Yes, I've been bad again. So, what have I been doing may you ask...
1) Going to the movies. I saw a sweet documentary called Babies. It follows 4 kids from birth through their first birthday. There is almost no dialogue. The babies are from the U.S., Japan, Mongolia and Namibia. I think my fave was the little boy from Mongolia. He was quite the explorer once he figured out how to crawl. It was interesting to see the different approaches used by each culture as they raised their child. But, there were plenty of similarities in the newborns' experiences. Discovering your own hand or foot is a pretty universal moment. I also saw The A Team or as I call it The Eh Team. The guy who directed Smokin' Aces directed this, which should have been my first clue. I hated Smokin' Aces (except for Jason Bateman's bit). I went in willing to over look a lot, but when it started turning into just one action sequence after another while sometimes trying to toss in a "deep" storyline here and there, I just got annoyed. I will give props to my man Sharlto Copley. He played Murdock and he was fab. He had just the right combo of crazy and funny without overdoing it. He provided most of the best parts of the film. It would probably be an okay rental. I have to wait till my friend and her kids are available for Toy Story 3 before I get to see it. Right now I am anxious to see Inception.
2) Volunteering. Thanks to my friend Lindsay, I have been working with Generation United. Gen U, as it is called, is the "youth" organization within the United Way. I spent 4 hours helping set up for the Relay for Life in a nearby town. A few days later I helped out at the Midwest Food Bank.
3) Sitting in front of a fan trying not to move...watching free HBO. During the heatwave last weekend, my cable company happened to be offering free HBO and Cinemax. This also included free HBO on demand so I got through 6 hours of season 2 of True Blood and 2 episodes of the new season. I am fully prepared to marry Sam Trammell (assuming Sharlto Copley isn't ready to commit). On a side note, I watched a few minutes of late night "Skin-e-max." There is almost nothing funnier than soft core "porn," especially when the title of the movie is The Devil Wears Nada.
4) Went to a play and a wedding reception. My friend's four boys were all in the local kids production of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Her oldest was the lead and he did a pretty darn good job. He has a nice voice and he projects well. He really shone during his solo song and in a duet at the end with this girl who also had a solid voice. His brothers had smaller parts, and other than maybe saying their lines a little too fast, they did a fine job too. The wedding reception was for my cousin's daughter. They got married in front of the justice of the peace a few months back. Another cousin (brother to the father of the bride) was performing with his band. They are just a bar band, but they do okay around the area. The song selection wasn't quite to my taste (they were all about the country), but it was amusing to see some of the older folks get up and dance. This side of the family is very into the good time and that night was no exception.
5) Read some books. I finished The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. It reminded me of the first book in the series. There was a lot of set up before the action kicked in. I liked it, but not as much as the other two. It really felt like it was preparing you for the 4th book. The author had originally planned on having 10 books in the series, but he died before he finished the 4th book. I read that his long time girlfriend has not only what has been written for the 4th book, but also the outline. She apparently would work with him on the books so the scuttlebutt is that she could finish the 4th book. His family sees it differently and until they come to some sort of agreement that 4th book is going to stay as it is. I'm almost done with A Girl Named Zippy. This was one of those books that every time I would see it at the book store I'd say to myself, "I should read this." I am really loving it. As someone who grew up in a small, Midwestern town, I can sympathize with a lot of her experiences. Haven Kimmel writes really well and has a good sense of humor and appreciation of the absurd.
6) Once again, considered smacking my co-workers. So far this week, one of them has been gone for two hours on Mon., 90 min. on Tues., today she left at 3:30 and she is taking Friday off. The other one just wanders outside "to get some fresh air" with her phone a couple times a day for anywhere from 10-30 min. at a time. Sigh. I'm sort of hoping my bosses install some security cameras. I'd be happy to review the footage and give them the highlights.
7) Finally, eating dinner and watching a movie with friends during a tornado outbreak. We have the best parties!
Sorry again about not posting. I beg your forgiveness. Be sure and check out the first Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows trailer. I got goosebumps on my arm the first time I watched it. Have a great 4th everybody!
