spiderman, spiderman

I took a friend out to the movies for his birthday.   There weren't many choices, so we picked the new Spider-man.  To which everyone said, "There's a new Spider-man??"

I opted for the less expensive, yet still comfortable, recliner seats among the hoi polloi.  Usually when we go midweek and midday, the theater is half empty.  It turned out to be opening day for the movie, so it was packed.

Two little boys and a single father were on my friend's side.  One of them immediately spilled popcorn all over my friend, so I was thinking I was the lucky one.

Wrong.

A man walked up to the seat next to me and started setting up what I can only describe as a campsite, minus the fire-pit.  He laid a blanket across the seat and footrest.  He started undressing his layers and redressing in his movie outfit, I suppose.  I'm not really sure because I assumed this would go quickly, so I didn't pay attention. 

Wrong.

Next he laid out a three course meal, including a pepperoni pizza, a JUMBO popcorn, and assorted candy.  And drinks.  Plural.

He removed his shoes and had a second blanket on top of himself, until he was tucked into his bed.

This theater has tray tables that swing out to allow someone to sit down and then swing back to the person.  He left his out, which put his JUMBO popcorn obstructing my line of sight to the screen.  I politely asked him if it was possible to move his tray table towards himself.  He happily agreed.

And moved it two centimeters.  Douchebag.

Just that morning I had listened to a health expert saying he wanted to ban JUMBO popcorn in movies because it created a hostile environment for health.  I kind of laughed it off.  After sitting next to that pepperoni pizza, JUMBO popcorn, and sugary sundae smells for over two hours, I'm ready to sign that petition.

The smells were overpowering.

Despite my train-wreck of a neighbor, I enjoyed myself and laughed lots.  My friend told me that the little boy next to him was enamored of me.  He leaned across my friend and watched me most of the movie.  Every time I laughed, he looked back to the screen and laughed, too.  Awwww. 

feeling popular

I've had a few websites contact me personally and ask to be included on my blog.  Is that a thing now?  To be added to obscure blogs as advertising?

It makes me wonder if they've read the pages and pages of my battles with migraine and depression.  I tried to warn them away because they all seem to be positive about health and beauty.  Not that I'm trying to be Negative Nancy, but I also don't want to harsh their readers' mellows.  The two latest sites were pretty good, so I wouldn't necessarily object to doing it, but it feels forced.  (Is this where I segue into the new Star Wars movie?  Get it, force-d??)

No spoilers.  Loved it, although I almost started a fight with the man next to me for unwrapping his candy too loudly and prolongedly (shouldn't that be a word?) in the first few minutes.  Fortunately for all involved, he stopped making distracting noises.

And bonus, I took one Excedrin right before the movie and didn't get a movie migraine.  YAY!!!

fight the Rebellion

As I walked into my neurologist's office, I wondered why they'd added a LOUD television in their waiting room.   I was as cranky as a disturbed hibernating bear.  And five minutes of that TV made me even crankier.  Who knew that was possible?

I think I've been having migraine prodrome symptoms for the past few days.  These are the signs that a migraine attack is coming soon.  Like a hurricane warning.  Lights seem too bright.  Noises are too loud.  Smells are too strong.  And I'm fatigued and cranky.  My gym session suffered yesterday because my muscles were noticeably weaker.  And my endurance was lessened.

I've been virtually attending the Migraine World Summit, and one of the speakers suggested taking an Aleve during prodrome.  There's no research on it yet, but the half-life of Aleve is one of the longest, so he suggested it might be helpful in staving off the pain.  I took an Aleve the next morning when I woke still feeling out of sorts.   And then half an Excedrin.  It's been a few days, and no excruciating head pain yet.  Yay!  But still prodroming...

Back to the doctor's office.  I inquired why the TV, and was told they would be programming it with their own ads.  I hate loud advertising.  I especially hate loud advertising when I have a migraine and can't switch it off. 

I much prefer these ads.

what was I thinking?

I decided to watch that new show Divorce last night.  Somehow I thought it would be empowering like How Stella Got Her Groove Back.  Instead, I started crying and sliding into depression.  Fortunately I found some friends online, one of whom was also having a rough night.  I like to think it was a mutual cheering up session.  It's hard to admit vulnerability, but once we did, the group was receptive to helping us.

I blame the super moon.  Which was gorgeous!

I only cried a little bit.  Progress??

hero or traitor?

(probably no spoilers)

I'm pleased that Oliver Stone took on the project of making a movie about Ed Snowden.  I think what Snowden did took tremendous courage.  During the course of the movie, I inevitably compared my career choices with his.  And if I'm being brutally honest, I don't think I could have done what he did, assuming I had his same mad computing skills.  It's hard to say because he was being constantly bombarded with such egregious privacy abominations (if we can believe Oliver Stone's version), which might drive an ordinary person to do extraordinary things. 

But, his colleagues were similarly uncomfortable and didn't have the courage and/or circumstances to blow the whistle.  I was wondering while watching this movie what they were all thinking and feeling when they saw what he did.  Obviously the movie added dramatic flair and artistic license.  I also wondered if the last guards who saw him knew that they inadvertently let him walk away with all of that data.  And are they proud of him or ashamed?

Go see this movie.  It's important to discuss, even if you think he did wrong.  Several times, I got chills and goosebumps on my arms pondering the ramifications.  Make sure if you go with someone, to plan time afterward to confabulate with them while it's fresh in your mind.  I went with an East German friend of mine, who eerily said it was exactly like living in East Germany before the wall came down, knowing that all of your conversations were being recorded and you were constantly under surveillance.

Will this movie change anyone's mind or just solidify what we all already thought?  Will our president or congress think further on the matter?   Will more courageous people come forward if they see our country going against our founding principles?  Will journalists have the grit to ask the difficult questions and present the hard-to-hear facts?

Hero or traitor?

Mutha'fkn hero!  Duh.

pool boy tested, Totoro approved

In discovering (or remembering) my newfound independence, I've learned that I don't actually have to do it all.  It's okay to admit I can't do everything and to ask for help.  Or to pay for it.

I decided after fucking around with the un-openable chlorine tablet container that I would finally suck it up and hire a pool boy.  I'm doing a less than stellar job on my pool and not enjoying my pool in the slightest.  With summer coming up, and the rainy season only getting wetter, my pool will go greener faster.  It's light green again, by the way, because I procrastinated two days calling my neighbor to ask for the pool guy's number.

I went over to visit with Totoro.  We sat out by her nice blue pool, and it was lovely.  I admitted my defeat to her, and she applauded me coming to my senses.  I've asked around and her guy is the most reasonable.  Now that I'm getting refunded for the tablets, I might as well put that money toward someone else doing the labor and buying the chemicals.

We chatted about our families and friends.  And men!  Sssshhh, don't tell anyone.  She's 90-something, not dead, ffs.

Until her church lady friend came over.  Then we talked about politics, and I shut the fuck up after learning my lesson last time when she said she voted for Cruz because of his Christian values.  Gag.  We also spoke of church, of course.  And some new god movie that they're going to see.  Until I looked it up and saw it was rated 3.1 stars on IMDb.  I think Totoro may have changed her mind about going.  Oops.  Church lady will hate me now.

All I know about their religion is Martin Luther nailed his document to the Catholic church, which one of my old gaming friends taught me.  (Video games are educational, see?)  So I asked if Martin Luther King, Jr. was named after the original Martin Luther.  They both looked at me like what the fuck.  And said they didn't know.  Church lady said she doubted it because MLK was Baptist.  I whipped out my phone and looked it up.  Turns out he was named Michael Luther after his father, who went on a trip to Berlin and decided Martin Luther was a cool dude.  He came home and changed both their names.  Church lady was impressed and excited to share that with her church group.

And finally we talked basketball because they're both huge Miami Heat fans.  It's kind of hilarious.  One is 90+ and the other is 78 years old.  I looked up the time of the game last night and made them both happy.  I tried to bring up the Golden State Warriors and their quest to break the Bulls' record for winning-est season.  Neither one cared.  It's Heat or nothing.  :)   [Side note: The Warriors did indeed win last night and broke the Bulls' record for anyone who cares.] 

didn't have to cancel

I medicated like a mofo yesterday and was able to keep my movie plans. Yippee! 

In other news, Deadpool is a fun movie.  There were tons of jokes ad funny references, although I'm sure I missed a bunch because my brain was not firing on all cylinders.

The migraine sort of dissipated yesterday afternoon after dose #4, but I can feel it lingering in the fog of my head, waiting to pounce.  Today is going to be a 'take it easy, Wendy,' self-care kind of day.  Fortunately I have the day off from work, so that helps. 

However, no one told Kitten, who quite insistently woke me at 6:26 am, despite it being prime coyote time.  There was much whining and crying (by both of us) until I felt it was light enough to disperse the potential coyotes.  When I finally let her out the back door, she got spooked and came right back in.  She decided the front yard was more secure.  You'll be happy to know, she's safely inside now, napping on my desk, with her belly full of pork tenderloin.

A nap soon sounds delightful.

wanted: tough guy movie quotes

Using a fresh toothbrush is like wearing new socks for the first time, or getting into a crisply made bed with clean sheets.  I've tried both a new toothbrush and clean sheets to cheer me up lately, which helped a smidge.

I have been migraine-free for almost a full day now, 19 hours to be exact.  My week went to shit Saturday afternoon, and kept getting worse somehow.  I suppose I should be grateful that days of storms (including excessive rain, sustained powerful winds, hail, and tornadoes) hasn't resulted in any property damage.  So far.  I am thankful that I can be miserably writhing in pain on the floor inside my dry house.  That's a fucked up sentence to write.

My body is betraying me.  I take such good care of it, but it's so fkn sensitive that, like a seahorse, one little aberrant twitch, and I'm down for the count.  I'm slowly making a comeback, though.  Why does it seem that it takes weeks to get healthier and one day to fuck up all that progress?  At least I'm past the Fight Club quote feeling of "put a gun to my head and paint the walls with my brains."

My body seems to be trying to help.  I've been sleeping fucktons, and (I'm hopeful) repairing myself during that sleep.  It's weird that when I finally started feeling better last night, I had a rough time sleeping again.  It's like my body doesn't want to make the effort past a certain point.  Listen, mofo', do what needs to be done to feel great!  Why stop at partial progress?  "Rest is a weapon," so says Jason Bourne.

How many other tough guy movie quotes can I throw in to persuade my body?  :)   I think I'm at my limit, so if you know of any more, send them my way please.

old year's night

I went from feeling sorry for myself last Saturday to having three options for new year's eve.  Option one, a woman in my martial arts class invited me to her party.  That sounded like a blast, but it was far away.  Especially on a night when every asshole and their cousin is drinking. 

Option two, my brother invited me to his party.  He usually has fun people and great food, but I felt like a charity case still.  Sigh. 

Option three and the most likely one was to throw myself a PityParty.  Not to brag, but I'm really proficient at these.  I've been doing them for years and can even do them in my sleep.  Which I've done in the past, you doubters. 

Guess which option I picked??  Option one started feeling farther and farther away after looking at Google maps.  Option two was cancelled so he could attend someone else's party.  That left option three -- the PityParty.

I did that fkr up right!!  I got a migraine so bad I had to kick the cat out of bed because her tiny little footfalls on the bed felt like a fkn earthquake.  There was some contorting on the bathroom floor in pain, but apparently I'm refining my technique because there was no vomiting in my hair.  YAY!!  After many meds, and some torturous texts and calls to a friend until the meds kicked in, I started feeling better.  [Thank you for that.  I know it's hard to listen to someone suffer in pain while you're sitting there helpless.]  The crown jewels of my party were all of the fireworks explosions and emergency sirens every few minutes coming from outside.  No matter, I was safely ensconced in my cocoon while what I can only assume was The Purge, happened outside.

Sometimes I wonder if people have any idea when I text them platitudes, that I'm literally sitting here crying telling them to have fun and enjoy whatever cool thing they're telling me about.  I have to assume they don't.  No one is that big of a monster, right?   And then my mind starts going darker wondering wtf is wrong with me.  And then I pull my head out of my ass and wonder whom I'm texting who is sitting there in pain, and I'm the oblivious one.   I know everyone loves texting now, but please pick up the phone now and again and hear a human voice to make sure that person is actually doing okay.

Aside from some bruising by my own fingers when I pushed so hard for acupressure reasons, I'm feeling pretty good.  I woke up early (thanks, Kitten), washed my hair, and savored my Wendycoffee.  Happy New Year, my delightful friends!  I feel a good hair day coming along.

the force was with me yesterday (no spoilers)

I finally (three days later) saw the new Star Wars, but I won't go into any details because I hate when people ruin movies for others.  And by others, I mean me, of course.  I will say that I caught every traffic light perfectly on the way to the theater.  I didn't come to a complete stop until I parked.  And that has NEVER happened before.  Coincidence???   :)

Of course, my happy luck ended there, but that was a glorious drive while it lasted.  My family was late.  I'll stop complaining there because it was great to see them, and I ended up enjoying myself.  Also, I pre-medicated with one single Excedrin and was able to stave off the inevitable movie migraine.  Mostly.

No one came in costume that I saw, but that was most likely because I picked one of the snooty movie theaters to attend.  The rest were sold out.  Plus, I like nice things.  ;)  Two Bentleys, one Ferrari, no costumes.  I got to wear my new boots again.  Yay!  They're comfy as hell and quickly becoming my new favorites, even though they're annoying to put on and fasten.

Because it was a special day (Star Wars Day, duh), I broke open one of my new hair products.  And because I might have needed a quick pick-me-up.  I also figured if my hair looked stupid, most of the time I would be sitting in the dark, and no one would see.  I used the Curls Coconut Curlada Conditioner, and it still smells divine the next day.  It works okay, but isn't really worth the price, even the sale price I paid.  I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

what kind of nerd am I?

I was looking through my closet at my thousands, okay maybe only hundreds, okay maybe just dozens, of t-shirts, and realized I have zero Star Wars paraphernalia.  What will I wear to go see Star Wars??

Yes, I bought tickets!  Squee!!  My nephew is coming to town for the holidays, so I'm taking him this weekend.  I even took a chance and bought tickets for 3D.  I hope I didn't fuck up, but I seemed to do okay on the 3D ride at Harry Potter (not the one that gave me vertigo), so maybe I can handle a 3D movie with my eye situation.  And my migraine situation.  And my holy-fuck-it-sucks-to-be-wendy situation.

Now I just need to find the perfect t-shirt to wear.  Or the first one I grab when I reach into my closet.  Either will suffice.

No spoilers until I see it though.  I haven't even watched any trailers yet.  Yes, I have been living under a rock.  Have you met me??

I suck at theme parks

And somehow, I forgot that I suck at them.  I went to Universal Studios to see Harry Potter land.  It started off fine.  I enjoyed the little shops and exploring Diagon Alley, especially Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.  The butterbeer was fkn scrumptious (I'll spare you the goofy butterbeer mustache pic).   I escaped from Gringotts bank.  I went through platform 9 ¾ to ride the Hogwarts Express, which was pretty fkn brilliant.

Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes

Butterbeer

But I fucked myself when after dining in Hogsmeade, I went flying in Hogwarts.  Fortunately I didn't disgrace myself and yack up my fish and chips.  But I really wanted to.  Because I had vertigo so bad.  

I immediately sat down and tried to recover, but listening to the screams from the nearby roller coaster was deleterious to my health.  I ended up back in the Three Broomsticks for about twenty minutes until the world stopped spinning.  Dumbass.  What part of that did I think was a good idea?  Family-friendly, my ass.

Fortunately, it was toward the end of my day, so I didn't feel as guilty when I left a little early.  And my path out took me through Jurassic World.  Twice.  Maybe three times.  Where's the fkn exit?  S'ok, I enjoyed visiting the dinos each time.

serious injury, Charlie Babbitt

Have you ever gotten a peanut butter injury?   Because the jar was almost empty and you were too lazy to get up and get the spatula but there was still some delicious peanut butter left at the bottom of the jar?  So you reached your finger in just at the edges?  And licked sweet ambrosia of the gods off one finger?  But then you had a hankering for more scrumptiousness, so you thought maybe you could reach in a bit farther?  And that still wasn't enough to satiate your fix?  So you shoved your whole hand in because skinny hands come in useful at these times?  And as you were greedily getting every last drop of divine peanut butter, the fkn stupid edge of the godforsaken plastic jar cut your hand?

Yeah, me neither.

who else wants to meet a Martian?

Or be one?

I saw The Martian yesterday, and it was fantastic.  Bring your tissues.  Or maybe that's just me.  The 12 year old girl sitting next to me didn't seem like she was crying.  Maybe because she had so much snackie food!  Omg, I could smell all of it with my migraine superpowers -- mint chocolate, regular chocolate, popcorn.  I almost asked her for some.  She seemed pretty cool and probably would have said yes.  I wonder where that falls in the Stranger Danger spectrum, seeing as how her mom was on the other side of her.

I won't say much more about the movie, so I don't accidentally give anything away.  I didn't see it in 3D because of my eye.  I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy the 3D experience with one weak eye. I also pre-medicated because long movies in dark theaters give me migraines.   My head only hurt a little after.  Yay.

And yes, the book was better, but the movie was still outstanding.  I loved that it made space exploration and nerds cool.

Blinding me with science, now with more Pluto

I've been feeling like Elle Driver (aka California Mountain Snake) from Kill Bill the last few days.  Just as ornery, but not as gorgeous obviously.  I was finally able to wash my hair, so that helped in the glamorous department (if you could call this lion's mane glamorous, which you couldn't).  Probably if I had a sexier eye-patch, that might help, too.  Fortunately, I've kept myself mostly secluded and therefore haven't needed to assassinate anyone from sheer irascibility.  Yet.  It might be a different story given a few more days of a wildly dilated pupil and migraines.

Enough with the blindness, on to the science fun.

Tomorrow NASA will begin downloading the mother lode of Pluto data.  This should take almost a full year to finish because the New Horizons spaceship (such a great word) has a shitty ISP.   I'm looking forward to more alien love notes because I'm a romantic at heart.  Even when I'm as surly as a snapping turtle.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Don't laugh, but we decided to try a NASCAR race today.  Okay laugh away.  We did.  :)  We must have made a hundred Talladega Nights jokes.  Galahad had a friend who was going so we went along for the experience.  Wow, talk about culture shock.  We certainly walked into the Deep South when we entered the Speedway.  It's definitely not as boring as watching it on TV even though they really are just driving in circles.  It's not Formula One, but it was fun to experience.

Friday, July 20, 2007

We went to see Harry Potter last night since Galahad was out of town when I first saw it.  And apparently, our theater had some special deal on buying tequila, so he got very relaxed. :)  The movie was just as good the second time.  Tonight, if I have the energy after workout class and a full day, I may go to a Harry Potter Book Party.  My friend is going at 11 pm and asked me to meet her there.  When did I get old thinking that's too late to go out?  I remember when I used to start getting ready at 11 pm.

Monday, July 16, 2007

I might be stubborn.  Okay, I am; but that which does not kill me shall make me stronger, right?  Holy fuck, this may kill me.  I've had a migraine on & off (mostly on) for a week now.  They're coming on more frequently and lasting longer, although in hindsight, I'm still fortunate that the severity isn't as intense as it used to be.  Here's where the stubbornness comes in.  I refuse to go crawling back to my chiropractor every fkn week to adjust my neck.  Can't it stay adjusted ffs??

On a positive note, I had a lovely weekend in between bouts of pain.  I had sushi with my in-laws (I love them so much!), watched the new Harry Potter movie with my Sensei followed by Thai food, lounged by the pool, and read my book. 

Before I could enjoy my pool time, I had to clean it first, and the Polaris pool-scrubber thingamajig had been making me crazy for weeks now.  It's so hard for me to unscrew the Quick Disconnect (ha!) in order to clean the filter.  I'd always have to wait for Galahad to get home to do it for me or open all the valves for an hour to let the pressure out.  Today, I finally had enough and gave myself an Idiot Lecture.  As I was standing in the pool to try and unsuccessfully connect it back (more leverage from inside the pool or so I thought), I had a little light bulb go off (figuratively thankfully so I wasn't electrocuted).  I decided that Google had never let me down before, and why hadn't I bothered to Google this problem yet.  In the past, Google has helped me figure out how to un-jam the coin holder in my car and how to change the special a/c filters among other things.  I jumped out of the pool, and before I had dried off, I had my answer.  Not only was it simple and easy to do, it worked brilliantly.

I bow down before the almighty Google.  Now, if only it could help me open the jar of mixed nuts that I'm jonesing for.  I tried all of the methods I knew plus some that I Googled.  I suppose I need to keep working out.  Sigh, Galahad needs to hurry up and come home. 

Monday, June 25, 2007

Just watched Cocaine Cowboys yesterday.  I wasn't prepared for how much old trauma which re-surfaced in me.  On the one hand, it was a very good documentary.  On the other hand, I couldn't believe my parents kept our family there and pretended it wasn't that bad.

Tuesday. May 22. 2007

Galahad and I tried to go see Spiderman 3 this weekend, but fate decided otherwise.  A few of us met up for dinner before the movie, and during dinner one friend started having intense abdominal pain.  It got so bad that she insisted we take her to the hospital.  Since she isn't even close to being a hypochondriac, we got our food to go, refunded the movie tickets, and sped over to the closest hospital.  While we waited in the ER, we met this group of kids who had rushed over after a pool accident.  They were all still in their wet swimsuits and mismatched clothes.  One girl had a giant gash on her chin.  They were chatting amongst themselves and soon we joined in and made her laugh.  Others in the waiting room started feeling more comfortable and joined the conversation, too.  It was a nice tension release.  In the back of my mind, I wondered if anyone there was waiting for awful news on a loved one.  I hoped that we helped distract them if even temporarily.

After she got settled in her room (who knew ERs had private rooms?), we joined her and tried to keep her spirits up.  I know all too well what it's like to be in so much pain, you need to vomit.  Poor girl.  I held her hair while she threw up.  We quickly persuaded the nurses to up her painkillers instead of waiting to see if what they gave her worked.  Pretty soon, we were having a party in her room.  We had us plus a few staff members laughing away at dumb jokes and her ratty socks.  :p  She told me later that she went home and threw her socks away.  ;)  Somehow no one cared that her underwear was brand new.  We just teased her about her socks.  The P.A. told me that she had never seen someone in that much pain laugh before.  Welcome to my world.  Laughter doesn't make the pain go away, but it helps to distract for a split second here & there.

In hindsight I bet they were glad they gave us a room instead of one of the curtained-off areas because of how loud we were.  I absentmindedly wondered if our laughter helped anyone else or offended them because of the gravity of their loved one's condition.  Galahad played around with all of the gadgets and supplies in the room and asked the nurse where the bar was in the hospital.  Haha, she was great and said in her locker!

Anyway, my friend finally passed her stone and was medicated enough to be released.  I'm sure we'll talk about & remember this night far better than if we had gone to see Spiderman.  Sigh.  But I still want to see Spidey!