Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Cloverfield

Just a quick note to say that I did finally get to see Cloverfield on Saturday. I really enjoyed it! I think it was very wise that we waited until my parents could watch The Kidd before we went, though. He would not have done well. The language was not bad, and really you don't see too much gore but the content was way too intense for a child in my opinion.

There were a few parts that totally shocked me, and some things that I saw coming a mile away. I definitely would like to see it again. It was well worth seeing, especially on the big screen, if you get the chance.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Here We Go Again

The movie Cloverfield comes out today. I've been looking forward to this movie since I saw the first preview and now it's finally here. If you've seen the previews then you are familiar with the concept - it's sort of a Godzilla type movie. Panic in the streets, that kind of thing. Which is especially appropriate the weekend.

It's winter here in Rocket City, and that means the same thing every year - frequent hysteria and mass panic. All it takes is the mention of one little word on the newscasts and the whole area becomes bedlam. What word? Well if you are from the South you already know, but for those of you still wondering I'll tell you. Snow. I know, the horror that word inspires is almost unimaginable, isn't it?

You might think I'm joking or exagerating, but I assure you that I am not. I grew up in Tennessee where snow was a fact of life. Yes, the schools did close and people did stay home if there was snow on the ground but they didn't get hysterical about it. I spent a couple of years in Arizona and actually even got snow there. People there seemed surprised by it but also didn't freak out.

Then we moved to Alabama. The winter after we moved here the forcasts started calling for snow and ice. I've never seen anything like it - the night before, when nothing had even started falling, everything in the city announced it would close the next day. Everything. No school, no daycare. Almost everything in Rocket City was to be closed. And forget about getting groceries - it was like locusts had swept through the stores. There was nothing edible left on the shelves. Literally all the bread and milk were gone, and people had bought most of everything else.

The next day? Nothing. No snow, no ice. Not a single flake. Everything was still cosed, though.

The few times we have actually gotten snow or ice the whole city is paralized. And that probably is good, since no one here can drive if there's a single snowflake on the road.

They are saying we might get a few inches of accumulation this weekend, so you can imagine what the city is like right now. People are acting like they expect to be snowed in for weeks. Sadly, I have to shop for groceries today. That should be a wonderful experience. If you've seen Resident Evil 2, picture the scene right before they quarantine the city, as everyone is trying to cram through the gate. Now imagine the same scene at Target by the checkout counters and you know what I'll be dealing with today. Wish me luck!

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Resolutions

I typically make a handful of resolutions each New Year. They tend to be the usual ones that everyone makes - lose weight, exercise more, that sort of thing.

This year I'm still making those, but I'm making a few more as well.

I will finally start watching more dvds. Yes, that sounds like an odd thing to resolve to do. But I tend to buy lots of dvds and then they just sit there on the shelf. I want to watch them, but I feel guilty about it when there is so much that I NEED to do that I'm not doing. Instead I watch television - somehow I don't feel as bad about that one because it's what I do as I'm deciding what real project to tackle next. I just never seem to actually decide, hence all the tv watching. Which leads to . . .

I will watch less television. There are a few shows that I really love, but I have the TV on most of the time when I'm home. Which means that I watch quite a few shows that I don't really care about, when I could be doing something more important with my time. This year I intend to only turn the TV on when there is something specific that I want to watch.

I will finally clean out the closets. Sounds like a silly resolution as well, I know. However, I've been putting it off for years now because I dread it so. You know the cartoon closets where the avalanche buries the poor unsuspecting souls that open them? Yeah, ours are just about that bad. That's because there are boxes lurking in the back of most of them that we never opened when we moved last. Full of things that we didn't want to get rid of but really had no use for. Those boxes take up so much room that the rightful occupants of the closets don't have ENOUGH room, leading to those pesky avalanches. A couple of closets we basically don't even open anymore, and I don't really know what's even in them. Not a good thing, and I will fix that this year.

I will cook. At my recent physical there was a question on the paperwork that asked me to describe my typical diet. I had to admit that it consists almost entirely of convenience foods. I eat out FAR too often. When we do eat at home it's typically prepackaged frozen stuff or pasta. I like to cook but I don't usually take the time. I will this year.

I will spend more time outside. When we vacation at the beach or at Disney World, I'm outside most of the time. At home, though, I'm outside long enough to get to or from the car and that's pretty much it. I've gotten into geocaching which should inspire me to get out more, and I intend to start walking the dogs more. I also have a bike that I want to ride along the greenway here. I also want to do more landscaping in our yard this year. I've been meaning to put in some flowerbeds and this year I'm finally going to do it.

I will practice more. I used to be very good at playing piano and flute, but somehow over the years those slipped by the wayside. I was getting good at juggling but stopped working on that as well. I'm also trying to get good at playing the Irish Whistle, but rarely practice. I'm going to devote more time to getting better at each of those things. I also really want to learn to play the bagpipes - but that might wait till another year.

For the most part I think my main goal is just to work on time management. Most of my goals would be fairly easy to accomplish if I just make myself take the time for them. I'm still trying to finalize my list - I don't officially start my new year until Monday, when the Kidd goes back to school. I'm trying to work on some things this week, but next week is when all my "Self Improvement Projects" will really start.