This year I:
-Didn't travel anywhere! (Except to Arizona...post about that still forthcoming.)
-Didn't accomplish anything! (Except becoming Relief Society president, but that's not really an accomplishment. Oh, and I met Elijah Wood and Jess Harnell. And I NaNoWriMoed up a storm. Okay, I accomplished some things.)
Stay tuned for an upcoming post where I review 2017 in more detail and while possibly referencing Star Wars!
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Another Yuletide Over
Guess what? I Christmassed again this year!
Christmas version 2017 included such traditional delights as:
-Lunch with sisters! The weather was pretty bad, so we ended up at the same restaurant we lunched at last year. Which is against the Little Sisters' Annual Christmas Eve Lunch rules, but we already broke the rules by letting Older Sister come last year and this year (since she no longer lives in town and we don't see her much). Plus Baby Sister wasn't here, so we just broke rules all over the place like a slap in the face of the tradition founders. Who are us. So we basically slapped our own faces. Ouch.
-Christmas Eve dinner with my mom's family! Each family unit exchanged small gifts and Christmas cards before dinner started. This year, I got a lot of chocolate and some popcorn and my own personal bottle of Martinelli's. I loved that, but it was a little awkward to be given my own gifts because, being unmarried, I don't consider myself to be my own family unit, so I didn't bring anything for everyone else. I just piggybacked on my parents' gifts. Someday, though. (Fingers crossed.)
-Presentation of the nativity story! The older cousins round up the little cousins and persuade them to dress up as sheep or shepherds or wisemen. This year, Dino Cousin's mom encouraged Dino Cousin (who is four years old) to join the nativity. We asked Dino Cousin what she wanted to be: a sheep or a shepherd or a wiseman? Without batting an eye, Dino Cousin said, "Jesus." We always have the newest baby or a doll play Baby Jesus, but we weren't about to refuse Dino Cousin, so we said okay. When Dino Cousin's mom came to the rehearsal area, she asked Dino Cousin who she was going to be. Dino Cousin promptly said, "Jesus Christ." It was equally adorable and amusing.
(P.S. If you ever wonder why I have such a prodigious amount of cousins, it's because not only do I have quite a few first cousins, I also know many of my parents' cousins (my first cousins once removed), their kids (my second cousins), my first cousins' kids (also my first cousins once removed), and my second cousins' kids (my second cousins once removed). Many of us see each other regularly.)
-A slideshow review of the year! There are ~five pictures of each extended family member in the slideshow, and since the family keeps growing, the show just keeps getting longer and longer. (Re: prodigious amount of cousins.)
-Waking up really early on Christmas morning and annoying our parents! We then gather in a line (age order, youngest to oldest; this year Mr. Little Sister was between me and Little Sister) and rush into the living room to open our presents from Santa and each other. (Yes, we all still get presents from Santa. Santa is legit, and no one will ever convince me not to believe in him.)
We also had a few novelties this year:
-Christmas Eve was on a Sunday, something that hasn't happened for years. The Little Sisters' Annual Christmas Eve Lunch was therefore held on the 23rd and not the 24th. (P.S. I found out that Valiant and her six sisters all get lunch together on Christmas Eve, too! How interesting.) My ward had one hour of church in the morning combined with some other wards in the stake. The program was mostly music, which was lovely. I sat with Best Friend Boy. He got a real kick out of trying to predict what Christmas hymn we'd be singing next.
-We got to talk to Baby Sister. (Most of the time, missionaries call home only on Christmas Day and Mother's Day.) She's a cutie patootie. Even though her mission is English-speaking, she's learning some Marshallese because of the area in which she's serving. She told us that she was the happiest she's ever been.
All in all, a good day during a good season. Now on to the new year.
Christmas version 2017 included such traditional delights as:
-Lunch with sisters! The weather was pretty bad, so we ended up at the same restaurant we lunched at last year. Which is against the Little Sisters' Annual Christmas Eve Lunch rules, but we already broke the rules by letting Older Sister come last year and this year (since she no longer lives in town and we don't see her much). Plus Baby Sister wasn't here, so we just broke rules all over the place like a slap in the face of the tradition founders. Who are us. So we basically slapped our own faces. Ouch.
-Christmas Eve dinner with my mom's family! Each family unit exchanged small gifts and Christmas cards before dinner started. This year, I got a lot of chocolate and some popcorn and my own personal bottle of Martinelli's. I loved that, but it was a little awkward to be given my own gifts because, being unmarried, I don't consider myself to be my own family unit, so I didn't bring anything for everyone else. I just piggybacked on my parents' gifts. Someday, though. (Fingers crossed.)
-Presentation of the nativity story! The older cousins round up the little cousins and persuade them to dress up as sheep or shepherds or wisemen. This year, Dino Cousin's mom encouraged Dino Cousin (who is four years old) to join the nativity. We asked Dino Cousin what she wanted to be: a sheep or a shepherd or a wiseman? Without batting an eye, Dino Cousin said, "Jesus." We always have the newest baby or a doll play Baby Jesus, but we weren't about to refuse Dino Cousin, so we said okay. When Dino Cousin's mom came to the rehearsal area, she asked Dino Cousin who she was going to be. Dino Cousin promptly said, "Jesus Christ." It was equally adorable and amusing.
(P.S. If you ever wonder why I have such a prodigious amount of cousins, it's because not only do I have quite a few first cousins, I also know many of my parents' cousins (my first cousins once removed), their kids (my second cousins), my first cousins' kids (also my first cousins once removed), and my second cousins' kids (my second cousins once removed). Many of us see each other regularly.)
-A slideshow review of the year! There are ~five pictures of each extended family member in the slideshow, and since the family keeps growing, the show just keeps getting longer and longer. (Re: prodigious amount of cousins.)
-Waking up really early on Christmas morning and annoying our parents! We then gather in a line (age order, youngest to oldest; this year Mr. Little Sister was between me and Little Sister) and rush into the living room to open our presents from Santa and each other. (Yes, we all still get presents from Santa. Santa is legit, and no one will ever convince me not to believe in him.)
We also had a few novelties this year:
-Christmas Eve was on a Sunday, something that hasn't happened for years. The Little Sisters' Annual Christmas Eve Lunch was therefore held on the 23rd and not the 24th. (P.S. I found out that Valiant and her six sisters all get lunch together on Christmas Eve, too! How interesting.) My ward had one hour of church in the morning combined with some other wards in the stake. The program was mostly music, which was lovely. I sat with Best Friend Boy. He got a real kick out of trying to predict what Christmas hymn we'd be singing next.
-We got to talk to Baby Sister. (Most of the time, missionaries call home only on Christmas Day and Mother's Day.) She's a cutie patootie. Even though her mission is English-speaking, she's learning some Marshallese because of the area in which she's serving. She told us that she was the happiest she's ever been.
All in all, a good day during a good season. Now on to the new year.
Saturday, December 23, 2017
Heavenly Father Must Really Love Me
I have a penchant for waxing philosophical. But tonight, my goal is to avoid too much of a philosophical waxing. Instead, Imma tell you about some things that I noticed this month.
Life this year has been almost exactly 50% wonderful and 50% disappointing and discouraging. Rarely have I had such a centrifugal year. On an note that's seemingly unrelated, a few weeks ago I went to a ward activity (as Relief Society presidents are wont to do). In attendance was a certain sister who, by her own admission, doesn't come to ward activities very often although she frequently attends church meetings. This sister and I both got a ride to the activity location from another sister in our ward, Sophie.
Sophie is a sterling human who is a good example for everyone. In what was perhaps her only lapse of judgment ever, earlier this year she purchased an electric car, not realizing that it could only be started by a key fob and that there was no physical key as a backup.
Well, it just so happened that when we arrived at Sophie's car, her key fob was not working. It was unable to communicate with her electric car, effectively locking us out in the cold.
This sister who rarely comes to ward activities exclaimed that she had the exact same model of car as Sophie. She taught Sophie a trick that would open the car door. However, even though we were able to get inside the car, it still wouldn't start.
I was sitting there, silently praying. No one from our ward had parked near us, and even if they had it would be a major inconvenience to leave Sophie's car in the lot and try to catch rides with others. I'm sure Sophie was praying, too.
But then the other sister said that she knew what the problem was. She said that Sophie's key fob was probably out of batteries, and she suggested that she switch the battery in her own key fob with Sophie's battery. Sure enough, it worked. AND what's more, the sister insisted that Sophie just keep the battery because the sister had a spare at home.
On the way home, Sophie marveled about how incredible it was that this sister who happened to have the exact same car as her had ended up driving with her. The other sister agreed and mentioned that she'd felt strongly that she should come to this activity, even though she never comes to activities.
"Heavenly Father must really love me," concluded Sophie.
That was really humbling to me, because while I was grateful that a solution had presented itself, I was more exhausted that a problem had arisen in the first place. But in Sophie's eyes, the death of the key fob battery was not a problem so much as it was a blessing—because, she said, if the battery had died in any other circumstance, she wouldn't have known what the problem or had an inkling of how to solve it.
Later in the month, the daily Light the World theme was centered on comforting those who were grieving. The church's website suggested reaching out to a person who had recently lost someone for the day's act of service.
To me, that was too specific. I knew a few people who'd lost someone over the past year or so but not recently enough that reaching out would be appropriate. I didn't want to dredge up painful memories for seemingly no reason.
That night at institute, I remembered that the daughter of one of the teachers had passed away just days before. Although I didn't know her super well, the unfortunate circumstances of her passing depressed me. I decided to mention to the teacher that I'd been acquainted with his daughter and tell him I was sorry for his loss.
This man broke into a joyful smile and asked how I'd known his daughter. His seeming acceptance of her death helped me feel better about the situation, too, and his positive attitude inspired me. He actually acted like I'd done him a favor by bringing her up!
Everything worked out so well, that I felt pretty good. Like...you know...Heavenly Father must really love me.
One last thing. Even later in the month, I was at Target (as I frequently am), this time with my mom. We were walking near the clothing aisles when a high, inarticulate little voice said, "Would you like a rose?"
I looked down to see the cutest little toddler in the cutest little dress, holding out a pink rose.
I reached to accept the rose, then paused. Where were this kid's parents? Where did she get the roses? Oh, there they were, holding even more roses.
Quickly, I put two and two together: this was the family's Light the World service for the day. And what a cute service it was! I happily accepted the rose.
Ain't it pretty? Made my night. Let's say it in chorus: Heavenly Father must really love me.
Life this year has been almost exactly 50% wonderful and 50% disappointing and discouraging. Rarely have I had such a centrifugal year. On an note that's seemingly unrelated, a few weeks ago I went to a ward activity (as Relief Society presidents are wont to do). In attendance was a certain sister who, by her own admission, doesn't come to ward activities very often although she frequently attends church meetings. This sister and I both got a ride to the activity location from another sister in our ward, Sophie.
Sophie is a sterling human who is a good example for everyone. In what was perhaps her only lapse of judgment ever, earlier this year she purchased an electric car, not realizing that it could only be started by a key fob and that there was no physical key as a backup.
Well, it just so happened that when we arrived at Sophie's car, her key fob was not working. It was unable to communicate with her electric car, effectively locking us out in the cold.
This sister who rarely comes to ward activities exclaimed that she had the exact same model of car as Sophie. She taught Sophie a trick that would open the car door. However, even though we were able to get inside the car, it still wouldn't start.
I was sitting there, silently praying. No one from our ward had parked near us, and even if they had it would be a major inconvenience to leave Sophie's car in the lot and try to catch rides with others. I'm sure Sophie was praying, too.
But then the other sister said that she knew what the problem was. She said that Sophie's key fob was probably out of batteries, and she suggested that she switch the battery in her own key fob with Sophie's battery. Sure enough, it worked. AND what's more, the sister insisted that Sophie just keep the battery because the sister had a spare at home.
On the way home, Sophie marveled about how incredible it was that this sister who happened to have the exact same car as her had ended up driving with her. The other sister agreed and mentioned that she'd felt strongly that she should come to this activity, even though she never comes to activities.
"Heavenly Father must really love me," concluded Sophie.
That was really humbling to me, because while I was grateful that a solution had presented itself, I was more exhausted that a problem had arisen in the first place. But in Sophie's eyes, the death of the key fob battery was not a problem so much as it was a blessing—because, she said, if the battery had died in any other circumstance, she wouldn't have known what the problem or had an inkling of how to solve it.
Later in the month, the daily Light the World theme was centered on comforting those who were grieving. The church's website suggested reaching out to a person who had recently lost someone for the day's act of service.
To me, that was too specific. I knew a few people who'd lost someone over the past year or so but not recently enough that reaching out would be appropriate. I didn't want to dredge up painful memories for seemingly no reason.
That night at institute, I remembered that the daughter of one of the teachers had passed away just days before. Although I didn't know her super well, the unfortunate circumstances of her passing depressed me. I decided to mention to the teacher that I'd been acquainted with his daughter and tell him I was sorry for his loss.
This man broke into a joyful smile and asked how I'd known his daughter. His seeming acceptance of her death helped me feel better about the situation, too, and his positive attitude inspired me. He actually acted like I'd done him a favor by bringing her up!
Everything worked out so well, that I felt pretty good. Like...you know...Heavenly Father must really love me.
One last thing. Even later in the month, I was at Target (as I frequently am), this time with my mom. We were walking near the clothing aisles when a high, inarticulate little voice said, "Would you like a rose?"
I looked down to see the cutest little toddler in the cutest little dress, holding out a pink rose.
I reached to accept the rose, then paused. Where were this kid's parents? Where did she get the roses? Oh, there they were, holding even more roses.
Quickly, I put two and two together: this was the family's Light the World service for the day. And what a cute service it was! I happily accepted the rose.
Friday, December 22, 2017
Festival of Lights
As you know if you've been reading this blog for a while, the Obnoxious family observes some of the aspects of Hanukkah every year.
Just as non-Christians can celebrate the hope, light, life, love, peace, and goodwill of Christmastime without being believers, I would think that non-Jews can celebrate parts of Hanukkah without being believers (though I may be wrong, but so far, no Jews have told me otherwise). Especially since, unlike Christmas, Hanukkah isn't actually a major holiday. Or so I hear. Anyway, religiously speaking, we're not Jewish, so we always try to keep our celebration respectful and appropriate i.e. not do anything religious that would be a mockery to those who actually practice Judaism.
The big differences between Hanukkah last year and Hanukkah this year were a) we all bought matching Hanukkah sweaters earlier this year and b) Mr. Little Sister is now an official part of the family.
Last year, Mr. Little Sister got waaaaay into Hanukkah. He told Little Sister that he wants to celebrate it with their future children and suggested buying a menorah. Little Sister talked him out of the menorah idea (re: celebrating Hanukkah in a respectful and non-religious way), but that hasn't kept him from embracing his new Jewish heritage. He was very excited for Hanukkah this year. He and Little Sister bought a chocolate dreidel at some kind of arts festival they attended a few weeks ago, and he also picked out a dessert called "jujus" for the party "because we're Jew-Jews!"
Rosebud and Mr. Rosebud also came to the party last year and also got way into it, so they requested to be invited this year. Plus Little Brother got way into challah bread last year, and he has since mastered delicious homemade challah.
Alongside the challah, we enjoyed brisket, latkes, applesauce, and a chocolate bundt cake that wasn't bad for a bundt cake. We did not enjoy the jujus as they were kind of awful. We also played dreidel for prizes: caramels, chocolates, plastic instruments left over from the year before, sticky dinosaurs, and Star Wars and Christmas Peanuts pencils. Then Little Brother led us in some Jewish dances that he choreographed on the spot and made us listen to his favorite Jewish song, "Hava Nagila," over and over.
So it was a pretty good time. While it made me miss Older Sister and Baby Sister, it made me incredibly grateful for a wonderful family with a strong heritage. And I can't wait until we're all together for Christmas! (Older Sister will be here, and we'll be able to talk with Baby Sister on Skype.)
Just as non-Christians can celebrate the hope, light, life, love, peace, and goodwill of Christmastime without being believers, I would think that non-Jews can celebrate parts of Hanukkah without being believers (though I may be wrong, but so far, no Jews have told me otherwise). Especially since, unlike Christmas, Hanukkah isn't actually a major holiday. Or so I hear. Anyway, religiously speaking, we're not Jewish, so we always try to keep our celebration respectful and appropriate i.e. not do anything religious that would be a mockery to those who actually practice Judaism.
The big differences between Hanukkah last year and Hanukkah this year were a) we all bought matching Hanukkah sweaters earlier this year and b) Mr. Little Sister is now an official part of the family.
Last year, Mr. Little Sister got waaaaay into Hanukkah. He told Little Sister that he wants to celebrate it with their future children and suggested buying a menorah. Little Sister talked him out of the menorah idea (re: celebrating Hanukkah in a respectful and non-religious way), but that hasn't kept him from embracing his new Jewish heritage. He was very excited for Hanukkah this year. He and Little Sister bought a chocolate dreidel at some kind of arts festival they attended a few weeks ago, and he also picked out a dessert called "jujus" for the party "because we're Jew-Jews!"
Rosebud and Mr. Rosebud also came to the party last year and also got way into it, so they requested to be invited this year. Plus Little Brother got way into challah bread last year, and he has since mastered delicious homemade challah.
Alongside the challah, we enjoyed brisket, latkes, applesauce, and a chocolate bundt cake that wasn't bad for a bundt cake. We did not enjoy the jujus as they were kind of awful. We also played dreidel for prizes: caramels, chocolates, plastic instruments left over from the year before, sticky dinosaurs, and Star Wars and Christmas Peanuts pencils. Then Little Brother led us in some Jewish dances that he choreographed on the spot and made us listen to his favorite Jewish song, "Hava Nagila," over and over.
So it was a pretty good time. While it made me miss Older Sister and Baby Sister, it made me incredibly grateful for a wonderful family with a strong heritage. And I can't wait until we're all together for Christmas! (Older Sister will be here, and we'll be able to talk with Baby Sister on Skype.)
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Weirdest Christmas Movie Ever
Actually, I'm not even sure this is a Christmas movie.
The movie starts on Groundhog Day, and a weirdly large percentage of it takes place during the spring. And of the part that does take place during the winter, only like five minutes are during actual Christmas. (But about half of those five minutes are a musical number, which is legit. More about the musical number later.)
But either way, this movie is so good that it's bad. Or so bad that it's good? Let me put it this way: For what this movie is trying to do, it does a spectacular job. One just can't help wonder at some points during the movie whether what's being done should have been done at all.
I'm talking about the one, the only, Rankin/Bass production of Jack Frost.
Yes, Jack Frost. It stars Robert Morse (I really like him), Buddy Hackett (you know him as Scuttle the seagull), and Paul Frees (who did all kinds of animated things but especially other obscure Rankin/Bass productions like The Return of the King and The Last Unicorn) plus a lot of other people that I don't know much about.
The premise of the movie is that Jack Frost loves bringing joy to humans but is sad that he's not one of them. One day, (invisible) Jack Frost is hanging out with this nice but kind of spacey girl, Elisa. Elisa is from January Junction (which is a cool name), a town that appears to be in Russia since the currency there is called kopecks and both Elisa's parents have Russian accents even though she has an American accent. Elisa's parents are like "Blah blah blah find a boyfriend!" and Elisa is like "Jack Frost is my boyfriend, lol." Jack doesn't understand Elisa's spacey probably-Russian human girl humor, so he assumes that she's totes serious and makes a deal with Father Winter. Father Winter promises him that he can be a human if he gets a house, a horse, a bag of gold, and a wife before winter is over.
And so Jack literally falls from the sky as a human and is all confused when Elisa doesn't know who he is (dude, you were invisible before). However, Elisa tells him that he seems familiar. Then Father Winter, realizing that Jack is way too guileless and inexperienced to handle the situation, sends Jack's friends (Who are named Snip and Holly. Snip is like Father Winter's personal assistant or something, and Holly is a snow gypsy. Don't know what a snow gypsy is? Neither does anyone else, so.) earth-side to help him out.
Before I go any further, I should tell you that Elisa's family has no money. Literally none. There's a scene earlier in the movie where Kubla Kraus (more on him later) steals the family's only kopeck even though apparently a kopeck is far less than a penny. Elisa's family also raises pumpkins for a living, and despite being in abject poverty they for some reason keep a pet dog and a pet...duck?! I don't know what the duck is doing there. Especially since the duck actually flies, which must be a pain to animate in stop-motion. In any case, the fact that they have a duck is later a very shoehorned plot point, soooooo yeah.
Anyway, Elisa and her Russian-accented parents tell Jack Frost and his friends that they can live with them and their dog and their duck. Jack Frost is all, "Oh no, I must have my own house!" ('cause Father Winter said so), but they explain to him that there are no houses because there are no building materials and also there is no money because NOBODY IN JANUARY JUNCTION HAS ANY MONEY AT ALL. Well, except for money made out of icicles. That's right—the folks of January Junction saw icicles into little icicle coins that they then use to buy stuff from each other all winter long. While this is a wildly flawed plan that would result in a lot of inflation, they seem happy with it. However, the prevalence of currency made out of ice means that there's no bag of gold for Jack, even if he does some real good tailoring (he decides to pretend to be a tailor). And there are no horses either, because apparently nobody can buy horses in January Junction, even if they're icicle-rich.
Undaunted, Jack decides to...well...actually...I don't think he really does anything. He just hangs around January Junction, running a tailor shop out of Elisa's parents' house even though nobody in town actually seems able to afford clothes. Well, and he gets to know Elisa, I guess. She obviously likes him, but she friend-zones him pretty hard. In part because...well. There actually is one person in town who can afford clothes.
His name is Sir Ravenal Rightfellow (not that I knew it off the top of my head; I had to look it up because honestly Sir Ravenous Righteousface is the least interesting part of the movie). He's a knight. He has a really, really square jaw and a suit of golden armor (when people are starving for want of money, no less). And, in case you can't tell, I don't really like him. Which is ironic, considering the voice actor also played Pippin in the Rankin-Bass The Return of the King, and I am obsessed with that version of Pippin. But I am not obsessed with Sir Rightwing Raven. At least, not in a good way. He's nice enough, but he's also the most bland person you can think of, while Jack is wholly delightful and endearing. What's wrong with you, Elisa?!
However, the real villain of this piece (at least that's what they want you to think) is Kubla Kraus. While everyone in January Junction is living in, like, the 1500s, Kubla Kraus is living a steampunk existence. He has a steampunk butler, a steampunk horse, and a host of steampunk knights (pronounced keh-nights; I don't know either). Also, Kubla Kraus (who, like Elisa's parents, has a Russian accent) has a metal ventriloquist's dummy named Dommy. He uses Dommy to talk...to himself. For purposes of exposition, I guess. (P. S. Dommy has a Russian accent, too.) In any case, Kubla explains to Dommy that he wants to marry Elisa 'cause she's pretty. Dommy thinks that this is a bad plan because "she doesn't like you," but Kubla disagrees.
Anyway, Christmas comes, and it turns out that January Junction's icicle money is GOOD FOR NOTHING because even though there's an endless supply of icicles, no one can afford Christmas presents. Or something? It's unclear, but in any case, NO ONE in the entire town gives gifts to each other for the holiday. Instead, they pass around an empty box and take turns opening it and pretending there's a Christmas present inside. This is what the musical number is about, and it's actually extremely charming. They all pantomime what they're taking out of the box and say, "It's just what I've always wanted!" And they do this. Completely. Seriously. It's not self-conscious at all. (But even though Elisa's family and Jack give imaginary presents to each other, they don't give anything to Holly and Snip, which seems like a particular egregious oversight since...they're imaginary... But that's neither here nor there.)
Then Sir Robin Wright Penn gives Elisa a box and says (kind of snotty), "It's a real present." And what did this super-rich guy—who literally wears armor made out of gold—get for this girl who's so humble that she's content with imaginary gifts and so poor that she doesn't even have a change of clothes? A rose. A stinking rose. And, okay, I guess it's kind of romantic if you like that stuff—but when her basic needs aren't being met, it just seems kind of rude to give her something that might not even last overnight. You know?
Oh yeah; there is a second part of the gift. He invites her to a ball that night (which begs the question where the heck the ball is being held). Does she go with him? It's unclear, because later that night she's kidnapped by Kubla and Dommy in a back alley. It's looking like Elisa may never see her family or friends again, except. The family duck is in the woods visiting relatives (yes, this actually happens) and sees Kubla dragging Elisa away on his steampunk horse. So the duck flies home and tells everyone (they all speak duck I guess?) that Elisa's been kidnapped, and Jack and his friends and Sir Raving Rye Bread come to save the day.
Long story short, Sir Ravenclaw Rice Paper saves Elisa but accidentally leaves Jack, Holly, and Snip behind. Kubla throws them all in the dungeon and, being super angry, decides that he wants to destroy January Junction.
Jack is understandably upset, so he tries to "whistle up a winter wind," to stop Kubla in his tracks, but he's human, and he can't do it. So he pleads with Father Winter to let him become a winter spirit again so that he can stop Kubla. Father Winter agrees, and Jack, Holly, and Snip all return to the winter kingdom while Jack brews up quite the storm.
He's successful, he keeps Kubla barricaded in his castle until spring, la de da. But now Elisa is worried because what happened to Jack Snip?! Sir Ravishing Ryan Gosling is kind of annoyed that she's not paying attention to him (he was injured or something when they rescued her; I don't remember or care). In any case, he tells (tells) her that once he's recovered, they'll marry in the spring. Boo.
Back home, Jack's freaking out because once the snow melts, what's going to keep Kubla from destroying January Junction? But Father Winter tells him that there's nothing they can do because once the groundhog decides it's spring, it's spring. Sooooo Jack finds Buddy Hackett the groundhog, who apparently gets to make this momentous spring decision for the entire world (by the way, there are television crews videoing the groundhog, so now the time period of this movie is even more unclear than before). Anyway, even though he's a disembodied spirit, Jack casts a shadow on the ground that sends the groundhog back into hiding, buying six more weeks of winter to save January Junction (and to prevent Elisa from marrying Sir Ravioli Right to Know, although he's not aware of that).
Right before spring finally arrives, Father Winter allows Jack to return to human form and still try to get his house, gold, horse, and wife. First, though, Jack defeats Kubla Kraus and then Father Winter blows the tyrant far, far away, leaving Jack to take possession of the castle, a bag of gold, and the steampunk horse. He hurries back to January Junction, only to find out that Elisa (who finally got a change of clothes) is about to marry Sir Raven-Symoné Writing Desk. Jack, confused, tells Elisa's father that he thought Elisa loved him. Elisa's father, also confused, says that he knew that Elisa loved Jack Frost—"but no, I never heard her say that she loved you, Jack Snip."
UGH.
Just then, spring arrives, and Jack Frost turns back into a spirit. And at this point, you realize that all along, you were actually watching The Little Mermaid, and Hans Christian Anderson is rolling over in his grave so many times that he could win a tumbling competition.
The End!
(But seriously, if you can think of a weirder Christmas movie, I'd be interested in hearing about it.)
The movie starts on Groundhog Day, and a weirdly large percentage of it takes place during the spring. And of the part that does take place during the winter, only like five minutes are during actual Christmas. (But about half of those five minutes are a musical number, which is legit. More about the musical number later.)
But either way, this movie is so good that it's bad. Or so bad that it's good? Let me put it this way: For what this movie is trying to do, it does a spectacular job. One just can't help wonder at some points during the movie whether what's being done should have been done at all.
I'm talking about the one, the only, Rankin/Bass production of Jack Frost.
Yes, Jack Frost. It stars Robert Morse (I really like him), Buddy Hackett (you know him as Scuttle the seagull), and Paul Frees (who did all kinds of animated things but especially other obscure Rankin/Bass productions like The Return of the King and The Last Unicorn) plus a lot of other people that I don't know much about.
The premise of the movie is that Jack Frost loves bringing joy to humans but is sad that he's not one of them. One day, (invisible) Jack Frost is hanging out with this nice but kind of spacey girl, Elisa. Elisa is from January Junction (which is a cool name), a town that appears to be in Russia since the currency there is called kopecks and both Elisa's parents have Russian accents even though she has an American accent. Elisa's parents are like "Blah blah blah find a boyfriend!" and Elisa is like "Jack Frost is my boyfriend, lol." Jack doesn't understand Elisa's spacey probably-Russian human girl humor, so he assumes that she's totes serious and makes a deal with Father Winter. Father Winter promises him that he can be a human if he gets a house, a horse, a bag of gold, and a wife before winter is over.
And so Jack literally falls from the sky as a human and is all confused when Elisa doesn't know who he is (dude, you were invisible before). However, Elisa tells him that he seems familiar. Then Father Winter, realizing that Jack is way too guileless and inexperienced to handle the situation, sends Jack's friends (Who are named Snip and Holly. Snip is like Father Winter's personal assistant or something, and Holly is a snow gypsy. Don't know what a snow gypsy is? Neither does anyone else, so.) earth-side to help him out.
Before I go any further, I should tell you that Elisa's family has no money. Literally none. There's a scene earlier in the movie where Kubla Kraus (more on him later) steals the family's only kopeck even though apparently a kopeck is far less than a penny. Elisa's family also raises pumpkins for a living, and despite being in abject poverty they for some reason keep a pet dog and a pet...duck?! I don't know what the duck is doing there. Especially since the duck actually flies, which must be a pain to animate in stop-motion. In any case, the fact that they have a duck is later a very shoehorned plot point, soooooo yeah.
Anyway, Elisa and her Russian-accented parents tell Jack Frost and his friends that they can live with them and their dog and their duck. Jack Frost is all, "Oh no, I must have my own house!" ('cause Father Winter said so), but they explain to him that there are no houses because there are no building materials and also there is no money because NOBODY IN JANUARY JUNCTION HAS ANY MONEY AT ALL. Well, except for money made out of icicles. That's right—the folks of January Junction saw icicles into little icicle coins that they then use to buy stuff from each other all winter long. While this is a wildly flawed plan that would result in a lot of inflation, they seem happy with it. However, the prevalence of currency made out of ice means that there's no bag of gold for Jack, even if he does some real good tailoring (he decides to pretend to be a tailor). And there are no horses either, because apparently nobody can buy horses in January Junction, even if they're icicle-rich.
Undaunted, Jack decides to...well...actually...I don't think he really does anything. He just hangs around January Junction, running a tailor shop out of Elisa's parents' house even though nobody in town actually seems able to afford clothes. Well, and he gets to know Elisa, I guess. She obviously likes him, but she friend-zones him pretty hard. In part because...well. There actually is one person in town who can afford clothes.
His name is Sir Ravenal Rightfellow (not that I knew it off the top of my head; I had to look it up because honestly Sir Ravenous Righteousface is the least interesting part of the movie). He's a knight. He has a really, really square jaw and a suit of golden armor (when people are starving for want of money, no less). And, in case you can't tell, I don't really like him. Which is ironic, considering the voice actor also played Pippin in the Rankin-Bass The Return of the King, and I am obsessed with that version of Pippin. But I am not obsessed with Sir Rightwing Raven. At least, not in a good way. He's nice enough, but he's also the most bland person you can think of, while Jack is wholly delightful and endearing. What's wrong with you, Elisa?!
However, the real villain of this piece (at least that's what they want you to think) is Kubla Kraus. While everyone in January Junction is living in, like, the 1500s, Kubla Kraus is living a steampunk existence. He has a steampunk butler, a steampunk horse, and a host of steampunk knights (pronounced keh-nights; I don't know either). Also, Kubla Kraus (who, like Elisa's parents, has a Russian accent) has a metal ventriloquist's dummy named Dommy. He uses Dommy to talk...to himself. For purposes of exposition, I guess. (P. S. Dommy has a Russian accent, too.) In any case, Kubla explains to Dommy that he wants to marry Elisa 'cause she's pretty. Dommy thinks that this is a bad plan because "she doesn't like you," but Kubla disagrees.
Anyway, Christmas comes, and it turns out that January Junction's icicle money is GOOD FOR NOTHING because even though there's an endless supply of icicles, no one can afford Christmas presents. Or something? It's unclear, but in any case, NO ONE in the entire town gives gifts to each other for the holiday. Instead, they pass around an empty box and take turns opening it and pretending there's a Christmas present inside. This is what the musical number is about, and it's actually extremely charming. They all pantomime what they're taking out of the box and say, "It's just what I've always wanted!" And they do this. Completely. Seriously. It's not self-conscious at all. (But even though Elisa's family and Jack give imaginary presents to each other, they don't give anything to Holly and Snip, which seems like a particular egregious oversight since...they're imaginary... But that's neither here nor there.)
Then Sir Robin Wright Penn gives Elisa a box and says (kind of snotty), "It's a real present." And what did this super-rich guy—who literally wears armor made out of gold—get for this girl who's so humble that she's content with imaginary gifts and so poor that she doesn't even have a change of clothes? A rose. A stinking rose. And, okay, I guess it's kind of romantic if you like that stuff—but when her basic needs aren't being met, it just seems kind of rude to give her something that might not even last overnight. You know?
Oh yeah; there is a second part of the gift. He invites her to a ball that night (which begs the question where the heck the ball is being held). Does she go with him? It's unclear, because later that night she's kidnapped by Kubla and Dommy in a back alley. It's looking like Elisa may never see her family or friends again, except. The family duck is in the woods visiting relatives (yes, this actually happens) and sees Kubla dragging Elisa away on his steampunk horse. So the duck flies home and tells everyone (they all speak duck I guess?) that Elisa's been kidnapped, and Jack and his friends and Sir Raving Rye Bread come to save the day.
Long story short, Sir Ravenclaw Rice Paper saves Elisa but accidentally leaves Jack, Holly, and Snip behind. Kubla throws them all in the dungeon and, being super angry, decides that he wants to destroy January Junction.
Jack is understandably upset, so he tries to "whistle up a winter wind," to stop Kubla in his tracks, but he's human, and he can't do it. So he pleads with Father Winter to let him become a winter spirit again so that he can stop Kubla. Father Winter agrees, and Jack, Holly, and Snip all return to the winter kingdom while Jack brews up quite the storm.
He's successful, he keeps Kubla barricaded in his castle until spring, la de da. But now Elisa is worried because what happened to Jack Snip?! Sir Ravishing Ryan Gosling is kind of annoyed that she's not paying attention to him (he was injured or something when they rescued her; I don't remember or care). In any case, he tells (tells) her that once he's recovered, they'll marry in the spring. Boo.
Back home, Jack's freaking out because once the snow melts, what's going to keep Kubla from destroying January Junction? But Father Winter tells him that there's nothing they can do because once the groundhog decides it's spring, it's spring. Sooooo Jack finds Buddy Hackett the groundhog, who apparently gets to make this momentous spring decision for the entire world (by the way, there are television crews videoing the groundhog, so now the time period of this movie is even more unclear than before). Anyway, even though he's a disembodied spirit, Jack casts a shadow on the ground that sends the groundhog back into hiding, buying six more weeks of winter to save January Junction (and to prevent Elisa from marrying Sir Ravioli Right to Know, although he's not aware of that).
Right before spring finally arrives, Father Winter allows Jack to return to human form and still try to get his house, gold, horse, and wife. First, though, Jack defeats Kubla Kraus and then Father Winter blows the tyrant far, far away, leaving Jack to take possession of the castle, a bag of gold, and the steampunk horse. He hurries back to January Junction, only to find out that Elisa (who finally got a change of clothes) is about to marry Sir Raven-Symoné Writing Desk. Jack, confused, tells Elisa's father that he thought Elisa loved him. Elisa's father, also confused, says that he knew that Elisa loved Jack Frost—"but no, I never heard her say that she loved you, Jack Snip."
UGH.
Just then, spring arrives, and Jack Frost turns back into a spirit. And at this point, you realize that all along, you were actually watching The Little Mermaid, and Hans Christian Anderson is rolling over in his grave so many times that he could win a tumbling competition.
The End!
(But seriously, if you can think of a weirder Christmas movie, I'd be interested in hearing about it.)
Friday, December 15, 2017
My Tenth Stitch Fix Experience
So winter happened, and when winter happened I discovered that I basically didn't have any warm winter shirts that aren't sweaters.
First off, a disclaimer: I love sweaters. I have a small department store's worth of them. But they're darned hard to care for. I figured I needed some easier winter shirts.
Thus I scheduled a Fix (my tenth!) and dashed off a note to Jessica V, explaining that I needed warm winter shirts (that weren't blouses or sweaters) and warm winter dresses, too.
I experienced an avalanche of delight when I opened my Fix and found not one but two bundles of clothes. Better yet, they were wrapped in special holiday wrap!!!
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| Instead of taking one picture of each bundle, I took two pictures of the same one...IDK. |
Then I experienced an avalanche of shock as soon as I opened my stylist's note.
Hi Awkward Mormon Girl, Jessica is not available to style this Fix, but I took extra time today to review your Style Profile and Fix History to get familiar with your style!
Jessica V "is not available?" Then who the flip are you??? (Further perusal showed that this stylist goes by the sketchy alias of "Jill.")
Thank you for leaving a request for warm winter tops and dresses...we've got you covered! I started with the legging-like Liverpool skinny jeans.
Wait...jeans? I'm not really in the market for jeans, girlfriend. I replaced literally all of my old jeans earlier this year.
The inseam should be perfect! Pair the jeans with the burgundy knit top for a cute and casual style. I also added the cozy pullover sweater. It's sure to keep you warm on the colder days ahead.
What did I say about sweaters, Jill? Hmm? I said, "No sweaters!" I'm pretty sure I said those literal exact words, except without the exclamation point. Because using an exclamation point would be rude.
I hope you love the Marc New York Puffer Coat. Both the quality and craftsmanship are top-notch! Enjoy exploring these new arrivals. And as always, please leave feedback. Happy Fix Day :) Your stylist, Jill
Whoa, Jill. Whoa. Whoa. You're not "my stylist," okay? Jessica V is my stylist. You're just filling in while she's gone.
(Also, Jill, you're supposed to end a Fix note in an XO, not a smiley face. Geez.)
Most of the trying-on process was just me having an internal dialogue with Jill. Like so:
I hope you love the Marc New York Puffer Coat. Both the quality and craftsmanship are top-notch! Enjoy exploring these new arrivals. And as always, please leave feedback. Happy Fix Day :) Your stylist, Jill
Whoa, Jill. Whoa. Whoa. You're not "my stylist," okay? Jessica V is my stylist. You're just filling in while she's gone.
(Also, Jill, you're supposed to end a Fix note in an XO, not a smiley face. Geez.)
Most of the trying-on process was just me having an internal dialogue with Jill. Like so:
Liverpool Elizabeth Super Skinny Jean: "I don't need jeggings, Jill." (In spite of the name, these pants are totally jeggings and not real jeans.) *as I'm sliding the pants on* "Do not want, do not need—oh my gosh, these are so comfy."
I feel like this happens every time Stitch Fix sends me jeans, buuuuut...Verdict: Keep.
Dual Nature Celeste Knit Top: I was actually very pleased with this top. This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to get in my Fix, and I didn't direct any irate comments towards Jill while I was trying it on. I recently bought myself a jumper, and I tried the top with the jumper to see if it worked. (I love that about Stitch Fix.) Verdict: Keep.
Le Lis Kano Textured Knit Dress: I liked the look of the dress, but I was irritated that it was short-sleeved. "I said warm dresses, Jill! What part of 'warm' do you not understand—" *tries on dress* "—wow, this really is warm." Sure enough, despite being a winter dress with no actual sleeves (?!), it was quite warm, looked lovely beneath a cardigan, and actually fell below my knees. Verdict: Keep.
I wasn't sure what to think about the last two items.
Evolution by Cyrus Yvonna Mock Neck Pullover Sweater: "I said no sweaters!"
The sweater looked all right on me, but besides being a sweater and not what I desired, it was reeeaaally staticky. It clung to my hair like a crazy hair-clinging thing.
Marc New York Risor Quilted Puffer Coat: "Jill! My style profile says no coats! I don't need a coat; I already have a perfectly good coat." *tries on coat* "Wow, this looks really good on me...especially the color..."
In all honesty, my puffy winter coat is actually pretty old and ugly; I'm just adverse to spending money on a new coat when I have one that's serviceable enough. Plus the coat was (I thought) way too expensive.
When faced with such decisions, I do what any sensible girl would do and text my mom and sisters, asking whether they thought I should buy the coat. If I did, then I would need to buy the sweater as well (since buying all five items and getting a discount was less money than buying the four items I really liked).
I got mixed feedback, but my mom was the one with the strongest opinion (and the most difficult phone to text on).
Mom: Static can be managed with fabric softener sheets. YOU Can Use More PANTS dear. And a cute coat. You need to spend some on yourself. You are such a great saver but you are only young and cute once. I don't tell the others to buy more clothes but you need them.
With that kind of endorsement, I decided to go ahead and buy everything.
(P. S. I also sent a picture to see what they thought of the top-and-jumper combo.
Mom: The jumper is cute with that top. GOOD color on you.love you
I thought that it worked. Older Sister thought that it didn't. Little Sister seemingly abstained. What do y'all think?)
Anyway, in closing, I guess that Jill did an all right job and that I can grudgingly like her and not feel super disloyal to Jessica V. Although...now that I think of it...Jessica V was the one who abandoned me, not the other way round! So I shouldn't feel guilty about having a fling with Jill, right? I think? The ethics of client-stylist relationships are a little unclear to me.
If you've got a hankering to make Jessica V or Jill or some other hapless person pick out a bunch of clothes for you, go ahead and sign up for Stitch Fix using this here referral link! You get a Fix, and I get $25 in credit. It's fun for everyone.
I feel like this happens every time Stitch Fix sends me jeans, buuuuut...Verdict: Keep.
Dual Nature Celeste Knit Top: I was actually very pleased with this top. This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to get in my Fix, and I didn't direct any irate comments towards Jill while I was trying it on. I recently bought myself a jumper, and I tried the top with the jumper to see if it worked. (I love that about Stitch Fix.) Verdict: Keep.
Le Lis Kano Textured Knit Dress: I liked the look of the dress, but I was irritated that it was short-sleeved. "I said warm dresses, Jill! What part of 'warm' do you not understand—" *tries on dress* "—wow, this really is warm." Sure enough, despite being a winter dress with no actual sleeves (?!), it was quite warm, looked lovely beneath a cardigan, and actually fell below my knees. Verdict: Keep.
I wasn't sure what to think about the last two items.
Evolution by Cyrus Yvonna Mock Neck Pullover Sweater: "I said no sweaters!"
The sweater looked all right on me, but besides being a sweater and not what I desired, it was reeeaaally staticky. It clung to my hair like a crazy hair-clinging thing.
Marc New York Risor Quilted Puffer Coat: "Jill! My style profile says no coats! I don't need a coat; I already have a perfectly good coat." *tries on coat* "Wow, this looks really good on me...especially the color..."
In all honesty, my puffy winter coat is actually pretty old and ugly; I'm just adverse to spending money on a new coat when I have one that's serviceable enough. Plus the coat was (I thought) way too expensive.
When faced with such decisions, I do what any sensible girl would do and text my mom and sisters, asking whether they thought I should buy the coat. If I did, then I would need to buy the sweater as well (since buying all five items and getting a discount was less money than buying the four items I really liked).
I got mixed feedback, but my mom was the one with the strongest opinion (and the most difficult phone to text on).
Mom: Static can be managed with fabric softener sheets. YOU Can Use More PANTS dear. And a cute coat. You need to spend some on yourself. You are such a great saver but you are only young and cute once. I don't tell the others to buy more clothes but you need them.
With that kind of endorsement, I decided to go ahead and buy everything.
(P. S. I also sent a picture to see what they thought of the top-and-jumper combo.
Mom: The jumper is cute with that top. GOOD color on you.love you
I thought that it worked. Older Sister thought that it didn't. Little Sister seemingly abstained. What do y'all think?)
Anyway, in closing, I guess that Jill did an all right job and that I can grudgingly like her and not feel super disloyal to Jessica V. Although...now that I think of it...Jessica V was the one who abandoned me, not the other way round! So I shouldn't feel guilty about having a fling with Jill, right? I think? The ethics of client-stylist relationships are a little unclear to me.
If you've got a hankering to make Jessica V or Jill or some other hapless person pick out a bunch of clothes for you, go ahead and sign up for Stitch Fix using this here referral link! You get a Fix, and I get $25 in credit. It's fun for everyone.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Light the World (Again)
I guess last year's Light the World went really well, because my church is doing it again this year.
Let's review: For Light the World, you do 25 acts of service over 25 days. Last year I shared my acts of service every day on Twitter. This year, I decided to do the service but not post about it daily. Also, last year I just did any kind of service and didn't follow the suggested themes (particularly because I was in Disneyland for four days and had to just grab service opportunities as they appeared). I'm following the themes each day this year, though. In some ways it makes it easier...in some ways it makes it harder.
In any case, 'tis a wonderful way to spend Christ's season!
Let's review: For Light the World, you do 25 acts of service over 25 days. Last year I shared my acts of service every day on Twitter. This year, I decided to do the service but not post about it daily. Also, last year I just did any kind of service and didn't follow the suggested themes (particularly because I was in Disneyland for four days and had to just grab service opportunities as they appeared). I'm following the themes each day this year, though. In some ways it makes it easier...in some ways it makes it harder.
In any case, 'tis a wonderful way to spend Christ's season!
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Every Day I'm Timehoppin'
Late last year, Baby Brother became obsessed with Timehop.
I think it was during our trip to Arizona that he became so engrossed. We were all together for three days straight, and at some point or another I showed him Timehop.
Around this time, Timehop starting doing "streaks." That is, if you checked Timehop for a certain number of days in a row, you got a streak.
Baby Brother was curious about what would happen if I got a month-long Timehop streak. So I set out to check Timehop every day for a month.
At the end, Baby Brother was underwhelmed by whatever it was that Timehop did to acknowledge a streak of one month. However, his curiosity peaked (not piqued, although that's also relevant in this situation) at the thought of what might happen when one checked Timehop every day for a year.
A really awesome sister would then proceed to check Timehop every day for a year...right?
Well, please give me the really awesome sister award, because I did just that.
Through horrible snowstorms and sweltering summer and my birthday and holidays and good days and bad days I kept checking Timehop—and yesterday, I finally got me a year streak.
I think it was during our trip to Arizona that he became so engrossed. We were all together for three days straight, and at some point or another I showed him Timehop.
Around this time, Timehop starting doing "streaks." That is, if you checked Timehop for a certain number of days in a row, you got a streak.
Baby Brother was curious about what would happen if I got a month-long Timehop streak. So I set out to check Timehop every day for a month.
At the end, Baby Brother was underwhelmed by whatever it was that Timehop did to acknowledge a streak of one month. However, his curiosity peaked (not piqued, although that's also relevant in this situation) at the thought of what might happen when one checked Timehop every day for a year.
A really awesome sister would then proceed to check Timehop every day for a year...right?
Well, please give me the really awesome sister award, because I did just that.
Through horrible snowstorms and sweltering summer and my birthday and holidays and good days and bad days I kept checking Timehop—and yesterday, I finally got me a year streak.
I let Baby Brother know right away. (He's allowed to use Baby Sister's phone on a limited basis while she is on her mission.)
...underwhelmed again.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Remember, Remember the End of November
My plans for the evening were to wrap up on some stuff for the month. Namely, attend the temple (I do this at least twice monthly but had only gone once this month), finish up with NaNoWriMo, and write this blog post.
What actually happened was that I was in the temple about half as long as I'd planned, and directly after I went to the doctor.
I've been to the doctor soooo many times this year. This time, the health concern of the day was a UTI. I've had UTIs twice before, so I know the symptoms. Also, I've gone to my mom's place of work for treatment before, but I've never had her actually be the RN on duty before. Tonight she was the one who took my blood pressure and weighed me and stuff.
MY MOTHER THE RN: You're so tiny!
ME: MOM.
Long story short, that's how about 100 of the 1,000 words I wrote tonight were jotted down on a crumpled index card while I was hanging around the doctor's office.
What's that? You want to know how NaNoWriMo went this year? My goal was 32,000 words, and I pulled 26,000. Not bad! (Especially since that's about double what I wrote last year.) I have high hopes that I'll be done with the entire novel soon, although I'm slacking off a little starting tomorrow because of the Christmas season.
What actually happened was that I was in the temple about half as long as I'd planned, and directly after I went to the doctor.
I've been to the doctor soooo many times this year. This time, the health concern of the day was a UTI. I've had UTIs twice before, so I know the symptoms. Also, I've gone to my mom's place of work for treatment before, but I've never had her actually be the RN on duty before. Tonight she was the one who took my blood pressure and weighed me and stuff.
MY MOTHER THE RN: You're so tiny!
ME: MOM.
Long story short, that's how about 100 of the 1,000 words I wrote tonight were jotted down on a crumpled index card while I was hanging around the doctor's office.
What's that? You want to know how NaNoWriMo went this year? My goal was 32,000 words, and I pulled 26,000. Not bad! (Especially since that's about double what I wrote last year.) I have high hopes that I'll be done with the entire novel soon, although I'm slacking off a little starting tomorrow because of the Christmas season.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
The Lost Socks
The Blogger app is finally kaput. For a while there, I was having an excessively rough time getting photos off my phone and onto the Blogger platform for your perusal.
After poking around in a few alternatives, I landed on using a photo-sharing Google feature to get the photos loaded directly from my phone to my Blogger library. Pretty neat!
One of the recent photos on my phone is these socks:
They're a strange medley of frogs and hearts, and they've been sitting on the counter in the laundry room for about three years.
I'm pretty into weird socks, and my mom often buys her kids Valentine-themed socks for Valentine's Day, so there's a chance that they're mine.
BUT I don't recognize them. Like, at all. And I'm pretty sure I would.
There's also a chance that they were left behind by La Petite or Snacktime. Probably more likely to be La Petite's than Snacktime's, since I replaced Snacktime in the apartment and I didn't see the socks around until a while after I moved in.
They could also be the Seamstress's or Pepper's, but since both of them have lived here without claiming them for three years, that seems not likely.
If you have any ideas of they could belong to...or if they belong to you...let me know. I won't ask questions, even if there's no way they could possibly belong to you. *wink wink*
...
...
(In case it's not clear, I'm basically saying that YOU CAN HAVE THE SOCKS FOR FREE IF YOU GET THEM OFF OUR HANDS (OR FEET, RATHER).)
After poking around in a few alternatives, I landed on using a photo-sharing Google feature to get the photos loaded directly from my phone to my Blogger library. Pretty neat!
One of the recent photos on my phone is these socks:
I'm pretty into weird socks, and my mom often buys her kids Valentine-themed socks for Valentine's Day, so there's a chance that they're mine.
BUT I don't recognize them. Like, at all. And I'm pretty sure I would.
There's also a chance that they were left behind by La Petite or Snacktime. Probably more likely to be La Petite's than Snacktime's, since I replaced Snacktime in the apartment and I didn't see the socks around until a while after I moved in.
They could also be the Seamstress's or Pepper's, but since both of them have lived here without claiming them for three years, that seems not likely.
If you have any ideas of they could belong to...or if they belong to you...let me know. I won't ask questions, even if there's no way they could possibly belong to you. *wink wink*
...
...
(In case it's not clear, I'm basically saying that YOU CAN HAVE THE SOCKS FOR FREE IF YOU GET THEM OFF OUR HANDS (OR FEET, RATHER).)
Monday, November 27, 2017
Wirth It
Context: This post is about my second day at Comic Con 2017.
I've been wondering lately: why is Comic Con a thing?
Think about it. We go to this massive event in hopes of seeing some random people most of us have never seen personally or met before and will probably never see personally or meet again. And we don't just go—some sacrifice ludicrous amounts of time and money to do it.
Why do we even care? Why does it matter?
I think we do it because humans are reciprocal creatures. These people have touched our lives from beyond the page or in front of the camera. Some of them have even indirectly changed us. So we go seeking them in hopes that in some way, we might return the favor. We want to be part of their lives the way they're part of ours, even if we only shake their hands or tell them our names or stand beside them for a ten-second photo op.
After day one, Heather Dixon, and Jess Harnell, it was day two with Elijah Wood, the voice of Wirt.
A little background: one time when I was younger, my second cousin told me that I had Elijah Wood's eyes. You know, big. Blue. Intense. I could see it, but I also had my doubts. Now, years later, I had the perfect way to settle the question. The plan was that after I got my picture taken with Elijah Wood, I would be able to look directly at the photo and compare our eyes.
Well, guess what? Towards the end of our first day at Comic Con, my eye started swelling. I assumed it was allergies, so I took a six-hour generic of Benadryl. That seemed to help a little, but the next morning my eye was still somewhat swollen.
I don't like having a swollen eye on any day, but it was especially bothersome on this day of all days when I was going to get a photo op with Elijah Wood. I couldn't have my eyes swelling when I needed them be nice and normal so that I could determine if I actually did have Elijah Wood's eyes! Ya know? So I took another pill for good measure.
Satisfied that the crisis was averted, I proceeded to get myself ready for the day. I was wearing a new Over the Garden Wall shirt that I'd purchased especially for the occasion. Not being able to say hello during our photo op last year was abnormal. Favorite Cousin told me that his experience was that usually you got to exchange greetings with the celebrity before the photo. With this in mind, I'd spawned a second but almost-as-important photo op plan: Elijah Wood would see my shirt as we approached him, and he'd say, "Nice shirt!" Because how could the voice of Wirt not appreciate a shirt with Wirt on it, I ask you?! It was a brilliant plan. Foolproof.
Our photo op wasn't until the afternoon, so Favorite Cousin and I started our day by hitting Elijah Wood's panel.
News flash: Elijah Wood's normal-person voice is just Wirt's voice!
I had no idea! He's faking that prissy Frodo accent in The Lord of the Rings, so I didn't know what his regular voice was like. But I grabbed a few videos of him and it basically just sounds like Wirt talking and aaaaaah it's amazing.
I was really excited to hear more about Elijah's work on Over the Garden Wall. This was Comic Con, so I figured everybody would be into some really obscure stuff. But no. No. Almost every question was about The Lord of the Rings. And I was just like, "People! There are literally hours and hours of bonus material about these films that you can find on the Special Feature menu on your DVDs! There is many an interview about them! There is at least one book about them that I know of! I already know the answer to most of these questions, and so should you! Ask Elijah Wood some questions about things we don't already know everything about!"
But alas, as this tirade was completely in my head, it did no good. Almost every question was about The Lord of the Rings, and Elijah Wood got kind of awkward about it. He said it was hard to "articulate" (he probably said the word "articulate" like ten times), and I think he even said that being a part of filming the series was kind of isolating because so few people could relate to the unique experience.
After that, Favorite Cousin and I puttered around a bit. We shopped for Captain America t-shirts and Hogwarts watches. We looked at many a piece of artwork and ate funnel cake, if memory serves.
Then it was time for our photo op.
I kept thinking that some kind of disaster would strike, but it didn't. We got in line behind these people who were dressed in impressive full-on Tolkien elf costumes, ears and everything. Who does that?! They do that, apparently.
Last year, Evanna Lynch was trying to catch a flight, we were super-rushed through the line. Like I said, we weren't allowed to really talk to Evanna or anything.
I guess that memory made Favorite Cousin determined not to waste any of Elijah Wood's time, because when we were still a few people back in line, he turned to me and asked what side of the picture I wanted to be on.
It seemed like we would have a minute to figure that out when we got to the front of the line, but no big deal. We got closer...and closer...and closer.
The elves strode up to Elijah Wood. He looked at them and said something like, "Nice costumes, guys!"
He was totally going to compliment my shirt! I just knew it.
Then it was our turn. Favorite Cousin rushed forward...and so did I.
"Hi—oh. Okay," said Elijah Wood. We were on either side of him before he could even look at us...or at our shirts.
Noooo!
We got our photo. Then, to be polite, I said, "Thank you!"
Then Elijah Wood looked at me. I was just a couple inches shorter than him, so I got a full-on blast of the famous eyes.
And...whoooaaa. I was stunned. They were so blue. So intense and mesmerizing. I was, like, frozen solid for a second or two under the sheer force of them.
"Oh," he said. He sounded as dazed as I felt, but he also sounded confused. "You're welcome."
And then...it was over. Favorite Cousin and I went to claim our photo. While I was let down that Elijah Wood hadn't even seen my shirt, I was excited to compare his eyes to mine in the photo. Plus he'd looked me right in the eye and talked to me, so that was cool! Except he'd been so dazed and confused! Why was he so dazed and confused?
As we waited, I told Favorite Cousin about my plan to compare my eyes with Elijah Wood's. Favorite Cousin understood and seemed to think this was important. When we claimed our photos, he helped me conduct the comparison.
My assessment was that our eyes were similar, except that mine were greener and looked a lot darker.
Favorite Cousin agreed. In fact... "It almost looks in the picture like your pupils are dilated."
Wait. What? "Are they dilated now?"
He said that they were.
What the—I contacted my mother the RN. Was it possible that dilated eyes were a side effect of Benadryl generics?
As it turned out, it was possible. It was factual. My eyes were really dilated, I discovered upon looking in a mirror.
I remembered how dazed and confused Elijah Wood had seemed.
I'd gotten a really good look at his eyes. He must have gotten a really good look at mine.
Although I'll never know for sure, I have a sneaking suspicion that Elijah Wood was so dazed and confused because he saw my dilated eyes and thought I was stoned.
If that's the case, though, at least I did make an impression...it just wasn't with my t-shirt.
I've been wondering lately: why is Comic Con a thing?
Think about it. We go to this massive event in hopes of seeing some random people most of us have never seen personally or met before and will probably never see personally or meet again. And we don't just go—some sacrifice ludicrous amounts of time and money to do it.
Why do we even care? Why does it matter?
I think we do it because humans are reciprocal creatures. These people have touched our lives from beyond the page or in front of the camera. Some of them have even indirectly changed us. So we go seeking them in hopes that in some way, we might return the favor. We want to be part of their lives the way they're part of ours, even if we only shake their hands or tell them our names or stand beside them for a ten-second photo op.
After day one, Heather Dixon, and Jess Harnell, it was day two with Elijah Wood, the voice of Wirt.
A little background: one time when I was younger, my second cousin told me that I had Elijah Wood's eyes. You know, big. Blue. Intense. I could see it, but I also had my doubts. Now, years later, I had the perfect way to settle the question. The plan was that after I got my picture taken with Elijah Wood, I would be able to look directly at the photo and compare our eyes.
Well, guess what? Towards the end of our first day at Comic Con, my eye started swelling. I assumed it was allergies, so I took a six-hour generic of Benadryl. That seemed to help a little, but the next morning my eye was still somewhat swollen.
I don't like having a swollen eye on any day, but it was especially bothersome on this day of all days when I was going to get a photo op with Elijah Wood. I couldn't have my eyes swelling when I needed them be nice and normal so that I could determine if I actually did have Elijah Wood's eyes! Ya know? So I took another pill for good measure.
Satisfied that the crisis was averted, I proceeded to get myself ready for the day. I was wearing a new Over the Garden Wall shirt that I'd purchased especially for the occasion. Not being able to say hello during our photo op last year was abnormal. Favorite Cousin told me that his experience was that usually you got to exchange greetings with the celebrity before the photo. With this in mind, I'd spawned a second but almost-as-important photo op plan: Elijah Wood would see my shirt as we approached him, and he'd say, "Nice shirt!" Because how could the voice of Wirt not appreciate a shirt with Wirt on it, I ask you?! It was a brilliant plan. Foolproof.
Our photo op wasn't until the afternoon, so Favorite Cousin and I started our day by hitting Elijah Wood's panel.
News flash: Elijah Wood's normal-person voice is just Wirt's voice!
I had no idea! He's faking that prissy Frodo accent in The Lord of the Rings, so I didn't know what his regular voice was like. But I grabbed a few videos of him and it basically just sounds like Wirt talking and aaaaaah it's amazing.
I was really excited to hear more about Elijah's work on Over the Garden Wall. This was Comic Con, so I figured everybody would be into some really obscure stuff. But no. No. Almost every question was about The Lord of the Rings. And I was just like, "People! There are literally hours and hours of bonus material about these films that you can find on the Special Feature menu on your DVDs! There is many an interview about them! There is at least one book about them that I know of! I already know the answer to most of these questions, and so should you! Ask Elijah Wood some questions about things we don't already know everything about!"
But alas, as this tirade was completely in my head, it did no good. Almost every question was about The Lord of the Rings, and Elijah Wood got kind of awkward about it. He said it was hard to "articulate" (he probably said the word "articulate" like ten times), and I think he even said that being a part of filming the series was kind of isolating because so few people could relate to the unique experience.
After that, Favorite Cousin and I puttered around a bit. We shopped for Captain America t-shirts and Hogwarts watches. We looked at many a piece of artwork and ate funnel cake, if memory serves.
Then it was time for our photo op.
I kept thinking that some kind of disaster would strike, but it didn't. We got in line behind these people who were dressed in impressive full-on Tolkien elf costumes, ears and everything. Who does that?! They do that, apparently.
Last year, Evanna Lynch was trying to catch a flight, we were super-rushed through the line. Like I said, we weren't allowed to really talk to Evanna or anything.
I guess that memory made Favorite Cousin determined not to waste any of Elijah Wood's time, because when we were still a few people back in line, he turned to me and asked what side of the picture I wanted to be on.
It seemed like we would have a minute to figure that out when we got to the front of the line, but no big deal. We got closer...and closer...and closer.
The elves strode up to Elijah Wood. He looked at them and said something like, "Nice costumes, guys!"
He was totally going to compliment my shirt! I just knew it.
Then it was our turn. Favorite Cousin rushed forward...and so did I.
"Hi—oh. Okay," said Elijah Wood. We were on either side of him before he could even look at us...or at our shirts.
Noooo!
We got our photo. Then, to be polite, I said, "Thank you!"
Then Elijah Wood looked at me. I was just a couple inches shorter than him, so I got a full-on blast of the famous eyes.
And...whoooaaa. I was stunned. They were so blue. So intense and mesmerizing. I was, like, frozen solid for a second or two under the sheer force of them.
"Oh," he said. He sounded as dazed as I felt, but he also sounded confused. "You're welcome."
And then...it was over. Favorite Cousin and I went to claim our photo. While I was let down that Elijah Wood hadn't even seen my shirt, I was excited to compare his eyes to mine in the photo. Plus he'd looked me right in the eye and talked to me, so that was cool! Except he'd been so dazed and confused! Why was he so dazed and confused?
As we waited, I told Favorite Cousin about my plan to compare my eyes with Elijah Wood's. Favorite Cousin understood and seemed to think this was important. When we claimed our photos, he helped me conduct the comparison.
My assessment was that our eyes were similar, except that mine were greener and looked a lot darker.
Favorite Cousin agreed. In fact... "It almost looks in the picture like your pupils are dilated."
Wait. What? "Are they dilated now?"
He said that they were.
What the—I contacted my mother the RN. Was it possible that dilated eyes were a side effect of Benadryl generics?
As it turned out, it was possible. It was factual. My eyes were really dilated, I discovered upon looking in a mirror.
I remembered how dazed and confused Elijah Wood had seemed.
I'd gotten a really good look at his eyes. He must have gotten a really good look at mine.
Although I'll never know for sure, I have a sneaking suspicion that Elijah Wood was so dazed and confused because he saw my dilated eyes and thought I was stoned.
If that's the case, though, at least I did make an impression...it just wasn't with my t-shirt.
Friday, November 24, 2017
A Day of Thanks
Baby Sister's Thanksgiving job is making a homemade cheese ball or two. She can make a few different varieties to go with our annual assortment of crackers. I had this vague vision of Baby Brother taking over that job this year and then slowly taking over everyone else's jobs (due to various circumstances of absenteeism) until he and he alone is preparing the entire Thanksgiving meal. Didn't happen, though. My mom instead bought a couple of homemade cheese balls, so I guess Baby Sister's job is secure until she returns.
My job varies from year to year. I'm just one person, so instead of receiving an official assignment, I usually bring some miscellaneous appetizer or dessert. This time around, I volunteered to make the Whopper pie.
If you haven't had the pleasure of ever trying Whopper pie, you should. My aunt introduced our family to it (though I'm not sure if it's something she brought from her family or if it's just something she discovered after marrying my uncle). She used to make it every year, but after my cousins were diagnosed with lactose intolerance, she stopped bringing it around. The kids grew out of their allergies, though, so it's made a comeback in recent year.
Usually either my aunt or my mom makes it, but since they also have annual assignments of turkey, potatoes, and homemade stuffing (my aunt) and rolls, green bean casserole, and all the appetizers (my mom), I thought I could do it this year.
Here's how you do: take chocolate cookie pie crust. Mix crushed Whoppers with either vanilla or chocolate ice cream. Scoop the ice cream-Whopper confection into the pie crust. Garnish with whole Whoppers and whipped cream. Freeze. And then eat the most delicious pie you've dreamed of in your life.
I actually struggled with feeling grateful this year. I didn't have my usual happy Thanksgiving glow. But at least I'm always grateful for Whopper pie.
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Teardrops On My Keyboard
Weekends are rough.
I go go go all week long. What I can do, I do. What I can't do, I save for the weekend.
By the time the weekend comes around, I'm too tired. I often can't do even half of what I've planned to do, even though it really needs to be done. I tell myself that I'll go to bed and make a fresh start in the morning. But what really happens is that I lie awake, paralyzed by all I haven't accomplished, perhaps mindlessly scrolling through my Facebook feed to keep my anxiety at bay.
It's not uncommon for me to accidentally stay up until two or three in the morning this way.
Last night, I was trying to cram in all that I could before going to bed. I sat down to work on my novel for NaNoWriMo, only to find that due to an error on my computer, the last 700 words that I'd written had not been saved.
I cried. I cried profusely, and when I reached up to wipe away my tears, the mascara smeared on my fingertips...which I only discovered after I started to make up those 700 words using my laptop's white keyboard.
Other than the egregious weekend crunch...things are going well.
I go go go all week long. What I can do, I do. What I can't do, I save for the weekend.
By the time the weekend comes around, I'm too tired. I often can't do even half of what I've planned to do, even though it really needs to be done. I tell myself that I'll go to bed and make a fresh start in the morning. But what really happens is that I lie awake, paralyzed by all I haven't accomplished, perhaps mindlessly scrolling through my Facebook feed to keep my anxiety at bay.
It's not uncommon for me to accidentally stay up until two or three in the morning this way.
Last night, I was trying to cram in all that I could before going to bed. I sat down to work on my novel for NaNoWriMo, only to find that due to an error on my computer, the last 700 words that I'd written had not been saved.
I cried. I cried profusely, and when I reached up to wipe away my tears, the mascara smeared on my fingertips...which I only discovered after I started to make up those 700 words using my laptop's white keyboard.
Other than the egregious weekend crunch...things are going well.
Monday, November 13, 2017
NaNoWriMo is a Go
What the what?! I'm actually succeeding somewhat at NaNoWriMo this year!
NaNoWriMo is when you try to write an entire 50,000 word novel during the month of November. The first time I tried was my junior year of high school. Life lesson: it's inadvisable during your junior year of high school to try to do anything but your junior year of high school. Or else you'll cry every night because of all the AP classes and SATs and PSATs and ACTs and other various acronym-related things that you have to do alongside whatever else it is you're trying to add to your load.
I'm speaking from experience.
The second time I tried was November 2015, and the third time was last November. Both times I knew I would never be able to write a full-length novel, so I just tried to write something five days a week. It was a good time, but I never got past 13,000 or so words.
Following last year's NaNoWriMo, I set a New Year's resolution to work on something for publication every week. First I tried to finish my novel from November. Then I tried to start a new story. Both times, I ran into a similar problem: I had some time to write, but I had hardly any time to plot. I could plot or write but not both.
So in May, I hit the restart button. I began a new project that didn't require me to do much plotting. Over five months, I eked out 18,000 words.
I decided that this year, my NaNoWriMo goal would be to finish the project. Well, good news! I've written about 12,000 more words in just under two weeks! Yay! Go team! I hope I can keep it up, because I'd love to have a completed novel on my hands.
NaNoWriMo is when you try to write an entire 50,000 word novel during the month of November. The first time I tried was my junior year of high school. Life lesson: it's inadvisable during your junior year of high school to try to do anything but your junior year of high school. Or else you'll cry every night because of all the AP classes and SATs and PSATs and ACTs and other various acronym-related things that you have to do alongside whatever else it is you're trying to add to your load.
I'm speaking from experience.
The second time I tried was November 2015, and the third time was last November. Both times I knew I would never be able to write a full-length novel, so I just tried to write something five days a week. It was a good time, but I never got past 13,000 or so words.
Following last year's NaNoWriMo, I set a New Year's resolution to work on something for publication every week. First I tried to finish my novel from November. Then I tried to start a new story. Both times, I ran into a similar problem: I had some time to write, but I had hardly any time to plot. I could plot or write but not both.
So in May, I hit the restart button. I began a new project that didn't require me to do much plotting. Over five months, I eked out 18,000 words.
I decided that this year, my NaNoWriMo goal would be to finish the project. Well, good news! I've written about 12,000 more words in just under two weeks! Yay! Go team! I hope I can keep it up, because I'd love to have a completed novel on my hands.
Saturday, November 11, 2017
First Snow
Earlier this week, I stepped out the door to go to work, and it was snowing.
Very, very lightly. But still—snowing.
I can't tell you exactly how many times I said the word "No" on my way to work that morning, but it was a lot.
This morning, I dropped $500 on snow tires, and I do not regret it.
Very, very lightly. But still—snowing.
I can't tell you exactly how many times I said the word "No" on my way to work that morning, but it was a lot.
This morning, I dropped $500 on snow tires, and I do not regret it.
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
We've Got to Stop Meeting Like This
We're starting to get into the swing of things with the Relief Society Presidency.
Everything started off kind of crazy. The day I accepted the calling, Flower Child was supposed to leave on a plane to the Orlando area. She was going to spend a good ten days there and then go to St. George and Las Vegas for another week or so.
I felt strongly right away that she should be my first counselor, but she was going to be out of town on the day the bishop wanted my presidency sustained and set apart. However, I soon found out that she'd canceled the first part of her trip because Hurricane Irma might hit while she was there. So things worked out, timing-wise, and she accepted the call and was sustained and set apart just days before leaving for St. George and Las Vegas.
(The following Monday, I woke up and saw online that there had been a shooting in Las Vegas! I instantly panicked because I knew Flower Child was there! Then I immediately calmed a little when I found out the shooting had taken place the night before at a concert. Many LDS people feel that going to concerts and other activities is not appropriate on the Sabbath, and I knew Flower Child would not have gone to the concert. Sure enough, she hadn't attended, and she was safe. But—moral of the story—don't go on vacation with Flower Child because apparently disaster strikes wherever she goes.)
Also, within days of our being called, we had General Conference, we were supposed to put on an activity for all the sisters in our ward, and several monthly and quarterly reports were due. I was texting my secretary, Valiant, every day. Most of those days we also had ward activities, so as soon as we saw each other we would just pick up where our texts left off:
VALIANT: Oh, I got your text, and my answer is—
AWKWARD MORMON GIRL: Great! Why don't you go ahead and—
Then we'd break, text periodically over the next 24 hours, and when we met up again the next evening we'd continue our ongoing business conversation.
Things have calmed down since then...somewhat. No more presidency members have been at risk from hurricanes or shootings. We've only had a few reports to worry about, and Valiant and I sometimes talk about other things when we cross paths.
Everything started off kind of crazy. The day I accepted the calling, Flower Child was supposed to leave on a plane to the Orlando area. She was going to spend a good ten days there and then go to St. George and Las Vegas for another week or so.
I felt strongly right away that she should be my first counselor, but she was going to be out of town on the day the bishop wanted my presidency sustained and set apart. However, I soon found out that she'd canceled the first part of her trip because Hurricane Irma might hit while she was there. So things worked out, timing-wise, and she accepted the call and was sustained and set apart just days before leaving for St. George and Las Vegas.
(The following Monday, I woke up and saw online that there had been a shooting in Las Vegas! I instantly panicked because I knew Flower Child was there! Then I immediately calmed a little when I found out the shooting had taken place the night before at a concert. Many LDS people feel that going to concerts and other activities is not appropriate on the Sabbath, and I knew Flower Child would not have gone to the concert. Sure enough, she hadn't attended, and she was safe. But—moral of the story—don't go on vacation with Flower Child because apparently disaster strikes wherever she goes.)
Also, within days of our being called, we had General Conference, we were supposed to put on an activity for all the sisters in our ward, and several monthly and quarterly reports were due. I was texting my secretary, Valiant, every day. Most of those days we also had ward activities, so as soon as we saw each other we would just pick up where our texts left off:
VALIANT: Oh, I got your text, and my answer is—
AWKWARD MORMON GIRL: Great! Why don't you go ahead and—
Then we'd break, text periodically over the next 24 hours, and when we met up again the next evening we'd continue our ongoing business conversation.
Things have calmed down since then...somewhat. No more presidency members have been at risk from hurricanes or shootings. We've only had a few reports to worry about, and Valiant and I sometimes talk about other things when we cross paths.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
This Is How I Do Halloween in My Mid-Twenties
On my way out the door today, my landlord said, "You must be going to a party!"
I then had to explain that I was dressed up to take Baby Brother trick-or-treating. Lots of people in their mid-twenties go to Halloween parties, but not me!
Actually, I did go to a Halloween party, it was just on Friday and not today. It was a church-sponsored Halloween carnival. This year, Baby Brother and I put together costumes to be Greg and Wirt from Over the Garden Wall. We bought Wirt's cloak and Greg's overalls, made the hat and teapot out of a cardboard cone and card stock respectively, and scrounged together other bits and odd ends to make some respectable costumes.
After two years of dressing up as my actual gender, it was back to my usual cross-dressing. This was the fourth year in a row of my dressing as a cartoon character of some type and the second year ever of my dressing as a character played by Elijah Wood.
I wore my costume to the Halloween carnival. Best Friend Boy was there also. He was wearing the costume that he's worn for at least three Halloweens: a quarterback costume comprising a letterman jacket and a football. Best Friend Boy likes to play it safe when it comes to Halloween costumes. I understand why: although putting together a more obscure costume is lots of fun, only the people who are really familiar with the property usually recognize it.
Quite a few people approached me at the carnival. About half of them said something like, "OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH YOU'RE WIRT RIGHT THIS IS AMAZING YOU'RE SO AWESOME!" The other said something like, "So are you a gnome or something?"
To my great amusement, several people had a conversation with Best Friend Boy along these lines:
PERSON: So what's your costume?
BEST FRIEND BOY: I'm a quarterback.
PERSON: ...that's it?
We also had a party at my workplace today. So I guess that technically, I went to two parties. However, the night itself was spent on the streets of Hometown with Baby Brother and Ginger Cousin.
It was pretty chilly even though two days ago we had an exceptionally warm night. The rule in Utah is that on Halloween night the temperature always drops, regardless of logic or science. Even though my cloak was usually stifling, I froze quite a bit during the hour we were out. But—all in all, a good night.
I then had to explain that I was dressed up to take Baby Brother trick-or-treating. Lots of people in their mid-twenties go to Halloween parties, but not me!
Actually, I did go to a Halloween party, it was just on Friday and not today. It was a church-sponsored Halloween carnival. This year, Baby Brother and I put together costumes to be Greg and Wirt from Over the Garden Wall. We bought Wirt's cloak and Greg's overalls, made the hat and teapot out of a cardboard cone and card stock respectively, and scrounged together other bits and odd ends to make some respectable costumes.
I wore my costume to the Halloween carnival. Best Friend Boy was there also. He was wearing the costume that he's worn for at least three Halloweens: a quarterback costume comprising a letterman jacket and a football. Best Friend Boy likes to play it safe when it comes to Halloween costumes. I understand why: although putting together a more obscure costume is lots of fun, only the people who are really familiar with the property usually recognize it.
Quite a few people approached me at the carnival. About half of them said something like, "OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH YOU'RE WIRT RIGHT THIS IS AMAZING YOU'RE SO AWESOME!" The other said something like, "So are you a gnome or something?"
To my great amusement, several people had a conversation with Best Friend Boy along these lines:
PERSON: So what's your costume?
BEST FRIEND BOY: I'm a quarterback.
PERSON: ...that's it?
We also had a party at my workplace today. So I guess that technically, I went to two parties. However, the night itself was spent on the streets of Hometown with Baby Brother and Ginger Cousin.
It was pretty chilly even though two days ago we had an exceptionally warm night. The rule in Utah is that on Halloween night the temperature always drops, regardless of logic or science. Even though my cloak was usually stifling, I froze quite a bit during the hour we were out. But—all in all, a good night.
Monday, October 30, 2017
Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together! I Mean Presidency.
You might have noticed that I've been feeling down lately.
This past summer was a real slugger, and there wasn't much of a chance for me to hit back. So it was kind of like I got punched in the face over...and over...and over again. After everything, I just felt restless, overwhelmed, and discouraged. There was a lot of "Woe is me!" going on inside my head.
In the midst of this grand pity party, I felt I needed to serve others more. I tried to look for opportunities to do so, and that seemed to help. Then the bishop of my ward asked if he could meet with me. He inquired if I would take on a new calling, and even though my entire life felt like a giant mess, I agreed.
It just so happens that four years ago exactly, I wrote about being a counselor in my ward's Relief Society presidency. Well, today, I'd like to share that as of about a month ago, I am the ward's Relief Society president.
For those of you who don't know, the Relief Society is the largest women's organization in the world. Among other things, the organization tends to the sick and the poor, first inside its local congregations and then without. A Relief Society president and her counselors and secretaries are kind of like women's ministers. They help the women in the congregation both spiritually and physically and take care of all the administrative stuff, such as assigning someone to visit each sister in the ward so that no one is left out or overlooked.
The ten months I served in the presidency with Madam President and La Petite were some of best but most challenging months of my life. So while I was excited for the opportunity to serve again, I was nervous about a lot of things—for example, time management, or the fact that the Relief Society president who preceded me is just about a literal angel. She's sweet, compassionate, and thoughtful. I feel that I tend to be abrasive. Maybe even obnoxious and disliked à la John Adams. I could go on, but you get the idea. However, in our church we believe callings are from God. I could only conclude that a) I'd have divine help to manage my time and b) my God either was okay with my abrasiveness or giving me an excellent chance to learn how to refine my personality.
The angel Relief Society president gave me some counsel. She said that she felt like her flaws were visible every day in her calling and that she had to learn to be patient with herself. Both of those things have been true for me x10. Every day, I realize that I fall short one way or another. Happily, I've been blessed with great counselors and secretaries: Flower Child, Vix, Valiant, and Rebecca. They have a lot of qualities that are sorely needed but that I don't have.
All in all, I'm doing very well. I don't say "Woe is me!" anywhere near as often because I don't have as much time to think about myself. I've been able to let go of a lot of things and entrust them to Heavenly Father. I feel really blessed, and I want to help others feel the same way.
This past summer was a real slugger, and there wasn't much of a chance for me to hit back. So it was kind of like I got punched in the face over...and over...and over again. After everything, I just felt restless, overwhelmed, and discouraged. There was a lot of "Woe is me!" going on inside my head.
In the midst of this grand pity party, I felt I needed to serve others more. I tried to look for opportunities to do so, and that seemed to help. Then the bishop of my ward asked if he could meet with me. He inquired if I would take on a new calling, and even though my entire life felt like a giant mess, I agreed.
It just so happens that four years ago exactly, I wrote about being a counselor in my ward's Relief Society presidency. Well, today, I'd like to share that as of about a month ago, I am the ward's Relief Society president.
For those of you who don't know, the Relief Society is the largest women's organization in the world. Among other things, the organization tends to the sick and the poor, first inside its local congregations and then without. A Relief Society president and her counselors and secretaries are kind of like women's ministers. They help the women in the congregation both spiritually and physically and take care of all the administrative stuff, such as assigning someone to visit each sister in the ward so that no one is left out or overlooked.
The ten months I served in the presidency with Madam President and La Petite were some of best but most challenging months of my life. So while I was excited for the opportunity to serve again, I was nervous about a lot of things—for example, time management, or the fact that the Relief Society president who preceded me is just about a literal angel. She's sweet, compassionate, and thoughtful. I feel that I tend to be abrasive. Maybe even obnoxious and disliked à la John Adams. I could go on, but you get the idea. However, in our church we believe callings are from God. I could only conclude that a) I'd have divine help to manage my time and b) my God either was okay with my abrasiveness or giving me an excellent chance to learn how to refine my personality.
The angel Relief Society president gave me some counsel. She said that she felt like her flaws were visible every day in her calling and that she had to learn to be patient with herself. Both of those things have been true for me x10. Every day, I realize that I fall short one way or another. Happily, I've been blessed with great counselors and secretaries: Flower Child, Vix, Valiant, and Rebecca. They have a lot of qualities that are sorely needed but that I don't have.
All in all, I'm doing very well. I don't say "Woe is me!" anywhere near as often because I don't have as much time to think about myself. I've been able to let go of a lot of things and entrust them to Heavenly Father. I feel really blessed, and I want to help others feel the same way.
Saturday, October 28, 2017
My Physical Therapy Adventure
Remember how at the end of the summer I found out that I'm basically deformed? That was fun, right? Wrong. It wasn't fun. I literally cried for an hour because the sports med doctor told me that I should stop running for a month.
I mean, really? Really, sports med doctor? The nerve! It's like you got a degree in sports medicine and were being paid to figure out what was wrong with me and fix it or something.
The doc also said that I should get new running shoes (and stop running barefoot, which I'd already done—yes I run barefoot, long story, anyway—) and schedule myself some physical therapy appointments.
I didn't stop running because I was pretty sure that if I did that, I would spontaneously combust, Achilles tendon pain or no Achilles tendon pain. But I did get new running shoes, and, after some struggle, I did manage to find a time where my life schedule lined up with the physical therapy office schedule so that I could make an appointment.
Ay my first appointment, I met my physical therapist; he was nice. He asked me how my ankles felt (they felt quite good). He asked if I'd stopped running (I told him I hadn't). He examined me and concluded that while there was definitely an issue present, the sports med doc had over-exaggerated the weakness in my hips and legs.
We talked about what the goal of the physical therapy. I explained that my understanding was that the physical therapy wouldn't be corrective; there wasn't a way to fix the problem. But it could be preventive in helping me avoid and fix more issues in the future.
We decided that I would go to physical therapy for about a month and see how it went.
As we got to work stretching the muscles in my legs, the physical therapist made some observations:
1. A tangible goal for the physical therapy sessions could be getting me to be able to squat. Because, as I'd realized at the doctor's appointment, I can't squat worth...squat.
2. My ankles are very inflexible, especially the left one.
3. My calf muscles are apparently humongous.
4. I am noticeably more uncoordinated on the left side of my body than the right.
The calf muscle thing surprised me, although the inflexible and uncoordinated parts didn't. I always knew that. How could I not know that? When you're as inflexible and uncoordinated as I am, you're bound to notice. The only shock was that it was just on the one side.
Later the physical therapist also noticed that I run on my toes in such a way that definitely was not helping my Achilles tendons. He asked if the tiptoeing was because I'd done dance, and I said it was. (Yes, even as inflexible and uncoordinated as I am, I was in dance classes for 5+ years. That's how I discovered I was inflexible and uncoordinated.)
In any case, for a little over a month, I would go to the physical therapy clinic super early and meet with the physical therapist. The first few sessions, he massaged my ankles with some kind of butter to loosen them up. The first couple of times hurt but in a good way. The final time, he used a plastic scrape-y thing to perform the massage, and it hurt like the dickens. It took my full willpower not to kick him in the face. I had to send my brain to a happy place to handle the pain.
I also did exercises at the clinic. These exercises featured such delights as stretching against a wall, doing squats with an exercise ball, doing squats with a chair, putting a gigantic rubber band that smelled vaguely of chocolate around my ankles and scuttling sideways like a demented crab, and pushing off on a counter to rise up and slowly lower myself down.
I practiced these exercises every night at home. Pepper said, "Isn't the stereotype that people don't practice their physical therapy?" That sounded like a waste of money to me.
To be honest, though, it was kind of...fun. Mentally soothing, too. It was nice to feel like there was a problem in my life with an actual straightforward solution.
After doing four sessions over about five weeks, we shook hands. Physical therapy was over. My ankles were doing great. I'd conquered my Achilles tendons. Which is a nice metaphor if you think about it.
I mean, really? Really, sports med doctor? The nerve! It's like you got a degree in sports medicine and were being paid to figure out what was wrong with me and fix it or something.
The doc also said that I should get new running shoes (and stop running barefoot, which I'd already done—yes I run barefoot, long story, anyway—) and schedule myself some physical therapy appointments.
I didn't stop running because I was pretty sure that if I did that, I would spontaneously combust, Achilles tendon pain or no Achilles tendon pain. But I did get new running shoes, and, after some struggle, I did manage to find a time where my life schedule lined up with the physical therapy office schedule so that I could make an appointment.
Ay my first appointment, I met my physical therapist; he was nice. He asked me how my ankles felt (they felt quite good). He asked if I'd stopped running (I told him I hadn't). He examined me and concluded that while there was definitely an issue present, the sports med doc had over-exaggerated the weakness in my hips and legs.
We talked about what the goal of the physical therapy. I explained that my understanding was that the physical therapy wouldn't be corrective; there wasn't a way to fix the problem. But it could be preventive in helping me avoid and fix more issues in the future.
We decided that I would go to physical therapy for about a month and see how it went.
As we got to work stretching the muscles in my legs, the physical therapist made some observations:
1. A tangible goal for the physical therapy sessions could be getting me to be able to squat. Because, as I'd realized at the doctor's appointment, I can't squat worth...squat.
2. My ankles are very inflexible, especially the left one.
3. My calf muscles are apparently humongous.
4. I am noticeably more uncoordinated on the left side of my body than the right.
The calf muscle thing surprised me, although the inflexible and uncoordinated parts didn't. I always knew that. How could I not know that? When you're as inflexible and uncoordinated as I am, you're bound to notice. The only shock was that it was just on the one side.
Later the physical therapist also noticed that I run on my toes in such a way that definitely was not helping my Achilles tendons. He asked if the tiptoeing was because I'd done dance, and I said it was. (Yes, even as inflexible and uncoordinated as I am, I was in dance classes for 5+ years. That's how I discovered I was inflexible and uncoordinated.)
In any case, for a little over a month, I would go to the physical therapy clinic super early and meet with the physical therapist. The first few sessions, he massaged my ankles with some kind of butter to loosen them up. The first couple of times hurt but in a good way. The final time, he used a plastic scrape-y thing to perform the massage, and it hurt like the dickens. It took my full willpower not to kick him in the face. I had to send my brain to a happy place to handle the pain.
I also did exercises at the clinic. These exercises featured such delights as stretching against a wall, doing squats with an exercise ball, doing squats with a chair, putting a gigantic rubber band that smelled vaguely of chocolate around my ankles and scuttling sideways like a demented crab, and pushing off on a counter to rise up and slowly lower myself down.
I practiced these exercises every night at home. Pepper said, "Isn't the stereotype that people don't practice their physical therapy?" That sounded like a waste of money to me.
To be honest, though, it was kind of...fun. Mentally soothing, too. It was nice to feel like there was a problem in my life with an actual straightforward solution.
After doing four sessions over about five weeks, we shook hands. Physical therapy was over. My ankles were doing great. I'd conquered my Achilles tendons. Which is a nice metaphor if you think about it.
Friday, October 27, 2017
I Don't Like Slack
Slack. You've probably heard of it. I'd say it's 50% website, 50% app, and 100% trending in the world of business. It's supposed to save you time at work. If you want to discuss something with your coworkers, instead of shooting them an email, you just chat them up on Slack. Bada-bing, bada-boom. Quick and casual.
I used to have a coworker who was obsessed with Slack. I can remember several times when I emailed him and he asked if we could move the conversation to Slack instead. He created tons of different Slack chats and used only the finest gifs offered. He basically had his own little Slack workplace empire.
As you might have guessed from the title, I don't care much for Slack. Here's the thing: even if Slack does save time (and I'm not convinced that it does), it's heckuva inconvenient. I still have to have my email open even when I'm using Slack. Slack just becomes one more window open on my PC that I have to minimize and maximize while I work.
Well, I found out the other day that I'm not alone! There's a modest movement called "Slacklash," fueled by people who think Slack falls short of its intended purpose.
Anybody else use Slack at work? What do you think?
I used to have a coworker who was obsessed with Slack. I can remember several times when I emailed him and he asked if we could move the conversation to Slack instead. He created tons of different Slack chats and used only the finest gifs offered. He basically had his own little Slack workplace empire.
As you might have guessed from the title, I don't care much for Slack. Here's the thing: even if Slack does save time (and I'm not convinced that it does), it's heckuva inconvenient. I still have to have my email open even when I'm using Slack. Slack just becomes one more window open on my PC that I have to minimize and maximize while I work.
Well, I found out the other day that I'm not alone! There's a modest movement called "Slacklash," fueled by people who think Slack falls short of its intended purpose.
Anybody else use Slack at work? What do you think?
Monday, October 23, 2017
Deep Waters
I have a problem.
The problem is that I don't really like shallow conversations. If I'm going to talk to somebody, I'd rather talk about things that really matter. So I have a terrible, terrible habit of jumping from zero to one hundred with people. Like, "Hi—how are you—I see you have a boyfriend—are you two serious—oh, you're thinking of getting married but you're not sure—what's the holdup?" I just get waaaay too personal waaaay too quick. I think this frightens some folk.
Also, I'm an open book, so if people ask me questions, I will respond honestly. This has led to some interesting situations with people who don't believe that I say what I mean and are convinced that there is some deep-seated mystery about me. Pfffft. No.
Also also, a lot of times people actually will respond to very personal questions that I ask. In fact, sometimes people that I hardly know will confide in me almost immediately. Not that I have a problem with that. I do prefer honesty, so if I'm going to know anything about someone, I'd much rather start with their darkest secrets. It's just an unusual thing, especially since it often comes with requests for advice on topics I'm probably unqualified to advise on.
The problem is that I don't really like shallow conversations. If I'm going to talk to somebody, I'd rather talk about things that really matter. So I have a terrible, terrible habit of jumping from zero to one hundred with people. Like, "Hi—how are you—I see you have a boyfriend—are you two serious—oh, you're thinking of getting married but you're not sure—what's the holdup?" I just get waaaay too personal waaaay too quick. I think this frightens some folk.
Also, I'm an open book, so if people ask me questions, I will respond honestly. This has led to some interesting situations with people who don't believe that I say what I mean and are convinced that there is some deep-seated mystery about me. Pfffft. No.
Also also, a lot of times people actually will respond to very personal questions that I ask. In fact, sometimes people that I hardly know will confide in me almost immediately. Not that I have a problem with that. I do prefer honesty, so if I'm going to know anything about someone, I'd much rather start with their darkest secrets. It's just an unusual thing, especially since it often comes with requests for advice on topics I'm probably unqualified to advise on.
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Wakko Loves Awkward Mormon Girl
I said I probably wasn't going to go back to Comic Con. Yet I still went back to Comic Con.
Why did I?
I had a whole speech prepared for you about why, but then I reread my post about last year's Comic Con and realized that I had already shared literally everything I was going to say to justify my return:
I also decided, after some agony, to take Friday from work and do two whole days of Comic Con instead of just one. For one thing, I thought that if I were less rushed, I'd have a more enjoyable experience. For another thing, the price of a Saturday pass was barely less than the price of a multi-day one. Might as well upgrade.
Last time, I pretty much saw only Evanna Lynch. I didn't attend any panels featuring big names. This time, I intended to catch as many celebrities as I could. I wouldn't just ogle the likes of Billy Boyd and Jeremy Shada from afar. I would meet or see as many people whom I admired as possible! Dick van Dyke panel? Yes please! Stalk Jodi Benson? Wouldn't miss it! Jess Harnell autograph? Faboo!
So on Friday, September 22nd (also Frodo and Bilbo's birthdays), Favorite Cousin and I went to Comic Con bright and early. Parking was a nightmare, so we had to walk approximately 10,000 blocks to get from the car to the convention center. The good news was that meant exercise. The bad news was it also meant freezing because Utah decided it would be fun to skip over fall and start in on winter.
Eventually, though, we got where we were going. The idea had been to attend Dick van Dyke's panel first thing. Except the night before, Dick van Dyke had canceled his panel, so we weren't sure what we were actually going to do. Except as we entered the convention center, it was announced that Dick van Dyke's panel was un-canceled! Wonderful! We hurried to the ballroom to get good seats.
By the way, there's this guy at Comic Con who apparently is always stationed in the ballroom. We saw him there last year whilst waiting for an Ian Somerhalder panel that Favorite Cousin wanted to see (we had to leave before Ian showed up, though). I remembered Ballroom Guy from last year because of his terrible puns and showing off his socks and trying to encourage everybody to dance randomly. I liked his socks, but we didn't want to dance randomly, so we sat there in uncomfortable silence while the cameras captured the people around us dancing.
And then guess what?
Dick van Dyke, that's what!
I got a bit of a video of the panel, but now that the Blogger app is finally defunct, I haven't been able to figure out a way to get videos off my phone and into the blog. However, here are some things that happened at the panel:
So that was fun!
But that's not all! I also had oodles of fun stalking some great people!
First I stalked Heather Dixon. Heather Dixon is an awesome artist who writes this blog. She said on Instagram that she would be at Comic Con and that anyone who stopped by and mentioned the post got a free 5x7 print. Which I guess means that it wasn't stalking since I was sort of invited to come find her.
But either way, I was like, "Yes, Heather Dixon! I will come to your Comic Con booth! But because I want to meet you, not necessarily because I want your art!" Because honestly guys, Heather Dixon seems like the coolest.
Following the Dick van Dyke panel, I dragged Favorite Cousin over to Artist's Alley. After some confusion, I found Heather Dixon's booth!
And then we talked! I told her that I'd seen her post on Instagram, and she asked if she was following me on Instagram!
And I was like, "What the what, Heather Dixon?! Why would you ever want to follow little old me on Instagram?!"
But she totally did! Right there!
Then she asked me what print I wanted, and I chose one of her beautiful Cinderella prints! (Cinderella was my favorite princess when I was two, so sometimes when I have to pick a more classic Disney character, I go for her.)
It quickly became clear that I'd lied to myself about wanting to meet Heather Dixon more than I wanted Heather Dixon's art, because I kept looking and looking at that pretty thing and squealing a little bit inside.
Then I stalked Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel and Thumbelina aka my entire childhood. That one was definitely stalking—see how creepy this photo is?
I also stalked Corbin Bernsen of Psych fame a little bit. Favorite Cousin took a stalker photo of some actress whose name I can't remember (I just remembered... it's Eliza Dushku). I pretended to be reading a sign to give him an excuse to stand near her booth and covertly snap an image.
After that, I decided to get an autograph from the one and only Jess Harnell! I used to like Animaniacs as a kid, and I rewatched it last year. My brothers and I were Yakko, Wakko, and Dot for Halloween 2016. I also heard that Jess Harnell is the nicest and that he loves Salt Lake Comic Con beyond reason (he came last year as well, and he keeps bringing his band, Rock Sugar, with him). So, I figured, not a bad celebrity to meet!
I wasn't sure whether I wanted a picture or an autograph, but I finally settled on an autograph because they had a super cute print of the Warner brothers (and the Warner sister) for Jess to sign. Favorite Cousin, bless his soul, agreed to wait in line with me even though he had no idea who Jess Harnell was and had no intention of getting his autograph.
As I listened to Jess talk to all the people ahead of us, I grew very excited. He had something kind and special to say to everyone. I heard him talk to a little boy in a Wakko voice, even using the word "faboo."
Then it was my (our) turn!!!
Jess Harnell looked at me and said, "Hello, pretty girl. What's your name?"
I told him, and he said something like, "What a beautiful name. I don't hear that name very often, but when I do, I think it's so pretty."
He asked who Favorite Cousin was. He asked us if we were going to any of his panels or to the after party where Rock Sugar was playing. "Come on, Awkward Mormon Girl. Come on, Favorite Cousin!"
Then he leaned over to sign the print of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, saying something along the lines of, "Well, let's say..." And then he started using Wakko's very own voice, and said, "Wakko loves Awkward Mormon Girl, and not just because she's adorable!"
I died. Died. DIED. So dead! I was flustered with delight as he wrote "Wakko loves Awkward Mormon Girl!" and signed the print.
Then he asked if I was an Animaniacs fan, and I said that I was. He asked if I'd heard that they were making more episodes, and I said I had, and then I mentioned that my brothers and I had dressed as the Warners for Halloween. Jess seemed to like that and said he wanted to see a photo of that sometime.
Now here's where I messed up a bit. It seemed like Jess was about to either ask me to tweet a photo of the costumers at him or come back next year to Comic Con and show him a photo then, but I cut him off by blurting, "I can show it to you right now!"
Swiftly I brought up the photo, but as I did, I realized that I was probably being disrespectful of Jess's time and of the people waiting in line behind me. So I felt flushed and embarrassed when I handed my phone to him. He looked at the photo for a minute, laughed, and said, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh"—though he didn't say "gosh"—"I love the mini-me!" (Baby Brother.) Then we said our goodbyes and thanked him and hustled away.
Here's the thing about me: I don't care what everybody thinks of me, but when I do care about what someone thinks of me, I really care. And I did care what Jess Harnell thought of me, because I admire his talent, so I felt pretty dumb thinking of how I basically forced him to look at that Halloween photo.
However, I did tweet about meeting Jess Harnell, and he liked the tweet shortly thereafter. So I felt better and like maybe I hadn't been as cringey as I'd thought.
Also, the Seamstress pointed out that since Rob Paulsen (Yakko) had retweeted my photo of my brothers and I dressed as Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, our costumes had the official approval of two out of three Warner siblings. Neat!
Why did I?
I had a whole speech prepared for you about why, but then I reread my post about last year's Comic Con and realized that I had already shared literally everything I was going to say to justify my return:
In August, I told Porch that I might go to Comic Con if certain voice actors or Muppeteers ever came but that I couldn't think of any live-action actors I cared enough about to spend the money on. I've just never been that into movie stars. I would consider going to Comic Con to see Elijah Wood, but only because he did such a fantastic job voicing Wirt in Over the Garden Wall, not because he played one of the leading characters in a critically acclaimed and financially successful film adaptation of one of my favorite book series.You might see where this is going. Because yes indeed, Wirt himself aka Elijah Wood decided to hie himself to Salt Lake Comic Con this very year. I waffled. I wavered. Finally, when Favorite Cousin declared his intention to go, I decided that, despite how much I'd disliked Comic Con's atmosphere the year before, I would join him.
I also decided, after some agony, to take Friday from work and do two whole days of Comic Con instead of just one. For one thing, I thought that if I were less rushed, I'd have a more enjoyable experience. For another thing, the price of a Saturday pass was barely less than the price of a multi-day one. Might as well upgrade.
Last time, I pretty much saw only Evanna Lynch. I didn't attend any panels featuring big names. This time, I intended to catch as many celebrities as I could. I wouldn't just ogle the likes of Billy Boyd and Jeremy Shada from afar. I would meet or see as many people whom I admired as possible! Dick van Dyke panel? Yes please! Stalk Jodi Benson? Wouldn't miss it! Jess Harnell autograph? Faboo!
So on Friday, September 22nd (also Frodo and Bilbo's birthdays), Favorite Cousin and I went to Comic Con bright and early. Parking was a nightmare, so we had to walk approximately 10,000 blocks to get from the car to the convention center. The good news was that meant exercise. The bad news was it also meant freezing because Utah decided it would be fun to skip over fall and start in on winter.
Eventually, though, we got where we were going. The idea had been to attend Dick van Dyke's panel first thing. Except the night before, Dick van Dyke had canceled his panel, so we weren't sure what we were actually going to do. Except as we entered the convention center, it was announced that Dick van Dyke's panel was un-canceled! Wonderful! We hurried to the ballroom to get good seats.
By the way, there's this guy at Comic Con who apparently is always stationed in the ballroom. We saw him there last year whilst waiting for an Ian Somerhalder panel that Favorite Cousin wanted to see (we had to leave before Ian showed up, though). I remembered Ballroom Guy from last year because of his terrible puns and showing off his socks and trying to encourage everybody to dance randomly. I liked his socks, but we didn't want to dance randomly, so we sat there in uncomfortable silence while the cameras captured the people around us dancing.
And then guess what?
Dick van Dyke, that's what!
I got a bit of a video of the panel, but now that the Blogger app is finally defunct, I haven't been able to figure out a way to get videos off my phone and into the blog. However, here are some things that happened at the panel:
- The interviewer asked Dick van Dyke if there was anyone he wanted to work with. He replied, quite flippantly, "Oh, I don't know. Most of them, I did."
- He spoke of the upcoming Mary Poppins. In the original movie, he was made up to play the ancient bank owner. He's playing the new bank owner in the upcoming movie, but he doesn't understand why he has to wear makeup this time: "They're making a 91-year-old man look like a 91-year-old man." He said that this time, he's also being chained to an accent coach. "After 60 years of bad jokes, maybe I'm off the hook for my Cockney accent."
- He was quite excitable and adorable. At some point, he got up on his feet with excitement to talk about a Bert animatronic he'd gotten from Disney World. He laughs with an open-mouthed Muppet laugh, just like in his movies.
- He talked at length about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He said that "Me Ol' Bamboo" was a very difficult number to film and that it needed about thirty takes. He said that "You Two" was his favorite song in the film, and he rhapsodized about how much he loved driving Chitty Chitty.
- He commented on the animated penguin portion of the original Mary Poppins and how much it blew him away. "Penguins are good dancers, too."
- He said that he never worked on anything he wouldn't want his kids to watch.
- The interviewer asked Mr. van Dyke how he felt when he realized that he's brought so much happiness to so many people. He responded warmly, saying, "I've just had the best time I can imagine."
So that was fun!
But that's not all! I also had oodles of fun stalking some great people!
First I stalked Heather Dixon. Heather Dixon is an awesome artist who writes this blog. She said on Instagram that she would be at Comic Con and that anyone who stopped by and mentioned the post got a free 5x7 print. Which I guess means that it wasn't stalking since I was sort of invited to come find her.
But either way, I was like, "Yes, Heather Dixon! I will come to your Comic Con booth! But because I want to meet you, not necessarily because I want your art!" Because honestly guys, Heather Dixon seems like the coolest.
Following the Dick van Dyke panel, I dragged Favorite Cousin over to Artist's Alley. After some confusion, I found Heather Dixon's booth!
And then we talked! I told her that I'd seen her post on Instagram, and she asked if she was following me on Instagram!
And I was like, "What the what, Heather Dixon?! Why would you ever want to follow little old me on Instagram?!"
But she totally did! Right there!
Then she asked me what print I wanted, and I chose one of her beautiful Cinderella prints! (Cinderella was my favorite princess when I was two, so sometimes when I have to pick a more classic Disney character, I go for her.)
It quickly became clear that I'd lied to myself about wanting to meet Heather Dixon more than I wanted Heather Dixon's art, because I kept looking and looking at that pretty thing and squealing a little bit inside.
Then I stalked Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel and Thumbelina aka my entire childhood. That one was definitely stalking—see how creepy this photo is?
I also stalked Corbin Bernsen of Psych fame a little bit. Favorite Cousin took a stalker photo of some actress whose name I can't remember (I just remembered... it's Eliza Dushku). I pretended to be reading a sign to give him an excuse to stand near her booth and covertly snap an image.
After that, I decided to get an autograph from the one and only Jess Harnell! I used to like Animaniacs as a kid, and I rewatched it last year. My brothers and I were Yakko, Wakko, and Dot for Halloween 2016. I also heard that Jess Harnell is the nicest and that he loves Salt Lake Comic Con beyond reason (he came last year as well, and he keeps bringing his band, Rock Sugar, with him). So, I figured, not a bad celebrity to meet!
I wasn't sure whether I wanted a picture or an autograph, but I finally settled on an autograph because they had a super cute print of the Warner brothers (and the Warner sister) for Jess to sign. Favorite Cousin, bless his soul, agreed to wait in line with me even though he had no idea who Jess Harnell was and had no intention of getting his autograph.
As I listened to Jess talk to all the people ahead of us, I grew very excited. He had something kind and special to say to everyone. I heard him talk to a little boy in a Wakko voice, even using the word "faboo."
Then it was my (our) turn!!!
Jess Harnell looked at me and said, "Hello, pretty girl. What's your name?"
I told him, and he said something like, "What a beautiful name. I don't hear that name very often, but when I do, I think it's so pretty."
He asked who Favorite Cousin was. He asked us if we were going to any of his panels or to the after party where Rock Sugar was playing. "Come on, Awkward Mormon Girl. Come on, Favorite Cousin!"
Then he leaned over to sign the print of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, saying something along the lines of, "Well, let's say..." And then he started using Wakko's very own voice, and said, "Wakko loves Awkward Mormon Girl, and not just because she's adorable!"
I died. Died. DIED. So dead! I was flustered with delight as he wrote "Wakko loves Awkward Mormon Girl!" and signed the print.
Then he asked if I was an Animaniacs fan, and I said that I was. He asked if I'd heard that they were making more episodes, and I said I had, and then I mentioned that my brothers and I had dressed as the Warners for Halloween. Jess seemed to like that and said he wanted to see a photo of that sometime.
Now here's where I messed up a bit. It seemed like Jess was about to either ask me to tweet a photo of the costumers at him or come back next year to Comic Con and show him a photo then, but I cut him off by blurting, "I can show it to you right now!"
Swiftly I brought up the photo, but as I did, I realized that I was probably being disrespectful of Jess's time and of the people waiting in line behind me. So I felt flushed and embarrassed when I handed my phone to him. He looked at the photo for a minute, laughed, and said, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh"—though he didn't say "gosh"—"I love the mini-me!" (Baby Brother.) Then we said our goodbyes and thanked him and hustled away.
Here's the thing about me: I don't care what everybody thinks of me, but when I do care about what someone thinks of me, I really care. And I did care what Jess Harnell thought of me, because I admire his talent, so I felt pretty dumb thinking of how I basically forced him to look at that Halloween photo.
However, I did tweet about meeting Jess Harnell, and he liked the tweet shortly thereafter. So I felt better and like maybe I hadn't been as cringey as I'd thought.
Also, the Seamstress pointed out that since Rob Paulsen (Yakko) had retweeted my photo of my brothers and I dressed as Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, our costumes had the official approval of two out of three Warner siblings. Neat!
Friday, October 20, 2017
The Not-So-Cute Meet Cute
Just so you know, I met a Canadian today.
Not what I want to talk about, though.
As you may have inferred, I'm working on a writing project related to Verona. Thus today I was sitting at a poolside, meeting a Canadian, and reading the scene in Romeo and Juliet where the teenage lovers meet. As a bit of research, that is.
That's how I discovered something shocking: the meeting of arguably the most famous couple in literature is not cute.
See, Romeo sees Juliet from across the room. He asks a servant who she is, comments on her super hot appearance, and then walks up to her and starts talking about kissing. And then they kiss. And then they discover that their parents hate each other forever.
Contrast that to how I met a Canadian today. This middle-aged Canadian woman and I met at the pool. She offered me a place at her table. I asked her where she was from. She said Canada. She asked me where I was from. I said Utah. I said I was attending a family event, and she said she was visiting friends. Then we didn't talk anymore.
That meeting is probably cuter than Romeo and Juliet's meeting. Just saying.
P. S. I'm in Arizona.
Not what I want to talk about, though.
As you may have inferred, I'm working on a writing project related to Verona. Thus today I was sitting at a poolside, meeting a Canadian, and reading the scene in Romeo and Juliet where the teenage lovers meet. As a bit of research, that is.
That's how I discovered something shocking: the meeting of arguably the most famous couple in literature is not cute.
See, Romeo sees Juliet from across the room. He asks a servant who she is, comments on her super hot appearance, and then walks up to her and starts talking about kissing. And then they kiss. And then they discover that their parents hate each other forever.
Contrast that to how I met a Canadian today. This middle-aged Canadian woman and I met at the pool. She offered me a place at her table. I asked her where she was from. She said Canada. She asked me where I was from. I said Utah. I said I was attending a family event, and she said she was visiting friends. Then we didn't talk anymore.
That meeting is probably cuter than Romeo and Juliet's meeting. Just saying.
P. S. I'm in Arizona.
Monday, October 16, 2017
The Six-Month Ailment
I am woefully behind for the month. This is the fifth blog post I have worked on this month but only the third that I have published. I am also woefully behind in my personal life, but that's neither here nor there.
Back in April, the Seamstress passed out in the foyer of the local temple. This happened the same week that I saw my doctor for my migraines. The doctor had asked if either of my roommates suffered from dizziness or migraines. After this incident, I began to wonder if there really was an environmental factor. But as it turned out, the Seamstress hadn't eaten as much that day as she should have, which was probably why she fainted. When she woke up, lots of people dressed entirely in white were hanging around her. That's how we do in the temple, but I imagine after taking a fall it could have been quite startling. I probably would have assumed that I was dead. (The Seamstress probably didn't assume that she was dead because she is often much more sensible than I am in drastic situations.)
The temple foyer has a marble floor, and while the Seamstress mercifully did not hit her head on the marble, she did hit her arm. She got emergency care, and the conclusion that was reached was that the elbow was probably bruised. She wore her arm in a sling for a few days, iced her aching elbow, and continued on her merry way.
For six months, the Seamstress did such things as rock climbing, dancing, swimming, and boating. Her elbow hurt on and off, but she didn't think much of it. Finally, she decided to see another doctor.
As it turns out, the Seamstress has had a broken elbow for literally six months.
Apparently in this house none of us responds in a timely, appropriate fashion to medical problems involving the joints.
Monday, October 9, 2017
My Review of the All the Phase One Marvel Movies
After I decided that I was more into Marvel movies last year, my brothers also got into Marvel movies. When Baby Sister moved out, Little Brother moved into her old room (which was previously my old room), and Baby Brother got his own room. My parents let him decorate it, so now it's an Avengers-themed room.
His favorites are Captain America and Spider-man. Those are also my favorites. (Our mom's favorite is Falcon because she thinks Anthony Mackie is attractive.)
We also decided to watch all relevant Marvel movies in order before Infinity Wars comes out. We just barely started Phase Two, so I thought I'd give my thoughts about Phase One.
Iron Man: An all right intro to the franchise, but it didn't blow me away. The entire movie kind of dragged. Tony Stark is a fun character, but he's better with friends.
Iron Man 2: Black Widow is a welcome addition here. (Like I said, Tony Stark is better with friends.) The movie dragged a lot less than its predecessor. Justin Hammer might be my favorite Marvel villain.
Thor: Lots of fun moments. I don't find either Thor or Loki to be very compelling characters, though. Best part of the movie was Hawkeye's introduction IMO. Also, this one is much harder to follow if you're not familiar with the comics, advanced physics, or Norse mythology.
Captain America: The First Avenger: Utterly heartwarming, though the subtitle of the movie should more accurately be "Sneaking Patriotically into Buildings." As I said previously, the big issue is that it doesn't feel like an entire real movie. It's more like an appetizer for The Avengers, and although lots of fun characters are introduced, most of them don't get to do anything.
The Avengers: This movie is the superhero movie that made me care about superhero movies. Each hero has an actual personality and character traits. The movie does a nice job of handling the ensemble cast of heroes. Some cool shots, great dialogue, good scenes.