Spring Has Been Broken

er... I mean, how was your Spring Break?

We don't really get Spring Break anymore at UNT as employees, due to a long story that most of us can only tell with a lot of grumbling and an exasperated expression, so I'll spare you. I took three of my vacation days, though, because I had so much homework slip by the wayside during the month and a half we've been working our tails off trying to get the house on the market.

Well, that was the plan, anyway. Actual Spring Break went like this:

• spent Wednesday morning with an upset stomach, but managed to finish New Moon
  
• spent Wednesday/Thursday on still more house-readying tasks (while grumbling)
• spent Friday, Saturday, and a bit of Easter Sunday on homework
• painted toenails two shades of orange (as per my Spring Break tradition)
• took some photos
• got house on the market Saturday morning
• read over script for a comedic video I acted in Monday
  

...And believe it or not, in the only four days we've been on the market, we've had several showings and already have one offer! Talk about blessed. I have no idea if this offer will pan out or not, but man it's nice to get some feedback after all those weeks of work.

Now, I just need about four clones to help me with homework, work-work, keeping the house clean, and planning my 30th birthday party this summer... sigh.

Hey There, Strangers

I see a light at the end of the tunnel... it still feels about a mile off, but still.

So, remember that whole thing about fulltime work, long commute, and fulltime doctoral classes? And how overwhelming busy it all made me? Ha.

(beginning of rant)
We decided to put our house on the market. To make a long, long (two-month long, really) story somewhat manageable, here are the highlights:
we had to help finish constructing our in-law's two-story addition, so that when our house sells (crossing our fingers), we have a place to live until the new place is built
we had to get our old truck running, so that it wouldn't be rusting in our driveway (and so Alex has something to drive to work)
we had to move over half (no, really) of our belongings/furniture/crap into that addition
then, we could see what paint/repairs/etc. had to be done before putting the house on the market
in sum: Alex and I have not done much other than work and work on the house(s) for the past two months. Every evening, every weekend. We are very, very tired and beginning to get a tad grumpy.

Two weeks ago, I took three days off and my wonderful awesome incredibly helpful Mom came up to help me--for five days straight, fourteen hours a day, we painted and packed and moved. And still, there is work to be done. The mind reels.

Thankfully, we have come to our senses, realized that with both of us working/schooling until about 8 or 9pm most nights, we can't finish this ourselves--we are officially overcoming our DIY-disease inherited from our parents and hiring help. Praise God.

Anyway, we're hoping (keep those fingers crossed, seriously) to be done this coming weekend. I am, pretty much, done with this house now. I very much would like to scream every time I see a paintbrush, considering that my schoolwork is beginning to suffer dreadfully because, let's face it, I didn't have time to read and write and study *before* this lovely hog of a project.
(end of rant)

Anyway.

Am I the only person unexpectedly addicted to "Eli Stone?"* And I didn't even know he was the kid from "Hackers" until four episodes in. Now, normally I am not a big fan of "laweyering" shows--or, for that matter, any of the occupational dramas, be they medical/legal/cop, etc. Too "real" for my escapist tastes.

However. This show has this amazing mix of hilarious fun, big musical numbers (which we all know I love), and unexpectly, real drama. In the last three episodes, I've laughed out loud numerous times, but I've also come close to crying in each one. And, um, I'm not a big cries-at-TV-shows kind of person. I mean, I cried at the last episode of Friends... and Star Trek TNG... but hey, those were series finales.

*(In the one hour of "fun" we alot ourselves before going to bed, this is one of the few shows we've been watching. That and, of course, the so-awesome-it-makes Friends-pal-in-comparison "How I Met Your Mother." Thank you, Tihleigh, for introducing me to the greatest show ever!!!)

Part of Why I Love my Job

I gave a thesis student maps, data, and web resources for climatilogical and vegetative information about Presidio, Texas and Mexico... and he said, "You're the most helpful person I've ever met."

Dude. It's not just that that's a really nice compliment, it's that I got to use maps and statistics and a student was amazed and happy with the information my department provides. Yay!!

The Richard Donner Cut

This was an interesting cinematic experiment Alex and I performed last week. My original intention was to wait for our Superman I to be delivered, watch it, then rent the original cut of Superman II, and then watch the Richard Donner cut of Superman II.

What actually happened, was:

1. Our Superman I is one of our free rebate Blu-Ray discs, so we probably won't get it or the other four until Kingdom Come (which I'm anticipating in the middle of this century at some point...)
2. I haven't seen the original cut of II released on Blu-Ray, and... um... yeah, it's starting to feel pointless renting DVDs. Don't hate me for being a snob; it's just when you know how gorgeous they can look... yeah.
   
3. We were in the mood for something fun last Wednesday, and we had already narrowed our options down to Superman or Casino Royale. Now, I'm a Bond gal through and through, but... I just wasn't up to the action or the drama that night. I wanted something cozy and fun to watch, and short of a rom-com, Superman was it.

So, the downside was that the last time either Alex or I saw Superman I or II was probably the early 90's. Heck, possibly the late 80's--I'm not really sure at this point. So there wasn't a good basis of comparison.

This led me to believe, before we started the movie, that it would probably seem less impressive, than if we had just watched the original two. We wouldn't 1) have seen the "worse" of the two SII options to compare it against, nor 2) would we already be in the 1980's vein of effects/drama. I was a little leery because of these points.

However. Wow.

I've come up with a few thoughts on how/why this movie was so awesome, and here they are, in some random order:

1. The Superman movies (at least the first one and possibly the original cut of the second) must have been a lot better than I remembered. This is possibly due to the next point.
2. Hi-def (whether Blu-ray or HD-DVD) really, really makes movies better (at least, if your screen is large enough that the difference is noticeable). Wow. I am guessing that half the reason 1980s movies instantly look "cheesy" to me when watched on TV is their spectacularly crummy resolution. This movie wasn't as deliciously crisp as, say, Transformers (duh), but it's gorgeous, and it's easier to take actors seriously when they don't look they're in a made-for-TV movie.
   
3. I thought that Lois annoyed me a lot and was stupid. But she figures out Clark is Superman at the beginning of the movie! And later shoots him to prove her point! Dang, I like this gutsy gal.
4. Superman letting Lois actually fall out the window, without catching her, was gutsy and hilarious and awesome and pretty shocking, to me. I mean yeah, he made sure she wasn't hurt--but man, this Superman's got some cahones. And a mischievious streak (something totally lacking in the fairly personality-less Superman of Superman Returns, although I have to say I don't hate that movie like many do).
   
5. We watched a teeny bit of original footage in the Fortress of Solitude--man, Jor-El/Brando was waaaaay better than having Laura in that scene. And the effects were far less cheesy in the revised version, but not so fancy as to seem in-authenic in the 80's context.
6. Superman got beat up!
7. Superman kicked some butt!
8. I was actually really emotionally invested in the movie, much to my surprise. Reeve was amazing in that film.
   

Now I really, really want to see Superman I (because now I'm anticipating it will be truly awesome), and I totally have to see the original cut of SII just to know how it changed.

And let me say that I'm happy to live in an Internet age where enough of us, across the world, can clamor that this revised cut was made and Serenity was filmed. It's the age of the cult fan!

My Fortune

Wow, this is hilarious. I found the link from my pal riofriotex, and the fortune it produced is eerily fitting for me:

My Fortune Cookie told me: Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

Heh, heh.


In other news, I'm working remotely--er, I mean I have the day off--at my in-law's house. I'm "babysitting" the sheetrock crew, which is putting finishing touches on the addition that we'll be living in for awhile, while building the new place. Assuming, that is, that 1) we can ever get our place on the market, and 2) that it sells. This, in the midst of 3) all that +40 hours Alex and I spend at work on a weekly basis, 4) that fun 2 hours of commuting a day (how I'm going to miss my satellite radio next month!) and 5) those 9 hours of PhD classes. Sigh.

Yeah, I'm sure it's driving everyone nuts that I have to call them "PhD classes" instead of grad work... but dude, I'm trying to encourage myself as much as I can. It's a lot of work, dangit, and I need to remember I'm working toward that "Dr." label. Otherwise, it's just like, "Wait a sec--I'm still in school? Haven't I been doing this for over a decade... in college alone?" And then I try not to think about student loans.

On the up side, I've been able to get a lot of my professional development work done today. Yeah, that whole "day off" thing doesn't work too well when I feel behind in everything--but it's nice to have time devoted to prodev, instead of answering emails, reference questions, and the normal things I do in my work day. Er, I mean, I actually have still been answering email... right. I guess I saved myself the two hours' commute?

On the up side, when you're a librarian, this isn't called "workacholism." It's pretty par for the course. (Or wait, is that the down side...?) Hey, in the end, it's all because I love what I do.

Okay, back to that prodev. And maybe I can figure out why, when I'm wearing two sweatshirts, jeans, three pairs of socks, and a blanket, my toes are still freezing! Dang that bad circulation.

Tablet-y Goodness

Yay, I finally broke out my Wacom tablet! (It's at work, not at home, but ah well. At least I'm finally using it.)

I hope your Tuesday was both Super and Fat. Mine was very, very long... but it ended in being migrated to Outlook (a big "Huzzah!" all around, now) and learning that 4 hours of no access to email leads to a very sparkling clean office. A silver lining to every cloud, eh?

SG-A News

Well.... dude! There are so many details about Stargate: Atlantis Season 5 in this page that I don't even know how to respond.

On the personal front, classes are going well for the most part--I am loving the reading and discussion, and our house gets ever closer to being on the market. I'm looking at my calendar for February and March and trying to take deep breaths. A lot.

At work, we finally got migrated to Outlook as our new email client, which is a welcome change... now if I could only ever finish a single day's to-do list, I'd be more ahead than I have been in months.

And then there are taxes to file... such is life!

But the huge, big, awesome news is... well, actually, I don't know how many people he's told yet, so I'll have to sit on this one a bit. But it's juicy!

Why I Married A Geek

(Been awhile, hasn’t it? Missed me? Well, I’ll possibly be posting even more infrequently until summer—for reasons why, see the end of this post.)

Deceptive title: I really married Alex for far more serious reasons, but y’know, this anecdote to me just accentuates what a truly awesome human being he is.

Last week, I was at work late Tuesday night, and my husband called to ask if I had a list somewhere of the comics I had and comics I wanted. It not being very close to my birthday, our anniversary, or Christmas (we don’t do Valentine’s Day, see previous posts for reasons), I was immediately suspicious. But my husband, being the master of misdirection that he is, somehow convinced me that this was just an off-hand thought and not anything big. I thusly supplied him with a loooong email list of my desires, and promptly forgot about it as I returned to the hundreds of messages in my email inbox.

I got home, and Alex points to the kitchen counter and says, “what do you think?” And there, O Happy Day, O Frabjous Joy, were volumes 1 and 2 of Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-men run, Serenity: Those Left Behind in hardback (yes I’ve heard that it sucks, and no I don’t much care), and—most wonderful of all—volumes 3 – 9 of Y: The Last Man. Seven. Volumes. Of Y!!!

So yeah, I’m pretty much drunk off of the awesomeness of that sudden comics windfall. My loving best friend informed me that he was proud of me getting into the PhD program (read here for more on my experience thus far), and that he wanted to give me something short and fun to enjoy during my all-too-few breaks this semester. (Oh, did I mention yet that I’m still working full-time, commuting 2 hours a day, and am now taking a full-time graduate load of three courses this spring? And that we’re trying to get our house ready to entice people to purchase it so that we can then build one? And that I will never, ever have a free moment again in my life? Well… um… consider yourself informed now.)

Yep. My husband, Bestower of Comic-y Goodness, rocks.