it's all happening

The latest. I actually like this one (the review, not the movie).

Christmas came early

Don't you think they look alike? I do. This came to me today, sometime between laughing about Scooter being indicted and smiling about Miers withdrawing her name. I'm such a jerk.

searching for my lost shaker of salt

An actual conversation I had with a checker at H-E-B yesterday, sparked on by the ACU shirt I was wearing:

Checker (male, about 19, glasses, nerdy): You know, I hate to tell you this, but Abilene High School is a better school than ACU.
Me: Um, OK.
Checker: No, really. I mean, a lot of our classes are better and we have college-level classes, like Calculus.
Me, confused: What year are you there?
Checker: Oh, I graduated.
Me: Where do you go now?
Checker: Nowhere, I can't afford it.
Me: Well, going to ACU is better than sitting at home and doing nothing.
Checker: I'm not sitting at home, I'm sitting here working to earn money so I can afford to go to school.

I don't think I said anything after than, just made an annoyed face, picked up my bags of groceries and headed for the door. My sitting at home comment was rude, I know, but I was just confused as to why a high school graduate was telling me my education was a sham. Apparently, I've been kidding myself these past four years. I should have just audited Abilene High classes and I'd be good to go. Thanks for the tip, random checker person. Oh, the fun people you meet in Abilene.

Dean Barnard's worst nightmare

So, the Associated Press picked up the story of three ACU social clubs having their pledging halted for hazing investigations, unapproved activities or the resignation of their sponsors. Several papers and networks picked it up, including The Fort Worth Star Telegram and The Houston Cronicle. For a more complete list, click here. This can't bode well for the future of social clubs.

she probably doesn't know what she's talking about, but she at least references "The Godfather: Part II"

Hooray for columns! I like this one and let's pray it's accurate. Miers added to Bush's croney staff. I know I keep only posting my Optimist stuff on here, but life is too crazy because of Homecoming for me to be creative.

you can't take the skies from me

The latest. The review's not that great, but the movie is.

take my love, take my land

I sat in a theatre filled with some normal people, and some strange-looking people. I've decided most of the strange people were there not just because of the movie's subject matter, but because I was at the Mall of Abilene movie theatre on a Saturday afternoon. Serenity was great, but now I want the stories to continue. Maybe if the film is successful, sequels will be in the works. You should all get past the sci-fi/western label of the film and see it. It's amazing. Daniel and I can die happy now that we've seen it.

Oh yes I am, Oh yes I am, Oh yes I am! Oh yes I am Huckleberry Finn, and I am in trouble again...

Apparently, the days of book burning and banning are not behind us, and many people call their local libraries to demand certain books be banned. While I can see their problems with certain titles, though I don't think they should be banned, some of the books on the list are classics and it's worrisome that they're targets. To Kill a Mockingbird? Great book. Kind of controversial...I guess. Actually, no, not really. Just good. I'm glad to see Harry Potter made the top 10, I'm so proud. Some of the children's books are interesting, though. Some of them don't even sound real. Daddy's Roommate? Really can't stop laughing at that one. The Face on the Milk Carton? What's terrible about that one? Wasn't that a TV movie starring the actress from Christy, who was later on ER and killed off by a psychotic patient with a knife? I think so. Ah, this list is just entertaining. God bless the First Amendment.

an unproductive weekend

Hastings employs weird people. As I was in the check out line there yesterday, the cashier said the usual "Hello, how are you," to me. Glad that he hadn't asked if I wanted to add popcorn to my purchase as he had to the two men in front of me in line, I said fine and asked how he was. He answered that he was alright, a little tired. Just alright, I asked? He said yes, because his toes hurt. He then stepped back from the counter and indicated his feet, so I leaned over to get a closer look.

"I had my toenails surgically removed, so they hurt." My face screwed up in confusion at to why I was looking at the holes caked with dry blood that once held his toenails. I asked why they were removed. "Well, they were ingrown for about 10 years, so it was about time." Good to know. He didn't appear to be that old, he might even be late teens or early 20's. He's just one of those guys who probably likes video games too much, and his large glasses were too close to his head. I asked if he was taking medicine for it and he said yes, but he wasn't looking forward to when the pain killers wore off. By then I had finished with my purchase and, after adding I hope he felt better, left.

Would it be such trouble for Abilene to perhaps add a Barnes & Noble or a Borders to its growing list of possible businesses on the north side? Then, perhaps, when I want to buy a book, I will buy it from someone who won't have me look at their toenailess feet. Still, characters like that help make the city what it is.

Stay classy, Abilene.

Joss Whedon is amazing

To make my brother happy, I will try to keep posting my reviews on here so that they are more accessible. So here ya go: "Just Like Heaven."

tears stream down your face when you lose something you cannot replace

These Starbucks cups were banned from the location at Baylor University because the quote was apparently inappropriate for a Baptist university. I should be writing about this, and I'll be sure to post a link to my column next week. Gay or straight, it's a good quote and good advice.

Instead of being in Spring, Texas, right about now, eagerly awaiting the Coldplay concert at The Woodlands on Saturday, I am stuck in Abilene, cursing the name Rita and everything related to hurricanes. I'm crossing my fingers that the concert will be rescheduled. If it's not, I may just have to drive to a random state to see my favorite band play. If ever there were a weekend I needed to get out of dodge, this was it.

Go to this site and see some cool videos done for the Optimist. If you watch the ones for Homer Hiccolm and the Night Riders and look closely, you will see my crazy roommate.

In other multimedia news, this video is hi-larious. Yes, it's old news. But you know what? Tom Cruise is still crazy.

yes, she's a poser, but at least she poses with style.

My latest movie review. You should all go see it.

i'd kill for a coke

Among the sound bites of his presidency that Mr. Bush will most regret, one will surely be "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." That was Mr. Bush's valentine last week to his hapless FEMA director, Michael D. Brown. Many Americans are already frustrated -- justifiably so -- by the administration's unwillingness to candidly acknowledge the difficulties it is facing in Iraq, and the degree to which its own misjudgments contributed to them. They aren't likely to have much tolerance for a similarly inadequate response to a domestic disaster -- nor should they.

I want to be able to write editorials like this one.

detox

I'm not supposed to eat sugar. I went to the doctor yesterday because I get headaches every day. We're trying various things to see what the problem is, and one of his temporary solutions was no sugar, not even sugar substitutes. Have you ever realized how much food has sugar in it? Now, I e-mailed him asking him to clarify this matter. Did he mean no sugar whatsoever, or did he mean no items that have a lot of sugar, such as soda, candy, etc? Hopefully, the latter is the answer. Most everything in my pantry and fridge has some sort of sugar count to it. I'm going through withdrawals. I want Coke. Diet anything is an abomination. I also have to take antihistamine, which just about knock me out. I looked like I was dead this morning and probably throughout most of the day. Sugar is my friend. Who cares if it might give me headaches?

It was a rough transition back into the grind this semester. The Thursday of the first week of school, a day I was battling it out to have my review of The 40-Year-Old Virgin run in the paper, I realized that I had only been in the state for a week. One week, and already I had had stories and reviews and assignments and classes and not enough sleep. It took me days to unpack. I'm still behind on all my stories, and I've been writing everything last minute, thus producing less than great pieces. I think I'm finally settling in, but I probably won't rest until Christmas. If anyone wants to contribute to the Sarah-wants-to-visit-Daniel-in-LA fund, donations are welcome.

I don't know about half of the students walking around campus. I definitely feel more removed from everything this year. I'm content to do my work and then go home, and spend weekends at home. I got pretty used to the routine this summer. Ah, the days of high school and freshman year when I wanted to be entertained all the time. I'm fine with a book or movies on TV, apparently. I feel old all of a sudden.

I had gotten so used to my routine this summer. On my last day, I had to carry several bags and a large picture home from the office. I ran out of money on my metro card and had to use the last bit of change I had to pay my fare, meaning I didn't have any left for the bus. I climbed up the steps of the 622 quite disheveled and Ray exclaimed that he was sad it was my last day. He helped me set all my things down and I began to explain to him about not having change. He waved it away and told me not to worry. A man in a grey suit who I'd never seen smiled at me and told me to take care when he got off the bus at his stop. When my stop finally came, he gave me a hug and kissed my cheek and told me to come back and see him. Who knows if he'll be driving the same shift of the Fairfax Connector by the time I return, whenever that will be, but I'll try and find him just the same.

the best part of waking up

A letter that was printed yesterday in the Express, a short version of The Post that people read on the Metro, made me happy. It read:

 

Who's the Smooth Operator?

 

"Can we identify the Orange Line operator whose soothing voice, moderated sense of humor and signature "Let's be careful out there," enhances even the earliest of morning commutes? There's an art to getting those of us who have yet to connect with caffeine to smile. This guy really gets it!"

 

I totally know who she's talking about! I ride the Orange Line to work every morning, beginning at the end of the line in Vienna, Virginia. Sometimes we have inaudible operators, or those who sound tired or bored, but every now and then I will get on this guy's train and you can't help but notice his voice. He always sounds cheerful, but not in an annoying way. He could do voice overs for commercials, I'm sure of it. So, I was excited that I recognized a reference to the daily routine out here. I felt almost like a local.

 

This morning, as I was walking from the Metro to the office, I recognized a man I saw on the Metro line more than a month ago. He seems middle aged and I think he's deaf, and he mismatches his clothes and carries around a fair amount of luggage. I saw him when I was traveling downtown to go to the Smithsonian back in June, and today I saw him standing on a corner in Arlington next to a 7-Eleven. Probably what makes the commute seem so natural and routine after a while is the fact that I see pretty much the same people every day - various businessmen and women, coming with wet hair and leaving looking exhausted.

 

The group that rides the 622 Fairfax Connector to Vienna at 7:26 a.m. and from Vienna at 6:18 p.m. varies slightly, but I generally see the regulars. One guy seems to be from Texas. I've heard him talking on the phone several times and I got the impression. I named him Dewey. He just looks like one. He has a huge ring on his finger that I assume is from college, and I decided it was probably Tech or A&M. I also decided he is the son of an oil tycoon. One time he wore seersucker pants and a pink tie and I thought he was trying too hard. I haven't seen him wear them again. A woman with short brown hair and brown glasses usually sits next to me on the ride home, and the only thing she has ever said to me was "thank you" when I moved to let her out of the seat. The driver home is named Ray and I can't quite place his accent. He finally asked me what my name is about two weeks ago and I don't think he was expecting to learn that I am still in school. When he learned my major, he asked why I wasn't interning at The Post or USA Today or the likes, and I don't think he understood why I laughed at the notion. He calls me sweetheart and said he is sad today is my last day on the bus.

 

One more bus ride and it's back home.

 

 

songs about rainbows

Too many thoughts circulating to make one post...

1. Boredom Numbs the Work World
Lack of Stimulation Infects Humble and High-Ranking Jobs Alike

By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 10, 2005; Page D01

..."We know that 55 percent of all U.S. employees are not engaged at work. They are basically in a holding pattern. They feel like their capabilities aren't being tapped into and utilized and therefore, they really don't have a psychological connection to the organization," said Curt W. Coffman, global practice leader at the Gallup Organization, whose large polling group measured employee engagement.

...That problem -- a lack of autonomy and a job that has very specific instructions -- hits workers from the highest to lowest echelons of the working world. Many spend their days surfing the Internet, writing e-mails or taking care of personal business.

Basically, this article proved what I had already known - that most employees get bored at work and look toward the internet, books, playing hookie or taking extra long lunch breaks to break up the monotony of the day. I have done all of these things this summer. Some times I was quite busy and didn't have time for anything, and other times I had just enough work to be pacing myself and working comfortably. But, for a good portion of my summer here, I have been underworked and bored. My JMC classes and the work I produce for them and for the Optimist have been much harder than anything I've done here. But I guess that's the life of an intern. My only goal now is to find a field and an workplace where I will be both challenged and happy, if that's possible. I think it is, it is just not as common as most people would like.

2. Bookstores such as Barnes & Noble are already displaying the tons of extra copies of The Chronicles of Narnia they've ordered in preparation to The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe's theatrical release in December. I also saw there yesterday a book called Finding God in the Land of Narnia, by the authors who wrote Finding God in The Lord of the Rings. This is upsetting to me. Of course, the Chronicles have been well-read by many who know the tales of Aslan, but still, it was not prevalent in our pop culture in my opinion. Daniel once said about The Lord of the Rings, now every idiot knows what a hobbit is, and I feel like I've lost something - or words similar to the effect. Now that they have a mass market campaign to sell Narnia as a fantasy land, saying it's a great story and liking it to Rings or even, which doesn't make sense to me, Harry Potter, everyone will know who Mr. Tumnus is, or Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, and all the other characters and stories. I feel like I've lost something. Do we need a book in order to find God in the Chronicles? They're pretty blatant Christian allegories if you ask me, and the series means so much to a lot of people. Rings wasn't overtly Christian and Tolkein even said it wasn't. That book was dumbed down for the masses in its movies, and I can only hope that the movie version of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe won't be as well. The previews look promising, so we'll see. I'm an elitist and I'm not apologizing for it. I just love my books and don't like them being ripped apart for the silver screen.

[stepping off my soapbox...]

3. National Treasure is a surprisingly entertaining movie. What makes it "great" is how the makers went full throttle after the idea of an invisible map on the Declaration of Independence. They didn't shy away from crazy conspiracy theories - they embraced them. The map was a freaking hologram, and secret decoder glasses that Benjamin Franklin designed and hid inside of a brick on a wall at Constitution Hall in Philly show where the treasure is - treasure that's been hidden for thousands of years and worth about $10 billion. Brilliant! They went for it, played with the idea and came out with a product that was both family friendly and entertaining. Of course I was skeptical at first, but I enjoyed it.

4. Congrats to Daniel on his new job at The Hollywood Reporter. Way to be awesome, and thanks again for the present you sent me.

5. I can't wait for Taco Cabana. Five days!

random musings on embarrassment

Why are people embarrassed when they fall down? Walking in a straight line or standing upright shouldn't be that difficult, but we somehow manage to trip or slip and fall. But, if we fall in public, why are we so mortified? Us interns had this discussion because one of us, Lucy, bit it last Sunday while riding her bike on the National Mall. She tried to corner to quickly and flew off the bike, hands and legs spread eagle and face first. She cut her knees so badly she should have gotten stitches, but was too stubborn. She stumbled to a nearby police car and waited for them to return while several tourists stopped to help her. They bandaged her up and the police offered her a ride home, but she refused, hobbling her way back to Georgetown. She told us the detailed story on Tuesday and then on Wednesday, as she was walking from the elevator to the front door of the office in the morning, while talking to an intimidating and important attorney, she tripped on her pant leg and fell forward again. The other staff member present helped her up while the lawyer picked up Lucy's lunch, which had flown from her hand. They had laughed slightly, but not enough to ease Lucy's horror.

Well, Lucy passed on her skills to me because on Thursday, as I was headed to lunch with fellow interns and a few staff members, I slipped and fell backwards. I've argued that my fall was worse than Lucy's second fall because 1. I was in nylons, heels and a skirt, which went a little too far up my legs for my liking, 2. I was in front of three boys, and 3. I fell on the concrete floor of a parking garage. I laughed, and so did Lucy and Courtney, but the three boys didn't really laugh. And here is the problem with falling: Other people make you embarrassed. If everyone had laughed heartily along with me, and not at me, which is different, things would have been fine. But the two staff members looked away, awkward and embarrassed for me, and so did the male intern, Shane.

When I was talking to Shane afterwards, he said he was sorry that he was one of those people who makes situations like falling down awkward for those who have fallen. He told me of how when he taught middle schoolers last year at a private school (that means uniforms - skirts for girls), one of the 8th grade girls, while playing volleyball with classmates, asked him to watch her serve. Of course, she bit it and fell, her skirt flying up completely. Shane said he acted like it never happened and that the girl handled it well, but that he had never been more embarrassed for someone in his life. I'm really embarrassed for her and I don't even know her. When you're young and haven't grown into your body, it's normal to trip and fall and stumble and what have you, but for adults it's a different story. I've seen men in suits trip and it is always startling for some reason. It just doesn't seem natural. I always act like I didn't notice. People should really laugh and joke around though. I think it's when people are embarrassed for other people, and those people sense that, that they make the situation embarrassing.

My situation wasn't really that bad and I don't really care about it. I think my dodgeball incident last Spring takes the cake for recent horrific moments. And again, in that situation, it was the guys who were present who made it awkward. Thanks, guys.

confusion never stops, closing walls and ticking clocks

Things/People I miss:

Having a car, which also means having the freedom to do what I want, when I want
Blue Bell Ice Cream
Dollar burrito night at La Popular
Singing in Chapel and at Highland (harmony, anyone?)
Texas accents, even those sometimes annoying West Texas ones
My own bed
My dramatically decorated room in my apartment
Sonic
I admit it - The Optimist
West Texas sunsets
The parents
San Antonio
Our dog, Rusty (I really want a dog)
Daniel
Mrs. Baird's bread products
H-E-B
Taco Cabana
People who know what the Church of Christ is so I don't have to explain it, which is hard
People who like movies as much as I do (OK, that's pretty much Daniel)
Late-night Taco Bueno runs (I have a lot of food on here...)
Writing columns that make people mad
The music I downloaded off iTunes, which is stuck on my computer in A Town
Being on campus
Friends


It's about that time...

recent discovery: i like guacamole

So, I started reading The Da Vinci Code out of sheer boredom and because it was in front of me. My uncle thinks it's great, but he also thinks anything Bruce Willis does is great, like Hostage. I'm only a few really short chapters into it, but already the bad writing is beginning to grate on me. Filling the manuscript with excessive metaphors and similes will not improve the plot and/or your writing, Dan Brown. Examples:

 

"His usually sharp blue eyes looked hazy and drawn tonight. A dark stubble was shrouding his strong jaw and dimpled chin. Around his temples, the gray highlights were advancing, making their way deeper into his thicket of coarse black hair. Although his female colleagues insisted the gray only accentuated his bookish appeal, Langdon new better." (what sort of man writes sentences like that?)

 

"Langdon stared at the picture, his horror now laced with fear. The image was gruesome and profoundly strange, bringing with it an unsettling sense of deja vu."

 

"As they entered the deserted park, the agent reached under the dash and turned off the blaring siren. Langdon exhaled, savoring the sudden quiet. Outside the car, the pale wash of halogen headlights skimmed over the crushed gravel parkway, the rugged whir of the tires intoning a hypnotic rhythm."

 

New game: Count the adjectives! Wee!

 

Unfortunately, Brown has felt it necessary to present information up front, setting up stories so we might know all the background. He feels in necessary to describe the characters, mention what they've done, their backgrounds. He gives us their resume without letting the story tell it to us.

 

I was reading this on the bus and train this morning, but felt self conscious. I took the jacket cover off the book, but didn't like the idea of people seeing the title on the tops of the inside pages. I don't want people to see me reading it and judge me. Is this vain/presumptuous? Hmm.

 

i just don't know what to do with myself

I finished my weekend marathon of remaining in my PJ's and reading Harry Potter. Malinda called me last night - we hadn't talked about Harry Potter in months, but she knew I'd be reading it - and asked me to call her when I had finished because she couldn't take it. Lori e-mailed and said she had to talk about it. Last night, I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking about it. Fiction really shouldn't have this effect on people, and children's fiction at that. But I am at a loss for words and don't know where to turn. Book Six can be seen as a bridge book, linking 5 and 7 by setting the stage for what Harry has to face at the end. This book is darker and in my opinion, the content will go over most of the younger reader's heads, not to mention scare them. If I'm 21 and I had my hand over my mouth in shock, how is a 3rd grader going to react? Well, maybe I'm not giving them enough credit, but this book will be sure to disturb most who read it. There is no stability left and no real promise of what will happen in Book Seven. But, I can tell you one thing, if Rowling kills Harry, I'm camping outside her house and going on a hunger strike until she rewrites the ending.

 

Reactions to this series should not be this dramatic by any means, but like I said, I just don't know what to do with myself now. If you've read it and have any words of encouragement/theories, feel free to pass them along.