Weekly TV Recap for August 31st

Summer Camp – So much drama, and yet Chris still stayed.  I’m quite curious to see how this all shakes out next week.  It’s not going to be pretty, I’m sure.

Covert Affairs – Annie and Auggie broke up?  Say it ain’t so!  And we still aren’t to Annie getting shot.  Seriously, can we get there already?  Actually, I’m just wondering how many more weeks we have before the “summer finale” considering it starts up again in mid-October.  And obviously I’ve forgotten how long ago Auggie was blinded because he clearly wasn’t in that flashback.

Suits – I was not expecting that twist at the end at all.  Seriously?  The lawyers contracted for the murders?  WOW!  That’s going to make things very interesting for the next few episodes.  And poor Donna.  She shouldn’t have to feel so guilty over all this.  As she said, she didn’t know.  I hope she is heavily involved in bringing them down.  But now I am concerned about how the merger is going to play out.

Melissa and Joey – Well, I can see where part two is going to go, and I'm not that impressed.  They are going to leave us with a cliffhanger of did they or didn't they do it for real or just the spell.  Yawn.  This has been a disappointing season over all.

Royal Pains – Part of me is glad that Hank wasn’t addicted to pain drugs.  And part of me feels like that was a cheat ending.  I hope that Paige and Evan can work things out quickly.  And yes, my heart fell when we hit the cliffhanger.  I seriously hope we aren’t about to lose a second patient.

Word Association for August 29th

Here's this week's word association.

1. 64 :: 65
2. Dark :: Light
3. Honor :: Obey
4. Crystal :: Castle
5. Postscript :: Letter
6. Things :: Collect
7. Fever :: Hot
8. Bare :: Naked
9. Thump :: Crash
10. Point of view :: Novel

Gregg Hurwitz Launch Party

Thursday night, I went to the launch party for Gregg Hurwitz’s latest stand alone thriller.

I know, I know, me reading thrillers.  It’s outside my norm, that’s for sure.  But something about his books appeals to me – probably the ordinariness of his heroes.  That also makes them more nail biting.  I definitely have to be in the right mood, but when I am, I love them.

Anyway, it was over in Santa Monica, and I headed out there after work.  I got there super early, so I sat in my car and read.

It was at this cute independent bookstore.  Also small.  In fact, we took over the food courtyard outside for the reading part of the evening.

Note to self, if I ever go back there, be sure to plan on dinner in that courtyard.  Several of the places sounded good.

Then again, I still could have grabbed dinner once I found the place since things started half an hour late.  I was definitely wishing I had brought my book inside since I probably could have finished it while I was waiting.

Once things did start, Gregg was entertaining.  I snagged a spot near the front to get my book signed early, which was nice since that meant I could head for home.

His schedule doesn’t have many Southern California stops in it, at least not right now, so I made this a priority.  Now, to find the right mood and plenty of time to read the book.

Weekly TV Recap for August 24th

Covert Affairs - Well, Henry will be after all of them now.  This just keeps getting better and better.  I am quite anxious to see where it all leads.

Suits - That was pretty much what I was expecting when Harvey told Jessica what he was planning.  And I don't think he'll be able to make up for it in the short term.  I hope he has a long term plan for making peace because otherwise she will never trust him again.

Melissa & Joey - Storyline with adults?  Been there done that.  I think they are giving the kids the better stories right now.

Royal Pains - So once again they teased the cliffhanger in the preview from last week.  When are they going to stop doing that?  And poor Paige.  I hope Evan can really make it up to her.  I see what happened, but it was still so painful to watch.  Then again, I do love Paige, so this storyline isn't making me the most excited right now.

Necessary Roughness - Stop with the 72 hours earlier non-sense!  I didn't need to see that.  And I would have sworn in a preview that we saw agents coming for Dr. Dani.  Glad I was wrong about that.  I really liked the finale.  If the show comes back, I'll definitely watch.  And if it doesn't?  That would be a great finale as far as I am concerned.

Wipeout - I really liked what they did with the time traveler.  Way too funny.  I was sorry when he go eliminated.

Burn Notice - The episode felt way too familiar, like they had done it before.  I'm talking everything in the warehouse.  But I appear to be the only one who felt that way.  Interesting twists they are doing with the story right now.  I don't see how they will resolve it in two more episodes.

Graceland - I'm actually feeling sorry for Briggs right now.  He's in so much trouble on so many fronts.  And I find myself rooting for him to get out of it.  But I think things are about to turn dark for everyone.

Word Association for August 21st

Here's this week's word association.

1. Karma :: Bad
2. Detail :: Art
3. Conversation :: Talk
4. Optimistic :: Hopeful
5. Social :: People
6. Approval :: Denied
7. Tab :: Over
8. PM :: Afternoon
9. Share :: Group
10. Cheat :: Test

Weekly TV Recap for August 17th

Summer Camp – If you send the same person again and again, the other team will keep them to disrupt your team, and they will continue to get angrier at you time and time again.  It’s that simple.  Figure it out.

Covert Affairs – So Henry has a tail.  Who could it be?  And whose side is the son really on?  What does this have to do with Jai’s death?  I mean, really, who was behind it.  It’s been a season and a half.  Isn’t it about time we found that out?

Suits – Is Harvey going to go back to Jessica’s side of things?  If not, that knife in the back is going to be very bitter for her.  And how will she respond when she learns about Harvey’s plans?  Will they ever get their client out from under these murder charges?  And could Donna be any funnier with her scenes this year?

Melissa & Joey – So that explains the comments from a couple weeks ago about running for state senate.  Really, when will sitcoms realize they need to put that kind of stuff in order.  It’s annoying.  Funny episode overall, especially with Lenox’s prison penpal.

Royal Pains – So is that it for Boris for the season?  Paige is looking like she is feeling left out of the group right now.  I hope she doesn’t take it out on Evan when he is trying to spend time with her.  Glad they are going somewhere with Hank as the addict storyline, although I don’t think they have too many more episodes left this season.  Already!

Necessary Roughness – So Uncle Jesse is the bad guy after all.  Why has he turned on Dani like this?  Or was she going to be a fall guy the entire time?  It’s a shame because I loved V3, so I’m sorry it looks like this will be a one season storyline.  Oh well, it has certainly been a blast.

Wipeout – Obviously, they needed again to fill their female winners quotient, so they made an episode that a woman was sure to win.  Still, it was as always.

Burn Notice – Obviously, I've been anti-Carlos all season.  We're supposed to be because we want Fi and Michael together when the show ends (and I certainly do).  But how that break up was hard.  Michael is heading down a dark path, and I hope he can be redeemed before the season is over.

Graceland – So Briggs is obviously after the guy who killed his girlfriend and the other agents.  And that's why he's doing what he's doing.  But now he's in a world of trouble having to prove he didn't kill the guy on purpose.  I actually like this twist and I might even be glad I stuck with the show.  We'll see what next week brings.

Job Update

It’s been a while since I talked about work.  Mainly because I really have nothing to say.

I’m still temping at a company in Burbank.  I’ve been there 11 months now, which is rather hard to believe.  Still no word on hiring me and still no word on when I might leave.

Of course, I did leave for a week, or at least three days.

I got a lead on a temp to hire job in Sylmar, which would be half the drive from home.  So I left my current job with the understanding that I could come back in this other job didn’t work out.

After three days, they decided to hire in house instead of someone from outside, so I was done.  Bummer.  But true to their word, the company I’ve been working for took me back.  So when I returned from Wisconsin, I started back here.

They were thrilled to see me.  Everyone welcomed me back warmly, but my boss most of all.  She really was happy to see me again because she’d been swamped and had projects for me to work on.  That really made me feel great, and since it is why I am here, I was happy to help out.

At some point, I really do want a permanent job.  But in the mean time, this is doing very well for me.

Wisconsin Wedding Weekend

This last weekend, I headed out to Wisconsin for the wedding of my former roommate Daniel.  The main reason I even thought about going was because I had airline miles that were set to expire – enough for a free ticket one way.  I figured this was my best chance to use them.

I had a fabulous time.

Frankly, I’m not sure why I didn’t think I would.  I was already friends with all of the groomsmen but one, and he was a great guy, too.  I hadn’t seen most of them in a couple of years, so it was a lot of fun catching up with them.

And, despite it being the weekend of a wedding, most of the weekend was hurry up and wait, which means we had plenty of time to relax and hang out.  A highlight for me was a lengthy conversation with the best man about pop culture and Christianity.  Made me wish all over again he still lived in California.  We just generally laughed and had a good time together.

The weather was nice most of the weekend, too.  I spent some time out on the porch reading on Friday.  Upper 70’s with little to no humidity.  I guess they’d had really bad winds a couple days before I arrived.

And then there was the day of the wedding itself.  It rained off and on all day, which was a bummer since the ceremony itself was supposed to be outside.  I will hand it to the staff of the venue, however.  When they got word we were holding it in the back up indoor location, they had things ready to go in minutes.  That’s impressive.

And Daniel and his bride looked so happy together.  Frankly, they seem like a great match to me.

I really wasn’t ready to come home when the weekend was over.  It was a great time with friends I don’t know when I will see again.  That made the parting hard.

Word Association for August 14th

Here's this week's word association.

1. Games :: Fun and
2. Fame :: Fortune
3. Construct :: Build
4. Pants :: Shirt
5. Outlier :: Shows
6. Column :: Roman
7. Circus :: Clown
8. Remedy :: Sick
9. Other :: Woman
10. Outlet :: Plug

Weekly TV Recap - August 10th

I only got a few shows watched this week, so I'll have to get going next week and get caught up.

Summer Camp - I can understand Chris' reaction to being banished twice.  Especially since he didn't participate in the challenge.  I would be in his shoes as well.  I really did think the women were going to send him home based on how he was talking, so the outcome was a surprise to me.

Covert Affairs - So if the end game just to kill the son?  That's sure what it seems like right now.  Talk about vengeance and nothing else on the mind.  And was I supposed to recognize the guy at the end because I sure didn't?  This is shaping up to be my favorite season yet.

Suits - Wow the tension is getting high.  I keep waiting for it to explode, but it still isn't doing that.  And I'm definitely feeling sorry for Jessica.  Then again, I never really felt sorry for Harvey last season when she didn't make him the name partner, so what do I know?  And Donna's scenes?  Such wonderful comic relief.

Last Summer League Game

Because of various tournaments, the summer league schedule has gotten shortened.  Unfortunately, that means I'm missing the tournament this weekend.  The only games I'm going to miss are the tournament this season, too.  Otherwise, I would have had a perfect attendance record.

Anyway, Wednesday night was our last regular game.  I wasn't expecting much since we were 2-6 and they were ranked 3rd at 6-2.  But they were missing some of their best players.

Mind you, they were still good.  We went zone defense on them part way through the first half, and that's the only reason it was close.

Even so, it was 6-11 at one point.  But we fought back.  In fact, you could tell when our mentality turned around when we got two in a row.

And we kept scoring.  We finally finished when the lights went out.  We almost scored point 17.  But since the lights went out we won at 16-14.  That's right, we won!

Personally, I dropped a disc that would have been a score.  It came in fast.  It had to come in fast.  I knew it would come in fast.  And yet I still dropped it.

However, I threw a score late in the game.  I do that less than I score, so I was thrilled with that.  Especially since it wasn't the best idea, which I realized after I threw it.  It was a pretty blind throw, but the arc was correct and the guy got it no problem.

Word Association for August 7th

Here's this week's word association.

1. Weird :: Science
2. Balance :: Sheet
3. Personal :: Finance
4. Reproduction :: Copier
5. Distraction :: Internet
6. Articulate :: Speaker
7. Shovel :: Hole
8. Column :: Newspaper
9. Drastic :: Solution
10. Bombastic :: Personality

TV Recap for August 3rd

Covert Affairs – So, I wonder if the son’s loyalties are really with the CIA or if he is playing Annie.  And how long before Henry gets suspicious.  What about the guy Annie killed?  What did Joan take from his safe?  Will she reconcile with her husband?  Is he gone for good?  Yeah, this season has lots of intriguing questions and for once I feel like they are telling a good connected story.  Now, if they tie this in to Jai’s murder….

Suits – More intrigue here, too.  Louis working with the 5th year will be interesting and problematic.  But how cute are Mike and Rachel together?  And Donna?  She gets all the best lines, and on this show that’s really saying something.

Melissa & Joey - Better than last week, although there were still plenty of moments I didn't care for.  I may be taking this off my DVR.

Royal Pains - So, how long is it going to be before HankMed realizes what a mistake they made selling out?  That's what keeps going through my mind as we watch the season unfold.  My guess is, that will be a season ending cliffhanger.

Necessary Roughness - At this point, I am wondering who is after what at V3.  Dani has landed herself in a huge, big mess.  My guess is things aren't what they appear.  But I'm worried about  her assistant.  Did she get fired or worse?  I thought TK was doing well, but then he wound up being engaged to that woman?  I think she's trouble, but we'll see.

Wipeout - Not sure I have to say about it.  Other than it is too bad Texas won since their ego will get bigger as a result.

Burn Notice - This James guy is seeming to become worse and worse news with every episode.  And I see no way that Michael and Co will be able to take him down.  But I often think that in the middle of an episode, and they prove me wrong so I'm sure they'll do that again.

Monday's Ultimate Game

That’s right, I had a Friday ultimate Frisbee game followed by a Monday ultimate Frisbee game.  There were several differences between the games, however.

First, more of the team showed up.  We only had one female sub, but we had several men on the sidelines on any given point.

Second, we won!  Oh, we made it dramatic.  We started out behind and stayed that way for the first half.  At one point in the second half, we were down 9-13.  But we struggled back and took the win 19-17.

I have now won as many summer league games this year as I have the last two years combined.  Or, if you want to go in the last 12 months, as many as last summer league and Men’s beach league combined.

Sounds like our game next week, our final regular game, will be against a really good team.  We’ll see how that goes.

Busy but Good Weekend

I was joking to when I got to work on Monday about how I drove right by work both days of the weekend.

Saturday, I went to a play at Glendale Centre Theatre.  They were doing a production of The 39 Steps, which is based on a Hitchcock play.  The twist is, it only involves four people playing all the parts.  And they were brilliant at it.  A new wig and change of clothes was all it took.  The acting was wonderful, and I never had trouble following the story.  At times, I was in awe of how the actors could change characters so completely within seconds.

Then Sunday I went down to the Greek Theater to see Amy Grant in concert.  Believe it or not, I’d never done that before.  Plus she was touring with Brandon Heath, who I also like.  I really enjoyed the show, more than I thought I would.  She jumped around between her new stuff and her older stuff, going back to her 1982 release for a couple of her songs in the second half.  It was a fun night and Brandon’s songs were great, too.  Only did 5 of them, but I enjoyed it.

I should have worn long pants instead of shorts and brought a sweatshirt, but other than that, it was perfect.

My favorite moment?  When she did “Thy Word,” She just sang it her and her guitar.  You could hear all of us singing along.  It was magical.