The glitz, the glam, the spectacle, the excitement, the wonder. How fabulous the Academy Awards are. Okay, I will admit that there is bias and that the Oscars are a little ridiculous. When you love movies, though, you can't help but get lost in the night.
My friends and I filled out ballots and the show began. When all was said and done, I voted 10 choices correctly... had I voted for what I actually thought would win instead of what I wanted to win, I would have had at least 4 more correct. What can I say, I know what the Academy tends to go for; but, I also have the movies I would love to see win. Take Little Miss Sunshine for example, despite the fact that I had a strong feeling that The Departed was going to win, I voted for the long shot because I really thought it deserved to win. It was a masterpiece in disguise, and should have been recognized as such.
I was happy to see Pan's Labyrinth nominated for so many awards, winning three of them. It deserved them all. I am now curious to see that German film that beat it out for best foreign film.
The category I had the most knowledge about was cinematography. I had a tough time deciding since I thought each film was as beautiful as the next (in different ways of course), and three of them were nominated for only that. What's a girl to do. Well, I knew Pan's Labyrinth was going to win that one, so I voted for The Black Dahlia instead. I was really hoping it would get some recognition since it was a lower key picture. The Illusionist and The Prestige, though both were absolutely amazing and beautiful, just didn't have the cinematographic wonder that Pan's Labyrinth had.
Upon the announcement of that award, my friend asked me "why didn't you vote for Pan's Labyrinth if you knew (and wanted) it to win?" I just shrugged. I mean you never know, the academy could surprise us all.
The highlight of the evening was by far the Comedian Tribute, performed by Will Ferrell and Jack Black. It was brilliant and oh so true.
Before I close... since I know I cant talk about everything related to the night. I want to make a comment about the fashion of the evening. First of all, My favorite dress/overall look of the night was Helen Mirem. She has a youthful elegance that just cant be topped. Gwyneth Paltrow... I don't know what she was thinking. Her outfit was all kinds of wrong for her body type and it was a disappointment from her usual class. I was disappointed. Everything else was in between.
I shall now just leave you with the opening award image, Daniel Craig walking out on stage to present the first award. Beautiful.
26 February 2007
20 February 2007
Selling Souls and Burning Out
It seems, no matter what you do, no matter how much you love what you do, that you end up selling your soul over to it in the end. it stops being what you do and becomes what you are. It consumes you and what you do eventually takes over. Then, there comes a point when you have to decide to let it take you over, to let it consume you because its what you love.
These days, everything you do seems to take over. There is no time to just be. How can you soak up life and experience the art of living if you have no time to actually live? When working becomes living and down time becomes sleep, what room is there to do anything else. If what consumes us is something we love, we notice it less and less. Then one day you look around and you're practically living in an office or a theatre or a church, you begin to wonder what happened and when everything lost its dimension and variety.
First, you sell your soul to a cause, an activity, a lifestyle that you love or desire. Then, as life continues to move along, you begin to fall behind. You become buried in what you do until you just burn out.
Thinking about this startles me, I am not ready for life to take over. I love what I do, but am I ready to make a commitment to anything? But, then I wonder if you can really control the take over. Its gradual. Its you following a dream, a passion. Then that passion becomes a mission, becomes your life. What would you sell your soul to? Rather, what would you freely give your soul to? It would have to be freely given, otherwise it would be a hell of a lot easier to just drop everything and say you're done with it all.
Its a balancing act. How do you balance life, passion, love, dreams, future, family, fun, careers and everything else that may fall into your lap? You cant think; you just have to do. A professor once told me that life is a juggling act, at some point you're going to start dropping balls. The trick, though, is to not focus on the ones you've dropped, you'll work them back in eventually. Focus on the ones you have in the air, for those ones are your real accomplishment.
These days, everything you do seems to take over. There is no time to just be. How can you soak up life and experience the art of living if you have no time to actually live? When working becomes living and down time becomes sleep, what room is there to do anything else. If what consumes us is something we love, we notice it less and less. Then one day you look around and you're practically living in an office or a theatre or a church, you begin to wonder what happened and when everything lost its dimension and variety.
First, you sell your soul to a cause, an activity, a lifestyle that you love or desire. Then, as life continues to move along, you begin to fall behind. You become buried in what you do until you just burn out.
Thinking about this startles me, I am not ready for life to take over. I love what I do, but am I ready to make a commitment to anything? But, then I wonder if you can really control the take over. Its gradual. Its you following a dream, a passion. Then that passion becomes a mission, becomes your life. What would you sell your soul to? Rather, what would you freely give your soul to? It would have to be freely given, otherwise it would be a hell of a lot easier to just drop everything and say you're done with it all.
Its a balancing act. How do you balance life, passion, love, dreams, future, family, fun, careers and everything else that may fall into your lap? You cant think; you just have to do. A professor once told me that life is a juggling act, at some point you're going to start dropping balls. The trick, though, is to not focus on the ones you've dropped, you'll work them back in eventually. Focus on the ones you have in the air, for those ones are your real accomplishment.
Bringing it Back Down to Earth
What I love about Ash Wednesday is the "ashes to ashes and dust to dust" theme that arises. The Lenten season is Phoenix like in the sense that it is a chance for us to be essentially reborn from the ashes, a time to reexamine the lives we live. Thus we are rising again from ashes.
I like to think that people are basically good, and that they have the ability to change. Lent, and the new year for that matter, are perfect times to attempt that change. Now before you stop reading this because you think I am some religious freak or something just hear me out. Strictly speaking I am Catholic. By that I mean to say that my beliefs generally parallel those of the Catholic faith in which I was brought up.
Currently though I find myself prone to exploring spirituality rather than religion. You see, I need the faith sharing and the spiritual elements, but I find that I am no longer getting what I need out of church or religion. I am taking what I like to think of as a religious sabbatical, but I still like the renewal of spirit that Ash Wednesday and Lent give you.
I like to think that people are basically good, and that they have the ability to change. Lent, and the new year for that matter, are perfect times to attempt that change. Now before you stop reading this because you think I am some religious freak or something just hear me out. Strictly speaking I am Catholic. By that I mean to say that my beliefs generally parallel those of the Catholic faith in which I was brought up.
Currently though I find myself prone to exploring spirituality rather than religion. You see, I need the faith sharing and the spiritual elements, but I find that I am no longer getting what I need out of church or religion. I am taking what I like to think of as a religious sabbatical, but I still like the renewal of spirit that Ash Wednesday and Lent give you.
Latin Flare
Because one of Anita's coworkers works at the Music Hall, we were yet again able to get free tickets to a Dance concert. This time it was a Spanish/ Latin Dance Extravaganza... and there was food and dance lessons afterwards. Okay, I will admit that I will attend just about anything that is free with free food. Its a win- win situation.
I think the Dance was amazing, I loved that the dancers took on characters and then maintained the personality of the character through the dances. I am a character person, but I also think that it really displayed an amazing range of talent for the dancers. It is one thing to dance and be good at it, it is another thing to personify a character through the dance.
There were two dresses I thought were absolutely amazing, a yellow one, and a grey and red one. I don't know how to describe them, but the red and grey one had a little grey jacket that went over top of it so you could only subtly see the red underneath the jacket and in the pleats of the skirt. Then (the character was a slightly reserved or shy woman) as she opened up a bit the jacket came off to reveal an amazingly spectacular top. It was so cute. The dance was a bit of a love story in that they dancers were coupling up over a night of dancing at a club. There was this one nice but persistent guy who kept getting shot down by the shy girl, and at the end they finally had a few dances together and she let him walk her out... so adorable.
sorry about the little rant, but you know me and lovey dovey stuff, I can't get enough of it.
The food was yummy, as Mexican food always is... or rather I had Cuban food. In any case, it was yummy. I attempted to learn to Salsa dance. The attempts failed. I would need a MUCH slower class... one that is more than 5 min. For those of you who don't know, this white girl has no rhythm.
The next night I joined the JVs on their adventure to Pontiac to celebrate Pontiac Shannon's birthday. I had a few drinks with the Shannan's and Josh at the Pontiac house. We played a game similar to kings. I started of drinking Sangria, but after a glass of that flashbacks to New years came to mind and thus I switched to beer. I did not want a repeat of New Years day... maybe I will share that story with you later.
At around 11 the 10 of us go out to a Piano bar where they have dueling pianos on Friday and Saturday night. Basically its the 3 or 4 guys playing all the fun songs that everyone knows and loves. Pontiac Shannon requested Sweet Home Alabama and when they played it we all accompanied her up on stage to dance to it. Though we were sober, everyone thought we were drunk and so it was all good. Detroit Shannan and I had a bet going as to whether or not Detroit Megan and Pontiac Jeff would kiss by the end of the night. I was betting against her actually doing it. Shannan and I called off the bet when we found out that Megan really does like Jeff every so slightly, but she wasn't going to let it happen if there was a bet going. Nothing ended up happening, and I felt bad when I found out she did like him.... but I suppose there is always next time.
An I learned not to bet money on friends hooking up... you might just end up in a situation where they really like each other but wont let anything happen because of the stupid bet.
I think the Dance was amazing, I loved that the dancers took on characters and then maintained the personality of the character through the dances. I am a character person, but I also think that it really displayed an amazing range of talent for the dancers. It is one thing to dance and be good at it, it is another thing to personify a character through the dance.
There were two dresses I thought were absolutely amazing, a yellow one, and a grey and red one. I don't know how to describe them, but the red and grey one had a little grey jacket that went over top of it so you could only subtly see the red underneath the jacket and in the pleats of the skirt. Then (the character was a slightly reserved or shy woman) as she opened up a bit the jacket came off to reveal an amazingly spectacular top. It was so cute. The dance was a bit of a love story in that they dancers were coupling up over a night of dancing at a club. There was this one nice but persistent guy who kept getting shot down by the shy girl, and at the end they finally had a few dances together and she let him walk her out... so adorable.
sorry about the little rant, but you know me and lovey dovey stuff, I can't get enough of it.
The food was yummy, as Mexican food always is... or rather I had Cuban food. In any case, it was yummy. I attempted to learn to Salsa dance. The attempts failed. I would need a MUCH slower class... one that is more than 5 min. For those of you who don't know, this white girl has no rhythm.
The next night I joined the JVs on their adventure to Pontiac to celebrate Pontiac Shannon's birthday. I had a few drinks with the Shannan's and Josh at the Pontiac house. We played a game similar to kings. I started of drinking Sangria, but after a glass of that flashbacks to New years came to mind and thus I switched to beer. I did not want a repeat of New Years day... maybe I will share that story with you later.
At around 11 the 10 of us go out to a Piano bar where they have dueling pianos on Friday and Saturday night. Basically its the 3 or 4 guys playing all the fun songs that everyone knows and loves. Pontiac Shannon requested Sweet Home Alabama and when they played it we all accompanied her up on stage to dance to it. Though we were sober, everyone thought we were drunk and so it was all good. Detroit Shannan and I had a bet going as to whether or not Detroit Megan and Pontiac Jeff would kiss by the end of the night. I was betting against her actually doing it. Shannan and I called off the bet when we found out that Megan really does like Jeff every so slightly, but she wasn't going to let it happen if there was a bet going. Nothing ended up happening, and I felt bad when I found out she did like him.... but I suppose there is always next time.
An I learned not to bet money on friends hooking up... you might just end up in a situation where they really like each other but wont let anything happen because of the stupid bet.
14 February 2007
Happy Hearts Day to You
Another year goes by and yet again I am Valentine-less on Valentine's day. This year it doesn't bother me so much though. I used to be overwhelmed by all the pink and red I would see everywhere, and of course gag a little at all of the PDA from couples "in love." My friends and I would get together, drink margaritas, eat Ben and Jerry's, and watch sappy movies, all the time wondering why we remained single while others were paired off. Its not that any of us minded single life, we sometimes just wanted a little affection and our lack of it became blatantly apparent on Valentine's day.
So what changed? When did I stop caring? I suppose I just learned to look beyond the red roses, pink hearts and milk chocolates. When you think about it, Valentine's aren't just for sweethearts and Valentine's Day isn't just about having a significant other. Valentine's Day is about love: love for self, for friends, for family and everyone in your life that matters. I have learned to see it as a day where you show the people who mean the most to you just how much you love them, a sentiment often lost in everyday life. So, where we may neglect to say "I Love You" as much as we should to these people, today is a perfect opportunity to show these people how much you care.
Most importantly, though, don't forget to show yourself some love. As much as our soul needs love from others, we need it from ourselves just as much. To truly love anyone else, we must first love ourselves... Be compasionate to yourself and keep close the ones you care about.
So what changed? When did I stop caring? I suppose I just learned to look beyond the red roses, pink hearts and milk chocolates. When you think about it, Valentine's aren't just for sweethearts and Valentine's Day isn't just about having a significant other. Valentine's Day is about love: love for self, for friends, for family and everyone in your life that matters. I have learned to see it as a day where you show the people who mean the most to you just how much you love them, a sentiment often lost in everyday life. So, where we may neglect to say "I Love You" as much as we should to these people, today is a perfect opportunity to show these people how much you care.
Most importantly, though, don't forget to show yourself some love. As much as our soul needs love from others, we need it from ourselves just as much. To truly love anyone else, we must first love ourselves... Be compasionate to yourself and keep close the ones you care about.
11 February 2007
A Day of Adventure, A Night of Risk
Adventure
Despite the fact that Anita was sick today, I still volunteered with her school’s super Saturday. Again, the day was slightly unorganized and I ended up with far more chaperons and far fewer girls than I anticipated. In many ways the parents needed more chaperoning than the girls did, but what can you do? You certainly can’t tell parents that. And if you tell them not to try to combine groups, they throw a hissy fit. To think they wonder why their girls are problematic… did it ever occur to them that they give the girls far too much freedom?
The educational event of the day was an Underground Railroad tour. It was super cool for everyone except the Virginian who is so used to historical reenactments that this one was just a little lame. I appreciated their efforts and focused my efforts on scaring the girls during the little tour.
Following my day with the girls, I successfully won my battle versus the sprint store. When I initially had my phone replaced, they gave me back my broken battery that was supposed to be replaced with the phone. They suck and I ended up having to drive all over the place… but I got my battery fixed and was able to get the store to bend over backwards for me. The wonders of being a pretty girl who is noticeably pissed.
…and Risk
So about the Risk. I mean the game. Tim came over tonight to play Risk with Nile, Anita and me and get Nile to no longer hate him. Silly boys. I was rolling VERY poorly tonight, so I was taken out with out much effort. So much for my efforts in Australia. On the other hand, the mission to get Nile to not hate Tim seemed to be a successful one at that. Talk about Mission Risk.
Despite the fact that Anita was sick today, I still volunteered with her school’s super Saturday. Again, the day was slightly unorganized and I ended up with far more chaperons and far fewer girls than I anticipated. In many ways the parents needed more chaperoning than the girls did, but what can you do? You certainly can’t tell parents that. And if you tell them not to try to combine groups, they throw a hissy fit. To think they wonder why their girls are problematic… did it ever occur to them that they give the girls far too much freedom?
The educational event of the day was an Underground Railroad tour. It was super cool for everyone except the Virginian who is so used to historical reenactments that this one was just a little lame. I appreciated their efforts and focused my efforts on scaring the girls during the little tour.
Following my day with the girls, I successfully won my battle versus the sprint store. When I initially had my phone replaced, they gave me back my broken battery that was supposed to be replaced with the phone. They suck and I ended up having to drive all over the place… but I got my battery fixed and was able to get the store to bend over backwards for me. The wonders of being a pretty girl who is noticeably pissed.
…and Risk
So about the Risk. I mean the game. Tim came over tonight to play Risk with Nile, Anita and me and get Nile to no longer hate him. Silly boys. I was rolling VERY poorly tonight, so I was taken out with out much effort. So much for my efforts in Australia. On the other hand, the mission to get Nile to not hate Tim seemed to be a successful one at that. Talk about Mission Risk.
10 February 2007
The Gryffindork That I Am
After 8 long months of hard and arduous work, my Gryffindork blanket is finally complete. My friends made fun of me for crocheting a blanket that is gryffindor colors, but it was the only way I would ever finish the project. I mean the last two skeins alone took me 4 months because I was bored of the project. When I started, I was completing a skein a week.
Moral of the story: Maura needs a reason to finish a project... reasons to finish this project 1. its cold here in Detroit and 2. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS IS GOING TO BE RELEASED IN JULY!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am officially a dork and a nerd... and I am proud of it
Moral of the story: Maura needs a reason to finish a project... reasons to finish this project 1. its cold here in Detroit and 2. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS IS GOING TO BE RELEASED IN JULY!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am officially a dork and a nerd... and I am proud of it
05 February 2007
Pan's Labyrinth
A visually stunning adventure, a cross between a fairy tale and a nightmare in which a young girl must come to terms with her fantasies and the real world.
A movie so grand and amazing that I am still in absolutely stunned at its magnificence.
A movie so grand and amazing that I am still in absolutely stunned at its magnificence.
Sub Zero in Detroit
Today in Detroit temperatures were reported at -4 degrees F, -26 Degrees C. These extreme temperatures are not common to Virginia and this Native Virginian did not know what she was getting herself into as she prepared for the work day.
I woke up as per usual this morning not thinking anything was out of the ordinary. The sun was shining and sparkling on the left over snow. Anita, who was considering calling in sick to school, was calling Tim to see if he needed a ride. I walk by her room and hear her tell him to stop telling tales. The nosey girl that I am asks her whats up. She mumbles something about Tim being a liar saying school was closed and she brushes past me to go check the news. Sure enough Detroit Public Schools were closed. Anita lucked out... hmmmm would I be lucky enough to also have a snow day, or at least half of one?
I call MEP, who is supposed to follow the DPS schedule (I would know, I put together the packet). Of course Winn answers and says to me very condescendingly, "I've been telling the women to come in." I'm sorry, I was just wondering what was happening. God forbid I call first to save from driving in if we are closed. A girl can hope, cant she?
I continue to get ready and Anita instructs me on how to properly bundle up for subzero temperatures. How I love my South Dakotan roommate. She knows everything. I end up looking like a marshmallow, but she knows everything.
I leave the house ten minutes before 9 to brave the cold. All bundled up and this beach girl is ready to go. When I finally get outside I am actually disappointed. Its not THAT cold. I have more layers on than I normally have and I am just as warm. If I am going to look this silly then I want COLD. As I turned on the car to let the windows defrost, I scraped off the ice while dancing to Eddie Money's "Take me Home Tonight."
The following day was even colder... I guess I should be careful what I wish for.
I woke up as per usual this morning not thinking anything was out of the ordinary. The sun was shining and sparkling on the left over snow. Anita, who was considering calling in sick to school, was calling Tim to see if he needed a ride. I walk by her room and hear her tell him to stop telling tales. The nosey girl that I am asks her whats up. She mumbles something about Tim being a liar saying school was closed and she brushes past me to go check the news. Sure enough Detroit Public Schools were closed. Anita lucked out... hmmmm would I be lucky enough to also have a snow day, or at least half of one?
I call MEP, who is supposed to follow the DPS schedule (I would know, I put together the packet). Of course Winn answers and says to me very condescendingly, "I've been telling the women to come in." I'm sorry, I was just wondering what was happening. God forbid I call first to save from driving in if we are closed. A girl can hope, cant she?
I continue to get ready and Anita instructs me on how to properly bundle up for subzero temperatures. How I love my South Dakotan roommate. She knows everything. I end up looking like a marshmallow, but she knows everything.
I leave the house ten minutes before 9 to brave the cold. All bundled up and this beach girl is ready to go. When I finally get outside I am actually disappointed. Its not THAT cold. I have more layers on than I normally have and I am just as warm. If I am going to look this silly then I want COLD. As I turned on the car to let the windows defrost, I scraped off the ice while dancing to Eddie Money's "Take me Home Tonight."
The following day was even colder... I guess I should be careful what I wish for.
04 February 2007
Girls NIght Out
As much as we love our guy friends and/ or roommates, every now and then the girls need a night to themselves out on the town. This special night is what we commonly refer to as "Girl's Night." On Girl's Night, anything can happen. It is the one night where you go out with your friends without a care in the world, when you can forget about life and just have fun. It is a night that sets you free.
Saturday Night we chose to dance.
Life was a blur at the Mercy House as Anita and I girlified ourselves. I rummaged through my closet and pulled out two or three possible outfits. Anita looked in her drawer and pulled out her favorite shirt. I tried on each outfit and scurried down the hall to the full length mirror to see how I looked. Anita walked into the bathroom and changed into her favorite shirt. After deciding on a shirt, I appropriate makeup with my outfit. Anita sits on her bed and talks to JV Josh while she puts her boots on. I put my boots on and saunter down to the mirror to look at the whole ensemble. I fail to like the whole wardrobe choice, so I run back to my room to pull out the original shirt I tried on and grab my blazer for an extra layer.
Girls take so much time to get ready, sheesh.
We meet at the JV house where Elisabeth is the only one ready to go. With in about 10 minutes, the JV girls are ready to go and we take a celebratory shot on our way out. Elisabeth toasted with water since she was the DD. Then we bundle up, pile into the Buick and head to Ferndale. Its sad that we have to go to Ferndale for decent dancing, but its good to get away from Detroit every once in a while. Our goal that night was to forget about our service, forget about boy troubles, forget about stress and just live in the moment. We decided our night would be about fun dares, facing fears and leaving our individual boxes behind.
Sangria, was a little Mexican restaurant by day with a sky bar by night. The place was about half full when we arrived and continued to fill up as the night progressed. It was chill at first, and I enjoyed it. Only after the dance floor packed and the scantly clad women became more numerous did I get bored with the night. Its one thing to go out with girlfriends, but I tire of seeing women in as little clothing as they can get away with, drinking little cocktails, and poorly dancing on tables. All they want is attention from men. To tell you the truth if I am at a bar/club I am the girl at the bar striking up conversations with people, most likely commenting on the ones who are obviously there to be ogled and pondering that thought, as opposed to being out on the dance floor. Aside from the fact that I am a tad shy when it comes to dancing, I much prefer observing the whole mating ritual that takes place.
It is quite the anthropological study. Watching groups of people and trying to figure out who in the groups are there to hook up with people, meet new people, score some free drinks, just have fun and whatever else the motive may be. There seems to be a trend of one night stands that merely satisfies physical desire, as opposed to going out to genuinely meet people. But who knows, maybe I don't know what I am talking about... then again, maybe I am wise beyond my years.
Saturday Night we chose to dance.
Life was a blur at the Mercy House as Anita and I girlified ourselves. I rummaged through my closet and pulled out two or three possible outfits. Anita looked in her drawer and pulled out her favorite shirt. I tried on each outfit and scurried down the hall to the full length mirror to see how I looked. Anita walked into the bathroom and changed into her favorite shirt. After deciding on a shirt, I appropriate makeup with my outfit. Anita sits on her bed and talks to JV Josh while she puts her boots on. I put my boots on and saunter down to the mirror to look at the whole ensemble. I fail to like the whole wardrobe choice, so I run back to my room to pull out the original shirt I tried on and grab my blazer for an extra layer.
Girls take so much time to get ready, sheesh.
We meet at the JV house where Elisabeth is the only one ready to go. With in about 10 minutes, the JV girls are ready to go and we take a celebratory shot on our way out. Elisabeth toasted with water since she was the DD. Then we bundle up, pile into the Buick and head to Ferndale. Its sad that we have to go to Ferndale for decent dancing, but its good to get away from Detroit every once in a while. Our goal that night was to forget about our service, forget about boy troubles, forget about stress and just live in the moment. We decided our night would be about fun dares, facing fears and leaving our individual boxes behind.
Sangria, was a little Mexican restaurant by day with a sky bar by night. The place was about half full when we arrived and continued to fill up as the night progressed. It was chill at first, and I enjoyed it. Only after the dance floor packed and the scantly clad women became more numerous did I get bored with the night. Its one thing to go out with girlfriends, but I tire of seeing women in as little clothing as they can get away with, drinking little cocktails, and poorly dancing on tables. All they want is attention from men. To tell you the truth if I am at a bar/club I am the girl at the bar striking up conversations with people, most likely commenting on the ones who are obviously there to be ogled and pondering that thought, as opposed to being out on the dance floor. Aside from the fact that I am a tad shy when it comes to dancing, I much prefer observing the whole mating ritual that takes place.
It is quite the anthropological study. Watching groups of people and trying to figure out who in the groups are there to hook up with people, meet new people, score some free drinks, just have fun and whatever else the motive may be. There seems to be a trend of one night stands that merely satisfies physical desire, as opposed to going out to genuinely meet people. But who knows, maybe I don't know what I am talking about... then again, maybe I am wise beyond my years.
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