Easter with My Family

This year, Easter was at my house. It was a lot of work, but all worth it. I put in all new flowers and got the house all spruced up inside and out. My mom was the "food committee" and she also worked her little patootie off.

We had a wonderful time, the food was GREAT. We all ended up gathering in my backyard and enjoyed the PERFECT weather for around 4 hours.

Here are some photos of my kooky family. We laugh, we love, we eat! We're not perfect, but we sure do have a lot of fun!

Some things to look forward to.....and the "day after" the happy news...

As wonderful as yesterday's news was about my job security, it was also a bit surreal. I was thinking about it later. I'd carried around the burden of possibly losing my job for so many weeks that I almost didn't know what it was like to live without it. I'll tell you what it is like: WONDERFUL...

Last night I slept better and more soundly than I have in ages. I hadn't even realized the way the job stress had affected my sleep. This morning while I was getting ready for work I thought to myself how at that time yesterday I was gearing up for a day of preparing for today's sub, and how I had planned to leave so early to attend the RIF (Reduction in Force) hearing; it hardly seemed possible that I would be able to miss it.

At school our morning schedule was a little bit different, simply because teachers that do not have their own classrooms were needed as subs to fill in for those who DID have to attend the RIF hearing. I feel awful for my colleagues who had to go and whose jobs may still be in jeopardy. And, there is still the slim possibility that I could be bumped to another school (slim,) and to another grade level in another classroom. I'm just going to take one thing at a time and just be grateful for the fact that I HAVE A JOB. I have a job, I have an income--that's all anyone can ask for these days.

Next week my mom and I will drive to Carmel and spend 5 days/4 nights days at the LOVELY Cypress Inn. I can't wait. You can visit their website HERE. It is, literally, my favorite place to visit. I knew that it would be great to go there knowing that the RIF hearing was over, but now there is the added extra of going and knowing that my job is secure. That is certainly more than I could've ever hoped for. We'll have a great time, we'll take my dog, the hotel is stunning and the people so nice. It will be a wonderful break from everything as I head into the homestretch of the school year.

Life is good. I'm still amazed at yesterday's incredible news. What a miracle that was!

HAPPY, HAPPY NEWS!!!

After 3 long months, I learned today that I will not be losing my job at the end of this school year!!

Learning about this happy news was completely unexpected today. I expected to be preparing for my sub tomorrow, as I got ready for the school district's RIF (Reduction in Force) Hearing that would be taking place.

Instead, the vice principal and secretary came to my classroom shortly after recess and hand-delivered a letter from the superintendent telling me that my notice of possible layoff had been revoked, that I will be offered a certificated teaching position for next year, and that I do not need to attend tomorrow's hearing.

The relief I feel is indescribable! I've lived under this cloud of stress and uncertainty since the third week of January, and it has affected me greatly. And, despite the outpouring of support from family and friends, being in that state of limbo for so many weeks is exhausting.

And now it is over. I still can't believe it! I am SOOO thrilled and grateful to have a job!

3 Witty Comics in a Row...

On my homepage I have it set to show 3 silly comic strips. I thought all 3 of today's were especially good. Click on the picture to see them full-sized and get a little chuckle yourself...

Field Trip to the Music Center in Los Angeles

Today was Field Trip day at school. It went fairly smoothly.

Last year I made the decision to skip the field trip because I had too many unruly kids. This year I have 90% of the same kids as last year, but the most difficult ones have gone their separate ways and have been replaced with very sweet kids.

We were invited to take part in the Children's Festival in downtown LA. We were given a DVD to use to practice this dance called Rocka My Soul. Today we took the bus downtown and navigated our way through crowds of hundreds of kids from other schools. It was very well organized. There were many volunteers who helped us and one very nice man gave us a tour of 2 of the 4 theaters on the Music Center property.

We got to go inside the lobby of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, we sat inside the Ahmanson Theater, and then the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is where the performance we were to see was going to take place.

The performance was by Ailey II, a west coast offshoot of the Alvin Ailey dance company. The performance was fantastic--just long enough so that the kids didn't get bored. Just cultural enough to expose them to something new, and just jazzy enough to really keep their attention. Thanks to YouTube, I was able to find some videos of what we saw today:

This is part of a dance called "Revelations" that was actually choreographed by Alvin Ailey himself in 1960:


The whole performance had the kids mesmerized and I'm so glad that they had the chance to experience something like this.

When the performance was done, the kids went outside and had a change to get in circles and perform the dance that they had learned, which was done to the same song as the closing number in today's dance concert.

Afterwards, the teachers made the command decision to get as all back to school and then eat lunch, even though it was around 1pm. We were worried about not getting back on time. But we did, and broke out the lunches with minutes to spare before the 1:50 bell.

The weather was good, the traffic was kind, and the kids did great. You never know how things are going to turn out on field trip days. But today was smooth, just the way I like them. Yay!

Pink Friday...Could-a Been Worse...

Pink Friday in CA. The day that thousands of teachers received their "pink slips." (Notice of possibly not being rehired the following school year...)

I was one of them.

I've known about this day since January and had mentally and emotionally prepared for it. And now it has come and gone.

What I didn't realize is that this was a state-wide day of support for all those teachers. At my own school, every staff member, and even the administrators, were wearing pink.

Still...there is hope. These are just "warning letters." These are not "you're laid-off, go start looking for a new job" letters. I'm hanging onto that glimmer of hope. And I could very likely be safe when final decisions are made in May at my district. I understand, this is all about covering the bases and the whole "procedure" of things. Along with those "procedures" are some upcoming meeting and even a hearing, that people like me are encouraged to participate in. Fine. I'll jump through their hoops and not let it consume me. That's all I can do.

Thank goodness for my family and friends, near and far. They have been so supportive.

The ones who really surprised me were my students. My little 5th grade munchkins who I have now been with for 2 years.

I'm a big believer in being very straight with my students. It is the way I was raised and, frankly, I think they appreciate being in the loop and being respected like that. So, they have known that my job was in jeopardy. I wanted them to know because, let's face it, it is HARD not to let those kinds of things affect me and, possibly, affect my teaching. So, we've talked about it.

On Friday we were getting in shape for an upcoming physical fitness test, so I wore sweats so I could go running with them. Our wonderful stock & materials lady, Ms. Yvonne, had cut out a bunch of pink hearts and put pins on them. I wore one and brought the rest to my room for my kids to wear. Hearts. PINK hearts. Surely few of them would want to wear one.

We ran out. They all wanted to wear one.

The real surprise came at lunch.

I had been checking my box at recess and then at lunch for my "letter." I just wanted to get this next grisly step over with. Then it occurred to me that something like this probably had to be given in person.

After lunch I brought my kids inside for their water breaks and a story. They were all giggly and secretive and they had something for me:

FRONT:
INSIDE: (I couldn't believe they would do all this....)
All of the class had signed it. They even hunted down a few former students, some of the ELD kids from my morning group, and had signed the names of the kids who had moved away. The funny ones? Check out the "signatures" of Harry Potter, Roald Dahl (they know he's my favorite author,) and Barack Obama!! As they explained it, "Yeah, Teacher, Barack Obama flew down in Air Force One, signed your card, and went back to Washington DC!"

BACK:
What can I say? I couldn't help but be deeply touched. They don't realize what a thing like that means to a teacher.

When the kids were in the library I went to the office and, finally, collected my letter. All the fear and anxiety wasn't there, as I expected it to be. I took it, I read it, and that was it. I picked my kids up from the library and we went and listened to our choir sing some songs from The Sound of Music. They did a great job!

After school I went to the district office and dropped off some paperwork to get the ball rolling with all of this "procedure" stuff. Then I came home, went to the cemetery with my mom and nephew...it had been one year since my grandpa had passed away...and then to the mechanic for my car's check up.

The night passed nicely and quietly, and I was calm over all this job business. Me. Calm when I've received a letter like this. Who would-a thunk it?

The irony is that, despite the "letter," my day was actually pretty GREAT. And that was my Pink Friday.

My Birthday Weekend...WOW!!

I had such a great birthday weekend, it almost made me forget my newly acquired age! And, because there are so many things to share and so many different things that made it special, I'm going to break this entry up into parts:

The Birthday Wishes
What can I say? It is really nice to be remembered on your birthday. Last year, my birthday was very much downplayed because Tito, my grandpa, was at the end of his life and all attention was on his care--as it should be. I didn't mind. He ended up passing on March 13th. My birthday consisted of my mom and me having a quiet dinner in her family room, watching a movie, and my blowing out a candle on a little cupcake.

Like I said, I didn't mind. All of us were focused on Tito at the time. But at the same time, it sure was nice to receive so many birthday wishes this year! Cards, emails, about 35 "Happy Birthdays" from different friends on Facebook, and 2 song dedications. I'll talk about those in a bit... :-)

The Family Party
I have made no secret that my family is, well, AWESOME. We have made it a tradition over the years to rotate homes every month and celebrate the birthdays in that month. Whoever can make it, can make it, but we always have a good time. Sometimes we sit around the fire pit outside, sometimes my uncles will bring their guitars and we'll sing, sometimes we'll have deep discussions about life. With the passing of both grandparents last year, our conversations have often turned to some of life's deeper subjects: mortality, the importance of family, the transitory aspect of material things, always trying our best to uphold the traditions our grandparents began and honor their memories.

This past Saturday we gathered at my Uncle Ruben and Aunt Alicia's house. Their house is awesome...all spread out and filled with Uncle Ruben's art. The group was small, only 9 of us, but we had fun. At our biggest, we number around 18 people. The dinner was yummy, we had pie a la mode for dessert, and we hung out in the kitchen and living room. Baby Alexander was the star of the show. I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday evening than with family like that.

Here are some pictures:


By the next morning, I lined up some of my birthday gifts and took a picture, still feeling the love:

Left to right:
A card from my good friend and co-worker, Nancy (accompanied with some chocolate chip cookies--yum!), a card and a really pretty anklet from my dear friend Eric, a card from my Grandma Chevalier, a card from my mom. Also, a gift card to Borders bookstore from my brother, flowers from my mom (also theater tickets and a visit to the mechanic,) and a reproduction of a painting by Uncle Ruben.

Like I said, I'm really feeling the birthday love this year! It's been very nice and I feel so fortunate.

The Song Dedications
As I've posted here several times in the past, one of my relaxing hobbies is karaoke. It's a lot of fun for someone like me who really enjoys singing and doesn't have a lot of opportunites (or time) to perform in public, which I'm not really interested in doing anyway.

My friend, Eric, who also does karaoke, and I have birthdays one day apart, and we were thinking, wouldn't it be fun to each request a birthday song of the other person? As it turns out, we each chose a song that the other did not know. He wanted me to sing To Sir With Love from the Sidney Pointier movie, and I requested an Elvis song called A Thing Called Love, because I knew that it would show off his very nice lowwww voice, which it did.

And, since MySpace and Blogger links don't gel very well together, all I can do is post the names of the songs with links attached to them.

So...click on the song titles if you wish to hear them...

Eric's birthday song request, sung by me: TO SIR WITH LOVE

My birthday song request, sung by Eric: A THING CALLED LOVE (and I'm just going to do a little PR for him here and encourage you to click on some of his other songs, because he is an excellent singer...)

Fun! We are arguing about who did a better job, but since this is my blog I'll take the lead and say that he did awesome!

And then, out of the blue, my friend, Steven, (my duet partner on You Don't Bring Me Flowers,) did a birthday song for me too--a great surprise. He did Barry Manilow's Mandy. You can click on the song's title and see it. Yes, "see," because he does the whole video singing thing (very well, I might add.)

Some additional fun and misc:
The weekend was so good and fun that, in the process, I sort of shelved the fact that a cold was coming on. Last night with the lost Daylight Savings hour I could not fall asleep. That, coupled with the fact that I'm sick, was too much. I awoke feeling l-o-u-s-y this morning. I hadn't really planned to call in for a sub today, but it was necessary. I hope my kids are kind to her and that the plans I emailed to our secretary at 7am this morning were easily understood and followed.

And, let's end on another fun "note..." On SingSnap, which DOES let Blogger embed their codes, Steven and I did 2 more duets these last couple of days. They are too fun, even though the sound quality isn't great. We each picked a song and, poor guy, I ended up picking one that he didn't know, but he recorded it anyway, like a champ.

So, we did A Little Fall of Rain (my choice) from Les Miz:


And We've Got Tonight (his choice.):

We're both pretty happy with this one. All in good fun!

And, in the words of Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride, "Let me esplain...no, there is too much...Let me sum up..."
Naturally, there are some people who I especially miss at a time like this who are no longer with us: Tito, Tita, my dad, and Brad, but I could almost feel their love trickle down through everyone else's. I get a little misty looking at all their names in that list--and I don't want to end on a depressing note, because this weekend has been anything BUT depressing. :-)

I'll just recap by saying what a great birthday weekend this was--one of the best in recent memory. I've been very honored and humbled at the attention I've received. I have felt truly, truly blessed, lucky, and happy.

Thank you to ALL who had a hand in making this a very special birthday. You're very important to me. Love and gratitude to you all!

A New Step in the Karaoke Thing...

Check this out! I have a karaoke bud on MySpace who suggested that we try a duet. He's in Michigan and I'm in California. On another site called SingSnap we did it. This is our first attempt at this. Fun!

Fun With Xander...

This afternoon I had the wonderful opportunity to babysit my nephew, Alexander, for about 2 hours. I have to say, I'm getting a lot better at this, and I do love spending time with him.

We came to my house (after I put out the confused dog,) and just played. I gave him a little bowl of Corn Flakes--because we are always trying to get him to eat--and he sat on my knee and we played with the webcam for a few minutes while he tried to feed me Corn Flakes that he's already put in his mouth. (Fun!)

Then we sat on the floor and looked at a book, played rolling a ball, stacking little plastic donuts on a plastic base, and then I turned on some music and he started swaying back and forth. When I started to keep the beat by patting my knee, he came over and started patting my knee! It was too cute.

I can't think of a better way to spend a couple of hours.

All I Know...

I was looking through the songs on the Zune marketplace when I came across this wonderful song by Art Garfunkel. It is so pretty! I just wanted to share:

The Scarlet Pimpernel...

Ah, sink me! "They seek him here, they seek him there, those Frenchies seek him everywhere...Is he in heaven? Or is he in (shh!) hell? That damned, elusive, Pimpernel..."

This evening I had the wonderful opportunity to be reintroduced to one of my favorite stories--The Scarlet Pimpernel. A favorite local theater, the Glendale Centre Theatre, has an ongoing production running through April. It was so good!

I first became acquainted with the story of The Scarlet Pimpernel back in college, when, in my junior year, a roommate rented it from the local video store. I fell in love with the story and that particular film version immediately. Shortly after, it was on TV and I taped it, later showed it to my family, who also loved it. It quickly became a family favorite and still is.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is based on a book by Baroness Orczy, and it tells of a seemingly foppish British Lord named Sir Percival Blakeney. In public he plays the fool, but he is also, secretly, the heroic Scarlet Pimpernel who, with his small band of trusted friends, sneak back and forth to France during the revolution, rescuing imprisoned aristocrats and saving them from "Madam Guillotine." Percy and his friends use everything at their disposal: tricks, make-up, disguises, and a lot of humor.

When Percy falls in love with the French actress, Margarite St. Just, his life seems as charmed as ever. However, at his wedding, he learns that Margarite may be responsible for the deaths of an entire aristocrat family. What he doesn't know, is that the Chief Agent of National Security--Paul Chauvlin--has named her as informer, and also plans to use her again to discover the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel.

The whole story is full of wit, intrigue, and the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between Sir Percy and Chauvlin. The very best film version, in my opinion, is the one with Anthony Andrews as Percy, Jane Seymour as Margarite, and Ian McKellan as Chauvlin. I could watch that movie again and again, and I have!

The musical is also very good. I had the good fortune to see it at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles 2 times around 10 years ago. Douglas Sills was wonderful as Percy. And tonight's less extravagant show at the GCT was also excellent. Tonight, though, the scene-stealer was definitely Kelby Thwaits, who played Chauvlin. Oh my gosh--that guy has the most amazing voice, and quite a presence too. I've seen him in other productions there and he is always excellent, but I think he's outdone himself there.

And that is my "ode" to the Scarlet Pimpernel. Love it! And the book is great too.

Here are some great videos I found, thanks to You Tube:

A great song, Into the Fire, from the National cast. Douglas Sills is so awesome!


A great scene from the movie, that shows when Percy and Margarite meet. It doesn't give away "too much" of the story--which I would recommend to anyone.

I haven't been a very good blogger lately!

What can I say? Things have been busy.

At school I'm just trying to get through each day and not think about impending layoffs. It's all I can do until the district decides how they're going to deal with their huge budget cuts. I go to work, try to stay positive and do my job.

On the home front, my late grandma's only surviving sister had a stroke about 2 weeks ago. It is very similar to my grandma's first stroke and, although, she seems to be recovering, the progress is slow. We're all hoping that it isn't the precursor to something more serious in the future. Again--trying to stay positive!

And, back to school news, tomorrow is an event that many of the teachers, including myself, don't like too much. It is a patriotic parade aimed at linking to the community. All with good intentions, of course, but I operate under the policy that anything that takes me and the kids out of the classroom is...well...annoying! Plus it is LOUD, CROWDED, and BUSY--3 of my least favorite things. We have to do a banner. Most teachers reuse the same banner year to year. I don't know why I haven't done that. This year's theme is "Yes We Can!" I had my kids print up pictures of famous people who have accomplished a lot, they colored them nice and bright, we glued them onto construction paper and taped them onto their rulers. On the banner I wrote "Yes, They Did!" in big red letters.

The kids like the parade, but it is one of those big hulabaloos that I'll be grateful when it's over!

That's the news!

But 2 recent songs I recorded. Have a listen. Click on the song titles to hear them:

I KNOW WHO HOLDS TOMORROW

YOU AND I

Bye, Bye Socks

Socks, the Clinton's cat, has gone to kitty heaven. Rest in Peace, Socks! She reminds me of my first cat.

Paintings, Singing, and Facebooking...

It has been an eventful last few days...

Things are looking more positive on the job front and I'm really hoping and praying that everything works out OK. There is a very good possibility that my job will be secure. Thank goodness. There are so many people out of work right now.

It's also been raining cats and dogs in So. CA lately! We're in the middle of our second storm system, and I think another is headed in our direction by the end of the week. Rainy days at school--fun! At least it should be dry by this Friday when I've got tickets for Phantom of the Opera at the Pantages. Can't wait!

And we're still working on cleaning out the grandparents' house. It's a slow process, but we're all getting better at it. The main thing is to be fair, methodical, and respectful, and my family. An ongoing thing has been to pick paintings done by my grandma. There are about 31. We decided to take pictures of them, post the link on Photobucket, and take turns--by age--down the line of kids and grandkids. I'm the oldest grandkid and #5 in line and yesterday I got to take my turn. This is the one I picked:

Isn't it pretty? I've always liked this one a lot, and even more so now that we found my grandma's sketch book and she had labeled the 3 girls as my 2 cousins and me. Very special. It is now hanging in my bedroom.

And can I just say how much fun I've been having on Facebook lately? What a great place to keep in touch with people! My "friends list" now includes, family, friends, co-workers, college roommates, high school/middle school/elementary school friends, and a couple of close friends that I've met online. 99% are people from 3-dimensional world, many of whom are scattered around the country. It is a really fun site to pop into and chat or leave little messages.

Speaking of roommates, I'm very excited that a reunion is really in the works for this summer. Everyone has been tracked down and everyone wants to go--7 of us total. And, because it will be in Utah, there are at least 4 other friends to visit along the way. I am really, reall looking forward to it.

And, of course, I've been adding more song recordings, which anyone reading this is welcome to visit. I'm very happy with the Celine Dion song I did yesterday (after 2 hours laboring through take after take after take...)

Here's a sample of some recent ones. Click on the song titles to go to the site and refresh as necessary.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE (Lots of work!)

BROKEN VOW

PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HEART

There are a couple of others, but, you know...it is all in fun!

At that's the news (and weather) for what's going on around here. I'm still fighting a cold and sore throat (currently on Day 8,) but I'll be the first to admit that I haven't been taking great care of myself. Word of advice? Sleep is important in getting rid of a cold. :-)

Everyone's sick...my laptop, me, my nephew, and my district...

Believe me when I tell you that my laptop has already shown signs that it needs to be repaired again. An update on Sunday required that I restart the computer and, when I did, the same old thing happened again, where the screen display was all stretched out. Of course, I knew this would happen eventually since the Geek Squad admitted that they had only run tests but had not done repairs.

My first instinct was to pack it up, get in my car, and go bowling for Geek Squadders, but cooler thoughts prevailed and I decided that, as long as the recent "work" is still under warranty and restarting the computer again solves the problem, I'm going to hang onto the laptop for a little while longer before I take it back in for another look.

The rest of the weekend was restful, if uneventful. I've been having a lot of fun reconnecting with more people on Facebook and making use of their live chat feature. The only thing I wish is that you could see who was online and be "offline" at the same time. Sometimes it is helpful to be incognito, if you know what I mean...

And my family is continuing to systematically empty out my grandparents' house. Everything has been divided up very fairly, but now, noticeable pieces of furniture have been taken, and it is kind of depressing. To think that when you die, your stuff just becomes "stuff." If that doesn't make one less materialistic, nothing will. I'm thrilled to have a couple of my grandma's pretty decorative tables in my house now, but it still feels kind of strange and wrong.

Yesterday was spent fighting an aggressive sore throat. It began on Sunday night and traces of it are still lingering today. Fortunately (if you could call it that,) it has been raining so much that yesterday the weather made me not want to go anywhere. On the plus side, my nephew was at my mom's house for several hours, but on the minus side, the little guy is experiencing his first cold. I guess not all firsts can be happy ones.

In other news, I found out today that my district is holding a meeting tomorrow for people who may be laid off. A friend who works on the district newsletter told me. But the administration didn't tell me and my union reps didn't tell me. I'm beginning to wonder if they even know. There are clearly some communication problems here. Still, I don't think I'm going to go even if I hear more about it. I'm still trying to stay optimistic that my hiring year won't be included, and the more I hear about the lay offs, the more stressed I get. And the truth is...no one knows what's going to happen yet, but I have to survive each day and not let my stress affect me in the classroom. So I'm operating under the "Ignorance is Bliss" policy. For now, that's working.

Scaling Some Musical Everests...

Have I mentioned today how ecstatic I am to have my laptop back? I don't think I have...

What a difference.

So, I don't know if it the enthusiasm from having my laptop back, or knowing that this is a 3-day weekend, or reconnecting with a few of my best friends from childhood all in one week, but I gained the confidence to attempt to record some extremely difficult songs.

Last night I stayed up until 2:30am: singing, emailing, writing, chatting with friends online, uploading pictures...doing all of the things that I've been denied for the past 2 weeks while my computer was in the hospital.

But I have really made up for lost time in the singing department. Since last night I've recorded 15 songs! Only 2 are videos--which is fine with me. I think I sing better when I'm not making a video. But of those 15, 4 of them are special triumphs, because they are songs I've tried in the past and could not do. 1 Celine Dion song, 2 Michael Bolton songs, and 1 by Kelly Clarkson.

So here they are. Click on the titles to hear them. I think I'm most proud of A Moment Like This, by Kelly Clarkson. I don't know where I got the breath to survive these, but it happened!

A MOMENT LIKE THIS

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU?

WHEN I'M BACK ON MY FEET AGAIN

IT'S ALL COMING BACK TO ME NOW

Kristie and Her Laptop are in the Same Room Again!

Time for the Dance of Joy!! (busting a move, busting a move...)

After 12 days, 24 back and forths with the school computer, 2 irate but controlled phone calls, and 1 land-speed record-breaking drive to Best Buy this afternoon...

I FINALLY have my laptop back. Yes, it's sad that we, OK, I, am so dependent on my laptop, but I don't care about pride today. I'm just happy to have it back.

The frustrating thing? The Best Buy Geeks Squad and their Service Center Geeks couldn't find the source of the problem. (The display on the screen was all stretched out and no amount of restarting was fixing the problem...)

The good news is that (1) it didn't cost me a penny and (2) my warranty starts again today. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be back over there if the problem happens again. And next time...Geeky heads are going to roll....

But for now, I'm just glad to have it back. I don't have to reinstall anything. I just have to be hopeful (and maybe find a new place for possible future problems. Suggestions are welcome.)

Still, I'm trying to be grateful for small things.

Movie Review: Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Am I the only one who feels left out when watching some the awards shows? They announce all of these movies and I'll be lucky if I've seen one of them. Sad, too, because I think I have pretty good taste in films.

So a couple of days ago I added Vicky Cristina Barcelona to my Netflix queue. And, despite the fact that it said "long wait" next to the title, it arrived fairly quickly.

The title and the movie poster are a little misleading. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johanson) go to Barcelona and meet a charming painter named Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem.) So this is not about a girl named "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." But the fact that their lives and relationships become intertwined is a possible explanation of why Woody Allen came up with that title.

I'll be honest, I'm not a huge Woody Allen fan. I findly him strangely overrated. I know that when I watch a Woody Allen film I'm going to see a movie with a lot of dialogue, and this film was no different. The only thing I found refreshing was Juan Antonio's honesty. Yes, he's a Spanish guy who is attracted to pretty much any decent-looking woman, but he makes no secret of it. Although the practical-minded Vicky gets thrown by his forthrightness.

Penelope Cruz plays Juan Antonio's dramatic ex-wife, who is part sage and part Tasmanian devil. I have to say that she really is an excellent, excellent actress. I can see why she was nominated for an Academy Award for this role.

My review feels kind of like this movie. There really isn't much of a point to it. No one really learns anything. No one really ends up happy. No one ends up with who you want them to end up with. There's no real depth to it. Yes, those are spoilers, I guess you could say, but I'm just letting you know what you're in for if you decide to watch it.

It kind of reminds me of that show 30 Rock, which leaves me thinking, "What is the point?"

It does have some redeeming qualities. For one thing, the "Narrator." Imagine listening to a book on tape of 2 young women going to Barcelona while watching it at the same time, and that is this movie. And, I'll admit, some of the dialogue was entertaining and I can't say I was bored. It had a very "slice of life" feeling about it. You don't know anything about these characters previous to the film and you have no idea what is going to happen to them once it is over. But the thing is, you don't really care, and that may be this film's problem. I

I would give it and 8 out of 10. If you see it, you'll be entertained, but it won't knock your socks off.

Movie Review: Waitress

Yes, I'm still without my laptop and yes, I miss it...

But I'm making do with the little Mac. That's its name.

Last night I finally watched the DVD of Waitress, which has been languishing on my table for about 3 weeks. I knew it was about a frustrated wife and I wanted to wait until I wasn't as frustrated with things so that I could watch it objectively.

Keri Russell is a delight and so pretty. Seriously, if we could pick who we could look like, I'd pick her. She plays Jenna Hunterton, a waitress in a small Southern town who discovers that she's pregnant after a drunken night with her oppressive husband, Earl. I know, why are they always named Earl? It reminds me of the Dixie Chicks song.

Despite living a miserable life with Earl (Jeremy Sisto,) Jenna is resourceful and smart. She's also close to her fellow waitresses Becky and Dawn (Cheryl Hines and Adrienne Shelley) and kindly tolerant to the diner's owner Old Joe (Andy Griffith.)

But more than anything or anyone else, the thing that brings Jenna joy is creating new recipes for pies. It is her outlet, her release, and the one thing that she knows she can make that everyone appreciates. Her pies' names are almost as creative as their ingredients, like "Lonely Chicago Pie," "I Wish I Wasn't Having Earl's Baby Pie," and "Spanish Dancer Pie." Baking makes her feel centered, nostalgic for her mother, and in control amidst her out of control life.

She is loved and appreciated by everyone around her except for the one who is most important, her husband. And when the new doctor (Nathan Fillion) takes notice of her, he and Jenna begin a friendly affair. Friendly, because she finally has a man who listens to her and values her.

The dialogue is smart, the story is sweet, and the characters--with the exception of Earl and Cal, the diner's manager--are instantly likable. Yes, Earl is awful, but it is obvious that he's also a bit loopy. Still, you stay optimistic and hope that things will work out for Jenna in the end. Without giving anything away, it is worth seeing it through to the end.

Waitress was a great little film. I can see why it won rave reviews. It is so simple and yet so good, without the need of special effects, bad language, sex and violence. Written and directed by Adrienne Shelley, who plays Dawn in the movie, it is also a bittersweet ode to its creator, who was killed before the film was released. I for one, however, can attest that she created something both endearing and enduring.

I highly recommend this film.

Loopy Laptop...

A quick note to my little handful of loyal readers:

My laptop is in the shop again. I should have it back by the end of the week (so they say.) This explains my lack of entries. I'm using the ramshackle little Mac from school.

So thanks for visiting and come back again soon!