movies and teeth and books and man at work
May. 6th, 2012 05:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llcoolvadHmm, I am a bit behind. I will start with recent and go back. Today I felt like being busy, so I decided to vacuum my bedroom, take a walk to the grocery store so I could make a big salad for lunch, change my sheets, clean the kitchen, wash the bathroom, and watch some baseball. All successful! Still need to do laundry. Still have tomorrow. Also need to go out and find new sneakers somewhere. All this walking I'm doing should really be done with proper footwear.
Friday and Saturday were a pretty fun couple of days. I was sitting around on Thursday, watching the television and reading the Internet as one does, and I saw a posting on Facebook from Colin Hay about how he was appearing in NH on Saturday. I don't really read musician postings about tour dates too often, but something triggered something in my tiny reptile brain and I realized that if he was in NH on Saturday he was probably here soon. And, hey, I got tickets to that gig for Christmas. I was under the impression that the show was at the END of May, but perhaps I should review my tickets? Aha! The show is Friday. As in (when I was looking at them) TOMORROW. EEP! I texted P to ask if he was busy, and he was. So I started asking around if anyone wanted to go with me. Due to the last-minute nature of my question, every single person I would normally go to something like that with was busy. I even asked my work friend Joanne. Alas!
So I went by myself. I can't remember if I've ever done a concert alone before. I don't think I have. MAYBE Richard Thompson once? But I don't think so. I go to movies alone all the time, I go out to eat alone all the time, not sure why I've never done a concert alone before. I guess it just seems like one of those things you do with people? But it turned out to be fun going alone, partly because he's a very entertaining entertainer. Funny, lots of story telling, good selection of songs, etc. Plus! He stuck around after the gig to sign autographs and let pictures be taken. Which was super nice, considering the size of the audience (the Berklee Performance Center seats 1,215, and it seemed pretty packed). Most people left, thank god. I only had to wait about 30 minutes (he didn't come out for the first 15) to get my time with him. Had him sign a live DVD they were selling there, thanked him for his music, and had my picture taken. Had to ask the woman in line behind me to take it, but that was really the only problem I found with attending alone. I probably wouldn't have asked whoever had come along with me to stick around for an extra amount of time after the show to get an autograph, so that was definitely an advantage to going alone.
Saturday night P and I went to see "The Avengers". We have totally lost our moviegoing IQs, I guess, because it didn't occur to either of us that the show might be sold out. Of course it was, so we had to get an early dinner and go to a later showing — in 3D. I am so sick of 3D. There were a couple of moments that things flew at my head and I sorta jumped, but honestly, Hollywood? Can you just quit wasting your money making that shit? We audiences don't like it much, we don't like wearing the glasses (especially those of us who already WEAR glasses), and we get annoyed paying an extra $5.00 for the privilege. OK? OK!
On the other hand, the movie was super fun. Every person in it is totally hot, the plot was ridiculous but in a good way, the monsters were scary, some fun dialogue ("Hulk? SMASH!"), and lots of great posturing. I guess Joss hit it out of the park! I haven't read any reviews, but I saw that it's had a huge opening weekend, so I guess that will bode well for Joss' future in features.
That all makes up for the last week+, where I was eating soft foods and being terribly careful to not dislodge my precious clots. I had two wisdom teeth out a week ago last Thursday, along with some gum surgery. I hadn't actually planned to have the teeth extracted. My periodontist had recommended it, but over time I had convinced myself that it wasn't necessary. When I walked in and sat down I had told him that I didn't want the extractions done after all, to just do the gum surgery, but he re-explained why he thought it was necessary and he ultimately convinced me. So I was totally unprepared mentally for the whole thing. I've never had a tooth extracted before in my life, and I was frankly a little shocked at how violent and primitive the tooth-removal process is. I mean, really, all they do is wiggle it the fuck around and yank it out? It's the 21st century! The hell? Where are the, I dunno, LASERS?
There was no pain, but the cracking sounds were disturbing and the bottom tooth required drilling and several attempts. I never have any kind of dental fears or problems at the dentist, but that day I was having a panic attack, weeping soundlessly and gulping big breaths every time I could breathe at all. I kept calming myself down by thinking "it's not pioneer times or anything. You have anesthetic! This is painless!" I couldn't believe how long it took, too. Then of course I came home and read the Internet about dry socket and how to avoid it, and managed to convince myself that I'd swallow too vigorously or something and would screw myself up somehow. SPOILER: I didn't. Had the follow-up on Thursday and they took out the couple of remaining stitches in my gums and said everything looked fine.
I had a prescription for Vicodin, but I didn't take any, just stuck to ibuprofen and icing my face for the first 24 hours, and really other than a little jaw soreness it was pretty much pain-free. I mean, it's 10 days now and it's a little raw-feeling and there are still big dents in my gums, but really, painless on the whole. Especially considering some guy yanked BONES out of my HEAD! And now that I can eat normally again I am happier. I'm still avoiding rice and popcorn, however—I'm not stupid! When I go in for the other two (I haven't even scheduled it yet) I will take some ativan beforehand to ward off my crazy, I think.
Otherwise in the last few weeks I saw a few other movies: "Lockout" with P, "A Cabin in the Woods" with Stephen, "Haywire" on DVD, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" on DVD. All good in different ways. And hey, the end of the month came and went, didn't it? I guess I need to update my books list!
Books Read 2012
JAN
1. The Fifth Witness, Michael Connelly
2. Deception, Jonathan Kellerman (library kindle)
3. Eleven, Patricia Reilly Giff (library kindle)
4. The Silent Girl, Tess Gerritsen (audio)
5. Dead Sleep, Greg Iles (audio)
FEB
6. Alone, Lisa Gardner (audio)
7. Gideon's Sword, Preston, Child
8. The Zero Game, Brad Meltzer
9. Taken, Robert Crais
10 Dead Wood, Danin Amore
11. L.A. Outlaws, T. Jefferson Parker
MAR
12. Half-Assed: A Weight Loss Memoir, Jennette Fulda
13. Pronto, Elmore Leonard (first Raylan Givens)
14. Paranoia, Joseph Finder
15. Riding the Rap, Elmore Leonard (second Raylan Givens)
16. Why We Get Fat, Gary Taubes
APR
17. The Stainless Steel Rat, Harry Harrison (audio): I read a lot of these in high school and loved them. This one held up pretty well for its age. Was pretty short, though. I might listen to the rest, but they're fairly pricy at $14.69 or one credit for an average of five hours each. I'll probably wait for a credit sale.
18. Aphrodite, Russell Andrews (audio): Apparently Andrews is a psuedonym for Peter Gethers, who helped to start fantasy sports down its slightly insane path by being one of the founders for the first ever rotisserie baseball league in 1980. I don't think there was any mention of baseball in the book, so there's really no reason to add that fact in there, but it's nice to know who to blame! Anyway, the book was a pretty decent listen. Thriller with lots of killing and lots of driving.
19. Fire in the Hole, Elmore Leonard (short collection): Pretty good. Had a fairly long (novelette length) Raylan story that was basically the first season of the TV show, and then a bunch of other shorts, including an appearance by the always-delightful Karen Sisco.
20. First Flight, Mary Robinette Kowal (short): Very good. Occasionally I remember that I have some Tor shorts on my phone and read one every once in a while.
I've been walking a lot this month so I've been listening more than reading. I have been very indecisive about what to read next, so I got about 20 samples from Amazon and read all of those, too, but nothing smacked me around enough to buy. I have finally picked a few new titles, so maybe I'll read more this month.
Friday and Saturday were a pretty fun couple of days. I was sitting around on Thursday, watching the television and reading the Internet as one does, and I saw a posting on Facebook from Colin Hay about how he was appearing in NH on Saturday. I don't really read musician postings about tour dates too often, but something triggered something in my tiny reptile brain and I realized that if he was in NH on Saturday he was probably here soon. And, hey, I got tickets to that gig for Christmas. I was under the impression that the show was at the END of May, but perhaps I should review my tickets? Aha! The show is Friday. As in (when I was looking at them) TOMORROW. EEP! I texted P to ask if he was busy, and he was. So I started asking around if anyone wanted to go with me. Due to the last-minute nature of my question, every single person I would normally go to something like that with was busy. I even asked my work friend Joanne. Alas!
So I went by myself. I can't remember if I've ever done a concert alone before. I don't think I have. MAYBE Richard Thompson once? But I don't think so. I go to movies alone all the time, I go out to eat alone all the time, not sure why I've never done a concert alone before. I guess it just seems like one of those things you do with people? But it turned out to be fun going alone, partly because he's a very entertaining entertainer. Funny, lots of story telling, good selection of songs, etc. Plus! He stuck around after the gig to sign autographs and let pictures be taken. Which was super nice, considering the size of the audience (the Berklee Performance Center seats 1,215, and it seemed pretty packed). Most people left, thank god. I only had to wait about 30 minutes (he didn't come out for the first 15) to get my time with him. Had him sign a live DVD they were selling there, thanked him for his music, and had my picture taken. Had to ask the woman in line behind me to take it, but that was really the only problem I found with attending alone. I probably wouldn't have asked whoever had come along with me to stick around for an extra amount of time after the show to get an autograph, so that was definitely an advantage to going alone.
Saturday night P and I went to see "The Avengers". We have totally lost our moviegoing IQs, I guess, because it didn't occur to either of us that the show might be sold out. Of course it was, so we had to get an early dinner and go to a later showing — in 3D. I am so sick of 3D. There were a couple of moments that things flew at my head and I sorta jumped, but honestly, Hollywood? Can you just quit wasting your money making that shit? We audiences don't like it much, we don't like wearing the glasses (especially those of us who already WEAR glasses), and we get annoyed paying an extra $5.00 for the privilege. OK? OK!
On the other hand, the movie was super fun. Every person in it is totally hot, the plot was ridiculous but in a good way, the monsters were scary, some fun dialogue ("Hulk? SMASH!"), and lots of great posturing. I guess Joss hit it out of the park! I haven't read any reviews, but I saw that it's had a huge opening weekend, so I guess that will bode well for Joss' future in features.
That all makes up for the last week+, where I was eating soft foods and being terribly careful to not dislodge my precious clots. I had two wisdom teeth out a week ago last Thursday, along with some gum surgery. I hadn't actually planned to have the teeth extracted. My periodontist had recommended it, but over time I had convinced myself that it wasn't necessary. When I walked in and sat down I had told him that I didn't want the extractions done after all, to just do the gum surgery, but he re-explained why he thought it was necessary and he ultimately convinced me. So I was totally unprepared mentally for the whole thing. I've never had a tooth extracted before in my life, and I was frankly a little shocked at how violent and primitive the tooth-removal process is. I mean, really, all they do is wiggle it the fuck around and yank it out? It's the 21st century! The hell? Where are the, I dunno, LASERS?
There was no pain, but the cracking sounds were disturbing and the bottom tooth required drilling and several attempts. I never have any kind of dental fears or problems at the dentist, but that day I was having a panic attack, weeping soundlessly and gulping big breaths every time I could breathe at all. I kept calming myself down by thinking "it's not pioneer times or anything. You have anesthetic! This is painless!" I couldn't believe how long it took, too. Then of course I came home and read the Internet about dry socket and how to avoid it, and managed to convince myself that I'd swallow too vigorously or something and would screw myself up somehow. SPOILER: I didn't. Had the follow-up on Thursday and they took out the couple of remaining stitches in my gums and said everything looked fine.
I had a prescription for Vicodin, but I didn't take any, just stuck to ibuprofen and icing my face for the first 24 hours, and really other than a little jaw soreness it was pretty much pain-free. I mean, it's 10 days now and it's a little raw-feeling and there are still big dents in my gums, but really, painless on the whole. Especially considering some guy yanked BONES out of my HEAD! And now that I can eat normally again I am happier. I'm still avoiding rice and popcorn, however—I'm not stupid! When I go in for the other two (I haven't even scheduled it yet) I will take some ativan beforehand to ward off my crazy, I think.
Otherwise in the last few weeks I saw a few other movies: "Lockout" with P, "A Cabin in the Woods" with Stephen, "Haywire" on DVD, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" on DVD. All good in different ways. And hey, the end of the month came and went, didn't it? I guess I need to update my books list!
Books Read 2012
JAN
1. The Fifth Witness, Michael Connelly
2. Deception, Jonathan Kellerman (library kindle)
3. Eleven, Patricia Reilly Giff (library kindle)
4. The Silent Girl, Tess Gerritsen (audio)
5. Dead Sleep, Greg Iles (audio)
FEB
6. Alone, Lisa Gardner (audio)
7. Gideon's Sword, Preston, Child
8. The Zero Game, Brad Meltzer
9. Taken, Robert Crais
10 Dead Wood, Danin Amore
11. L.A. Outlaws, T. Jefferson Parker
MAR
12. Half-Assed: A Weight Loss Memoir, Jennette Fulda
13. Pronto, Elmore Leonard (first Raylan Givens)
14. Paranoia, Joseph Finder
15. Riding the Rap, Elmore Leonard (second Raylan Givens)
16. Why We Get Fat, Gary Taubes
APR
17. The Stainless Steel Rat, Harry Harrison (audio): I read a lot of these in high school and loved them. This one held up pretty well for its age. Was pretty short, though. I might listen to the rest, but they're fairly pricy at $14.69 or one credit for an average of five hours each. I'll probably wait for a credit sale.
18. Aphrodite, Russell Andrews (audio): Apparently Andrews is a psuedonym for Peter Gethers, who helped to start fantasy sports down its slightly insane path by being one of the founders for the first ever rotisserie baseball league in 1980. I don't think there was any mention of baseball in the book, so there's really no reason to add that fact in there, but it's nice to know who to blame! Anyway, the book was a pretty decent listen. Thriller with lots of killing and lots of driving.
19. Fire in the Hole, Elmore Leonard (short collection): Pretty good. Had a fairly long (novelette length) Raylan story that was basically the first season of the TV show, and then a bunch of other shorts, including an appearance by the always-delightful Karen Sisco.
20. First Flight, Mary Robinette Kowal (short): Very good. Occasionally I remember that I have some Tor shorts on my phone and read one every once in a while.
I've been walking a lot this month so I've been listening more than reading. I have been very indecisive about what to read next, so I got about 20 samples from Amazon and read all of those, too, but nothing smacked me around enough to buy. I have finally picked a few new titles, so maybe I'll read more this month.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-05-06 10:37 pm (UTC)On "The Avengers" - Robin tells me that reviews panned the 3D for this movie as some of the worst 3D ever, so we saw it regular (even though he loves 3D). It was added post-production which doesn't work well except for the computer parts. (I mostly think 3D doesn't help, but I did like it for "Hugo.")
Reviews say it beats expectations (funnier than expected). It's 90-something on rotten tomatoes. I didn't think it was THAT great. But it did beat my expectations. That's because the preview had Nick Fury saying, "You have made me VERY desperate." What a crappy line. I expect much better from Whedon. Plus I heard that only Iron Man was getting the good lines. But it turned out that the other characters' more ordinary lines still often ended up being funny. At our showing, the biggest laugh actually came from the line "ADOPTED brother."
Robin also read that it's now the highest-grossing-in-the-first-weekend movie in history (even adjusted for inflation though not adjusted for population). I hope this means Whedon can do whatever he wants not only next time, but forever. A sequel has been greenlighted, but no telling if Whedon's interested.
On wisdom teeth removal - I have two wisdom teeth that need removal (and I'm hoping the other two stay up in the gums where they are now--useless for chewing, but not causing any problems). So I especially enjoyed reading about your experience (although I'm older, so it may not go so well), especially the part where at the end it didn't hurt that much in spite of all the medieval adventure.