Monday, April 13, 2009

Random Monday

Wow, has it been way too long since my last regular post. If I thought this blog had any value/meaning/importance, I'd apologize. :)

I could blame my lack on the shocking death of Derek Reese on Terminator: TSCC. I wanted to be furious, but bringing the Connors in contact with Weaver was too intriguing and exciting (I haven't watched the finale yet). So I find myself dismayed over the probability that the show will be canceled, but then asking myself if I really care, because the episodes that were the best inevitably involved Derek (my favorite being the one where he found out about Jesse's plan, and maybe killed her, though that also happened to be the ep where John manned up, so...). Anyway, I guess if Derek won't be in it, I won't like it as much, so it's not as big a loss? Maybe.

Accompanying T:TSCC is Dollhouse, which I'm enjoying about as much as Buffy but not nearly as much as Firefly. It's probably in the top 5 of all the shows I watch. I'm really intrigued, though I do miss the quippiness--there's humor, but it's not of the usual Whedon style--and I'm even over my dislike of Eliza Dushku. I'm fascinated by how I'm simultaneously protective of the Dollhouse and wanting Ballard to take them down.

And I find myself charmed by Cupid. The couples he's working on are more interesting than he is, but that's okay, because we get new couples every week.

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Life is not all TV. I don't remember if I mentioned that Number One tore her MCL. I scolded her last week for causing me too much stress. I had the typical "back at school" stress dream, only instead of being in MY old high school or college, or newly enrolled in such, she'd made me go to school on her behalf. I couldn't find her locker, and had no schedule so even though I had a vague idea of where her classes were, I didn't know in what order. When I finally figured out which locker was hers, it was empty except for random papers, junk, and romance novels. Her binder (with her schedule) and all her textbooks were at home. The cat (Frisbee, of course) was in her locker, and I started to carry her back to homeroom, then halfway there said f*** it, there's no point.

I've had other weird dreams since then and can't remember them now, which is a shame because one featured Jared Padalecki very prominently.

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I have sent way too many sympathy cards lately. People need to stop dying, please.

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Starting to look forward to things. Movies in the next few weeks have some of my favorite actors or interesting storylines. May sweeps, though signaling finales, also promise stellar television. The retreat is only a month away, and this year Supernatural is a rerun, with the finale airing the following week! So I don't even have the horror of missing that to mar the weekend. It's sad to let go of the two-year tradition of Megan taping the show and dragging her TV and VCR to Waynesboro, but I have a feeling she won't mind so much.

City Islanders soccer is starting up again, the home opener occurring right after Number Two's 10th birthday. June 5, the kids' last day of school, looms, and summer always brings its logistical issues, but it also brings our late-June and early-August vacations. We didn't take a family vacation last year, and with Number One entering high school we're more intent than ever on filling those memory banks.

I've taken a writing break, unintentionally but it's difficult to get started when time is limited or fragmented. The kids are off today, I'm getting my car serviced, and then they have half days Wed-Fri, with IEP meetings and parent/teacher conferences and soccer games and practices and so on--very busy week.

The other really frustrating thing is my weight. I lost 15 pounds in 2007, kept it off for about 18 months, then discovered that I have an abnormal presentation of lactose intolerance that is eased by Lactaid. But since I started taking that, I've gained 10 pounds.

So I have to stop making excuses. Starting tomorrow, I am getting focused with both exercise and writing. Those two things will be priorities on my to-do list.

Wish me luck!

14 comments:

Ava Quinn said...

The end of your dream about taking your daughter's place at school made me snort! It's such a "you" response.
M3

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

LOL! I don't know how I should take that! But I'm pleased. :)

MJFredrick said...

Dollhouse is in your top 5? I don't think it's even in my top 10. Still don't like Eliza.

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

Oh, yeah, definitely. All my top 5 would be the twisty, clever shows (though SPN isn't always that way). I think the writing on the show is stellar, and the acting just as good. Most of the more serial dramas I can take or leave. And as much as I love Fillion and the family stuff on Castle, and even his interaction with Beckett, the writing on that show drives me INSANE.

(I only reference Castle because I just watched it. :) )

MJFredrick said...

See, I love Castle. And I just watched it, too. :)

Fringe grew on me, though maybe Dollhouse will, too. I just find it a bit awkward right now.

What about Harper's Island?

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

OMG.

First, the type of warrant they would have gotten would not allow them to take the candles, because they weren't in plain sight (the felt was--though they called it flannel later).

Bigger, and really annoying to me, was the camera thing. You connect a camera to a TV and turn it on, and the images play out. YOU DON'T HAVE TO RECORD THEM to show them on the TV, and a digital tape holds only a few hours of recording, and NO electronics store is going to use up two tapes a day like that. It's too expensive.

There were a bunch of littler things, too, but Number One scolded me for ruining it for her, so I let them go and now I don't remember them. :)

I feel like Dollhouse has found its groove. We're seeing scope and detail both, and I find myself fascinated by all the dichotomy.

Haven't had a chance to watch Harper's Island yet.

I haven't

MJFredrick said...

I got the candle thing, too, when Castle dumped them out. And I thought about the camera not needing to record, but didn't let it bother me :)

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

You know how it is. Some things hit us a certain way, and some don't. I used to nitpick TV and movies like crazy, and then I mellowed out and just tried to let them entertain me, and now I mostly do.

You know what I think it is, re: Castle? I've recently binged on Bones, which is very crisp and detailed and specific about certain things, and in comparison Castle feels like the "this is what I want to happen so I'll make it happen even if it doesn't makes sense" school of writing. Maybe if I hadn't been watching Bones, I'd be more tolerant of Castle.

MJFredrick said...

Maybe that's it. I like Castle more than Bones, too :)

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

I like Rick better than Seely (though I'm liking Bones less because Seely isn't around as much) but Bones has it all over Castle in the secondary character department. :) But that's all a matter of personal taste.

MJFredrick said...

Yeah, where IS Seely?

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

I don't know, but I'm not liking his extended absences from the screen!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I love Bones perhaps the best of all my shows though I love Supernatural in a different way. Except for CSINY, there are no other shows I must see. And I only watch CSINY to catch sight of Eddie Cahill.
Hope the MCL thing is coming along. Recovery from such injuries have a much better prognosis than they did 15-20 years ago.
And sit down and write!

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

Sue, are you still liking this season's Bones as much as previous seasons? It feels like they've completely dropped anything personal about Booth and Brennan and I can't see how I will AT ALL buy the upcoming plan. (Though they've kept the secondary character development strong.)

Since an MCL tear just needs rest and time to repair, as long as she's careful it should be okay. I hope. :)

And I'm writing! Thanks for the boot! :)