Word Association for February 10th

Here's this week's word association.

1. Trash :: Treasure
2. Abs :: Sit-ups
3. Dating :: Service
4. Hooked :: Fan
5. Face :: Head
6. Algebra :: Math
7. Reading :: Fun!
8. Horrendous :: Subject
9. Looks :: Aren't Everything
10. Python :: Snake

Disney Trip

So, back before I got sick, I went to Disneyland.  It had all started because my roommate Daniel was going to be there and wanted someone to hang out with.  However, he turned out to be very busy and we didn't really see him.  Instead, I spent the day with Angelique and Brian.  Brian has just started working there, so he was able to get us in for free.  And we could go to both parks.

Naturally, that meant we were hopping back and forth between the parks, although we only made the crossing twice each.  We managed to hit the big rides at both parks, which was a huge plus.  And we got to see Aladdin one more time before it leaves the park.  I'm going to miss that show.

I was surprised at just how crowded it was.  I thought the end of January it would be fairly empty.  But it was a Saturday, and the week before it had been gorgeous, so that probably brought a lot of people out who wouldn't normally come out.

We didn't get there when the park opened, but we did close it out at 11.  And we never made it over to Fantasyland.  We'll have to fix that when we go back at the end of February for Master's Day at Disneyland.  And I hope it's a little less crowded this time, too.

A Week of Sickness

I mentioned in my post Saturday that I was sick this last week.  It all started Monday afternoon at work.  Suddenly, my nose started to feel like it was just draining.  I figured I was having a bad allergy attack, so I still went down to LAX to pick up Daniel and stop by The Mystery Bookstore party.

That night lying in bed not sleeping, I figured out that I was running a fever.  Sure enough, the thermometer agreed with me on that.  So I took the next three days off work.  The fever actually broke Wednesday night, but I took Thursday off to make sure I got better.

What amazes me is how much better I'm feeling now.  Normally, when I get a bad cough with a cold like this, I am lucky if I get rid of the cough in the next month.  This one is pretty much gone.  I woke up without in on Saturday.  I've had one or two bad coughs since then, but nothing like I normally have.  And I can breathe so free and clear.  Praise God!

I'm just hoping I didn't get Daniel sick.  Naturally, that was his week at home between groups.  I will feel very guilty if he winds up being sick as a result of being home that week.

Weekly TV Recap for February 5th

Wow, a whole week between posts.  I spent most of the week sick, and I just didn't feel like blogging.  But I did still watch TV.

Chuck - At first blush, I really liked this episode. So much action, so much humor. The part with Ellie and Awesome having their baby was a riot, especially how Ellie had everything together and Awesome was falling apart. This would have been their last episode if the show hadn't been picked up for more of the season, that explains the rest. The resolution of the spy plot felt too rushed. However, I love the fact that Sarah and Chuck are back together. Watching them apart was too painful.

White Collar - Much better than last week's episode. The way they worked out getting the hard drive at the end was lots of fun. And for once, nothing happened with the music box plot. I'm sure they'll pick that back up next week.

V - They are really going for those disturbing images this season. If I didn't think the show would be ending this year, I might actually consider giving it up. Tone back on the violence, okay?

Royal Pains - Evan dodged another bullet with Paige. And I really wonder where they are going with Divya's storyline. She can't leave, but how are they going to get her out of that wedding. I think Adam is too easy. There's got to be something else. And I'm wondering if Emily will turn on Hank now that he broke up with her. So much good stuff with so many storylines. Great show as always.

Wipeout - I love this show when the puns are good, and this week's were great. I especially loved the puns for Charlie Brown since I am a Peanuts fan. Heck, I wanted him to go longer just to hear more puns. Plus they replaced 7 Letter Word. Happy all the way around.

The Big Bang Theory - I knew Penny teaching Sheldon acting was going to be funny. I just never saw that ending coming. Absolutely classic. I could take or leave Raj's crush on Bernadette at the moment. If they continue with that, we'll see where it leads.

Nikita - My guess is, if I knew who the regular writers on the show were, this one would have been written by guest writers. It was pretty much a stand alone with no real forward advancement of any of the storylines. Do I care? Not in the slightest. That was a cool episode. Watching Nikita take on the odds and win handily every time is so cool. Although that last scene makes it look like Michael is going to be suspicious of Alex. That could be serious trouble in the weeks to come.

Fairly Legal - So, remember what I said last week about hoping the show didn't pull solutions out of nowhere every week? They didn't do it this week. In fact, it was so well set up that I actually cheered when they gave the dad his consequences. And the sub-plot about her ex-husband finding a present for her birthday was funny. I was surprised that they didn't so something about the mystery person in the will this week, but I'm sure we'll get more next week.

Weekly TV Recap for January 29th

You'll notice one show that isn't on here any more.  I decided I needed to cut a show from somewhere, and since I wasn't really that into The Cape yet, it made the most sense.  But everything else on the list is certainly here for the long haul.

Chuck - They are really going serious again. There were a few laughs, mainly with the sub-plot involving Ellie and Awesome trying to come up with a name for their daughter. The rest was very serious. While I'm not worried about Casey, watching him fall was something. And I'm wondering just how far Sarah will go to the dark side before she comes back. I'm especially wondering how long they are going to keep her there since they've said they are going to stretch out the ending of this arc a little when they got a full season pick up. Very fun ride, and I can't wait for the next twist.

Castle - I knew there would be a catch to the kiss they were teasing so freely. I figured they couldn't really get them together, yet. Still, it was played so well, and Castle's reaction at the end was funny. Again, this was a serious episode with very little of the show's normal humor, but it was so good. The stakes for all the characters were real, and that's part of what made it good. Since we love the characters, we actually cared about the outcome. We felt what they felt. Are you listening out there writers? Create and build good characters, and you'll have me for many years.

White Collar - I'd heard such great things about this flashback episode. And I was disappointed. I didn't think we learned enough new stuff, although seeing the characters we know cameo in earlier versions was fun. And I suddenly realized that Kate is the same actress who played Annabeth in the Percy Jackson movie. Anyway, there was some good background to the story arc, but that's about it. Especially after last week's episode, I thought it was a bit of a let down.

The Big Bang Theory (Tuesday) - I always didn't watch this one since it was a season 3 rerun, which I hope to watch on DVD soon, but I'm glad I did because it was so funny. Great lines, starting with Penny's explanation of why Sheldon has to sit in his seat and ending with her reciting the stuff in the last scene. Okay, so Penny's quite possibly a favorite character, so when she gets something like that, I especially love it.

Wipeout - You know, I figured the guy with the long legs would win. They'd be such an advantage on some of the obstacles. But that short woman was surprisingly tough. I wouldn't have been upset if she had won. And boy was it close.

The Big Bang Theory (Thursday) - Another rerun I hadn't seen. Sheldon being so fixated on what Howard had personally done to him was funny, and then he slipped in the real problems. The last scene was a classic with Howard in Sheldon's spot on the couch. Absolutely loved it.

Nikita - It is great to have the show back tonight, although I can already tell we will have a different dynamic for the second half of the season. Alex being on the outside could provide for some interesting situations. I don't really get the flashbacks, however. Did we know she was Russian before? I don't know, somehow it just seemed strange and out of place to me. And I'm wondering how Nikita will be using the CIA guy now that he's been demoted. Certainly plenty of interesting stuff to build from.

Royal Pains - The whole reality show thing was fun, and boy is Divya dropping hints that she doesn't want to leave. I was glad to see Evan's girlfriend back and not happy with how he used her to get the reality show into the club. I hope they actually build on that in the weeks to come. It will probably build to them breaking up, but I hope not since I love the character.  The show really has gotten to be about the characters' lives and not so much about the medical show of the week. Not that I'm really complaining since I love the characters.

Fairly Legal - So it appears we're going to get into some skeletons in the Reed family closet as an on-going storyline. I'm guessing there's a son that no one knows about. I'll certainly be interested in seeing how this all plays out. How Kate treats her step-mother is really shameful, although I was glad to see Kate finally admit she was avoiding the reading of the will because it meant her father was dead. It helps that I truly do like the step-mother. I noticed they toned down the Wizard of Oz references via Kate's ring tone. I wonder if song rights issues were the reason. But they make plenty of references to it in the opening credits song. Oh yeah, and there was a case this week. I felt the resolution was a bit out of right field, but I liked it. It felt right for the character. I hope that they are able to build up to those kind of resolutions better in future episodes, however.

New TV on DVD Review:
Growing Pains - Complete First Season

The Saga of the Water Heater

Well, this week didn't turn out quite as planned.  Okay, so it wasn't super distruptive, but it definitely added some stress to life.

Monday night I was sitting home about to start watching Chuck when my neighbor rang my doorbell.  "Your hot water heater is leaking."  And sure enough, it was.  Fortunately, it wasn't a bad leak, so I didn't have to figure out what to do that night, but it wasn't the kind of thing I could leave for several days or longer without fixing.

So Tuesday I took an extra long lunch hour to shop for hot water heaters.  Frankly, the few places I went seemed to be pretty much the same, so I went with Sears since they could get it installed on Wednesday.

And that meant I got to take Wednesday afternoon off so the guy could come and install it.  Of course, there were all kind of things he had to fix to bring it up to code.  Seriously, what's with all the added costs to things when you get it installed.  That's just frustrating on top of the stress of dealing with a situation like this.  Drives me up a wall.

That rant aside, he was able to get things installed without any further mishaps.  So, now, my water heater is 10 gallons bigger and I think it heats stuff to a better temperature, which means it will be harder for my roommates and me to run each other (or ourselves) out of hot water.  And I got most of it paid for with a 12 month no interest payment deal.  I'm not happy at spending that kind of money, especially on top of my car repairs the last few months, but these silver linings make it easier to live with.

Word Association for January 24th

Monday, so it's time to do this week's word association.

1. Girlfriend :: Boyfriend
2. Crushed :: Shattered
3. Source :: Site
4. Corner :: Street
5. Gossip :: Girl
6. Encounter :: Brief
7. Make an offer :: I can't refuse
8. Stylish :: Clothes
9. Profit :: Loss
10. Waste :: Waiste

Weekly TV Recap for January 22nd

Another week, another new show.  But this time one I completely love.  But that's at the end of the post.

Chuck - Wow.  I thought I knew where that episode was going and then it went in the opposite direction.  I'll say it again.  Wow.  Yes, it was set up well so I actually believed it, but this is going to make for an interesting few weeks as Sarah works to free Chuck's mom.  And how perfect was the proposal with Morgan and Casey watching from half a world away?

The Cape - Once again, I was entertained but I wasn't exactly thrilled.  Obviously, the wife is going to keep digging into it herself and get into lots of trouble as she gets close to finding out the truth.  And Orwell is obvious the main villain's long lost daughter.  They might as well have told us to get it out of the way.  Things are going to have to pick up quickly if I am going to keep watching it.

White Collar - I had been missing this show, and the second half season premier fit the bill.  So many funny lines.  Great plot, especially the take down.  Just absolutely so much fun.  I can't wait to see next week's show.  They can put on an episode like this every week and not have the quality suffer at all, right?

No Ordinary Family - Once again, the left us with a soft ending where someone who could cause trouble for the Powells just decides not to.  Come on, let's give them some antagonists already, especially if they'll carry over for a week or two.  Meanwhile, the main story did advance, and I enjoyed seeing the kids in detention.  I just hope they start really building on that main story soon.

V - Getting a little graphic there, aren't you?  Yuck!  I'm still torn with the obsession about the soul.  It could be interesting or it could just go no where.  Still not liking this whole Tyler was messed with by the V's story.  I am glad that Chad is now part of the official group, and I found how Anna was able to manipulate things and public opinion very interesting.  Kinda like the media really does, isn't it?  And the scene at the end where Anna told Tyler she thought of him as a son while Erica was comforting Lisa to be great.  That's the kind of thing that this show has always done so well.  If the next episode lives up to the potential of the previews, it looks like it will be awesome.  Probably only move the story along some without all the twists they were teasing, however.

Royal Pains - There was a medical case in there?  I missed it because of all the fun I had catching up with these characters and their lives.  So, Jill and Hank are interested in getting back together?  What about Emily?  Divya is obviously upset.  Will this be why she finally calls off the wedding to stay on the show?  And Hank and Evan have switched sides on their dad only to have him facing major jail time.  This is all very interesting stuff.  Can't wait for next week already.

Wipeout - Okay, of all the third round things they've had, I hate the Seven Letter Word.  It's just boring.  Bring back their version of baseball already.  But I love the ski lifts.  Lots of great puns and gags as well.  I was rooting for the rocket scientist, but the dancer being the most agile didn't surprise me too much.

Big Bang Theory - This episode started out slow, but it just got funnier and funnier as it went on.  All the room hopping was great.  But the scene that took the cake was their panel.  I was about ready to die while watching that.  And can Penny get a normal person to be with her on the show?  She needs someone else, not as a romantic partner, but just someone to sympathize.

Fairly Legal - The USA Network has done it again.  I may have mentioned before that it is rare that I find a show where I am hooked from the pilot.  That's why I often give a show several weeks before I decide for sure.  I don't have to decide anything on this show.  I loved it from the moment when Kate mediated the hold up.  I was laughing and yet totally sold on her character.  The two cases she mediated during the rest of the episode were great as well, although I didn't completely love the resolution to the one.  For someone who hates conflict, it seems like she has too much of it in her personal life, but that wasn't a super big turn off to me.  All in all, I already can't wait for next week.

Time for an Update

So, I know I've been neglecting my blog, and it is way past time to update it.  But I can't for the life of me think of something major to update about.

Of course, there is my new roommate.  I lost one and gained a new one in two day's time.  Very sorry to see the old one move out, although I support his reasons for taking a semester off and therefore living at home.  The new guy seems very nice, although I am going to be his ride to and from the college.  Here we go again being a driver and landlord.  Sigh.

And in mud run news, the friend I was planning to do Tough Mudder with in May has dropped out on me since he's moving out of state.  I'm not giving up on the money I already spent, but this is the one I really, really, really didn't want to do alone.  Who wants to do an insane mud run with me Memorial Day weekend?  You know you want to.

Working out on my lunch hour really cuts into my reading time.  I'm going to have to figure out what to cut out of my schedule so I can still get some reading in.

And I was right, I was very sore after the hard workout I did Wednesday.  I think I'm glad I had to take today off and I couldn't find the ultimate Frisbee game (if there was one) Thursday night.  I'll be going for a run tomorrow morning, however.  Got to keep that up no matter what with all these mud runs I want to do this year.

I did play some ultimate on Sunday, however.  And let me tell you the weather was gorgeous.  It was in the low 80's.  Couldn't have asked for a nicer day to play, especially in January.  Usually, I am cold this time of year, but it hasn't been as bad as normal.  And believe me, I am not complaining.

Word Association for January 18th

So, let's do this week's word association today.

1. Bootie :: Baby
2. User :: Tron
3. Child :: Adult
4. Scribe :: Writer
5. Manager :: Supervisor
6. Upsetting :: News
7. Puddles :: Rain
8. Hopeful :: Good News
9. Procrastination :: Me!
10. Statistics :: Epinions

I'll explain some of these for you.  Later