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May 27, 2004
LOTR Symphony
Today I found out that the Lord of the Rings Symphony will be playing in Philadelphia on July 13 at the Mann Performing Arts Center. So, what did I do immediately? I purchased tickets. I'm really excited! That means I get to see the symphony, directed by Oscar winning composer and director, Howard Shore, twice! Yipee!!! Now, I just have to find someone who wants to go with me. The symphony is in 6 movements featuring the music from the movies of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which was written by Howard Shore, who will be directing it! It's the coolest thing EVER! It will also feature a choir and illustrations projected on video to enhance the experience. Can you tell I'm excited? I am. Now I have tickets for July 13 AND July 31. HEE HEE HEE! I'll be ok. Really I will. Pray for me. I know most of you are anyway. That's Tuesday, July 13, 8pm, Mann Performing Arts Center, Philadelphia. Let me know if you're interested in going with me. I won't be a psycho at the concert, I swear. I won't dress up as a hobbit or elf or anything, I promise. I may be a little giddy, but not psycho.
Posted by karen at 02:24 PM | Comments (1)
May 26, 2004
It's only Wednesday?!
Can it possibly only be Wednesday? We must have fallen into some bizarre time/space continuum that sucked all of the energy and life out of us and stopped time as we know it! How can things have been going so well, only to be abruptly halted and dashed to the ground!? I don't understand! Oh, well. Maybe if I drank another Code Red, things would look brighter. I do have to go shopping after work today. That's a good thing.
Ann's picnic rocked last night. There were cucumber sandwiches. It just doesn't get any better than that. The rain could not even dampen my spirits. Cucumber sandwiches!
By the way, in answer to a question, the "suspicious package" turned out to be everyday paint. Suspicious indeed.
Posted by karen at 02:53 PM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2004
It's a GREAT Day!
Return of the King Release Day! I am SUCH a geek! I took the morning off to make sure to be at the Best Buy bright and early (ok, 10am) when they opened to get my copy of Return of the King with my free Collector's Edition Lord Of the Rings copy of Entertainment Weekly. I woke up, excited, of course. Jumped out of bed...ok, stumbled lazily out of bed. Staggered to the bathroom and got ready for the day. By now though, I am really excited. It's Return of the King Release Day, after all! I'm dressed in my Return of the King T-Shirt, driving my car with my LOTR PIP liscense plate, eating cotton candy and drinking a Code Red Mountain Dew. Beacuse really, all I need today is sugar and caffeine to make me more on-edge and jumpy. So, garbed in my LOTR gear, I get to Best Buy at 10am on the button, jump out of the car, and non-chalantly walk into the store, while pushing the little old lady out of the way of the DVDs. Ok, I didn't have to push anyone out of the way, but I would have if I'd needed to. I got my DVD, and headed to work with a smile on my face. It's going to be a great day!
It's just a continuation of happiness, because last night, I got to go to Hersheypark for free with Stacey and experience the new Storm Runner roller coaster. My brain is still on the ride. It shoots you off to start at over 70 mph into a straight vertical climb and then immediately into a straight vertical drop, then spins you around for about 20 seconds, all while your brain is still thinking "what the heck just happened there?" and suddenly the ride is over and you're laughing hysterically. It was AWESOME! If you saw the first Shrek, when Donkey and Shrek visit Dulok for the first time and the watch the little greeting thing when Donkey pulls the lever and the song plays and then it takes their picture, and then Donkey says, "Let's do THAT AGAIN!" That's the way you felt getting off of Storm Runner. AWESOME!
Then, more excitement, there was a HazMat call right outside our office today! A "suspicious" package was left in our office complex, and the HazMat team was called out. We got to go outside and watch the guys in suits move the package and test it, plus Stray was walking around in his Orange suit, all in charge and stuff. It was GREAT!
THEN, can life just get any better? We get to go to a picnic tonight! Ann's first summer BBQ of the year! They are so much fun! I'm bringing Applesause. And not just any applesause, CINNAMON Applesauce! Aw, yeah! Good times, people, good times!
Posted by karen at 03:42 PM | Comments (1)
May 24, 2004
It was a good weekend...
I got SO much done this weekend, you would NOT believe. Ok, maybe you would, but it seemed pretty impressive to me. Friday and Saturday I cleaned my house from top to bottom, side to side, east to west, north to south, nook to cranny. It hadn't been done in quite some time. The reason for this cleaning mania? Guests, of course. I had some friends come over Saturday night to play games. I really love to have friends over. I love to entertain. I wish I had unlimited cash where I could have a huge house and have people over ALL the time to have parties and picnics and game nights and all sorts of fun things. Sadly, we all live on a limited income, and have to keep things pretty low key, but we have a good time anyway. Everyone pitches in and brings stuff and has a great time.
I was able to have some pretty big hits with two of my snacks on Saturday. Strawberries with chocolate dip, and Brie with crackers. Those two seemed to go over pretty well. I was happy with the response. Sadly, my friend Stacey had a really bad toothache, so she could not fully appreciate the wonderful cheese and meat selection I had for her. I know she appreciated it, she just could not enjoy it to the fullest. Plus, I had cupcakes. Little mini-ones. I liked those. Again, I say, I like parties with fun food, friends, and games. Good times, people, good times.
Then, Sunday, this may sound insane, but I spent about 12 hours doing work at home. I got SO much done. It was great. I even did it while watching Shrek and Pirates of the Caribbean, plus the season finales of Alias and Crossing Jordan, as well as a particularly tear-jearker episode of Extreme Makover Home Edition. That show is so cool. They totally change these people's lives for the better, choosing people who truly deserve and need to have their home's improved. Plus, really cool, last night, they even paid off their mortage. These 8 kids had lost both of their parents within 16 days of each other, and the oldest wasn't any older than maybe 25. It was very moving.
So, anyway, it was a great weekend. I felt good. Productive. Refreshed. Plus, tomorrow is Return of the King Day! Best Buy, here I come!
Posted by karen at 11:14 AM | Comments (1)
May 21, 2004
Puss...in Boots
Shrek 2 was great! Every bit as good as the first. I haven't quite made a decision if it's better than the first. I'd have to see it again to decide, so I will. Not this weekend, when every kid and their parent is seeing it, but eventually, I will.
I loved Puss In Boots. He was my favorite character. I don't know why exactly, but he was just so funny. He lived up to my highest expectations. There are so many cute little jokes in the movie, you couldn't possibly see them all the first time around. Another good reason to see the movie again. One of my favorite jokes concerned the overabundance of "Farbucks" in the kingdom of Far Far Away. There was also a little goof on Lord of the Rings, which of course I loved. Pinocchio has some memorable moments, too. The whole movie is a good time. Stacey and I were laughing quite a bit, and there was a point at the end when I was a little teary. (See, if you've read my blog before, I told you it didn't take much to make me cry.)
This is a definite MUST SEE for EVERYONE! No excuses. Just go. Go now. Stop what you are doing and GO SEE THIS MOVIE!
Posted by karen at 02:17 PM | Comments (3)
May 20, 2004
Impulsive...Obsessive
Two words that describe me pretty accurately. A third might be compulsive. I admit it. Sometimes I struggle with it, but overall, it can be an evil used for good.
I have a habit of needing to see new movies within the first week they are out. It used to be that I needed to see them the first day. I'm trying to wean myself from that. It's not that important, after all. Unless, of course, it's the Lord of the Rings. I had to get tickets for the Marathon, Trilogy Tuesday, because it was Lord of the Rings. Next Tuesday, I need to go to Best Buy to get Return of the King on DVD because they are also including a special collector's edition Entertainment Weekly LOTR edition. I MUST HAVE IT! See, this is where the compulsion comes in. With the obsession. I know, it's an illness. It could be worse. I only have a few of the action figures.
You see, Stacey and I are going to see Shrek 2, and it's a WHOLE DAY after the release of the movie. Pretty impressive, huh? C'mon, I waited an entire 24 hours. That's impressive for me. It's a big deal. Work with me, people. Alright, alright, I see you shaking your heads. I feel your pity. I accept it.
I'll let you know how the movie is tomorrow.
Posted by karen at 01:13 PM | Comments (2)
May 19, 2004
Troy Review
I went and saw Troy last night at the Regal theater in Harrisburg. I really love that theater. The movie was showing on their "big" screen, which was very exciting, because it's such a big movie...epic even. Being based on Homer's The Iliad, which I was supposed to have read in high school, you can see where the epic, and biggness came in.
So, anyway, overall, it was a very good movie. The acting was great, very believable, they drew you in. They made me cry. Not that that is too hard a feat for me in a movie, but I was moved by this movie. What was a feat was that you could feel anything for these characters. There were very few to like. The only "main" characters that I could feel anything for were Hector and his family, and Priam, the King of Troy. Possibly, Odysseus, played by Sean Bean, who seemed to be a good leader, and communicator. All of the other actors had serious character flaws, although, dramatically, I suppose that was the point. As pretty as Orlando Bloom is, as Paris, the wife-stealer, you just couldn't like him, or feel sorry for him, or anything. There were some cool archery shots near the end that were very Legolas-reminiscent. You have to wonder if that wasn't a little nod to his humble beginnings.
I knew going in that I would have some problems with the story, in finding someone to cheer for, being a little familiar with it, but I didn't realize how difficult it would be. I found myself, over and over, throughout the movie, in awe of how vile these people were. It became clear early on who I would cheer for, and follow it through to the end.
So, overall, a very good film. Good acting, timeless story, but very short on a moral center. I would cautiously recommend it to the right people.
Posted by karen at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)
May 18, 2004
The Neverending Pile aka Job Security
Last night, while watching various cartoons and crime dramas on TV, I spent 5 hours working on Creation Staff input at home. It was encouraging. I felt like I was making some headway. My pile was decreasing, and people were being assigned to their various positions.
Well, today, I came into work, and got another export from the New Jersey office, and another stack of applications on my desk. It's a little discouraging. I feel like I didn't get anything done. It's almost like starting all over again. Sigh.
Oh well. It is a good problem to have. We definitely need the volunteers. Better to have the work to do than not have any staff at the festival. MUCH BETTER. Now I not only have Creation stuff looming, some of my Purple Door responsibilities are looming as well. Job security, my friends. That is what it is. There will always be something to be done here. If not by me, there will be someone to help.
Woo Hoo! Love that job security.
Posted by karen at 01:02 PM | Comments (1)
May 17, 2004
The Chicken Still Rules!
Saturday was awesome, the chicken lasted me for dinner yesterday. What an awesome event! What more could you ask for. Chicken, rock n' roll, friends, balloons, frisbees, more chicken...it just doesn't get any better than that.
After the traffic madness of the BBQ, Stacey and I made the trek to somewhere in the middle of nowhere north of Reading to play board games. Yes, board games. It's a hobby. It's fun. I'm not as crazy into it as some people, but I do enjoy hanging out with people and winning once every gazillion games I play. I'm not very good at them, but I do enjoy playing. My favorite play I made yesterday was a VETO card. It was a card where you got to cancel any one play someone made in the current round or the next round. Sadly, I had to use it on my friend Stacey. I wanted to use it on Lyle or Fred, this other guy we were playing with. Oh well, maybe next time.
Sunday, I slept in, having arrived at my home at 1am the night before, and made it to second service at church. It was a "business meeting" at church, as opposed to a message, so I felt kind of cheated, but I suppose churches need to do business every once in awhile, too. After church, a bunch of us went to our friend John and Amy Roth's house for a picnic. That was tons of fun. Good food, good friends...good times, good times.
After the picnic, I went on a fruitless search for a room air conditioner that does NOT go in the window, but sits freely in the middle of the room. I saw one last year, but did not find one this year. Sad. I did, however, find a coffee table to match my living room set for only $50 at Kmart! Woo Hoo! I've wanted a coffee table for quite sometime. Now I have one, and I didn't have to pay hundreds of dollars for it. I'm quite happy.
So, the last obstacle I have to overcome today is that there is currently no hot water at my house...again. Here's praying that it will be fixed when I get home.
Oh yeah...I'm going to see 'Troy' tomorrow! I'll post a review...eventually.
Posted by karen at 01:08 PM | Comments (1)
May 14, 2004
The Reality Hits...Chicken Rocks!
I started awhile ago, but the true honest to goodness assigning of the Creation staff has officially begun. The folders are out, the papers are flying, the computer is humming, the CD player is blaring. I'm still in denial. This can't be happening!
On the bright side, this weekend is the Sertoma Chicken BBQ. Love that chicken! I live for this chicken. I don't know how I go a whole year without this chicken. This chicken ROCKS! I'm pretty excited about the chicken, if you couldn't tell. CHICK-EN! CHICK-EN! CHICK-EN! No chicken compares to this chicken. Ok, I'll move on.
Last night, was our first summer outing to TJ Rockwell's in Elizabethtown. Two words, people...Rhino Fries. It was a beautiful evening sitting out on their deck with good friends, good food...good times, good times.
After that, Stacey and I went back to my house to watch the America's Tribal Council of Survivor. Now, I have not watched a single episode of this show since the Australian Outback. I am a Colby fan and only a Colby fan. This show has further enforced why I will continue to not watch Survivor. Colby did not win the million dollars. At least America proved they are not completely stupid by voting him the hottest Survivor...HELLO! OBVIOUSLY! Anyway, it was fun to watch it with Stacey because she loves the show. It is very addictive, which is why I stopped watching them after Australia. I have a far too addictive personality to watch them. I couldn't handle it. Anyway, I suppose Rupert deserved the million. People who actually watched the show would know better than I would.
So, I suppose I must return to immersing myself in my Creation stuff. God help me.
CHICK-EN! CHICK-EN! CHICK-EN!
Posted by karen at 01:43 PM | Comments (1)
May 13, 2004
Sorry...Van Helsing Rocks!
So sorry! I was recently scolded for having been remiss in my review of my recent trip to the theater where I saw Van Helsing. So, here it is. I LOVED IT! It was entertaining in the way fun summer blockbusters should be entertaining. I had the sincere feeling that the film was made for enjoyment and did not take itself too seriously, which was good, because it shouldn't be taken too seriously. It was just FUNNY! My favorite character in the movie was not High Jackman, as some may predict, but Hugh's sidekick, Carl, played very amusingly by David Wenham, who recently was Faramir in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He was very, very funny. Just remember, he's not actually a monk, he's a friar.
The movie was very NOT scary, so if anyone has any fears about that, don't. It was just plain fun. Now, there were the traditional monsters, vampires, Frankenstein, and Werewolves, but I was really not at all scared, and I scare pretty easily. I'm a wimp when it comes to horror. There were some great one-liners from all of the characters. I could actually see the movie again and enjoy it, but there are so many movies coming out this summer, I'm not sure if that will happen.
Let's see, what else...the movie was dark, and the effects weren't up to par with Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, but I think that added to the charm for me. It made it all that more campy. It was just so fun to watch. The story was also a stretch to pull the characters together, but again, it just made it more fun. You have to go in with an open mind, knowing it's not a great film, but accepting that it's fun entertainment, and you won't be disappointed.
If you go in with those expectations, I promise, you'll enjoy it!
Posted by karen at 12:21 PM | Comments (1)
May 10, 2004
Van Helsing
Today, I'm going to see Van Helsing. I'm very excited. Hugh Jackman isn't bad to look at and I'm especially excited to see David Wenham as his sidekick. I've tried not to read too many reviews yet, because I try to make my own opinion. I'm not a big "monster" fan, but the effects look cool for this movie, so I'm going to see it anyway. Plus, it's the first real "Summer Blockbuster." I'm hoppin' on the movie bandwagon...oh, yeah.
So, stay tuned for tomorrow's report on the movie. Hopefully, there will be some cool previews, too.
Posted by karen at 11:31 AM | Comments (0)
May 07, 2004
TGIF!
It's Friday! I have just spent the largest portion of the day up to my eyeballs in Creation Festival Staff Apps. What fun! Some of the most fun, actually, are the comments that the staffers write on their forms. It can be quite entertaining.
Tomorrow is the last concert of the spring season. Hallelujah! It will be good to be done with them for the spring. So much going on with the festivals, I'd like to have one part of my job on hold for awhile.
And Sunday is Mother's Day. I love my Mom! She's the greatest Mom in the world. Ok, I know some people would argue that their's are the greatest, and no doubt would feel justified. Isn't it great to feel that way? I'm going present shopping after work, but can't say where, just in case my Mom happens to read this before Sunday.
So, I hope everyone out there, myself included, has a superbly restful weekend. We all deserve it, darn it!
Posted by karen at 04:29 PM | Comments (1)
May 06, 2004
Summer Movie Season is about to Begin!
Ah, I love the movies. This weekend marks the first weekend of the "Summer Blockbuster Season." It's a great time of year. Second only to the Fall/Winter Oscar race. That's an even better time of year.
I'm pretty much set for May. This week, Van Helsing. Next week, Troy. Then, Shrek! Woo Hoo! Bring it on! Plus there are many, many of the more "indie" films that are coming out. Not as many as during Oscar season, but plenty to keep me happy and to even out the hype of the Blockbusters (at least I hope so).
So, here we go! Movies, movies, movies...I love movies.
Posted by karen at 02:27 PM | Comments (0)
May 05, 2004
Festivals fast approaching
So, it's Wednesday. It's been a fairly productive week at work so far. Our last concert of the season is this weekend. Then we move onto...dare I say it...festival season. Excuse me while I take a moment to weep quietly...
Alright, I'm ok now. Well, I have at least composed myself for the moment. It hit me when I walked by Stacey's office and she was switching her four month calendar to August. Plus, she was writing PURPLE DOOR on the calendar. Wait, I need another minute...
Ok, I've collected myself one more time. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up. I have mountainous piles of Creation Festival staff applications to go through and a script in my program that still isn't right. It will all be ok. I keep telling myself that. There is much to look forward to this summer. A trip to Maine, Sting and Annie Lennox in concert, the Lord of the Rings Symphony directed by Howard Shore (how cool is THAT?!), plus a plethora of picnics with my pals. Did you like that alliteration? I did.
Anyway, I'm feeling much better now. If I can just uncurl myself from the fetal position I keep finding myself in, thinking of festivals ahead, everything will be ok...it will all be ok...just keep telling yourself that...it will ALL be OK...
Posted by karen at 12:45 PM | Comments (3)
May 04, 2004
Wonderful Nothing
Last night was a wonderful evening of pretty much doing nothing of importance. I haven't had an evening like that in a long time. I got some laundry done, watched a little Spongebob, did my daily workout, but I really had no obligations to worry about. Ah, bliss.
Posted by karen at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)
May 03, 2004
What a Weekend!
I can't believe it's MAY! It's practically summer already. Festivals are just around the corner, and I am SO not ready for that. I wish I had a month of time to just go to an island somewhere and forget about everything for awhile. That would be nice. But, alas, it cannot be.
So anyway, the weekend was pretty cool. Saturday was the Yard Sale. Not a bad event. The weather held out, and Amish people bought stuff from me. I loved that. The funniest thing to me was that the one group of them were looking at my ELECTRIC iced tea maker. Ah, the irony of the Amish. They didn't buy it, but they were sure interested in it. I don't know if I could have, in good conscience, sold it to them. They also bought a lot of my Pyrex and a piece of my Sauder furniture. It just cracked me up. Overall, I netted about $72. So, now I can eat and drive this week. Yay!
Saturday night was game night at Trish & Linford's with the bonus of the season's first cookout. It was AWESOME! Good times, good times. The weather was beautiful, the games were fun, and it was just a great, relaxing time. Trish, Ann and I were even able to play some of our games on the deck. How great is THAT?
Sunday was good with church. The sermon series is about dating, which is interesting. Someday I hope to apply it to my life. Someday sooner than later would be great. Then I was working on Creation staffing at home, which is better than at work, but I hit a snag when a script in the program stopped working and I was trying to fix it for hours. It was fairly discouraging. I had high hopes of getting a lot of that done this weekend, but alas, those hopes were dashed by a stupid copy/paste script.
Mom and Dad came down for some shopping and dinner. We played some games (I taught them Carcassonne), and I ended the weekend with a very kick butt episode of Alias, my favorite show in the WHOLE WORLD. Overall, it was a really great weekend. I'm thankful that I get one of those every once in awhile. God was certainly smiling on me.
Posted by karen at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)