Word Association for July 13th

Time for this week's word association.

1. Dickens :: A Christmas Carol
2. Collection :: Ornament
3. Weekends :: Fun
4. Travel :: Vacation
5. District :: Separate
6. Vampires :: Buffy
7. Peep show :: Ick!
8. Crochet :: Knit
9. Lion :: Aslan
10. Fetch :: Catch

What a Busy Week

I can't believe it's Monday and last week is behind us.  Maybe that's because I was so busy.

I've gone to two book signings in the last week.  Tuesday night Avery Aames was doing a book signing for her first mystery, The Long Quiche Goodbye.  I've been hearing good things about it, so I figured this was a good excuse to go get it.  Of course, I got three other books, so a $7 paperback wound up costing me over $60.  As an added bonus, Sue Ann Jaffarian showed up, so I got to chat with her for a while before the signing actually started.

Then Saturday at noon was a signing for Gregg Hurwitz's They're Watching.  The first is a cozy, but this is a thriller.  Completely opposite ends of the spectrum, right?  I didn't have his last book, but I got it, too, meaning I left that book signing over $50 poorer.

This weekend was also the premier of the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament line for 2010.  Guess who was out the door first thing Saturday morning to make sure he got the Chip 'n' Dale limited edition set he wanted.  Yep, that would be me.  I actually made it to the four Hallmark's in town in less than two hours before it was time to leave for the signing.  I was impressed with myself.  Of course, I am now much poorer.  And with all the ornaments I've been buying on eBay in the last month, I'm going to have some big bills coming up soon.  I'm not looking forward to that.

Speaking of money type stuff, Aaron is moving back home.  Something about not finding a job down here and his girlfriend being near his parent's house.  I'm not buying these excuses at all.  He's just being selfish.  (Either that or I'm being selfish here, but we won't go there).  In all seriousness, I'm not the least bit surprised, but I'm very disappointed to see him go.

And I played ultimate Frisbee twice in less than 24 hours.  Friday night was my summer league game.  I got there very late, but the rest of my team was happy to see me because it meant we had one sub.  It was our turn to play down at the park in Venice, and they had forgotten to turn the lights on.  I always forget how bad that field is until I actually play there again.

It was our worst loss so far, losing 10-17.  However, I did feel better about how I played.  I was involved in several points and even got my first completion of the season.  That usually is the start of me playing better.  Hope that continues.

Saturday when I got back from running around to the Hallmark stores and the book signing, my roommate Mark was going stir crazy at home.  I wasn't going to go down to the pick up game, but it took about two seconds for him to talk me into it.  We both had a good time, so I'm glad I went.

And we are looking at some serious summer weather coming up.  It's looking like it will be in the 100's by this weekend.  Bring it on!

Weekly TV Recap - July 10th

I bet you thought I forgot all about this. Truth is, it has crossed my mind a couple of times today, but that's as far as it's gotten. I've been busy with other things almost all day.

Frankly, I don't have much to say this week. All my USA Network shows were in reruns, but I'll have three new shows on that network starting up this week.

Wipeout was one twice, but there was miscommunication, so I missed most of it on Tuesday. I did see the two couples in the Wipeout Zone. I would have loved to see how they got that far since both women and I think one man couldn't complete it in the 20 minute time limit. Heck, I didn't know they had a 20 minute time limit before that.

Did catch all of Thursday's episode, although I watched it in pieces. I loved how they were mocking themselves, I mean Henderson, for the one obstacle being a dud. And, yes, I will admit that I was totally rooting for the accountant and laughing at all the accounting jokes they threw in there. Have I reached my geek quota for the week?

Since the Emmy nominations came out this week, I thought I'd comment on those. Of course, every year it reminds me how out of touch I am. Seems very few of the shows I love make the list.

I'm not sorry to see Lost up for best Drama. As much as I was disappointed by the final, I know many people did like it. And I have a very hard time disliking the show overall, still. That's why I'm thrilled to see the actors getting their nominations. It's too bad Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson are going up against each other since they are both great. I think Michael deserves to win, however. And I hope Elizabeth Mitchell wins in her category since she is such an amazing actress. (Yes, I think I'm developing a bit of a crush on her.)

And my USA Network shows got some love. Sharon Gless deserves the nomination for her performance in the third season finale alone. I hope she wins. And I hope Tony Shalhoub wins for the final season of Monk. It was amazing, and he was so much of the reason as always. However, if he doesn't win, I hope that Jim Parsons wins for Big Bang Theory. I don't regularly watch that show, but when I do his performance always amazes me.

Book Beginnings on Friday for July 9th

It's Friday where our hostess is, so I'm going to stop apologizing for posting Book Beginnings on Friday on Thursday night and just do it if I have time.

I've been on a kid's book kick recently, I guess, as you'll see with this week's two selections.  I actually finished Tales from the Hood yesterday.  It's the sixth in the Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley.  Highly recommended if you like a different take on fairy tales.  Anyway, the first sentence is:

Sabrina Grimm awoke with a crazy dream fresh in her mind.

That sentence definitely caught my attention.

But for perfection, we've got to go with Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs.  I just started this book at lunch time, and so far I am really enjoying it.  Our main character is a 12 year old whose parents work at a new zoo/amusement park combo.  The first sentence is:

I'd just been busted for giving the chimpanzees water balloons when I first heard something was wrong at Hippo River.

That sentence actually made me chuckle and it definitely made me want to read more.

Thoughts on The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

This is not going to be a formal review of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  If you want that, you can read what I had to say on Epinions by following this link.  Instead, I'm just going to share some thoughts about the book.

One thing that really struck me was how funny the book really was.  Oh, don't worry, I was still tearing up when Aslan dies and the girls are spending the night near him.  But some of the lines are pretty funny.  All the talk about shutting oneself in a wardrobe, for example, cracked me up.  And the professor and his "What do they teach them in schools these days" is always a hoot.

I had also forgotten just how quickly the book moved.  I'm used to books that take a chapter or two to set up the characters and the situation.  This book did that in pages.  Lucy was in Narnia by page 7 in my edition.  And the book kept moving forward just as quickly the entire way through.

There's a reason this is still my favorite of the Narnia stories.  It's just absolutely magical and filled with a sense of wonder that some of the other books are lacking.  In fact, they often feel much more grounded, while in this book, you almost feel as if anything can and will happen.

Word Association for July 7th

Time for this week's word association.

1. Authorized :: Transaction
2. Flirting :: Dating
3. Bad :: Good
4. Digit :: Finger
5. Sexy :: Eyes
6. Combinations :: Locker
7. Guard :: Dog
8. Retina :: Eye
9. Motion :: Forward
10. Concert :: Rock

A Fabulous Fourth Weekend

It was hard coming back to work today.  I had a fabulous long weekend.  Heck, it wasn't nearly long enough.

Friday, I left right after work to head up to Hume Lake.  My roommate Daniel is working up there this summer, so I felt a burning need to visit him wanted to use him as an excuse to visit the camp.  It's a huge Christian camp near Sequoia National Forest and Kings Canyon National Park, and I've heard about it all my life but never had a chance to go there.

Of course, I had some fun driving up.  From what I could tell when I left on Sunday, I took one turn too early.  If I'd just kept going another couple of miles, I would have seen the sign I should have taken.  As it was, I just went the long way and arrived at the back of the camp instead of the main entrance.  It probably added half an hour to my drive, but by the time I got there, I was pretty stressed.  Now, of course, I can laugh.  But at the time, I was trying to figure out what to do if I didn't find it.

Fortunately, the staff was very helpful once I got there.  I was able to find the trailer complex where I would be staying and park my car.  Daniel was working until Saturday morning, but by the time I got there it was pretty much time to go to bed.

Saturday, Daniel showed me around the camp.  It's huge!  They have a separate camp for elementary school kids, jr. high, and high school.  Each of them is bigger than the camp I grew up going to.  Yes, we were driving for the tour.

That afternoon, we took a canoe out on the lake.  Since Daniel is staff, we didn't even have to pay the rental fee.  We paddled across the lake to the dam, then over to the swimming cove to swim.  We reluctantly headed back to go to dinner.

Saturday night was a hoedown, which involved an outdoor BBQ, a competition for the various departments of the staff, and then a square dance.  I watched the competition, and it was lots of fun.  It was the usual silly relay races and what not, ending with a mud pit tug of war.

After the square dance was over, we took off with the other summer counselors to go look at the stars.  I love just lying out looking at the glory of God's creation.  It was magnificent!

Sunday started with church at 10:45.  I wish I could say I had slept that long, but I woke up around 7, although I didn't get out of bed until 8.  After lunch, Daniel had a meeting, so I walked the three mile circumference of the lake, taking plenty of pictures along the way.  Daniel had to start counseling again after his meeting, so I decided to come on home.

But I needed to do one last thing.  The zip line was open, and I decided to do that.  My fear of heights really was bothering me as I was standing up there waiting to be told I could go.  But once I got going, I really enjoyed it.  I think I would have enjoyed it more had I done it a second time.  But the line was pretty long by the time I got back down, and I wanted to hit the road.

As it turned out, I got back to town at the perfect time to join a group of friends to go watch the fireworks.  It was a group I have seen them with the last several years, and it was good to hang out with them.

Monday, I went to see Toy Story 3 again, this time with Angelique.  It's a great movie the second time around, too.  After that, I hung out at home, talking to my parents and watching some TV.  Honestly, I could have used another day or two of that.  Not that I wouldn't have changed a thing about my weekend.  I wasn't ready to leave Hume either.

Ironically, the weather was hotter at Hume than it is here right now.  It was in the 90's in the afternoon, although it was quite cold over night.  We're still lucky to be hitting the 80's here at home, and I almost had to run my windshield whippers on the way to work this morning.  Come on, it's summer.  I want my hot weather!!!!

Weekly TV Recap July 3rd

Let's get right to it, shall we?

Downfall - I was curious about the show, so I watched the rerun of the first episode this week. The premise is that contestants must answer trivia questions while on a skyscraper. Their potential prizes are on a conveyer belt and they fall off the edge if the contestants take to long to answer the required number of questions per round. My fear of heights got the better of me here. Normally, I can answer stuff pretty well from the couch at home (I'm sure doing that on a show would be another matter). But here I was so distracted by seeing the stuff fall I couldn't even answer half the stuff I knew. And my heart was racing and my feet were clammy. I won't be watching any more.

Wipeout (Tuesday) - I don't know what my problem was last week because I loved this week's show. Of course, I think the writing was better with all the puns and jokes they were making about the contestants. My roommates and I were laughing pretty hard at some of them, especially the new mom and the "superhero" whose power was wiggling his ears. And I was even laughing at some of those wipeouts. Definitely good times.

In Plain Sight - So sad it's the season finale already. But what a great way to finish off an already strong season. I was disappointed they didn't do any more with the Scott storyline, but where was there room? The priest plot was very interesting, and I liked how they didn't cheapen his faith. I thought when he took the collar off at the beginning that's where they were going with things, so I was glad when he went back to it at the end. And the sign Mary gave him? Priceless. Someone on the staff knows their scripture. The sub-plot with the witnesses daughter wanting to know something about her dad was okay, but the only weak point of the episode. And I loved that finale scene. It was nice to see Mary ending a season happy instead of in the hospital. Now, where will they take these characters next season? I can't wait to find out.

Burn Notice - We've had some clients who weren't thrilled that Michael was helping them. We've had some that made things difficult for him. But I do think this is the first time we've had one that was so openly hostile to Michael and his crew. And I loved it. That last scene where the client stood up for himself was priceless. And there were so many great one liners involving Michael and Fi and the assassin. I'll be very curious to see where that storyline goes in two weeks.

Royal Pains - Okay, so the cliffhanger from last week was a bit of a let down since Evan wasn't really in any danger. But it kept them in Cuba for an extra episode, and I enjoyed it. I just have one question. When will people start realizing that Hank is always right and if he thinks something is a bad idea, they will get very sick for not listening to him? Dr. Beck is going to make things very interesting for everyone back in the Hamptons. I think that's the storyline I'm most interested in seeing develop right now.

Wipeout (Thursday) - You know, they can go back to one episode a week now. That's about how often it's truly fun. Not that my roommate and I didn't laugh at some of the jokes and puns from this episode. The ad they did for the new Wii version of the game was pretty cheesy (even for this show) and not all that well done. So why am I tempted to get the game?

New TV on DVD review:
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - Season 3

Book Beginnings on Friday July 2nd. Or Close Enough

Yeah, I'm a little early again this week.  Still, I'm going to go ahead and do Book Beginnings on Friday.

I'm also jumping the gun because I just finished Run Afoul, which I talked about last week, today.  So technically, I'm between books at the moment.  However, I am going to start The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (part of the Narnia Reading Challenge) in a couple of hours.  So I'm going to use the first line from that today.

There once were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.

Okay, so it's not especially catchy or brilliant or anything.  But this book holds such fonds memories for me that I can't help but smile when I read those words.

Accepting the Narnia Reading Challenge

A couple weeks ago, about the time the trailer for the next Narnia movie came out, I was hit with a burning desire to reread the Chronicles of Narnia.  This time I am going to read them in chronological order instead of the order published.  This will be a first for me.

Anyone, just after I finished reading the first book, I saw that Reading to Know would be hosting a reading challenge for the books in July.  So, instead of spreading them out a little more, I am going to try to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe  and The Horse and His Boy this month.

It's been several years since I read the books, although I did enjoy the Focus on the Family radio drama versions a few years ago.

Depending on how my month goes (it's already insanely busy), I may try to watch the LWW movie again as well.

I should finish my current read tonight, so I will start LWW tomorrow.  It's my favorite in the series, so I am looking forward to diving back in and enjoying the magic.