rowling did almost everything I predicted. Snape was working for Dumbledore and he did what he could to help Harry along. I won't admit to calling the Lily/Snape/James love triange, but it definately explains why Harry having his mother's eyes was pretty important. And we see where Snape's irrational loathing of James came from. But I guess we'll never know WHY he was attracted to the Dark Arts in the first place. I guess some things you just have to accept. And this is one of them. But in the end Snape's name was cleared. Dumbledore knew about Voldemort's mission to have Draco kill him, and he also knew Snape would have to be the one who did it. I'm almost glad to hear that Dumbledore was dying anyway. And Andrew and I totally called Harry being a Horcrux. Go us.
What else, what else. All the deaths. My god, I didn't expect THAT many deaths! Hedwig, Mad-Eye, Dobby, Lupin, Tonks ... and those are just SOME of the GOOD guys! I shed a tear when Dobby died. That was sad, after all Dobby had done for Harry and the gang. I was just so shocked when Fred died though! Though I did half expect that Mr. Weasley might die, so I don't know why I was so surprised when Fred died instead.
Ron and Hermione.... took them long enough, and I love that it was Ron finally admiting that house-elves should be shown some respect that drove Hermione to make out with him.
So here is what I like to thin the missing 19 years contained.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione go back to Hogwarts the next year. McGonagall becomes Headmaster and they let everyone make up the year. Except they need a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. :) (Harry doesn't have to take DADA), Of course everyone goes back because they never took their N.E.W.T.s! And Hermione is not one to miss her exams so they go back, have a nice little year at Hogwarts and graduate. Oddly enough, no one comes back that was in Slytherin. Ron and Harry become Aurors (let's face it, Harry has been an Auror since he first showed up at Hogwarts), Hermione goes to work for some non-profit group that promotes Inter-Species Cooperation and works tirelessly for Muggles, Wizards, Goblins, Centaurs, Giants, House-Elves (and whatever other down-trodden groups there are) to all get along. Ginny joins the Magical Law-Enforcement Squad upon leaving Hogwarts, where she kindly turns a blind eye everyting George and Lee Jordan get caught doing something not-quite-legal with the joke shop.
The End.
stop!
okay, at this point, you want to see the post.
Well. It's over. It's been an enjoyable ride for me. And J.K. Rowling did almost everything I predicted. Snape was working for Dumbledore and he did what he could to help Harry along. I won't admit to calling the Lily/Snape/James love triange, but it definately explains why Harry having his mother's eyes was pretty important. And we see where Snape's irrational loathing of James came from. But I guess we'll never know WHY he was attracted to the Dark Arts in the first place. I guess some things you just have to accept. And this is one of them. But in the end Snape's name was cleared. Dumbledore knew about Voldemort's mission to have Draco kill him, and he also knew Snape would have to be the one who did it. I'm almost glad to hear that Dumbledore was dying anyway. And Andrew and I totally called Harry being a Horcrux. Go us.
What else, what else. All the deaths. My god, I didn't expect THAT many deaths! Hedwig, Mad-Eye, Dobby, Lupin, Tonks ... and those are just SOME of the GOOD guys! I shed a tear when Dobby died. That was sad, after all Dobby had done for Harry and the gang. I was just so shocked when Fred died though! Though I did half expect that Mr. Weasley might die, so I don't know why I was so surprised when Fred died instead.
Ron and Hermione.... took them long enough, and I love that it was Ron finally admiting that house-elves should be shown some respect that drove Hermione to make out with him.
So here is what I like to thin the missing 19 years contained.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione go back to Hogwarts the next year. McGonagall becomes Headmaster and they let everyone make up the year. Except they need a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. :) (Harry doesn't have to take DADA), Of course everyone goes back because they never took their N.E.W.T.s! And Hermione is not one to miss her exams so they go back, have a nice little year at Hogwarts and graduate. Oddly enough, no one comes back that was in Slytherin. Ron and Harry become Aurors (let's face it, Harry has been an Auror since he first showed up at Hogwarts), Hermione goes to work for some non-profit group that promotes Inter-Species Cooperation and works tirelessly for Muggles, Wizards, Goblins, Centaurs, Giants, House-Elves (and whatever other down-trodden groups there are) to all get along. Ginny joins the Magical Law-Enforcement Squad upon leaving Hogwarts, where she kindly turns a blind eye everyting George and Lee Jordan get caught doing something not-quite-legal with the joke shop.
The End.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The books are so much better
* if you haven't seen Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, and you intend to do so, stop reading this blog (or read HP6 and want to) *
Last night Andrew and I went to go see HP5, otherwise known as HP and TOOTP. Or maybe just HP & TOP. We'll keep with HP5. As usual, my feelings are that it was only loosely based on the book. Which I know it's something like 700 plus pages and they had to turn all that into a 2 hour movie, but I really feel like that is an impossible feat, and as such, they don't do it well. So here are a few of my thoughts on the movie
* Daniel Radcliffe is hot. (it's okay to say that, I checked, he's over 18). In the earlier movies he was a cute little kid, then in the last one you could tell he would be an attractive adult. Well he's an adult now - albeit a young adult, but still. He's hot. Makes you want to be Ginny Weasly or Cho Chang.
* They did a better job with heads appearing in fires. In HP4, they had Sirius' head made up of ashes. The head is supposed to be floating above the fire, not in the ashes. They did a much better job of it this time around, but it's still not up to my standards. But a major improvement over HP4.
* They kept tying in themes from HP6. The whole "I better do this all on my own because people I care for keep getting hurt" mantra of Harry's is HP6. It's why he breaks up with Ginny Weasly. Yet it was really prominent in the movie HP5. Also, they keep using Levicorpus, which Harry doesn't learn until HP6, so the fact that it was in the HP5 movie doesn't make much sense.
* They completely left out the Sirius-is-replacing-James-with-Harry theme from the movie - which is fine, it's a theme that definitely didn't have to be in the movie. But, then, why bother having Sirius call Harry "James" right before he dies? What's the point of even throwing it in?
* Dumbledore's Army (or DA). The naming of the illicit Dark Arts group is never explained in the movie. They never even touch on in until they are caught and Harry and his friends are dragged in to Dumbledore's office and Dumbledore flees. If you hadn't read the book you would have zero idea why it was called Dumbledore's Army. And that's kind of key to the storyline.
* Nevile's mother has a butch haircut. I don't think so.
* THEY LEFT THE PROPHECY OUT OF THE FREAKING MOVIE!! I mean, come on. They had the basic gist of it, but how do leave the prophecy out of the movie??? It's only 4 lines!
"The one with the power to Vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have powers the Dark Lord knows not... And either must die at the hands of the other, for neither can live while the other survives". How hard is it to fit the entire prophecy into the movie? the Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies is huge because that's why it could be Neville. And the And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal is WHY he has the scar... and also why it ISN'T Neville. I just don't understand how you don't put such a key part of the storyline into the movie in its entirety.
All in all - a good movie, but you will not understand the story as a whole if you did not read the book. But the books are 100 times better than the movies anyway. I suspect early next week I will be reviewing HP7. I wanted to recap HP6 before, but it's only a matter of a hours until HP7 is release and I want to read it as quickly as possible because once a large amount of people know what happened, I think it might be hard not find out. Especially since the whole book is already online!
Last night Andrew and I went to go see HP5, otherwise known as HP and TOOTP. Or maybe just HP & TOP. We'll keep with HP5. As usual, my feelings are that it was only loosely based on the book. Which I know it's something like 700 plus pages and they had to turn all that into a 2 hour movie, but I really feel like that is an impossible feat, and as such, they don't do it well. So here are a few of my thoughts on the movie
* Daniel Radcliffe is hot. (it's okay to say that, I checked, he's over 18). In the earlier movies he was a cute little kid, then in the last one you could tell he would be an attractive adult. Well he's an adult now - albeit a young adult, but still. He's hot. Makes you want to be Ginny Weasly or Cho Chang.
* They did a better job with heads appearing in fires. In HP4, they had Sirius' head made up of ashes. The head is supposed to be floating above the fire, not in the ashes. They did a much better job of it this time around, but it's still not up to my standards. But a major improvement over HP4.
* They kept tying in themes from HP6. The whole "I better do this all on my own because people I care for keep getting hurt" mantra of Harry's is HP6. It's why he breaks up with Ginny Weasly. Yet it was really prominent in the movie HP5. Also, they keep using Levicorpus, which Harry doesn't learn until HP6, so the fact that it was in the HP5 movie doesn't make much sense.
* They completely left out the Sirius-is-replacing-James-with-Harry theme from the movie - which is fine, it's a theme that definitely didn't have to be in the movie. But, then, why bother having Sirius call Harry "James" right before he dies? What's the point of even throwing it in?
* Dumbledore's Army (or DA). The naming of the illicit Dark Arts group is never explained in the movie. They never even touch on in until they are caught and Harry and his friends are dragged in to Dumbledore's office and Dumbledore flees. If you hadn't read the book you would have zero idea why it was called Dumbledore's Army. And that's kind of key to the storyline.
* Nevile's mother has a butch haircut. I don't think so.
* THEY LEFT THE PROPHECY OUT OF THE FREAKING MOVIE!! I mean, come on. They had the basic gist of it, but how do leave the prophecy out of the movie??? It's only 4 lines!
"The one with the power to Vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have powers the Dark Lord knows not... And either must die at the hands of the other, for neither can live while the other survives". How hard is it to fit the entire prophecy into the movie? the Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies is huge because that's why it could be Neville. And the And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal is WHY he has the scar... and also why it ISN'T Neville. I just don't understand how you don't put such a key part of the storyline into the movie in its entirety.
All in all - a good movie, but you will not understand the story as a whole if you did not read the book. But the books are 100 times better than the movies anyway. I suspect early next week I will be reviewing HP7. I wanted to recap HP6 before, but it's only a matter of a hours until HP7 is release and I want to read it as quickly as possible because once a large amount of people know what happened, I think it might be hard not find out. Especially since the whole book is already online!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N! In the Summertime!
okay, I'm not on an actual vacation, but I am on a nice little 4 day weekend during my 4 day semester break. It's been a lot of fun. Due to my unfortunate and most hateful status of part-time student, I can't take a long break in the middle of summer like I want to. But my 4 day weekend has been extremely relaxing and was long overdue.
As you know from my previous post I left work around noon on Thursday and studied all afternoon. I took my exam on Thursday night (I think I did pretty well too) and then I retired to the "pub" as my foreign-born professor called it with about 10 of my classmates and my professor. Never having gone to a bar with a professor after a final before, it was interesting. I finally got home around 10:15 and Andrew and I hopped into the car and zoomed off to Falmouth arriving sometime past midnight. I was slightly delerious by that time, after having been awake for a really really long time and fitting in a half day of work, a half day of studying, a 3 hour exam, and a post exam celebratory drink.
Since then I've done a lot of sitting in the sun, a lot of reading, and a little bit of biking. We biked the canal on Saturday morning. That was fun, it would be good to do it again at some point. We tried to go on the boat today, but the weather was just terrible - it was too windy. Oh well, next weekend!
I love the fact that it is Sunday night and I'm not heading up the highway until tomorrow night. I love 4 day weekends!
As you know from my previous post I left work around noon on Thursday and studied all afternoon. I took my exam on Thursday night (I think I did pretty well too) and then I retired to the "pub" as my foreign-born professor called it with about 10 of my classmates and my professor. Never having gone to a bar with a professor after a final before, it was interesting. I finally got home around 10:15 and Andrew and I hopped into the car and zoomed off to Falmouth arriving sometime past midnight. I was slightly delerious by that time, after having been awake for a really really long time and fitting in a half day of work, a half day of studying, a 3 hour exam, and a post exam celebratory drink.
Since then I've done a lot of sitting in the sun, a lot of reading, and a little bit of biking. We biked the canal on Saturday morning. That was fun, it would be good to do it again at some point. We tried to go on the boat today, but the weather was just terrible - it was too windy. Oh well, next weekend!
I love the fact that it is Sunday night and I'm not heading up the highway until tomorrow night. I love 4 day weekends!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
wasting time is a glorious way to spend an afternoon
so I took a half day today because I really really needed the extra time to study for my exam tonight. You might be wondering why I am blogging instead of studying, but I needed a mental break. I'm completely stuck on one issue and I needed to walk away from it for a little while before I started to cry. I tend to cry when I am frustrated. Anyway, my lack of blogging frequency lately has come from the end of the summer session crunch, but I start a new session on Tuesday so I should have more free time for about a month.
So I am slowly making my way through all the seasons of the Gilmore Girls. I'm one episode into season 4. It's been quite a journey. Episodic television shows were not meant to be watched all together like that and I have been on somewhat of a GG overload. I think I will take a break this weekend. When you have two consecutive dreams about the Girls, it's time to take a break.
Other than that, there isn't a whole lot more to report. Andrew and I are supposed to have 4 full days in Falmouth this weekend, but of course Andrew's work is going crazy right now, so that might not happen. Or I will go down without him... I don't know yet. Hopefully things calm down and he is able to join me!!!
So I am slowly making my way through all the seasons of the Gilmore Girls. I'm one episode into season 4. It's been quite a journey. Episodic television shows were not meant to be watched all together like that and I have been on somewhat of a GG overload. I think I will take a break this weekend. When you have two consecutive dreams about the Girls, it's time to take a break.
Other than that, there isn't a whole lot more to report. Andrew and I are supposed to have 4 full days in Falmouth this weekend, but of course Andrew's work is going crazy right now, so that might not happen. Or I will go down without him... I don't know yet. Hopefully things calm down and he is able to join me!!!
Friday, July 06, 2007
1967
Yesterday in class I pulled a quarter out of my pocket - I was trying to see if I had the necessary $1.25 to buy 16 ounces of chemical caffeinated goodness, otherwise known as Diet Coke. As luck would have it, I did. But as I was looking at my quarter instead of learning about exhange rates and the breakdown of the Bretton Woods agreement and I noticed it was a 1967 quarter. At first I didn't think much of that, but then I realized that the quarter that had somehow made it into my pocket was 40 years old. That quarter had a lot more power and importance that it does today. According to http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ that a quarter in 1967 is the same thing as $1.50 today. Poor little quarter. It used to have so much purchasing power. Now it's just the add-on you need to go with your dollar bill when you are looking to buy a drink out of a vending machine. Even when I was little you used to be able to buy a stamp with it. And later after you couldn't buy a stamp with it anymore, you could still use it at a pay phone.
Back when that quarter was created it entered a country that was divided and fighting a very unpopular war. Interestingly, today it is still around in a country that is divided and fighting a very unpopular war. (Aren't we supposed to learn from history?) My parents weren't out of high school the day the coin left the mint and now they are grandparents-to-be. It has seen 8 presidents - and back in the early year of the coin, the presidents actually won elections with a mandate from the people!
If quarters could talk..... I wonder what it would say. It could certainly give a history lesson!
Back when that quarter was created it entered a country that was divided and fighting a very unpopular war. Interestingly, today it is still around in a country that is divided and fighting a very unpopular war. (Aren't we supposed to learn from history?) My parents weren't out of high school the day the coin left the mint and now they are grandparents-to-be. It has seen 8 presidents - and back in the early year of the coin, the presidents actually won elections with a mandate from the people!
If quarters could talk..... I wonder what it would say. It could certainly give a history lesson!
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Thank god the heat is over. Living on the third floor without a functioning air conditioner can be painful. Of course we have said we are going to replace the airconditioner for about a month and we never do it. We can't have the window units since our windows slide open instead of going up and down. We have a wall unit, and they are very difficult to replace. They don't even make them in the size of the hole in our wall. It's all a pain in the neck, which is probably why we haven't done it yet. And we found a place in Norwood that sells them, but they don't allow returns on AC's. Clearly we aren't going to buy an air conditioner with so many variables that we can't return if it we can't make it fit in the hole. Which means we have to get it from a store in Quincy that doesn't stay open past 5:00 except on days that I have class. So all of this means we still haven't replaced our air conditioner and when the temperature reaches the 90's 4 days in a row it can get a little unbearable in here. But luckily the heat has broken and life is good again.
We stayed home from the cape this weekend because we both have projects and papers that are due this week - Andrew's is due Tuesday and mine is due Thursday. Yesterday we stopped working around 3 and then we decided to go hike the Blue Hills. Well, I decided, Andrew wanted to go walk around Castle Island. I won though, and off to Blue Hills we went! We didn't do the summit walk - which we both agreed later was a good idea.
We stayed home from the cape this weekend because we both have projects and papers that are due this week - Andrew's is due Tuesday and mine is due Thursday. Yesterday we stopped working around 3 and then we decided to go hike the Blue Hills. Well, I decided, Andrew wanted to go walk around Castle Island. I won though, and off to Blue Hills we went! We didn't do the summit walk - which we both agreed later was a good idea.
This is a picture of one of the trails... I have no idea which one. The trail we did is slighter narrower with more of an incline. I'm pretty sure my legs would be happier if we had done that one! But we had a lot of fun doing it - even though we live so close we never get over there. Since we didn't do the summit hike, there wasn't 5 million people either. So it was a fun way to spend an hour. We have lofty goals of someday doing the 9 mile skyline trail!
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