Sunday, August 04, 2013

2013 August Happiness Challenge -- Day 4

Going to the movies. I love everything about seeing a film on the big screen, and yet this summer, I've only been once before. Part of it is that my weekend afternoons have been so full -- with friends, with trips to the salon or the dentist, most of all, with Reynaldo at the vet. Part of it is that there haven't been any big blockbusters I've wanted to see. So many (Superman, Iron Man 3, The Lone Ranger) seemed aimed at teenaged boys.

That all changed this afternoon. I got my most pressing chores (laundry and grocery shopping) done early and there's been a Sundance hit at my local theater, just waiting for me.

The Way, Way Back is so charming! It's about a 14-year-old boy spending a troubled summer with his mother, her new boyfriend and that man's daughter at a lake house called The Riptide. He reminds me of me at that age (except I was a girl and the cabin was called Smokey Pines). The grownups all behave badly ("It's like spring break for parents") and there's plenty of tension inside the newly pasted together "family." Fortunately for our hero, he finds a surrogate family at Water Wizz, the rather rundown water park that's more popular with townies than the resort crowd. My favorite character was Owen, played by Sam Rockwell. He's very reminiscent of Bill Murray in Meatballs, but that's OK, but I ended up a little in love with Bill Murray in Meatballs, too. I wonder how different I'd be if instead of feeling like a hostage at Smokey Pines every summer, I had a "friend who drives" like Owen to look forward to.


Sunday Stealing

Massive Alphabet Meme, part two

The Letter N 
Do you have a nickname?  Yes
What is your favorite number? 7
Do you prefer night or day? Not really.

The Letter O
What is your one wish? Contentment
Are you an only child? No, but I often wish I was
Do you wish this year was over? No

The Letter P 
What is one fear that you are most paranoid about? I like this question; "most paranoid" implying that there are many things that haunt my neurotic imagination. I suppose I'm "most paranoid" about the powers that be at work discussing my fate.
What personality trait would you look for in someone you wanted to date? Independence

The Letter Q 
Are you quick to judge people? I try not to be, but I'm not sure I'm completely successful

The Letter R
Do you think you are always right? About some things
Do you watch reality T.V.? Not very often
What is a good reason to cry? Despair and helplessness

The Letter S 
Do you prefer sun or rain? Sun
Do you like snow? Yes! I much prefer it to rain
What is your favorite season? Autumn

The Letter T 
What time is it? 8:00 AM
What time did you wake up? 7:00 AM
When was the last time you slept in a tent? Oh, it was DECADES ago!

The Letter U
Are you wearing underwear? Yes
Do you open your eyes when under water?   Yes

The Letter V 
What is the worst veggie? Tomatoes. Their consistency gives me the willies.

Where do you want to go on vacation? Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica. Great spa, beautiful ocean views and an old friend nearby. Hope I can afford it next year!



What was your last family vacation together?  A cottage on a tiny lake in Wisconsin. It was hell. All we did was fight. I've never been back. Though my younger sister (only 9 at the time) was either oblivious or inured to all the hostility and remembers it all fondly, returning there every year with her own family.

The Letter W 
What is your worst habit?  Sloth



Where do you live?  Chicago, the greatest city ever!

The Letter X 
Have you ever had an X-ray?  Yes, and so should you.
Have you ever seen the X-Games?  No.
Do you own or have you ever played a xylophone?  As a child, I had one decorated with Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

The Letter Y
Do you like the color yellow?  Yes. After blue, it's my favorite color.
What year were you born in? 1957
What do you yearn for most? Contentment

The Letter Z
What is your Zodiac Sign? I'm on the cusp. Whether I'm Sag or Scorp depends on which astrological resource you're looking at.
Do you believe in the Zodiac? Not much.


What is your favorite zoo animal? The okapi. They are pretty rare, because man has decimated their natural habitat. Without zoos, these docile and graceful and shy animals might actually become extinct, which would be a tragedy.