Currently reading:
The Order by Daniel Silva - Just started this one. It's giving me major Angels and Demons vibes.
Warlock Holmes: The Finality Problem by GS Denning - Another fun volume in this highly recommendable series.
Movies:
Most of the movies I've seen during quarantine are re-watches, but there were a couple of new (or new to me) movies that I've caught on Netflix or Hulu. Here are some of the more memorable.
A Dash of Love, starring Jen Lilley and Brendan Penny
Okay, this is a Hallmark movie, I admit it. I started watching it when I woke up on the couch at 1 AM and it totally sucked me in. It's about two chefs who struggle for recognition against an evil celebrichef who steals their ideas. Way better than your average Hallmark movie.
Hamilton, starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, et. al.
THANK YOU DISNEY FOR THIS GIFT. Of course I knew Hamilton was going to be good, and I knew I would like it, but I didn't know just how good and how much I would love it until I actually saw it performed.
As an aside, there is a Hamilton song for every situation in life.
Palm Springs, starring Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg
If you enjoy the movie Groundhog Day (full disclosure: I've never actually seen it), you will LOVE Palm Springs. It's a super clever and funny twist on a very familiar plot. Nyles and Sarah are trapped in a time loop that spans the day of Sarah's sister's wedding. Luckily, they have each other to make the never-ending day different and fun. At least until Sarah decides to make a break for it. Watch it on Hulu!
A Simple Favor, starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively
A lighter, brighter Gone Girl. Anna Kendrick is great in this movie and I loved the dynamic between her and Lively. Very much worth watching.
Booksmart, starring Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein
TBH I was kind of disappointed in this one. I've seen movies before with literally the exact same plot (two teenagers try to find an epic party to prove they're cool/make a move on their crush and in the process find themselves and discover their true friends) that were way funnier. I did appreciate the feminism, however.
New segment! Quarantine things
These are things that have taken over my life during the QT. What's been your quarantine thing the past few months?
Twilight
Okay, I'm not going to say I'm proud of this, but I've watched Twilight three times since April. A movie has to be truly remarkably bad to be endlessly entertaining in its badness. And that's just the first movie! I also re-watched the other three movies.
Then I thought I should re-read Eclipse since I hadn't done that yet (and trust me, I never will again. The only reason to read that book is the scene in the tent). I WAS going to regroup and try to read something adultish afterwards, but then I was like, "But what will the wedding look like??" as if I didn't already know. So I reread Breaking Dawn and admittedly it was worse than I remembered. But babies chewing their way out of the womb FTW.
AND THEN Midnight Sun was released and, well, what's person to do? It's like Stephanie Meyer is reading my mind or something. So I read that. It only took 3 weeks and by the end I was so read out I never wanted to look at another book again. Don't get me wrong, it was good, and so much of Edward's actions make more sense now. It was just sooooooooooooooo loooooooong. Like so long. When I first started it I thought it was going to cover the entire series, but no, it's just the first book.
Anyway. I MAY have to re-read the first Twilight now but I'm trying to control myself.
Find Me In Paris
TIME TRAVELING BALLERINA, Y'ALL. This is a series on Hulu. It's about teenagers. One of them is a ballerina from 1905 who's being pursued by bad guys who look like escapees from a steampunk convention. Her 1905 boyfriend is trying to stop them and get her back. Meanwhile, in 2018, there's a cute ballet dancer named Max who's obviously into her.
This show is completely silly and cheesy and I can't stop watching it and I won't stop.
These months in heidenkindom:
Well, where to start. Things could be worse. The university moved to 100% remote work in late February, and I've been sheltering in place with my parents since then. You'd think if anyone was born to social distance it would be myself, but I've been surprised by how stressful and upsetting true quarantine has been. Yes, I've worked from home before, but I could also do things I enjoyed outside of home, like go to movies, or eat out, or go to a museum. Now, nothing. I had a major breakdown on Easter Sunday and that's not even a big holiday in our house.
But, on the plus side, my friends and family are healthy so far and I was able to keep my job.
In related job news, work was super stressful the past few months. My supervisor retired just as we started migrating to a new CRM. But that's a cakewalk compared to the new position I started in mid-June: first I was stressed out over whether or not to apply (I didn't meet all of the minimum qualifications). Then I applied and was stressed out over whether to withdraw my application or not.
And then came the interviews. I NEVER WANT TO DO ANOTHER JOB INTERVIEW OVER ZOOM FOR AS LONG AS I LIVE. You'd think it'd be easier, but it's not. In fact, the interview with my current supervisor was cut off and had to be rescheduled because her baby woke up. Ahh that WFH life.
Anyway, so the hiring committee recommended me but since I didn't meet the minimum qualifications they had to fail the search. Luckily, the job description was rewritten to exclude the one qual I didn't meet, but that meant I had to reapply. Oy vey. But all's well that ends well I guess since I got the job. (just not the pay increase with it for 3 months and there's another long story).
As for events, I was able to meet up with Colleen from back in the #hitchfest days as she was traveling through my area! We had a lovely chat and socially distanced lunch on the grass. Definitely the highlight of the last few months!
Now things are starting to reopen, which in some ways is a blessing and other ways not so much. I went to see Inception, one of my favorite movies, in theaters for the first time, and it was actually better than it usually is. I like that I don't have to sit next to people in the theater and it's not as crowded. I also went to an exhibit of Venetian art glass at our local art museum. It wasn't mind-blowing, but it was nice to get out and see something beautiful.
I'm still nervous about eating in restaurants, though, and going onto campus with the mask and the screening is a pain. Not that I want us to go backwards back to 100% remote - hopefully we don't. But I think we all know that's a possibility and quite frankly I don't want to be the one who infects the entire admissions office with COVID-19.
So, how have you all been? Is there anyone still out there? If so thanks for visiting and keeping up with this wildly quiet blog. Hope you're all doing well!!
