Waiting...

twi-ts

2009-11-29T17:07:46Z

Last night I saw the second installment of the twilight 'series'. Only read further if you are NOT a fan, as I can't hold back!! And remember - this is my opinion and my journal :)

Oh my fucking god-- a "woman" actually wrote this!! I thought the first movie was a bit silly but pretty harmless. This one sent me over the deep end. I think Stephanie Meyers actually sets the woman's movement back 100 years. Bella moping around for months on end because she can't live without a man in her life. She is weak and fragile and mentally ill at that point - she needs professional help. But no she finds another boy to 'fill the hole inside her'. Even Taylor Lautner running around shirtless for most of the movie could not save things.

Anyway, the audience was 90% 12-14 year old females - which scares me because they soak this up. I am scared that parents aren't there to discuss the reality of life with them after watching/reading this stuff.

Merlin!

2009-10-07T00:52:27Z

I have been watching the second season online and I am EAGERLY (but patiently!) awaiting the fourth episode to be posted *twiddlesthumbs* ;)

true blood and more ;)

2009-09-30T23:17:57Z

I watched the second season of "True Blood" online in 4 days!! There were 12 episodes in total (same as season one). I have to admit to getting addicted quickly - I couldn't stop watching them! I am becoming a fan of Eric!!! *gasp*

I am not impressed with the CW's "Vampire Diaries". Another teenaged angst show but with vampires :(

I discovered that I can't access Livejournal at work AGAIN! The firewalls were down for about a year and now they have been slammed back up - I was disappointed about this.

I bought season's tickets to the ballet this year :) I get to see 4 ballets, including one called "Elton" based on Elton John's music - I am really excited about seeing that one in May 2010!!

I am back...

2009-09-11T16:39:24Z

Childless re-boot! They are safely back to their respective universities and already a bit overwhelmed with adjustments - o well, such is life when you are a student (parent, human being, etc!)

I am adjusting (again) to being on my own. I really like being on my own - not a real good 'compromiser' ;) Plus the new season of TV has started!! God I love my PVR!

I am going to put in a cut because of possible spoilers for Supernatural...

Last night's new Supernatural rocked. I am not sure how I feel about the 'crazy fangirl' bit, as I am not comfortable with the whole "wincest" fandom, as I am guilty of reading some of it! Were the writers 'honouring' or mocking this fringe fandom??

I loved that Castiel is back - a bit of a mystery as to the 'how' he is back - but I am sure that will all come out in the wash ;)

The actor portraying Lucifer - boy has he been around!! He was Paul on Dexter, Jacob on Lost, now Nick!Lucifer!! I appreciated the build up to his 'acceptance' of becoming Lucifer's vessel.

Now back to our regular programming ;)

I hope to get my ass out of the house more this fall. I hope to join a social dance club - perhaps even meet someone!?!?!?!

I spent way too much money this summer. I am going to have to budget better. I found out that my sister was laid-off from her job. I am sick of this recession :(

Star Trek!!

2009-05-09T21:20:05Z

I went last night with my daughters (who are both home now!!!). WOW!! I highly recommend seeing this one - great back stories about Kirk and Spock. I was very impressed with Zachary Quinto's interpretation of Spock - way sexy for a Vulcan ;). Chris Pine's blue eyes are lovely ;) And I am looking forward to reading slash based on the new Kirk/Spock !!

TV series stuff!

2009-04-30T20:33:46Z

Possible Spoilers for Supernatural, Smallville and other TV shows!!

1. I have been very impressed/excited for the MOST part about Supernatural this season. I have loved the addition of Castiel, but have not liked the 'darkening' of Sam. Also, I don't like the 'wussie' Dean - he has spent a lot of this season in pain and/or in tears!! I prefer my Dean to be more macho! I am expecting the season finale to have huge cliff hanger, pitting brother against brother. Too black and white for me.

2. What can I say about Smallville? Other than it's not the same since Lex left :( The episodes have felt disjointed to me, lacking any continuity between (and sometimes within!!) episodes. Clark's character seems different to me, I miss the sweet and innocent Clark (and the subtext between Clark and Lex!!). There has been too much focus on minor characters, that I don't care about! Thank freakin god Lana has FINALLY left the series (again).

3. Shows I am hating but still watching - I know it irritates me too - Prison Break - will this show ever end???

4. Shows that I watch but have no clue what is going on with timelines and subplots: Heroes and Lost

5. Shows I have watched once and won't watch again: Castle (sorry _shing!!), Parks & Recreation, The Unusuals, Southland.

6. Shows on hiatus that I hope come back: Kings - I found this one quite interesting.

7. Shows I watch that are silly/fun and have no redeeming value ;) Reaper, 30Rock.

8. Shows that are similar: The Mentalist and Lie to Me. I am actually getting tired of "The Mentalist", its turning into a formulatic type show, which I don't like, and I am getting tired of the quirky/eccentric/naive way that the lead character is portrayed, and we know very little about the personal lives of the team. Which is what I like about "Lie to Me", the focus is more on the characters and less on the weekly thing to solve. Tim Roth is very watchable too.

my weekend

2009-04-05T21:35:12Z

I have had a busy and fun weekend :)

Friday night I went to the ballet. I am thinking of buying season's tickets for next season, which starts in September.

My daughters are home this month from their first year at university!! K is home on Apr 16 and B is home on Apr 28!

I spent yesterday and today 'spring cleaning'. I washed all their bedding. Plus washed curtains and windows in my house. It's good to finally be able to have the windows open to let in fresh air!!

It almost feels like spring today. The snow is melting and the sun is shining. It has been a long, up and down winter here (weather-wise)

What did you do during your time zone's Earth Hour?

2009-03-29T15:24:26Z

I turned off all my electronics and lights and plugged in my battery operated MP3-player into my ears :) And I sang out loud - played with my cats - I had lots of candles out - put away clean clothes to candle light.

Calgary actually used more energy during last year's Earth Hour (increase of over 3%!). Last night there was a 1% drop in usage. We have a way to go!

ramblings....

2009-03-14T20:22:13Z

just some random thoughts and things to post...

I got my hair cut and coloured yesterday. My yucky grey roots were really coming through. My hair stylist also coloured my eyebrows for me - wow they look intense right now, waiting for them to fade a bit ;)

Went for a massage this morning and I am going for a facial this afternoon! Totally pamering myself this weekend.

I went on a lunch date a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, the man was a dud :( We had met at a singles event at Valentine's (it was called an Anti-Valentine's Day Mixer! - cool idea!). He asked for my phone number, he called and invited me out for lunch. It was at the lunch he shared that he had declared bankruptsy 5 years ago and is still building back his credit. When I put some money down for lunch, he said, "that's almost half", so I put down some more! :( Yeah, I can sure pick them ;)

Work is really starting to get busy and stressful. Due to all the stress people are feeling because of the economy, etc.

I saw Watchmen last weekend. Based on the graphic novel. It was too violent for me. I liked some of the characters and their back stories, but most of the characters were not likable. And the music was a total distraction (80's pop).

I am SOOOOOOOOOO enjoying Supernatural!!!! OMG Dean/Castiel has become my favourite slash to read (But I will NEVER stop reading CLex!!!)

I want to travel again.

Slumdog Millionaire

2009-02-09T03:29:05Z

I went to a Sunday afternoon matinee by myself to watch Slumdog Millionaire. It was very well done.

At times it was difficult to watch. I hate to see children suffering :( I was also reminded of my trip to Cairo - the garbage, the poverty, and the children begging.

But really it was about love, hope and truly believing :)

I am torn between Slumdog and Benjamin Button. There were quite a few similarities between the two films.

Ben Button

2009-02-01T20:53:25Z

I finally saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button last night! I was worried about it being almost 3 hours long (was with all the previews!), but the movie flew by. I enjoyed it. It was beautifully shot and the special aging/de-aging effects were flawless. When we see Benjamin old (but young) it almost looked like Brad from his Thelma & Louise role! I was awe struck by him! I actually prefer just watching Brad, not hearing him talk or act!! LOL not that I am a stalker or anything ;)

weekend wrap-up...

2009-01-26T00:58:38Z

I had a quiet weekend, but OOOO so productive! I felt like I was in 'spring-cleaning' mode today! Organizing all my piles of paper and stuff to be recycled :) Nice feeling to get that done.

I have been watching season 3 of Dexter online. It's not as involving as season 1 or 2. Maybe because the 'shock' value of watching a psychopath live has worn out it's welcome??!! I still like it, mostly because of Michael C Hall's acting, he is fascinating :)

I watched the season premiere of Lie To Me with Tim Roth. It's along the same lines as The Mentalist, but different! I was intrigued by it, so will continue to watch until it a)frustrates me, or b)is cancelled!!!!

True Blood

2009-01-13T16:38:42Z

I started watching True Blood online Monday night. I have watched 4 of 12 episodes so far - and I am totally HOOKED!! If you don't know the premise, it's basically an AU world where vampires have 'come out of the coffin' because the 'Japanese have invented synthetic blood' making it safe for them to reveal themselves. The show is set in the south (Lousianna).

The main character is a young woman, Sookie, who is telepathic. She works at a bar where she meets a costumer whose thoughts she can't read, and who is a vampire (named Bill). Anyway the chemistry between Sookie and Bill is intense!

Sookie has a 'man-whore' brother (Jason) who is getting himself into all kinds of trouble. The actor who plays Jason has this sexy hot body *drool* ;)

I am curious if others have seen the show and whether it's coming back for a second season.

back at work...

2009-01-05T21:06:00Z

I am back to work after being off since December 19! Yeah, it's hard being here. I took one daughter to the airport at 5:30 this morning. She has a long day commuting back to NB. The other daughter head's out tomorrow morning. I am going to miss them so very much :( But then they are home for the summer in April sometime :)

I had a quiet Christmas break, spending as much time as I could with my girls, when they weren't at their dad's!

I am one year older - not liking birthdays!! But I am hoping that 2009 is going to be a better year, maybe a relationship is in the cards for me?!?!?!

merry christmas :)

2008-12-19T23:13:06Z

My daughters are both home for the holidays now. One arrived last Friday and the other one got home yesterday :)

It has been bitterly cold here for almost two weeks. A lot of snow has made the roads very slippery, so my commute to work and home has tripled in time!!

I am off work now until after New Year's! I took the time off to spend with my girls. We ventured to the malls today so they could shop. It wasn't much fun, mostly because of the roads!!

We put up the tree last night :) Now it feels 'christmasy' to me.

I hope everyone has a relaxing Christmas break :)

Six Feet Under...

2008-11-10T18:42:10Z

I finished the final episodes in season 5 of Six Feet Under last night...

Cut for spoilers, if you haven't seen it.

OMG I sobbed my eyes out the last 4 episodes. But it was the final scenes of the final episode when Claire drives away to her new life in New York, and we see all the flash forwards of everyone's death, that tore me. It was one of the most emotionally impacting scenes I have watched. Rivalling Brokeback Mountain's scenes where Ennis discovers the shirts in Jack's closet.

It brought to the surface how detached I am from my extended family. And how I personally don't want to deal with death. And how our society pushes death under the carpet. Those emotions are too icky! It's all about youth and beauty and immediate grafication.

I am not sure what I will immerse myself in next, still recovering from Six Feet Under.

getting out there ;)

2008-09-20T21:42:59Z

I went to the "target shooting event" Thursday night and had quite a bit of fun :) It was good for me to do something fun - I kept my last target sheet with 15 bullet holes nicely centered mid-chest level on the target!! LOL

I went to the social piece afterwards at a lounge and just casually chatted with some of the others - it was nice :)

Tomorrow is the rock climbing and repelling - I don't think I will be able to do the repelling. You climb up 7 flights of open stairs to get to the top then repell down. I am terrified of heights and can't do open stairs!!

Today I signed up for two more activities!! Next Saturday I am going to a brewery to sample different beers. Then October 23 I am taking Beginners Archery!!

Go me ;)

more things to deal with!!

2008-09-08T23:36:34Z

Yesterday my external hard drive crashed on me! So guess what kids, all my music, digital pictures and 'videos' (I will miss them!!) are GONE!!! Thank freaking god that all the Egypt pictures were put on a DVD then loaded on to our computers, so I have them, but other pictures are gone.

Also today at work I discovered that the freaking place I work for has extended the nasty firewall to include Livejournal. So guess what kids, I can't check out lj from work any more!!

Life has been tough enough the last little while, now it is pissing me off :(

Sadness

Canadian Idol posting

2008-09-03T22:57:30Z

So I am disappointed that Drew got the boot, and Mitch is still there -- WTF???

It's a Theo/Mitch finale ... And Theo better win!!

Canadian Idol

2008-08-27T01:17:12Z

Spoilers!!

I am sooooooooooo sad that Earl was voted off! Why is Mitch STILL around??? *shakes head* I just don't get it :( *pout*

HellBoy 2, etc

2008-08-19T15:02:26Z

Saw HellBoy 2 on the weekend - not too bad. Lots of comedy, great creatures, and typical graphic novel plot, i.e. you really don't know what's going on, but know that the good guys will win and the bad guys will succumb to a gory end ;) And, that's what happened!

X-Files is no longer showing in theatres. It will make it's rounds at the 'cheap' theatres about the same time it's released to DVD.

I am very curious about the upcoming Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Kevin Smith production. I saw a snipet posted on community on livejournal with Kevin Smith talking a bit and showing a clip. I really like Kevin Smith's stuff ;)

a canadian posting :)

2008-08-19T14:15:41Z

I watched Simon Whitfield pull an amazing comeback in the men's triathlon and win the silver medal!! whoot!!

When I got back from my trip at the end of July, I started watching Canadian Idol again. It's down to 5, all male, and are they incredibly talented! Last night's show was judges choice of Beatles songs for the singers. It was the best show yet. I will be sorry to see any one of the five leave tonight. My favourites are the two from Alberta: Theo and Earl.

the dark knight..

2008-08-02T15:20:19Z

I went to a matinee showing of The Dark Knight yesterday afternoon. I am not sure what I think about it! It definitely was 'dark'! Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker was creepy and psychopathic. He really went to a whole new level with his interpretation. It was his movie.

I got lost in the plot, not really sure what was going on! I was glad that Katie Holmes was out and Maggie Gyllenhaal was in - very good casting decision :)

There are actually quite a few movies I want to see: Hellboy 2, Wanted, X-Files (I know, it's supposed to be crap!), The Mummy 3.

recovering from the trip!

2008-07-31T15:11:42Z

Hi all:
Thank you all for your comments about me being back :) Sorry that I am not responding :( I am quite jet-laggy and just finished a round of anti-biotics as I picked up "something" in Istanbul that has caused me much discomfort!!

Anyway there are THOUSANDS of pictures for me to go through. I took about 400. One daughter took about 1500, and the other daughter took 3800!!!!!!!

The first three mornings back I was up for the day at 4am then going to bed at 8-9pm exhausted! Last night I was sound asleep at 9pm after my first day back to work. Tomorrow (Friday) is my day off and it's a long weekend, so I am hoping to get all caught up with sleep!

My plan for the weekend is to do all the yard work (the lawn hasn't been mowed in 5 weeks!) and sort through the pictures and clean my house - which looks like a tornado has gone through it after unpacking. *sigh*

My daughters will be leaving for university at the end of August - not looking forward to that.

Egypt, et al!!

2008-07-28T13:25:41Z

I am home :)

What an amazing experience, and I am glad to be home. Being gone for 28 days is a LONG time.

I don't even know where to start - every country we visited was very different from the other, despite them all being Muslim. Egypt, the country I most wanted to see, was actually my least favourite. It was so chaotic, dirty, noisy, overpopulated and extremely hot - up to 55C in the southern parts like Valley of the Kings and Abu Simbel. The pyramids, sphinx and other historical places were the highlights.

I was pleasantly pleased with Jordan, less populated, less extreme in its treatment of women. The highlights in Jordan included Petra (simply amazing!) and 'swimming' in the Dead Sea - which is 33% salt (sea water is only 4-5%), so you float, it was a bizarre feeling, you could NOT sink!

Syria was so interesting and the place with the most extreme treatment of women. We saw women in just head scarves to TOTAL and complete coverage in black: veils and gloves so you could not see on inch of flesh - it was disturbing. Damascus was my favourite city, such a contrast between the modern and the old. I was surprised at how modern and metropolitan it felt, as well as the old part. Damascus is the OLDEST currently inhabited city in the world, dating back to the ninth milenium!!!!

Turkey, the final country, was the most "European", the most relaxed and the most different from the other three. Women did not wear head scarves and they worked outside the home and they were visible, as in walking on the streets. We saw mostly men in the other countries, very strange.

Getting in and out of Syria was one of the worst parts of the tour - it was completely disorganized, chaotic and scary! We did all border crossing without tour leaders (each country had its own tour leader).

Our tour consisted of 13 people, then only 10 after Egypt. Seven of us were Canadians!! I think I will miss the people in the tour, they were all so great.

We have about 4000 pictures to get through, yes THOUSANDS of them! I bought just a few souveniors, as I had little room in my back pack.

It's nice to be home!