Random things that probably won't interest anyone but me!

So, here's the thing: I don't really have anything to new blog about, I'm just very bored. OK, maybe bored is the wrong word. It's the word I use to describe the fact that I'm not doing anything truly worth-while. I could find something to do if I really wanted. But I don't. Instead, I'd rather waste my time blogging.

I'm going on a trip to San Fransisco this month, along with my sisters and my mom! We leave next Thursday. I'm really excited! Not only do I get to escape from the mundane routine of my humdrum life, I get to go with some of my favorite people! And we get to see an area of California that is foreign to us. Yeah, I'm a native Californian who has never been to San Fransisco! I'm way excited. I keep looking up places to visit and what we might see and I must say that Haight Ashbury looks the most exciting to me. I can't wait to explore! And Chinatown should be way fun, too. Yay for fun vacations. If anyone has any advice about what we should do/see while we're there, please feel free to offer it!

I finished reading Atonement by Ian McEwan about a week ago. It was very interesting, a little depressing, had beautiful imagery, and was overall a good read. The movie follows the book extremely well. Caution: if you do decide to watch the rated-R film, there is some swearing (it takes place during WWII--soldiers have dirty mouths) and you should just skip the library scene. Trust me. Last night I finished reading Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. Wow, what a contrast to Atonement!! It was such a great story: true love between girl and boy, girl and family, girl and friends; accepting oneself for who and what one is; the importance of community, communication, education. It was a very good book, geared toward young girls, but is a great read for anyone! Now I'm on to "Autobiography of a Face" by Lucy Grealy (since it's the next book for our Naked Soul book club).

Some good movies I've recently seen (quotes taken from Netflix):
Sweet Land (PG), and independent movie about "how love triumphs over ignorance... German immigrant Inge tells her life story...beginning her tale in 1920, when she's just become a mail-order bride to Norwegian-American farmer Olaf. Discovering that Inge's heritage is actually German, both Olaf and the community struggle to overcome years of anti-German propaganda and prejudice." It's seriously a wonderful movie. It begins with the quote: "Let us hope that we are all preceded in this world by a love story." Stars Elizabeth Reaser and Tim Guinee with Alan Cumming, John Heard, and Alex Kingston.
American Splendor (R), "Harvey Pekar was a working-class stiff, a file clerk who found an outlet for his creativity by chronicling every minutia of his life in Cleveland for more than 20 years in a comic-book series called American Splendor." Don't let the R rating scare you. The content and very mild language is what earned it the R rating, and really it's just an adult's movie. Kids wouldn't get too much of an education watching it, but they wouldn't like it, either. I personally loved it. It's a very interesting way of telling Pekar's tale. Stars Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis.
Starter for Ten (PG-13), "As student Brian Jackson navigates through his freshman year at England's prestigious Bristol University, he develops a crush on winsome coed Alice Harbinson in this comical coming-of-age tale. After several romantic gaffes, Brian changes tactics, concluding that an impressive victory on the "University Challenge" quiz show is the way to capture Alice's heart." So, yeah, it's a teen-ish movie (only they're college students in the 80's). And it ends just like you want it to, but the ride there is very funny. Stars James McAvoy, Rebecca Hall, and Alice Eve.
Danny Deckchair (PG-13), "Australian...Danny hatches a novel way to escape his drab life after a fight with his girlfriend: He ties large helium-filled balloons to his deckchair and floats away into the sky. But a violent thunderstorm sends him hurtling out over the Outback, where he lands in a small town where no one knows him." Funny and clever are the words that come to mind. I don't want to give too much away here. Stars Rhys Ifans and Miranda Otto.
21 (PG-13), "Struggling to come up with his tuition, Ben Campbell turns to one of his professor, who trains him and four fellow students to become card-counting experts, with the intent of swindling millions of dollars out of Vegas casinos." I can't say too much here without giving anything away. I liked it a lot. It's one of those fun, rooting-for-the-bad-guy (but only cuz the bad guy is a good guy caught up in bad stuff) kind of movies. Stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, and Kate Bosworth.