March 2012 Archives

I know a lot of people with allergies.  A *lot* of people.  I feel bad for people with allergies, even ones that aren't all that bad.  I know they have sinus pressure and pain, sneezing, runny nose/watery eyes, itchy throat and if anything else happens to be going wrong physically, it's twice as bad.  I have issues, not allergy issues really.  Once in awhile I'll get a little sneezy if things get too dusty but other than that, allergies can stay the hell away.

Today I'm feeling a touch dizzy. Mostly because it's DemonWeek and I haven't been taking my vitamins, which have iron in them, on a regular basis.  So I'm feeling really tired, shaky and tired.  Signs of being anemic due to iron loss increase while it being DemonWeek.  I just love DemonWeek.

Every now and again if I sleep wrong or take on too much weight too often on my left shoulder I wake up unable to move, so I don't try not to do it.  It's not always that simple though and every now and then I am in considerable pain for a few days using ice packs to numb it away.

You can't do that when it comes to allergies, though.  You can drug yourself up but not all the problems go away, you always have something left behind making you go crazy or the meds cause you to be hyper or drowsy, so the entire day is either spent running around accomplishing nothing or trying your damnedest not to fall asleep, again, accomplishing nothing.

I just can't imagine having to go through that every day for 3 - 4 months straight, or, all year around, if you have different allergies for different seasons or animals.  It would be absolute hell, every single day.  I can combat the anemia with iron supplements and make the tiredness and the dizzy spells go away.  It takes time and I tend to not be focused while I'm in this feeble state of mind, but it goes away and can be kept away by continuing with the supplements.

All of you that have allergies, bless you, bless you, bless you.  I couldn't fathom spending one hour let alone a lifetime

The Hunger Games (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sometime last week I grabbed a copy of The Hunger Games to read and watched the movie.  I wasn't sure how it would be with all the extreme hype about the book I'd never heard of and all of a sudden it has a movie.  This sort of appearance generally puts me in the whole 'it's going to be bad bad bad' mindset and while it wasn't overall bad, it wasn't good either.

The Book

The book was rushed and in my opinion, poorly written.  Nowhere near as bad as some young adult books I have read previously. For example, I tried reading a series that made it feel as if though the oxygen were being sucked from the room.  This was every thought and conversation the teenager had, a runaway train and oxygen deprivation.  I stopped reading when my daughter started speaking that way to get a break.

Most of Hunger Games was a fast read, there were some slow parts where you wondered if Katniss was actually capable of making it, but then again, she's the main character and killing off main characters in books and movies tend to get you blackballed from your readers so you know she makes it. Trying to figure out how.. well that's where reading it makes it interesting.  She spends a lot of time up trees, sleeping in trees, belting/tying herself into trees, climbing down the trees. 

The best killing ability she has is killing when she doesn't think about it.  Katniss automatically kills a little boy who killed Rue, no thought, no processing, she did it and it was over.  I don't recall if she retrieved the arrow that killed the boy, but if she did then you know she was over the whole 'I have to kill people to live thing'.

If you are able to ignore the blatant disregard for grammar and style, you can read this book.  If you're going to pause every time and have the urge to throw the book or kindle (or whatever you use) then you're going to want to read it fast and do your best to disregard the grammar.  The book still wasn't good and the writing style made it worse the best way to get through it if you really want to read it is as fast as possible.

The Movie

The movie wasn't all that great either and the thing was 132 minutes long!  That doesn't even include the credits!  The best parts of the movie were watching Haymitch work getting sponsors for Katniss and the Gamemakers.  I don't think Haymitch even bothered to try for Peeta, but then again all he seemed to do after saving Katniss was hide.  It was probably the best idea he had since he wasn't sure if he would make it or not.  The Gamemakers were so cold and calculating.  These people are killing children for a living and they are just going about their business, starting wild fires and building killing machine animals as if it's just another day at the office.  For them, it is.  You see absolutely no remorse on any of the gamemakers, only the Game Master himself when he realizes he's about to lose the game to a witty, sarcastic hate-filled 16yo girl who outsmarted him.

I truly enjoyed how they portrayed the people of the Capitol.  They were outlandish and fabulous and absolutely insane.  How else could you think of them? They were not only OKAY with killing children but made it their lifes work to dress them up for the world they knew to see, to send them to their deaths looking fabulous and nothing like who they really truly are.  Do they ever stop to think 'this could be my child?'  No.  Because if they did stop and think such things they would never be capable of doing what they have decided to do in order to get paid and be famous.  To be famous you have to send children to their death.  They are okay with this, it's sickening and the movie makes you want to shake each and every one of them for accepting this.

 Together

Now, my total opinion of both book and movie together.  If you read the book and then watch the movie (which is always **always** the best way to go) you'll actually find it enjoyable. This does not include you morons who were shocked that Rue and Thresh were black, either.  This is for people who actually READ the book, not leaf through it and say 'oooh it's so fantastic, I must see the movie' then make an idiot of yourself by throwing tantrums.

Reading the book puts you inisde Katniss' head which is exactly where you want to be.  Watching the movie gives you an advantage because as you are watching you know each and every thought that is flowing through her brain.  They did fairly well sticking to the storyline.  I was upset that Madge didn't make an appearance.  I think it would've been so much better, it's not like they couldn't have worked it in with how much time they already had in the finished product!  The characters looked (for the most part) the way I pictured them in my head.  I was unsure of how to picture Cinna because I just wasn't sure which way to go, how to make his voice.  I kept getting Prince believe it or not. (I know, I know!)

I really think the movie and the book go hand in hand.  They show you what you aren't sure how to picture.  You get to see what happens to the Game Master when everything goes down.  When you start the second book you can visualize who you are reading about by taking it from the movie that much easier. 

So, finally, while I dislike them apart and on their own, they do compliment each other quite well.   Don't read the book and not see the movie and if you haven't read the book forget even bothering with the movie.  Got it? Good.  And... may the odds ever be in your favor. (Second and LAST time I use that line.)

Little Lady told me about these psychological tests they took at school in her psychology class. She brought home the paper that had her results on it and the tests happen to be online. So what did I do? I went to take the tests, obviously. I’m not all that surprised with the results either… Why not take a test or three for yourself and see if you belong in the looney bin yet?

Oh, yes and the test right below? I have a golden brain… which is what some silly app already told me on her iTouch. Basically it means I can think logically or creatively. That means that I can torture you in a creative way and then logically dispose of your remains, never to see the light of day again. Alright, alright… so I am not currently plotting that in the physical realm, however the fictional world is my playground.

Yesterday I was kind enough to do my best to keep my mouth shut.  When I get irritated, angry, hot-tempered, for no reason whatsoever in the morning then I know it's going to be a day that I need to speak little and hear less.  My reasoning behind this is that Golden Rule people tend to speak of and then completely ignore to the point of catastrophe.

So I kept my lips zipped shut as best I could and did a little whining to a coworker who I listen to when she needs the same type of spouting off the 'little things are getting to me' list.  There are a lot of people who completely disregard the 'treat others as you wish to be treated' but in all honesty the biggest one is 'if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing' that gets me into real trouble.  Anytime I am questioned about something I tend to snap as it is, on a day I have to exert harder pressure on that choke collar I keep on my demon.

We had someone out of the office due to illness yesterday and I had to go into their office to pull files.  Anyway, lately I have been in the 'if I'm somewhere I'm not normally supposed to be then not only do I have reason but permission' type of attitude.  In other words, you have no right to question my presence anywhere in the office, period, especially if you are not in a supervisory/managerial roll of any kind. Period.

I was questioned awhile back when cleaning off personal items someone no longer with us had completely filled the hard drive of (or just about, very literally) with personal photos, videos, etc and had to burn them onto discs and make sure they burned onto those discs by testing on my system.  The laptop was in the 'empty cube' I covet and so I was in there working on it while the person that day using it was in meetings (they knew, it wasn't theirs so they didn't care).  I got questioned 5 times, twice jokingly, about what I was doing in there, to the laptop, why, who told me, etc, by people who had no right to question me.

Let me tell you, this sort of thing gets old, but it continues to repeat itself.  I was working on a laptop and on tech support with the company that provides our wireless cards for the sales people when they are out of the office, so they can use email and put orders in, etc.  I got questioned while I was doing that and again, none of their business.

Three people tried to find out what I was doing in the office I had permission to be in yesterday and yes I did happen to snap at someone about it. 

• "I'm doing my job."
• "I'm working."
• "Doing what I was asked to do."
• "No, I'm not (insert person's name here)."

It simply boggles my mind that people seem to be so nosey that they have to know what I'm doing, why I'm doing it and for how long I'll be doing it, when technically, not only are they nowhere in the heirarchy of supervision of my position but to be completely honest it isn't any of their business.  Especially when I'm in an office that contains sensitive information and they don't work in the department that has access to that information.

I did my best not to snap at people but it's really hard when they tend to do stupid things and ask stupid questions that grate on my nerves.  I feel that if I am somewhere doing an assignment they should just stop in, say hey, ask how I am, and move on.  Instead of doing that I feel as if I'm being questioned by the Inquisition and that there isn't a right answer regardless of what I reply.

What are things that irritate you? Feel free to comment or trackback to here from a post of your own.