the loft movie

I watched a DVD this afternoon, on loan from the library, 'the loft'. it is a thriller, and we all know how I like thrillers. it is about a loft apartment shared by five friends. it starts with a woman found dead in the apartment, and then the story is told about what happened. I liked how the five friends were decidedly different personalities, although I didn't recognize many of the actors in it. the only one I did is also on the TV show 'modern family'. thrillers usually have sex and violence, and this one is no different.
   I had an interview and math exam for a state government position this morning, and the lot was full so I had to park at the hospital ramp nearby. I also got called about an interview, from the same agency, but had to turn it down as it is next week when I am not available. in the evening I went to the karaoke bar, and did two songs. it was 'fire water burn' by bloodhound gang, and 'i was wrong' by social distortion. it was important to me to get there this week when I couldn't make it last week. I found out I was not alone on staying home, according to the karaoke jockey. I had a nice surprise as I was leaving the venue tonight. I got a flower from the flower salesman and he said 'happy valentines day' and I said 'thank you'. this made it a more memorable V-day than typical. it has been put in water, in the same vase I was given when I attended my grandma's funeral over a decade ago. 

nobody's fool movie

I watched a DVD this morning, 'nobody's fool', a redbox rental. I had a free night code to use. this movie was promoted at the comedy club, and I usually try to see them, although usually it is this way. I understood the storyline well, although I didn't like the main character's sister at all. a big part of the storyline was the on-again off-again dating relationship. many of the scenes were at a coffee shop. I didn't recognize many actors in it, just whoopi Goldberg (as the mom) and chris rock (who had a small role). I also didn't recognize many of the songs in it, even after looking at the closing credits. the only one was by janet Jackson, and it was early on in the movie. the friendship between the main character and an office colleague was compelling on some level. definitely more compelling than the two sisters, who were opposites.
     I went to a job fair in the afternoon, and I had been to one at the same place last month. this time there seemed to be more about claims, so I am more hopeful compared to the previous visit. then after I was done I went to the library to print some things. and I performed in the evening, I was fourth in the lineup- after the MC, of course. I moved my car for the snow ordinance this morning, so I was up earlier than typical. and since I was already out there, I checked my PO box and two orders from e-bay were waiting to be picked up.

celebrate small victories

i went out to do some errand running this afternoon, including returning a DVD to the library as well as printing some things there. when I got back home I was thrilled that I didn't get stuck anywhere. sometimes it is a good idea to celebrate the small victories. it helped that I was willing to shovel the snow around my car before I got started, of course. my wheels still spun a little when I was trying to get out of the spot, but not much. I may not have used the shovel much once I bought it, but I still like having it available. one never knows when it might be needed. and then I am less likely to need any help from others. a good rule of thumb, naturally, is to be careful when out and about to avoid any peril. but whenever it is in doubt on how far I will get, I have noticed that I often say 'keep going' in hopes of getting through. and I will admit that I am more likely to avoid stopping at signs as well, when I want to avoid getting stuck. all about playing the percentages.
   I drove around a little when I got home in the evening after performing as I wanted to avoid parking spots where there was too much snow. it was a lesson I learned from delivering pizza one winter in college. it is best to choose the parking spot that one can more than likely get out of, not necessarily the closest one.

black swan movie

i watched a DVD on loan from the library this morning, 'black swan'. I recognized many of the actors in it, such as natalie portman, mila kunis, winona ryder, and Barbara Hershey. I didn't know much about the movie before watching it, aside from mention on an online list about how it depicts mental illness. I found out this movie was loosely based on the well-known ballet 'swan lake'. what made it more engaging to watch was mention in the movie of what the ballet is about. it does have a decent number of ballet scenes in it, but I liked the ones away from it more. it in many ways reminded me of a 'big bang theory' episode inspired by 'lord of the rings' where the main characters take on roles from the movie, such as Sheldon becoming Gollum. I think the word I am looking for is 'embodiment'. where it made sense, once it is explained that 'black swan' refers to the 'evil swan' that mila kunis embodied the evil swan. and natalie portman's character was even told how she easily played the white swan but playing the black swan was harder for her. of course it was hard to like the domineering mother of natalie's character, but as my dad would probably say, you're not supposed to like her. so I liked knowing how never having seen 'swan lake' wasn't a hindrance to understanding or liking this movie. although the scenes depicting the delusions or illusions were hard to watch, but I understand those likely were necessary for telling the story properly.
   I made it to the library in the afternoon to print some things, and when I was coming out I was approached by a man that wanted a ride and I turned him down. I said I don't give rides to people I don't know. at first I said I had no money to give, which is what I am used to hearing as a request from panhandlers. I was kind of timid while driving as it was hard to forget my car spinning out twice this past week. it was nice to talk to chalm-skinn when I got to the comedy club, I had a drink while we talked. then eventually it was on to perform at another venue. I like seeing the mad hatter perform there, besides me getting stage time of course. he does music as well as comedy. also some wrestling, but I haven't seen any of that yet. I also spoke with whopper while at the comedy club about the upcoming fringe application deadline, I got some helpful advice about it. one never knows when I will get comedy material inspiration, in this case tonight I got an idea while signing up for stage time due to the conversation I had with the show runner. 

uninvited movie, 1944

I watched a DVD on loan from the library this morning, 'the uninvited', a black and white movie from 1944. it was about two ghosts haunting a house in great Britain. I was not familiar with any of the actors in it. but I liked how it kept me guessing for a while. for some reason it reminded me of a movie I saw that was more recently made, called 'the haunting'. it was a little annoying when there was a problem with the disc, where it stopped or 'froze' for a short time. I don't think I have seen many ghost movies before, but I watched some of the special features which said it was different in terms of earlier ghost movies were comedies and this one is more serious.
    I wanted to watch one of the DVDs this morning as I had plans to get to the library to write an entry in a contest for my school, the university of iowa. it was called 'write now', where one is given a premise and one has 48 hours to submit after that. I got it typed up and submitted with 20 minutes to spare. I liked having some fun with it, as I chose the 'fantasy' premise. I like how this kind of writing is challenging me as I hadn't tried writing much dialogue before, usually I go with narrative. I am thankful I went with my typical 'protocol' of avoiding freeways during the winter weather, as the news had plenty about the pile-ups out there. it might take longer when going on secondary roads, but I care more about arriving unharmed. I prefer being on secondary roads during a snowstorm as it is easier to stop when necessary as one is going slower, especially when there are lights and signs to stop at unlike on freeways.
   I didn't do much after getting home from the library, it was early evening by then. I had a meal, and watched 'the simpsons'- it was about homer learning to dance for marge. then it was doing dishes and deciding to lay down for a while. I expected to have missed most of the late news, but it appears that the news was late due to the grammy awards. I am aware of how there is that disclaimer how 'award shows can run overtime'.

tony montana sandwich

i went tio an event at can-can wonderland in st. paul at midday and ordered a tony montana sandwich. I hadn't heard of such a thing before, but guessed it was named after a movie gangster and was correct, the character played by al pacino in 'scarface'. it tasted good. I also had some of their in-house root beer, as well as some twist ice cream. I had hoped to do the golfing part of it, but I needed to get on the road to another event. also notable, as a history major, was seeing a drink named 'boone and crockett', after the pioneers. I was recognized by a fellow performer there, a children's entertainer that dresses in bright-colored outfits. she did some amazing balloon animals, including a monkey. usually I just see a clown do a 'dog balloon'.
    the second event was a hockey game at Charles schulz arena, also in st. paul. I like seeing a game there annually as it is named after the charlie brown creator, and there is a hockey-themed snoopy statue in the lobby. it is the home ice for cretin-derham hall, who was playing Stillwater. according to my binder, in 2012 this was the same opponent. Stillwater won 5-2. they led 3-0 at the end of the 1st, a goal about 2 minutes in, then close to the midway point, and then with about 2 minutes left. they led 4-0 at the end of the 2nd, the only goal in that period was with about 2 minutes left. cretin got on the board in the 1st minute of the 3rd, then got another one with just under 2 minutes left. but Stillwater got an empty-net goal with 10 seconds left, and that was it. I am thankful I made it back, I skipped last season, guess I forgot since I was unemployed then and it wasn't high priority to look up the schedule. I chose this one as I knew I was running out of time this season, as cretin has one more home game after this one and it is on a weeknight. I did the 'chuck the puck' event during the second intermission, but my throw was way wide of center ice. I liked seeing a poster on the wall of 'peanuts on parade', the first year of the statue series. I got food out of the vending machine, didn't want to wait in line at the concession stand. I got some TGI Friday's chips. the other item, snack cakes, were taken home and eaten as part of my evening meal.
   I went to aldi for my weekly grocery order after my evening meal and watching the 6pm news. then I was online for a little while and was tired from the events of the day, and laid down for a while. but I knew I wanted to get up and go out again, to sing karaoke. I did 'you learn' by alanis morissette. 

windshield washer fluid

my first stop this morning was to a gas station to get some windshield washer fluid. I used most of what was in the big bottle. it is hard to say how effective it is, as after I got out of an interview I noticed the sun had helped break up the ice more. there was three appointments. first was a phone interview, second an in-person interview. the third was with the back-to-work program. I spoke of accepting an offer that starts in just over a week from now. so I am pleased that there are no plans for further appointments with this advisor. in many ways I learned that I had to 'take charge' of the situation, be proactive. no surprise how there was more activity coming my way when I started applying more often. but at the same time, the accepted offer was with an agency, so I liked not having to interview for it. but I also became wary of agencies as they usually can't 'put their money where their mouth is' about opportunities. this was an agency that got my hopes up numerous times in the past year. but when there are no other offers at this time, I must go with what is available. the advisor said his wife had worked at this office for a while, once I found it in my printed forms what organization they will be sending me to. naturally it is a question of how I keep myself busy next week when I am going back to work soon. I am fine with still going on more interviews as I have the time. and then let things take care of themselves after that, in terms of if there are any more offers.
   in the evening I went to a karaoke bar. this was an important night as I know full well how I get antsy when I have to skip a night of performing due to the subzero weather. I did 'lullaby' by shawn mullins. I liked the name-checking in this song, this was why I wanted to do it. but also since there is mention of something really true about performing in it. how 'everybody has a plan'. it is a nice way to cap off the day, that for a while was my service anniversary at work with a place I 'called home' for well over a decade.