boltonia

Four weeks of training

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:52:46 GMT

It's so frustrating being forced to sit through a class re-teaching me how to do a job I've been doing for the last 11 years! Imagine you're an accountant and your new company insists you go through their training course. And they start with the difference between debits and credits. Yeah, you'd be banging your head on your desk too.

But I've only got 2 weeks left! Then I start taking calls in a controlled environment and I'm let loose on the phones the first week of January! Unless I'm hired for the International Desk.

Over 2 weeks ago, one of the HR reps cut in on our web conference to pretty much beg people to apply. So last week Monday, Nov 30th, I did. It's been 2 weeks and I've heard nothing further. I know of 2 others in my class that also applied and they haven't heard anything either. Other than the opportunity to really use our brains, we're all aiming for the International schedule - no weekends! :)
*fingers*crossed*

Cancelling Cable for Christmas

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:33:14 GMT

Right now I'm paying about $15/mth for 20 channels, only 6 of which are watchable. Lately I can't even be bothered to watch the few programs I follow on TV; I catch up on them online during the weekend. My TV exists to display DVDs and for gaming.

The question then becomes, do I get cable back again for the World Cup this summer? In order to get the games, I'd have to subscribe to the 2nd tier of programming which is $50/mth. *gag* What worries me is I'd be so enamoured of having History, Discovery, National Geographic and Travel channels (also only available with the 2nd tier) back again that I wouldn't watch the Cup and I wouldn't be able to bear turning cable off again when the Cup is over.

Why can't cable companies just let you pick the channels you want and prorate your bill accordingly?

It's looking like we might have a white Christmas; winter decided to arrive this weekend. Of course, just in time for the only road trip I've had in months! I drove home through snow all day yesterday, and this morning it's -11 deg (F. That's about -24 for the C people.) After being neck deep in snow all last winter (and more snow in June!) I'm really not enjoying the idea this year.

Sitting in a bar

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:45:32 GMT

300mls from home waiting for a concert to start and not really feeling too excited to be here. I'm more excited that they have free wifi, music I like, and at least 1 big screen tv playing something other than American football. I haven't been able to watch hockey in years. So far the score is Boston 4 Toronto 0 and there were 2 fights that I saw. Ahh hockey!

Who Is Indy?

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:34:27 GMT

In my last post I mentioned him as the reason I last cried. He was my cat, I was his human, and he died in 2001 at the age of 12. I don't suppose I'll ever love another human the way I loved Indy.

Spooky, my diabetic boy, is Indy's younger brother.

They were born 10 yrs apart, and Spooky is now 10 yrs old. I'll soon have to face losing my last connection to Indy. Don't get me wrong, I love Spooky in his own right, but I can't ignore the fact that he's Indy's brother.

Indy

Only a couple of weeks old with his sister Uhura. Yes, we tend to name our cats after movie and TV characters.

He was very photogenic. He always gazed into the camera and never flinched at the flash.

He loved the hell out of this scratching post! They didn't make tall ones, or even kitty condos in those days. I dug around the sheds and found some scrap wood and we had some carpet remnants laying around. I recovered this post 3 or 4 times in his lifetime.

Admittedly, this is a loveseat, not a full couch, but he wasn't a small cat.

Finish the sentence...

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:59:29 GMT

Livejournal isn't cutting for me today...

Finish the sentence...

1. My ex.... moved back to Poland.

2. Maybe I should.... throw away about 1/2 of what I own.

3. I love.... my cats

4. People would say that.... I'm a geek.

5. I don't understand.... why people just can't get along.

6. When I wake up in the morning.... it's time for Spooky's shot.

8. Life is full of.... stupid people who waste your time and ruin your day.

9. My past taught me.... you can't trust anybody.

10. I get annoyed when.... I end up in queue behind the person who picked out the only item without a price tag.

11. Parties are.... to be avoided. (Samtyr is so wise!)

12. I wish.... I was still on severance.

13. Dogs.... are not for me.

14. Cats.... are the perfect companion.

15. Tomorrow is.... the day I head out to see a Soul Asylum concert at the other end of the state.

16. I have a low tolerance for.... bright sunlight and heat.

17. If I had a million dollars....I'd spend the next few years wandering Europe.

18. I'm totally terrified of.... dentists.

19. My last kiss.... was icky as it was from the brother of my friend so that puts him in the same category as MY brother. YUCK!

20. I am listening to.... Galactic Watercooler Podcast.

21. I talk.... to myself and if I'm caught I tell them my iPod headphones are handsfree.

22. My best friend.... had a stroke 4 yrs ago.

23. My first REAL kiss.... was from Walt.

24. Love is.... spending $500/mth on your cat with bladder blockage problems instead of just putting him to sleep. (Not me, but a friend of mine.)

25. Marriage is.... legalised slavery.

26. Somewhere, someone is thinking.... it's time for tea!

27. I'll always.... pick even a bad scifi movie over a romance.

28. The last time I really cried was because.... I finally developed some pictures of Indy that I took 20yrs ago.

29. My cell phone is/was.... not on.

30. Before I go to bed.... I charge my iTouch so I can read Harry Potter fan fiction til I fall asleep.

31. Right now I am thinking about.... whether my iTouch is done charging.

32. Babies are.... horrid, filthy little trolls.

33. Today I.... started to crochet a new tablecloth.

34. Tomorrow I will be.... on the road to see Soul Asylum!

35. I really want to be.... in London!

36. Someone that will most likely re-post this is.... nobody, cuz I got it from Samtyr and she's the only one who reads my journal! :)

New Table

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:03:43 GMT

Yesterday my Mom and Dad brought me my Grandma's kitchen table.

It's getting chillier here in North Dakota so I decided I need a tablecloth to protect my uncouth elbows from the cold wood when I rest them on the table! The pattern is called To the Lighthouse and is from a Decorative Crochet magazine (or is it Magic Crochet? So tragic they both quit publishing!) It originally called for size 30 or 40 thread and was supposed to be something like 17 inches across. But look what happens when you use 10 instead - you get a 4 foot tablecloth! Yay!

Training: Day 5

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:46:44 GMT

Oh Dear God

I can't believe how slow some people are. At 7:30am we were given 5 worksheets to complete. I finished by 9am, annoyed at myself for how long I took. By lunch at 11:30am there were still people doing the worksheets!

I crocheted. And when that started driving me nuts, I read a book. And when that got a little old, I crochet a bookmark for my book.

After lunch we started on one of the booking systems we'll be using. Again, very boring for me as I've been working in that system for years. The next couple of weeks are going to be pretty tedious. I predict many more doilies will be done!

Training: Day 3

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:03:50 GMT

Yes, I'm 3 days into training for the new job and bored to tears! Really people, do you need half the day for 1 worksheet and 2 reviews? I finished all 3 in about 20 min and spent the rest of the afternoon making a small doily.

Home Office

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:04:19 GMT

Yesterday I took the legs off the table I use as a desk and reassembled it in the 2nd bedroom. Then I had to put together my office chair which I got at Staples for about $150. I know the chair looks like it completely dwarfs the table, but they're actually the right heights to be ergonomically complimentary.

Unfortunately, the 2nd bedroom doesn't have a phone jack or cable jack, so I'm going to have to run a phone line from the master bedroom and an internet cable from the living room. Lucky for me, a previous tenant already drilled holes in the walls for just those purposes!

Now I just have to wait for my computer and phone to be shipped to me.

Maybe I'm not employed.

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:38:48 GMT

I've had a very frustrating week. On top of my online application which had my resume attached, on Monday my new employer emailed me an application to print, fill out, and fax back.

Why? It's just going to be all the same information they already have in two different forms: online application, resume.

The only difference is they want business details for my references: business name and phone number. I suppose they figure my references should be employed and it's easier to contact them during business hours with their business phone number.

Problem is, I've only ever needed two references before, and they want three. Not much of a problem since I have two other people who've in the past said it's OK to use them, but now those two spares seem to have disappeared on me! I left a voicemail for the first on Tuesday and gave up on her yesterday. I emailed the second spare yesterday and she's usually pretty quick with the emails. Here it is nearly 24 hrs after emailing my second spare and she hasn't replied.

How good does this look that I can't get an application back to my new employer within 5 days because I can't find a mere 3rd reference???

UPDATE: My 2nd spare reference finally contacted me back and I've now faxed all the forms back to my new employer! *whew*

I'm employed!

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:58:29 GMT

*Finally* Well, not that I've been trying too hard so far. :)

I went to a job fair on Monday for a company that does business travel. I got an email on Tuesday asking if a Thursday phone interview would work for me. I had the interview at 9:30a yesterday and they emailed me an offer at 11:30a, less than 2hrs after the interview ended! Wow! I'll be making only $1 per hour less than my last job.

My last severance check is 06Nov and my first day on the new job is 16Nov. What nice timing. I'll be working from home so I need to get a 2nd phone line installed that the company will then take over and dedicate to their phone system. They'll send me a computer and phone and I just need to set up a quiet corner in a room where I can close the door and keep out the cats. Thank God I insisted on getting a 2 bedroom apartment when I moved into town 4 yrs ago. The 2nd bedroom has served as storage room so I need to do some serious organising in there!

Balmy weather!

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:19:06 GMT

Today is the first day in a week the temperature rose above freezing! Yay!

Every morning I wake up to a dusting of snow. Thank God the ground hasn't frozen yet and the sun is still strong enough that the snow melts before noon. But this doesn't bode well for the rest of the winter.

Job notes: I've now sent in my 3rd application for a job with my old company. Am I an idiot to keep trying? Not sure. Some of my ex-co-workers have also applied and have actually been re-hired! What about me???

I'm thinking my years of loyalty are now working against me. If they re-hire me within 6 months of laying me off, they have to grandfather me, giving me back at least my old wage and my old seniority, which means all my personal/vacation time. After 11 years, I'd wracked up 6 1/2 weeks of personal time! That's a hell of a lot!

But this latest job listing is pinpointing those of us living in this specific area to work at home. Maybe 3rd time's the charm?

I'm also intending to apply for another travel job that would allow me to work from home. This would also be in the corporate business travel world, but for a major online booking tool instead of a travel agency. I'd rather have my old job with my boucoup seniority, but any travel related job would be better than minimum wage at the local department store!

My sister-in-law, who worked with me as a travel agent, is doing the department store thing for now. She complained that she feels like such a failure restocking shelves after the highly responsible job we used to have. I know I'd end up feeling the same way.

Meme from samtyr

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:07:56 GMT

Here's how it works:
• Leave me a comment saying "Resistance is Futile."
• I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity
• Update your journal with the answers to the questions
• Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions

My assigned questions:

1. Which is your favorite 'Star Trek' series? What ep?

The original. Yes, it was often campy with bad special effects and really fake planet sets, but it works for me. I love the character interactions and feel more connected to those characters than any of the other series. My favorite episode is This Side of Paradise, one of the eps where Spock gets to have emotions. He hangs from a tree and laughs and falls in love, until Kirk calls him back up to the Enterprise and picks a fight with him and the spores get burned out of his system.

2. What was your room like in high school?

Alternately wallpapered with Michael Jackson posters or Duran Duran posters. My only source of music for most of my life was a clock radio I'd won in a raffle when I was 10 yrs old. All it had was AM and I had to put it up on top of the curtain rod for it to pick up any radio stations and then the station came in with that horrible squeal and howl. My only source of electricity was from the single light fixture in the middle of the ceiling, which, being on the 2nd floor, sloped down on 2 sides so the only place I could stand upright was in the middle of the room. I had extension cords stapled to the ceiling and running to opposite sides of the room where I then had more extension cords plugged in. It's a wonder I didn't overload the wiring!

3. Where would you like to visit on your next vacation?

I've been wanting to go back to Spain, specifically Barcelona. But traveling is going to be rare for me now I think, so I should probably go someplace I've never been. My friend and I want to do a tour of Italy and I'd love to see Greece.

4. Have you started a new afghan yet?
LOL! I'm still working on using up some colors from the Godforsaken Eyebleeding Pink afghan - the 2 darkest colors so it's not that horrible. I started something to use up the purples but then the weather got warm and I don't work on afghans in the summer. It's somewhere in the 2nd bedroom in a tote bag waiting for me to get around to it again.

5. What was your first car?

Well, the first car that was for my exclusive use (relatively) was a maroon Ford Fairlane my dad bought at a farm auction for my brother and I. It had a hole in the gas tank so we could only ever have 1/4 a tank of gas. But my best friend and I managed to get around quite a bit in it. We had a particular place in a neighbor's pasture we liked to camp and we usually ended up sleeping in that car. It was actually wide enough that you could lay down on the seats and didn't have to curl up in a fetal position. My second year of college he bought my aunt's car for me, a Ford Maverick and I used that until I'd been working for a couple of years and was able to get a loan for a new(er) car.

More snow today

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:54:50 GMT

Yep, summer is definitely over, and somehow I don't think we're getting an autumn this year.

It was off-and-on blizzarding today with 30mph winds. It's now 20 deg F (about -7C) and just as windy. I need to schedule for new tires, which reminds me of a new regulation I only learned of recently.

If you own a front-wheel-drive vehicle and wish to purchase just 2 new tires, put them on the front (where all the power is, duh) and the best 2 of the old tires on the back, you must now sign a release form stating this is how you requested the tires to be put on. Why? Because some time in the past, some broad got new tires on the front, then fell asleep driving home, woke up in a skid, over corrected and spun out, ending up with a broken neck. Her lawyer successfully argued that if the new tires had been on the back, there would have been less chance of an uncontrollable tailspin. This so reminds me of the person who sued McDonalds because their coffee was hot.

First of all, don't fall asleep driving you idiot. Also, learn how to drive your front-wheel-drive vehicle. I don't care how good your back tires are, if you skid at highway speeds and don't know how to come out of it, you'll tail spin no matter what kind of tires you have. Now I'm going to have to sign that stupid release form just so my mechanic can cover his ass.

My Three Month Summer

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:55:31 GMT

Back on June 6 we had a blizzard in North Dakota. As I said in that post, it's never snowed that late into the spring in my lifetime.

Here we go again! We're under a winter weather watch for the next 2 days.

An Early Winter Storm Will Bring The Potential
For 4 To 6 Inches Of Snow Across Southwest
North Dakota Late Sunday Night Into Late
Monday Night.

I've had barely 3 months without snow. I thought last winter was horrible and the experts say this coming winter will be very much the same. I guess I'll have to get the new tires a couple weeks earlier than planned.

My new iPod Touch :)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:38:57 GMT

I broke down today and drove the 100mls to the nearest Target and bought a Touch. No, I haven't yet received my refund from Apple for the one stolen on Tuesday (stupid FedEx!)

I have an obsessive need to be able to charge anything anywhere, so for my iPod Classic I have both a car charger and an AC charger. I figured I could charge the Touch in the car during the long drive home and it would be ready to hot sync right away. Ummm, no. Apple felt the need to change the power port. It's still configured the same so the car charger popped right in without a problem, but soon I got a message that charging was not possible with this device. Damn... Now I'll need to invest in a whole new army of chargers. *grumble*

What am I to do with the old iPod? I decided to delete all the podcasts and audiobooks and load it up with just music. I have an iPod boom box I keep in the bedroom and I will now keep the old iPod permanently docked there as my stereo. So, I deleted all the podcasts and audiobooks from iTunes and shuffled things around in playlists and synced for what I thought would be the last time. Huh. That left me with only 11 gigs of music. Well, I can't have an iPod that's mostly empty! So I started adding more files... and more files... and more files... I even put Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson on and gave them their own playlist called Scary! :)

I now have 14 gigs on the old iPod and I just don't have any other music I'd like to put on it. So that will have to be good enough. Now I'll download the latest iTunes and start charging the new Touch! A little excited here!

iPod disaster

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:04:42 GMT

My Palm Pilot, on which I read all my fan fiction, is starting to show its age and not working so well. My iPod is so old I don't remember anymore when I bought it. Its 30 gig hard drive was top of the line at the time. Palm no longer even sells handheld devices, just smart phones. So I made a scary decision to replace both my addictive hardware devices with one device and decided to buy an iPod Touch.

First I stopped at to my local Wal-Mart (1 miles away) to find their iPod display case empty of all but a few Shuffles. Then I called Target (100 miles away!) to see if they had any in stock. I want the 32 gig 3G version since I'd really like to have at least as much space as my ancient iPod. The teeniebopper working electronics at Target told me they had none in stock. My instinct was to assume the kid didn't even know what I was talking about and just commit to the 200 mile round trip and go check for myself. But I didn't and ordered one from the Apple web site.

Now, I've ordered my last few Palm Pilots directly from palm.com and never had a problem. Much to my surprise, when I tracked the package later that day, it was coming from some unknown city in China! I mapped it and it's about 150 miles west of Shanghai. I guess that's what you get when someone offers free shipping.

Over the next few days I kept tracking the package and last Friday it was in San Francisco. Originally it was predicted to arrive on Monday which worked for me since I had to leave town on Tuesday. But Tuesday morning it was still in San Francisco so I didn't think it would arrive at my door until at least Wednesday. I left for my doctor's appointment (in the same town as Target, 100 miles away) certain I wouldn't miss the FedEx delivery.

While killing time waiting for my doctor's appointment, I stopped by Target and sure enough, they have at least a dozen of each iPod model in stock. I knew I should have listened to myself and just gone and got one. But my own would be arriving probably the next day.

I was wrong. I came home Tuesday evening and tracked the package to see it was delivered at 11:30 am that day. It covered a lot of ground over Monday night and the FedEx site hadn't caught up with it when I checked in the morning. The delivery information said it was left at the front door, release authorised. What? That was a signature required package! I live in an apartment building and there was no package sitting at my door. I went down to the front door, as the delivery information stated and where the mail boxes are located, and no package.

So I called FedEx who told me all the same delivery information I found online. I stressed it was meant to be a signature required package and should not have just been left somewhere. I was given a case number and told I would be called back within 24 hrs and that they needed to speak directly with the FedEx driver who delivered that day.

Yesterday I got the call back and sure enough, the driver just left my iPod in front of my door. Apparently it was not further packaged in an anonymous FedEx box, so it was clearly an iPod Touch. Someone else in my building now has a free iPod. FedEx assured me there would be an investigation and advised me to contact Apple. Apple gave me the option to get a replacement or a refund. I asked for the refund and I'll just have to go back to Target myself and get one.

After speaking with a neighbor in the building, I found out that two other tenants, roommates, had between them had 3 iPods stolen in the same way. Then I remembered that FedEx was the idiot delivery service that nearly lost me my 12 inch Boromir and ended up delivering it to a 7 year old address because it was easier to figure out than my current one!

What did I learn from this? Apple is definitely NOT Palm! FedEx is the worst delivery service on the planet! Department store electronics workers don't know their arse from their elbow. I should just follow my instincts and save myself a lot of irritation.

Recent Interviews

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:34:39 GMT

Jeez, I haven't had to do this for 11 years. It's just as horrible as it was before.

Last Wednesday I had an interview with Aflac. They're a supplemental insurance company. Basically, if someone with a policy becomes hurt or sick and unable to work, Aflac works as a paycheck for them. But pay is 100% commission based. Apparently the average income is $50K but I just don't see it as a job that would reliably pay the rent. One month you may make quite a lot, but then you most likely would have many months, probably in a row, where you'd sell no policies and have no income. No, I need a guaranteed monthly income.

On Friday I interviewed for an assistant human resources position. I thought it went very well, but I know the human resources manager from my previous office also applied so I don't hold out much hope there either.

Today is my birthday so I decided to just relax and enjoy the day. But this afternoon I received an email rejection for a job I really wanted and thought I was guaranteed to get. "We have decided to pursue other candidates who more closely match the required skills and qualifications." Really? If you can find anyone more closely matched than me I'd really like to meet them!

Happy Birthday to me....

Visiting my brother in Minneapolis

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:11:18 GMT

I went to visit my brother in Minneapolis last weekend and he took me to the Irish Fair on Saturday.

I have no idea how hot it was and I don't think I really want to know! The humidity was horrendous too; it felt like you were breathing water. I drank a *lot* of water yet had no need for the bathroom; I sweated it all off. My brother informed me that, until that weekend, the weather had been quite pleasant all summer. Of course, that had to change as soon as *I* came to town!

We watched a bit of the Celtic Football which looked like an odd combination of football (soccer), basketball, and volleyball. Then there was sheep herding and Irish dancing. I filmed several exhibitions from one dance school. I apologise for the poor quality; my camera is nearly 6 yrs old and really just a digital camera with filming option.

My most satisfying purchase was the history of my paternal family's name. We come from the region of Germany which has been fought over by Germany and France for centuries. So, I specified Germany as my country of origin. However, most of the information references France. My brother and I have resigned ourselves to the fact that we are probably just as much French as German. However, our ancestors lived in Germany and spoke German at the time they left, so there!

Mumsy, however, is definitely a Scot; she was born a Campbell.

But back to my brother. For the first time since leaving college, my brother is living with no roommates; a negative in that the entire rent is his responsibility, but at least he does not need to worry if his roommate will renege on the rent. He has just a kitchen and bedroom/living room and he's quite crowded. Being currently unemployed, I've considered looking for a job in Minneapolis so we can find a larger place together. However, the job market there is even more dismal than here in North Dakota. I'm hoping to possibly be taken on by a bank here that would allow me to transfer in the future. Many of the banks do have postings for tellers so tomorrow I make the rounds and fill out applications.

I still have over 2 full months of my severence package, but the minor panic attacks are coming more frequently and becoming less minor! It's so depressing to look at the listings and see quite a lot of jobs out there, but most offering only half of what I used to make. I'm wondering if I can perhaps take on two part time jobs. I'd probably end up with far more than 40hrs per week that way, but may be the only way I can hope to keep paying my rent.

When I left my brother on Monday morning, I had to hug him and thank him for letting me escape my life for a few days. Now the real world is back and I have to face it. It's so horrible to be 42 yrs old and have to find a whole new career. I'd fully intended to work for my previous employer until the day I died. Retiring will probably never be an option for me!

Minor surgery

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:00:07 GMT

I've had these 2 huge moles on my neck since I was old enough to remember. Grandma combed my hair for me sometimes and she managed to scrape the comb over the moles every single time! Certain collars were torture as they rubbed and I've only ever carried my handbag over my left shoulder to avoid the moles. They've been the bane of my life and it's been one of my dreams to get them removed. But various medical fears have always made me think, the devil you know...

I finally took a firm grip on myself and made an appointment which was for yesterday. I figured it would be just a quick inspection, the doctor would agree that yes they needed to be removed, and tell me to make another appointment. Nope, he hustled me into a small surgery, broke out all the scary tools, and took them off right there. I had no time to psych myself up for the trauma! After that I came home and had the shakes almost as bad as after dentist visits.

A few hours later and the numbing agent wore off. Sleeping last night wasn't very comfortable as there is only 1 position possible - lying on my left side. Today I don't dare turn my head much in either direction as the skin around the wounds pulls and causes even more pain. It's going to be a miserable few days while these things heal.

But I console myself that the final scars, which are inevitable, are actually going to look like a vampire bite and that's wicked cool! :D

The Half-Blood Prince

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 10:37:16 GMT

Yesterday I took my niece and her friend to see Half-Blood Prince. I'd gone with my own friends to the midnight showing Wednesday morning but that wasn't an environment conducive to deep thought. Why are teenagers incapable of just watching a movie without phone calls, texts, and frantic giggling and babbling? And why the move this summer to Wednesday releases? I LIKE Friday releases; it's another reason to look forward to the weekend.

I remember seeing the first trailer which showed the Death Eaters collapsing the Millenium Bridge. My first reaction was, "Come on, it's the Millenium Bridge! It didn't even open until after the events of Deathly Hallows!" But I realised destroying a recognisable bridge in London has so much more shock value than some unknown Brockdale Bridge. Then suddenly I burst out laughing; it has to be some inside joke by the movie producers! When the Millenium Bridge opened it wasn't very stable and moved alarmingly underfoot. It was dubbed The Wobbly Bridge and, boy, this sure was wobbly! I wonder how many people saw this and had unsettling flashbacks.

But on to my actual movie review.

The secondary characters really outshone the Trio in this one!

I thought Jim Broadbent was brilliant! He was so much more sympathetic than book Slughorn. He was... almost sweet, and you could see how lonely he was in spite of his "collection". He came across as just the sort of academic I'm now embarassed to admit I had fantasies of: brilliant in his field, yet hopeless in the real world and would therefore need ME to take care of him.

Did Michael Gambon finally read the books? He never played Dumbledore so kind before; he was always too brusk. Here he was finally the kind Dumbledore who thinks of Harry as his son.

Jessie Cave (Lavender Brown) was so nauseatingly perfect! She was just enough over-the-top to turn your stomach yet make you think of the cringe-worthy things you used to do yourself and wish you would never remember!

I was a little disappointed with the adult actors during the hospital scene after Ron was poisoned. They all just stood there as wooden backdrops to the teenage scene going on in front of them. I would have expected McGonagall to be dismayed and making moves to stop the fight, but then stopping herself. Snape would have been sneering, rolling his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose and pacing. Dumbledore should have looked amused and perhaps enjoying it. Slughorn should have been confused and looking uncertainly to the other teachers to do something about it. But no, all stood frozen and expressionless.

Once more they shot themselves in the foot by passing up an opportunity to set up for the final movie! Ginny hid the potions book? Are they just not going to have the Diadem at all? Did someone foresee Jamie Waylett's pot problems and decide he wouldn't be around for his death scene so let's just cut that whole section? How are they ever going to work this in now?

No Defense Against the Dark Arts classes? NOOOO! We didn't get to see Snape trying to teach silent spells (notice I say 'trying'! *grin*) so we were cheated out of his wonderful final line which clearly shows him still trying to teach Harry even as he's fleeing with Draco. Cheated, I say!

And Snape didn't sing! He's supposed to sing to heal Draco of the Sectumsempra. I wanted to hear him sing! Cheated again!

But, damn they got the cave scene perfect! I never imagined the cave or island as crystals but that's OK. I think they got every line Dumbledore said in the book into this scene. And the ring of fire was awesome! Some people have complained that the inferi looked too much like Gollum instead of zombies but I can work with it.

Dan Radcliff was wonderfully dopey on Felix. :) But once again he seemed like a supporting character for Jim Broadbent in the following scene as he coaxed the memory from Slughorn. Here's where I found a tear in my eye instead of where you'd expect; Dumbledore's death scene.

Rupert Grint and Tom Felton finally got a chance to stretch their legs beyond their usual emotional roles. I've already seen other Rupert Grint movies, now I need to get my hands on some Tom Felton movies so I can see him play something else besides the angry little snot.

Things I'm looking forward to in the 7th movie:

Bill Nighy playing the Minister for Magic.
Lucius Malfoy being all cowed and flinchy after getting out of Azkaban.
Finally getting to see Bill Weasley. Too bad they aren't showing Charlie.
Please give us actual scenes of Snape as Headmaster!
And, of course, Neville who gets to KICK ASS!

Updated afghan pics

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:27:46 GMT

I finally took a picture of my corner to corner afghan all spread out so the striping can be seen.

And here's a close up of the stitch detail.

What a night

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:12:18 GMT

Last night a horrible thunderstorm with tornadoes swept through town. I've heard that two houses were demolished on the south side of town but many more were seriously damaged. Whole trees were uprooted and vehicles flipped over. Thankfully, no people or pets were hurt.

I live on the north side of town and merely got the 70mph winds and torrential downpour. The rain was so heavy you couldn't see down the block. The high winds made it look more like blowing snow. Normally at 8pm we still have plenty of daylight but 8pm last night was as dark as midnight.

Not long after 8pm my section of town lost power so I couldn't even listen to the radio. The weather/disaster sirens were blaring periodically throughout the storm so I was trying to find a radio station giving updates. All were either playing music as if nothing were happening or completely off the air. My brother lives in the apartment directly below me so I ventured down to see if there was anything informative on the weather radio. Not really. Just generic "what to do in the event of a tornado" broadcasting.

I've thought in the past about getting a police scanner and this is a good example of why one should. I only heard about the tornadoes after the storm was over and I dared plug my phone back in to call my mother. She told me my brother-in-law had been called down to the fire station on the south side to help with the tornado situation. It's tempting to drive down there to gawk but I'm feeling too lazy!

Independence Day

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:08:37 GMT

For the first time in I don't know how many years, I can partake of the festivities. When you work an emergency travel desk, your schedule is evenings, weekends, and holidays. Also, today is my first official day of unemployment so I really have no excuse not to go to the parade, buy brats on main street, and watch all the fireworks tonight.

I even put up a flag on my balcony! Ooooo....

Sunscreen of SPF 70 has been purchased. I'm still as white as a vampire even after 2 months of paid leave. I suppose those 2 months can't compete with the 11 years locked away in an office. Maybe I SHOULD have got the membership at the tanning bed place back in May!

Afghans

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:07:45 GMT

Here are a few more of my afghans.

This was the first afghan I ever made. This was 3 or 4 years ago but I never bothered to take a picture until now.

I thought this one would take a lot more yarn than it did. I still have 2 or 3 more skeins of each color to use and no idea what else to make.

And this started out as a way to use up an impulse clearance sale buy of the variagated yarn. It turned in to a queen size afghan because I don't know when to quit!