Re-evaluate My Complaints

Today was a very long day at work and there is no short supply of reasons to complain on any given day. Too many emails, too many spreadsheets, getting requests that don't follow the policy. But once I leave the office, that all ends, I put it out of my mind and I focus on other things, like what's going on with the rest of the world. By which I mean other family or friends. Today was also a reminder not to complain too much. Two friends are having worse days than I am and I'm not trying to make light of their troubles by comparing them to mine, quiet the opposite. One friend was having a hard time with her child and was feeling blue. I can't relate completely, I don't have children, but I've had fights with family members and the feeling afterwards is very similar. Another friend's grandmother passed away. Here I am complaining about work. I should be thankful to have a job (which I certainly am) because there are people out there who don't. I try to remind myself that my life isn't as bad as I sometimes think it is. But we all at some time and point have wished our lives could be better. If I only had more money, I could change this. If I only had more time, I could do this. If only...if only won't help, if only won't change things. Rather than complaining I have to take action. I have the power to change things. The things I don't like about my life are temporary and it's up to me to fix them and complaining doesn't help with that. Now, I'm not saying don't complain about anything ever, sometimes a complaint can be a way to release stress, especially if you can feel better afterwards. But again, I have good reason to re-evaluate what I complain about or if I do, keep in mind that things could always be worse. My energy could be better spent providing my friends with supportive words and condolences. I'm also going to start the positive thinking now and say, tomorrow will be a better day.

Intention to Write

I had every intention to write today. Honest. But I've spent the last few hours working on a small project, on MS Paint. As anyone who has ever doodled around on MS Paint will know, it's not the easiest program to work with, especially when minut detail is required. I really wish I already had the tablet that I am hoping to get myself for Christmas. I'm not an artist by any means, but I when I'm trying to color inside the lines, it's really annoying when I can't get close enough to the edge to fill in all the color without messing up the outline. A tablet with a stylus pen would help with that, at least better than the mouse on my laptop. So, that's why instead of something interesting today, you get me complaining about MS Paint taking up my writing time. I could probably stop and dig around in my brain for a topic, but my eyes feel like they are about to start bleeding from staring at the screen for so long. I think I would rather just call it a night.

Forever, I Hope Its Endurance Matches Its Name. But Wait, There's More!

To stay that I am interested in the new show Forever, would be an understatement. I think enthralled would be a better descriptive for it. It's Sherlock meets Highlander, sans swords and be-headings. Henry, our leading man, has a very unique existence. I am not giving away much by stating he can't die. Or rather he can die, but he does not stay dead. The commercials have given that away so it's not a spoiler. I'm trying hard not to spoil anything the night of, if I plan to write about it. But of course, when it is fresh in my brain, it's great fuel. So, if you want to know more and you really should, check out Forever. It's on ABC directly after Agents of SHIELD.

Speaking of which, moving on to the Season 2 premier of Marvel's Agent of SHIELD. It was fantastic! If you checked out during the first season, shame on you (just kidding), but do yourself a favor and jump back on the bandwagon. Find a way to catch up, I know some good links that will provide adequate summaries. But you are really missing out. Coulson and his team are back and things are crazy. I'm still recovering from one direct assault on my emotions concerning one of my favorite characters and I am refusing to accept that situation. I don't know how many more mis-directions I can take, after Sleepy Hollow yesterday and now Agents of SHIELD today. But, it's still early and anything can happen. This is SHIELD after all, whatever is left of it.

I also happened to catch the preview for the season premier of Once Upon A Time. They certainly did not waste anytime hacking off a piece of the Frozen cash cow. Watch out Storybrooke, Elsa's in town. Actually maybe you should all just chill out. Ha, get it? Chill...out...ahem, anyway. I'll say this, if we get an episode of Rumpel doing his own version of Let It Go, I might be persuaded to continue watching. I already started losing some interest with last season's Oz story tie-in. What does the modern ice queen have in store for Emma and the rest of the gang? Can you build a snowman if you have a hook for a hand? Will Charming pick up the Ukulele? Tune in Sunday! When none of these questions will be answer. But feel free to make up your own answers.

Holy Fall TV Shows Batman! (Slight spoilers for Gotham)

Ok, not quite Batman, but young Bruce Wayne is well on his way to letting that revenge fuel him. I am of course referring to the season premier of Gotham on Fox. I'm going to try to limit the spoilers, but everyone knows how Bruce Wayne came to become Batman, so I don't think I'm spoiling too much by referencing the death of his parents. The scene which we opened up to after a brief intro to a young Selina Kyle. The show proved to be awesome, as I knew it would be. I'm crazy about anything Batman. He's my favorite comic character and I've grown up watching all his movies and animated TV shows. The only one I haven't had too much exposure to is the 1966 Adam West series. I'm sure I'll watch that eventually, especially with Batman fever being at a peak yet again. Comics are flying off the shelf and the internet is a buzz with Batman chatter. Who will appear in the show? What other classic villains and heroes are slated to grace the screen once more? This episode of course gave us everyone who had already been mentioned previously. So if you have not been following Gotham prior to the premier and are waiting until tomorrow to watch the episode, stop reading now. Have you stopped reading? Proceed at your own peril. Anyway, our boy Jim Gordon--fresh-faced newbie with GCPD--makes his entrance inside the precinct, taking down a perp. We are also introduced to his partner, GCPD vet Harvey Bullock. Our duo are of course sent out to investigate the double homicide of Mr. Thomas & Mrs. Martha Wayne. Jim seeks to comfort a distraught and shock-suffering Bruce Wayne, he vows to solve his parents murder, before Alfred shows up to usher Bruce away. Now for our villains/soon-to-bes. We have a brand new (created for this series) villain by the name of Fish Mooney, the young pointy-nosed penguin Oswald Cobblepot, a father-less Ivy Pepper (Poison Ivy waiting for her time to bloom), mob boss Carmine Falcone, and currently working for the GCPD Edward Nygma. None of these listed should be new to anyone, if you've even been marginally following the show news. But if they are, apologies, if it's any consolation I'll stop here. I'll summarize by saying, the show did not disappoint and I would definitely recommend it.

Immediately following Gotham was Fox's returning hit show, Sleep Hollow, which premiered it's second season. Everyone's favorite witnesses are back to fight the good fight against the forces of evil. I will definitely not give anything away. except that a familiar face will show up, even if it's just briefly. A face that I hope we see again, because I like his character. I will also say this, Sleepy Hollow is never dull and the beginning portion of the episode threw me for a loop. It nearly had me fooled, my gut was telling me otherwise and I nearly disregarded it. It was clever and tricky and I really enjoyed it. Well done, Alex Kurtzman, well done.

I give both shows two thumbs up and can not wait to see both progress. Despite knowing enough information about the back story of most of the characters, I feel Gotham will hand us many surprises and will continue to keep us at the edge of our seats. I'm glad I could contribute to the opening ratings of both shows this evening and have a feeling that Tuesday will only barely be second place to Monday nights. Tomorrow of course brings us the season 2 premier of Marvel's Agent's of Shield. Oh, Agent Coulson, how I have missed you. Yeah, ok, the team too but let's be honest, I watch it for you. Fall TV this year is going to be all sorts of awesome-sauce.

Comic Confusion

I've been spending most of my weekend, when I haven't been cleaning, reading comics. I've come to three conclusions from doing so: 1. I should really try getting comics more frequently, rather than just on Free Comic Book Day. 2. I'm confused by everything currently going on in both the Marvel and DC worlds. 3. I now know why some of these were given away for free. I have a feeling realization number 2 has a lot to do with number 1, considering they're all single issues, but what can I say...FREE. I'm aware comics are not exactly expensive, especially if you're only buying the single issues and not a graphic novel or something similar. But still, if I were to get everything I wanted, it would cost a pretty penny and I'm a responsible adult. Heh. Anyway. I'm glad I finally decided to try and get caught up on this particular stack of reading material--I'm not through all of them yet. But it's a start and it's rekindled the excitement to want more. It was recommended to check out the New 52 Aquaman, so I'll start there, probably some Batman as well--he is my favorite after all. Yup, sounds like a good plan.

The 1980s

You don't have to have been born in the '80s (or prior) to know of the time period, but it does help. The music, the movies, the fashion-- all iconic things that have come and gone, or returned again in the case of certain fashion styles. Of course there are many defining features to the '80s besides those, but they are what everyone remembers most and what we can still experience today. Much of what was popular back then holds over to today's time and while only being simply interesting to some, it harbors a sense of nostalgia in others.

I myself, too young to have enjoyed the majority of the '80s, learned about the time period through my mother. I knew the music because she loved to listen to it, I knew the movies because she loved to watch them, and I knew about the fashion and hairstyles because she wore them. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve movies and music from the '80s. I was born in '87 so by the time I was old enough to understand everything it was already the beginning of a new decade. It's for that reason that I associate myself as a child of the '90s, with heavy '80s influences. Many other people my age would probably agree.

At that time in my life, we were living in Berlin, Germany--my father was stationed there with the US Army. So any American TV show was aired much later than it did in the US. Shows that had found their end in the '80s were still brand new overseas. I spent the first five years of my live watching just about every '80s cartoon you could think of: Hem-man & She-ra, Care Bears, Gummi Bears, Bravestar, Ghostbusters, GI Joe, Transformers. My father would record some of them for me along with movies (cartoon and regular). I would be with a babysitter during the day, usually a neighbor while my mom worked and dad was off doing Army stuff. Since it was usually a neighborhood stay-at-home mom who would watch me, there was often TV watching--in between playing outside and failing at being a ballerina (I just wanted to color, it's a long story). There was also a tricycle, a black and yellow Batman tricycle which belonged to a boy I knew. I really liked that tricycle, but I digress. The point I'm making is: there was regular exposure to what I still consider to be the best cartoons ever (aside from the classic Looney Toons and Hanna Barbera). They just don't make TV like that anymore.

The same is true for the movies of the '80s. The romantic comedies, regular comedies, scary movies that are still fun to watch now, with their unmistakable soundtracks: Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Sleepless in Seattle, City Slickers, Princess Bride, Romancing the Stone, St. Elmo's Fire, Top Gun, Ghostbusters, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Gremlins--the list goes on and on. I've lost count how many movies I have re-watched over and over and they still hold up to being just as good and entertaining as they were 30 or more years ago. To stand the test of time truly shows a quality that is often unmatched by movies of today.

Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Bryan Adams, Police, Genesis--all made fantastic music in the '80s. Tina Turner's power house voice singing: Private Dancer, What's Love Got To Do With It?, Let's Stay Together, We Don't Need Another Hero. Rod Stewart's Vagabond Heart Album: Rhythm of My Heart, The Motown Song, Broken Arrow--specifically The Motown Song. I used to listen to that song with my mom, along with the rest, in the CD player and cranked up. We would put it on repeat and sing along until we got tired of it. It was great. My mom had excellent taste in music, she still does. The fantastic thing, all this music can still be heard today. Either on an oldies radio station, CD,  or online and I can relive those happy memories whenever I like.

It's the ability that these things of the '80s have, of gripping tight to our hearts and minds that make them so special. They shaped an entire generation and continue to influence younger ones.

The True Meaning of GISHWHES

This is dedicated to my GISHWHES teammates: past and present, good friends and new friends.

Quick intro for anyone reading this who may not know what it is. In a nutshell: The Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen or GISHWHES (all pronunciations welcome) was created by actor and all around awesome human being, Misha Collins. You may know him as the Over Lord of Twitter, genius behind TSA America, or Castiel the Angel (in a trench coat) from CW's Supernatural, the TV show. Four years ago, Misha realized the power he had over his twitter followers and combined it with his love of scavenger hunts--he was an avid participant in his college days. The week long annual (5 time Guinness record breaking) scavenger hunt has spread across the globe bringing people together from all over to form (a copious amount of) 15 person teams.

The goal: win a trip to a location of Misha's choosing--usually some place he has really wanted to visit--with Misha and your entire team for a fun filled adventure of a life time. The challenge: complete as many items on the extensive list as possible in order to be awarded a predetermined amount of points. The catch: The items are not just things you have to find, but often things you have to create that are unique and artistic or performed. For example: Offering free hugs on a street corner while covered in jam, power washing an item that shouldn't be power washed, getting CPR certified, donating blood, getting dressed in nothing but items found in your garage, creating the movie poster for the upcoming sci-fi blockbuster starring Misha Collins and the Queen of England, ordering fast food in Shakespearean dialog or for your adult baby in the backseat, singing to a bar full of people or in a dust storm...I could go on.

Let me summarize by saying the list is far from ordinary and completing items from it can be fun, crazy, stressful, and extremely gratifying (often at the same time).

So why do we do it? Why do we deprive ourselves of sleep, stress ourselves out to get as much done as possible and stare at computer screens until our eyes bleed? You might think I would say it's for the prize, a chance at hanging out with Misha and claiming the title of GISHWHES champions. You would be wrong. While winning would certainly be very cool, that's not why we do it. It's not why I do it. This year marked my second year of participating in the hunt and nothing on this earth could keep me from participating again next year. I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into in 2013 when I agreed to create a team with my friend Erin and a large part of her family and friends. None of us knew anything beyond our love of the idea and of the show, Supernatural. We survived and came out on the other side exhausted but with no regrets. This year, due to personal circumstances, a large portion of our team was unable to participate and Erin and I found ourselves actively recruiting for a new team. This was in no way a hurdle for us. We were excited for the opportunity to be paired up with people from around the world. If you are unable to gather 15 people prior to the deadline, two teams are absorbed into each other or you receive new teammates at random to fill a couple spots. It's this randomness that has yielded connections beyond a person's hometown and even country. A community has formed around this hunt made up of international members--newbies and veterans of the hunt alike. It was through this community and specifically the GISHWHES Network Facebook group, that we recruited three amazing ladies from Canada to round out our team. Where most of us already knew each other, we knew hardly anything about them, except for where they were from and that this would be their third year participating. That was in July and by the time the whole thing kicked off in August, they were as much our friends as they were teammates. We still have not met in person but there is so much that we know about each other. So many things we have in common, beyond the hunt. Because that...is what GISHWHES is about.

GISHWHES forces you out of your shell, it changes you and I can honestly say it has been for best. You have no idea the self confidence you obtain by putting yourself out there. By being unashamed of making a fool out of yourself because you're not doing it alone. No one is an outsider because anyone can be included (active participant or not) no matter their race, gender or background. The support and camaraderie is undeniable and it's the best feeling in the world. I've even formed friendships with people on other teams because that feeling is shared throughout the GISHWHES community. It's the unbridled kindness and passion to want to make a difference not only for yourself but for others--the true meaning of GISHWHES. You don't have to be a returning participant to be able to share a heartfelt story about how it has changed your life. Social media and the GISHWHES website itself are flooded with stories before and after the hunt from not only Gishers (the nickname given to a participant) but friends, family, complete strangers, and first timers who were effected in one way or another by this amazing event. I must admit I'm getting a bit choked up right now, just thinking about the great things this hunt has accomplished and the countless lives it has touched through random acts of kindness. It's a mother's tears of joy after being reunited with a child once given up, children's laughter brightening a hospital ward, helping to build a new life for a family in need, sending a care package to a member of the military, getting to know a homeless person enough to bring them their favorite food and spending time with the elderly in a care home. You step outside of yourself, your problems, and you commit your time, blood (literally in some cases), sweat, and tears to something abnosome (to coin a GISHWHES phrase meaning abnormally awesome).

So here's my request: visit the website, www.gishwhes.com. Invest a little bit of time exploring all the information on this wonderful hunt. I hope this explanation does it justice. Although, I can't imagine how it could not, when this is my own admission of how much this scavenger hunt means to me--how much its personally changed me. Regardless of whether it's this post or the website, I hope it sparks an interest in you to join up next year. Honestly, you will not regret it and when you make it through to the other side of your first hunt, let me know. I'd love to hear all about it.

Looking for a Haven for My Feelings

Week two, the second episode of Haven watched. I must admit I am not sure how I feel about the way the show is going. I'm not going to spoil anything, or at least I'm going to try to not spoil anything. It is unclear if it's due to the events that I was expecting or due to what I wasn't expecting. But whatever the culprit is, I don't like it. Now let me be clear, this is not dislike for the show, I still plan to watch it and I am still invested in finding out what happens with the characters. But...I just don't know. Then there is the slight annoyance I feel with a certain male lead character (hint: it's not Duke, Dwight, Dave, or Vince). I understand why he's doing what he's doing (or maybe I don't and the inability to relate affects my judgement) but I feel like he's letting it blind him to the point of stupidity. Not only do his actions put him in danger but others as well. I found myself talking back to the TV, "Don't do it, don't do it". He did it. Why don't they ever listen to me? So, that's currently where I'm at with the show and based on the preview for next week, I'm in for more annoyance. Hopefully not too much. I'll keep an open mind and hope that Dwight knocks some sense into that pretty skull of his.

Hoping For the Best

Driving home from work there was a weird rattling sound coming from the back of the car. The very same car that hit the sink hole last week. I could maybe understand if the sound was coming from the front of the car, but the back? My theory: the spare tire on the underside of the car was not tightened back in to place well enough at the tire shop when we got the new tire. But, to be on the safe side, we stopped at the dealership to have them check it out. Of course, by the time we got there (due to an accident backing up traffic) the technicians were getting ready to leave so we had to leave the car there over night. My sister picked us up in the other car to take us home. Luckily, she was already out and about--shopping at Babies R Us for some final items before the baby comes home. Now we wait. They will check the back and the front right under-carriage. I'm convinced they will not find anything in the front and that all the damage was absorbed by the tire and wheel. Also, that as I predicted, the rattling is the lose spare tire. But just in case, cross your fingers.

Any Day Now

I felt another baby update was in order, especially since my niece should be home soon. I know, I've said that before, how about an exact date finally, you're probably thinking. All I can say to that is an exact date is hard to give, but seriously, the release date is really soon. They removed the feeding tube last night, the final tube, she's free! Lilyan reached another goal: 48 hours straight where she woke up on her own to bottle feed. I think that's possibly the final benchmark for her and now it's just observing to make sure it stays that way and she could be home in the next day or so. My sister was going to be watching the required videos this evening when she went to go see her. The hospital requires that prior to release, the parents (or parent in this case) watch a video on how to strap in the child seat and a few other things. I have to admit, the amount of preparation that the hospital provides is impressive, the nurses have all been very supportive. So, that's it for now. Very exciting, but of course it will be even more exciting when we know for sure.