Summer doldrums

I’m trying to blog once a week, but sometimes there just isn’t much to say, ya know?

Since I left the old job, I don’t have a lot of good co-worker stories (mostly because I have no co-workers) and drama is pretty much non-existent. I come to my office, do some work, eat some stuff, IM some people, etc.

Earlier this week I helped out with the family of multiples that I sometimes go visit. The kids are now two, and they change every time I see them, stretching out and looking more like kids than babies. We took them out (the first time I’ve gone out with them) to the park and the mall play area, and it was insanity. Three adults barely had a handle on the situation. Multiple toddlers, going multiple directions, in the middle of a mall? Their mom is brave. But they are still amazingly adorable and learning so much. Toddlerhood is exhausting, but fascinating.

Yesterday I ate two bananas, some cantaloupe, watermelon, blueberries, and tomatoes. Yeah, summer!

I want Mad Men to start again. I want a new camera. I want to take a long vacation.

Deathly Hollow

I saw the latest Harry Potter movie last night (opening day) and was highly entertained, although, thinking about it later, somewhat disappointed. If I don’t read the books in the months before I go, I can enjoy the movies generally, especially this one.

But if I do remember anything about the books while watching the films, I’m disappointed. That’s always how it is with books vs. movies, of course. With HP it’s especially tricky, I think, because of the way the books just build up your emotional investment. They’re so thick, and so many things happen, and each one has an effect on you . . . and by the end you’re turning pages as quickly as you can, laughing or crying or both. Because the movies have to leave so much out, you don’t get the investment, and the payoff can feel really disappointing.

Book 5 was a good example of that – I love HP and the Order of the Phoenix as a book. So much fun stuff, and the characters you love to hate: Rita Skeeter and the most odious of all HP villains, one Delores Umbridge. By the time Fred and George rebel completely and take off, you can completely understand why, because you would do the same thing; you feel their triumph, you feel that they struck a blow for freedom! But in the movie, so much is eliminated that by the time F&G do their thing, you can’t really muster a whole lot of excitement. Yes, they’re rebelling, but the feeling of triumph and comeuppance isn’t there.

And this kind of thing happens over and over in each movie (not to mention some rather lame choices that undermine the characters. Snape’s memories? Hello?). I suppose that’s what glances between characters and lighting and music are for – to help create the feelings that you can’t get otherwise.

But it still feels hollow to me.

Summer songs

Oh, blah. Back to the real world after living and thinking like a communist (the good kind) for a week. It’s so easy to think about changing your life when you’re not actually LIVING it.

I think we can all agree that the Michael Jackson death coverage has been over the top. I haven’t heard anyone say it hasn’t been, which makes me wonder: is there a whole group of people who think that the hours and hours devoted to this have been worth it? Or is the media simply trapped in a hell of its own making? (And I know, I know, writing about it makes me part of the problem!)

Anyway, I did livestream the funeral while I was working yesterday. (PART OF THE PROBLEM!) It was quite a spectacle, although apparently less than many expected. Most of it was kind of lame, and that congresswoman was the worst. Blech. The only thing that seemed remotely real was MJ’s daughter speaking at the very end. Or as one internet commentator put it: “ . . . hours of pageantry and self-promotion culminating in one genuinely devastating moment.” Seriously, the ceremony was over 3 hours long!

(P.S. Go watch the video on YouTube of "We are the World" for some awesome 80s cheese. Am I old because I recognize almost everyone in that video - and in modern-day videos of group singing I only recognize about half of the celebs?)

But no more about that, and I’m certainly not going to add to the media sensation that is one Alaskan soon-to-be-ex-governor by writing about her, either. Although let me just say that if I were to write something negative, it would NOT be because I can’t stand her because I’m a feminist and she’s a “real woman.” Apparently, according to her fans, that’s the reason many liberal women don’t like this person—because she does “womanly” things so well. (!!!)

There are times when I think the cultural divide in this country is too big to ever be crossed.

So I’m back from my working vacation, and now I’m settling in here for the rest of the summer. Still, not without its excitement, including Les Mis in Lancaster this Friday, baby shower for my soon-to-be-born “nephew,” Harry Potter premiere next week, and hopefully other excitement yet to come. And that doesn’t even take into account the month of September, which has highlights of its own.

I think the fact that this summer is so pleasant, weather-wise, is also keeping me in a good mood. I’ve said before that I don’t like the depth of winter nor the height of summer (why is winter deep and summer high?). The extremes of cold or heat bother me, and seem so unchanging--a permanent rut. But not so far this summer--every day just seems like another day on the verge of a change—that’s how I like my weather.

Now we just need some violent thunderstorms for a little excitement!

Silence is Golden

This week has been very busy . . . I’m at a convention that lasts all week, and I’m working, and I’m spending a lot of time with people, none of whom I’m very close to, although we all get along just fine.

But I’m running up against my natural introversion tendencies, mixed with my desire to NOT be an introvert and somehow suddenly become sparkling and witty and the center of most social interactions. When will I learn that wishing for this is a lost cause?

The theme of this convention, so far, for me, has been kind of crazy hippie talk – at least those are the conversations I’ve been listening to. Really good stuff about living out your Christian values in communities, where everyone shares their stuff and isn’t focused on getting ahead or making money or whatever. I may run off and join a commune (or not). Community living would require interaction with PEOPLE on a regular basis. And I like SOME people, in small doses. So once again my introversion conflicts with what I actually think I should be doing.

I’m exhausted now, and ready to sleep, but I think I’ll try to write up a summary of the event I attended today, which I have to do for work. I don’t want to forget what happened.