Movies

I am a movie goer. I love a well done action/adventure or romantic comedy and enjoy most other genres as well. I have been known to tolerate genres I don't enjoy as much for various reasons. Like when I know my kids wanted to see a movie I wouldn't ordinarily go see or sometimes when the trailers promise to explain why something in an earlier movie (like Jason in Halloween) is the way it is. (Halloween was still a disappointment.) In the past I have been known go watch movies with people just to keep them company and not because the movie was my choice.

I usually go about once a week but in the past have been known to go up to 15 times in a week during the summer blockbuster season. It is easily done when you are a mom who nearly always screens movies her kids would like to see for age and content appropriateness. Not to mention there are 5 of them with a 4 year spread between younger kids and the older kids. So appropriate for some was not always appropriate for all.

For nearly 12 years we lived in the same small town where the theater employees knew us well. We moved about 9 months ago and many employees at the theater we frequent see us as a regular even though we only go about once a week now. Only once a week now because I'm poor (we are in a much more costly area) and my kids are all over 17. They can all get into any movie without my accompanying them. Screening is now a thing of the past. Although if the kids know I have seen the movie they are thinking about going to they will ask my opinion. Movies cost too much these days to waste the money on a so so movie! On occasion I will go to a movie they are watching just so I know what my nearly grown children are watching.

As I go to the theater I wonder why some parents act the way they do. I am amazed at the number of people who don't pay attention to the movie ratings. Especially ratings due to violence, vulgarity and sexually explicit scenes in movies. For instance I love Tyler Perry movies but his subject matter is not geared to young kids. (For years I was the only white girl in the theater but I am happy to say that is not the case any more.) Or the night I went to see Obsessed and there were two young families with three toddlers in strollers positioned so they could watch as well. So not a kid movie. Or the parents who took children that looked like a 7 and 9 year old to Monsters Ball. About half of the people who watched Halloween when I did were under 14.

Kid movies are one of my favorite but also my least favorite to attend. If I can I go mid week during school hours I'm stoked. The mess is bad enough but the crying babies & toddlers and talking is the worst. I wonder why people don't teach their children how to act in public. Normal stuff like being polite and picking up after themselves.

It amazes me when parents lug in several small kids with tons of goodies to eat and don't bother to think of the calories their children are consuming or the mess they will leave behind. The parents never think twice about making big messes and walking away. In essence the kids are learning that it is okay to walk into a public place make a mess and leave it for someone else to pick up. No wonder the school campuses I work at are such pig sties!

Adults can be as bad as the kids and they are old enough to know better. We all pay good money to see a movie and we are subjected to the rude people. For instance the guy who answers his cell phone using his outside voice so he can be heard over the actors and then begins to narrate the movie to whoever called. Or the woman who talks to the stupid people in the thriller/slasher movies who always go upstairs, duh, they always go upstairs. Or the hard of hearing who ask whoever they came with what the actor said. And my least favorite group to sit near is the group of friends who can't quit talking through the movie. Sometimes I just want to yell GET A DVD & GO HOME or THIS IS NOT YOUR LIVING ROOM! That would make me as bad as them though.

I love the escape of a movie. To leave my reality for 90 to 120 minutes or more and enjoy some other scenario for two hours. The ability to be cool on a hot day without paying the cooling bill. Concentrating on the story of someone else, the mystery, the excitement, and the entanglements.

My favorite movies make me think. My favorite movies never insult my intelligence. My favorite movies are not predictable. My favorite movies have a good story. My favorite movies entertain.

Strangely enough I can usually find something good about even the worst movies. If the "critics" give the movies a bad review I know I'll enjoy them. The Academy of Motion Pictures make me crazy. They usually pick the artsy movies that are limited release until they are nominated. The movies are generally good but I rarely agree with them. They generally leave off great ones and choose my least favorite as the winner. No I am a movie goer who is not narrow minded or judgmental.

I could probably do a movie blog. Maybe I'll think about that one...

What's with poodle bushes?

On Monday My son and I went to Disneyland. It was just the two of us and we had a wonderful time going from ride to ride as the mood hit us. It was a blast getting to see the renovations to rides we had not been on in a couple of years. Rides like Pirates of the Caribbean, the submarine and It's a Small World.

Although not my favorite ride I have fond memories of It's a Small World. It was one of my Gramie's favorite rides. The topiary outside It's a Small World ride make me smile. The well place animals are playful and fun. I remember looking at them when I waited in line with my grandmother many years ago. They were and still are a whimsical extension of the ride. A kind of entertaining view while both entering and leaving the inside portion of the ride.

As I was running several errands lately I noticed a multitude of well groomed bushes and hedges. None of them are topiary but for whatever reason many of them are oddly (although some would say artistically) shaped. I look at them and in some cases see the artistic beauty but mostly I see the loads of work it must take to maintain that well groomed look. Some are kind of nice while others are just kind of weird. They are everywhere. You can't drive down a street anywhere near here and not see one or more "fancy" shaped bushes.
Then I went with my daughter to a store to get her phone fixed and all down the street were trees with similar looking puff balls throughout them. I kind of smiled thinking they looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. On the way back from the store (and after our trip to Disneyland) I saw one bush that was simply a series of puffy balls throughout the bush. It struck me as kind of silly and Dr. Seuss like. It made me giggle. As I got closer to our house I drove past one more house with a puff ball bush and thought it looks like a poodle and really laughed.

I get adding the whimsy of a topiary in a place like Disney and maybe on a huge estate but I'm not much into the idea of a yard full of overly groomed oddly shaped shrubs.I don't get it. Why would you want something that takes that much work and looks so silly? Then I discovered how much people pay to have these bushes maintained. I'm a little too practical to pay that much or spend that kind of time on a poodle looking bush.

Then today it happened. I discovered one more reason not to have these goofy bushes. Again I'm driving along when I see a little fender bender. Really common where I live but the cause this time was too funny. The driver was craning his neck to see one of those bushes and bumped into a parked car. It was equally funny and sad!So the question is what is with all those poodle bushes?

I believe I understand

I believe I understand why people who's blogs I have followed have gone from occasional writers to daily writers and vice versa as their circumstances have changed.

There are days when I write a ton (not always for the blog though) and other days I'd love to write but there is simply not enough time in the day. There are days when I have time and no available computer.

There are days when I have time and the computer available but never find the incentive to go to the computer to write. I guess writing is like any other thing there are days it just won't happen. Some days Are like that though.

For those of you I may have nagged I am sorry. I believe I understand now.

Ideas never stick these days...

Blogging is so much fun but there are drawbacks. I think of these great subjects to blog on and then when I find myself with time and an open computer it all leaves. I wish I had a laptop with me all the time. Alas I do not.

For me I have the added bonus of having what I fondly refer to as memory interruption after my electrocution. It was really bad at first but seemed to even out some. Especially after all of the therapies I have been through and following the advice of my doctors to try to regain the strength of my ability to make and keep memories. At least now I remember the names of my children on demand. That part was really disturbing for me but I digress. Sadly I can lose my train of thought mid-sentence. I don't know how much of the memory issues were from the electrocution or from the trauma of the accident itself. I hear memory issues are common for people who have gone through an electrocution but I haven't found any studies. I digress again...

I admit it I am getting older. Like everyone else as we age we have moments where our memory is less than perfect. It seems to me I get more dysnomia (that feeling that the word is on the tip of my tongue) than else anyone I know of my age or close to my age (except Nancy but she has a good excuse too.)

I'm beginning to think I need to carry around a pad all the time like people did before we had computers and blackberries to solve my dilemma. So far I have found a way to blog each week and I will continue to write. I love the idea that someone somewhere might find a minute of enjoyment reading my often disjointed thoughts.

My ideas never stick these days. I understand writer's block but this isn't really writer's block but more of a writer's challenge. I love a good challenge.

Drivers

There are a ton of drivers where I live.

Since I work in school systems I am afforded the chance to see many teen drivers first hand. The bell rings and tons of little foreign cars come rushing out on to the street. Add the walkers, the teachers, and parents and it becomes close to chaotic. These drivers all seem to be in a race to get out of there including the teachers and parents. Today alone I saw six close misses and too many cut offs to count. I don't see anybody setting a very good example for these young people either. All of the cut offs were parents and other adults. One of the close misses was a teacher.

There does not seem to be any patience in any of these drivers. Neither the adults or the teens. It's not just that they want to leave school because these drivers are seen driving the same way in parking lots and on city streets. They cut through gas stations and parking lots to avoid stop lights. They roll to a pause without making a complete stop at stop signs. They speed up to pass people only to cut them off, slow and turn in front of them. They ride your tail and wait till the last minute to hit the brakes.

Hardly any one uses turn signals any more and those that do tend to leave them on for miles. Speed limits are ignored and it feels like one is putting their life in peril just to run a simple errand.

Then add the high number of aged and nervous drivers in our area and you see the opposite. If others are in the car with them they talk more than drive. They seem to forget where they are going. They make several random stops or pauses and make regular erratic turns. They drive up to 10 miles an hour under the speed limit and never seem to notice the oncoming car when they pull out in front of them.

I can't imagine people taking time out of their busy day to drive the elderly and the elderly never seem to want to give up their independence either. Maybe we should try to help and offer to drive when we can. At a time when childhood obesity is so high maybe the young drivers should be walking anyway. If the driving age were moved to 18 maybe some of these young people would be forced to walk more and maybe to mature a little as well.

Man can I vent or what.

Originally this was published separately but it is really one so I blended them. The driver's blog was not finished. It turned out to be more of a cranky venting kind of blog than I had intended so here is the other half of my thoughts on drivers.

I forgot to mention my favorite drivers. Oh I have favorites.

I love the drivers who slow to leave space to let me change lanes.

I love the drivers that alert me when there is something not right. Like a low tire, burnt out taillight/headlight, something hanging out of the door, my gas cap open, trunk open or any number of other courtesies. It gives me joy to know people are still kind.

I love drivers who make the flow of traffic just a few miles an hour over the speed limit and the drivers who don't turtle down the diamond lane. What is the point of slowing people down in the diamond lane anyway?

I love people who let me out of a parking lot. Especially in heavy traffic hours.

I love people who don't hog two parking spots by parking over or hugging the line.

I love people who drive eco-friendly cars.

I love people who drive big vehicles (trucks/cars/SUVs) who can park in one space and even better if they can park in one try. Better still when the vehicle is full of people.

I love people who pay attention to the drivers around them. Maybe moving forward so I can pull into the turn lane prior to the light changing or leaving space in the lane so people can pull into a driveway or parking lot.

I love people who pull over for emergency vehicles. (What they were headed to someone you love.)

I love people who slow in school zones and parking lots.

I love when people smile at each other when something good happens.

I guess what I'm saying is that for every driver that bugs me there is a driver that makes my day. In a perfect world we would run into both kinds of drivers to balance things out but my world has never been perfect. It seems I am destined to see either the kind ones or the cranky ones all day. Life gives us what it gives us.

The first drivers blog just didn't give the good drivers the kudos they deserve. So please try to be one of the drivers mentioned in the second half of the blog. I love those people!

Me today...

Recently one of my children was facing a job interview. It was not the first job therefore not the first interview. Still there was a case of nerves as we discussed the possibility of tough questions like describing oneself or strengths and weaknesses. It got me to thinking about how I would describe myself. The more I thought the more challenging the task became. Here is what I came up with.

In my quest I decided to free write and discovered that my descriptions have changed through the years. Every year, monthly, week, day, hour, minute and even every second there is a new opportunity to grow and change. There are challenges to face or decline, loves to find strengthen, lose, remember and embrace and skills to acquire and with luck master. Who I am today is a culmination of all of my life experiences. As I started to free write and hit page seven of my self discovery I decided I am a complex person and needed a condensed version. Finally I decided a summary would be best.

Today I am a mom, grandma, daughter, sister, niece, aunt and friend. These descriptions fit many of the women I have known and I honor them. These words describe my attachments to people I love. I have for much of my life been physically challenged (sometimes short termed and now forever challenged.) For a while I struggled, wallowed if you will, in self pity but now I mentally and physically challenge myself to be the best I can. The challenges are still there but I am becoming more adaptable. As times goes on I am less and less focused on what I can't do and always look for ways I can do things I thought impossible.

Living in pain changes a person but I work every day to find the best in myself and in others. I try to show those I come in contact with the loving and kind person I know I am and to hide the pain so others don't feel the need to try to help carry my burdens. (I have the Lord for that.)

I am a very passionate person with many passions in my life. I am passionate about education. I am an educator. (I have the degree to prove it.) As a mom and friend I have many opportunities to teach and learn as well. Today I continue to learn taking every chance afforded me to broaden my horizons.

I am a passionate movie goer, reader and lover of music. These passions allow so many valuable resources I enjoy including entertainment, escape from the day to day, information and creativity as well. I love the discovery of a new favorite musical artist, actor, director or author. (My kids are often the catalyst for finding both authors and music.)

I am an artist. I love to create as well as enjoy the art of others. Mostly I paint but I enjoy other mediums as well including but mot limited to photography and writing. I love to express myself.

I love going to church and learning about the true love of Christ. Knowing I am a child of God and that I am never alone is a great comfort to me.

I am compassionate as well. I have been accused of being too compassionate. I have taken in strays (homeless people at times entire families and even an occasional animal), feed the hungry and even given gas or at times change to beggars. (I try to avoid giving money since some beggars are professionals.)

So to recap I am a passionate artist and educator with an intense love of family, friends, movies, books and music. Compassionate yet challenged with a strong love of my creator.

I look forward to the next phase of my personal evolution.

Started with over seven pages went to three and ended up with less than one page. Not bad!