Word Association for May 31st

So, if I don't have a job at the moment, why am I having such a hard time coming here and blogging?

Here's this week's word association.

1. Nervous :: Interview
2. Style :: Substance
3. Yarn :: String
4. Bangs :: Hair
5. Horoscope :: False
6. Talkative :: Person
7. Siren :: Mythology
8. Quilt :: Snuggle
9. Smudge :: Dirty
10. Clicking :: Telegraph

Fall TV Breakdown

We are in that awkward week when USA hasn't really started their summer season yet, but everything I watch on the networks has ended for the summer.  So I figured instead of a recap, since I have nothing to recap, I'll talk about the new Fall network schedule.

Obviously, I'm sticking with all my returning favorites.  I am sorry that Ringer wasn't renewed because I really became addicted to it.  That's the loss I'm mourning the most right now (since I've already accepted Chuck's loss.)

The only show I watch that is moving is Nikita, and it's just going an hour later.  That's no big deal, really.

Honestly, the show I'm most interested in are coming in the Spring.  At the top of the list is Reba's new sitcom - Malibu Country.  I hope it lives up to her first sitcom, which is still so funny.  Some of the dramas sound good if I'm in the mood to pick up a serialized show.  And if I remember to look for them.  By that time, I might have forgotten.  I just hope I remember to look for MC.

Anyway, back to fall.  I am most interested in Arrow and Elementary.  Depending on previews, I may give Last Resort and 666 Park Avenue tries, although I'm leaning toward skipping them.  I'll probably get sucked into the All Star season of Dancing with the Stars, so that will be back on my plate.  And I'll have to see about Survivor, although I'm expecting one of the returning players to be Colton, and that will be enough to suck me in, even though I hate him.  Strange, aren't I?

So, my break down will most likely look like this.

On Monday, I'll stick with ABC for Dancing with the Stars and Castle.

Tuesday, I'll have the results of Dancing to fast forward through, and that will pretty much be it.  It will also give me a chance to catch up from other nights.

Wednesday will feature Survivor and Arrow.

Thursday will be Big Bang Theory and Elementary

Friday is Nikita in the fall and Malibu Country in the Spring

Sunday has Once Upon a Time and The Amazing Race

You know, that may actually be doable.  Granted, I'll be working in back half of all my USA Network show's seasons as well, so I probably shouldn't bite off more than that anyway.

Change

I know I've been absent from here much of the last couple of weeks.  Frankly, that's because I've been trying to process what has happened.

A week and a half ago, I lost my job.  I've been working at the college since I graduated from there fifteen years ago.  To say it's a shock is an understatement.

Of course, I am searching for a new job and trying to figure out what I want to do next.  It's also a time to trust God that my finances will last me until I do find that job.  And we all know how good I am at trusting God.

It's also going to be a big change for me, and I'm not a fan of chance.  Honestly, I probably should have moved on a while go, but I didn't want to.  Now, I have to.

We'll just have to see what God brings my way.

Word Association for May 24th

Here's this week's word association.

1. Vision :: Eye
2. Throne :: King
3. Streaming :: Video
4. Framed :: for Murder
5. Unrealistic :: Premise
6. Insecure :: Person
7. Traffic :: Accident
8. Punch :: Fight
9. Pile :: Junk
10. Movie :: Theater

Weekly TV Recap for May 19th

A word of warning.  There be major spoilers ahead for season finales.  I'm mostly concerned about Nikita, which just aired last night, although there's a big one for Once Upon a Time as well.

Once Upon a Time - I can't believe they broke the curse.  Or did they?  The characters know who they are, but how do they get home?  And what is that purple smoke?  Lots of fun to come in season two, I am sure, but the fact that they resolved some other stuff makes me feel better about the show going forward that we won't get strung along forever with no resolution.

Survivor - I must have missed the drama at the final tribal counsel (doing other things) or it just wasn't there.  That was a nice break from things.  I'm glad Kim won because she certainly deserved to win.

Fairly Legal - Seeing Ben's ex-girlfriend actually made me see how he is changing.  That's pretty amazing if you ask me.  Do I like him?  Not really.  But I did feel a little sorry for him at times.  Meanwhile, I was glad to see Kate back winning her cases, and how complicated did this one get with the woman in hiding and the nurse who needed her as a witness.

Common Law - I loved it again.  Yes, the mystery was pretty by the books, but the interactions between them and with the doctor were pretty funny.  I really like her character, and I hope they find more ways to keep her in the story and not just the theropy sessions.

Nikita - I have to give them props for killer Percy.  You need to defeat the villain eventually or it just becomes stale.  Look at Heroes.  This was a huge step forward for the show, and I look forward to next season and Nikita and Ryan running division.  That will be an interesting mix.  Meanwhile, when Sean asked Alex for a date, I thought he was the one who was going to die.  Glad I was wrong because I love Nikita's little family.

Word Association for May 18th

I almost didn't do this week's word association.

1. Pet :: Dog
2. Show :: and Tell
3. Annoying :: Character
4. Dare you! :: to Jump
5. Simplistic :: Answer
6. Thrilled :: to Death
7. Freeze :: Cold
8. Instrument :: of Torture
9. Cold shoulder :: Angry
10. Adopt :: Child

Wow, I don't know where some of those came from.  Interesting answers (although I was going to go with Pet Show until I saw the next work.)

Saturday at Magic Mountain

I haven't been to Magic Mountain for a couple years, but I changed that on Saturday.  My friend Donald was in town for graduation, and he wanted to take Saturday and go.  How could I say no?

It was certainly warm, although not as bad as I thought it would be for some reason.  But it was crowded.  There was some math and science thing going on as well as Hallelujah Jubilee (which this year was just the Newsboys).  We skipped the concert because Donald needed to leave.

It was so crowded that we only managed to get six rides in.  Just about everything we went on was an hour wait.  We waited longer than that for X2.  And I'd forgotten just how fun the rides there are.  There is something about rollercoasters that are an absolutely thrill.  The drops and the flips are a thrill, and this is coming from someone who hates heights.  I guess I trust them to be safe.

They have rethemed one area since I was there last.  Gothem City Backlot is now completely themed around DC Comic Superheroes.  They've even renamed two of the rides into Wonder Woman and Flash themed rides.  And somehow I missed that they had built a Green Lantern ride.  That was a blast.  Basically, it just whips you back and forth as you fall down the track, but I loved it.

I don't know when I'll be back.  I was tempted to go ahead and get a pass instead of a discounted ticket, but I figure the Disneyland pass is enough for now.  It'll probably be next year sometime before I go back.

Weekly TV Recap for May 13th

I am posting this last this week in honor of Mother's Day.  Yeah, that's the ticket.  It's not that I was too busy and forgot yesterday and then I decided to finish up Friday's shows before posting.

Once Upon a Time - What a great episode.  While Emma is still reacting a bit too quickly, at least she got some sense knocked into her.  Now, if she'd just believe in the curse, maybe we could start getting somewhere.  I loved their twist on Snow eating the apple.  And I love how Henry ate the turnover to prove to Emma it was poisoned.  Hopefully, there's a way to counteract it.  Will Emma's kiss be enough or would we need someone else?

The Amazing Race - Yeah, big brother is off my screen.  Frankly, of the teams left, the team I was rooting for did win, and that was after they lost time by missing the last road block.  However, I really was tired of all the teams fighting or the Border patrol agents acting like they were all that.  Seriously, guys, give it a rest.

Castle - That was pretty much what I hoped for from the previews and what they promised with those previews.  The scene between Beckett and Castle in her apartment was powerful.  And completely true on both ends.  And Beckett and Castle together?  I certainly hope they keep them together next year and don't break them up right away for some reason.  Meanwhile, I wonder how they will bring the team back together since just about everyone seems to be mad at everyone else.  And Captain Gates?  She was absolutely correct in her action.  Not around much these last few episodes, but her scenes here were spot on.

Survivor - So, I guess Tarzan just bought himself an extra couple of days is all.  Frankly, I'm not that sorry to see him go.  I just wonder if Alicia and Christina realize they are now done for as well.  It will be interesting to see who wins.

Big Bang Theory - Of course, we can't have a normal wedding on a TV show, and this one was a riot.  The speeches the friends made were hysterical.  And, yes, that last scene was touching.  A great send off, literally a figuratively.  Looking forward to next season.

Fairly Legal - I've got to admit, I actually enjoyed that episode.  Ben wasn't a complete jerk, and the cases were fairly interesting.  And just when I was about to give up on it.

Common Law - Okay, so I probably should have seen the killer coming earlier than I did.  But I loved the episode overall.  It was funny - very funny - and a decent enough mystery.  Yes, things felt dragged out thanks to the longer nature of the episode, but I will definitely turn in again next week.  And the fact that the therapist is from Lost and FlashForward certainly helps.

Nikita - Oh boy, are we in trouble now.  Overall a good episode, and I saw the cliffhanger coming from a ways away.  I'll definitely be interested in seeing just how they get them out of this mess.  At least we know a new season is coming in case this one ends with a cliffhanger.

New TV on DVD Reviews:

Chuck - Season 5   

Word Association for May 10th

Time for this week's word association.

1. Owner :: Seller
2. Impressive :: Collection
3. Compute :: the Total
4. Choked :: Sad
5. Sarcastic :: Funny
6. Wink :: Eye
7. Sheer :: Delight
8. Technical :: Glitch
9. Laundry :: Ugh!
10. Word game :: Words with Friends

What I Read in April

I read a lot of books in April, but that's because I went on a bit of a kid's book kick.  Here are the results.

Links will take you to my reviews at Epinions. 

All ratings are on a scale from 1 (bad) to 5 (great).

Mystery:

HOT, SHOT, AND BOTHERED by Nora McFarland - 4

TV news shooter Lilly Hawkins is filming the wildfire burning out of control near Bakersfield when a body is found in a lake.  When it turns out to be someone she knows and she doesn't buy the story of how she died, Lilly sets out to find the killer.  I missed the supporting cast from the first book, although I still enjoyed my time with Lilly.  Decent mystery, too.  My biggest issue was actually the fire - hit a little too close to home for me.

Kids:

THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA by Tom Angleberger - 3

Dwight is the weird kid in sixth grade until he creates an origami Yoda and starts giving out advice.  The funny thing is, the advice seems to be good.  Is it magic or just luck?  The book is really a collection of short stories with a quick climax near the end.  Many of them were heartwarming, but I wanted it to be building toward something long before it did.

THE MYSTERY OFF OLD TELEGRAPH ROAD by Kathryn Kenny - 4

When Trixie and the rest of the Bob-Whites start putting on a bikeathon to raise money for the school art department, someone seems determined to make them stop.  Who is against the project?  And will it tear apart the friends?  I enjoy the characters and how they are portrayed here, but the mystery still feels like an afterthought.  You know, "This is a mystery series.  We should probably have a mystery in here somewhere."

THE SON OF NEPTUNE by Rick Riordan - 5

Percy only remembers the last 8 months of his life, but he's making his way to an encampment of Roman demigods in the hills around San Francisco.  Soon, he's on a quest with new friends Hazel and Frank.  Will they survive their journey?  There is an obvious formula to these books, yet just when I think I'm going to be tired of it, he makes it very interesting.  The well developed characters really help with that.  Watch for the hilarious scene at Amazon headquarters.

RILEY MACK AND THE OTHER KNOWN TROUBLEMAKERS by Chris Grabenstein - 4

Riley Mack was labeled a troublemaker after an ill-advised attempt to steal an ice cream cake.  Now he tries to help his friends out of problems with school bullies.  But when one friend has his dog stolen, Riley and the gang may be in over their heads.  There's lots going on here that will keep kids engaged.  Personally, I thought the characters were a little weak, but I don't think kids will notice or care.

TWICE UPON A TIME by James Riley - 5

Jack, May, and Phillip find themselves in a race against time to save the fairy kingdom so they can learn who May really is.  It's a quest that will lead them to encounters with pirates and mermaids.  Can they succeed?  This twisted version of fairy tales is fun with plenty of grins and laughs plus action that will keep you glued to the page.

Two Days at Disneyland!

I got to take Monday and Tuesday off work last week and spend them at Disneyland with friends!!!!  It was a group of friends from my Trixie Belden message boards.  They had been in Vegas over the weekend for a wedding, and a few of them came down here to extend the vacation.

Actually, we started out with dinner Sunday night, which included a couple people who couldn't make the next two days.  We met up in Pasadena and had a blast.

Then came two days at Disneyland, which were both open to close days.  We had one new to Disneyland and several who have been to Disney World much more often than Disneyland, so we tried to cram as much as we could into those two days.

Monday was spent at CA Adventure.  They still don't have Cars Land opened, but there was still plenty to do, and we were kept hoping the entire day.  We finished the day off with the World of Color, which I do enjoy, just not enough to try to wait several hours for a spot.  But then again, that's how I feel about just about all their shows.  I'd rather do rides.  The exception is Aladdin, which we did and had a blast doing.

I actually got a hotel room and spent the night down there, which was good because I was tired, I'd hit traffic Monday morning, and we were trying to get an early start on Tuesday.  It was okay, and for the price I paid fine.  There's no way it was worth full price.

Tuesday was run, run, run in Disneyland itself.  We left out a couple of things, but we managed to get in almost the entire park, we even did Star Tours twice.  And I got to hit some new destinations on that ride.  We still hit both of the places I'd been between those two rides, but I also got some new scenes, which were quite fun to see.

And the weather that was so nice on Saturday?  It had turned cool and cloudy by Monday and Tuesday.  I didn't take my sweatshirt off all day Tuesday.  But that was probably better than too hot.

I was dead tired by the time we left that night.  I honestly don't know how I made it home safely and to bed.  That led to two days of hardly turning around I was so busy at work, but that's a post for another day.

OC Gladiator Rock N Run

I was lazy last week about updating my blog.  Or maybe I was just too busy.  Either way, I have a lot to catch up on, starting with my second mud run and fourth run for the year.

I headed down to Irvine for my fourth Gladiator Rock N Run.  Sanjay did it with me again.  The course went from being a 5K to a 7K, which meant it was about 4.35 miles.  They've moved the location to The Great Park, which was an old military base.  It was fun since part of the run was on a runway.

The big accomplishment for me this time was I made it over the wall.  It was the same hard wall I gave one attempt to in October, but this time I was determined to make it over.  I need the guy at the top to pull my leg up, but I did it.

Of course, to do that, I skipped the dumpsters we were supposed to jump into and out of.  There was really nothing to use to climb over them, and I just couldn't see how I was going to get over.  That makes me worry about the walls in Tough Mudder in July.  Past time to start working on upper body strength.

They also had a crawl area inside a hanger.  It was all curtained off, and let me tell you it was dark in there.  I was using the side to guide me forward.  It was so nice when the light at the end of the tunnel wasn't the glow from the bright lights burned into my eyes.

The down side was the clean up afterward.  The truck to hose us down had run out of water, so we were trying to use a small muddy pond.  The truck came back, but there were so many of us it was hard to get clean.  I used my towel to wipe up lots more mud than normal.  First time I've seen that happen with this race, so hopefully it's a fluke that will be addressed in the future.

The best part of the day?  The weather was warm, in fact it was approaching hot.  After freezing at my last three mud runs, it was so nice to be hot as I ran.  I was especially glad for this when we hit the ice water which was cold enough to take away your breath every time you ducked under an obstacle.

Still, it was a fun day, and I'm planning to hit them up again in October when they're back in Pasadena.

Weekly TV Recap for May 5th

Once Upon a Time - A great episode that gave us so much.  We now know who August really is and how he can be a fairy tale character not affected by the curse.  Gepetto didn't come out looking too good here.  Now, if only Emma can stop acting like an idiot, like running away with Henry, we'll be golden.

The Amazing Race - So, despite doing the Fast Forward, Mark and Bopper are still gone.  Bummer.  I do think the one woman went too far, but I certainly get her lack of desire to shave her head.  Now I'm not sure who to root for in the finale.

Castle - I watched this in the hotel room alone, so the first part definitely creeped me out a little.  But once it really got going, I enjoyed it.  And I appreciated their break with formula at the end.

Survivor - They actually took out a woman with Tarzan still around.  I guess they've decided they can get rid of him whenever.  That will be interesting.  I loved Kat talking about how great blindsides are just before she was blindsided.  Unfortunately, I think I would react like she did after being voted out.  Yet another reason I will never try to get on the show.

The Big Bang Theory - As painful as last week's episode was, this week's was hilarious.  All three storylines were top notch, but I think I liked Amy trying to seduce Sheldon the best.  Howard's excellerated flight took an unexpected twist as well.  Is he going into space on Thursday?

Fairly Legal - They shocked me.  I fully expected them to get the one inmate freed.  I think this is a first where Kate didn't get her happy ending.  Loved the copyright case.  Now, if they'd just stop with the romance with Ben, all would be well.

In Plain Sight - I couldn't have asked for a better finale.  Brandi and Jinx were both back.  Marshall told Mary how he loved her without leaving Abigail behind.  I love him and Abigail together.  And they weren't closing the office.  It was not what I was expecting going into last night, and for that I am thrilled.  I'd love to see more to the show, but I can close this book satisfied.

Nikita - A very intense episode, and one I think is going to set up the finale two episodes of the season.  I love how they are showing the growing family Nikita is building around her.  They are strong together.  It makes it hard for the writers to keep everyone involved, I'm sure, but when they do, it really is great.

New TV on DVD Reviews:

Suits - Season 1    

Covert Affairs - Season 2   

Word Association for May 3rd

I have a lot I should be blogging about, but I am completely brain dead at the moment.  That could make this week's word association pretty interesting.

1. Background :: Check
2. Performance :: Evaluation
3. Husband :: Wife
4. Scaffolding :: Construction
5. Third :: Degree
6. Stirring :: Performance
7. Slogan :: Advertising
8. Odor :: Foul
9. Accent :: Spoken
10. Suspicion :: Mystery