Cave Dwelling

I watched a movie this weekend called "The Answer Man" with Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham.


Semi-quick note about this: I have been finding bliss with my Netflix membership, which I just got in November. Not because of the ease of movies coming and going. I don't really care about that because I was cool with stopping at Redbox at a million and one different locations on the way home. I started Netflix only to get caught up on "Lost" so I can watch the final season next month and know what the heck is going on. I wanted the cheapest membership possible - about $5 per month - which is one movie at a time, twice a month (I believe it's how it works). We're movie people so that's really confining but I still didn't want to spend much. I went up to the next level - about $9 per month - which is one movie at a time but I get unlimited movies. When you choose this option, you also get the chance to get Instant Movies on your computer and you can have one queue of those and one queue of movies that come to your home. (No, not all movies are instant ones.) My husband wanted PlayStation3 for Christmas but he got it 2 weeks later for his birthday instead. I had toyed with canceling Netflix when I realized how slow it was going to be to get the "Lost" DVDs to watch and also because they don't get the newest movies as fast as Redbox. But along came PS3, which lets me get Netflix instant movies there too. And now it's worth my money. I have movies coming to the house and I can add a ton of movies to my Instant queue, see all those choices on my TV and watch as much as I care to in one sitting. And they stay until I remove them. So, if you were wondering if Netflix was worth it, now you know how it can be.

Back to the real blog post.

In the movie, there was a scene where someone asked Daniels' reclusive character, Arlen Faber, about doing what you really want to do in life. His response, "You are always doing what you want to do. The trick is to realize that." I paraphrase big time. See the movie to get the exact quote. It's a good one. I think I saved it. I may just watch it again before I let it go. Faber had some interesting points about children too that I believe I won't be forgetting anytime soon.

This was not an ah-ha moment for me. I knew this. The trick is remember what I know and stick to that. The greater trick is to either own it and make my life easier or keep letting it guilt me until I change something. In this case, it's my tendency to go into my cave. This is what I do. Men do it too, except I am still open to the people who are in my house. They aren't always that way. What I am closed to is just about all other forms of communication and I suppose it's just a necessity to recharge my batteries.

Thus my lack of blogging for the past few weeks. But not just blogging. I barely Tweeted, Facebooked, checked any email for weeks. After the holidays, it was back to work I went, so first I got my work email back under control. Then just focused on work and going home. By the second week after the holidays, I got my personal email back under control and kept on top of the work stuff. And then just focused on work, personal email and going home. (Work has been monumentally crazy since I don't know when and it just got worse. This is why I must love what I do.) I tweeted again after the New Year, here and there but not checking the site right away. Today was the first day I looked at Village Works email again (bad business, Monica) and the first time I spoke up on Facebook. As you can see, it's also the first time I came back to Blogger. It's a slow transition but darn it, I'm ok with that.

What I'm not OK with is not being quick to respond to business emails. But I also admit I don't want to be THAT accessible. So my challenge is to think long and hard about the tools that let me see the emails (I really, really, really don't want a PDA) and maybe devise some more ways to handle some of the repetitive stuff. Folders only work so much because you still have to go in the folders and deal with the mail that got sorted there. I still dream of my ideal - a version of me who can handle the repetitive stuff and only send the pressing stuff my way. The read-at-my-leisure emails can go into a folder for me to look at, well, at my leisure.

So here I am, I suppose fully out of my cave since I am working my way through VWE emails now and planning to call the troops to make the plan for the rest of the year. But it makes me think. How much of my life do I want my business to overrun? It's possible to have a full-time business and have a life but you have to know what you want and don't want. You have to know how to compromise. You have to just do it and be OK with doing it. This all also makes me think more about the direction we need to move in in order to get where we want this business to go.

I'll be talking to Bizzy Girl about it because we tend to be on one accord about these things. In the meanwhile, a Happy Belated New Year to you all. I'll be back as soon as I finish clearing email.

Movie Review: Drag Me to Hell

As much as I love movies, you'd think I'd share my personal reviews with you more often. This was the last time I did it, I think, but it didn't even come up when I searched my own blog. Gotta remedy that. Anyway, let's see if I can make this a habit.

Note: If you want to see this movie, some of this talk may be considered spoilers but movies don't get spoiled easily for me, even if you tell me everything that happened, so just consider the source before you read this.

I got to see Drag Me to Hell recently via a friend of mine who loves horror as much as - or maybe even more than - I do. It was not as serious as I expected it to be based on the trailers when they were out this past year. But I didn't know who the director was then - Sam Raimi who also did the Evil Dead movies (loved them but poor Bruce Campbell will never be able to escape being my visual icon for those movies), all gross and highly laughable but in a fun way. I got the same vibe from this movie so if you like Evil Dead, you'll like Drag Me to Hell.

There were some unfair times to me, and not just unfair in terms of what's happening to the loan officer heroine (that was unfair in a good way). Instead, there were clear moments that made you go, "Uh uh! That can't happen in real life!" It's not real life, Monica. It's a movie. Yes, I know, but even in the movies, you have to keep it honest if you want me to buy even a campy story like this one. I mean, really. NO ONE thinks her gusher of a nosebleed is something to worry about? Can one really get thrown about their home and NOT suffer a broken bone or twisted something or other? Not even once? But the whole thing was still fun. It made me jump big time even though I knew something was coming. There are plenty of startling moments to make the whole thing worthwhile but I can't help but go back to some things I thought were missed opportunities - like the very ending. I won't tell you what happened but I would be willing to bet you'd see this movie and just know it was going to end one way, it doesn't, and you're like, "Wait! My ending was way better!" Also, I was talking to the same friend about this and she made a good point - in most movies where any kind of devil is the nemesis, the main character or someone around them has the idea to try the church. Even the atheists. But God doesn't come up once as her possible solution to the problem. That was just odd. Maybe it's a reflection of the writer's/director's belief system? Maybe they are setting things up for a part 2?

I don't know. I just know this movie was fun but I warn you - if you have a sensitive stomach, don't eat before you see it. Just trust me on that.

At the Movies

VERY uneventful weekend, this weekend. Well, no, that's not true. We were up ALL NIGHT Friday with Daughter. She was throwing up. She did it at least 7 times which meant 2 clothes changes for me, 1 bath for her and an additional clothes change and two bed cleanups as well. Not to meantion the washer was going all night as well. Not fun. She's been mucus-y for too long anad I'm starting to wonder. She was sick a couple of weeks agao and I swear it hasn't completely gone away and now this. Don't know. Gott insist someone look at her.

On a brighter note, I was supposed to get rockets on Son's wall - but I didn't. I have a mirror I want to buy for the foyer and some lamps for Son's rooms but I was too lazy to go to the store alllllll the way in New Haven. Instead, I was in the mood for movies, so I rented 4 for us and 2 for the kids. In case you love them as much as I do, I'll tell you what I saw.

The Devil Wears Prada - Good movie. I found myself wondering what I would do in Andy's (Anne Hathaway) place since I too graduated college to go into journalism but had to make my start somewhere. I chose the copy editing route. She chose to be the assistant of a big time fashion magazine editor. Her world was certainly more glamourous but she was a HUGE size 6 and considered fat. Gee, they would have probably paid for me to have gastric bypass surgery then! The whole thing seemed very on point from the journalism point of view and I recently read that it was very accurate from the fashion perspective too. My point of contention was the friends/boyfriend. They knew how hard she had to work. Everyone, including her in the beginning, thought the whole world a joke but she grew to respect the industry and do the job really well and they made it hard for her. She went into it knowing that if she gave this job her all for one year, doors would open for her. That's how it is when you're coming out of college so I think she got a gret oppportunity. She gave her friends $1,000 telephones and purses - benefits of the job. They couldn't have tolerated her busy schedule for one lousy year? Yes, she was headed down a bad path but from what I could see, she would have gotten back on course anyway without their unsupportive behavior. I didn't think she ever sold out. They did. I guess we'll just have to disagree on that one.

Wicker Man - REALLY good. I didn't see it coming. I'm not so sure I should say more than that on this one in case someone wants to see it but I can say it sure gives women a bad name. Still, it was intriguing and even at the very end, I found myself hoping someone would come out of the blue and save the day. Alternate ending didn't change anyone's fate. Gotta love Nicholas Cage.

Little Miss Sunshine - Ummmm, OK. I didn't really think this was a grown-up movie but Alan Arkin is playing the grandfather here and he very much made it an R when he was on the screen. My daughter was laying with us when I was playing this one and I found myself coughing and singing and covering her ears way too much. At least until Grandpa was gone. Then it was cool. It was weird, for sure. I like the cast and I'm still astounded that Greg Kinnear has so much range. I remember him from his Talk Soup days on the E! channel. The dad (Kinnear) wants to be a motivational speaker; the son wants to fly jets; the daughter wants to be a beauty queen; the brother-in-law (Steve Carell) is a genius professor who wants his former gay lover back who jilted him for his competitor; the mom (Toni Collette) wants everyone to be happy and NO ONE gets what they want in the end. Wacky. Nice to see a family so united but I'm still pondering this one.

The Illusionist - Excellent. Absolutely knew this was going to be some twisted mystery and I watched it with that in mind yet I still didn't figure it out until the Inspector (Paul Giamatti) was bumped on the street when a young boy was handing him a package. Then I knew what was going on. I loved it. Not sure I can own it knowing how it all works but it was fun to watch and I love Edward Norton so it was worth my time.


Barnyard - Watched this with the kiddies. Daughter and I fell asleep. Son got through it. In all fairness, it was a rainy Saturday and rainy days and Saturdays always get me down (to sleep, that is). I tell you, they just don't make kids movies interesting like they used to. I did what I always do - listened to see who voices I can pick out and that kept me going a while. Son laughed a bit. Good enough. I also got them How to Eat Fried Worms and I knew I would not be able to stomach that so I didn't tell them I got it. I'll let Mr. T do that today since they are out of school but I am not off work today.

But hey, I also watched one on HBO2 that I hadn't seen yet. Nanny McPhee. Daughter sat still for that one. I thought it was great. Wasn't sure I'd be able to look at Emma Thompson's not so attracttive face but that alters as the kids get their acts together. Reminded me of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, also a good one that Son loved but I like weird stuff like this. And it's not even a cartoon!

And these, my friends, are my reviews for now!