My last post opened with the woeful tale of my iPod being found in the washing machine. That story turned out to have a happier ending than expected. My iPod is now in full working condition. The back light for the screen wasn't working last time I turned it on, but everything else is fine. The headphones even sound better than they did before they were washed :)
I think I've finally figured out when I'm returning to AZ...praise the Lord! I'm leaving NY the 19th, and if I can find a way to get into my dorm early, I'll be up in Flag by late that afternoon. If I can't get in early, I'll be there on the 21st. Either way, I can't wait to see everyone...so if anyone else will be up there early, let me know...we can do lunch or dinner or movies or ice cream or all of the above :) Can we tell that I'm dying to get back? I'll be back to working at BR sometime within the first week that I'm back, so stop in and see me! Hooray for returning to a much happier and less stressful job!!!

a lesson in checking pockets, among other things

My iPod randomly disappeared a couple days ago, and I figured I had just stuck it in the pocket of a sweatshirt or something when I was out walking...but it turns out it was in the pocket of a pair of shorts that I left on the laundry room floor. Needless to say, I found my iPod today...in the washing machine...sad sad day. I googled iPods and washing machines, and I'm obviously not the first one to make this mistake. The good news is, most iPods have survived the soaking and spinning, and I'm praying that mine did too. I'm giving it a day or so to dry out before I try plugging it into my computer, so we shall see.
In other recent news, my grandma is officially home from the infirmary as of this afternoon. Yay! She's using a walker for now, but she gets around pretty well and told me that she'll be back on her feet fully by the time I come home for Christmas. Thanks to those of you who were praying for her recovery!
I've finally figured out when I'm heading back to AZ and finalized my class schedule for the semester. I'll be leaving New York around the 19th and heading up to campus the 20th or 21st. I can't wait to get back!!! I've been missing everyone like crazy, and my job here continues to drive me nuts....I don't think I've ever been so excited to go back to school :) I'm taking a bunch of theatre classes this semester -Directing, Auditioning, Stagecraft, Script Analysis, and Theatre History...plus a WGS class to fulfill one of my diversity requirements. I decided within the last month to keep my double major in Theatre AND English Education and spend the next three years going mildly insane in order to pacify my parents and make myself more employable after graduation.
To add to the complete randomness of this post...I went to the opening showing of The Dark Knight with my best friend last week, and I haven't had much of a chance to express my thoughts on it. If you haven't seen it yet, the following will contain SPOILERS!
Christian Bale was, yet again, a phenomenal Batman/Bruce Wayne, but it didn't seem like there was enough of him in the movie. He is the title character, but he didn't get nearly as much screen time as the Joker, which I just found rather bizarre. And when he was seen, it was almost all Batman and very little Bruce Wayne....I liked the balance between the two more in Batman Begins...but what he did, he did very well.
I really didn't like Maggie Gyllenhal as Rachel. First of all, it bugs me when they change actors in a sequel to begin with...but she totally drove me nuts. I admit that Katie Holmes wasn't anything special in BB, but there was simply no continuity between Holmes' Rachel and Gyllenhal's. And the whole relationship between her and Harvey Dent threw me off. At the end of BB, Rachel said she was going to wait for Bruce until Gotham didn't need Batman or whatever...I get that...but this movie jumped right into her being totally in love with Harvey. Again, no continuity. Though it was a total shocker, I wasn't entirely sad when she died. I hope the will introduce a new love interest for Batman in the next one, just to provide some balance, but we all know that he won't be able to keep her for long anyway.
I'm going to kill a couple birds with one stone and just say that I completely and totally LOVED Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman. All three men took their characters (Alfred, Lucius, and Gordon) to a new depth in this film. I seriously had tears in my eyes when Gordon died, and I was so excited when it turned out that it was fake...even though I kinda already had figured out that it had to be. Alfred and Lucius are just such noble characters, and all three of them keep the Bat in check in their special ways. Yay for the old guys! (Side note: I saw Morgan Freeman in Wanted the weekend before I saw Batman, and he kicked butt in that too!)
I wasn't familiar with Aaron Eckhart going into this movie, but he was brilliant as Harvey Dent and Two Face. Some how, I actually missed the fact that Two Face was even a part of this movie until I got to the theater and saw a guy dressed as him. I made a comment along the lines of "Why would he dress as a villain who's not in the movie?" and my best friend informed me that he actually was...not sure how I missed that one...probably just got lost in the midst of the Ledger Joker hype. I thought he made the transformation from Gotham's White Knight to wrecked and ruined villain really really well. He was hard to view as a villain, because I honestly felt so sorry for him. There was one line that defined his entire character from beginning to tragic end: "You thought we could be decent men in an indecent world. But you were wrong; the world is cruel, and the only morality in a cruel world is chance." Amazing.
And saving the best for last, Heath Ledger as the Joker. I'm not just in love with this character because the actor died and this was his last role. He is absolutely the most incredible villain I have ever seen. I was fascinated by Cilian Murphy as Scarecrow in BB, but the Joker blew him out of the water about a million times. There was not an iota of Heath Ledger visible in that character. The makeup hid his (ahem...beautiful) face, but I have very seldom seen an actor completely bury any trace of their own personality like he did. His voice was completely changed, and he just took a completely different take on the Joker than anything I've ever seen. He was a complete and total madman, obsessed with creating anarchy and chaos...completely terrifying and yet somehow funny. The disappearing pencil, the coat full of explosives, the nurse outfit, and the quippy one-liners. This was a brilliantly written, brilliantly acted character. Bravo, Heath Ledger...we only got a glimpse of the brilliant actor that you flourished into. Here's another character-defining quote...more like a speech really...that I loved: "Do I really look like a man with a plan, Harvey? I don't have a plan. The mob has plans, the cops have plans. You know what I am, Harvey? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. I just *do* things. I'm a wrench in the gears. I *hate* plans. Yours, theirs, everyone's. Maroni has plans. Gordon has plans. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I am not a schemer. I show schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are. So when I say that what happened to you and your girlfriend wasn't personal, you know I'M telling the truth. It's a schemer who put you where you are. You were a schemer. You had plans. Look where it got you. I just did what I do best-I took your plan and turned it on itself. Look what I have done to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple bullets. Nobody panics when the expected people get killed. Nobody panics when things go according to plan, even if the plans are horrifying. If I tell the press that tomorrow a gangbanger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will get blown up, nobody panics. But when I say one little old mayor will die, everyone loses their minds! Introduce a little anarchy, you upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I am an agent of chaos. And you know the thing about chaos, Harvey? It's fair."
Now, as a person who is very much in love with and aware of design, I have to give major credit to the director and all the designers. Even if the acting had sucked, this would have been a visually brilliant film. The visual effects and stunts, like the tractor trailer flipping over in the middle of the street, were indescribably brilliant. The costumes and makeup weren't completely predictable...they went freely outside the realm of the comic book characterization but kept the essence of who the character was, especially the two villains. The set and all the technological gadgets were fascinating, especially after I watched a History Channel documentary on some of the advancements in the film. I love the fact that science and art can go back and forth exchanging ideas about advancing technology. I also have to give props to the lighting designers. A lot of darker themed films use a great deal of darkness in their lighting to the detriment of the audience's view of everything else. The designers of this film didn't let that happen...the tone was set without leaving the audience in the dark (pun absolutely intended!) about what was happening in the scene.
All in all, the film was really great. The ending worked well, because it tied up most of the important loose ends, left room for another film, but didn't make it absolutely necessary. They didn't give any hint as to who the villain would be if there is another one..so I'm sure there will be lots of speculation about that until the word is officially released. I really think it's going to be hard to top this one though....we'll see.

Little Known Facts

This was a random forward that I got from my aunt...and I was bored, so I filled it out.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? not my first name...but my middle name is the same as my Aunt Di's

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? in church a couple weeks ago when we were doing a commissioning prayer for our youth pastor's family and some other friends of mine who are leaving to plant a new church in NC

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? i don't like my cursive, but my printing is interesting i guess

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? turkey or tuna

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? not unless my 25 beautiful Kenyan orphans count :)

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? most days

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? i'd rather skydive...but maybe...i walk on the wild side on occasion

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Special K Red Berries

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? The only time I wear shoes that tie is for work, so I'm usually too tired or in too much of a rush when I get home to bother untying them...and my flip flops and crocs don't have to be tied or untied

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I try to be most of the time…but I fail frequently, because I’m human

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? depends on where it's coming from :) at BR it's Makin' Cookies...Coldstone Sweet Cream with reeses and cookie dough...B and J's Chunky Monkey...and Perry's Kahlua Almond Amaretto

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? usually their eyes...or their smile, if they smile...which not enough people do these days

15. RED OR PINK? I’m a girly girl at heart…so pink…for princesses J

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? i try not to hate on myself too much...but if i had to pick something, i guess it would be my insecurity about certain things

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? right now, my friends in Flag...and the ones from home that aren't here for the summer

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? yeah, but i'm pretty sure they won't unless they're bored like me

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? jeans and no shoes...my favorite

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? a soft chocolate ice cream cone with twinkle kote

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? I’m watching “Enchanted”

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Dark purple

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Lilacs, roses, my mom’s cooking, and Body by Victoria lotion

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My mom

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? yes, she's my aunt and she's very good to me and i'm excited to go back to AZ and see her….and (just a random thought) what kind of person would answer “no” to this question?!

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Yankees baseball, soccer, and whatever by little bros are playing

27. HAIR COLOR? Naturally it’s brown, but right now it’s auburn and needs to be dyed again soon

28. EYE COLOR? dark brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? i usually wear glasses these days, but i have contacts that i wear when I feel like it

30. FAVORITE FOOD? My mom’s cooking, especially her spinach artichoke dip and chocolate chip cookies

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy endings...love stories...fairy tales...i'm a sucker for anything sappy

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? i'm almost to the end of Enchanted right now, but before that it was Jack and Jill vs. the World, which was absolutely charming

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer

35. HUGS OR KISSES? I’m a HUGE fan of hugs…still waiting for the right boy to really enjoy kisses with

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Chocolate!!!

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Everybody’s pretty busy these days…so I’m not sure

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? See above

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? I read a lot...The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan, Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller, Heartfire by Orson Scott Card, and a couple of monologue collections...I left several half-read books in Phoenix too

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I don’t have one

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T. V. LAST NIGHT? I started watching Enchanted and fell asleep before Giselle got sent into the real world

42. FAVORITE SOUND? Summer thunderstorms, small children laughing, and music blasting in my car with the windows down on the highway

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? the Beatles!!!!

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Ilula, Kenya last summer

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I wouldn’t call it special, but I love singing, acting, and dancing

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Phoenix, AZ

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Whoever decides to reply!