I Liked The Anne So Much, I Bought The Company!

crewchika: oh boy
crewchika: your favorite person is going to tokyo
GomsHat: Is it me?
GomsHat: Am I going?
GomsHat: I hope you're going to take pictures
GomsHat: and I want you to notice the first afternoon you are there
GomsHat: That you can not see the sky
crewchika: I will be most happy
crewchika: to take a gazillion pictures
crewchika: did I tell you we are climbing mt fuji
crewchika: A MOUNTAIN
GomsHat: Are you climbing or taking the tram things up?
crewchika: climbing
GomsHat: Awesome
crewchika: I am very, very excited
GomsHat: I demand your pictures on return
crewchika: I bought a special memory card for that purpose
crewchika: holds anywhere from 900-1200 pictures
crewchika: and I'm bringing my laptop to upload them asap
crewchika: so count on updates
GomsHat: I want you to show them to me so you can explain each one
GomsHat: I know what you are most excited about though
crewchika: being amongst people my height?
GomsHat: Damn it!
crewchika: aha!
GomsHat: Who the hell made that joke first
crewchika: I made that joke
crewchika: come on now
GomsHat: Bah
GomsHat: I shake my fist at you
crewchika: that's going in my livejournal

( oh and....that's hot... )

I love John Cusack. I'm not anxious to have his babies or anything, but the man is a talented actor- I don't think I've seen a single movie he's been in that I didn't like. 1408 has had some decent reviews, though some basic complaints I saw described a lac of plot finality and explanation, but I decided to give it a shot. I'm going to mention some exact moments in the movie, so if you still want to be surprised I'd stop reading here.

All in all, I enjoyed it- it's not a favorite, but it's worth a mention. The dialog for the mostpart was good, and Samuel Jackson has an almost ridiculous cameo in it that I enjoyed immensely. Honestly, that man can make any movie he wants and still come out on top- I think he's the one actor who isn't viewed in a negative light when he takes on a bad movie. Snakes on a Plane was an obvious joke, and you just have to love someone who has that much of a sense of humor about himself and his work.

Anyway, the first few scares jolted me, but I did find the last 20 minutes or so of the movie somewhat disappointing. The 'maybe it was just a dream' scenario is somewhat tired, and I thought the woman they chose to play his ex-wife was a bit...blank, I suppose. She just didn't seem as tortured as he was, and given they'd lost their daughter and it destroyed their marriage and any semblence of the life they'd wanted together I think his was the more appropriate reaction. I'm aware their relationship was not the main point of the story, but it did have a bearing on several plot-points and it could have stood some more serious thought. Besides that, I liked that they didn't make the daughter into something that suddenly turns evil or grabs and bites him ('shock! it's really a demon'). The Ring, The Grudge, Acacia- I am finished with the scary little kid idea, I was done with it the moment I saw it.

All this aside, it's a decent movie, and I would recommend it.

AND I LEAVE FOR JAPAN IN A MONTH! THE JOY, THE UTTER RAPTURE!

oh, yum to travel. I shudder to think this year would have been like without a month-long interlude in Japanland. It isn't so much the job, but some of the people in charge of my training should be promptly rapped on the head with an iron bar. There's a 4.5% raise coming our way july 1st, which is lovely, and unusual, though it really doesn't account for the years of pay missed because of Chesapeake being the lowest paid police department in the state. People who have been there for 22 years are making $40,000. If I worked somewhere where I'd started out making less than $30,000 a year, I'd damn well be making at least $60,000 at the 22 year mark. Though it's not like I'll be there for anywhere near that long, so I suppose there's no harm done.
But enough about this. I have a job, with health insurance and benefits, a charming boyfriend with flaming red hair, and Paris Hilton went to jail. Some things are very, very good.

I had the oddest dream the other night. It's difficult to remember some of it, but I believe I'll try to draw some of it, and scan it in rather than explaining the entire thing. I was in a futuristic version of our world, and I knew about a sort of manhole in the middle of a clearing the woods that led down to an entirely different world...to look at it, it looked like nothing more than an abandoned well cover, but once it was removed a few rusty rungs down a polished white circular white portal, like you might find on a submarine, was made visible. I remember climbing down and closing it behind me, knowing that no one could enter unless I invited them. The first room was beautiful. It was filled with young saplings in patches of lush green grass, with small light flowers everywhere- the trees were budding and were all covered in white christmas lights, which gave off the only light in the room. It was peaceful, and there were people here and there that I'd brought down at some earlier date. I remember realizing that the elderly, even those who were ill or senile, could be given renewed strength and mental awareness in this other world, and I had brought an older woman with me who instantly seemed younger in body and mind. There were other adjoining rooms, with skies above, which were contained without feeling like we were underground. The air was fresh and clean, and there was a beautiful organic sense around the entire place.

sooo...Slither. Pretty much.
( shocked and appalled! )
By far one of the dumbest horror movies I've ever seen. It's obvious that it's made to be stupid, however, which is the movies one redeeming quality. Nathan Fillion (Mal from Serenity) and Elizabeth Banks (the crazy chick from 40 year old virgin) both have main roles. Even Jenna Fischer from the office has a brief cameo. The movie holds its own with some fairly decent wit, but it is thoroughly disgusting...which I suppose is the point, being a horror flick.

I still turn to Turner Classic Movies for the good stuff, though. There is something so wonderfully soothing about the wonky sound and crackly picture of an old movie. Perfect for a rainy day with a cup of hot tea.

I would also like to recommend a couple of fabulous movies for your viewing enjoyment. Pans Labyrinth was astoundingly beautiful and held my interest the entire way through, despite a couple of disturbingly graphic torture scenes. V for Vendetta, which has been on HBO frequently for the past few weeks, also holds a place in my recent favorites. Both are worth owning.

I just spent my afternoon as a hostage in a police training activity. Awesome.

Mothers day I went to Richmond and spent most of the day with my mom browsing through nurseries and working in the garden.

( mothers day... )

Good things:

- New promising career as police dispatcher- A couple of years of certification and solid, meaty paychecks and I will migrate to Boston and complete art school. This is one hopeful theory.
- New car. My transmission is acting wonky, and it costs more to fix it than it does to buy newer used vehicle from a friend. New car includes new cd player, new speakers and new ipod dock, none of which were in my much loved but very finicky volvo of 20 years. Sadness, but relief to be in a reliable vehicle.
- FINALLY, SOME TRAVEL! 3 weeks in Japan with a possible side-trip to Thailand or China is planned for late July early August. The trapped, penniless feeling is beginning to leave me. I am so euphoric at the thought of experiencing another part of the world I can barely contain myself.

The Bad:

A year ago Easter gram died. That whole time was such a terrible blur, it didn't even register with me until the day had passed. I felt guilt immediately - but also the strong sense that she would hate the thought that I'm concentrating more on the worst day of her life than all of the beautiful, amazing moments I shared with her. I know everyone is missing her, deeply. The family still feels strange and separated from each other, and there are no signs that this will change any time soon.

But things are improving, slowly. The only thing to do is wait.

I got the job at the police department. Come monday I will be a dispatcher trainee. The best part? It's full time, pays about $15 an hour and includes free health insurance with the city. I'm also able to take that trip to Japan this year because of the pay and because I let them know before I was even accepted. A new intensely stressful but highly beneficial job and a 3 week trip to Japan. This year is improving.

The Guardian

Now, I enjoy Kevin Costner as much as the next person. Aside from the fact that he has the single most boring voice of all time and should never narrate anything EVER (Dances With Wolves, classic example) I do enjoy him in films from time to time. He's also not particularly hard on the eyes, if you enjoy that scruffy all man look, which I do, so I decided to give The Guardian a try. Believe it or not, my skeptical pups, but Ashton Kutcher, though stereotypically handsome, is not my idea of sexy.

So here we are, together again, another saturday wasted reading my thoughts in detail. All together it was a pretty decent movie. It was a decent movie, once you convinced yourself that you were NOT in fact watching Officer and a Gentleman (young cadet filled with angst, but wait, there's a girl, and a drill sargeant screaming in his face!). Kutchers storyline did stand quite close to Richard Gere's, but I'm willing to allow it because they jump out of helicopters, and that is in itself, awesome beyond all reason.

The ending was sad, and would have been a good final sequence if the filmmakers didn't feel the need to tack on an extra 2 minute 'SUPERHAPPY ENDING!'
This is not Waynes World, and beautiful people do not fall in love in 2 days of meaningless sex and go on to live happily ever after. Sometimes people just die, and all we have is what they leave behind. Suddenly a film about the coast guard is transformed into a not-quite chick-flick, and that saddened me. Ah, America. I mean, God FORBID we go 15 minutes without perfect people tonsil boxing, because that would just be too unrealistic for words.

I would also like to take this moment to mention that I noticed a woman training to be in the coast guard rescue team. Now I know they always feel obligated to throw in a couple of potentially weepy women when it comes to military motivated movies, and I mean no disrespect to the women in our armed forces when I say this, but-
If I was in a torrential downpour, at night, in the freezing cold with water that causes your limbs to pop off like pieces of candy cane, I would not want a petite woman showing up to my rescue. Moreso if I was an unconscious man weighing in at 250 pounds. I don't care if you're in peak physical condition, and I don't think it makes me any less of a feminist to say that in some occupations, a man is better.

Anaraus99: what happened?
crewchika: well apparently they hire 9 year olds to answer the phones for cingulars roadside service
crewchika: my car breaks down completely 2 minutes from my house
crewchika: so I'm stuck on an exit ramp
crewchika: check my oil, my gas is full
Anaraus99: what was it?
crewchika: and I'm in a bad area
crewchika: no idea yet
crewchika: my warning lights are all on
crewchika: so I put on my flashers, I call roadside service
crewchika: I need a tow truck blah blah blah
crewchika: I get cut off about 3 times but she calls me back
crewchika: final time, doesn't call me back
crewchika: I wait about 15 minutes
crewchika: call them again
crewchika: get a trainee
crewchika: who the entire time is getting instructions in the background
crewchika: on how to say things and what to say and she's doing horribly
crewchika: spells every single thing I tell her incorrectly
crewchika: example
crewchika: gets my zipcode wrong 6 TIMES
crewchika: 23324
crewchika: simple
crewchika: and then
crewchika: just when we're all done
crewchika: she says
crewchika: oh my god
crewchika: I'm so sorry
crewchika: I just erased everything
Anaraus99: AHAHAHAH, this is amazing
crewchika: so that was chesapeake? C_H_E_S_E_P_E_E_K E?
crewchika: and then says it like the word cheesecake
crewchika: and then the phone cuts off again
Anaraus99: this is amazing
crewchika: by this time I've been sitting on this dark exit ramp in the bad neighborhood where I have frequently heard gunfire
crewchika: for an hour
crewchika: I'm almost in tears
crewchika: and the first car since I broke down pulls over in front of me
crewchika: and a guy in a navy uniform gets out
crewchika: super nice
crewchika: looks over my car, and after several minutes of turning over manages to start my car
crewchika: and offers to drive behind me slowly while I make the 2 block drive to my house
crewchika: turns out he lives on my street
crewchika: so my car dies about 4 more times on the way home
crewchika: I finally make it to my road and my car dies a foot from my driveway in the middle of the road
crewchika: and these two guys offer to come over and push it up into the driveway
crewchika: and just as I'm walking into my house after saying my thank-you so freaking much's
crewchika: she calls back
crewchika: sorry about that ma'am
crewchika: can I have your information again
crewchika: UM NO
crewchika: YOU CAN GO STRAIGHT TO HELL
crewchika: OR PURGATORY RATHER, SINCE I'M CONVINCED YOU ARE STILL 8
crewchika: and I just got off the phone with cingular after making a LONG formal complaint

So....I did well. On the tests, and in the interview. They said my scores were good, and that they were going to compare them to the other applicants and then give me a call.
The job is emergency dispatch. I didn't want to detail it till I knew more, since if I'd failed the testing that would have been it. The starting wage is just under $27,000 a year- the chesapeake police department is one of the lowest paid departments at the moment, and they are currently applying for a 17% raise. Also, upon completion of the police academy training (some computer classes, CPR, various other required courses for the job) you get a $2000 bonus. It's an incredibly stressful job, but I need the money and it's local. I don't need a degree to get it, which is pivotal. I figure after a year of training and a year or more of being certified, I can quit and move to Boston. I have no intention of staying in this job forever, but right now it's all about what I can do and what makes good money. This is it.

I have 2 1/2 hours of testing tomorrow morning at 8:30 for the job I hope to get. I should be asleep, but I'm nervous. If I get this, it could solve so many financial problems...
Wish me luck.

I am intensely agitated today. I can't explain why this is, since everything bothering me is present in my life on a daily basis anyway. I miss my grandmother with an intensity that wakes me up at night in tears. I am swimming in about $14,000 from one semester of school and a handful of medical bills since I don't have medical insurance. I'm in a job that generates a pathetic check every 2 weeks and I'm applying for a job that I have no desire to do because it will make 26,400 a year and I just need something to make money. I know things could be so, so much worse for me, but I can't help but feel it keenly as I watch my ripest years slip by. I don't want this to be my life anymore.

trevor: TRAGEDY STRIKES IN WoW
anne: THE LEGGINGS HATH GONE TO ANOTHER
trevor: NO!
trevor: WE HATH LOST OUR MAIN-TANK
anne: NAAAAAYYYYYY
trevor: bleegghhh new job tomorrow
trevor: i hate starting new jobs
anne: you'll be fine
anne: they'll gather around your red hair
anne: singing chants
anne: and roasting vegetables
trevor: this is dillards, not the retirement home
anne: ok so maybe they'll hate you
anne: and spurn you
trevor: most likely
anne: in fact they'll probably stone you to death
trevor: they don't take kindly to red things, like satan

I checked my email this morning and found that the same program I went with to Guatemala is going back this March 3-10 and they have several open already-paid-for airline tickets available. The one nice thing about not being in school is the fact that I can pick up and go somewhere (almost) at a moments notice. I volunteered of course. I've been wavering between ludicrously happy and intensely depressed for a while now- and I remember how this trip and trips like it have been a wonderful escape and rejuvenation for my mind and body. Being a part of something bigger than your own problems is a failsafe way to gain some perspective, and that is exactly what I need right now.
If any of you are interested and think you could do it, let me know ASAP and I'll relay the message. Keep in mind it is a free trip to Guatemala to either a. build stoves and do reforestation, which I did, and which is great, or b. work with the Maya arts program and paint a school or something similar. I'm doing the arts program this time.

( My new favorite... )

Well, it's not mono. The doctor said 9 out of 10 chances it was a bacterial infection, which antibiotics could clear up. They had me on several different medications which did nothing. When I kept going back with the same symptoms time after time, they tested me for mono. When the tests came back, they threw their hands up and said that it was probably a particularly nasty virus with all of monos symptoms. So basically the only thing left to do is wait for it to clear up.

I think I have mono.