Got tagged by Kim, so here we go:
RULES: Each player of this game starts off with 10 weird things/habits/little known facts about yourself. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 10 weird habits/things/little known facts as well as state this rule clearly. At the end you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. No tagbacks.
1. I have an unusually good memory for television shows and cartoons. I'm pretty sure it's genetic and comes from my dad. It does not translate into remembering anything useful.
2. I have patches on dry skin on both of my ankles, which have been there since I was pretty young.
3. Mushy brown banana makes me retch. It's not just unpleasant to me' it makes me physically nauseous.
4. I sometime call Blitz (among other things) "Ms. Bun", "Big Bunny Blitz", "Grey", and "Pretty Grey Girl". Larry's nicknames include "Laurence B", "Beige", "Mr. Man", and "Lorenzo di Bunici".
5. I have no allergies that I'm aware of.
6. I sometimes enjoy very violent movies and video games, like "Kill Bill" and "God of War".
7. I enjoy cryptology, though it's usually limited to translating codes an symbol alphabets found in comic books.
8. My favorite pizza topping is mushrooms. It was what my family had when I was little and it's still a major comofrt food for me.
9. The only serious unjury I've ever suffered was a couple of winters back when I slipped on the ice and dislocated my knee.
10. I check the internet in a particular order. Blogs are one of the last things I look at.
Everyone who reads this has already been tagged. I tag anyone who stumbles accross this blog and would like to try this meme.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Goals: One
I need a new job.
There have been some pretty big changes at what I affectionately call "fake job number one". The woman who was pretty much my direct supervisor left to pursue a different job. I liked this woman very much and quite a bit of the day to day work of the office was taken care of by her with me helping to free her up from the more mundane stuff. Unfortunately, there was very little overlap between when her replacement was hired and when she left. So while her replacement is settling in, the stuff that got taken care of by her gets taken care of by me, when I'm not teaching the new employee how to do it. There are things that only I know how to do right now, which strikes me as bad all around since I'm a volunteer who comes in twice a week.
Aside from the general insanity caused by my sort of boss leaving, I feel like I want to try something different. I'm not event sure how long I've been at my current volunteer position. It's been at least two years, as I was there at the time of the '04 election. It was something to do, something to get me out of the house, something I could contribute to a cause I did support. But it wasn't completely "mine" either. I went there because my mom had been involved there and because it was an easy drive away. It's pretty much secretarial work, which is certainly not bad, but not the most fulfilling thing either. I know what I do is valued by the people I work with and I genuienely like them, but I'd kind of like to have something that I felt more passionate and enthusiastic about. Andrew and I have been discussing his new job lately (which I couldn't be prouder about) and I've realized that for all his stressing and complaining about it, he has fun and he loves what he's doing. I want that and he wants me to have that.
Now yes, I could just quit my job and devote myself to writing (or even keep my job and devote the rest of my time to writing). But for one thing, I need something to get me out of the house. And more importantly, I know I'm not that self motivated. Unless there's someone standing over my shoulder saying "I will pay you "x" dollars to write "y" words this week", it's just not going to happen regularly. Heck, I've had situations where I've tried to write regularly for other people and it just falls through.
I think I know the kind of thing I would like to do. Problem is, I don't know how to get that point. The places that seem like ideal candidates are inconveniently far away. And on top of that, there's the thing that happens when I try to get a job. Every time I've made an attempt to get a job I think I would actually enjoy, no matter how good my chances seem initially, I will eventually get the brush-off. "Not what we're looking for", "We're not really hiring right now" (in direct contradiction to large "Now Hiring!" banner in store window), or just no calls back. I once had a store look like they were going to offer me a managing position (I have no clue why), only to have it fizzle out. Heck, I've failed to get a volunteer position at a cat shelter because "the timing didn't work out".
It's not that I really blame the stores in most cases. I do not have a particularly impressive resume, even now. I have a degree I'll never use, no long term work experience (aside from fake job number one), and a crippling fear of driving. Not exactly a wondeful job candidate by most standards.
So I was poking around for opportunities when I came accross and ad for a full-time or part-time receptionist at an animal behavior center. I knew the place; my parents took Pedro there one year for agility classes. It was nearly perfect: I probably had the needed skills, I could walk to work if needs be, and I'd be around animals some of the time at least.
So I sent an e-mail inquiring if the position was still open. A couple of days pass and no response. So I call. A woman answers and I ask if the position is still open. There's a pause and she says "Not that I'm aware of". I point out that there's a listing for it on their website. She tells me she think "that's been on there a long time". (I have no clue what that's supposed to mean.) In a conversation that's akin to pulling teeth, I get her to take a message for the person who might know something about the receptionist position. But I know where this is going. I know I will more than likely not get a call back to either confirm or contradict what I've been told. This is yet another dead end.
And that's pretty much what I've been finding since. I've looked around the internet for a job or volunteer work in the area that fits my interests. But so far nothing close enough that I can do.
I don't know what to do about this. Not even where to start, where to ask for help. For the time being, it looks like I'm stuck where I am.
There have been some pretty big changes at what I affectionately call "fake job number one". The woman who was pretty much my direct supervisor left to pursue a different job. I liked this woman very much and quite a bit of the day to day work of the office was taken care of by her with me helping to free her up from the more mundane stuff. Unfortunately, there was very little overlap between when her replacement was hired and when she left. So while her replacement is settling in, the stuff that got taken care of by her gets taken care of by me, when I'm not teaching the new employee how to do it. There are things that only I know how to do right now, which strikes me as bad all around since I'm a volunteer who comes in twice a week.
Aside from the general insanity caused by my sort of boss leaving, I feel like I want to try something different. I'm not event sure how long I've been at my current volunteer position. It's been at least two years, as I was there at the time of the '04 election. It was something to do, something to get me out of the house, something I could contribute to a cause I did support. But it wasn't completely "mine" either. I went there because my mom had been involved there and because it was an easy drive away. It's pretty much secretarial work, which is certainly not bad, but not the most fulfilling thing either. I know what I do is valued by the people I work with and I genuienely like them, but I'd kind of like to have something that I felt more passionate and enthusiastic about. Andrew and I have been discussing his new job lately (which I couldn't be prouder about) and I've realized that for all his stressing and complaining about it, he has fun and he loves what he's doing. I want that and he wants me to have that.
Now yes, I could just quit my job and devote myself to writing (or even keep my job and devote the rest of my time to writing). But for one thing, I need something to get me out of the house. And more importantly, I know I'm not that self motivated. Unless there's someone standing over my shoulder saying "I will pay you "x" dollars to write "y" words this week", it's just not going to happen regularly. Heck, I've had situations where I've tried to write regularly for other people and it just falls through.
I think I know the kind of thing I would like to do. Problem is, I don't know how to get that point. The places that seem like ideal candidates are inconveniently far away. And on top of that, there's the thing that happens when I try to get a job. Every time I've made an attempt to get a job I think I would actually enjoy, no matter how good my chances seem initially, I will eventually get the brush-off. "Not what we're looking for", "We're not really hiring right now" (in direct contradiction to large "Now Hiring!" banner in store window), or just no calls back. I once had a store look like they were going to offer me a managing position (I have no clue why), only to have it fizzle out. Heck, I've failed to get a volunteer position at a cat shelter because "the timing didn't work out".
It's not that I really blame the stores in most cases. I do not have a particularly impressive resume, even now. I have a degree I'll never use, no long term work experience (aside from fake job number one), and a crippling fear of driving. Not exactly a wondeful job candidate by most standards.
So I was poking around for opportunities when I came accross and ad for a full-time or part-time receptionist at an animal behavior center. I knew the place; my parents took Pedro there one year for agility classes. It was nearly perfect: I probably had the needed skills, I could walk to work if needs be, and I'd be around animals some of the time at least.
So I sent an e-mail inquiring if the position was still open. A couple of days pass and no response. So I call. A woman answers and I ask if the position is still open. There's a pause and she says "Not that I'm aware of". I point out that there's a listing for it on their website. She tells me she think "that's been on there a long time". (I have no clue what that's supposed to mean.) In a conversation that's akin to pulling teeth, I get her to take a message for the person who might know something about the receptionist position. But I know where this is going. I know I will more than likely not get a call back to either confirm or contradict what I've been told. This is yet another dead end.
And that's pretty much what I've been finding since. I've looked around the internet for a job or volunteer work in the area that fits my interests. But so far nothing close enough that I can do.
I don't know what to do about this. Not even where to start, where to ask for help. For the time being, it looks like I'm stuck where I am.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
More Writing
Happy New Year!
My new year's goal/resolution is to do more writing. So there's a new post up at StormWyvern Press (link to the right). If you want to help me in this endeavor, please read what I have there and post replies. I need feedback.
I'm hoping to post some highlights from the past year and goals for the next here soon. Until then, I hope 2007 is a wonderful year for all of you.
My new year's goal/resolution is to do more writing. So there's a new post up at StormWyvern Press (link to the right). If you want to help me in this endeavor, please read what I have there and post replies. I need feedback.
I'm hoping to post some highlights from the past year and goals for the next here soon. Until then, I hope 2007 is a wonderful year for all of you.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Well, Hell must have frozen over...
...because I just made a new post on StormWyvern Press. Link to the right.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
We Got A WII!
I know I haven't posted here in a while, but this is a pretty momentous occasion. The title, coupled with the date, says it all.
We weren't able to get a preorder due to the limited numbers and a couple of preorder related fiascoes. We had decided to arrive at what we though was a very early hour (roughly 5:30 AM) at our local Target, which we had heard had at least 100 Wiis coming in, probably 120. But when we got there, contrary to our expectations of low turnout, at least 120 people were forming a line that went around the side of the store. Tents and opened cars told us quite a few people had been there a very long time. Disheartened, we left, and decided to try a few more places before resorting to ordering online. We decided to go with a less likely store. I hesitate to even name it as we may need to rely on the trick of going there when the next generation of consoles comes out. Friends can e-mail me if they're curious. Anyway, this store initially had no line. We went to check another nearby store quickly, found it did have a line, and returned to the previous store to find two people waiting. We quickly secured our places waiting for two (we had a friend with us) of the 6 available Wiis.
I'm very happy to say that the people we ended up waiting with were a great group. Everyone was really friendly and as far as I could tell, not one of them was looking to resell the system. We chatted, checked out a new DS game, held a spot for the mom of a twelve year old while she went to retrieve her son from the nearby Circuit City line. (She later repaid us with a cofee and donut run.) We had arrived around 5:30 and the store wasn't supposed to open until 10, so we were prepared for a length wait. But one of the managers decided to let us in around 7! The only downside was that our friend had gone home to grab some warmer clothing. Fortunately, since Andrew and I still count as two people, we were able to pick one up for him. The signage outside had indicated that the store was only selling bundles. None of us knew what this meant and we were pretty nervous, having heard tales of $600 bundles of crappy games. But we were in luck. The bundle here was the system, and extra controller of your choice (remote, nunchuk, or virtual console controller), and either "Excite Truck" or "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess". We, of course, picked the latter.
So how is it? FUN. Thw controls work extremely well and the whole interface is a joy to use. The game included with the console, "Wii Sports" shows off the controller functions very wel through a number of fun little sports games. There's not much depth, but you can customize your characters and all the games are pretty fun. "Twilight Princess" would be a great game without the Wii functionality. I've been waiting over a year to play it. But I do dearly lover aiming my slingshot with my remote and hearing it emit sword slashing sounds as I swing it to slash away at my foes.
All in all, this was a surprisingly good experience, and the real fun is just begining. I'll try not to neglect my social contacts, but if you hear me talking about triple bogeys and triforces as I talk to you with one hand holding the phone, you'll know what I'm up to.
We weren't able to get a preorder due to the limited numbers and a couple of preorder related fiascoes. We had decided to arrive at what we though was a very early hour (roughly 5:30 AM) at our local Target, which we had heard had at least 100 Wiis coming in, probably 120. But when we got there, contrary to our expectations of low turnout, at least 120 people were forming a line that went around the side of the store. Tents and opened cars told us quite a few people had been there a very long time. Disheartened, we left, and decided to try a few more places before resorting to ordering online. We decided to go with a less likely store. I hesitate to even name it as we may need to rely on the trick of going there when the next generation of consoles comes out. Friends can e-mail me if they're curious. Anyway, this store initially had no line. We went to check another nearby store quickly, found it did have a line, and returned to the previous store to find two people waiting. We quickly secured our places waiting for two (we had a friend with us) of the 6 available Wiis.
I'm very happy to say that the people we ended up waiting with were a great group. Everyone was really friendly and as far as I could tell, not one of them was looking to resell the system. We chatted, checked out a new DS game, held a spot for the mom of a twelve year old while she went to retrieve her son from the nearby Circuit City line. (She later repaid us with a cofee and donut run.) We had arrived around 5:30 and the store wasn't supposed to open until 10, so we were prepared for a length wait. But one of the managers decided to let us in around 7! The only downside was that our friend had gone home to grab some warmer clothing. Fortunately, since Andrew and I still count as two people, we were able to pick one up for him. The signage outside had indicated that the store was only selling bundles. None of us knew what this meant and we were pretty nervous, having heard tales of $600 bundles of crappy games. But we were in luck. The bundle here was the system, and extra controller of your choice (remote, nunchuk, or virtual console controller), and either "Excite Truck" or "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess". We, of course, picked the latter.
So how is it? FUN. Thw controls work extremely well and the whole interface is a joy to use. The game included with the console, "Wii Sports" shows off the controller functions very wel through a number of fun little sports games. There's not much depth, but you can customize your characters and all the games are pretty fun. "Twilight Princess" would be a great game without the Wii functionality. I've been waiting over a year to play it. But I do dearly lover aiming my slingshot with my remote and hearing it emit sword slashing sounds as I swing it to slash away at my foes.
All in all, this was a surprisingly good experience, and the real fun is just begining. I'll try not to neglect my social contacts, but if you hear me talking about triple bogeys and triforces as I talk to you with one hand holding the phone, you'll know what I'm up to.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Meme Time
I did this on Kim's blog, so the Law of the Internet says I must post it on mine. Enjoy, my readership of two, possibly three.
1. Your Middle Name:
2. Age:
3. Single or Taken:
4. Favorite Movie:
4a. Favorite Book:
5. Favorite Song:
6. Favorite Band/Artist:
7. Dirty or Clean:
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:
HERE COMES THE FUN ... ... ...
1. Do we know each other outside of Live Journal?
2. Whats your philosophy on life?
3. Would you have my back in a fight?
4. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?
5. What is your favorite memory of us?
6. Would you give me a kidney?
7. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
8. Would you take care of me when I'm sick?
9. Can we get together and make a cake?
10. Have you heard any rumors of me lately?
11. Do you/have you talk(ed) crap about me?
12. Do you think I'm a good person?
13. Would you drive across country with me?
14. Do you think I'm attractive?
15. If you could change anything about me, would you?
16. What do you wear to sleep?
17. Would you come over for no reason just to hang out?
18. Would you go on a date with me if i asked you?
19. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?
20. Will you post this so I can fill it out for you?
1. Your Middle Name:
2. Age:
3. Single or Taken:
4. Favorite Movie:
4a. Favorite Book:
5. Favorite Song:
6. Favorite Band/Artist:
7. Dirty or Clean:
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:
HERE COMES THE FUN ... ... ...
1. Do we know each other outside of Live Journal?
2. Whats your philosophy on life?
3. Would you have my back in a fight?
4. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?
5. What is your favorite memory of us?
6. Would you give me a kidney?
7. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
8. Would you take care of me when I'm sick?
9. Can we get together and make a cake?
10. Have you heard any rumors of me lately?
11. Do you/have you talk(ed) crap about me?
12. Do you think I'm a good person?
13. Would you drive across country with me?
14. Do you think I'm attractive?
15. If you could change anything about me, would you?
16. What do you wear to sleep?
17. Would you come over for no reason just to hang out?
18. Would you go on a date with me if i asked you?
19. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?
20. Will you post this so I can fill it out for you?
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Q & A
Another one of these things. I guess it's a good way to see if anyone still reads this.
I want everyone who reads this, that wants to, to ask me 3 questions, no more no less. Ask me anything you want and I will answer them as honestly and completely as I can. Then I want you to go to your journal, copy and paste this, allowing your friends (including me) to ask you anything.
I want everyone who reads this, that wants to, to ask me 3 questions, no more no less. Ask me anything you want and I will answer them as honestly and completely as I can. Then I want you to go to your journal, copy and paste this, allowing your friends (including me) to ask you anything.
Friday, September 01, 2006
I Now Pronounce Thee Done.
I guess it's about time for me to recap the wedding experience. Unlike diligent blogger Jon, I didn't manage to make daily reports. But the again, Jon wasn't in the process of getting married. Apologies if I forget anything or anyone; it was a somewhat crazy couple of days.
FRIDAY
Erik and Trina are supposed to arrive today, so good chunks of the day are spent cleaning. We've also scheduled lunch at Lexx for Andrew's family and mine to meet up before the wedding. Andrew has opted out to wait for Erik and Trina to arrive and to continue cleaning. Donna and her Andrew are going into Harvard Square. That leaves Andrew's parents, Meredith, my parents, and me. Everyone arrives in a timely fashion and the food is good. Andrew's family gives me a white purse for the emergency kit Meredtih and I have been putting together, which is another worry off the list. Our families get along fine and I get a tasty four cheese macaroni and a so-so white chocolate bread pudding.
Later on, we stop by Andrew's aunt's house to see some of his family, including Andrew's ten month old first cousin once removed, Logan. Logan is at a particularly curious age and seems particularly interested in Andrew. Much as he complains that he doesn't like kids, Andrew seems to do pretty well with them one on one.
The day goes on. Erik and Trina get delayed by evening traffic in Connecticut, so we eat the takeout we ordered before they arrive. They get around nine with a sleeping Orin in tow. We reheat the pizza and chat for a while before heading off to bed.
SATURDAY
Andrew and our guests go out to see the local toy stores. I opt to stay home, get my nails touched up (for free!), and plan the "rehearsal dinner". Since we're not having an actual rehearsal, we've decided to just have a nice meal with some of our friends. I make reservations at Kushboo, our local Indian restaurant, then start calling people to see who's coming. Andrew, Erik, Trina, and Orin get back from shopping and we head over to Baja Fresh for a late lunch.
Our guests start arriving in the evening. We have a few late arrivals, so Andrew stays behind to wait for them while I take everyone else over to the restaurant. Kushboo is very accommodating, especially considering that w end up with one more person than we anticipated. Once everyone arrives, we have 11 people and one baby: Dave, Keng Qui, Tim, Les, Jon, Erik, Trina, Donna, Donna's Andrew, Andrew, and me. Since we all share similar interests, everyone gets along very well. Aside from Orin fussing and no one remembering the name of Superman's third obscure girlfriend, the night is a success. We come back to our house and continue chatting until we kick everyone out so we can get some sleep.
SUNDAY -THE BIG DAY
Sleep turns out to be an unattainable dream; we wake up around 3 AM and don't really get back to sleep. I get up a few hours later to prepare for Meredith arriving around 8:30. The stylist comes at 9 to do my hair and makeup. Everything goes pretty smoothly, but I'm still nervous. All the last minute concerns I have no control over are hitting pretty hard, to the point where I keep tensing my shoulders. To try to calm down, I watch my favorite relaxing movie: Toy Story 2 with commentary. It's fun, familiar, and a good way to kill time. Eventually, we head outside and Trina spots the limo at the end of the street. We climb in and head for the restaurant.
I call my mom from the limo to let her know we're on our way. She helps my anxiety by telling me everyone is already having a great time and not to worry. In spite of my worries, we approach the restaurant on time. I call one more time so Mom can alert the photographer to come down and take pictures as we exit the limo. We're greeted b the staff and head upstairs to the dining room.
Once we arrive, I feel about ten times better. The room looks fantastic and everyone got there without incident (even my mother's brother and his family, who were coming in by train with very little time to get to the restaurant). I greet as many people as I can, pick up by bouquet, and get a quick look a the cake. This was one of my worries; last I heard, the florist and the restaurant staff hadn't talked and the cake was supposed to be decorated with flowers. But once I see it, I'm convinced they got in touch.
After the greetings, I talk to our officiant and gather our wedding party to start the ceremony. The Grover "reading" comes in right on cue (thanks to Donna's Andrew) and goes over very well. The only hitch is when I have to say my vows. I'm both nervous and really happy, which tends to make me giggle. I mess up one line and have to repeat it. Andrew does just fine and the rest of the ceremony goes smoothly.
The photographer grabs us for various family group pictures after the ceremony. Once those are done, we get to mingle and sample the appetizers. The only real problem with any of the day's events is the music. We spent hours picking out music and putting it in order....and no one can hear it. I guess if we had dancing, it would have focused more attention on the music, but as is, I guess no one minded since everyone was talking anyway. If something had to go kind of wrong, I guess it was pretty minor and didn't really bother anyone but us.
After talking to people for a while, we sit down for dinner. The food is quite good for the most part and everyone comments on how tasty it is. Andrew gets the tofu entree and I get the chicken, so we each have an opportunity to try a bit. My dad and sister both make beautiful toasts. I manage to thank everyone for coming and remember everything I meant to say without notes. Andrew and I circle around from time to time to talk to people at other tables when we're not enjoying our food.
I get the room's attention again to call attention to the favors and announce the cake cutting. The waitress tells us that there's cardboard about an inch in somewhere, but I never figure out exactly where. We cut the cake with Andrew's parents' cake knife from their wedding. We feed each other without too much frosting mess and everyone seems happy to discover that the cake inside is chocolate. The cake and dolci is a big hit all around. I make my last announcement and present my bouquet to my sister for luck with her wedding. People begin to leave and we're eventually down to one table. We head out before 5 and the rain that's held off until now makes an appearance. Will and the limo driver provide umbrellas, so we get to the limo relatively dry. We return home in plenty of time to feed the bunnies. I change into more comfortable clothing (those shoes will probably not be worn again), and take a brief nap on the couch. Around 8, we decide we're hungry and go out to Chili's with Erik, Trina, and Orin. It's a nice, casual end to the day and I'm feeling quite satisfied as we go to bed.
(I may add an entry for Monday at some later time, but I'm running out of steam, so this is it for now. Additions and comments welcome.)
FRIDAY
Erik and Trina are supposed to arrive today, so good chunks of the day are spent cleaning. We've also scheduled lunch at Lexx for Andrew's family and mine to meet up before the wedding. Andrew has opted out to wait for Erik and Trina to arrive and to continue cleaning. Donna and her Andrew are going into Harvard Square. That leaves Andrew's parents, Meredith, my parents, and me. Everyone arrives in a timely fashion and the food is good. Andrew's family gives me a white purse for the emergency kit Meredtih and I have been putting together, which is another worry off the list. Our families get along fine and I get a tasty four cheese macaroni and a so-so white chocolate bread pudding.
Later on, we stop by Andrew's aunt's house to see some of his family, including Andrew's ten month old first cousin once removed, Logan. Logan is at a particularly curious age and seems particularly interested in Andrew. Much as he complains that he doesn't like kids, Andrew seems to do pretty well with them one on one.
The day goes on. Erik and Trina get delayed by evening traffic in Connecticut, so we eat the takeout we ordered before they arrive. They get around nine with a sleeping Orin in tow. We reheat the pizza and chat for a while before heading off to bed.
SATURDAY
Andrew and our guests go out to see the local toy stores. I opt to stay home, get my nails touched up (for free!), and plan the "rehearsal dinner". Since we're not having an actual rehearsal, we've decided to just have a nice meal with some of our friends. I make reservations at Kushboo, our local Indian restaurant, then start calling people to see who's coming. Andrew, Erik, Trina, and Orin get back from shopping and we head over to Baja Fresh for a late lunch.
Our guests start arriving in the evening. We have a few late arrivals, so Andrew stays behind to wait for them while I take everyone else over to the restaurant. Kushboo is very accommodating, especially considering that w end up with one more person than we anticipated. Once everyone arrives, we have 11 people and one baby: Dave, Keng Qui, Tim, Les, Jon, Erik, Trina, Donna, Donna's Andrew, Andrew, and me. Since we all share similar interests, everyone gets along very well. Aside from Orin fussing and no one remembering the name of Superman's third obscure girlfriend, the night is a success. We come back to our house and continue chatting until we kick everyone out so we can get some sleep.
SUNDAY -THE BIG DAY
Sleep turns out to be an unattainable dream; we wake up around 3 AM and don't really get back to sleep. I get up a few hours later to prepare for Meredith arriving around 8:30. The stylist comes at 9 to do my hair and makeup. Everything goes pretty smoothly, but I'm still nervous. All the last minute concerns I have no control over are hitting pretty hard, to the point where I keep tensing my shoulders. To try to calm down, I watch my favorite relaxing movie: Toy Story 2 with commentary. It's fun, familiar, and a good way to kill time. Eventually, we head outside and Trina spots the limo at the end of the street. We climb in and head for the restaurant.
I call my mom from the limo to let her know we're on our way. She helps my anxiety by telling me everyone is already having a great time and not to worry. In spite of my worries, we approach the restaurant on time. I call one more time so Mom can alert the photographer to come down and take pictures as we exit the limo. We're greeted b the staff and head upstairs to the dining room.
Once we arrive, I feel about ten times better. The room looks fantastic and everyone got there without incident (even my mother's brother and his family, who were coming in by train with very little time to get to the restaurant). I greet as many people as I can, pick up by bouquet, and get a quick look a the cake. This was one of my worries; last I heard, the florist and the restaurant staff hadn't talked and the cake was supposed to be decorated with flowers. But once I see it, I'm convinced they got in touch.
After the greetings, I talk to our officiant and gather our wedding party to start the ceremony. The Grover "reading" comes in right on cue (thanks to Donna's Andrew) and goes over very well. The only hitch is when I have to say my vows. I'm both nervous and really happy, which tends to make me giggle. I mess up one line and have to repeat it. Andrew does just fine and the rest of the ceremony goes smoothly.
The photographer grabs us for various family group pictures after the ceremony. Once those are done, we get to mingle and sample the appetizers. The only real problem with any of the day's events is the music. We spent hours picking out music and putting it in order....and no one can hear it. I guess if we had dancing, it would have focused more attention on the music, but as is, I guess no one minded since everyone was talking anyway. If something had to go kind of wrong, I guess it was pretty minor and didn't really bother anyone but us.
After talking to people for a while, we sit down for dinner. The food is quite good for the most part and everyone comments on how tasty it is. Andrew gets the tofu entree and I get the chicken, so we each have an opportunity to try a bit. My dad and sister both make beautiful toasts. I manage to thank everyone for coming and remember everything I meant to say without notes. Andrew and I circle around from time to time to talk to people at other tables when we're not enjoying our food.
I get the room's attention again to call attention to the favors and announce the cake cutting. The waitress tells us that there's cardboard about an inch in somewhere, but I never figure out exactly where. We cut the cake with Andrew's parents' cake knife from their wedding. We feed each other without too much frosting mess and everyone seems happy to discover that the cake inside is chocolate. The cake and dolci is a big hit all around. I make my last announcement and present my bouquet to my sister for luck with her wedding. People begin to leave and we're eventually down to one table. We head out before 5 and the rain that's held off until now makes an appearance. Will and the limo driver provide umbrellas, so we get to the limo relatively dry. We return home in plenty of time to feed the bunnies. I change into more comfortable clothing (those shoes will probably not be worn again), and take a brief nap on the couch. Around 8, we decide we're hungry and go out to Chili's with Erik, Trina, and Orin. It's a nice, casual end to the day and I'm feeling quite satisfied as we go to bed.
(I may add an entry for Monday at some later time, but I'm running out of steam, so this is it for now. Additions and comments welcome.)
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
W Minus Five: Real Progress
Now this is more like it. I think the list is actually getting smaller. Andrew's family is now back in town and his sister has been a huge help. Stuff has just generally been coming together in the past few days. Plus, Andrew is done with his job, so I can freely bug him to do wedding related stuff.
Things That Are Done (Or Mostly Done)
Pen for the guest book - Andrew's dad is supplying us with a nice pen from his large collection of free pens he's received. This is a relief, since pens seem to cost either 99 cents or 30 dollars with not much in the middle.
Confirm ceremony plan - Our officiant is all set on what we want to do. Just one or two tiny details to iron out, but this is essentially done.
Get hairclips and other dress accessories - Meredith and I visited the mall last night and got this taken care of.
Make emergency kit - We also took care of most of this at the mall. We still need some lipstick and a travel sewing kit, which Meredith is taking care of. Aside from that, maybe a nice bag to put it all in.
Clothes shopping with Andrew - This may not be necessary anymore, but even if it is, it shouldn't be too tough.
Plan family lunch - I think we're on for Friday, probably at Lexx in the center. Note to self: Call on Friday to reserve a table.
Figure out jobs for people - I think this is pretty much worked out. I should work out who will take what to the site and make sure they have it ahead of time.
Finalize menu with planner - I just got off the phone with her. All I need to do is make sure we have a final seating count and get the name of the person who will be there on the day.
Things To Do
Buy other part of favors - This should be really easy.
Get something old and something borrowed - I know what the something old is and will pick it up on Friday.
Resize Andrew's ring - We'll be doing this today or tomorrow.
Call and confirm vendors - I will probably do this Thursday or Friday. The only one I absolutely need to talk to is the photographer.
Check prices for parking garages - This is easy, I just need to sit down and do it.
Tell Andrew I love him - It's not that I haven't; I just need to keep it up.
Bonus: Andrew is working on cleaning today!
Things That Are Done (Or Mostly Done)
Pen for the guest book - Andrew's dad is supplying us with a nice pen from his large collection of free pens he's received. This is a relief, since pens seem to cost either 99 cents or 30 dollars with not much in the middle.
Confirm ceremony plan - Our officiant is all set on what we want to do. Just one or two tiny details to iron out, but this is essentially done.
Get hairclips and other dress accessories - Meredith and I visited the mall last night and got this taken care of.
Make emergency kit - We also took care of most of this at the mall. We still need some lipstick and a travel sewing kit, which Meredith is taking care of. Aside from that, maybe a nice bag to put it all in.
Clothes shopping with Andrew - This may not be necessary anymore, but even if it is, it shouldn't be too tough.
Plan family lunch - I think we're on for Friday, probably at Lexx in the center. Note to self: Call on Friday to reserve a table.
Figure out jobs for people - I think this is pretty much worked out. I should work out who will take what to the site and make sure they have it ahead of time.
Finalize menu with planner - I just got off the phone with her. All I need to do is make sure we have a final seating count and get the name of the person who will be there on the day.
Things To Do
Buy other part of favors - This should be really easy.
Get something old and something borrowed - I know what the something old is and will pick it up on Friday.
Resize Andrew's ring - We'll be doing this today or tomorrow.
Call and confirm vendors - I will probably do this Thursday or Friday. The only one I absolutely need to talk to is the photographer.
Check prices for parking garages - This is easy, I just need to sit down and do it.
Tell Andrew I love him - It's not that I haven't; I just need to keep it up.
Bonus: Andrew is working on cleaning today!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
W Minus Seven: One Week To Go
A busy and fairly eventful couple of days, though I still feel like I have virtually nothing done. Thursday was my next to last day of fake job before the big day. I did get a call back from our officiant, but I'm still waiting on an e-mail from her finalizing the details of the ceremony. It doesn't help any that I think I left my e-mail program at work on and it has a nasty habit of grabbing up all my mail from Gmail before my home program gets it. I've been checking via webmail, but it's still pretty annoying. Note to self: do NOT forget to turn off e-mail program at work on Tuesday. In fact, consider disabling automatic checks for personal e-mail address altogether.
House cleaning is proceeding slowly. Andrew is working on a freelance job which I can't really say much about, so I can't ask him for help at least until Monday. Which would be OK except that the majority of the stuff that needs to be cleaned up is his and I don't have a clue where he wants it. I did get most of the front hallway and living room vacuumed; both areas sorely needed it. And to be fair to Andrew, he did clean up the kitchen prior to this job coming in. I gave the bathroom a good scrubbing then we reorganized the kitchen, resulting in a new "bunny corner". There's still a lot to be done, but it feels pretty overwhelming right now.
Andrew dropped me off at my parents' house Saturday evening so that I could go with my dad to pick up Donna and her Andrew. I've seen a fair amount of my parents lately. I'll frequently stop by their house after work since it's a short walk. And with Andrew needing some time alone to get more work done, my visits have been getting longer. After work on Thursday, I stayed for dinner out at an Italian restaurant near Mom's work. I do like visiting with them, and getting to spend some time with just my dad is especially nice.
Anyways, Donna called us from the airport and Dad and I headed out to pick her up, with Pedro in tow. Pedro absolutely loves car rides and behaves very well one them, so we like taking him too. He spent the majority of the ride curled up in my lap, happily relaxed. Logan was the usual horrendous mess and we ended up accidentally leaving the airport, then looping around the terminals an extra time. Once we found Donna and Andrew, we had a pretty uneventful drive home.
We got back to my parents' house and various belated gifts were exchanged. Then we got the big news: Donna and Andrew are engaged. I'm quite happy for them. Andrew is a great guy and I'm sure they'll continue to make each other and their two cats very happy. It gives me someone to pass my accrued wedding knowledge on to before I forget all of it. And my parents only have to remember one son-in-law name.
Andrew called and said he was exhausted, so I took Mom and Dad up on the offer to stay the night. I chatted with Donna and Andrew for a while, then went to bed for a less than easy sleep. Guess I'm just not used to being in a strange bed sans fiance. I woke up somewhat early for me, got a morning greeting from Pedro, and had breakfast. Everyone else was going up to Maine, so I got a lift home before they left.
The one wedding related thing I've managed to accomplish is getting a pretty complete music playlist ready. I have to check on some things with the iPod and speakers to see if I can shuffle the reception playlist. Otherwise, I need to put it in order myself. On the positive side, the wedding dreams have either stopped or stopped being memorable. Still nervous though.
Things To Do
- Get a pen for the guest book
- Confirm ceremony plan with officiant
- Finalize menu with planner
- Buy other part of favors
- Get hairclips and other dress accessories
- Get something old from Mom and something borrowed
- Make emergency kit and find someone to hold it
- Resize Andrew's ring
- Go clothes shopping with Andrew
- Call and confirm vendors
- Plan family lunch
- Figure out jobs for everyone
- Check prices for parking garages
- Tell Andrew I love him
Notice how the list gets longer instead of shorter? Yeah, that's really good.
House cleaning is proceeding slowly. Andrew is working on a freelance job which I can't really say much about, so I can't ask him for help at least until Monday. Which would be OK except that the majority of the stuff that needs to be cleaned up is his and I don't have a clue where he wants it. I did get most of the front hallway and living room vacuumed; both areas sorely needed it. And to be fair to Andrew, he did clean up the kitchen prior to this job coming in. I gave the bathroom a good scrubbing then we reorganized the kitchen, resulting in a new "bunny corner". There's still a lot to be done, but it feels pretty overwhelming right now.
Andrew dropped me off at my parents' house Saturday evening so that I could go with my dad to pick up Donna and her Andrew. I've seen a fair amount of my parents lately. I'll frequently stop by their house after work since it's a short walk. And with Andrew needing some time alone to get more work done, my visits have been getting longer. After work on Thursday, I stayed for dinner out at an Italian restaurant near Mom's work. I do like visiting with them, and getting to spend some time with just my dad is especially nice.
Anyways, Donna called us from the airport and Dad and I headed out to pick her up, with Pedro in tow. Pedro absolutely loves car rides and behaves very well one them, so we like taking him too. He spent the majority of the ride curled up in my lap, happily relaxed. Logan was the usual horrendous mess and we ended up accidentally leaving the airport, then looping around the terminals an extra time. Once we found Donna and Andrew, we had a pretty uneventful drive home.
We got back to my parents' house and various belated gifts were exchanged. Then we got the big news: Donna and Andrew are engaged. I'm quite happy for them. Andrew is a great guy and I'm sure they'll continue to make each other and their two cats very happy. It gives me someone to pass my accrued wedding knowledge on to before I forget all of it. And my parents only have to remember one son-in-law name.
Andrew called and said he was exhausted, so I took Mom and Dad up on the offer to stay the night. I chatted with Donna and Andrew for a while, then went to bed for a less than easy sleep. Guess I'm just not used to being in a strange bed sans fiance. I woke up somewhat early for me, got a morning greeting from Pedro, and had breakfast. Everyone else was going up to Maine, so I got a lift home before they left.
The one wedding related thing I've managed to accomplish is getting a pretty complete music playlist ready. I have to check on some things with the iPod and speakers to see if I can shuffle the reception playlist. Otherwise, I need to put it in order myself. On the positive side, the wedding dreams have either stopped or stopped being memorable. Still nervous though.
Things To Do
- Get a pen for the guest book
- Confirm ceremony plan with officiant
- Finalize menu with planner
- Buy other part of favors
- Get hairclips and other dress accessories
- Get something old from Mom and something borrowed
- Make emergency kit and find someone to hold it
- Resize Andrew's ring
- Go clothes shopping with Andrew
- Call and confirm vendors
- Plan family lunch
- Figure out jobs for everyone
- Check prices for parking garages
- Tell Andrew I love him
Notice how the list gets longer instead of shorter? Yeah, that's really good.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
W Minus Ten
It is ten days before I get married. There's a part of me that's still pretty suprised by that. The rest of me is busy freaking out.
Prior to now, I've been relatively calm about this whole thing. I've never been nervous about the marriage aspect of it and I'm not now. As I see it, we'll wake up in the morning together and go to bed at night together and the only tangible difference will be the addition of a couple of rings. It's not that I don't place any importance on getting married; if that were true we probably wouldn't be going through with this. It's just that since we've been living together for several years, we share a house, and we parent two rabbits together, I don't see this as a new begining or a life altering event. It's more a formal confirmation of what we already have. The worry is because of the event, not what it symbolizes. Andrew feels much the same way, but he got a head start on being nervous about it, so I have to cram an equivalent amount of worrying into roughly two weeks.
To be fair, we have accomplished a lot. I just spoke briefly with our officiant, who is supposed to call me back, which would mean the really essential stuff is pretty much set. But there are still those little things to deal with and that nagging fear that something more important than the music is going to go wrong. For two straight nights, I've had dreams about things going wrong at the weddings, one of which involved Darth Vader (who, weirdly, was not at all related to the problem we were having).
To (hopefully) calm my nerves and possibly make for some interesting reading, here's what we've got done and what we have left to do:
Things We've Done
- Booked the location
- Sent invitations and recieved responses from pretty much everyone
- Decided on the menu
- Ordered the flowers
- Hired an officiant
- Bought speakers for the iPod
- Purchased and recieved wedding rings
- Decided on outfits
- Gone to salon and made home appointment for the day
- Hired a limo
- Bought a guest book
- Obtained a marriage license
- Contacted photographer
- Had my mom order favors
Things To Do
- Get a pen for the guest book
- Finish selecting music
- Confirm ceremony plan with officiant
- Finalize menu with planner
- Buy other part of favors
- Get hairclips and other dress accessories
- Get something old from Mom and something borrowed
- Make emergency kit and find someone to hold it
- Tell Andrew I love him
If you notice any obvious omissions, please let me know. I may have done them and just forgotten to write them in.
So we do have a lot done. But there's still a lot to do, and this doesn't even touch on cleaning the house for our coming guests. I can only imagine how crazy "normal" brides with their much bigger weddings and 100 or more guests, must get my this point. Or is it comforting to have worked over every detail for months on end and have a rehearsal and so on? I like to think my smaller wedding is saving me some stress, but you never know.
Given what I've still got to do, I'm not sure if I'll get back to the blog before the big day. I'll try to at least post a rundown of how things went, though most people who actually read this will be attending. Until then, I expect to continue being stressed out and having odd dreams.
Oh, and Happy Birthday, Donna!
Prior to now, I've been relatively calm about this whole thing. I've never been nervous about the marriage aspect of it and I'm not now. As I see it, we'll wake up in the morning together and go to bed at night together and the only tangible difference will be the addition of a couple of rings. It's not that I don't place any importance on getting married; if that were true we probably wouldn't be going through with this. It's just that since we've been living together for several years, we share a house, and we parent two rabbits together, I don't see this as a new begining or a life altering event. It's more a formal confirmation of what we already have. The worry is because of the event, not what it symbolizes. Andrew feels much the same way, but he got a head start on being nervous about it, so I have to cram an equivalent amount of worrying into roughly two weeks.
To be fair, we have accomplished a lot. I just spoke briefly with our officiant, who is supposed to call me back, which would mean the really essential stuff is pretty much set. But there are still those little things to deal with and that nagging fear that something more important than the music is going to go wrong. For two straight nights, I've had dreams about things going wrong at the weddings, one of which involved Darth Vader (who, weirdly, was not at all related to the problem we were having).
To (hopefully) calm my nerves and possibly make for some interesting reading, here's what we've got done and what we have left to do:
Things We've Done
- Booked the location
- Sent invitations and recieved responses from pretty much everyone
- Decided on the menu
- Ordered the flowers
- Hired an officiant
- Bought speakers for the iPod
- Purchased and recieved wedding rings
- Decided on outfits
- Gone to salon and made home appointment for the day
- Hired a limo
- Bought a guest book
- Obtained a marriage license
- Contacted photographer
- Had my mom order favors
Things To Do
- Get a pen for the guest book
- Finish selecting music
- Confirm ceremony plan with officiant
- Finalize menu with planner
- Buy other part of favors
- Get hairclips and other dress accessories
- Get something old from Mom and something borrowed
- Make emergency kit and find someone to hold it
- Tell Andrew I love him
If you notice any obvious omissions, please let me know. I may have done them and just forgotten to write them in.
So we do have a lot done. But there's still a lot to do, and this doesn't even touch on cleaning the house for our coming guests. I can only imagine how crazy "normal" brides with their much bigger weddings and 100 or more guests, must get my this point. Or is it comforting to have worked over every detail for months on end and have a rehearsal and so on? I like to think my smaller wedding is saving me some stress, but you never know.
Given what I've still got to do, I'm not sure if I'll get back to the blog before the big day. I'll try to at least post a rundown of how things went, though most people who actually read this will be attending. Until then, I expect to continue being stressed out and having odd dreams.
Oh, and Happy Birthday, Donna!
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Comic-Con Report
We got home from San Diego on Monday evening, following a delayed flight to Cincinnati that nearly caused us to miss our flight home. It was crazy and tiring and usual, but still a lot of fun. Here's the happenings in brief:
Lowlights (because I'm a firm believer in bad news first)
Getting told we had a king size bed after I called three time to make sure we were down for two doubles and was told everything was fine. They couldn't even guarantee us cots. We ended up with a two bed smoking room.
Blarney's Irish Pub, our Thursday night dinner choice, which went far beyond understandable problems with more than the usual number of customers and being short on staff and ended up in sheer incompetence. I thought the last straw was when my salad came with a side of butter instead of dressing. (I tried it, thinking it was dressing. Not good.) But then they brought the bill.
Missing panels I wanted to see. We got in Thursday afternoon, so some had already passed. Some overlapped with other panels, and some happened when we found a spare moment to eat lunch. This happens every year, so I was kind of prepared for it, but it's still frustrating.
People who step in front of you, separating you from the people you're walking around with, only to stand around or shuffle along as slowly as possible without allowing you to pass by them. Again, this happens every year and having been before, I was now more ready for it.
Cool Stuff Outside the Con
Our Hotel - Aside from the bed problem, this was a really pleasant experience. Last year, Andrew and I stayed at a place sneezing distance from the border and had to take the unbelievably pokey trolley to and from the con. This year, our hotel was the one right next to the convention center. SO much nicer. We could just go back to our room any time we wanted to drop off newly acquired stuff, make meal plans, or just chill for a bit. We also sampled the pub, the bar, and the Starbucks. If we go again next year, I'm seriously considering getting a room there again.
Indian Food - Our Friday dinner, a huge step up from Thursday. Terrific food and service made for a very satisfying meal. Of course, I can't remember the name of the place? Jon? Les? Anyone?
Meeting Up with Dave - I knew Dave back in high school and Les and Jon had been in touch with him more recently. We had a tasty dinner at a brewery restaurant (right next to the vats) and caught up while chatting about animation, which is always fun for me.
Our new Cell Phones - Obtained shortly before the trip they hold a charge much better than our old ones. Cell phones are essential for Comic Con; the convention center is huge and you will inevitably need to contact someone who is not currently with you, even if your intention was to be with this person the whole time. Our phones worked beautifully, with a few exceptions due to poor reception, and kept us in touch with everyone we needed to talk to.
Panels
Hellboy Animated - We were treated to a trailer and a full color scene from the upcoming "Hellboy: Sword of Storms". Tad Stones, Mike Mignola, Phil Weinstein, Matt Wayne and Sean Galloway talked about the film, along with Guillermo del Toro, who showed up fashionably late. The movie focuses on Japanese folklore, which Mignola's apparently really jacked about. Some version of "Heads" is included, but it's not the entire story. They pointed out a kappa among the character designs and I'm pretty sure I spotted an one as well. The clip we saw looked really good; the coloring is especially sharp. The movie will premiere on Cartoon Network in October with a DVD release following early next year. Oh, and "Hellboy 2" is search of a new studio since Revolution kind of went under.
Bruce Timm Retrospective/Legion of Super Heroes - I went in really early to get a good seat and ended up catching a good chunk of the panel for Fox's "Bones" with David Boreanaz. Snagged a better seat as the room cleared between panels. Bruce Timm joked about how retrospectives usually denote the end of a career and he's still paying off a mortgage. Timm talked about how "Batman" got off the ground, the particular difficulties of doing "Superman", and what they learned from the first season of "Justice League". (He talked about that being the first time animated shows that weren't done by him and his crew were really setting the standard for TV animation, specifically mentioning "X-Men: Evolution" and "Samurai Jack".) An interesting thing happened during a showing of clips from Timm's DC shows. When "Batman Beyond" came on, people were clapping and cheering and screaming like crazy. After the clips were over, Timm noted that most of the audience was probably livid about the show when they first heard about it. (Guilty as charged.) But to be fair, he said that he and the WB Animation crew weren't to keen on a Kid Batman either when they first heard about it. Q&A started up and Timm gave advice on spotting particular storyboard artists scenes, revealed that the Bat-embargo wasn't much of a problem after the initial annoyance wore off, and expressed sympathy for the directors of "Braniac Attacks", who apparently had a very short time to do their work. There was some mention of that little rumor that was floating around the internet. (Timm claims this was a misunderstanding and he's actually working on a show for Food Network called "The New Fondue". We'll see.) But the big reveal came towards the end as Timm was saying that his current projects were still in the early stages and he really couldn't talk about them...as a dripping red Superman logo on a black background appeared on the screens behind him. Now what could that possibly mean? :) Timm then cleared out to make way for the "Legion of Super Heroes" preview. The show looks pretty good, the cast is solid, and the ideas seem strong. I'm not as sure about it as I am about "Hellboy", but there's a strong chance it could be good. Still, the big thrill for me was getting to see somebody who had such a huge impact on my view of so many DC characters.
Center for Cartoon Studies - James Sturm is one of Andrew, Les, and Jon's favorite professors, a creator of some excellent comics, and the founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies. CCS is located in Vermont and teaches students the art of comics. James and some of the other faculty/comics greats talked about the school, the small town it's located in, and the various programs offered. I'm really impressed with what we heard and glad to see that James is doing well.
The Tick Animated - I was very happy to see that the first season of this terrific series would be coming out on DVD in late August (minus one episode due to legal complications). Creator Ben Edlund, who I had met many moons ago, talked about the pre-cartoon history of the Tick. Voice actor Townsend Coleman favored us with a hearty "Spoon!" and a bit of "Oh! Little Wooden Boy!" (aided by a life sized Little Wooden Boy provided by a fan). We got to see a demo of puppet version of The Tick and Arthur who would have provided content during the credits if the show had been renewed for a fourth season. The Tick was a two liter soda bottle and Arthur was a milk carton. In addition to "The Tick vs. Season One", there are plans for a Tick anniversary's comic which Ben may actually draw a page for.
Cartoon Voices II - I missed "Cartoon Voices I", so I made certain to catch this as my last panel of the con. Boy, was it ever a great way to end things. The participants included Billy West (Fry, Prof. Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, and Zap Brannigan on "Futurama"), April Stewart (most of the female cast of "South Park"), Bob Bergen (the current Porky Pig), Kimberly Brooks (Buena Girl on "Mucha Lucha"), and Wally Wingert (a lot of voices on "Family Guy"), with perennial panel host Mark Evanier playing MC. Everyone had tons of fun stories and did voices on request. The bulk of the panel consisted of the actors performing a script from the "Flash Gordon" radio show which they hadn't seen before. When Mark Evanier said "Change!", whoever was reading had to go back and redo the last line with a different voice. The audience, myself included, completely cracked up as heroic Flash Gordon acquired a Porky Pig stutter, a seductive space princess became a valley girl, our narrator morphed into Butthead, and a crazed German scientist turned into George W. Bush. Improvisation abounded and the whole event was a huge success. If they have this panel again next year, I will definitely make a point to catch both.
People who Drew in my Sketchbook Last year, I started a convention sketchbook for drawings from the pros. It kind of became a rabbit themed sketchbook, though I honestly didn't intend it to at first. I'm happy to say my sketchbook doubled in size this year, thanks to these kind people.
Linda Medley - The creator of "Castle Waiting", one of my favorite comics ever, was doing signings at the Fantagraphics booth. I bought a new copy of the collected hardcover and got it signed, then came back the following day for the new issue. In return, I got a drawing of a rabbit guy in an Elizabethan collar.
Takeshi Miyazawa - Artist on "Sidekicks" and currently "Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane", Takeshi Miyazawa was somebody I HAD to have a sketch from. It ended up being the only sketch I paid for, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat! Like everyone I spoke to, Mr. Miyazawa was extremely nice. I also had the first "Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane" trade with me and got it signed. Turned out he hadn't seen it yet, so of course I let him check it out.
Want to see the sketch that I got done? Do ya? Do ya? Well lucky for you, it's already online! Just go to Takeshi Miyazawa's Gallery Page, click "Con Sketches 2" and check it out. Which one is it? Well, I think you can figure that out yourself. Just remember the theme. (And remember that there's a second page of sketches.) I may well put the rest of them up myself at some point, but I"m stupidly afraid of scanning them.
Los Bros Hernandez - The team behind "Love and Rockets" was doing sketches while I was looking for Roger Langridge. Two awesome artists, free quick sketches, virtually no line? I'll take it! I got a quick cartoony bunny each from Gilbert and Jaime.
Roger Langridge - The creator of "Fred the Clown" was another person I really wanted to see. We chatted a bit while he was drawing and I found out that he did an upcoming Marvel Christmas story. Sweet! Mr. Langridge finished out my sketchbook for ComicCon '06 with a Groucho Marx rabbit in color.
Other Cool People
Paul Chadwick - I didn't get a sketch from the creator of "Concrete" because I already had one; the first one I got for the sketchbook, in fact. Still, I stopped by to say hi and pick up a Concrete trade I didn't have, which is now personalized with a signature and sketch.
Rick Geary - The artist on the new "Gumby" comic signed a copy for me and gave me two promo posters for free!
Geof Darrow The guy behind "Big Guy and Rusty" and "Shaolin Cowboy" was at a remarkably uncrowded table. I called Jon to let him know and Jon talked with him for a bit about living in France. Were I not drowning in stuff to hang on my wall and afraid of shipping large posters home, I would likely have one of his prints.
Mike Mignola - Hellboy's creator didn't have enough time to do sketches, but he did have time to sign a book of his sketches and hear my positive opinions on the aforementioned "Sword of Storms".
Craig McCracken - I didn't see the father of "The Powerpuff Girls" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" at a booth. He was just hanging out on the exhibit hall floor talking to some people. Craig McCracken is one of a very few artists I admire who I can also recognize on sight. Unfortunately, he was engaged in conversation and I didn't want to be rude and bug him while he was "off-duty". So the opportunity to meet one of my animation heroes passed me by. Oh well. Maybe next year.
Greg Weisman - I made a point of tracking down the chief architect of the "Gargoyles" universe at the Slave Labor Graphics booth. I got a promo poster signed by him, artist David Hedgecock, and colorist Will Terrell. I'm pleased and amazed to say that Greg remembered me from the Station 8 comment room. He wrote "Welcome to the clan" on my poster, which I assume he does for everyone, but it still made me happy/
Andy Runton - I really would have liked a sketch from Andy Runton, but my sketchbook was with Takeshi Miyazawa when I saw him and I would have felt bad going back and asking for a sketch after he already signed a book for me. But I still got a cute little drawing in the latest "Owly" trade.
Billy West - Before I saw him bring the house done at the voice actor panel, I strolled by his booth and saw that he was there. I waited around for a while. listened to him talking to other people, and finally got to speak with him a bit. We chatted about politics (we're on the same page there) and I bought a photo which he signed for Andrew and me. He wrote "Greetings from the Year 3000! It still sucks!", which I can only imagine being said in a Zoidberg voice.
Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine - Les drew in my sketchbook last year. They are nice. Buy their book.
Well, that is not remotely everything I saw and did and bought at the con. But that's the main stuff. It was a lot of fun and even better than last year. Thanks for reading though my mammoth recap. Hope you enjoyed it.
Lowlights (because I'm a firm believer in bad news first)
Getting told we had a king size bed after I called three time to make sure we were down for two doubles and was told everything was fine. They couldn't even guarantee us cots. We ended up with a two bed smoking room.
Blarney's Irish Pub, our Thursday night dinner choice, which went far beyond understandable problems with more than the usual number of customers and being short on staff and ended up in sheer incompetence. I thought the last straw was when my salad came with a side of butter instead of dressing. (I tried it, thinking it was dressing. Not good.) But then they brought the bill.
Missing panels I wanted to see. We got in Thursday afternoon, so some had already passed. Some overlapped with other panels, and some happened when we found a spare moment to eat lunch. This happens every year, so I was kind of prepared for it, but it's still frustrating.
People who step in front of you, separating you from the people you're walking around with, only to stand around or shuffle along as slowly as possible without allowing you to pass by them. Again, this happens every year and having been before, I was now more ready for it.
Cool Stuff Outside the Con
Our Hotel - Aside from the bed problem, this was a really pleasant experience. Last year, Andrew and I stayed at a place sneezing distance from the border and had to take the unbelievably pokey trolley to and from the con. This year, our hotel was the one right next to the convention center. SO much nicer. We could just go back to our room any time we wanted to drop off newly acquired stuff, make meal plans, or just chill for a bit. We also sampled the pub, the bar, and the Starbucks. If we go again next year, I'm seriously considering getting a room there again.
Indian Food - Our Friday dinner, a huge step up from Thursday. Terrific food and service made for a very satisfying meal. Of course, I can't remember the name of the place? Jon? Les? Anyone?
Meeting Up with Dave - I knew Dave back in high school and Les and Jon had been in touch with him more recently. We had a tasty dinner at a brewery restaurant (right next to the vats) and caught up while chatting about animation, which is always fun for me.
Our new Cell Phones - Obtained shortly before the trip they hold a charge much better than our old ones. Cell phones are essential for Comic Con; the convention center is huge and you will inevitably need to contact someone who is not currently with you, even if your intention was to be with this person the whole time. Our phones worked beautifully, with a few exceptions due to poor reception, and kept us in touch with everyone we needed to talk to.
Panels
Hellboy Animated - We were treated to a trailer and a full color scene from the upcoming "Hellboy: Sword of Storms". Tad Stones, Mike Mignola, Phil Weinstein, Matt Wayne and Sean Galloway talked about the film, along with Guillermo del Toro, who showed up fashionably late. The movie focuses on Japanese folklore, which Mignola's apparently really jacked about. Some version of "Heads" is included, but it's not the entire story. They pointed out a kappa among the character designs and I'm pretty sure I spotted an one as well. The clip we saw looked really good; the coloring is especially sharp. The movie will premiere on Cartoon Network in October with a DVD release following early next year. Oh, and "Hellboy 2" is search of a new studio since Revolution kind of went under.
Bruce Timm Retrospective/Legion of Super Heroes - I went in really early to get a good seat and ended up catching a good chunk of the panel for Fox's "Bones" with David Boreanaz. Snagged a better seat as the room cleared between panels. Bruce Timm joked about how retrospectives usually denote the end of a career and he's still paying off a mortgage. Timm talked about how "Batman" got off the ground, the particular difficulties of doing "Superman", and what they learned from the first season of "Justice League". (He talked about that being the first time animated shows that weren't done by him and his crew were really setting the standard for TV animation, specifically mentioning "X-Men: Evolution" and "Samurai Jack".) An interesting thing happened during a showing of clips from Timm's DC shows. When "Batman Beyond" came on, people were clapping and cheering and screaming like crazy. After the clips were over, Timm noted that most of the audience was probably livid about the show when they first heard about it. (Guilty as charged.) But to be fair, he said that he and the WB Animation crew weren't to keen on a Kid Batman either when they first heard about it. Q&A started up and Timm gave advice on spotting particular storyboard artists scenes, revealed that the Bat-embargo wasn't much of a problem after the initial annoyance wore off, and expressed sympathy for the directors of "Braniac Attacks", who apparently had a very short time to do their work. There was some mention of that little rumor that was floating around the internet. (Timm claims this was a misunderstanding and he's actually working on a show for Food Network called "The New Fondue". We'll see.) But the big reveal came towards the end as Timm was saying that his current projects were still in the early stages and he really couldn't talk about them...as a dripping red Superman logo on a black background appeared on the screens behind him. Now what could that possibly mean? :) Timm then cleared out to make way for the "Legion of Super Heroes" preview. The show looks pretty good, the cast is solid, and the ideas seem strong. I'm not as sure about it as I am about "Hellboy", but there's a strong chance it could be good. Still, the big thrill for me was getting to see somebody who had such a huge impact on my view of so many DC characters.
Center for Cartoon Studies - James Sturm is one of Andrew, Les, and Jon's favorite professors, a creator of some excellent comics, and the founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies. CCS is located in Vermont and teaches students the art of comics. James and some of the other faculty/comics greats talked about the school, the small town it's located in, and the various programs offered. I'm really impressed with what we heard and glad to see that James is doing well.
The Tick Animated - I was very happy to see that the first season of this terrific series would be coming out on DVD in late August (minus one episode due to legal complications). Creator Ben Edlund, who I had met many moons ago, talked about the pre-cartoon history of the Tick. Voice actor Townsend Coleman favored us with a hearty "Spoon!" and a bit of "Oh! Little Wooden Boy!" (aided by a life sized Little Wooden Boy provided by a fan). We got to see a demo of puppet version of The Tick and Arthur who would have provided content during the credits if the show had been renewed for a fourth season. The Tick was a two liter soda bottle and Arthur was a milk carton. In addition to "The Tick vs. Season One", there are plans for a Tick anniversary's comic which Ben may actually draw a page for.
Cartoon Voices II - I missed "Cartoon Voices I", so I made certain to catch this as my last panel of the con. Boy, was it ever a great way to end things. The participants included Billy West (Fry, Prof. Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, and Zap Brannigan on "Futurama"), April Stewart (most of the female cast of "South Park"), Bob Bergen (the current Porky Pig), Kimberly Brooks (Buena Girl on "Mucha Lucha"), and Wally Wingert (a lot of voices on "Family Guy"), with perennial panel host Mark Evanier playing MC. Everyone had tons of fun stories and did voices on request. The bulk of the panel consisted of the actors performing a script from the "Flash Gordon" radio show which they hadn't seen before. When Mark Evanier said "Change!", whoever was reading had to go back and redo the last line with a different voice. The audience, myself included, completely cracked up as heroic Flash Gordon acquired a Porky Pig stutter, a seductive space princess became a valley girl, our narrator morphed into Butthead, and a crazed German scientist turned into George W. Bush. Improvisation abounded and the whole event was a huge success. If they have this panel again next year, I will definitely make a point to catch both.
People who Drew in my Sketchbook Last year, I started a convention sketchbook for drawings from the pros. It kind of became a rabbit themed sketchbook, though I honestly didn't intend it to at first. I'm happy to say my sketchbook doubled in size this year, thanks to these kind people.
Linda Medley - The creator of "Castle Waiting", one of my favorite comics ever, was doing signings at the Fantagraphics booth. I bought a new copy of the collected hardcover and got it signed, then came back the following day for the new issue. In return, I got a drawing of a rabbit guy in an Elizabethan collar.
Takeshi Miyazawa - Artist on "Sidekicks" and currently "Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane", Takeshi Miyazawa was somebody I HAD to have a sketch from. It ended up being the only sketch I paid for, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat! Like everyone I spoke to, Mr. Miyazawa was extremely nice. I also had the first "Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane" trade with me and got it signed. Turned out he hadn't seen it yet, so of course I let him check it out.
Want to see the sketch that I got done? Do ya? Do ya? Well lucky for you, it's already online! Just go to Takeshi Miyazawa's Gallery Page, click "Con Sketches 2" and check it out. Which one is it? Well, I think you can figure that out yourself. Just remember the theme. (And remember that there's a second page of sketches.) I may well put the rest of them up myself at some point, but I"m stupidly afraid of scanning them.
Los Bros Hernandez - The team behind "Love and Rockets" was doing sketches while I was looking for Roger Langridge. Two awesome artists, free quick sketches, virtually no line? I'll take it! I got a quick cartoony bunny each from Gilbert and Jaime.
Roger Langridge - The creator of "Fred the Clown" was another person I really wanted to see. We chatted a bit while he was drawing and I found out that he did an upcoming Marvel Christmas story. Sweet! Mr. Langridge finished out my sketchbook for ComicCon '06 with a Groucho Marx rabbit in color.
Other Cool People
Paul Chadwick - I didn't get a sketch from the creator of "Concrete" because I already had one; the first one I got for the sketchbook, in fact. Still, I stopped by to say hi and pick up a Concrete trade I didn't have, which is now personalized with a signature and sketch.
Rick Geary - The artist on the new "Gumby" comic signed a copy for me and gave me two promo posters for free!
Geof Darrow The guy behind "Big Guy and Rusty" and "Shaolin Cowboy" was at a remarkably uncrowded table. I called Jon to let him know and Jon talked with him for a bit about living in France. Were I not drowning in stuff to hang on my wall and afraid of shipping large posters home, I would likely have one of his prints.
Mike Mignola - Hellboy's creator didn't have enough time to do sketches, but he did have time to sign a book of his sketches and hear my positive opinions on the aforementioned "Sword of Storms".
Craig McCracken - I didn't see the father of "The Powerpuff Girls" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" at a booth. He was just hanging out on the exhibit hall floor talking to some people. Craig McCracken is one of a very few artists I admire who I can also recognize on sight. Unfortunately, he was engaged in conversation and I didn't want to be rude and bug him while he was "off-duty". So the opportunity to meet one of my animation heroes passed me by. Oh well. Maybe next year.
Greg Weisman - I made a point of tracking down the chief architect of the "Gargoyles" universe at the Slave Labor Graphics booth. I got a promo poster signed by him, artist David Hedgecock, and colorist Will Terrell. I'm pleased and amazed to say that Greg remembered me from the Station 8 comment room. He wrote "Welcome to the clan" on my poster, which I assume he does for everyone, but it still made me happy/
Andy Runton - I really would have liked a sketch from Andy Runton, but my sketchbook was with Takeshi Miyazawa when I saw him and I would have felt bad going back and asking for a sketch after he already signed a book for me. But I still got a cute little drawing in the latest "Owly" trade.
Billy West - Before I saw him bring the house done at the voice actor panel, I strolled by his booth and saw that he was there. I waited around for a while. listened to him talking to other people, and finally got to speak with him a bit. We chatted about politics (we're on the same page there) and I bought a photo which he signed for Andrew and me. He wrote "Greetings from the Year 3000! It still sucks!", which I can only imagine being said in a Zoidberg voice.
Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine - Les drew in my sketchbook last year. They are nice. Buy their book.
Well, that is not remotely everything I saw and did and bought at the con. But that's the main stuff. It was a lot of fun and even better than last year. Thanks for reading though my mammoth recap. Hope you enjoyed it.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Fun Time
As of late, I've been getting over that cold I got after vacation, dealing with a new and hopefully brief ailment, caring for a sick bunny (who is doing much better now) and other stuff that is not enjoyable. "Kingdom Hearts II" is helpful, but Andrew likes to watch all the cutscenes, so I can't play when he's not here. So I hereby decalre this to be "Fun Time" on my blog. Basicly, that means I'll pick some of the neat things I've seen other people do on their blogs lately and do them on mine. Feel free to do them on yours too. Ready? Here we go!
Wikipedia Fun
The instructions state that you should go to Wikipedia.org and enter your birthdate without the year. List three facts, two births, and one death that occured on that day. I will be taking those numbers as suggested minimums.
Events:
622 - Muhammad completes his hegira from Mecca to Medina. (The oldest one listed for that date. Pretty cool.)
1493 - Christopher Columbus departs on his second expedition to the New World. (In which Columbus took slaves in defiance of an order from the Spanish monarchy not to and imposed a system by which natives who did not turn over a certain amount of gold would get their hands chopped off. Fun guy.)
1789 - The United States Supreme Court and the position of Attorney General are established. (Two brnaches of government were not enough.)
1789 - The United States Post Office Department is established. (Prior to this, people jus threw letters out their windows as paper airplanes.)
1852 - The first airship is displayed. (Laying the groundwork for thos to come in "Final Fantasy".)
1869 - "Black Friday": Gold prices plummet as Jay Gould and James Fisk plot to control the market. (Yeah, there are a couple of these "not so good" events in here)
1890 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounces polygamy. (They later moved on to making informative PSAs to teach kids morals.)
1957 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends United States National Guard troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation. (No quip for this one.)
1962 - United States court of appeals orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith. (I guess that thing in 1957 didn't fix everything.)
2005 - Hurricane Rita makes landfall in the United States, devastating Beaumont, Texas and portions of southwestern Louisiana. (One of only two events for that date in my life time and it has to be this.)
Births:
1564 - William Adams, British navigator and samurai (How many people can claim both of those on their resume?)
1724 - Sir Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer (Yes, that Guiness)
1755 - John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States (Longest tenure as Chief Justice in the court's history.)
1871 - Lottie Dod, English athlete (Listed by the 1803 fellow's Book fo World Records as the Most Versatile Feamle Athlete.
1896 - F. Scott Fitzgerald, American novelist (I read "The Great Gatsby" in high school.)
1936 - Jim Henson, American puppeteer (d. 1990) (I actually knew this already.)
1941 - Linda McCartney, American singer and activist (d. 1998) (And she was on "The Simpsons". Just like...)
1948 - Phil Hartman, Canadian actor (d. 1998) (Knew this too. Died too young, along with Jim Henson.)
1950 - Alan Colmes, American talk show host (Oh goody.)
1958 - Kevin Sorbo, American actor (Cool!)
1959 - Steve Whitmire, American voice actor (Probably made for a big birthday celebration at Henson Studios.)
Deaths (not nearly as many):
768 - Pippin the Short, King of the Franks (But did they call him that while he was alive?)
1991 - Dr. Seuss, American children's writer (b. 1904) (Pretty sure I knew that too.)
Whoo, that took a while. OK, what's next?
Stupid Pet Fun
Apparently, hedgehogs eat strawberries and bounce. There's a decent variety of animals available, including a wolf. (I'm looking at you, Kim.)
I'm poking around, but nothing else is striking me asomething fun to do with my blog. So here's a favorite clip of mine off of YouTube.
Actual news sometime later, maybe.
Wikipedia Fun
The instructions state that you should go to Wikipedia.org and enter your birthdate without the year. List three facts, two births, and one death that occured on that day. I will be taking those numbers as suggested minimums.
Events:
622 - Muhammad completes his hegira from Mecca to Medina. (The oldest one listed for that date. Pretty cool.)
1493 - Christopher Columbus departs on his second expedition to the New World. (In which Columbus took slaves in defiance of an order from the Spanish monarchy not to and imposed a system by which natives who did not turn over a certain amount of gold would get their hands chopped off. Fun guy.)
1789 - The United States Supreme Court and the position of Attorney General are established. (Two brnaches of government were not enough.)
1789 - The United States Post Office Department is established. (Prior to this, people jus threw letters out their windows as paper airplanes.)
1852 - The first airship is displayed. (Laying the groundwork for thos to come in "Final Fantasy".)
1869 - "Black Friday": Gold prices plummet as Jay Gould and James Fisk plot to control the market. (Yeah, there are a couple of these "not so good" events in here)
1890 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounces polygamy. (They later moved on to making informative PSAs to teach kids morals.)
1957 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends United States National Guard troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation. (No quip for this one.)
1962 - United States court of appeals orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith. (I guess that thing in 1957 didn't fix everything.)
2005 - Hurricane Rita makes landfall in the United States, devastating Beaumont, Texas and portions of southwestern Louisiana. (One of only two events for that date in my life time and it has to be this.)
Births:
1564 - William Adams, British navigator and samurai (How many people can claim both of those on their resume?)
1724 - Sir Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer (Yes, that Guiness)
1755 - John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States (Longest tenure as Chief Justice in the court's history.)
1871 - Lottie Dod, English athlete (Listed by the 1803 fellow's Book fo World Records as the Most Versatile Feamle Athlete.
1896 - F. Scott Fitzgerald, American novelist (I read "The Great Gatsby" in high school.)
1936 - Jim Henson, American puppeteer (d. 1990) (I actually knew this already.)
1941 - Linda McCartney, American singer and activist (d. 1998) (And she was on "The Simpsons". Just like...)
1948 - Phil Hartman, Canadian actor (d. 1998) (Knew this too. Died too young, along with Jim Henson.)
1950 - Alan Colmes, American talk show host (Oh goody.)
1958 - Kevin Sorbo, American actor (Cool!)
1959 - Steve Whitmire, American voice actor (Probably made for a big birthday celebration at Henson Studios.)
Deaths (not nearly as many):
768 - Pippin the Short, King of the Franks (But did they call him that while he was alive?)
1991 - Dr. Seuss, American children's writer (b. 1904) (Pretty sure I knew that too.)
Whoo, that took a while. OK, what's next?
Stupid Pet Fun
| adopt your own virtual pet! |
Apparently, hedgehogs eat strawberries and bounce. There's a decent variety of animals available, including a wolf. (I'm looking at you, Kim.)
I'm poking around, but nothing else is striking me asomething fun to do with my blog. So here's a favorite clip of mine off of YouTube.
Actual news sometime later, maybe.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Vacation Wrap-Up
We got back from our trip to Orlando yesterday. From warm weather and theme parks to 28 degrees and bills. Whee.
We had two pre-trip problems. One was that I did not realize when I booked our vacation that "Pirates of the Caribbean", one of our favorite rides, would be closed during the whole month of March. We'll just have to make do with the soundtrack CD I got for Andrew last year for a while longer. The more worrying thing was when my debit card stopped working. I called up my bank and found that some weird charges to me card had been attempted (but didn't go through) and the bank had decided to cancel my debit card and send me a new one. Of course, I discovered this the day before we left. Thank goodness for our credit card.
Aside from these headaches, we did have a nice time in Disney World. Here's a park-by-park rundown:
Disney-MGM Studios - We checked out some old favorites like Star Tours, MuppetVision 3D, and the Great Movie Ride, but this is still probably the park with the least for us to do. We checked out Walt Disney: One Man's Dream, a museum exhibit type of show about the life of Walt Disney. We found it interesting, but it seemed strange that the creative minds at Disney Imagineering couldn't come up with anything more than a rather typical exhibit to explore the life of the Disney Company's founder and guiding force. We also checked out the "Chronicles of Narnia" exhibit, and I'm sorry to say I was hugely disappointed. You wait in a fairly lengthy line and go through an extensive pre-show to see....clips from the movie and about six props and maquettes. Perhaps this was more exciting before the movie came out, but as it was, it felt like a lot of buildup for very little payoff. We stuck around the park all day mostly because we had priority seating for Fantasmic!, the park's night show. I enjoyed seeing it again, but in hindsight, I think Andrew might have preferred the SpectroMagic parade at the Magic Kingdom, or skipping the nighttime shows altogether.
Epcot - We spent two partial days here, one largely dedicated to the World Showcase, the other for Future World. We skipped the few rides in World Showcase this time. We ate at the counter service restaurant in Japan, which was pretty good, and I managed not to make a total idiot of myself with the chopsticks. Conveniently, Japan was having an exhibit on tin toys, so we went and checked that out. Then we headed to Germany for drinks and France for pastries. We didn't hit Norway until our next visit, when we checked out the small exhibit on Vikings. The rest of our time was spent browsing the shops. Future World has been a bit of a letdown for us in recent years. The lack of recent updates to the park's rides and attractions means that today's Future World just isn't very futuristic. We did very much enjoy "Turtle Talk with Crush", part of the Living Seas recent "Finding Nemo" makeover. A CG Crush talks and interacts with the audience in real time, taking questions from the audience and asking them questions in return. It's one of Epcot's recent highlights and it's even been changed up since the first time I saw it. We rode on Spaceship Earth, a.k.a. the big golf ball at the entrance to Epcot, which we both agreed could use updating in both technology and content. For a show about communication, it feels just a bit behind the times (and a bit West-centric too). We picked up FastPasses (time stamped tickets that allow you to come back later and wait in a shorter line) for "Soarin'", Epcot's newest attraction which had a whopping 80 minute wait in the normal line. If you're familiar with the Massachusetts Museum of Science, Soarin' is much like the Omni theater with a seating rig that pulls you up into the air and tilts in various direction to suggest movement. As its name suggests, Soarin' is a very gentle ride, so unless you get motion sickness easily, you probably won't be losing your lunch. It was kind of fun, but we really though it could have been better. It's not very long and the film has abrupt cuts every few minutes that spoil the illusion of real flight. I'm glad we saw it, but I'm extremely glad we didn't wait around for over an hour to do so. We made an attempt to see Journey into Imagination, having heard that it had been revamped since a very disappointing redo we saw several years ago. Unfortunately, the ride was out of order when we went, so no visit with Figment this time.
Animal Kingdom - Andrew had never been to Animal Kingdom before, and I was eager to show him the rides I liked. We went on the day when the park opened an hour early and zipped over to Kilamanjaro Safari, which rewarded us with a brisk 10 minute wait time. Of all the parks, Animal Kingdom is the one where it's most critical to try and get there early, since the midday sun drives the animals into the shade. Again, our timing was good and we saw numerous animals at very close distances. After lots of photos, we caught the 3D movie It's Tough to be a Bug, which also greeted us with short lines. We had a good time and Andrew was impressed with the audio-animatronic Hopper. Our last big attraction stop was Dinosaur, which was probably the most extreme ride we went on during our visit. It's not a roller coaster, but it does take place in the dark and shake you around quite a bit as you ride by ocassionally loud dinosaurs. We both had fun, but wished there was just a little more to it. After that, we went at a more leisurely pace. Animal Kingdom features two animal viewing trails, one in Africa and one in Asia. We took both, and caught a show about birds before heading home for the day.
Magic Kingdom - Disney World's premiere park was our first and last stop. At Andrew's request, we rode the Haunted Mansion 4 times during our stay. The first was a little disappointing, as the ride was stopped for a while before we could get on and some of the effects weren't working right. But all was fixed for our subsequent rides. With a detailed dark ride like Haunted Mansion, you do notice more and more things as you ride it again and again, so neither of us got bored. We stopped by many other old favorites like Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's Scary Adventures,and others. There were a few new rides since Andrew was last there, which we made a point of seeing. Stitch's Great Escape is cute in parts, but a little thin in content with too much reused from its former incarnation as Alien Encounter, which I preferred. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was also a little light on story and complex animatronics, but it does use some very simple and effective visual tricks. We both really liked the 3D show Mickey's PhilharMagic, which has Donald running through various classic Disney musical numbers in pursuit of Mickey's sorcerer hat. I had though we were going to skip It's a Small World, but Andrew decided it would be a nice way to end our visit. We were both glad that we did. The refurbishment that closed it down on my last visit resulted in a new facade of geometric architecture and a working clock, reminiscentappearancede's appearence at Disneyland. Inside, the ride had been touched up, most notably with new lighting which did wonders for the look of the show.
Our flight back to Boston went smoothly. The bunnies got a good report card from their sitter and we are settling back into our normal routinessouvenirs our souveniers and photos should be arriving in the mail sometime soon. I'll post any good picture we may have.
We had two pre-trip problems. One was that I did not realize when I booked our vacation that "Pirates of the Caribbean", one of our favorite rides, would be closed during the whole month of March. We'll just have to make do with the soundtrack CD I got for Andrew last year for a while longer. The more worrying thing was when my debit card stopped working. I called up my bank and found that some weird charges to me card had been attempted (but didn't go through) and the bank had decided to cancel my debit card and send me a new one. Of course, I discovered this the day before we left. Thank goodness for our credit card.
Aside from these headaches, we did have a nice time in Disney World. Here's a park-by-park rundown:
Disney-MGM Studios - We checked out some old favorites like Star Tours, MuppetVision 3D, and the Great Movie Ride, but this is still probably the park with the least for us to do. We checked out Walt Disney: One Man's Dream, a museum exhibit type of show about the life of Walt Disney. We found it interesting, but it seemed strange that the creative minds at Disney Imagineering couldn't come up with anything more than a rather typical exhibit to explore the life of the Disney Company's founder and guiding force. We also checked out the "Chronicles of Narnia" exhibit, and I'm sorry to say I was hugely disappointed. You wait in a fairly lengthy line and go through an extensive pre-show to see....clips from the movie and about six props and maquettes. Perhaps this was more exciting before the movie came out, but as it was, it felt like a lot of buildup for very little payoff. We stuck around the park all day mostly because we had priority seating for Fantasmic!, the park's night show. I enjoyed seeing it again, but in hindsight, I think Andrew might have preferred the SpectroMagic parade at the Magic Kingdom, or skipping the nighttime shows altogether.
Epcot - We spent two partial days here, one largely dedicated to the World Showcase, the other for Future World. We skipped the few rides in World Showcase this time. We ate at the counter service restaurant in Japan, which was pretty good, and I managed not to make a total idiot of myself with the chopsticks. Conveniently, Japan was having an exhibit on tin toys, so we went and checked that out. Then we headed to Germany for drinks and France for pastries. We didn't hit Norway until our next visit, when we checked out the small exhibit on Vikings. The rest of our time was spent browsing the shops. Future World has been a bit of a letdown for us in recent years. The lack of recent updates to the park's rides and attractions means that today's Future World just isn't very futuristic. We did very much enjoy "Turtle Talk with Crush", part of the Living Seas recent "Finding Nemo" makeover. A CG Crush talks and interacts with the audience in real time, taking questions from the audience and asking them questions in return. It's one of Epcot's recent highlights and it's even been changed up since the first time I saw it. We rode on Spaceship Earth, a.k.a. the big golf ball at the entrance to Epcot, which we both agreed could use updating in both technology and content. For a show about communication, it feels just a bit behind the times (and a bit West-centric too). We picked up FastPasses (time stamped tickets that allow you to come back later and wait in a shorter line) for "Soarin'", Epcot's newest attraction which had a whopping 80 minute wait in the normal line. If you're familiar with the Massachusetts Museum of Science, Soarin' is much like the Omni theater with a seating rig that pulls you up into the air and tilts in various direction to suggest movement. As its name suggests, Soarin' is a very gentle ride, so unless you get motion sickness easily, you probably won't be losing your lunch. It was kind of fun, but we really though it could have been better. It's not very long and the film has abrupt cuts every few minutes that spoil the illusion of real flight. I'm glad we saw it, but I'm extremely glad we didn't wait around for over an hour to do so. We made an attempt to see Journey into Imagination, having heard that it had been revamped since a very disappointing redo we saw several years ago. Unfortunately, the ride was out of order when we went, so no visit with Figment this time.
Animal Kingdom - Andrew had never been to Animal Kingdom before, and I was eager to show him the rides I liked. We went on the day when the park opened an hour early and zipped over to Kilamanjaro Safari, which rewarded us with a brisk 10 minute wait time. Of all the parks, Animal Kingdom is the one where it's most critical to try and get there early, since the midday sun drives the animals into the shade. Again, our timing was good and we saw numerous animals at very close distances. After lots of photos, we caught the 3D movie It's Tough to be a Bug, which also greeted us with short lines. We had a good time and Andrew was impressed with the audio-animatronic Hopper. Our last big attraction stop was Dinosaur, which was probably the most extreme ride we went on during our visit. It's not a roller coaster, but it does take place in the dark and shake you around quite a bit as you ride by ocassionally loud dinosaurs. We both had fun, but wished there was just a little more to it. After that, we went at a more leisurely pace. Animal Kingdom features two animal viewing trails, one in Africa and one in Asia. We took both, and caught a show about birds before heading home for the day.
Magic Kingdom - Disney World's premiere park was our first and last stop. At Andrew's request, we rode the Haunted Mansion 4 times during our stay. The first was a little disappointing, as the ride was stopped for a while before we could get on and some of the effects weren't working right. But all was fixed for our subsequent rides. With a detailed dark ride like Haunted Mansion, you do notice more and more things as you ride it again and again, so neither of us got bored. We stopped by many other old favorites like Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's Scary Adventures,and others. There were a few new rides since Andrew was last there, which we made a point of seeing. Stitch's Great Escape is cute in parts, but a little thin in content with too much reused from its former incarnation as Alien Encounter, which I preferred. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was also a little light on story and complex animatronics, but it does use some very simple and effective visual tricks. We both really liked the 3D show Mickey's PhilharMagic, which has Donald running through various classic Disney musical numbers in pursuit of Mickey's sorcerer hat. I had though we were going to skip It's a Small World, but Andrew decided it would be a nice way to end our visit. We were both glad that we did. The refurbishment that closed it down on my last visit resulted in a new facade of geometric architecture and a working clock, reminiscentappearancede's appearence at Disneyland. Inside, the ride had been touched up, most notably with new lighting which did wonders for the look of the show.
Our flight back to Boston went smoothly. The bunnies got a good report card from their sitter and we are settling back into our normal routinessouvenirs our souveniers and photos should be arriving in the mail sometime soon. I'll post any good picture we may have.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Vacation
It's time for a vacation. If you've lived in New England, you know why. While the snow hasn't been to insane this year aside from the occasional blizzard, it is cold. The weather widget I have says it is currently around 18 degrees. I was just out mailing some packages and that seems about right, though it's worse with the added wind. I haven't been on vacation since my trip to Portland last September and Andrew hasn't been on one since July. So we're more than ready to take off for a while.
I don't think anyone will be surprised to hear that we're going to Disney World. We had a few other destinations in mind for a while, but due in no small part to the aforementioned cold, Orlando won out. Aside from the Disney factor, the nostalgia factor, and the fun factor, what I like about vacationing in Disney World is how easy it is. Once you actually get there, your biggest concern is usually the lines, and we're going at a somewhat off time in hopes of cutting down on those. You don't really have to worry about how you'll get to the next thing you want to see or whether there's anywhere to eat nearby or how you'll get back to your hotel at the end of the day. It's all laid out for you. This in contrast to our trip to the San Diego Comic Con last year. We did have fun and will try to go again this year, but that is NOT a relaxing vacation. Trust me, the worst lines in Disney World do not compare to simply trying to get around the convention floor at Comic Con. And after staying at a hotel some distance from the convention center, we found that we are not fond of San Diego's trolley system, which had a habit of getting stuck for long periods of time and taking forever to reach its destination.
So the reservations are made, the bunnysitter has been booked, and all that's left is to wait until it's time to go and get packing. If we end up with any good photos, I'll try to put them up at a later date along with a rundown of our trip. Until then, I just hope the weather here warms up just a smidge.
I don't think anyone will be surprised to hear that we're going to Disney World. We had a few other destinations in mind for a while, but due in no small part to the aforementioned cold, Orlando won out. Aside from the Disney factor, the nostalgia factor, and the fun factor, what I like about vacationing in Disney World is how easy it is. Once you actually get there, your biggest concern is usually the lines, and we're going at a somewhat off time in hopes of cutting down on those. You don't really have to worry about how you'll get to the next thing you want to see or whether there's anywhere to eat nearby or how you'll get back to your hotel at the end of the day. It's all laid out for you. This in contrast to our trip to the San Diego Comic Con last year. We did have fun and will try to go again this year, but that is NOT a relaxing vacation. Trust me, the worst lines in Disney World do not compare to simply trying to get around the convention floor at Comic Con. And after staying at a hotel some distance from the convention center, we found that we are not fond of San Diego's trolley system, which had a habit of getting stuck for long periods of time and taking forever to reach its destination.
So the reservations are made, the bunnysitter has been booked, and all that's left is to wait until it's time to go and get packing. If we end up with any good photos, I'll try to put them up at a later date along with a rundown of our trip. Until then, I just hope the weather here warms up just a smidge.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Animation Talk: Good News From Disney
Been a while since I wrote one of these. I figured when I did the first one that I would be putting the out quite frequently, but then I had other outlets for my animation related opinions. Now I'm limited to anyone I can get to listen to me and the blog. So I should probably get back to writing my animation thoughts here, where people can choose to read or ignore them, rather than making some unfortunate and handy soul listen to me rant.
Okay, I'm guessing most of you heard already that Disney has bought Pixar. The move is already the source of some debate: Did Disney pay too much? Should they have tried to continue building their own studio back up rather than buying the current animation king? Will Pixar's winning streak continue long enough for Disney to get its money's worth? But that's not what's on my mind right now. What I want to talk about today is some Disney related news that was reported here. I mention this largely because I haven't seen any confirmation of these events yet. So I don't know if it's all true or not. So take everything I say from here on with a big grain of salt.
In case you decided not to read the article, here's the scoop. When Disney bought Pixar, John Lasseter, probably the name most closely associated with Pixar, took on some pretty hefty new responsibilities. And according to this story, Lasseter is looking to make some changes over and Disney Feature Animation. Specifically, he's looking to take out the middleman. In the case of Disney Feature Animation, the middlemen are those business types who mostly do not have a creative bone in their body, but nonetheless think that they know how to make an animated film. They're the guys who want to play it safe, repeat the successes of the past, chock every film full of marketable characters, and generally keep the real creative people from doing what they do well. When the end product fails to make money, they're quick to place the blame on the creative people.
If this is true, it's really good news. Many animation fans and pundits have long cited the interference of business interests as the reason for Disney animation's generally poor performance over the past decade or so. And I think one of the reasons for Pixar's success is that nearly every one of their pictures has a major creative force behind it. A Pixar film is someone's vision, someone's baby. Many people contribute to the final product, but there's usually one guy whose job is to protect the integrity of the original idea. Books and toys and rides can come later; while the film is being made, the story is the important thing. If Disney can really start being a place that nurtures stories and ideas again, it could regain its place as the major force in animation.
The second item (it's not the second in the article, but it's the next one I want to do) is the only one that we seem to be a little more certain about. One of Lasseter's first moves in his new job at Disney was to stop production on Toy Story 3. This is also good news. I think the recent trend of Disney producing sequels to everything exemplifies what is wrong with the company's approach to animated films. In their rush to cash in on hot properties, they've turned the Disney films and characters from special events to omnipresent background noise. I can remember when the new Disney animated film was a really big event, something worth waiting for. Now, between sequels pushed in to theaters, sequels on DVD, and the regular dose of Winnie the Pooh, Disney films are a much more regular occurrence, to the point where it's become a little more mundane. Sequels do even further damage; a poor sequel can cheapen people's memory of the original. A series of bad sequels can cause the original to become lost in all the mediocrity as parents stop enjoying the movies with their kids and start using them as convenient babysitters. If there are too be sequels, they should be made by the original team if at all possible and only when there is a story idea that can live up to the original (see "Toy Story 2").
What isn't as certain is the other part to this story, which says that Lasseter may be keeping Circle 7 - the studio Disney set up to make "Toy Story 3" and possible future sequels to the Disney owned Pixar films - open. While he understandably didn't much like the idea of anyone else producing continuations of the movies he and his colleagues had made, he did reportedly like some of the work they were doing. So what might we see from Circle 7, if they do in fact remain open? That's not really clear yet. Maybe they'd provide extra manpower on feature films, maybe they'd do slightly lower level work like animation for TV or the parks. Right now, it's wide open.
Speaking of the Disney parks, Walt Disney Imagineering is another area where Lasseter will apparently now have some major sway. According to the article, he's using his clout to do two things with the department responsible for keeping the Happiest Places on Earth happy. One is to direct some much needed cash flow to Imagineering. The story for the past few decades has been that the imagineers have a lot of great ideas for rides and attractions, but the money to make them really work or even get the projects off the drawing board just isn't there. Enter big time fan of the Disney parks Lasseter, and a Disney company that apparently really wants to keep him happy, and somehow you end up with a promise of more money for Imagineering. So what's Lasseter's vision for the parks? Well, this is the one point where things get a little iffy. Supposedly, Lasseter wants to start putting rides into production at the same time as the movies that they're based on. So in theory, had this system been in place back in the 90s, you could have gone to see "Beauty and the Beast" in theaters, headed over to the nearest Disney park, and taken your place in line for the attraction based on the movie.
At first blush, it sounds good. Wouldn't it be great to be able to reap the benefits of a hit film while it's in theaters and fresh in the public consciousness by having a matching attraction right there the minute the audience has an appetite for it? To a degree, yes. But a lot of conditions have to be met for this idea to work. For one, the film needs to actually get made. This may not sound so tough, but more than one feature film in animation history was scrapped before making it to the screen. If a film in progress gets canned, then both the feature animation department and Imagineering would have wasted time and money on something that won't ever see the light of day (barring any clever repurposing of some concepts on Imagineering's part). And even when a film does get made, any number of scenes may be cut before the story is finalized. What if the big action sequence a film's tie-in ride is based around gets rewritten or dropped entirely? Finally, there's the problem of deciding which films merit rides. To keep things sane, we probably won't see an attraction for every "jungle Book 2" or "Pooh's Heffalump Movie" that comes along. But even some of the classic features may not really make great ride material. People may like "101 Dalmatians", but does that mean they'll want a ride based on it? In addition to films that don't quite lend themselves to becoming a theme park attraction, there are the films that just don't do very well. Fans have already been wondering what would have happened had this policy been in place for "Atlantis", "Treasure Planet", and "Home on the Range", among others. While some of these films have sequences that would have made great rides, people aren't going to line up if they didn't see the movie. A stage show, a parade, or a couple of costumes can be packed away if the film they come from fizzles. But if you build an attraction, that's going to be around for quite a while. So the question is, who's going to be the one to say: "I think this is a nice little film, but I'm not quite seeing blockbuster and there's really not much potential for a good ride."
All in all though, this is some pretty good news from parts of Disney that haven't had much good news as of late. It may be some time yet before we see the results of these policies, assuming the account of events is even accurate. But I am actually starting to feel hopeful that Disney might be on the road to recapturing its former glory.
Okay, I'm guessing most of you heard already that Disney has bought Pixar. The move is already the source of some debate: Did Disney pay too much? Should they have tried to continue building their own studio back up rather than buying the current animation king? Will Pixar's winning streak continue long enough for Disney to get its money's worth? But that's not what's on my mind right now. What I want to talk about today is some Disney related news that was reported here. I mention this largely because I haven't seen any confirmation of these events yet. So I don't know if it's all true or not. So take everything I say from here on with a big grain of salt.
In case you decided not to read the article, here's the scoop. When Disney bought Pixar, John Lasseter, probably the name most closely associated with Pixar, took on some pretty hefty new responsibilities. And according to this story, Lasseter is looking to make some changes over and Disney Feature Animation. Specifically, he's looking to take out the middleman. In the case of Disney Feature Animation, the middlemen are those business types who mostly do not have a creative bone in their body, but nonetheless think that they know how to make an animated film. They're the guys who want to play it safe, repeat the successes of the past, chock every film full of marketable characters, and generally keep the real creative people from doing what they do well. When the end product fails to make money, they're quick to place the blame on the creative people.
If this is true, it's really good news. Many animation fans and pundits have long cited the interference of business interests as the reason for Disney animation's generally poor performance over the past decade or so. And I think one of the reasons for Pixar's success is that nearly every one of their pictures has a major creative force behind it. A Pixar film is someone's vision, someone's baby. Many people contribute to the final product, but there's usually one guy whose job is to protect the integrity of the original idea. Books and toys and rides can come later; while the film is being made, the story is the important thing. If Disney can really start being a place that nurtures stories and ideas again, it could regain its place as the major force in animation.
The second item (it's not the second in the article, but it's the next one I want to do) is the only one that we seem to be a little more certain about. One of Lasseter's first moves in his new job at Disney was to stop production on Toy Story 3. This is also good news. I think the recent trend of Disney producing sequels to everything exemplifies what is wrong with the company's approach to animated films. In their rush to cash in on hot properties, they've turned the Disney films and characters from special events to omnipresent background noise. I can remember when the new Disney animated film was a really big event, something worth waiting for. Now, between sequels pushed in to theaters, sequels on DVD, and the regular dose of Winnie the Pooh, Disney films are a much more regular occurrence, to the point where it's become a little more mundane. Sequels do even further damage; a poor sequel can cheapen people's memory of the original. A series of bad sequels can cause the original to become lost in all the mediocrity as parents stop enjoying the movies with their kids and start using them as convenient babysitters. If there are too be sequels, they should be made by the original team if at all possible and only when there is a story idea that can live up to the original (see "Toy Story 2").
What isn't as certain is the other part to this story, which says that Lasseter may be keeping Circle 7 - the studio Disney set up to make "Toy Story 3" and possible future sequels to the Disney owned Pixar films - open. While he understandably didn't much like the idea of anyone else producing continuations of the movies he and his colleagues had made, he did reportedly like some of the work they were doing. So what might we see from Circle 7, if they do in fact remain open? That's not really clear yet. Maybe they'd provide extra manpower on feature films, maybe they'd do slightly lower level work like animation for TV or the parks. Right now, it's wide open.
Speaking of the Disney parks, Walt Disney Imagineering is another area where Lasseter will apparently now have some major sway. According to the article, he's using his clout to do two things with the department responsible for keeping the Happiest Places on Earth happy. One is to direct some much needed cash flow to Imagineering. The story for the past few decades has been that the imagineers have a lot of great ideas for rides and attractions, but the money to make them really work or even get the projects off the drawing board just isn't there. Enter big time fan of the Disney parks Lasseter, and a Disney company that apparently really wants to keep him happy, and somehow you end up with a promise of more money for Imagineering. So what's Lasseter's vision for the parks? Well, this is the one point where things get a little iffy. Supposedly, Lasseter wants to start putting rides into production at the same time as the movies that they're based on. So in theory, had this system been in place back in the 90s, you could have gone to see "Beauty and the Beast" in theaters, headed over to the nearest Disney park, and taken your place in line for the attraction based on the movie.
At first blush, it sounds good. Wouldn't it be great to be able to reap the benefits of a hit film while it's in theaters and fresh in the public consciousness by having a matching attraction right there the minute the audience has an appetite for it? To a degree, yes. But a lot of conditions have to be met for this idea to work. For one, the film needs to actually get made. This may not sound so tough, but more than one feature film in animation history was scrapped before making it to the screen. If a film in progress gets canned, then both the feature animation department and Imagineering would have wasted time and money on something that won't ever see the light of day (barring any clever repurposing of some concepts on Imagineering's part). And even when a film does get made, any number of scenes may be cut before the story is finalized. What if the big action sequence a film's tie-in ride is based around gets rewritten or dropped entirely? Finally, there's the problem of deciding which films merit rides. To keep things sane, we probably won't see an attraction for every "jungle Book 2" or "Pooh's Heffalump Movie" that comes along. But even some of the classic features may not really make great ride material. People may like "101 Dalmatians", but does that mean they'll want a ride based on it? In addition to films that don't quite lend themselves to becoming a theme park attraction, there are the films that just don't do very well. Fans have already been wondering what would have happened had this policy been in place for "Atlantis", "Treasure Planet", and "Home on the Range", among others. While some of these films have sequences that would have made great rides, people aren't going to line up if they didn't see the movie. A stage show, a parade, or a couple of costumes can be packed away if the film they come from fizzles. But if you build an attraction, that's going to be around for quite a while. So the question is, who's going to be the one to say: "I think this is a nice little film, but I'm not quite seeing blockbuster and there's really not much potential for a good ride."
All in all though, this is some pretty good news from parts of Disney that haven't had much good news as of late. It may be some time yet before we see the results of these policies, assuming the account of events is even accurate. But I am actually starting to feel hopeful that Disney might be on the road to recapturing its former glory.
Monday, December 26, 2005
The Betrayal of Susan
We went to see "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe", though at the price of having to drive through a nasty and rather unexpected blizzard in which the car got stuck twice. I liked the movie. It wasn't 100% perfect, but I thought it was very faithful to the spirit of the book and all the additions made were good and justified.
As days went on and I found myself with a copy of the Making Of book of the movie (and early Christmas present from two people I still have to meet), I found myself thinking about the series quite a bit. I've only re-read the first two books (chronological order), but I remember the whole series fairly well. Specifically, I started to think about the final book in the series, "The Last Battle". (Yes, I know I need to change the name of my story. It was just a placeholder anyway.) I don't hear many people say it's their favorite of the series. It's kind of a tough read. This is the Narnia version of the end of the world, which means a lot of characters dying. I distinctly recall putting the book down for a while because a passage about the death of a bear was just too much for me.
But there's another reason a lot of people find "The Last Battle" rather harsh. See, if you read the books in publication order (Which I think works better if you're reading them for the first time), you learned about Narnia with the four Pevensie children. Gradually, you meet other children from our world who get to visit Narnia. "The Last Battle" gathers them all together again and returns them to Narnia. Well, all except one. If you haven't guessed who, then you aren't paying much attention to the title of this entry. But I'll show you how it's explained:
"Sir," said Tirian, when he had greeted all these. If I have read the chronicle aright, there should be another. Has not your Majesty two sisters? Where is Queen Susan?"
"My sister Susan," answered Peter shortly and gravely, "is no longer a friend of Narnia."
"Yes," said Eustace, "and whenever you've tried to get her to come and talk about Narnia or do anything about Narnia, she says 'What wonderful memories you have! Fancy your still thinking about all those funny games we used to play when we were children.'"
"Oh Susan!"said Jill. "She's interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations. She always was a jolly sight too keen on being grown-up."
"Grown-up, indeed," said the Lady Polly. "I wish she would grow up. She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she'll waste all the rest of her life trying to stay that age. Her whole idea is to race on to the silliest time of one's life as quick as she can and then stop there as long as she can."
Now C.S. Lewis was writing in the 1950s, which make could make sexism on his part somewhat forgivable. Fantasy author Neil Gaiman, best known for the "Sandman" comics series, is not so forgiving, feeling that Lewis is all around harsh on female characters who are not young girls or old women or friendly beavers. He's apparently written a short story entitled "The Problem of Susan", dealing with this very idea. I haven't read it yet, and that's partly why I'm writing this now; I want to get my thoughts on the subject out before I read his and start to be influenced by them.
Re-reading this passage, I'm especially surprised by Jill's lines. As far as I remember, Jill never actually met Susan in the course of the books. Yet here she is, talking about how Susan was always too eager to reach maturity.
I've seen some fans of the Narnia books act very much like Jill. With the clear-eyed vision that only hindsight can bring, they look down their noses at Susan. And there certainly are fairly legitimate reasons to do this. A reader can't help but feel sort of betrayed by Susan. It seems almost unthinkable that one of the few children to be able to go into Narnia - an enviable experience for most readers - would turn her back on the kingdom as its darkest hour approaches. For some readers, it may hit a little close to home, reminding them of someone they knew once who suddenly renounced all childhood in favor of "maturity", possibly leaving a few people behind in the process.
For, to be fair, there is no shortage of adolescent girls like Susan. You can find them in any high school, middle school, or increasingly, elementary school. They're the ones who seem to disappear into the school bathroom for unusually long amounts of time, the ones who start wearing revealing clothing and makeup long before it looks remotely appropriate, the ones who seem to believe that female existence revolves around the teenage years, with particular emphasis on sixteen through seventeen. Various media sources, magazines, and products encourage them in their thinking. As for those women who spend the rest of their lives trying to stay at that age, pop culture is littered with them. There's no denying that Lewis's vision of the older Susan has a basis in reality.
But I can't quite bring myself to believe that how Susan ends up is only a reflection of how some normal teenage girls end up. Susan is not a normal girl and I think there's something else going on with her. Something a little deeper and a little sadder.
Imagine yourself in Susan's position. You're a child during wartime, shipped away from your home to live with strangers so you'll be safe from enemy attacks. You don't have much say in this or much of anything that happens to you.
And then, you go to Narnia. And suddenly, you're somebody really important. All kinds of fantastic creatures are looking to you and your siblings to save their world from tyrannical rule and eternal winter. You never even dreamed this place existed and yet your coming and your deeds have been foretold. Of course, it's not without danger. Those in power know that you can bring about their downfall and they'll use any means necessary to stop you. But with your siblings and your newfound friends, you succeed. And then, you're queen! The four of you rule the land together and grown into young men and women.
But it can't last. One day, you find yourself back in the world you came from, the same as you were before. If you take the movie's view of the book, you've gained a new wisdom and appreciation for your family. But it still can't be easy, going back to being an ordinary girl after being a queen. So you're probably pretty happy when you get to return to Narnia. It's tough to see how much time has passed in what felt like a short absence, how much has changed. But it's still good to be back.
Then, the bombshell drops. You are told that this is it. You will never be able to return to Narnia.
(This, incidentally, is something of a contradiction, as Aslan tells Peter that he won't be coming back either. He eventually tells Edmund and Lucy the same thing. I'm not sure whether there's some Biblical reference I'm missing or Lewis simply didn't realize at the time that he'd be bringing three of the children back to Narnia some day. Either way, it is a little troubling and I don't recall any given explanation for it.)
So you go home. You know this time for certain that the adventures are over. No more tea with kindly fauns, no more rescuing innocent creatures turned to stone, just regular life like before you even knew Narnia existed. Except now you do know it exists. But no one else does, save your brothers and sister and possibly that eccentric old professor. You can't tell anyone else about your adventures in Narnia, about the wonderful things you saw and did. They would think you were crazy or ill or just making it up. Heck, even you didn't believe your own sister when she first told you about Narnia. So now you're back to being ordinary you. You've grown from your time in Narnia and you've learned things, but you just can't figure out how to put them to use back in your world. Because no one understands and everyone is still treating you like a child. You've got all these adults still bossing you around and acting like manners and homework and proper nutrition are the most important things in the world. And it's not so much that they aren't treating you like a queen; it's that you've grown so much and no one seems to see that. And all the while, you see all these adults running the country and the world and making a total mess of it and you know you could do better because you did. But n one here is going to give you a chance.
I do realize that the element of the spiritual is an important one in the Chronicles of Narnia, even though you can happily read through them without being at all aware of it. I don't feel I'm really qualified to discuss it too deeply as it relates to Susan. I'll just say that I think it would be very hard to go from a world where the savior figure is very near and physically present and you can get close enough to touch him and feel his breath and even play with him after his resurrection, to one where the savior figure your seeking might seem more distant and less tangible. Religion is tricky and personal, so I'll leave it at that.
Anyway, there you sit, becoming more and more certain that your best days are behind you and nothing you do in this world will ever be as wonderful or as meaningful as what you did back in Narnia. What do you do? How do you keep yourself going? What's your new purpose in life when it seems like destiny is done with you?
I, at least, like to think pretty well of myself. So I'd like to imagine that I'd use what I'd learned from my time in Narnia to put my energy into curing diseases or ending wars or running for prime minister or some such thing. But I can see, and I hope you can as well, how easy it would be to fall back on something more immediate and more superficial. We are talking about a teenager here, so she's limited in what she can actually accomplish right away. So Susan throws herself into being a stereotypical teenage girl. Her energy goes into getting the right clothes and going to the right parties with the right boys. She makes herself believe the hype that if she does all this, she'll be happy and popular and loved and grown up. And somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows she wants this because she wants to be the woman she was in Narnia again, the queen who everyone thought was beautiful and gentle and wise. The adolescent concept of maturity is a poor substitute for the real thing, but she believes it's the best she can get since Narnia is gone now. And slowly, she convinces herself that Narnia couldn't possibly have been real, because knowing that it was real, but she can never go back, is just too painful. So she convinces herself that Narnia was just a childhood game and that this, what she's doing now, is what life is really all about. And she tells herself she's happy and she's never been happier.
It's not the best reaction to being exiled from your kingdom, but it is an understandable one. C.S. Lewis may have intended Susan's turning away from Narnia to seem more clean cut, more black and white. But I can't just turn my back on her as suddenly as Jill and scoff that Susan was always too eager to grow up. I never saw that in her when I read the books. Her actions, as reported to us, may be poor choices, but they are human ones.
All of this begs the question of how the movies might handle this upsetting idea, assuming they get as far as "The Last Battle". The film's characterization of her is setting her up as scholarly and logical, which may be laying the groundwork for what's to come. And yet, the movie is the story of a family becoming closer and stronger through their magical experiences. And I just can't see Susan's siblings turning their back on her, or allowing others to talk about her in such nasty terms, as they do in the book. Even if it does happen, the movie is a long way off, so I won't know for some time. Meanwhile, I'll be trying to find a copy of Mr. Gaiman's short story. Now that I've got my thoughts out, I want to see what he has to say.
As days went on and I found myself with a copy of the Making Of book of the movie (and early Christmas present from two people I still have to meet), I found myself thinking about the series quite a bit. I've only re-read the first two books (chronological order), but I remember the whole series fairly well. Specifically, I started to think about the final book in the series, "The Last Battle". (Yes, I know I need to change the name of my story. It was just a placeholder anyway.) I don't hear many people say it's their favorite of the series. It's kind of a tough read. This is the Narnia version of the end of the world, which means a lot of characters dying. I distinctly recall putting the book down for a while because a passage about the death of a bear was just too much for me.
But there's another reason a lot of people find "The Last Battle" rather harsh. See, if you read the books in publication order (Which I think works better if you're reading them for the first time), you learned about Narnia with the four Pevensie children. Gradually, you meet other children from our world who get to visit Narnia. "The Last Battle" gathers them all together again and returns them to Narnia. Well, all except one. If you haven't guessed who, then you aren't paying much attention to the title of this entry. But I'll show you how it's explained:
"Sir," said Tirian, when he had greeted all these. If I have read the chronicle aright, there should be another. Has not your Majesty two sisters? Where is Queen Susan?"
"My sister Susan," answered Peter shortly and gravely, "is no longer a friend of Narnia."
"Yes," said Eustace, "and whenever you've tried to get her to come and talk about Narnia or do anything about Narnia, she says 'What wonderful memories you have! Fancy your still thinking about all those funny games we used to play when we were children.'"
"Oh Susan!"said Jill. "She's interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations. She always was a jolly sight too keen on being grown-up."
"Grown-up, indeed," said the Lady Polly. "I wish she would grow up. She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she'll waste all the rest of her life trying to stay that age. Her whole idea is to race on to the silliest time of one's life as quick as she can and then stop there as long as she can."
Now C.S. Lewis was writing in the 1950s, which make could make sexism on his part somewhat forgivable. Fantasy author Neil Gaiman, best known for the "Sandman" comics series, is not so forgiving, feeling that Lewis is all around harsh on female characters who are not young girls or old women or friendly beavers. He's apparently written a short story entitled "The Problem of Susan", dealing with this very idea. I haven't read it yet, and that's partly why I'm writing this now; I want to get my thoughts on the subject out before I read his and start to be influenced by them.
Re-reading this passage, I'm especially surprised by Jill's lines. As far as I remember, Jill never actually met Susan in the course of the books. Yet here she is, talking about how Susan was always too eager to reach maturity.
I've seen some fans of the Narnia books act very much like Jill. With the clear-eyed vision that only hindsight can bring, they look down their noses at Susan. And there certainly are fairly legitimate reasons to do this. A reader can't help but feel sort of betrayed by Susan. It seems almost unthinkable that one of the few children to be able to go into Narnia - an enviable experience for most readers - would turn her back on the kingdom as its darkest hour approaches. For some readers, it may hit a little close to home, reminding them of someone they knew once who suddenly renounced all childhood in favor of "maturity", possibly leaving a few people behind in the process.
For, to be fair, there is no shortage of adolescent girls like Susan. You can find them in any high school, middle school, or increasingly, elementary school. They're the ones who seem to disappear into the school bathroom for unusually long amounts of time, the ones who start wearing revealing clothing and makeup long before it looks remotely appropriate, the ones who seem to believe that female existence revolves around the teenage years, with particular emphasis on sixteen through seventeen. Various media sources, magazines, and products encourage them in their thinking. As for those women who spend the rest of their lives trying to stay at that age, pop culture is littered with them. There's no denying that Lewis's vision of the older Susan has a basis in reality.
But I can't quite bring myself to believe that how Susan ends up is only a reflection of how some normal teenage girls end up. Susan is not a normal girl and I think there's something else going on with her. Something a little deeper and a little sadder.
Imagine yourself in Susan's position. You're a child during wartime, shipped away from your home to live with strangers so you'll be safe from enemy attacks. You don't have much say in this or much of anything that happens to you.
And then, you go to Narnia. And suddenly, you're somebody really important. All kinds of fantastic creatures are looking to you and your siblings to save their world from tyrannical rule and eternal winter. You never even dreamed this place existed and yet your coming and your deeds have been foretold. Of course, it's not without danger. Those in power know that you can bring about their downfall and they'll use any means necessary to stop you. But with your siblings and your newfound friends, you succeed. And then, you're queen! The four of you rule the land together and grown into young men and women.
But it can't last. One day, you find yourself back in the world you came from, the same as you were before. If you take the movie's view of the book, you've gained a new wisdom and appreciation for your family. But it still can't be easy, going back to being an ordinary girl after being a queen. So you're probably pretty happy when you get to return to Narnia. It's tough to see how much time has passed in what felt like a short absence, how much has changed. But it's still good to be back.
Then, the bombshell drops. You are told that this is it. You will never be able to return to Narnia.
(This, incidentally, is something of a contradiction, as Aslan tells Peter that he won't be coming back either. He eventually tells Edmund and Lucy the same thing. I'm not sure whether there's some Biblical reference I'm missing or Lewis simply didn't realize at the time that he'd be bringing three of the children back to Narnia some day. Either way, it is a little troubling and I don't recall any given explanation for it.)
So you go home. You know this time for certain that the adventures are over. No more tea with kindly fauns, no more rescuing innocent creatures turned to stone, just regular life like before you even knew Narnia existed. Except now you do know it exists. But no one else does, save your brothers and sister and possibly that eccentric old professor. You can't tell anyone else about your adventures in Narnia, about the wonderful things you saw and did. They would think you were crazy or ill or just making it up. Heck, even you didn't believe your own sister when she first told you about Narnia. So now you're back to being ordinary you. You've grown from your time in Narnia and you've learned things, but you just can't figure out how to put them to use back in your world. Because no one understands and everyone is still treating you like a child. You've got all these adults still bossing you around and acting like manners and homework and proper nutrition are the most important things in the world. And it's not so much that they aren't treating you like a queen; it's that you've grown so much and no one seems to see that. And all the while, you see all these adults running the country and the world and making a total mess of it and you know you could do better because you did. But n one here is going to give you a chance.
I do realize that the element of the spiritual is an important one in the Chronicles of Narnia, even though you can happily read through them without being at all aware of it. I don't feel I'm really qualified to discuss it too deeply as it relates to Susan. I'll just say that I think it would be very hard to go from a world where the savior figure is very near and physically present and you can get close enough to touch him and feel his breath and even play with him after his resurrection, to one where the savior figure your seeking might seem more distant and less tangible. Religion is tricky and personal, so I'll leave it at that.
Anyway, there you sit, becoming more and more certain that your best days are behind you and nothing you do in this world will ever be as wonderful or as meaningful as what you did back in Narnia. What do you do? How do you keep yourself going? What's your new purpose in life when it seems like destiny is done with you?
I, at least, like to think pretty well of myself. So I'd like to imagine that I'd use what I'd learned from my time in Narnia to put my energy into curing diseases or ending wars or running for prime minister or some such thing. But I can see, and I hope you can as well, how easy it would be to fall back on something more immediate and more superficial. We are talking about a teenager here, so she's limited in what she can actually accomplish right away. So Susan throws herself into being a stereotypical teenage girl. Her energy goes into getting the right clothes and going to the right parties with the right boys. She makes herself believe the hype that if she does all this, she'll be happy and popular and loved and grown up. And somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows she wants this because she wants to be the woman she was in Narnia again, the queen who everyone thought was beautiful and gentle and wise. The adolescent concept of maturity is a poor substitute for the real thing, but she believes it's the best she can get since Narnia is gone now. And slowly, she convinces herself that Narnia couldn't possibly have been real, because knowing that it was real, but she can never go back, is just too painful. So she convinces herself that Narnia was just a childhood game and that this, what she's doing now, is what life is really all about. And she tells herself she's happy and she's never been happier.
It's not the best reaction to being exiled from your kingdom, but it is an understandable one. C.S. Lewis may have intended Susan's turning away from Narnia to seem more clean cut, more black and white. But I can't just turn my back on her as suddenly as Jill and scoff that Susan was always too eager to grow up. I never saw that in her when I read the books. Her actions, as reported to us, may be poor choices, but they are human ones.
All of this begs the question of how the movies might handle this upsetting idea, assuming they get as far as "The Last Battle". The film's characterization of her is setting her up as scholarly and logical, which may be laying the groundwork for what's to come. And yet, the movie is the story of a family becoming closer and stronger through their magical experiences. And I just can't see Susan's siblings turning their back on her, or allowing others to talk about her in such nasty terms, as they do in the book. Even if it does happen, the movie is a long way off, so I won't know for some time. Meanwhile, I'll be trying to find a copy of Mr. Gaiman's short story. Now that I've got my thoughts out, I want to see what he has to say.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
A Blip
This post is largely to explain a brief Blogger hiccup some of you may have noticed. Sometime yesterday, BlogSpot went blooey, leaving everyone who didn't host their Blogger blog on their own webspace sans blog. This is not a big deal for my regular blog, which is updated very infrequently. But it was a problem because I'd just put a new story part up at StormWyvern Press (link to the right). Fortunately, I could still log onto Blogger and view my posts. Only the blogs themselves were gone. Worried that the situation might get worse, I grabbed everything I had written of "The Last Battle" so far and saved it to my computer. Today, everything seems to be fine, though I haven't seen any explanation as to why the outage happened. So I'm posting here largely to let people know that both blogs appear to be up again and there's new content at StormWyvern Press.
We're now fully into the holiday season over here. So far, this mostly means trying to get our shopping done. We've had our first snow that stayed around, measuring in at roughly three inches. We're supposed to get more today. "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" comes out this week and I'll likely go to see it at my earliest convenience. My family - both the human and bunny members - is well and the house is staying relatively warm so far this winter, though we do need to get our windows replaced sometime when the weather is warmer.
So take a look at StormWyvern Press, as that's where the party is these days. Take care.
We're now fully into the holiday season over here. So far, this mostly means trying to get our shopping done. We've had our first snow that stayed around, measuring in at roughly three inches. We're supposed to get more today. "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" comes out this week and I'll likely go to see it at my earliest convenience. My family - both the human and bunny members - is well and the house is staying relatively warm so far this winter, though we do need to get our windows replaced sometime when the weather is warmer.
So take a look at StormWyvern Press, as that's where the party is these days. Take care.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Console Wars: Why the XBox 360 Will Be Stupid
I will almost certainly get a PlayStation3 when it comes out.
I might get a Nintendo Revolution when it comes out.
I was not planning on getting an XBox 360 when it came out (have to draw the line somewhere), but someone online just pointed out a factor that makes me even more certain of my decision.
I don't think I've ever been outright down on the original XBox. There are, in fact, a small number of games that make me very jealous of XBox owners (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic being a major one.) But as compared with the other two consoles, there just weren't that many XBox only games that I really wanted. The system had a direction that didn't include quite enough of the kind of games I like to make buying it worthwhile.
Considering this, buying the 360 was never really a consideration. The other two systems will be able to play all of my current game library, plus a number of oldies if the Revolution's retro library pans out. Unless something very odd happened, like Final Fantasy suddenly going exclusive to XBox, there was just no reason to pick up the 360. But after what I've learned, I wonder if a lot of people who actually have XBoxes now might feel the same way.
We've known for a while that there will be two versions of the XBox available at launch. One is a "value priced" version, with only the basics included, pretty much system and controller. The more expensive premium package has some extra bells and whistles, like a headset for talking online, an ethernet cable, and a hard drive. Now you might be thinking that all this extra stuff is fun but fairly unnecessary. Think again. If you have a pile of XBox games sitting around and you want to play them on your shiny new 360, then you NEED that hard drive. That's right, the XBox360 is backwards compatible ONLY IF you have a hard drive for it. The hard drive can be bought separately if you have the core package for about $100. (If you are considering getting a 360 and want it to be backwards compatible with your XBox games, I would recommend the premium package, since the price difference equals the cost of the hard drive by itself and you get some extra goodies as well.)
But wait, it gets better, by which I mean worse. Y'see, your new system will be able to play only SOME of the XBox games you have now. As best I understand it, the hard drive of the 360 contains an XBox emulator much like the emulators for older console that I'm sure none of you have on your computers because it's illegal. The XBox emulator, however, can't handle every XBox games as is. Tweaks to its code will be needed to allow many games to be played. And because this takes time and work, Microsoft is going to have to pick some games for the honor of being playable on the 360. Isn't that nice?
Now to be fair, I checked the stats for the PS3 while writing this article to make sure there wasn't a similar thing going on. And in the interests of honesty, even the people at Sony are saying that the PS3 may not be 100% backwards compatible. Some PS2 and PSOne games just may not play on the new system. Given people's problems with some PS2s not playing various games and DVDs, we may well see the same thing in the new system. But at least they are able to aim for total backward compatibility, as opposed to the "array" of original XBox games you can play on the 360, according to the display ad in Toys R Us. I pretty much knew I'd be staying brand loyal with my consoles, but now I'm absolutely certain.
I might get a Nintendo Revolution when it comes out.
I was not planning on getting an XBox 360 when it came out (have to draw the line somewhere), but someone online just pointed out a factor that makes me even more certain of my decision.
I don't think I've ever been outright down on the original XBox. There are, in fact, a small number of games that make me very jealous of XBox owners (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic being a major one.) But as compared with the other two consoles, there just weren't that many XBox only games that I really wanted. The system had a direction that didn't include quite enough of the kind of games I like to make buying it worthwhile.
Considering this, buying the 360 was never really a consideration. The other two systems will be able to play all of my current game library, plus a number of oldies if the Revolution's retro library pans out. Unless something very odd happened, like Final Fantasy suddenly going exclusive to XBox, there was just no reason to pick up the 360. But after what I've learned, I wonder if a lot of people who actually have XBoxes now might feel the same way.
We've known for a while that there will be two versions of the XBox available at launch. One is a "value priced" version, with only the basics included, pretty much system and controller. The more expensive premium package has some extra bells and whistles, like a headset for talking online, an ethernet cable, and a hard drive. Now you might be thinking that all this extra stuff is fun but fairly unnecessary. Think again. If you have a pile of XBox games sitting around and you want to play them on your shiny new 360, then you NEED that hard drive. That's right, the XBox360 is backwards compatible ONLY IF you have a hard drive for it. The hard drive can be bought separately if you have the core package for about $100. (If you are considering getting a 360 and want it to be backwards compatible with your XBox games, I would recommend the premium package, since the price difference equals the cost of the hard drive by itself and you get some extra goodies as well.)
But wait, it gets better, by which I mean worse. Y'see, your new system will be able to play only SOME of the XBox games you have now. As best I understand it, the hard drive of the 360 contains an XBox emulator much like the emulators for older console that I'm sure none of you have on your computers because it's illegal. The XBox emulator, however, can't handle every XBox games as is. Tweaks to its code will be needed to allow many games to be played. And because this takes time and work, Microsoft is going to have to pick some games for the honor of being playable on the 360. Isn't that nice?
Now to be fair, I checked the stats for the PS3 while writing this article to make sure there wasn't a similar thing going on. And in the interests of honesty, even the people at Sony are saying that the PS3 may not be 100% backwards compatible. Some PS2 and PSOne games just may not play on the new system. Given people's problems with some PS2s not playing various games and DVDs, we may well see the same thing in the new system. But at least they are able to aim for total backward compatibility, as opposed to the "array" of original XBox games you can play on the 360, according to the display ad in Toys R Us. I pretty much knew I'd be staying brand loyal with my consoles, but now I'm absolutely certain.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Well That Ain't Right
I know it's been a while, but I have something I need to get off my chest.
Recently, a house in my town quite literally blew up. No one was seriously injured. The cause was a gas leak which was entirely the fault of the gas company who had connected two lines that shouldn't have been. This has apparently been causing several gas leaks around town and cut of heating for roughly 2,000 people.
For the past few days we have been seeing evidence of this. Gas company trucks have been all over the place. Representatives have come knocking on our door. It's been all over the local news as well.
Today, however, things took a turn for the outrageous. Andrew had just come home from dropping me off at the gym. He found gas company trucks all over the area and a police car near our home. Andrew went up and asked the officer if everything was OK. The officer explained that he and the gas company workers has just been in our house. Apparently, the gas company was going around the neightborhood and checking for leaks. If no one answered the door, they simplyy had the policeman pop the lock and came right in!
There are any number of things wrong here. Aside from the obvious violation of our privacy, there's the matter of our animals' safety. We often let the rabbits run around the kitchen while we aren't home because we keep both doors to it closed and they can't get into trouble. The gas company workers could not know this and the rabbits could easily have bolted out the front door as the workers went in and out. They did not lock the door upon leaving, meaning anyone who observed what was happening and decided to illegally enter our home for less legitimate purposes could have gained access without any trouble. To top it off, they did not leave a note explaining that they had been in our home. If Andrew hadn't come by when they were leaving, we would have just come home to an unlocked door and no explanation.
And what is they absolute best part of this story? WE DON'T HAVE GAS HEAT. As far as we know, this house has long been heated by oil and before that, coal. There is a gas line in our driveway, but we have no idea why it's there. And those gas company guys who came by our house before. We told them we didn't have gas. Twice. On two separate days. You would think they would have made some record of our answer the first time, but no. Andrew tried to explain this to the people who were in our home, but they still insisted on inspecting the house until they had confirmed that there was, surprise, no gas.
What really frustrates me about this is that I'm essentially left with no recourse. If this were a company that I was actually getting service from, I could just call them and say "This is unacceptable and I will be taking my business elsewhere!" But as it is, a company with which I have no financial relationship entered my home without my consent, my prior knowledge, or as far as I can tell, good cause. I did call up the gas company, but I don't know what good it will do. What I do know is that I actually fell less safe after this whole ordeal.
Recently, a house in my town quite literally blew up. No one was seriously injured. The cause was a gas leak which was entirely the fault of the gas company who had connected two lines that shouldn't have been. This has apparently been causing several gas leaks around town and cut of heating for roughly 2,000 people.
For the past few days we have been seeing evidence of this. Gas company trucks have been all over the place. Representatives have come knocking on our door. It's been all over the local news as well.
Today, however, things took a turn for the outrageous. Andrew had just come home from dropping me off at the gym. He found gas company trucks all over the area and a police car near our home. Andrew went up and asked the officer if everything was OK. The officer explained that he and the gas company workers has just been in our house. Apparently, the gas company was going around the neightborhood and checking for leaks. If no one answered the door, they simplyy had the policeman pop the lock and came right in!
There are any number of things wrong here. Aside from the obvious violation of our privacy, there's the matter of our animals' safety. We often let the rabbits run around the kitchen while we aren't home because we keep both doors to it closed and they can't get into trouble. The gas company workers could not know this and the rabbits could easily have bolted out the front door as the workers went in and out. They did not lock the door upon leaving, meaning anyone who observed what was happening and decided to illegally enter our home for less legitimate purposes could have gained access without any trouble. To top it off, they did not leave a note explaining that they had been in our home. If Andrew hadn't come by when they were leaving, we would have just come home to an unlocked door and no explanation.
And what is they absolute best part of this story? WE DON'T HAVE GAS HEAT. As far as we know, this house has long been heated by oil and before that, coal. There is a gas line in our driveway, but we have no idea why it's there. And those gas company guys who came by our house before. We told them we didn't have gas. Twice. On two separate days. You would think they would have made some record of our answer the first time, but no. Andrew tried to explain this to the people who were in our home, but they still insisted on inspecting the house until they had confirmed that there was, surprise, no gas.
What really frustrates me about this is that I'm essentially left with no recourse. If this were a company that I was actually getting service from, I could just call them and say "This is unacceptable and I will be taking my business elsewhere!" But as it is, a company with which I have no financial relationship entered my home without my consent, my prior knowledge, or as far as I can tell, good cause. I did call up the gas company, but I don't know what good it will do. What I do know is that I actually fell less safe after this whole ordeal.
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