One of those days

Today is one of those days when I woke up and got dressed for work and all day I kept thinking something was out of place. Like, did I forget my underwear? Did I comb my hair? Did I have two different shoes on? Nothing like that materialized and I must say the day ended just fine. I decided to see if there was something in my horoscope that would explain this strange feeling. Surprisingly they didn't all match.

For example:
1. Feelings of nostalgia, sentimentality, and a yearning for closeness or a sense of emotional rapport are accented now. Contacting people from your past or supportive friends is rewarding to you now.
2. You used to compare yourself to Icarus, but you're less likely to do so now that you know he once helped a woman cheat on her husband by having sex with a cow.
3. The efficiency factor in your job is going to start to suffer. In fact, things might already be pretty haywire. Mixed messages, lost papers, late deliveries, staff shortages and lots of silly errors are the name of the game for the next month. Ouch. Fear not. It's all silly, little stuff. You can handle it. (I lied.)
3. Your wishes and desires are powerful, and they may seem like the only things that matter. But don't let your eagerness force you to become too desperate. If you attach too much importance to things, you may push too hard to try to make them happen. Right now, you need to let things come to you; try to be patient and understand that events proceed on their own timeline. Things will change when and how they need to -- not one minute before.

Well that didn't enlighten me any.

I have been contemplating lately how my life is like a computer. My "uploads" at work (one way to balance stress) have been capped, while the dumping has increased. My hard drive is really full, defragging didn't help, my access time has gone to hell and things are really starting to hang. I better reformat and reload windows before all I get is a blue screen of death. Do I re-install Win2K or wait for Vista?

Stop, I wanna get off!

Work is like a merry-go-round, and as it's come full circle, I think I'll get off. I'm 95% sure I will retire next year some time. I decided just to do it and not necessarily have a plan for a job right a way. So I inquired about the steps.

I "should" notify the group 6 months in advance unlike the person I worked with who gave two days notice, packed her office up in the night and left.

Apparently "comp" time which is not really voluntary cannot be taken in the last 6 months of employment. Also only comp time accrued in the last 6 months is payed back, and only at some token amount. So, I have to use up as much as I can from now until the 6 months before I retire. I have about 20 days, not to mention some vacation days. I was thinking about March, but since I won't be able to use all of that comp time before September, I might shoot for July 1. This sucks as basically I worked those hours for "free". Vacation is always used up first. If worse comes to worse, I'll just lose it.

It's scary, but really I don't feel like my group is going in a direction I like.

Vital, Reveiw

Vital stars my favorite actor Asano Tadanobu. His character wakes from a coma and his memory is gone. After he goes home some of his memories return and he goes back to medical school. He had been in medical school and was not sure if that was his true calling as he was also a very talented artist.

During gross anatomy class his group has a very unusual cadaver to dissect, as she is very young. Not only that but the tattoo on her arm jars some memories. She is his former girlfriend and was killed in the car crash the he was injured in. Some of his memories of her are from the past, tender moments on the beach, as well as their mutual interest in strangulation as foreplay. But some are "dreams" of them together in some space in the present.

A side story involves a screwed up classmate, who jilts the professor who got her in to med school after she becomes infatuated with Asano's character. This doesn't add much to the story imo.

The question asked is if you could remember anything after you die, what memories would you choose to keep?

Way back when, when I took gross anatomy, I never learned anything about the person who donated his/her body to science. In this movie, after the class is over, the students not only learn the person's name but also prepare the person for their journey afterward. I don't know if this is actually done in Japan, but if so, what a practice. I think back and have to say thank you to those person's who were so generous even in death.

I will rate this 3/5 acorns, mostly because Mr. Asano is so great in it.

Proof, Review

This 1991 Australian movie is directed by Jocelyn Morehouse, better known (but still unknown) in the US for How to Make an American Quilt. It stars Hugo Weaving who was (an who knows may still be!) Mr. Smith from the Matrix series, as Martin, a blind photographer. Russell Crowe is also in it. It was made one year before he starred in Romper Stomper.

Martin has trust issues. He was born blind and was very close to his mother She describes the world outside their house to him. He doesn't believe her as he does not hear the sounds of the scenes she describes to him. When she says she is dying he believes she is tricking him so she can get away from him.

In his current situation he has a similar relationship with Celia, his housekeeper. She has fallen in love with him but does not love her. He meets Andy, a dishwasher at a restaurant, and they become friends. He has Andy describe what is in the photos he takes so he can label them in braile.

When Celia makes her moves on Martin he rejects her advances and out of jealousy and spite she seduces Andy to show Martin he can trust no one.

Andy thought Celia loved him and doesn't abandon his friend Martin although Martin is very upset that noone can be trusted. Andy tells him, he knows he is obsessed with the truth, but he should have pity of everyone else.

I will rate this movie 3/5 acorns. There isn't a lot of action, but the acting is very good. I found this movie and in the comedy section of Borders after I went looking for it. I really don't think it's comedy and it belongs in the drama or foreign section.

Da Vinci Code, Review

I finally saw the DaVinci Code. It was a fine day to escape into air conditioning. I really enjoyed the book and the movie is exciting and moves along. I had a difficult time envisioning Tom Hanks in the lead, but as usual, I couldn't think anyone else to play his role. Somehow I found the book more exciting. The whole point of the story did not come across in the movie like it was worth all the fuss, while in the book it did for me. I was entertained, though, and the AC was working fine!

I'll give it 3/5 acorns.

Kiru, Review

Kiru stars Raizo Ichikawa. He made 27 movies in his short life before he died of cancer at age 37. Kiru was made in 1962. The tale is about revenge that takes place near the end of the Tokugawa Era. It starts with a murder and and execution, and our hero, Takakura Shingo, and the viewer are not made aware of the story behind it for awhile.

His story starts 20 years later. He has grown up in a loving samurai family. He has lost his mother, but is close to his sister and father. He goes away for 3 years to see the world and when he comes back he has become a master swordsman of his own technique. This enrages a jealous neighbor who starts some rumors and ultimately murders Takakura's family. Takakura takes revenge then leads the life of a ronin. Along the way he is influenced by a woman who sacrifices herself for her family, a monk who holds some secrets to his past, and a master who trusts him with his life. The climax is ultimately thrilling and so classic samurai.

Ichikawa made his fame in 12 episodes of The Sleepy Eyes of Death, starring the half-Japanese master swordsman, Kyoshiro Nemuri.

I will rate this one 3.5/5 acorns. I wish it were longer!

More Homework

In one of my favorite anime, Vampire Hunter DD, half-blood vampire literally talks to his hand. When I first heard that phrase, talk to the hand, it was explained to me that it meant, "Stop, talk to the hand , 'cuz the ears aint listening." or I am not going to listen to what you say. After listening to the homework tapes from my Dealing with Difficult People class, it took a new meaning. If someone is in my face angry, or hyper-critical, a way to deal with it is to, "shields up" and stop their words in the space between us. I can then examine their message/venting without taking it personally. I'll just have to see how that works.

Yokai Daisenso, The Great Yokai War, Review

This is touted as a Takashi Miike "family film". I hope he had a lot of fun making all the monsters as I had watching them. Family film? Well maybe. The main character and reluctant hero is a kid, not quite pre-pube age, so I guess that would qualify. His parents are divorced and he has been sent to stay with grandpa, who maybe has dementia but maybe he knows something about yokai. The kids at school taunt him as "city boy" but he is there for a purpose in the bigger picture.

Yokai are a bunch of different types of spirts. There are kappa who like cumcumbers and sumo wrestling, Yuki-onna or snow queens, Rokurokubi with long, snake like necks, shape-shifting obake and tengu, one-eyed goblins, and yuurei-spirits of murdered people who go around in white kimonos. I believe Totoro could also be considered yokai, but I would need someone from Japan to confirm this. I think little kids would find the monsters scary.

The story jumps around a bit and that detracted from the whole thing. I will rate it 3/5 acorns.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Review

While channel surfing today I paused on a Walker Texas Ranger episode and a Walkerism hit me. Our only limitations are the ones we place on ourself. Okay, well, Walker didn't actually say this, I will attribute it to him since I heard it on his show. This is one of those shows I can't seem to get away from. Every time I surf, it is on some where, very much like Law and Order, or CSI. In fact tonight while channel surfing I stopped at a CSI epidsode where a disgruntled chef murders a women who ruined his reputation in the past by falsely claiming she was made ill by his cooking and sued him fraudulently. He gets his revenge by coming on to her, then force feeding her a live octapus.
It reminds me a that time I went ika (squid) fishing with my dad. He caught a baby octapus and put it into a plastic bag (pre-ziplock era), tied a knot in the bag, and stuffed it in his pocket. When we got home, the octopus had escaped through a tiny hole.
Oh my, I'm rambling.

Anyway, back to the review.


Tommy Lee Jones directed and starred in this movie. It takes place on the border near Mexico. The movie jumps around a bit, but basically he meets Melquiades one day when he rides by looking for work. He is in the country illegally. After working together for a while, they become friends and Melquiades makes Tommy promise that if something happens, then he will take him back to Mexico and bury him in his home town. He shows Tommy a picture of his wife and 3 children and says he hasn't seen them for 5 years.

Well something does happento Mequiades as the title says.

This movie was rated pretty well on IMDB. I found it a bit slow. Maybe I just didn't get it. I will give it 2/5 acorns.

I'll have to watch it again.

Mr. Handy, Review

Kim Joo-hyeok (김주혁)stars as Mr. Handy, a man from a small town who hires himself out to anyone willing to pay him $50/day. He becomes a singer, take out man, real estate agent , interior designer or nightclub entertainer when ever someone is sick or has other business. Uhm Jung-hwa (엄정화) is a rich girl who is fired from several offices because she is uncompromising. She tries to strike it out on her own but the only place she can afford is a run down place in Mr. Handy's town. She meets him as he is the real estate agent. She then hires him to help fix up the office. Suddenly he is everywhere she turns. They decide to be friends even though the town is a twitter that the are sleeping together. When the opportunity comes, she returns to her high class life in Seoul.

Can she forget every woman's dream man? Handsome and handy?

I am really in need of some good cyborg action and senseless killing. Ho hum.

I will rate this 2.5/5 acorns. Mr. Handy was very cute and he does know martial arts as well.

Homework

Thursday I went to a conference called "Dealing with Diffiult People". I had a challenging person at work and I was hoping to get some tips on meeting this challenge. Good intentions, yes? Well on Monday she quit! Gave two days notice and when I came back the next day, her office was empty! Wow. Lucky me:)

I went to the class anyway and today I was supposed to do homework. I already can't remember exactly what the assignment was, so I will just review some of the "hot ideas". In order to improve myself, I should identify my weak links under stress, and work on changing them by studying learning resources and doing it at least 6 times.

Easier said then done.

I took the short personality test, and no surprises. I'm still one of those analytical, thinker types-show me the process! I can think myself into paralysis. Give me a rule and I'll enforce it to death. Don't ring my doorbell, sent me an email. If I can't be right, I'll run. Heh. Lots of work to be done!

Yikes! I better look for some of those resources.

Victim and Vampire Cop Ricky, Review

Ricky has a girlfriend who he can't get to first base with. He is not a notable lover, boyfriend or cop. All this changes after he gets bitten by a mosquito that just happens to catch a plane all the way from Rumania to Korea. A priest shows up to help him return to being a human and teaches him how to control his metamorphosis.
Okay it's pretty cheesey. I will give it 2.5/5 acorns. It made me laugh.


Victim, Muk lau hung gwong, was a little hard for me to follow. A man is kidnapped by what appears to be ghosts. After that he is a changed man. I can't say more without giving the whole thing away.
I will give this one 2/5 acorns.