Monday, December 31, 2007
Year in Review: 2007
The big 3-0 came in February and was celebrated with a party at Pirates Dinner Adventure in Buena Park. Almost my entire family was there, and my very good friends Candace, Brad and Cassandra. It was a lot of fun and cool to do something different from normal. The best birthday present I got, though, was a job offer to work at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa. Second best? Going to see the Oprah Oscar special at the Kodak Theater the day after the Academy Awards!
That was how I spent March. I started that new job and loved it immediately. Having full benefits and a paycheck that was not embarassingly small were nice perks, too. I caught on to the job fast because, let's face it, it's not rocket science, and I got to know my co-workers well. Some of them are fun and some of them, well, would benefit greatly from retirement. Or, at least, the rest of us would benefit from their retirement.
In April, my sister-in-law joined me at that nice, round age and we got to have another big birthday bash. It's nice to be in good company.
June found me visiting my good friends for a long weekend in Utah and Idaho. It was wonderful to be back and felt like old times hanging out, eating at Beto's, swapping ghost stories, and checking out creepy Asian camels with oddly misshapen humps.
June also 
took me to the exciting city of Bakersfield for my first Grand Bethel in almost ten years. It was fun to introduce our newer Job's Daughters to the annual convention and to see them catch the fever as they realized how much fun the organization can be, and they got to meet tons of new friends from all over the state.
took me to the exciting city of Bakersfield for my first Grand Bethel in almost ten years. It was fun to introduce our newer Job's Daughters to the annual convention and to see them catch the fever as they realized how much fun the organization can be, and they got to meet tons of new friends from all over the state.In August, I finally got to use a ticket I had purchased the previous October. The girls in the family all went to see Wicked.
What an amazing treat it was! At the intermission, we already knew we wanted to see it again. Sadly, none of us have made it back yet, but I just heard it was extended even more, so there's still a chance! That month, I also got to go to Girls' Camp, and was called to be in the Young Women Presidency about two weeks later. Between the Job's Daugthers and the Young Women, you'd think I was sick of teenagers by now. I'm not...yet.
What an amazing treat it was! At the intermission, we already knew we wanted to see it again. Sadly, none of us have made it back yet, but I just heard it was extended even more, so there's still a chance! That month, I also got to go to Girls' Camp, and was called to be in the Young Women Presidency about two weeks later. Between the Job's Daugthers and the Young Women, you'd think I was sick of teenagers by now. I'm not...yet.In September, the fall semester got into full swing and I really got the view of how hard school is for employees, let alone students! I still love my job, but some of the frustrating parts became more glaring during this semester. I don't know why professors cancel their classes. I don't have every email password memorized. And what part of "Stay off of MySpace" is so hard to understand?? Further complicating September was my grandmother's fall, head injury, and hospital stay. She's still with us, on hospice care, but hanging in. It just means that someone has to be here with her every single minute of every day, so we have all had to shift things around a little in order to make the adjustment. The happy thing that happened in September was Catherine and David's wedding extravaganza. It was a great day and I'm thrilled because they haven't yet dropped off the face of the earth! Yay! We also had another 30th birthday celebration, celebrating Candace's big bash with a trip to a cool Moroccan place in LA called D'arma Ghraib (or something like that). Such a fun experience, and the honey lamb was particularly tasty.
The wildfires in October gave me some unexpected time off work, but not before an excess of smoke inhalation left me more susceptible to November colds and sinus infections. Thankfully, though, I appear to be very healthy now.In December, I became the new Bethel Guardian of our local Job's Daughters bethel. It's amazing how much more responsibility I suddenly felt the moment that became official. But, I'm up to the task and will try to fill my mom's shoes as best as I can. The semester ended and I am almost through my two weeks of vacation between semesters. How fast time flies when you're off work!
Christmas was a lot of fun with our Missouri visitors and lots of family gatherings. It's hard to believe another year has come and gone. Like always, there have been many high points and a few low, but it's over now. I can't change anything I've done this year, but I wouldn't want to. All I can do is take these experiences and make 2008 even better. My primary goal? Change my address.
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Golden Globe Nominations Already??
I have not seen most of the movies nominated for this year's Golden Globe Awards yet because, well, most of them have not yet been released. I didn't even realize the nominations were due out this week. But they are, and there were very few surprises. And now, a few comments.
In the Best Picture, Drama category, I have no idea why Michael Clayton was nominated, other than the fact that it stars George Clooney, and does manage to pull a really great ending out of an otherwise confusing and meandering film. At this point, I think Atonement will probably win, since it's a British film starring British people about the war that Hollywood is still in love with. Out of the films I've seen, my pick is No Country For Old Men, which is, I think, the Coen Brothers at their best.
And in the Best Actor, Drama, category, again, George Clooney? Are they serious? I don't know why so many people have fallen in love with this movie, and particularly the title character. George spends most of the movie trying to decide if he is angry or depressed, a pit bull or a bassett hound. Christian Bale deserved the nomination instead, either for 3:10 to Yuma or Rescue Dawn. He is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood.
In the Best Picture, Drama category, I have no idea why Michael Clayton was nominated, other than the fact that it stars George Clooney, and does manage to pull a really great ending out of an otherwise confusing and meandering film. At this point, I think Atonement will probably win, since it's a British film starring British people about the war that Hollywood is still in love with. Out of the films I've seen, my pick is No Country For Old Men, which is, I think, the Coen Brothers at their best.
And in the Best Actor, Drama, category, again, George Clooney? Are they serious? I don't know why so many people have fallen in love with this movie, and particularly the title character. George spends most of the movie trying to decide if he is angry or depressed, a pit bull or a bassett hound. Christian Bale deserved the nomination instead, either for 3:10 to Yuma or Rescue Dawn. He is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood.
I was delighted to see that Nikki Blonsky received a nod for Hairspray, although I 
believe John Travolta's nomination as Supporting Actor was only based on the fact that he had to put on those crazy outfits and pretend (badly) to be a woman. He certainly was the weakest link in that cast. Christopher Walken was more deserving than John Travolta.
believe John Travolta's nomination as Supporting Actor was only based on the fact that he had to put on those crazy outfits and pretend (badly) to be a woman. He certainly was the weakest link in that cast. Christopher Walken was more deserving than John Travolta.In the TV categories, it's a mostly unimpressive collection. Grey's Anatomy, predictably, was nominated even though last season was the worst so far. I mean, did anyone see the last season of Heroes? Or Lost? Or Brothers and Sisters? Or The Closer? Or...well, you get the point. With almost the entire fanbase of Grey's being disappointed with last season, it's very hard to understand why the Hollywood Foreign Press would bestow another nomination on the show.
On the Comedy side, though, I was thrilled with the nominations for Pushing Daisies, Lee Pace, and Anna Friel. This is the best new show on TV this year, and is so much different from anything else. Even though their chances of winning are a long shot, it's good to see some deserving nominees. Especially at the expense of Ugly Betty.
Well, that's it for now. When it gets closer to the show, I'll make my predictions about who will win (and who should) before the date.
The Golden Globes Award show will air January 13, 2008 at 8pm EST on NBC.
Monday, December 10, 2007
The Seraphs Move On To State!
When the scoreboard read 7-6 only two and a half minutes into the game, I knew it was going to be a long night and a hard fight. The St. Bonaventure Seraphs met the Hart Indians on Saturday at the Home Depot Center in Carson for what would be a grueling match. Back and forth both teams went, up and down the field, scoring in turns. At the end of the first half, the score was 21-15 and the Seraphs were feeling pretty good.
The second half was more of the same, with the Seraphs quickly dominating the Indians and eventually pushing their way to a 42-28 victory. The game was exciting and full of twists as the Indians kept approaching the end zone, only to be bested by the Seraph defense. At the same time, St. Bonaventure's offense could do no wrong. Casey Serna threw no interceptions, and while I don't have any of his statistics available, he rushed for more yards than I've seen most quarterbacks attempt, achieving several first downs and the Seraphs' final touchdown. It's hard to believe that kid accepted a baseball scholarship, but you do have to follow your heart and do whatever it is you really love the most. St. Bonaventure will next play Central Catholic High School from Modesto in the CIF Division III State Championship. The game will be broadcast on live TV and kick off is set at the Home Depot Center for 11:30am. Go Seraphs!
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