The cinema

I saw No Country for Old Men today. Eh. I enjoyed it but had a hard time getting how it was a Best Picture winner. It felt like a "normal" movie - good action but nothing much that gave it a WOW factor. I think if Javier Bardem's role had been played by a more well-known actor, it wouldn't have gotten such rave reviews. Somehow having this new guy on the screen, acting really well as the villain, made it seem different. When it was just a version of the same ole heist and chase genre. Diagree?

I really think the third Bourne movie should at least have been nominated for a Best Picture.

I then today saw Atonement which, eh, too. Kinda yawn. I tried reading the book a few years ago and couldn't get past the first section where Briony accuses someone falsely. I found her character kinda annoying and the plot a bit unbelievable. The movie moved slow though I will take into account that I had just seen No Country. Good acting and James McAvoy is hot but eh. Didn't quite have the drama and "oh, no, what's going to happen, how do they turn out?" tension it could have. But I don't the book had that so maybe it did the best it could?

Oh you, Cal

My job search is in process. (No, I haven't heard about the Cal one that I interviewed at last week; I emailed yesterday to check in but no response. They haven't decided? Don't contact the non-hired?? Who knows *sigh*)

I realize today that I'm tired of job searching. I'm tired of cruising 800 job boards (only slight exaggeration), clicking and carefully reviewing many many many job postings, picking ones to apply to, writing/modifying cover letters, doing chatty phone screens, dressing up and getting directions for job interviews, and sometimes getting an offer, sometimes not, and sometimes turning old and grey while I wait for nonprofits to make a freakin' hiring decision. My goodness, I don't know how anything gets done in any nonprofit.

Even though I quit in early Jan, I've been looking since October. Actively looking, applying, interviewing, deciding whether to move forward. I can spend easily 4-5 hours a day job searching. Honest, office workers, you prob don't put in a solid 4-5 hrs of work a day. I know I rarely did, hee hee.

And I want to work at Cal but they're making it so hard! I started applying on their site again today. You can only apply to one job a day. Ok then, I will meet your challenge, Cal, and apply each and every day... for awhile... until I get tired again or hired somewhere. Whichever comes first.

Ah, the life of the underemployed...

Hmmm, that seems like not the best financial strategy...

Schilling crap

I like Mike Rowe from the TV show "Dirty Jobs." Here's a clip of him from his QVC days trying to sell complete crap including the Katsac to people. How would you stretch this product to a two minute informercial? Darn hard, I tell ya. But you can hear his light sarcasm and comedic sense in the video. I really LOLed because yes, cats like the stupidest things. And yes, this kind of product is still sold in stores though cheaper now.

The new black - and it ain't "nice lady"

"Would you like to try that a little simpler?" "Mmm, no."

If the Oscars were a Nintendo game...

I especially love the "energy levels."

Ok, the ending is kinda gross. But Daniel Day-Lewis, even a fake one, is always awesome. Always.

Oh Tobias

One of my favorite moments from Arrested Development. Hard to track down clips from Hulu.com so this will have to suffice.

Best video of the year, paws down

Animals striking - not being cute

Cats don't like cones on their heads

Nora had her follow-up appt this morning at the vet today. Her little surgery "area" has a small abcess and the vet intern recommended getting a collar so she wouldn't pick at it. Ahhh, no cat I've ever seen likes those things. But, gotta do what you gotta do.

Poor Nora. When I put it on her, she freaked out. Keeps trying to back up into walls or me to get away from this thing on her head. I was upstairs and heard bang bang crash stumble and then she was somehow downstairs. Ahhh :( I don't think that happened gracefully but maybe some tail over head falling was involved. She then hid under the table for hours, resting her conehead against the table leg. I gave her a small cone break so she could go to the litter box and come out from hiding. She immediately pepped up and was off. Hmm, maybe she wasn't so traumatized as I had thought. When I put it back on, she just lay on the couch, trying not to move. She's now asleep against me barely noticing the red plastic cone around her neck. Ah, baby.

Now the question is whether or not to take it off at night. I think not, even though that means she most likely won't be able to come upstairs or esp on the bed. Hey, she just had expensive cat surgery! I want her to get better for her health and for my wallet's sake.

Sorry, baby, you're sleeping on the couch tonight.

Embedding craziness

Ok, here is the Tom Cruise parody video I mentioned awhile ago.

Will Arnett

Not the best Will Arnett clip but hey, gotta have some AD Gob anyways.



Yey, I learned how to embed videos!

"I've been listening to the wrong radio station"

Awesome.



Benjamin Zephaniah, Blackcabsessions.com. From JustSo Films.

"I'm glad you asked. Yes, I was once charged with attempted murder."

I will try to post things that I LOL about. These articles by the columnist Leah Garchik in the SF Chronicle last week during Valentine's Day revealed overheard conversations in the SF area. Seriously lol.

Here is the list over three columns, with my faves in bold (some have been edited out):

-- "I get attractive ... after six drinks." (Woman on the dance floor at office Christmas party, overheard by Mark Larson.)

-- "I'm not a bad guy ... a little creepy maybe, but not a bad guy." (Man to man, overheard walking near the UC Berkeley campus by June Vonich.)

-- "I need to find a boyfriend because I need to argue with somebody." (Woman to woman, overheard on Hayes near Fillmore by Ronn L. Robbins.)

-- "I'm so tired of dating people who don't have decent jobs or career goals or lives, or can put themselves together or even have their own car. From now on, I'm only going out with people who have the 'tions: compensation, transportation, motivation, ambition, attraction." (Woman to man, overheard by Tim Wu.)

-- "If I were a vegetarian, I'd brag about it. I'd probably get laid a lot more often." (Man to man, overheard on Telegraph Avenue by Christina Tuccillo.)

-- "He wants to have kids, so he's going hetero." (Guy on a bicycle to another guy on a bicycle, overheard while leaving AT&T Park by Ricardo Morrissey.)

-- "It's not that that I'm afraid of, but the broken heart afterward." (Woman to companion, overheard at Nordstrom in San Mateo by Sam Ainsworth.)

-- "I'm looking for a green man: high productivity and zero emissions." (Overheard in Macy's in Corte Madera by Jon Dreyer.)

-- "If only I was 20 years younger and lesbian." (Woman speaking about her yoga teacher, overheard by Elaine Geffen.)

-- "Call your wife first. And then call the contortionist." (Fifty-something male to companion, overheard at the ESPN zone for NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas by Anthony Passanisi.)

-- "I'm glad you're meeting someone interesting. It must be that new medicine you're on." (Female nurse on cell phone, overheard at Kaiser in San Francisco by Peter Washburn.)

-- "How is it that I get set up on a blind date with the one guy in Santa Cruz that's a Republican?' (Woman on cell phone, overheard on Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz by Amy Wolitzer.)

-- "Well, he lives in the Lower Haight and works in Marin. He's like a jock-thug-hipster." (Woman on cell phone describing her new love interest, overheard on the 22 Fillmore by Rachel Huysentruyt.)

-- "I'm supposed to meet him here but I can't remember if he's hot. Is he hot?" (Woman on cell phone, overheard on Chestnut Street in the Marina by Mark Pitta.)

-- "I'm not going there to get laid, but I might have to leave early to avoid it." (Self-assured young man to friend, overheard near the UC Berkeley campus by Marilyn Pon.)

-- "I don't know if we'll get along. He's a liberal Democrat and I'm a communist." (Woman at Caffe Trieste, overheard by Donna Bero.)

-- "She'll probably talk about you on her blog tomorrow." (Overheard hiking up the Eagle Peak Trail on Mount Diablo by Mike Palmer.)

-- "I don't see us being a girlfriend-boyfriend thing. I mean, we could be, but it's so obvious to me we won't that I felt I should mention it." (Boy to girl, overheard at Jupiter in Berkeley by Dave Bourdon.)

-- "He can't get totally wasted because he's gotta donate sperm tomorrow." (Young woman to young woman, overheard on the 33 Stanyan by Tom Canaday.)

-- "It's not every day you find yourself dating a bullfighter." (Woman to friend, overheard in front of the Conservatory of Flowers by The Chronicle's Anastasia Hendrix.)

-- "Yes, I told him I have a boyfriend and a girlfriend. I mean I live in San Francisco, don't I?" (Person on cell phone on Montgomery Street, overheard by N. Stricker.)

-- "The first time she tried to break up with him, they weren't even going together." (Teenage girl to teenage boy, overheard in Alamo Square by Donna Laemmlen.)

-- "I'm glad you asked. Yes, I was once charged with attempted murder." (Couple on what seemed to be first date, overheard at NOPA by B. Stormont.)

-- "So I told him, 'If she's standing close enough to kiss her it means she wants you to.' " (Man to friend, overheard at Pasta Pomodoro on 24th Street by Gerald Nachman.)

-- "Even my hips hurt the next day." (Woman to companions, overheard at Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves in Sonoma by Leslie McLean.)

-- "So I told him, 'I don't want your phone number! I just want to make out.' " (Young woman on cell phone, overheard at City College in San Francisco by Hallie Strock.)

-- "Barack Obama. We've made it our new safe word." (Woman to woman, overheard at the bar at Cafe Rouge by Desmond Yen.)

-- "Two small regulars." "Regulars?" "Yeah, I have a different lover this morning." (Young man talking with barista, overheard early morning at the French Hotel Cafe in Berkeley by Robin May.)

-- "I had to get a king-size bed. I'm dating a couple." (Customer overheard at White Horse Bar in Oakland by J.T.G.)

In the February of a relationship, buds form on its trees and tender love seems to flourish:

-- "Remember the first time we kissed?" "Oh, yeah. Was I wearing my white top or my green one?" (Teenage couple, overheard walking on Fourth Street in San Rafael by Patti Brennan.)

-- "He kept trying to put the moves on me, but then again, I was the one without clothes on." (Woman on cell phone, overheard outside a ground-floor window by Paul Hamberis.)

-- "And I thought, 'Wow, she looks hot.' Then I realized I was looking at myself in a mirror." (Woman to friends, overheard across the street from Cole Coffee in Oakland by Derek McCulloch.)

-- "My grandfather found himself another woman." (Fourth-grader telling fellow Marin County carpoolers why he has an extra grandmother, overheard by Jill Sperber.)

-- "I feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the world, 'cuz I keep running into these beautiful women with low self-esteem." (Guy to friends, overheard on the Alameda-Oakland ferry by Jennifer de Graaf.)

-- "Are you buying for a man or a woman?" (Man to man, shopping for Valentine's Day cards and overheard at Walgreens on Sansome by Ken Roberts.)

-- "High maintenance doesn't begin to cover it. Dump him." (Middle-aged woman shopper, examining coffee mugs and dishing out advice, overheard at Bristol Farms in San Francisco by Elizabeth Partridge.)

-- "He's so cheap, he could have gasoline dripping from his nipples and he still wouldn't drive his car across the bay to see me." (Woman in line at Noe Valley Bank of America, overheard by Dennis Gordon.).

-- "Yeah, he's addicted to love. But he's allergic to life." (Man discussing high school classmate, overheard at Thanksgiving dinner by Bruce Wodhams.)

-- "And then I saw that he had an aol.com e-mail address, and that pretty much settled that." (Punky young woman to friend, overheard at Naan n' Chutney in the lower Haight by Eric Kessell.)

-- "Dude, you can't give wine in a box to chicks." (Young gent to pal, overheard at the College Avenue Safeway in Oakland by Peter Shelton.)

-- "Well if she can't even say no to her siblings, how is she ever going to reject some jerk who has sex with cows?" (Woman standing in line at the Lumiere, overheard by Tosha Silver.)

-- "That's horrible. I would have spit right back at him!" (Woman on cell phone, overheard on Chestnut Street by Shirley Davalos.)

-- "Tell him if he says anything about last night, I'm never sleeping with his girlfriend again." (Woman on cell phone, overheard in parking lot of Kaiser Hospital in Redwood City by Capt. Harry.)

-- "He's a Sagittarius. That's why it took me so long to land him." (Woman to woman, overheard in Healdsburg Square by Carole Manners.)

-- "It's really hard to make major life changes and keep the same boyfriend." (Young woman on the 38-Geary, overheard by Steven Marker.)

-- "Babe, I just told you, I'm a hero, not a zero." (Man talking loudly on cell phone, overheard at 24th and Mission by Kristian Nergaard.)

-- "You should just be happy that I didn't break up with you." (Young man on cell phone, overheard at 18th and Castro by David Liebendorfer.)

-- "He was too mellow for even, like, sarcasm." (Young 20ish woman to companion, overheard at Pine and Montgomery by Robyn Todd.)

-- "No, Claire is my roommate. Kevin is my girlfriend." (Man to man, overheard at the elevators at 77 Beale by Vernon Jenkins.)

-- "My girlfriend is Russian, so does that mean it's OK to cheat on her?" (Man to man, overheard in an elevator by Ashly Russell.)

-- "I wouldn't care if he was cheating with a man or cheating with a woman. It's still cheating." (Woman to woman, overheard at 24-Hour Fitness in Vallejo by Sharon Silveira.)

-- "I never lie to you! I almost always tell the truth." (High school girl on cell phone to her boyfriend, overheard on Mission Street by Simon Blint.)

-- "Well, when I said I loved you ..." (Man on cell phone, overheard in Walgreens by Jean Tepper.)

-- "It was a little bit on the outer perimeter of my comfort zone." (One woman to another, overheard at a cafe in Sausalito by Clint Wilder.)

-- "By the way, I'm not with you." Woman to man, overheard on Solano Avenue in Berkeley by Jim Govek.)

-- "It's not that I don't like you. I'm just bored." (Teenage girl on cell phone, overheard at Target by Cliff Christensen.)

-- "He called me a stalker. I said, 'You don't know the difference between a stalker and love.' " (Young woman on cell phone on BART, overheard by Marilyn Miller.)

-- "She and I were going to break up a year ago, but there are dogs involved." (Man in his mid-30s, overheard on the chairlift at Sierra-at-Tahoe by Paul Baker.)

-- "I said to her, 'The relationship is over because I don't share your opinion of Terry Gross?' " (Young woman to young man, overheard at Lyon and Richardson by Libby Smith.)

-- "Don't you ever - ever! - buy me a steering wheel for Christmas. You'll be wearing it." (Woman to man, overheard at Mudd's restaurant in San Ramon by Steve Dimick.)

-- "It's not promiscuity, just an honest need for freedom." (Male cashier to bagger at Whole Foods in San Francisco, overheard by Linda and Ed Calhoun.)

-- "He was cheating on me with his fiancee!" (Angry young woman on cell phone, overheard in Antigua, Guatemala, by Graham Bell.)

-- "My ex-wife just canceled my Costco membership. Can you believe that? That's cold." (Man at Starbucks in Lafayette, heard by Andrew Moran.)

-- "I'm great. I mean, I feel great. I'm not great. I mean, I am great. Someone married me once. HE thought I was great. That was a long time ago." (Woman's detailed answer to the question, "How are you?" overheard in a San Anselmo coffee shop by Stan Sinberg.)

-- "And those weren't just your ordinary cigarette burns." (Young woman on Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland, overheard by Caryn Combis.)

-- "I remember you from the early part of the relationship when you had, like, this huge underbite." (Man embracing woman before getting into a taxi, overheard on 18th Street in the Mission District by E. Eastman.)

-- "Remember when the tree fell on that woman? That ruined that date." (Woman on cell phone, overheard in a Noe Valley bookstore, overheard by Steven Marker.)

-- "I was best man at her wedding." (Woman to friend, overheard at Caffe Delle Stelle by Jim Willenborg.)

-- "Have you ever actually serenaded a woman?" (Man to man, overheard at the Richmond Costco by Michele Accorsi.)

-- "You know what I like most about how far our relationship has come? We're both now equally greedy." (Man to woman, overheard in the parking lot of the North Berkeley Safeway by Kary Schulman.)

-- "He definitely is not for you. He is too nice." (Woman on cell phone at Foster City Costco, overheard by E. Baluyut.)

-- "He doesn't know what he's talking about (pause, sigh). I guess that's why I married him." (Middle-aged woman to friend, overheard at Trader Joe's in Westlake by Bill Gnoss.)

Musings

I haven't been writing as much lately. Probably mostly from not having a desk job with time and the ability to post all day long but I think also because life has felt overloaded and full of mixed emotions, some I don't want to type out. However, life is calming down a bit even as I'm still job searching for a fundraising/development position, ideally at UC Berkeley. And I've gotten the chance to be aware of moments of happiness and gratitude in my life.

We played Ultimate Frisbee after church this afternoon at a park in our neighborhood, and it was just fun and relaxing. Group sports are hard to pull off bc you need a group, duh. You can't play soccer or football or ultimate by yourself; you need other willing participants. Usually it only happens at retreats/conferences, an organized bday party at a park, or some other planned occasion. So I love that people from our church get together like this, somewhat planned but also casual, kinda regularly. Even though I'm slow, I love watching and playing sports - something about growing up with two older brothers and a sport-loving dad. As I sprinted/walked during the game, I thought, this is cool. I like being part of this community. I like living nearby and being able to change clothes and then walk over. I longed for months to live in the community and now I do. It's as good as I thought it would be.

This weekend has been so fun, and full of friends. Thu night we had a blast at the singles' VDay get-together/hangout thing with desserts, champagne, and a question game that turned into an enthusiastic, lively discussion about men needing to step up and ask women out, and also be more clear and honest. This seemed to be news to the men. Lucky they had us women there to school them.

Friday night was impromptu hanging out at Albatross in Berkeley, one of my fave bars bc it doesn't feel like a bar but like an adult club house. The popcorn machine is cheap, ppl play board games, and cider comes in a pitcher. My kind of place. After playing some games, we ended up talking about our favorite body parts and I took pics. Two people said their back is their fave body part - ??? Hey, whatever you like.

Sat night was Jill and Shyam's community dinner - yummy and a fun group again. I like people and community :)

And tonight, Sunday, was Muang's bday noodle soup extragavanza and wearing your cool thrift store purchases. For the third time this week, I had brownies and these were to die for. I think the best I've ever had. Good job, Teresa! Again, good conversations and community.

I like living here. I like my place. I like being in this community, with these people. I like that I'm doing development and also pursuing a fulltime job in development, that I know a bit more what I love and what makes me happy. I love how God has been providing for me and guiding me.

Last week we had our 2nd quarterly Development Committee mtg for our church/nonprofit (bc it runs like a nonprofit with our services and programs) and as I was leading the mtg, I looked around and thought, this is so cool. Jill and I talked for months about development ideas and things we wanted to see happen with New Hope, and now it's happening. We have a group of ppl excited, momentum, ideas, things starting, looking into grants again, restarting our newsletter, doing fundraisers, talking about motivating member giving. I love it. I love being in the middle of it, love that NH is open to going more in this direction, love that my gifts match what the church needs.

I'm happy where I am, what I'm doing. Sure, many things to improve but I like where I am.

Daily dose of Jesus

I've been reading this short account of one incident in Jesus' life over and over again for almost two months. I felt drawn to it before I quit my job - when life was still relatively stable though I had just moved. But I felt like God was calling me to it, that I would need faith coming up soon. I didn't know what that would look like exactly but I started to reread it almost daily and meditate on it. I've done this in the past with Psalm 62 (my life verse[s]) and others - read it again and again, to dwell in it. To be reminded, to hear God again, to see new reflections of God's character and who I want to be. I actually like it, the daily reading of the same verses, the same story, the same truth.

I recall it a lot lately, when computers start smoking and extra expenses come up and Nora needs immediate surgery and.... Jesus is powerful and authoritative. He who commands the winds and sea - can He not take care of me?

Jesus Calms the Storm - Mark 4

35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

41They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

Positive thoughts

Even during all this... transition, I see a lot of ways God is there and present. I'm trying to focus on the positive in the midst of the broken things, trouble with data and cell phones, frustration. I want to live my life that I have faith, even quiet faith in the middle of trouble, that God will take care of it all, that He can take care of it all, that He is still God. Even though innocent grumbling can be a helpful venting, for my own heart, I don't want to dwell on the negative. I want to feel it and release it but dwell in the position of faith. Sit in it, make my camp, plant my heart there. I don't want to live in the stressed, overwhelmed, frustrated part. And only I can change that. So I'm changing it.

Nora

I took Nora in to the vet yesterday afternoon for a routine procedure she gets done and it turned out into a serious thing where they had to do urgent outpatient surgery on her right then :( :( :( She's ok now with twice daily pills, a new more-expensive-and-separate-from-Mitch's-food diet plan, and ointment I have to apply to her bum 2x a day but the vet said it was serious and her little problem could have ruptured and been even more serious. And of course it cost money. Sure, just add it to the pile o' expenses these last two months. But more sad/stressful is what if I hadn't happened to take her in yesterday, which I did bc I had a free couple of hours?

It was a stressful night last night.

Is there any area of my life not affected right now?

Sun

The last few days has been warmer and sunnier, no rain or grayness. I can tell I feel happier, more hopeful, more positive. I don't ever feel during the winter that I'm more down or sad or pessimistic but when winter ends, my spirits always start to turn up. I think I should spend more time in warmer weather during the winter, and definitely no snow areas for me.

Anyone else feel that way?

There will be Oscars

A clip from Funnyordie.com mocking Daniel Day-Lewis from There Will Be Blood. Which is not titled There Should Be Blood or There's the Blood as I kept accidentally calling it when talking with Marjie. GREAT movie, by the way. What can Daniel Day-Lewis not be excellent in?



How do you darn underline on Blogger??

Here's the trailer and official site of the movie. I'm glad I hadn't seen the trailer because I went in hearing it was good but not really knowing anything besides it being about oil in the early 1900's in America. What emerges is a messy mix of religion and oil with two strong performances by the two main characters.

And I walked out thinking this movie should win for music and sound editing. I can't think of any other movie I thought that about. Unfortunately because of stupid rules, it can't be nominated for Original Score bc a small amount of the music is classical music or written a year before the movie was made. Dumb. Watch it and tell me that sound/music isn't a main part of the story - almost like location is for others.

I still need to see No Country for Old Men... but 3:10 to Yuma starts slow but ends with a great scene.

Beastie Boys animated

Here's a clip of the children's animator/writer Richard Scarry's characters singing to a Beastie Boys song. Esp if you grew up on Scarry's children's books, this is pretty cute.

Broken

In our broken world,

with our broken computers, broken cell phones,

our broken pens, broken financial lives, broken cars,

and our broken hearts, broken promises, broken faith,


we have Jesus.



He is broken too, and yet complete and perfect.

In his brokenness, He is our healer and completer of our faith.

Ash Wednesday

One of the Scriptures we read today at noon prayer on Ash Wednesday. From Biblegateway.com.

Luke 18:9-14 (New International Version)

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Taylor Swift

I read about this upcoming singer Taylor Swift in EW. I like how she writes her songs using the original boys' names that she falls for; no hidden identities. Now 18, she was the youngest person to have a songwriter/singer contract by her recording agency. She wrote or co-wrote every song on her first album. Pretty impressive.

Here are some of her videos from Youtube.

Teardrops on my Guitar

Our Song

Tim McGraw