A Little Rambling

Happy 100th Birthday to Arizona! I do love my state, and its sunny lovely weather, where rain is something to be eagerly anticipated and haboobs happen. And a Happy Valentine's to all! I really like Valentine's Day, even when single. What's not to love about pink and red hearts and lace and flowers and sappy stuff? It's fun to watch other people creatively love other people. I used markers this morning, which made me happy. I got some valentine cards and yucky Necco sweethearts from some students. I ate a pink cupcake my sister made, and got a card from my parents (which was randomly in spanish). There are pink and white cookies of love calling my name from the kitchen table - I'll probably eat one for breakfast. After work, I went out with Matt and Chris to possibly the most un-Valentiney movie ever. Today was a very bad day to forget my jacket, and so when I got to the theatre and found out the boys were still a ways away, I walked over to the fireplace. ...

The first Harry Potter book came out in 1997, when I was 9 years old. I don't believe a copy came into my life until I was 11 - the same age as young wizards begin their time at Hogwarts. My grade school required all books to be read and approved by parents before being put on the shelves, and my mother had heard that this book was supposed to be some kind of phenomenon, so she brought it home. Her intention was to read it out loud to us every night as family time, at which idea my sister and I groaned. We were not interested, we didn't want to be read to, but we were grudgingly dragged into it. It grew on us quickly. Every evening, mom would sit down on the couch, dad in his chair, and Elisabeth and I would get ourselves comfy. My mother is a wonderful reader, and her voice brought the story to life from the pages. We were enchanted, to say the least. Every night we'd want to hear more and more, not wanting to be done and go to bed. By the time the book ended, we...

Well hello lovely reader! It has been indeed quite some time since my last post, which clearly means I have been off enjoying real life. The problem with extensive time in the real world is that when I come back to the computer, there's a lot to catch up on, and it's hard to do it all justice. So here is my attempt to sum up the last week in it's awesome entirety. WARNING: very long post. Proceed at your own risk. Wednesday Last Wednesday, after a morning of grocery shopping and cleaning, I went to the airport to pick up John. I parked my car and entered the forgotten realm that is Terminal 2 at Sky Harbor. Along with perhaps five other people, I sat anxiously outside the security line, pacing and waiting for John to disembark. I knew he had landed, and I kept waiting to catch sight of combat boots walking down the terminal amide the throngs smattering of other passengers. No such luck. Eventually, I get a call from him asking where I am. Now, Terminal 2 is the d...

I should be doing theory homework, but staying up a little later to do it won't hurt because - I can sleep in tomorrow! Not only is my first class canceled, but I do NOT have to report for jury duty! That means I don't have to wake up extra early, don't have to miss my voice lesson, (don't get to miss class), and don't have to miss work. YAY. Although I should still go in early to get my Mac literacy classwork done...sigh. But still, no ear training! So...favorite movies. There are several, I believe. And they are in no particular order. The Lord of the Rings - all three of them. I am horribly embarrassed to admit how long it has been since I've managed to watch them all without falling asleep. But I own all three extended versions and have seen every second of extra material available. The music is enthralling. The images are breath-taking. The adaptation, while occasionally frustrating to a Tolkien purist, is still fairly phenomenal. Down Periscope...

Yesterday, Taryn and I saw a movie no one seems to have heard of. I'm not even sure how I heard of it, but I know I saw a preview at some point, and it piqued my interest. It's an indi film called "Get Low." To save the trouble of me explaining the premise, watch the trailer below. Then read on... I don't know how to do this without giving away at least some of the plotline, but since I'm going to encourage you all to go see it, I'll do my best. This is a movie about forgiveness, pure and simple. It's wrapped up in quirky characters and beautiful music and an interesting story, but the heart of it all is forgiveness. Everyone in the town vilifies Duvall's character, the recluse Felix Bush, and everyone has heard a story of some awful thing he's done. At one point in the movie, Felix talks about how he doesn't ever want to be forgiven [for those things], and wants to bear the weight of his sins and stare at them everyday. How often d...