Weekend Update

     I have lots of things I'd like to talk about today, hence the title, weekend update. I worked again this weekend, so now that I'm home and the Patriots playoff game just started, I'm unwinding with my blog. Starting this blog has been very rewarding so far.

     I'm inching closer to my certification; I should finally have all my needed paperwork ready to send out by Tuesday (since Monday is a holiday). I'll have to start studying for the test, I'll hear back from the board within the next twelve weeks, probably much sooner than that, I hope. I'm getting so impatient!

     Once I have it, the six years I have to earn the other two missing components starts to tick away. I'm motivated to get it done as quickly as possible. Not sure how I wasted so much time between August and now. Anyway, I'm already looking at another course that gives me all 30 CEUs that I need.  I must say online education is a wonderful thing for people like me.   

     All this week, in honor of National Activity Professionals Week, the NAACP is having online chats each night, for free CEUs-each hour equals one credit. So if I participate in each one, that's seven credits, and I saved 70 dollars. These chats usually cost 10 dollars apiece.  

     Before you fall asleep, I'll move on to another topic. Seen any good movies lately? I love old movies, and my lament is so many movies, so little time. I've been searching since my childhood for an old movie I saw part of, and was intrigued by ever since. It was about a guy with amnesia, who may have been involved in a murder. He was describing a dream sequence where he was out in the rain, and had a hole in his umbrella. He appeared to be in a doctor's office, and after he told his story, the doctor shot a dart at him that narrowly missed. I don't know how the rest of the movie turned out. Do you know what it is?

    Over the years, I've done online searches (you'd be surprised how many movies have an amnesia/ murder plot line.) No luck yet. I was going to write a letter to Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies, but haven't gotten around to it yet.  TCM showed a movie that seemed to fit this description, and since it was on at 7:30 am after I already left for work, I taped it. I started to watch it, but I was too tired, so I'll have to try again another day. I'll be excited if I ever finally get to see this movie after 35 years or so!! I'll keep you posted.

    My other pet peeve about movies is how many of them are remakes. Last night I came across a remake of a classic Humphery Bogart movie "High Sierra", from 1941. The remake was called "I Died a Thousand Times", in color, from 1955. Jack Palance played Bogart's character Roy Earle, Shelly Winters took Ida Lupino's role. All I can say is WHAT WERE THEY THINKING??!! These two can't carry Bogie and Ida's make-up cases!

     The strangest part was that most of the dialog was copied verbatim. I already know it by heart, having seen the original countless times. It sure makes me appreciate it that much more. I kept watching, just out of morbid curiosity,and because the acting was so bad it was funny.

  If you ever get a chance to compare, go for it. Let's see if I can find some trailers for you.

   Well, gotta go. It's almost time for my online chat!

Take care, and stay warm.

Karin

     

     

January- so far, so good.-

     I'm happy to report that we have the first two weeks of January under our belts (almost).  So far, so good. After the first snowstorm of the year, I'm happy to see it melt. It's warming up this weekend, so it should be gone soon. I wouldn't mind, but it's just an inconvenience to have to worry about slipping on the ice. 

     
     Not much going on here- my mission for the new year is to de-clutter my life.  One culprit is magazines.  I should stop buying them, because they take up too much room.  I can't bear to throw them out because they're full of neat crafts, recipes, and articles I may want to re-read someday.  I should put them in binders, or maybe cut out the articles I want and put those in scrapbooks, but it's too time consuming. 

     
     When I was young, I used to make scrapbooks, and most of the contents were cute advertisements and pictures I cut out of magazines. I think magazines are great time capsules. It's fun to look at old magazines, and see how much society has changed in a short amount of time. Looking at mags from the early 70's when I was very young, is fascinating.  Then I can get nostalgic seeing Family Circle and Women's Day from the 80's, and re-living all the stuff I remember (again, mostly the products advertised, and "pop culture" stuff.) 

     
     Then there's the magazines without ads--Reminisce and Taste of Home, both of which I have boxes of. I don't subscribe to them anymore, but if I just found the boxes I have and re-read them, I'd be all set!   Nowadays, Taste of Home is a mainstream magazine with ads, and it's just not the same. It's not "down home"anymore.
      
     January is a time for bargains at CVS-I got some expensive dog-treats for Cindy- ham and chicken jerky strips. At 75% off, I was excited. But I didn't clean off the shelf, I left some there for other dog owners to claim.
      
     I also got a couple of nice Christmas decorations and light-up candles that look a like a candle with glitter floating around in them.  Lastly, I got a big container of ornaments, some of  them huge, designed to be used outdoors on bushes or trees. I love them- paid $5.00 instead of $19.99.
      
     But the sweetest deal of all was a mini net book/tablet.  I have a friend without a computer, and I thought this item was a steal at $24.99 instead of $100.00!  I mailed it out yesterday morning, had to before I got anymore attached to it! I had to open the box and check it out, make sure it actually worked. I hate to say it, but the customer reviews were mixed. Some gave it five stars, others said to throw it out!  I figured for that price, I'd take my chances.  I didn't set up the e-mail on it, I just hope it works for me friend.  I'm sure he'll call me tomorrow when he gets the package. That will be my good deed for the day.
     
     Are you excited about the return of the NHL?  I don't know yet. It will be weird for the Bruins without Tim Thomas. But he really alienated himself last year with his over-opinionated political views.  At any rate, the players and owners hurt themselves by letting most of the season slip away.  Still, an abbreviated season may work to the Bruins advantage. Could they win the Cup? I really don't know, we'll have to wait and see.

     Notice how I've left a wider space between paragraphs? I'm doing this because I recently printed out a blog book!  They let you design the layout, size, paper type, etc.  I chose the setup that would be more economical. Because of that, my paragraphs are running into each other.  Except for this flaw, I'm very pleased with how nice the book came out. It only had my posts from last October through July.  Next time, I'll save up and do a larger book, maybe even go for a hardcover.

     I'm almost done with my on-line writing class "breaking into print".  Only two more lessons! I shouldn't call them lessons, because it's not really like that. I write an article, my wonderful instructor edits and critiques it for grammar and content, and advises me on how to market it, and improve it.  I'm lucky to have a teacher who's not only nice, but encouraging. Assuming she really means it when she compliments my work, it makes me feel like I have a future in writing!  I haven't actually tried to sell any of my work yet. That's the next step.  I'm also seriously considering working on my "real" books. Nowadays, you can write and publish your own work economically, by printing on demand!  More later on this topic.

     I hope you're having a good January! Take care.
                                         

     

A Few Thoughts this New Year's Day...

     Hello, and Happy New Year! 

     I hope you had a good 2012, but hopefully 2013 will be even better. I had to work today, which was fine with me. I was lucky to be off Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.  The problem is, it seems like the weekend, but it's really Tuesday night!  The bus was on a Sunday schedule, the activities I did were based on a Saturday schedule.  After working alone, my subconscious thinks I'm going to be home from work tomorrow! Oh well.

     Do you make resolutions? I don't do it formally, that would be a disaster, or at the very least a letdown.  What I do instead is think about goals for the coming year, and try to follow through on them. Some are big, some are small. Let's hope this year I complete them all!

     I'm not sure why goals and resolutions seem to come easier at the start of the year, but I'm not going to fight it.  My main goal is to follow through on things in general, and spend more time on  career goals and self improvement. 

    Wish me luck! And I wish you luck with whatever you set your mind on doing. You can do it!