Hurry Up and Wait

It doesn't matter what job I've work at, "Hurry up and wait..." has been a recurring theme.

Rush to meet the deadline of one kind or another, only to stand around waiting for the other shoe to drop - for the last page of the newspaper to arrive, for the cow line to get moving again, for the rush order cabinet door to be made and put through the final process of sanding. And now, we 'rush' to get the deliveries made on time all week while I try to learn the ins and outs of real life trucking, only to find myself twiddling my thumbs on the weekends.

Hela vs the Valkyries needs to be a movie of its own...

You'd think I'd welcome this "free time". I could use it to write or read. Work on either Bigger than the Beetles, the third book in my series, or on a blog post. Even blog ahead if I was smart. Instead, I sit here at my laptop binge watching old episodes of Deep Space 9. Okay, I also watched Ant-Man and the Wasp as well as Thor Ragnarok (the best Thor movie and in the top 5 for the Marvel movies in general in my opinion). Right now I have A Solo Story lined up to watch next, once I'm done cooking. But then I'll go back to Deep Space 9...although the more I watch the Harry Potter movie on the tv, the more I'm tempted to just keep watching that! It's early yet and I won't be going back to work until sometime tomorrow, so maybe I'll manage all of it!

I'm struggling with depression this weekend, with a smattering of anxiety. Some of it stems from the bit of the squabble I had with my trainer shortly before week's end. Some of it stems from being in a strange place all by myself. Granted, I'm in the same nice hotel I was last weekend, so it's not as strange as it was. I managed to go to Walmart today without panicking, and that's always a plus. I have 232 training hours left before I can join my husband and we can bring our dog along, thus reducing my anxiety and depression, and it seems unbearably long at this moment.

missing my girl :(

I did put in a call to the company's Student department, and we're going to see if we can fix the schism between me and my trainer. There was so little communication between she and I on Friday, that I don't know whether it can be fixed. It all boils down to poor communication in the first place. We shall see.

Just one more hiccup in this journey we call life. I know that I'll get through this and come out for the better. No doubt I'll use it for the characters in my stories. I just need to get through the worse part of this momentary bout the blues before I can channel it into their angst. I hate this part of my depression - I can never write when I'm in this certain spot. Pisses me off because writing makes me happy. I've never understood this quirk.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day, whether you're celebrating Easter or Passover or neither.

A Few of my Favorite Women in Film

This is where it can get tough.

My last post was about my favorite women in books.  I only wrote about two for times sake.  Lord knows I could go on about this woman or that woman (Jo March, Ayla, Kivrin to name just a few more.)  Today's post is about women in film.

Do not get in her way!

I suppose I could go for the obvious.  Like Black Widow in The Avengers.  LOVE her.  Even tied to a chair, she is in complete control of her situation.  She doesn't have superpowers, she's just an ordinary (enough) woman with highly specialized skills.  She's confident in her ability to handle whatever situation she's in, except maybe when fellow Avenger Bruce Banner transformed into the Hulk; she was a bit unnerved then.  Her character hints at a tragic past in the movie, which from what I've read on the sequel for the movie, we'll see more of.  It's always interesting to see what events helped create these strong women.

Often times, they have no other choice but to be strong.  Life is hard, no matter who you are.

Ready to kick some zombie butt...

Another good example of this is Alice from the Resident Evil movies.  There is no way to take these movies seriously, but that doesn't diminish the character of Alice.  Dealing with amnesia at the beginning of the first movie, Alice handles things with far more spunk than I would.  As the movie progresses and she discovers her own set of highly specialized skills, she gets over her shock and quickly dispatches whichever set of zombies is plaguing her.   I hated that the movie turned dogs into zombies...it's disturbing, but this virus doesn't discriminate between species.  Alice was one of the few rare individuals able to adapt to the virus.  Alice was even able to defeat the Umbrella Corporation's attempt at mind control.

Another female character I like, isn't exactly one of the 'good guys'.  Isn't that how it goes sometimes?

Mirror, Mirror on the wall...

Charlize Theron's portrayal of Ravenna, the evil Queen from Snow White and the Huntsman is riveting (at least in my opinion). In this version of the fairy tale, Ravenna's mother cast a spell over her so that the girl would remain young and beautiful. Because that's the only way that a woman has value and power, right?  Ravenna fell prey to this lie, and magically sucked the youth and beauty from younger woman.  Her obsession to remain youthful and beautiful (and therefore powerful) drove her to cruelty and murder. Personally I felt her character had more depth than that of Snow White.  She walks with confidence, with her head held high, knowing that none can outshine her.  Even though her insecurity is that someone will come along someday and do exactly that.  This particular Queen had nothing to fear in this movie, but of course that's not how the story 'had' to go.  I was quite disappointed that the movie ended with her death.

Of course, these are all fantasy/sci-fi flicks and the scenario's aren't always realistic.  It's no surprise as my taste tends to lean towards that genre.  But I don't think that takes anything away from these complex women and their roles.

I do have other favorites.

Keeping Frank Moses on his toes...

One is Sarah Ross in the movie Red.  It's possible that an everyday customer service agent could end up kidnapped and fall into all sorts of adventures with a retired spy, right?  Especially one who fantasizes about that very thing happening because her real life is, well, boring.  After the initial shock and fear wear off, Sarah adapts to the excitement.  Even though her kidnapper didn't live up to her imaginary expectation of him (she thought he'd have hair) and their first meeting wasn't exactly a stellar first date (she's had worse) she does fall in love with him.  That doesn't take away anything from her independence or adventurous spirit though, because in the second movie she is frustrating her love interest (Frank Moses) with those very things.

Holding her ground...

Another favorite comes from the same movie.  Helen Mirren's ex-spy Victoria kicks some serious tail.  She is as calm and collected firing a machine gun as she is doing a flower arrangement.  To keep her retirement from becoming stale, she takes the 'occasional odd job'...after all, one can only do so many slower arrangements. She's not one bit phased that another ex-spy shows up at her home needing to be stitched up.  Although that's a bit of a stereotype, they make up for it by having the characters originally afraid to got to her for fear of being shot.  We learn that back when she was as spy, her loyalty was questioned because of her love affair with a Russian spy.  To prove her loyalty, she had to kill him.  She shot him three times in the chest, and we later learn that he did survive.  She is gutsy, efficient with her firearms, and at ease with her male counterparts.  Even though she has to drop back from the action because of a gunshot wound, she doesn't just curl up in a corner.  Yes, her Russian spy meets her at a locked gate and rescues her...but hearing Helen Mirren called bunny in Russian is well worth it in my opinion.

Sadly with the exception of Alice, the women I've listed are all side characters.  There is a rumor that Scarlet Johansson's Black Widow will be getting her own solo movie.   That would be pretty cool, even if she is dressed in her skintight black leather.  Whether this is an accurate representation of women in film, I can't even begin to say.

Do you have a favorite movie character you'd like to share?


2014 ~ year of changes

A Sad Day for Us All

"Oh, there you are Peter!"

This is a sad day for us all, and like with Paul Walker's untimely death, I keep hoping to hear the news that the report of Robin Williams' death is nothing more than a hoax.

Shock was my first reaction. I have one friend, who is always at the top of my newsfeed when I go on my mobile Facebook app and like with Paul Walker's death, it was through my friend's top post that I learned of Robin's demise.

I was running late today with regarding my blog post, planning on finishing it and posting it once my dishes were done. However, during one of my last breaks (I can only stand so long) I happened to check Facebook and my entire world came to a screeching halt. No, I didn't know him personally...I didn't even like all his stuff...but he was an actor I loved. My favorite movies of his were Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Hook.

So, instead of going ahead with my original plan, I'm changing it. I'm posting this short piece, sharing this video from Dead Poets Society.


 

As well as sharing Walt Whitman's poem behind the Oh Captain My Captain quote. Very fitting I think, no matter who the original poem was meant for.

O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:

But O heart! heart! heart!

O the bleeding drops of red,

Where on the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! My Captain! rise up and hear the bells;Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Here captain! dear father!

This arm beneath your head;

It is some dream that on the deck,

You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;

Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!

But I, with mournful tread,

Walk the deck my captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

12 Hour Shifts and Late Night Movies

My husband has been enjoying his new job, as much as anyone can enjoy a job that is repetitive and mundane.  It pays decent enough for our area, and they've been working a lot of hours.  He was supposed to work last evening (he works second shift, 3-11:30) but something broke and they were released after just over 2 hours into their shift).  So we did what any other couple would have done and made it into Movie Night!

First, we watched Escape Plan with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger - and a lot of other actors I knew that I knew but couldn't put a name to until I looked the movie up so I could spell Arnold's last name (which you notice I didn't try spelling again even with it directly above lol)  People like Jim Caviezal, Sam Niell and Faran Tahir...at least with the last two I was able to connect them with the movies I recognized them from, with Caviezal's character I kept thinking "Gosh, he sounds familiar."

I have to say I loved the movie.  It was funny.  My favorite line was when Stallone's character punched Arnold's and Arnold came back with, "You hit like a vegetarian."  I'm guessing that was said in an effort not to say, "You hit like a girl."  It was a good call, although I'm sure there are a lot of vegetarians out there going, "Oh yeah!?!?!?!"  (Us girls will take any improvement in how we are regarded - but that's for another post.  Especially since both movies we watched were male dominated.)

The second movie we watched was just "ok" so I won't even name it.  It was a deep movie that could have been better had they picked up the pace and moved things along quicker.  A lot quicker.

Anyways, by the time the movies were finished, it was 1:30am going on 2.  No big deal until Hubby says, "Oh, I forgot...we're working 12 hours shifts this week."  Say what?  His work gives their workers the choice of working 4 hours before their normal start time OR 4 hours later than normal.  My husband doesn't like working that late anymore (we both used to do it all the time) so he goes in at 11am.  Which means we have to be up at least by 9am, giving ourselves at best 7 hours of sleep.  Not the end of the world, but it was still not a pleasant surprise!

I still go to physical therapy three times a week, Mon-Wed-Fri if I can get it.  And I like to schedule them about 11-11:30 which gives us enough time for sleeping and getting him to work at 3.  So today I drove him in and went to therapy, and get to go back and get him later.  I am feeling that 'not enough sleep' feeling right now!!  I did reschedule the therapy for Friday, as the friend I get a ride from will be away that day.  As well as two other doctor appointments I had scheduled.  Ugh.  Given how his schedule can change, no doubt they aren't secure where they're at, but it'll have to do for now.

It tasted as good as it looked...

Friday I will also get to have a late lunch with my mom, which will be fitting since my birthday is on Thursday.  I think she just wants to go to Moose's Munchies, that's where I'm picking a cake up on Friday.  Moose's Munchies is a family owned and operated bakery/diner in Troy, PA and I love them - and not just because we're related.  The food is excellent, the staff friendly.

And I loved Lindsey's cake she made for Hubby and I last year.  I gave real thought about freezing the top layer and saving it for the first year anniversary.  But I decided to "cheat" and have a replica made because:

• I didn't want to bother with what the internet said was the right way to protect the cake from freezer burn.
• At the time I didn't have the extra freezer space to keep it that long.
• And I'm not really that big in keeping all the traditions anyway.  I have nothing against traditions, but if I don't want to keep it, I'm not going to.  I get to pick and chose which traditions I keep or don't keep right?  I haven't been struck by lightning yet!

I don't know how much time I'll get to spend with my hubby that day; it will depend on whether or not he has to work Sunday again.  But we take whatever moments we can get.  Right now, we take each moment that we get because I will eventually be going back to work - as soon as my foot heals like it is supposed to - and after that, well he and I have worked opposite shifts before and survived, but I don't think we'll get to see each other until the weekends unless my department finishes early and I get to come home before he leaves for work.  I see the doctor on Monday now, and will know more then about any further treatment options. So we live pretty much moment by moment right now, and go with how things are flowing.

What good movies have you all watched recently?  I know that might sound like an odd question for a writer and lover of reading and books, but I also love movies because that is how I see the stories in my head.  Of course, I am privy to all the other information I write, but it still has that movie flow to it.

2014 ~ One year later than last year...