Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 78
May 17, 2018
Backyard Makeover
It wasn't my plan to do anything with the backyard of my new house. Sure, only 2/3rds of the yard was sodded and the rest was dirt, but I could live with that and landscaping is hugely expensive. But it didn't take long before it became clear that I didn't have a choice. Every time it rained, the erosion was horrifying. All that soil being carried from my yard into my neighbor's yard.
The erosion was so bad that the poor trees already had their roots partially exposed and all I could think about was how vulnerable that made them. A good strong wind and one or more could fall--probably onto the house since some of the trees were tall. We called the landscaper.
The cost was as horrifying as I'd feared.
Watching the dirt leave my yard after another rain storm made it clear there was no choice. First, the trees that were in bad shape needed to be removed. This caused me pain and not only because of the cost. I love trees. They're beautiful, they give oxygen, they provide shade. But the landscaper said that they were in bad enough condition that they'd probably come down on their own at some point. I didn't want them coming down on the house and so they had to go.
I don't have a picture of the backyard from the fall, but here's a picture I took when it snowed here last winter. You can see there were a lot of trees back there.
After the trees were gone, the yard looked sad and stark with that bare dirt just sitting there. But it was too cold to put down sod so we had to wait for it to warm up. The tree guy also broke one of the light posts in the yard and had to order a replacement. You can see the gap. This was our view while we waited.
In the meantime, more rain, more erosion. At last, it warmed up enough for work to commence! Hurrah! It took a week longer than anticipated because it kept raining. On day 1, they extended the irrigation system into the dirt area. Day 2, sod was put down and those guys worked late! Day 3 was much shorter. They put down pine straw around the four remaining trees.
I hate pine straw. It looks cheap and ugly beyond belief. It's not anything I've ever seen in Minnesota and I didn't want it in my yard now, but it's about the cheapest thing there is. I'm saving up for bushes and hope to get those installed next year because yuck! Pine straw!
But the yard turned out super nice. Here's a couple of shots of what the yard looked like as the landscaping team pulled out of my driveway. No more erosion!
The erosion was so bad that the poor trees already had their roots partially exposed and all I could think about was how vulnerable that made them. A good strong wind and one or more could fall--probably onto the house since some of the trees were tall. We called the landscaper.
The cost was as horrifying as I'd feared.
Watching the dirt leave my yard after another rain storm made it clear there was no choice. First, the trees that were in bad shape needed to be removed. This caused me pain and not only because of the cost. I love trees. They're beautiful, they give oxygen, they provide shade. But the landscaper said that they were in bad enough condition that they'd probably come down on their own at some point. I didn't want them coming down on the house and so they had to go.
I don't have a picture of the backyard from the fall, but here's a picture I took when it snowed here last winter. You can see there were a lot of trees back there.
After the trees were gone, the yard looked sad and stark with that bare dirt just sitting there. But it was too cold to put down sod so we had to wait for it to warm up. The tree guy also broke one of the light posts in the yard and had to order a replacement. You can see the gap. This was our view while we waited.
In the meantime, more rain, more erosion. At last, it warmed up enough for work to commence! Hurrah! It took a week longer than anticipated because it kept raining. On day 1, they extended the irrigation system into the dirt area. Day 2, sod was put down and those guys worked late! Day 3 was much shorter. They put down pine straw around the four remaining trees.I hate pine straw. It looks cheap and ugly beyond belief. It's not anything I've ever seen in Minnesota and I didn't want it in my yard now, but it's about the cheapest thing there is. I'm saving up for bushes and hope to get those installed next year because yuck! Pine straw!
But the yard turned out super nice. Here's a couple of shots of what the yard looked like as the landscaping team pulled out of my driveway. No more erosion!
May 15, 2018
Full Tilt
I have a compulsive personality. When I enjoy something, I'm all in. It's why I own thousands of books and why my To Be Read pile numbered over 1500 before I moved from Minneapolis and donated a ton of books. No exaggeration; I literally donated over 2900 books to my local library.
This is why I have a ridiculous amount of scrapbook paper, enough to create about 50 scrapbooks, even though I haven't done this craft in years. Part of it was because I didn't like taking all my stuff out and putting it back away again, but even after I moved to a place where I didn't have to put anything back, I didn't get back into it. The paper actually hit on two of my areas--number one was the scrapbooking hobby and number two was my love of office supplies.
So I'm sure it's no surprise that I threw myself headlong into my latest hobbies--crochet and knitting--the same way.
I started with crochet because knitting seemed too hard. After all, I'd have to manipulate two sticks instead of just one. I enjoyed it and bought a ton of yarn. I didn't know yet that this was called a stash, but I collected one with gusto anyway. So pretty, must buy more!
And I started to purchase a ton of patterns for sweaters and such that I would make some day, once I was better at what I was doing. The thing was, though, that as I browsed crochet patterns, I'd stumble across knitted items that were just so adorable! And I thought well, why not learn to knit? Then I can make clothes and such no matter if they're crocheted or knitted. Win!
I took a knitting class. I started accumulating needles and patterns and yes, more online knitting classes even though I hadn't finished all the crochet classes I'd already purchased. And ooh, look, this designer is having a pattern sale. And wow! It's a Knit-A-Long (KAL)! The only thing that tempts me more than a Knit-A-Long is a Mystery Knit-A-Long. I don't know what I'm making? Let me buy that pattern right now. Never mind that I can't keep up the pace with more experienced knitters. I want in!
I'm trying to overcome this behavior. I managed to go a good four months or so without buying any new yarn, but the patterns were more difficult, especially when they went on sale. Sale might be the magic word for me, and if it's a Mystery Knit-A-Long pattern that's on sale just for one week? I'm there and trying so hard not to be.
And yes, I recently caved in and bought yarn for a KAL and then made a huge error that was impossible to recover from and didn't have enough yarn to start again, so I had to visit the Local Yarn Store (LYS). While I was waiting for the lady to help the woman in front of me--and it was taking forever--I found more yarn. Yarn I didn't need. But it was pretty! Curbing my compulsive buying habit is clearly a work in progress.
This is why I have a ridiculous amount of scrapbook paper, enough to create about 50 scrapbooks, even though I haven't done this craft in years. Part of it was because I didn't like taking all my stuff out and putting it back away again, but even after I moved to a place where I didn't have to put anything back, I didn't get back into it. The paper actually hit on two of my areas--number one was the scrapbooking hobby and number two was my love of office supplies.
So I'm sure it's no surprise that I threw myself headlong into my latest hobbies--crochet and knitting--the same way.
I started with crochet because knitting seemed too hard. After all, I'd have to manipulate two sticks instead of just one. I enjoyed it and bought a ton of yarn. I didn't know yet that this was called a stash, but I collected one with gusto anyway. So pretty, must buy more!
And I started to purchase a ton of patterns for sweaters and such that I would make some day, once I was better at what I was doing. The thing was, though, that as I browsed crochet patterns, I'd stumble across knitted items that were just so adorable! And I thought well, why not learn to knit? Then I can make clothes and such no matter if they're crocheted or knitted. Win!
I took a knitting class. I started accumulating needles and patterns and yes, more online knitting classes even though I hadn't finished all the crochet classes I'd already purchased. And ooh, look, this designer is having a pattern sale. And wow! It's a Knit-A-Long (KAL)! The only thing that tempts me more than a Knit-A-Long is a Mystery Knit-A-Long. I don't know what I'm making? Let me buy that pattern right now. Never mind that I can't keep up the pace with more experienced knitters. I want in!
I'm trying to overcome this behavior. I managed to go a good four months or so without buying any new yarn, but the patterns were more difficult, especially when they went on sale. Sale might be the magic word for me, and if it's a Mystery Knit-A-Long pattern that's on sale just for one week? I'm there and trying so hard not to be.
And yes, I recently caved in and bought yarn for a KAL and then made a huge error that was impossible to recover from and didn't have enough yarn to start again, so I had to visit the Local Yarn Store (LYS). While I was waiting for the lady to help the woman in front of me--and it was taking forever--I found more yarn. Yarn I didn't need. But it was pretty! Curbing my compulsive buying habit is clearly a work in progress.
May 10, 2018
Namaste
While I'm talking about physical efforts (referring to my post about the 5K race that I posted on Tuesday), let's discuss yoga.
So the day before the race, I went to yoga class in the morning at my gym. It nearly killed me. It was my first yoga experience ever and the teacher took us right into stuff she called "advanced." I don't know if it really was or if she was just trying to make the class feel better, but for a novice, it was difficult.
I had no plans to go back to yoga, but I'm part of a challenge at the gym that needed us to go to one class to earn points. I narrowed it down to yoga or boxing. Yes, boxing.
Ultimately, I decided on yoga. I liked the way this class was taught more than the morning class I attended, but the end result was the same. Muscles I didn't know I had are stiff and sore and I'm walking like a zombie.
Yoga is hard! I knew it would be challenging, but I didn't realize I'd be dealing with all kinds of soreness for days afterward.
I was swearing off yoga again when one of the guys I work with said that if I keep going, it'll get easier. Well, yeah. If I can still walk. But it is tempting to keep going. It would only be once a week and it would give me the chance to become more flexible.
Is Tai Chi easier? Or at least less painful? Not that it really matters since my gym doesn't offer it, but I've heard Tai Chi is good for balance and flexibility, too.
So the day before the race, I went to yoga class in the morning at my gym. It nearly killed me. It was my first yoga experience ever and the teacher took us right into stuff she called "advanced." I don't know if it really was or if she was just trying to make the class feel better, but for a novice, it was difficult.
I had no plans to go back to yoga, but I'm part of a challenge at the gym that needed us to go to one class to earn points. I narrowed it down to yoga or boxing. Yes, boxing.
Ultimately, I decided on yoga. I liked the way this class was taught more than the morning class I attended, but the end result was the same. Muscles I didn't know I had are stiff and sore and I'm walking like a zombie.
Yoga is hard! I knew it would be challenging, but I didn't realize I'd be dealing with all kinds of soreness for days afterward.
I was swearing off yoga again when one of the guys I work with said that if I keep going, it'll get easier. Well, yeah. If I can still walk. But it is tempting to keep going. It would only be once a week and it would give me the chance to become more flexible.
Is Tai Chi easier? Or at least less painful? Not that it really matters since my gym doesn't offer it, but I've heard Tai Chi is good for balance and flexibility, too.
May 8, 2018
Chin Up, Diva
I had a goal for myself: Finish a 5K in March. I started training in January and discovered that mostly using the elliptical for months on end when I went to the gym had taken a toll on my stamina and my speed. I'd been a very fast walker before I'd gone full elliptical, but I wasn't fast any longer. It taught me a valuable lesson--always cross train and don't simply do one thing every day.
The trainer at the gym gave me an action plan and I followed it as best I could. If it was raining and it was the weekend (my gym is in my work location), I walked circles through my kitchen. But I kept to my training schedule and intervals.
I'd done a virtual 5K before, back in 2016 when I was walking every day and still fast. It was also completed on a treadmill and not outdoors. On the day of the race, I discovered doing a live 5K is very different from the virtual kind.
So race day dawns and it's cold. Like 32 degrees cold. I'd originally planned to wear long sleeves, but had read online to wear clothes you're used to working out in, which meant my gym T-shirt. Short sleeves. Even with my jacket on, I was freezing as I waited for the race to start. Then, finally, we were off!
This was interesting. Adrenaline kicked in and had me walking (yes, I was going to walk the 5K, not run it) faster than my usual pace. About the time I realized that I was going too fast and this was going to kill my pace on the back half, my app told me I'd completed one mile. Wow, I thought, that didn't feel like a mile. Maybe I could maintain a pace like this for the entire race. My app announced the halfway mark, then it announced mile two. Cool! This was going to be a personal best.
And then I saw the sign on the road. 1 Mile.
Confusion reared up. Did that mean 1 mile to go? Because my app said a little ways back that I'd passed two miles and a 5K is 3.1 miles, so it could be distance left. Except that didn't make sense. Why would they mark that? Plus I'd seen the race map and I didn't feel as if I was far enough through the route.
I had a sinking sensation that I was only 1 mile into the race and that meant my pace had been way too fast for me and I was going to pay on the back side of the course.
The second mile was okay, but I was sucking up reserves fast. Shortly after that was the water station and then the tiaras and boas were handed out a little after that. I draped my boa around my neck, held on to my tiara with one hand and my water cup with the other, and continued on.
I started flagging in the third mile and I knew this was going to happen. I had to dig deep to continue on, but my goal was to finish this race.
I'll be honest. I thought about quitting a couple of times. I was exhausted and that last half mile was walked on sheer determination, not any energy I had left in my body. I thought about my goal, I thought about my trainer at the gym and how disappointed she'd be if I didn't finish, I thought about being a Capricorn and how we're stubborn and determined, and I continued walking.
Toward the end of the course, I started passing ladies who'd already finished and were on their way to their cars. They encouraged me to keep going. The auxiliary police officer stopped traffic encouraged me. The volunteers standing along the route in the cold cheering everyone on, even us slow people, encouraged me. And then there was the finish line. Up a hill.
Yes, I had to finish the race on an incline and I'd even run out of fumes at this point. But seeing that line and knowing I was that close kept me moving. I finished!
At the finish line was champagne. There was bananas and cookies, which I skipped, and bottled water, which I accepted. And there was the medal I'd worked so hard to achieve. I clutched the bag in my hand, but didn't open it and put it on. I was too tired for that. All I wanted to do was find my dad, get on the shuttle back to the car, and go home.
I barely made it through the rest of the errands for the day--grocery shopping, gassing up the car, etc--and I didn't do things I normally do on a Saturday like wash clothes. Instead, I took a three-hour nap, drank 11 cups of water (I normally struggle to drink 6), and moaned and groaned while I sat on the couch.
My legs were exhausted all day on Saturday, and while they felt better on Sunday, I still felt drained. At least all the sleep I got re-energized my brain, which was also flagging. The funny thing is that I think I want to do this again next year.
Here's a picture of all my bling:
The trainer at the gym gave me an action plan and I followed it as best I could. If it was raining and it was the weekend (my gym is in my work location), I walked circles through my kitchen. But I kept to my training schedule and intervals.
I'd done a virtual 5K before, back in 2016 when I was walking every day and still fast. It was also completed on a treadmill and not outdoors. On the day of the race, I discovered doing a live 5K is very different from the virtual kind.
So race day dawns and it's cold. Like 32 degrees cold. I'd originally planned to wear long sleeves, but had read online to wear clothes you're used to working out in, which meant my gym T-shirt. Short sleeves. Even with my jacket on, I was freezing as I waited for the race to start. Then, finally, we were off!
This was interesting. Adrenaline kicked in and had me walking (yes, I was going to walk the 5K, not run it) faster than my usual pace. About the time I realized that I was going too fast and this was going to kill my pace on the back half, my app told me I'd completed one mile. Wow, I thought, that didn't feel like a mile. Maybe I could maintain a pace like this for the entire race. My app announced the halfway mark, then it announced mile two. Cool! This was going to be a personal best.
And then I saw the sign on the road. 1 Mile.
Confusion reared up. Did that mean 1 mile to go? Because my app said a little ways back that I'd passed two miles and a 5K is 3.1 miles, so it could be distance left. Except that didn't make sense. Why would they mark that? Plus I'd seen the race map and I didn't feel as if I was far enough through the route.
I had a sinking sensation that I was only 1 mile into the race and that meant my pace had been way too fast for me and I was going to pay on the back side of the course.
The second mile was okay, but I was sucking up reserves fast. Shortly after that was the water station and then the tiaras and boas were handed out a little after that. I draped my boa around my neck, held on to my tiara with one hand and my water cup with the other, and continued on.
I started flagging in the third mile and I knew this was going to happen. I had to dig deep to continue on, but my goal was to finish this race.
I'll be honest. I thought about quitting a couple of times. I was exhausted and that last half mile was walked on sheer determination, not any energy I had left in my body. I thought about my goal, I thought about my trainer at the gym and how disappointed she'd be if I didn't finish, I thought about being a Capricorn and how we're stubborn and determined, and I continued walking.
Toward the end of the course, I started passing ladies who'd already finished and were on their way to their cars. They encouraged me to keep going. The auxiliary police officer stopped traffic encouraged me. The volunteers standing along the route in the cold cheering everyone on, even us slow people, encouraged me. And then there was the finish line. Up a hill.
Yes, I had to finish the race on an incline and I'd even run out of fumes at this point. But seeing that line and knowing I was that close kept me moving. I finished!
At the finish line was champagne. There was bananas and cookies, which I skipped, and bottled water, which I accepted. And there was the medal I'd worked so hard to achieve. I clutched the bag in my hand, but didn't open it and put it on. I was too tired for that. All I wanted to do was find my dad, get on the shuttle back to the car, and go home.
I barely made it through the rest of the errands for the day--grocery shopping, gassing up the car, etc--and I didn't do things I normally do on a Saturday like wash clothes. Instead, I took a three-hour nap, drank 11 cups of water (I normally struggle to drink 6), and moaned and groaned while I sat on the couch.
My legs were exhausted all day on Saturday, and while they felt better on Sunday, I still felt drained. At least all the sleep I got re-energized my brain, which was also flagging. The funny thing is that I think I want to do this again next year.
Here's a picture of all my bling:
May 3, 2018
Commuting Time
I blogged a while ago about getting music setup to listen to on my daily commute. (I still miss my van pool!) Well, that was okay, but I was getting tired of the music. I know! After all the trouble I went to in order to get a wide variety of music, it sure didn't take long to get tired of it.
I started out with podcasts, but it didn't take long to run out of episodes and then it dawned on me. I have audio books on my phone, too.
This is actually working out really well--so far at least. I have a ton of audio books I want to listen to, but I've been so busy listening to podcasts that I just never get around to it. My first book was about the plague in medieval Europe which is an endlessly fascinating topic for me. Most of the titles in my library are nonfiction.
There are a couple of drawbacks. I can't connect my iPhone into the stereo system the way I could with my iPod. I did a search online and it can't be done per multiple websites and bulletin boards. This wouldn't be all bad if I could hook in via Bluetooth, but while I can make phone calls that way, I haven't figured out how to do that with audio books/music/podcasts etc. Issue one then, would be sound quality because I literally have my phone in my cup holder to get enough volume to hear it and even then (if traffic is loud), I sometimes have trouble.
Issue 2 is (of course!) getting so involved with what I'm listening to that I end up sitting in my garage to hear more. I have a lot of books that I haven't listened to, so I don't have to worry about running out of material!
We'll see how long this lasts, but if worse comes to worse, I can always switch back to music or podcasts.
I started out with podcasts, but it didn't take long to run out of episodes and then it dawned on me. I have audio books on my phone, too.
This is actually working out really well--so far at least. I have a ton of audio books I want to listen to, but I've been so busy listening to podcasts that I just never get around to it. My first book was about the plague in medieval Europe which is an endlessly fascinating topic for me. Most of the titles in my library are nonfiction.
There are a couple of drawbacks. I can't connect my iPhone into the stereo system the way I could with my iPod. I did a search online and it can't be done per multiple websites and bulletin boards. This wouldn't be all bad if I could hook in via Bluetooth, but while I can make phone calls that way, I haven't figured out how to do that with audio books/music/podcasts etc. Issue one then, would be sound quality because I literally have my phone in my cup holder to get enough volume to hear it and even then (if traffic is loud), I sometimes have trouble.
Issue 2 is (of course!) getting so involved with what I'm listening to that I end up sitting in my garage to hear more. I have a lot of books that I haven't listened to, so I don't have to worry about running out of material!
We'll see how long this lasts, but if worse comes to worse, I can always switch back to music or podcasts.
May 1, 2018
Review: Wonder Woman
***I received no compensation of any kind from anyone for this post.***
I'd been hearing a lot of great things about Wonder Woman since it first came out and I was excited to see I'd have a chance to watch it during the free HBO/Cinemax weekend my provider had recently.
***WARNING: There might be spoilers ahead. Read at your own discretion.***
Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot in the title role, was released in 2017. It opens with Diana as a child on her home island, yearning to be trained as a warrior. She is older and in this training when pilot, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashes near her island and she rescues him from drowning. She was told the legend of her people over and over as a child, and so when she learns of World War I from Trevor, she believes Ares, God of War, is instigating the conflict. She decides she must go to the world of men and kill Ares to save mankind.
I found the beginning slow because of all the time we spent with little Diana. That being said, the movie wouldn't have worked without it because Diana's actions, beliefs, and decisions throughout the film would be incomprehensible without the backstory. Still, it was a relief when Steve Trevor's plane crashed near the island and things finally got moving.
One of the comments I heard several times from women talking about this movie is how it made a huge difference to them to see a female superhero portrayed as a male superhero would be portrayed and I even heard the comment that they were moved to tears by it. I waited for some kind of reaction like this and never had it. I did definitely appreciate that Diana was portrayed as a strong action heroine and I liked that she led the way and saved the men. I also liked that the men didn't do anything stupid to save her from herself, but at no point was I moved emotionally by the female superhero representation.
A couple of points I'll make here: Number one, I am not a fan of historical stuff in general and WWI is not my bag at all. I would have far preferred a contemporary-set story. Number two, I've never been a fan of superhero movies in general, although I have enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy. Both these things undoubtedly color my thoughts.
Once the story got moving and Steve and Diana are on the mission to stop the nerve gas, the movie was taut and exciting. So exciting that I made a mistake in my knitting and now have to go back and unknit a few rows to fix it.
I liked how Diana's naiveté was because she'd been isolated from the world--that seemed realistic--and that Steve helped her navigate the human world until she got the lay of the land. I also liked that she caught on quickly. There's a moment of disillusionment toward the end that also seemed very real given the stories she was raised with and I liked how the writers got her to realize that while humans were flawed even without Ares interference, they were worth saving.
The characters seemed well fleshed out, even some of the minor characters, and the performances by Gadot and Pine were believable and I liked both of them in their roles. Even the secondary characters seemed strong and important to the film as more than sidekick or team member or evil general.
Overall, I can give the movie a strong recommendation. I liked it, but perhaps because of all the chatter I heard before I'd seen it, I'd expected to love it. Still, I'd give it a thumbs up and say watch it.
I'd been hearing a lot of great things about Wonder Woman since it first came out and I was excited to see I'd have a chance to watch it during the free HBO/Cinemax weekend my provider had recently.
***WARNING: There might be spoilers ahead. Read at your own discretion.***
Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot in the title role, was released in 2017. It opens with Diana as a child on her home island, yearning to be trained as a warrior. She is older and in this training when pilot, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashes near her island and she rescues him from drowning. She was told the legend of her people over and over as a child, and so when she learns of World War I from Trevor, she believes Ares, God of War, is instigating the conflict. She decides she must go to the world of men and kill Ares to save mankind.
I found the beginning slow because of all the time we spent with little Diana. That being said, the movie wouldn't have worked without it because Diana's actions, beliefs, and decisions throughout the film would be incomprehensible without the backstory. Still, it was a relief when Steve Trevor's plane crashed near the island and things finally got moving.
One of the comments I heard several times from women talking about this movie is how it made a huge difference to them to see a female superhero portrayed as a male superhero would be portrayed and I even heard the comment that they were moved to tears by it. I waited for some kind of reaction like this and never had it. I did definitely appreciate that Diana was portrayed as a strong action heroine and I liked that she led the way and saved the men. I also liked that the men didn't do anything stupid to save her from herself, but at no point was I moved emotionally by the female superhero representation.
A couple of points I'll make here: Number one, I am not a fan of historical stuff in general and WWI is not my bag at all. I would have far preferred a contemporary-set story. Number two, I've never been a fan of superhero movies in general, although I have enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy. Both these things undoubtedly color my thoughts.
Once the story got moving and Steve and Diana are on the mission to stop the nerve gas, the movie was taut and exciting. So exciting that I made a mistake in my knitting and now have to go back and unknit a few rows to fix it.
I liked how Diana's naiveté was because she'd been isolated from the world--that seemed realistic--and that Steve helped her navigate the human world until she got the lay of the land. I also liked that she caught on quickly. There's a moment of disillusionment toward the end that also seemed very real given the stories she was raised with and I liked how the writers got her to realize that while humans were flawed even without Ares interference, they were worth saving.
The characters seemed well fleshed out, even some of the minor characters, and the performances by Gadot and Pine were believable and I liked both of them in their roles. Even the secondary characters seemed strong and important to the film as more than sidekick or team member or evil general.
Overall, I can give the movie a strong recommendation. I liked it, but perhaps because of all the chatter I heard before I'd seen it, I'd expected to love it. Still, I'd give it a thumbs up and say watch it.
April 26, 2018
Review: Sully
***Watched during free HBO/Cinemax weekend. Received no compensation of any kind.***
Kind of a PITA to have to put this when I just want to talk about a movie I got to watch for free during a promotional weekend, but here we are. Sigh.
***WARNING: Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.***
Anyway, for those of you who are unaware, Sully is a movie starring Tom Hanks which focuses on the Miracle on the Hudson--the US Air flight that hit birds which took out both engines and made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in NYC. In January. The movie covers the landing and some of the NTSB investigation surrounding the incident.
The movie doesn't follow a linear timeline which leaves it feeling rather disjointed. The time hops were done well, I thought because I was able to keep up with where we were very easily and my dad didn't ask me any questions about what was happening. He was watching it with me and doesn't hesitate to ask me to explain anything that he has the slightest question about. Believe me, he wasn't shy about asking other questions during the movie and I even had to search online to come up with the date of the incident. (January 2009)
That said, I became frustrated with all the hopping--and we go back and forth continually--because I'd be interested in what was going on and then boom! Back to the future. I do understand exactly why the writer(s) chose to do it this way. The landing on the river is the big event and everyone knows the outcome, so there's very little suspense done in a traditional way.
The other interesting choice was to make the NTSB lead investigator an accusatory jerk, out to prove Sullenberger and the copilot could have landed at an airport and not endangered the passengers. Of course, I have no way to know if this really happened or not, but I don't remember a lot in the press about how simulations proved they could have made an airport. My recollection of the event is that they proved within a day or two that the flight crew had no other options, but my memory could be off.
Overall, I liked the movie. I didn't love it. It's short, and even with the writer's attempt to create suspense, it was minimal. The writer also gave us like two minutes with the passengers before/as they're boarding the plane and then trying to wring some emotional drama from that, but we just didn't know enough about these people to care about them as individuals.
I'd recommend it if you can stream it for free, but can't recommend paying to see it. That said if you're interested in film writing and want to see how to clearly handle a non-standard timeline, this is a good example.
Kind of a PITA to have to put this when I just want to talk about a movie I got to watch for free during a promotional weekend, but here we are. Sigh.
***WARNING: Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.***
Anyway, for those of you who are unaware, Sully is a movie starring Tom Hanks which focuses on the Miracle on the Hudson--the US Air flight that hit birds which took out both engines and made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in NYC. In January. The movie covers the landing and some of the NTSB investigation surrounding the incident.
The movie doesn't follow a linear timeline which leaves it feeling rather disjointed. The time hops were done well, I thought because I was able to keep up with where we were very easily and my dad didn't ask me any questions about what was happening. He was watching it with me and doesn't hesitate to ask me to explain anything that he has the slightest question about. Believe me, he wasn't shy about asking other questions during the movie and I even had to search online to come up with the date of the incident. (January 2009)
That said, I became frustrated with all the hopping--and we go back and forth continually--because I'd be interested in what was going on and then boom! Back to the future. I do understand exactly why the writer(s) chose to do it this way. The landing on the river is the big event and everyone knows the outcome, so there's very little suspense done in a traditional way.
The other interesting choice was to make the NTSB lead investigator an accusatory jerk, out to prove Sullenberger and the copilot could have landed at an airport and not endangered the passengers. Of course, I have no way to know if this really happened or not, but I don't remember a lot in the press about how simulations proved they could have made an airport. My recollection of the event is that they proved within a day or two that the flight crew had no other options, but my memory could be off.
Overall, I liked the movie. I didn't love it. It's short, and even with the writer's attempt to create suspense, it was minimal. The writer also gave us like two minutes with the passengers before/as they're boarding the plane and then trying to wring some emotional drama from that, but we just didn't know enough about these people to care about them as individuals.
I'd recommend it if you can stream it for free, but can't recommend paying to see it. That said if you're interested in film writing and want to see how to clearly handle a non-standard timeline, this is a good example.
April 24, 2018
Office Update
I promised an update on my office as I put it together. I'm actually not quite finished yet, although it's pretty close right now. I've got a universal docking station so I can use either my laptop or my work laptop with my monitors. I have a printer stand designed to hold two laser printers. And I have my awesome desk.
I'm really enjoying this desk. This is the first time I've had a desk that was actually something I could use without getting frustrated. Storage space, space for books--lots of books--and drawers! OMG, I've never had more than an itty bitty drawer before this desk.
There's only one thing I'd do differently--my monitors. They're fine monitors and work well, but because they cover so much real estate and because I'm sitting so close, it's sometimes hard to see what's on the far sides of the screens. When I'd been shopping for my monitors, I'd immediately discarded the idea of buying the curved kind. Now I wish I had. The curve would bring the far sides closer to me and make it easier to see.
The good thing is that I didn't buy the next bigger size monitor. I'd been considering it, but ultimately decided this size would be adequate. It's more than adequate.
Another thing going on here that you can easily see in the picture is that I have no idea what to do with my top shelf. People on Facebook have offered suggestions, but I haven't tried any of them yet. I might simply put more books up there, ones I don't want to get rid of, but rarely need to use.
What I have left on the agenda is to go through the closet and a small cabinet I have and a two drawer filing cabinet and purge what I don't need. The problem is that the two cabinets are loaded with cords and I don't know what they belong to. This means running around, trying to match them up. Gah! I wish I'd been organized enough to label the things.
April 19, 2018
Lazy Night
I think I might have mentioned that I bought new thermostats for my house. The kind with Wi-Fi access so that I can adjust it from my phone. I had a chance to find out how awesome that feature was in late winter/early spring.
It's that weird time of year where you can't be sure if you need the heating or the air conditioning. I went to bed and I can't sleep because I'm sweating. Finally, I had enough and I'm like, I have to put the air on--I can't take it! But I was in bed and I was comfortable and I didn't want to get up to change the temperature.
And then I remembered I had new thermostats!
I reached for my phone and changed it from heat to air. And as the AC came on, I was like whoa! This is awesome!
It's too bad the security is weak on the internet of things right now because I am totally digging all the cool things I can do with the few things I do have. Want to turn the lamps on or off? I don't have to move, I can handle it from my phone. Temperature uncomfortable in the house? Voila! Cell phone and app to the rescue.
The best part was that the thermostats qualified for 50% off from my electric company so I got comfort and convenience for a lot less than retail. Two thumbs up!
It's that weird time of year where you can't be sure if you need the heating or the air conditioning. I went to bed and I can't sleep because I'm sweating. Finally, I had enough and I'm like, I have to put the air on--I can't take it! But I was in bed and I was comfortable and I didn't want to get up to change the temperature.
And then I remembered I had new thermostats!
I reached for my phone and changed it from heat to air. And as the AC came on, I was like whoa! This is awesome!
It's too bad the security is weak on the internet of things right now because I am totally digging all the cool things I can do with the few things I do have. Want to turn the lamps on or off? I don't have to move, I can handle it from my phone. Temperature uncomfortable in the house? Voila! Cell phone and app to the rescue.
The best part was that the thermostats qualified for 50% off from my electric company so I got comfort and convenience for a lot less than retail. Two thumbs up!
April 17, 2018
Dead Files Questions
I mentioned that The Dead Files and The Dead Files Revisited are two of my latest guilty pleasures. A few more things occurred to me and I wanted to talk about those today.
The opening of the show has a line that goes "If it's safe to stay or if you should get out." In most of the episodes I've seen, there are usually steps the people can take to improve/mitigate their situation. However, I have seen a couple of shows now where the medium, Amy Allan, has told them they need to leave. The ghost/demon/skinwalker/evil entity is too dangerous.
This brings to mind several immediate questions. First, didn't these people sense something was wrong with the house/hotel/building before they bought it? I totally believe that we can sense energy.
I worked with a woman back in Minneapolis who was a total non-believer in anything paranormal. While she and her husband were building a house, they needed to rent somewhere to live, and since she had a small child and a big dog and a specific area they wanted to live in, their options were limited. Her husband located a house for rent, and when she took a look at it, she didn't like it.
They kept looking, but couldn't find anything else in their price range that fit all their other requirements and they rented it. The weird stuff started happening before they moved in. (In an aside, the house had been for sale forever and the owners couldn't sell it--that's why it was available for rent.) I won't list all the the things that happened while they were in that house because I can't remember many of them, but it scared this skeptic enough to find a minister to clear the house.
The owner had built the house for his mother and she'd died there. The man lived down the street, and after she had the house cleared, she borrowed a picture of the woman to show to her husband. Her two-year-old son saw it and identified the woman by name even though he had no way of knowing it. But this isn't my point. The point is that this fervent non-believer in ghosts knew something was off with that house when she walked through it so why the heck don't these people on the show sense the presence?
My next question, and this is the big one, okay so the people on the show put the house up for sale and move out. What happens to the next family who buys the home?
Some of these entities make people sick or violent or encourage them to harm themselves. This situation will still exist when the next family moves in. Can they sue the original family for not mentioning the house contains a demon in the disclosure statement?
This really bugs me because while the family who's on the show is leaving (potentially), the entity will still be there unless someone takes care of it. Someone should step up and do something.
Which leads to my next point: If it's safe to stay once some actions are taken, why doesn't the show help them take these actions? I get why Amy doesn't do all the clearing herself. That's very draining work and she might not have some of the skill sets needed. Also, there are times she recommends the medium be male. But sometimes I feel bad for these people trying to locate who she says they need.
I watched an episode from season three recently where she recommended they get a psychologist who is also a medium to counsel the dead. She suggested they check out the university for someone. All I could think is if they went to the psychology department of the university and explained what they needed, this couple would be considered wackos and they'd probably being the ones getting counseling.
This leads me to my final point of the day about the show. Sometimes she has really simple things to do like have a shaman bless the land and the house and the people don't do it! Why did allow the show inside your home if you're not going to fix anything?
The episode that I thought was egregious on this score involved a hotel in Seattle. The owner is talking about how her health has deteriorated and blamed it on the spirits present. She'd even been hospitalized. Employees are scared, and IIRC, some had been physically attacked. What has this woman done after The Dead Files visited? Absolutely nothing. In fact, there was another one of the "ghost shows" that went in there (not sure if it was before or after Dead Files). Sounds to me as if she only wanted the publicity.
BTW, I totally don't care if the show is real or not. I'm enjoying it.
The opening of the show has a line that goes "If it's safe to stay or if you should get out." In most of the episodes I've seen, there are usually steps the people can take to improve/mitigate their situation. However, I have seen a couple of shows now where the medium, Amy Allan, has told them they need to leave. The ghost/demon/skinwalker/evil entity is too dangerous.
This brings to mind several immediate questions. First, didn't these people sense something was wrong with the house/hotel/building before they bought it? I totally believe that we can sense energy.
I worked with a woman back in Minneapolis who was a total non-believer in anything paranormal. While she and her husband were building a house, they needed to rent somewhere to live, and since she had a small child and a big dog and a specific area they wanted to live in, their options were limited. Her husband located a house for rent, and when she took a look at it, she didn't like it.
They kept looking, but couldn't find anything else in their price range that fit all their other requirements and they rented it. The weird stuff started happening before they moved in. (In an aside, the house had been for sale forever and the owners couldn't sell it--that's why it was available for rent.) I won't list all the the things that happened while they were in that house because I can't remember many of them, but it scared this skeptic enough to find a minister to clear the house.
The owner had built the house for his mother and she'd died there. The man lived down the street, and after she had the house cleared, she borrowed a picture of the woman to show to her husband. Her two-year-old son saw it and identified the woman by name even though he had no way of knowing it. But this isn't my point. The point is that this fervent non-believer in ghosts knew something was off with that house when she walked through it so why the heck don't these people on the show sense the presence?
My next question, and this is the big one, okay so the people on the show put the house up for sale and move out. What happens to the next family who buys the home?
Some of these entities make people sick or violent or encourage them to harm themselves. This situation will still exist when the next family moves in. Can they sue the original family for not mentioning the house contains a demon in the disclosure statement?
This really bugs me because while the family who's on the show is leaving (potentially), the entity will still be there unless someone takes care of it. Someone should step up and do something.
Which leads to my next point: If it's safe to stay once some actions are taken, why doesn't the show help them take these actions? I get why Amy doesn't do all the clearing herself. That's very draining work and she might not have some of the skill sets needed. Also, there are times she recommends the medium be male. But sometimes I feel bad for these people trying to locate who she says they need.
I watched an episode from season three recently where she recommended they get a psychologist who is also a medium to counsel the dead. She suggested they check out the university for someone. All I could think is if they went to the psychology department of the university and explained what they needed, this couple would be considered wackos and they'd probably being the ones getting counseling.
This leads me to my final point of the day about the show. Sometimes she has really simple things to do like have a shaman bless the land and the house and the people don't do it! Why did allow the show inside your home if you're not going to fix anything?
The episode that I thought was egregious on this score involved a hotel in Seattle. The owner is talking about how her health has deteriorated and blamed it on the spirits present. She'd even been hospitalized. Employees are scared, and IIRC, some had been physically attacked. What has this woman done after The Dead Files visited? Absolutely nothing. In fact, there was another one of the "ghost shows" that went in there (not sure if it was before or after Dead Files). Sounds to me as if she only wanted the publicity.
BTW, I totally don't care if the show is real or not. I'm enjoying it.
