The sweet by and by

Yes, I am WAY overdue for some sort of update. There hasn't been much going on other than watching more movies, but none of them are really worth reviewing. However, I finally made a step toward the resumption of the annual Ozark shopping trip last night by reserving some hotel rooms. This year we are skipping over our standard spot at Econo Lodge to try out Howard Johnson. It has the standard free internet and breakfast, but I'm most excited about the hot-tub. Now we can truly relax after a long day on our feet by soaking in some warm water. The trip should be taking place from October 19 through 22. If you haven't been thinking about what you want for Christmas, you better start now! Chances are, I'll be buying something for you while at the outlet stores. :)

Four movie marathon

I finally had a chance to watch all of the Harry Potter movies recently. When they first came out, I was not all that interested since it was a "children's" story. I did see the Sorcerer's Stone and that only reinforced the idea that the plots would not be intricate enough for my taste. However, based on my sister's recommendation, I gave the books a try. She told me they get better and better, so I stuck with them until I was drawn in around the third book. To my delight, the the stories did evolve as the characters got older. Anyway, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is still the weakest of the movies and also the weakest of the books. I rate it a 6 because it did a very good job visually and does set up the characters well. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets rates an 8 because of the execellent mystery and character development. This is where I really began to love Dumbledore. So of course, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is somewhat diminished because of the new headmaster. This one only rates a 7, as I don't think it did a very good job with the time turner and other story intracacies. Finally, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire gets an 8 with more lovely visuals and better handling of story details. Overall, I think my sister explained it best -- the movies are not really all that good in and of themselves. They are just execellent ways to apply visuals to what we read and remind ourselves of the story elements that we loved in the books.

Catch up on movie ratings

Yes, I know it is a shame I haven't posted in a long while. My life has settled into the normal quiet pace of nothing-exciting-going-on. But I do continue to watch a lot of movies. I've even been to the theatre quite a bit lately. So below is my attempt to summarize all that I can remember from the past month or so. Basic Instinct 2 - 2 I wasn't expecting much, but I did hope that they at least kept the character interesting and intelligent like she seemed in the first one. In the end, it really just felt like an older actress trying to reclaim her youth. The story wasn't was good and even the big reveal at the end I thought could have been done a lot better. Brokeback Mountain - 4 As often happens with Hollywood Westerns, all the critical hype makes me think there is something more to the film, so I will watch it and find out that it's really just a boring cowboy story. The actors did a great job in filling up 2 hours of movie when they only had 20 minutes of dialog to work with. Clerks II - 6 I really enjoy Kevin Smith's dialog. He often seems more realistic than many other screenwriters today. I even often enjoy his sense of humor. However, I think a few of the jokes in this went too far. And the plight of the main character seemed too much like the first movie -- it was the same story only in color. Find Me Guilty - 5 I really like Vin Diesel. I think he has talent, and I think he did a great job in this film. Nonetheless, the film felt very "standard" and predictable. Furthermore, I don't tend to like stories about the mafia, especially when they are skewed to look like good guys. Gone in 60 Seconds - 4 Some recent interest in Angelina Jolie's work made me want to see this again. I couldn't remember much of it, and after seeing it a second time I now know why -- there isn't really much there. A few standard car chase scenes, some typical Hollywood bad jokes, some decent music; but no story to pull me in. No character development that interested me. Rumor Has It... - 5 Yes, it is true that I sometimes get a typical "girlish" streak and like to see a standard romantic comedy. Sometimes you run across these suprising little gems. This was not one of those, but rather a more typical story. The only thing interesting is the way they tried to tie it back to The Graduate.

YACBM

I saw Yet Another Comic Book Movie this weekend with my family -- Superman Returns -- in IMAX 3D no less. Despite the impressive graphics, I'm going to rate it only a 6. The story just didn't pull me in. The dialog was kind of flat. The acting was pretty good, but again didn't really leave a strong impression. Plus, the big secret "reveal" basically made me think, "Oh, here goes Hollywood again." Overall, I would rather have seen it on DVD, but it was worth a watch nonetheless.

It's finished

My participation in Corporate Challenge is finally over. Last night I came up against some ladies who have definitely been playing racquetball much more recently and frequently than I. Although I made for some good volleys and a few nice points, their skill was too much for me. I still ended up in 4th place, out of 13 who were scheduled, so that doesn't seem too bad. Plus, I got some exercise and had fun. What more could you ask for?

Forfeits aren't everything

But they do count as wins in Corporate Challenge. I was scheduled for two racquetball matches on Saturday and won both because my opponent didn't show. The trip wasn't a complete waste because I got to scrimmage with a couple of other ladies who were hanging around waiting. Now I am guaranteed at least 4th place, and have two more games scheduled Wednesday night. I am pretty sure that all the no-shows are out at this point, so I am guaranteed to play at least once.

Corporate Challenge Update

Okay, so I've been busy practicing and competing in Corporate Challenge events, plus some work craziness, so I'm long overdue for another update. Pool: I had practiced quite a bit and felt very ready to compete the day of the event. My first game was scheduled to start at 6:00pm at a billiards room up north, so I had planned on leaving work between 4 and 4:30 to give myself plenty of time for rush hour traffic and to find the place. However, around 3:00pm a small issue popped up at work. I started working on it and by 4, I knew I wasn't going to be able to get away. My coworker who was representing the men for our company was able to get in touch with one of the other ladies who had signed up so at least the women didn't forfeit. I ended up staying at work until 10:30pm that day. Bowling: With this, I didn't feel as ready as I could have been since I'd only practiced occasionally before the competition. However, I tend to bowl better when I don't try as hard, so I kept a "This is for fun" attitude. It worked. I bowled above my personal average with a series of 139, 141, and 154. Unfortunately, the other 3 people on my coed team bowled about the same when we were up against some bowlers going into the 200s. We ended up 5th out of 19 teams that participated so it wasn't too bad. Also, out of a total 98 women, I placed 17th individually. Not too shabby. Soccer: This was the event I was most looking forward to. There were 4 women who showed up to play 3-on-3 soccer, and I was the only one who had practiced lately. We were fortunate in that our HR coordinator managed to convince one of the guy players to be our coach, so at least we had some direction. Needless to say, we floundered during our first game but with the help of the coaching, we had a working strategy by the end of it. Despite that loss, we approached our second game with determination and so my only scoring goal gave us a win. We still had a third game scheduled for the first night, and even with a 20 minute rest we were getting tired. Furthermore, we had the luck of the draw to come up against some girls who had obviously been kicking around soccer balls ever since they could walk. We were seriously out-played, but still managed to score one goal ourselves, so we didn't feel completely defeated. I had a lot of fun and hope I get to play again every year! Racquetball: This is basically the only thing I have left. I had planned on dropping out since I discovered I have no easy place to practice in Kansas City, however the only other lady to sign up has already bowed out because of a schedule conflict. This means I have a little over a week to try and prepare. I'm hoping my "This is for fun" attitude will pay off again, because there is no way I'll be ready for serious competition in such a short time. As long as I can score a few points, maybe even win a game, I'll know that I did my best.