Movie Monday - Whoa.

You can only make one first impression. I know it's cliche, but it's also true. 

When you first meet someone at a party, and his handshake is kind of limp-fish-y, you know that you're never going to forget that. He's always going to be "limp-fish handshake guy." 

If the first time you meet someone in the office is when she is standing next to a cubicle wall gossiping about another co-worker, you're going to assume that she's always going to be gossiping. 

And when the first time you see an actor is when he's Harry Potter, you're probably always going to think of him as Harry Potter. Until he performs in Equus on the West End in London, then transfers to Broadway with the production after he comes of age enough that the show doesn't get shut down for child pornography. One stint on stage as the crazy naked kid blinding horses, and suddenly he may look like Harry Potter, but you know there's another side to him. 

Then there's Keanu Reeves. Unfortunately - for all of us - he will always be that spaced-out dude from the Bill and Ted movies. Or the surfer cop from Point Break. I mean, even in the Matrix movies, he still had that same kind of speech pattern going on. I absolutely love the movie Speed, and I don't think he says "Whoa" at all in it, but for some reason that didn't break the spell. 

So tonight, when I went to see 47 Ronin (which is based on the true story of 47 warriors who defeated an army in Japan - a "ronin" is a samurai without a master), and I watched him on screen, I was of two minds. 

On the one hand, I thought he was quite good. The movie is gorgeous to look at, with effects that a lot of movies try really hard to get, but only end up looking like they tried really hard. In this, the effects are gorgeous (as are the costumes), and it all seems kind of effortless. 

Many of the actors - I'm guessing - may not be native English speakers, and they have strong accents which make the dialogue a little hard to understand at times, but at no point is the movie hard to follow. It's a pretty straightforward piece, really. Even one of the kids in the family seated at the front of theater was able to figure out "This is where the action part of the movie starts" (which was okay, since we were at the Cinema Grill, and you just don't expect quite the same level of quiet as you do in a regular theater when your waiter keeps coming in and out to check on you as you munch on waffle fries). 

I went to the movie with low expectations, and it was definitely better than I expected. But, even so, when we got to the end, my not-a-date date (oh... yeah... the waitress said, as she walked away early on "You're really picking on her - this must be a date!" and we LAUGHED...) turned to me and said "He never once said 'whoa.' I was paying close attention." 

And we were back to that angle of Keanu. I mean... we'd just seen him doing all sorts of cool stuff in Japan in amazing clothing. He really doesn't even look like the same person any more. His body shape is different, his face is different. There's nothing about his look that says "I'm the surfer dude." But, still, you expect the "whoa." For better or worse. 

What I definitely will say, though, is that the next time he shows up in a movie I'm going to expect that a lot less. Granted, he didn't blind any horses in this, but maybe - for me at least - he finally found his Equus.

Overall score: I totally give it a B+, dude. (Sorry. Had to.) Honestly, it was gorgeous to look at, some very cool effects and all, but there were a few moments that were supposed to be emotional that fell flat. And a few emotional moments that worked, but not well enough. Definitely either a big screen or Blu-ray/HDTV kind of show, though, if you can. 

Last Week at This Time

As I was sitting down to write this, tonight, I found an old post from last September with the title "Last Week at This Time." Oddly enough, I'd been thinking about last Saturday for much of today, so when I opened the post and found it empty, I figured it was a sign that this was my topic for tonight.

You see, last week on Saturday morning, I got up early so that I could try to shovel some of the frozen whatever off of the sidewalk, then go run a bunch of errands before the temperature dropped as the "Polar Vortex" came into the state.

That afternoon was followed by really frustrating cold. No, it apparently wasn't record-breaking, but it certainly did inspire more "I do not want to live with this cold anymore" conversations than I've heard in a while.

And then we started looking at the forecasts for this weekend. The light at the end of the tunnel was a sunshine icon on the weather maps, with a notation for temps in the 20s or even 30s.

We all spent the week shivering on the sidewalks. I don't know that the interior of my car ever warmed up on any of my commutes until Thursday. I wore my gloves for driving, because the steering wheel was so cold that I think I got a contact "freezer burn" on my right hand on the one day I didn't put my glove on right after fishing my keys out of my pocket and getting into my car.

But the weather did change. And on Friday people started walking around without hats on. And I walked the pup yesterday without my gloves or hat on. And the forecast kept looking a little better.

So I decided that I would try to get up early, today, and take care of a bunch of errands - not before the temp went down, but before the crowds went up.

By the time I was at the gas station at just after 9am, I was 5th in line for the car wash - which had obviously been a very popular spot already. I did a drive-through deposit at the bank. I ran to the grocery store and didn't feel the need to bundle myself up.

When I walked the pup this evening, we went all the way around the block even though she didn't wear a coat - she didn't fuss about her feet getting cold at all. The warmer temps offered her more to sniff than she's gotten to experience in a while.

And tomorrow it might actually get up to almost 40 degrees - that's a "feels-like" difference of about 80 degrees over last week at this time.

And I'm okay with that.

A Mostly Internal Monologue

For no apparent reason, the past couple of days my commute home has taken a strange amount of time

At the beginning of the week, when the temps were in the "holy crap" cold range and schools were closed, there was basically no one on the roads. I was able to get home in about 25 minutes - even with driving through downtown.

Yesterday, with everyone on the roads for the first time in a while (to some degree not since before Christmas), it took me about an hour to get home. On perfectly clear roads. With no accidents. About 30 minutes of that was spent driving - or sitting - and waiting for the lights to change in the middle of downtown.

Today, when I was worried that I might again be entering into that weird molasses-in-January speed zone, I started to notice what I was thinking. It went something like this:

No. I'm not pulling onto the tracks. No. I don't care how close you get to my bumper. I'm not pulling onto the tracks. Why is he doing that? Why would you pull onto the tracks on a red light? 

That guy looks like he's in pain. I wonder if he realizes the faces he makes while running on that treadmill. Is he watching TV? Or is he staring out here at us? 

Don't turn. Don't turn. Don't. Don't. Don't turn into that lane, you'll fill the lane and we won't be able to pull forward. Don't turn. Don't... Holy cow - Who in the world turns left in the the 3rd lane from the middle lane? 

No. Ma. Dy. Kinda like Hot 'L' Baltimore, only different. The NO MA DY Inn.

Go. Go. Go. GO. GO GO GO GO GO GO. GO!

And, about then, I think I finally made it to the freeway entrance. All without any swearing. And all in only about 15 minutes. I even had time to get to the grocery store and still get home before the pup got too urgent. We'll save the grocery store parking lot inner monologue for another time. 

Style Versus... Well... Anything

Driving through Minneapolis in the winter is always a bit interesting. Not the roads or the traffic, but watching the pedestrians.

There's a strange blend of people who are dressed, shall we say, "normally," with the group of people who look like they put on everything in the closet without looking in the mirror.

I mean... I know that it's cold. And I know that my heaviest coat is kind of frumpy and ugly. But I have nice scarves, and ear muffs that match my gloves. And, in fact, for Christmas, my mom made me a matching hat and scarf that one of my office mates was totally raving over, yesterday. (True story, Mom!)

While I was driving in yesterday morning, though, I saw someone with a yellow, purple, blue, and white argyle stocking cap with a yellow pom-pom on top. Nothing he was wearing went with that hat. Honestly, I don't know of anything that would have gone with it.

Sure, we see the people who are dressed for the "funk" factor. And many of them are probably even doing pretty well at keeping warm. But then you see the women who seem to be wearing skirts made of down-filled ripstop nylon, and you wonder what the heck people are thinking.

We all have our reasons for looking forward to spring. Occasionally mine just happen to be sartorial in nature.

After a While, It's Just Cold

(FYI: If you usually only read one post at a time, you may want to notice that Friday's post didn't go up until just before this one did. Not sure why it got stuck in the "draft" stage.)

I fully admit that, after having heard for the past week about the Polar Vortex that we're feeling the effects of beginning this weekend, we've come to a point that it just sounds ridiculous.

I mean... The idea of -25 degrees below (Fahrenheit) doesn't really compute. The idea of a -45-degree windchill seems insane. The fact that most of Minnesota is going to leave the house and go to work like it's a bright spring day is just bonkers.

So tonight, when I walked the dog and it was -11, it just felt cold. Cold as all get-out. Cold enough that neither the dog nor I wanted to stay outside longer than necessary. But not earth-shatteringly cold. Just cold.

At the same time, I saw on the news, today, that something like 60% of the lower-48 states is going to be below 32 degrees in the next day or so. About 20% will be below zero at one point or another.

While being up to 32 sounds like absolute heaven to some of us (it was almost 20, yesterday, and while I was out shopping I had my coat open and saw other people with no coats on at all), it truly does boggle my mind that areas in central Texas and central Florida will probably be below freezing.

Around here, we've all been saying "we just have to make it to Wednesday" (which is when we're next supposed to get back above zero), and I heard someone on the news today say "in three months we'll be on our way to spring."

And, of course, at that point, we'll also be about 7 months from putting the Christmas decorations back up. With a brand new "remember how cold it was last January?" story to tell.

Un-Decking the Halls

(Not sure why this post didn't go up on Friday night. Sorry for the delay...)

I think that the hardest part of the Holidays is taking down the decorations. Not so much due to any real work involved. I mean... there is work involved in hauling boxes and packing things up and cleaning up after yourself - because even a fake tree leaves behind needles - but that part isn't really so difficult to me.

The hard part is compartmentalizing it all for another year. It's the act of putting away all of the cards that have come in and reminded us that we've got friends near and far who are thinking about us. It's putting away the decorations that we only see for about 5 weeks every year.

And, worst of all in my opinion, it's taking the lights off the tree and putting them all away.

The first night after we take the tree down, there always seems to be a void in the room where it used to be. It's amazing how quickly we get used to having it there. And it's always surprising how much we've grown to enjoy the light it gives off.

When I'm the last one up, I find myself leaving the tree lights on as I turn off everything else in the room before bed. The main lights get turned off. The other Christmas lights go dark. And all I'm left with is the light from the tree. There are all of the shadows cast by the branches, but the light from the tree is always brighter than I expect.

Either tonight or tomorrow night will be the last night for the tree this year. The lights will come down, and it'll all be packed away until next year. By the time the weekend is over we'll be adjusting to the empty corner of the living room, and I'll go back to stumbling over the pup's toys as I make my way through the room after turning out the lights.

And I'll look forward to that time just after Thanksgiving when I can dig it all back out and start all over again. I guess that comes with the Holiday territory

Starting 2014 "An-old"

I know that most people talk about starting a new year as if the slate is wiped clean and everything is starting anew.

I've been thinking about that a lot as we came to the start of 2014, and I've come to the realization that I'd rather start the year "an-old."

After all, I've got more than 46 years under my belt, and that didn't go away with the hanging of a new calendar.

I completely understand the desire to use the changing of the calendar as a good place to start over. It's kind of like moving to a new job without having to find new lunch places. Or moving to a new town, but without having to pack and unpack.

Suddenly, there's an expectation that slates are wiped clean, past transgressions are forgiven, and we're all in the clear.

Unfortunately, I've still got a car with some issues. I continue to work a job which I enjoy doing, but which barely pays the bills. And the belt which those 46 years are under isn't getting any smaller.

But I've also got an incredible partner, a great family, and amazing friends around the world. I've got decent health and company-provided health insurance for when I need it. And I have the luxury of being able to consider what to do with any leftover money I can squeeze out.

All of that is coming with me into 2014 - some for better, some for worse. Yes, I made a few wishes as the clock ticked over last night. Yes, I formed some ideas in my brain that I might try to focus on in the new year. And, yes, I bought another lottery ticket - just in case.

Even so, I'm okay with (most of) what I'm bringing with me into the new year. It's taken me a lifetime to get to where I am, and although there may be some "Geez, why did I do that?" points tucked in along the way, pretending that I didn't make the choices that got me here isn't going to make the new year any easier to face.

So, instead of considering today as a day to start anew, I'm declaring it a very good day to start the year an-old. I invite you all to join me since, after all, you're all part of why I am who I am. And if we all started anew, imagine the stories we'd have missed out on.