Oscarama debrief

In what now qualifies as a longstanding tradition, mel and I had an online Oscar party on Sunday. This year was a good movie-going year for me, in that I actually saw some. So, during a brief, delusional period of overconfidence, I downloaded an official oscar.com ballot and made some predictions. More on my success rate later...

I skipped all the pre-show hoopla and only watched the actual telecast. I find it hard to watch awkward celebrity red-carpet interviews. It makes me feel embarassed for them sometimes.

What did I think of this year's four hour marathon, I mean, show? Well, it could be the sleep-deprivation talking, but I thought it was a wee bit long. Have some pity for us ASTers who work in the morning.

I thought Ellen was quite a benign host. She was cute and funny and adequate. No major complaints.

The dresses were lovely, for the most part. Only Anne Hathaway and Jessica Biel should fire their stylists.

The only major "upset" for me was when the song from "An Inconvenient Truth" won Best Original Song over three songs from "Dreamgirls".

Here are some snippets from the online Oscar festivities:

re: Jack Nicholson -
mel says:
ew is jack nicholson bald?
lynda says:
signs point to yes
later...
mel says:
yep, definitely bald and gross

re: Tom Cruise comes on stage to present award -
mel says:
this could be trouble
lynda says:
omg they let tom cruise out

re: the dancer people -
mel says:
I'm in love with the silhouette dancer people
lynda says:
me too! so cool
lynda says:
well, i'm not in love with them, but there are definite stirrings of admiration

re: Babel -
mel says:
booooring
lynda says:
uber booooooooring

re: this photo of Celine Dion's bottle green dress -
lynda says:
it's bottle green!
mel says:
it is
lynda says:
um, i sort of see her nipples i think

re: Kate Winslet -
lynda says:
ooh, pretty kate winslet
mel says:
ah, she's lovely
mel says:
why can't she just win an oscar?
lynda says:
because helen mirren and judy dench keep making movies

re: Martin Scorsese wins Best Director -
mel says:
YAY!!!!!
lynda says:
yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!

And my predictions? I got 13 right, which I thought was impressive, until I realized there were 24 categories, which means I got about 54%, which is slightly less impressive. Oh well, there's always next year!

Oscarama fallout

As I told Maria this evening on MSN, I'm currently nursing an Oscar hangover, meaning that I watched the whole bloody thing until 1:30 a.m., and I got up this morning at 6:45. I had to have two naps today: one at lunchtime and one after work.

Add to that a very emotionally draining Heroes (I seriously burst into tears at the end of the episode) , and I'm a wreck.

So, the Oscar post will have to wait until tomorrow.

Oscarama

Currently watching Oscars while having annual Oscar MSN chat with mel. Fingers crossed for Little Miss Sunshine for Best Picture.

Help stop global warming.

More about weekend happenstances tomorrow.

"Ouch."

This is what I have to say about Grey's much-hyped three episode "Ferry crash/Meredith 'dies'" arc: seriously? Do the writer's not think that we have any brains at all? And isn't it convenient that Meredith can recover so well after not having a heartbeat for two and a half hours? And isn't it also convenient that Mer's mom died, but not before reconciling with her daughter in the afterlife limbo? Whatever. I was skeptical at the outset, and I was not impressed at the end.

The only thing that redeemed TV Thursday was watching curling. Despite all indications to the contrary, PEI's women's curling team managed to squeak into a tiebreaker playoff game tomorrow afternoon! I don't know if you all know this, but I do love my curling on TSN. Can't wait to watch this game tomorrow!!

Did I mention that I'll be home tomorrow afternoon? Yay!

Day by day

Tonight I went to see a production of Godspell with a work colleague. It was really, really well done. The music was fantastic, the cast was great, and I cried. What more could you ask for?

I would consider going again, since it plays this weekend, but that would interfere with my fabulous going home plans for this weekend. Anyone up for a small intimate gathering for nachos? Mmm, nachos...

C'mon get happy.

I'm trying to be cheerful today, so here are three good things that happened today:

1. I got an email from Catherine. I am woefully neglectful with my emails, so consequently my inbox rarely carries anything but spam. So this was a lovely treat.

2. I chatted with Maria on MSN. I haven't seen her forever, so it was great to touch base. Have a blast in Toronto!

3. I went for a walk in very wind-chilly weather, and my puffy coat kept me very warm.

Re: tonight's Heroes (with apologies to Michelle and others for the spoileresque discussion): how much did I love Dale, the girl mechanic hero with super hearing! What an awesome super power! I'm still trying to wrap my head around how it worked...

Mummy?

I eased myself back into existence today with a little shopping/movie action. Michelle and I went to the mall, where I purchased a pretty skirt and a necklace. Then we saw The Queen, which I totally recommend. It's almost like a comedy with Queen Elizabeth and Tony Blair as unlikely "buddies". Quite amusing at some points, particularly any scene involving the adorable Queen Mum. Bonus points for not exploiting Princes William and Harry.

Now I only have to see Letters from Iwo Jima, and I'll have seen all of this year's Best Picture nominees, a feat which I have yet to accomplish. Sadly, Letters has left Freddy, so I probably won't get a chance to see it. My favourite so far is, of course, Little Miss Sunshine, but I wouldn't be sad if The Departed or The Queen won, either.

Operation: Recuperate

My plan for today was not to have any plans. I've been running myself ragged for the last little while, so I figured that a weekend of relaxation would help me rejuvenate.

I have a hard time doing nothing. It's weird, because I have no problem doing nothing when I have other things to do, but it's really difficult for me to allow myself the luxury of not having specific plans. Even today, I made myself go for a walk in between sleeping times. And I couldn't stop myself from making a list of easy things to accomplish this weekend.

Indeed, I had planned to be fairly productive this evening. However, those plans fell by the wayside after a phone call from my brother Jamie. He was vomitously sick today, and all alone at his apartment. So I kept him distracted for a while by talking to him for almost three hours. I remember my own experience with vomitous illness before Christmas, and tried to do what I could to keep him in fairly good spirits. Hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow.

And now back to doing nothing...

McSucky

It's not even over yet, and I think this is the worst Grey's episode ever. Totally contrived, melodramatic crap. Does the hospital not have an emergency plan for mass casualties? Why does a surgical intern get assigned to identify the wounded? Why is a surgical intern running around trying to find a boy? Why is a surgical intern drilling holes into a man's skull?

And how many surgeons are trying to resuscitate Meredith? Why are they doing chest compressions if she has a heartbeat?

Where are the ER docs???? Or any other sort of doctor?

And do you really think that Meredith Grey of Grey's Anatomy is going to die?

All of this so we can see Denny and buddy who got blown up (aka the guy from Early Edition) again?

I believe that this is dumb. Seriously.

It's just another day.

So this is approximately Day 15 of my neverending sinus congestion/runny nose/achiness/onw swollen lymph node. I am not amused.

I was, however, greatly amused by this "newsbite" from New York Daily News:

'Tina Fey dissed archfoe Aaron Sorkin Sunday night at the Writers Guild Awards. The "30 Rock" star competes with Sorkin's "Studio 60": Both take place behind the scenes at a show like "Saturday Night Live," where Fey was head writer. Wiggling around the Hudson Theatre stage in a party frock with plunging decolletage, Fey told the crowd, "I hear Aaron Sorkin is in Los Angeles wearing the same dress - but longer, and not funny."'


Snap.


That being said, I still find myself strangely drawn to Studio 60. I've decided that maybe it's not supposed to be funny all the time, but when it is, I laugh so hard. Like when the snake got lost on the set.

By the way, there's big snow here:



Started at noon. Snowed all afternoon. Lovely. We're supposed to get 20 cm.


I propped myself up in front of the window for a while when I got home from work. If I weren't feeling so crappy, I would have gone out for a snow romp. *sigh* Maybe tomorrow.

P.S. I hate the new Blogger's tendency to make the spacing in my posts all wonky. My apologies.

12 of 12 - February 2007

Chimo! Happy 12 of 12 month again, everyone!

12:03 a.m. I just got back from Sunday Movie Night at Michelle's and realized I forgot to pack up the cookies I had made that afternoon. Thse chocolate chip ones were a culinary failure, yet I carefully stored them anyway. Any takers?

8:11 a.m. So I was a little late getting into work this morning, but when I did get there, I discovered my student intern had made good on her promise to pick up a deeply discounted puffy coat in Saint John on the weekend! Happy Monday indeed! Sadly, that was the highlight of my work day. I was so insanely busy that I didn't even have time to take any pictures. And my lack of sleep didn't help things.

4:53 p.m. Bonus Pic. Look! I'm in Michelle's apartment in the daytime, and I'm wearing my new puffy coat! Me loves it.

5:03 p.m. Then Michelle and I did some sightseeing so we could bring you some of the oddities of Fredericton. Like this sign that prohibits left turns, but only if you're going to Tim Horton's (the Canadian coffee shop).


5:06 p.m. Is it a barbershop? Is it a bar? No, my friends, it's both.


5:20 p.m. Then Michelle coerced me into playing on playground equipment. Super fun!


5:23 p.m. Michelle's turn!

5:31 p.m. Wanna buy a head? Anyone?

5:58 p.m. We went to Chapters in our endless quest to find stationary. They didn't have any stationary, but they did have penguins! (that's a gratuitous penguin pic for Rosey)



7:36 p.m. Grocery shopping at Sobey's, where I *gasp* bought some brown hair stuff that will make my hair brown all over, but only for a few washes. Michelle's fault.

8:56 p.m. Big tv night tonight. First, there's Hiro!

9:28 p.m. Then The Man, aka Jack Bauer. Two hours of 24 gets me too worked up. I can't take the suspense!

10:21 p.m. I tried making muffins during 24 to distract me, but it didn't work. I'm still worked up! After I drove Michelle home, I applied some of my hair stuff. My hair is still wet, so it's hard to say how it turned out. I'll let you know!

Chimo

Tonight Michelle and I had a movie night at her apartment. I had spent most of the day feverishly baking cookies to send to my brothers, so it was a welcome break. Note: I'm not purposefully excluding my sister from my baking, it's just that she's going away on Wednesday, and I don't think she'll get the cookies in time.

We watched Kinky Boots, which I've been wanting to see forever, and it did not disappoint. It was a heart-warming British comedy, and I totally recommend it. Then we squeezed in Douglas Coupland's Souvenir of Canada, which was a delightfully patriotic documentary. It also makes me wonder if the film was also a delightfully smart marketing ploy, because it made me want to buy the book of the same name, and also start my own ecclectic Canadiana collection.

Did you know we have/had a mascot? Me wanty.

Fabulous Friday

I didn't have to work today, so I got to sleep in till 8:30, which is when You Know Who and her Boyfriend got up (note to self: find earplugs that stay in my ears all night). I had big apartment therapy plans today, but they were vetoed by my inner laziness. I spent most of the day in my pajamas doing whatever I wanted. I napped, I watched tv, I thought deep thoughts. Sometimes you just need to recharge your batteries.

I did eventually leave the apartment to return some purchases. And then I bought some more picture frames. I'm really not allowed to do that, because now I have about a dozen empty picture frames piled up in a corner.

My grand master plan for the evening was to sew two pillow covers, frame some pictures, hang my new shelves, and make panels for my screen.

It's almost midnight, and I managed to make one pillow cover. Oh, and I did hang the shelves.

And then she fell off the pier.

Today I left the house for work at 7:30 in the morning and didn't get back until 6:00 in the evening. Then I spent another half hour writing reports, and I'm still not done.

I didn't half mind it, because it kept my mind occupied.

TV Thursday also provided ample distraction. It's quite easy to become wrapped up in fictional people's lives. But seriously, a ferry crash? What is this, Speed 2? And this fabulous hospital doesn't have any emergency room doctors who are trained in emergency medicine to go on the scene?

Motoneige.

So, it's been a while.

I went to Halifax last Thursday for a hearing aid conference on Friday. You may recall when I went to one of these things in Toronto last year, and I had my big "I need a fancy dress-up outfit" crisis. This one was a lot more low-key, and I got to catch up with some audies I rarely see. It's really fun to be in the same room with people who understand what I do.

After the conference on Friday, I went over to Rosey's apartment, intending to have another fantabulous weekend. Then I got a call from my mom, and then my dad. My brother was snowmobiling in Quebec, and he had an accident and broke his leg. Completely. His tibia and fibula were completely fractured. He had to have surgery and everything.

Needless to say, it kind of put a damper on my mood.

On Saturday, my dad asked me if I would go up to Quebec with him and my brother's wife. He was to be in charge of transporting my brother back to PEI, and I was to be the translator. You see, they speak a lot of French in Quebec. My brother does not.

So I drove back to Freddy Saturday evening, and then on Sunday I drove up to Miramichi to meet my dad and sister-in-law. It took us several hours to get to the hospital in Matane. Matane isn't very big, but they do have a Walmart and a Canadian Tire. Their hospital is very old, and I was so focused on my brother while we were there that I didn't even notice if they had an audiology department. He's going to be fine, but I was quite worried about him. Worrying is what Lynda's do best.

I was quite proud of myself, though, because this is one of the few times I've used my French in the real world (aside from my job) in a meaningful way. Six years of Late French Immersion did not go to waste!

On Monday, we bundled my brother into the van and headed back to NB and PEI. It was quite snowy and stormy when we left, but once we got inland the weather improved.

Not quite the weekend I planned. Hopefully this weekend will be a little less adventurous.