Bittersweet Endings

Whenever I finish a really good book I'm always left with a bittersweet feeling. I love having spent time in another world with exciting characters, and I always feel a sense of satisfaction on completion. But I also feel sad that I'm done! Never again will I be able to experience the story again for the first time. I no longer get to inhabit the places the characters live or go through their struggles and triumphs.

I just finished Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth after a week of consuming it in every spare moment I had. This book is nearly a thousand pages long! The story is incredible and spans decades as a cathedral is built in England during The Anarchy when King Henry I has died with no lawful heir besides a daughter and an illegitimate son. The fight for the crown is the secondary story which propels much of what the main characters must go through. There's fighting, pillaging, beheadings, cursings, religious strife, true love, evil bishops, witches, cathedral building.

This book has some really strong women, which I like. Aliena, the displaced Earl's daughter, endures setback after setback, but always finds a way to rise above it. She is resourceful and strong and doesn't take crap from anyone. She knows what she wants and she does everything in her power to achieve it. Unfortunately, this does cause her to make one astoundingly bad choice, but even that she overcomes.

There's a fair amount of violence and sex in the book, so I recommend it with those caveats. There's also a Starz miniseries production of the book. I of course became interested in it because Eddie Redmayne stars in it. The miniseries is good as well, but the book will give you more detail and nuances. The miniseries also has taken some liberties with the book to make it more cinematic and to move the story along a little faster.

Old Foto Friday

I love everything about this picture. Jared looks annoyed, Emily is clearly upset, and I'm just smiling and posing like a dork. Also, Em and I have matching shorts. This is August 1991, at some Historic Marker in Idaho.

Five of Nine, So Far

I have seen five of the nine Best Picture nominees. If the Academy was still kickin' it old school and only had five nominees I'd be set. That rule change a few years ago, when it first changed to ten then changed to a range of 5-10 based on vote totals, has made it a lot more work to see them all before Oscar night. I'm going to try my darnedest to see them all, but I think there will be one or two that I don't get to (although the Broadway downtown might open up the chance for me to see Amour).

Argo was released way back in October and I saw it opening weekend with Emily. I didn't write a post about it then, but I loved it.  It was tense and wonderfully shot with excellent acting. Ben Affleck is the bomb and deserves all the accolades he receives.

I shared my love for Lincoln when I saw it on Thanksgiving.

I've also shared my obsession with Les Miserables, having seen it three times.

Last week I knocked out Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty. I was pleasantly surprised with Silver Linings Playbook, not knowing that Bradley Cooper had that in him. It was funny and real and fun. Zero Dark Thirty is a very different movie. It's kind of exhausting. Not in a bad way, but in a way that makes you appreciate the work that went into capturing Bin Laden. While I like Jessica Chastain, I feel her co-star, Jason Clarke, has been severely overlooked during this awards season. His role was tricky, having to be a man who tortures people but is not looked at as being ruthless and mean. It's a tough line to walk and I think he did it expertly, while I feel like Chastain was pretty run of the mill in this role.

I'm not going to wait to state my favorite until I see Django Unchained and Life of Pi. I've  still got a month til the awards are handed out.

Old Foto Friday

Em and I with Grandma Anderson outside Temple Square in Salt Lake City. I think this was when my brother and (ex) wife went through the temple to be sealed. So it's spring 2000. But it could also be a wedding of one of my cousins.

Old Foto Friday

I was in Topeka earlier this week, interviewing for a job and seeing old friends. Amber and I were inseparable in elementary school. Here we are as dorky kids, and then just a few days ago.

 

 

Things Do Work Out

Sometimes I find it helpful to remind myself that things do work out. Like when I moved to New York. Things just fell into place with my apartment and I had awesome roommates. When I quit Walmart I was only unemployed for two weeks, when I went on my very first and only interview with a temp agency and got the job. I then proceeded to get a job with J. Crew and, later, Tribeca Film Festival. That led to a job with Sundance. Which led to a job on a movie set. Which led to me returning to Salt Lake.

Once returned to Salt Lake, finding a job was difficult. After three months, I went to a temp agency. And, just like in New York, I got the first job I was sent for, without being interviewed. That place was Myriad and I worked there for almost three years while I got ready for and attended grad school.

As I got closer and closer to graduating, I spent every day looking and applying for jobs. It was kind of awful. I applied for over thirty jobs. After not hearing anything for weeks, the interviews are now pouring in. I've been offered a job at Highland City. Tomorrow morning I'm flying out to Topeka for a second interview for a job that is pretty much my dream job. Yesterday I got two phone calls, at the exact same time, to schedule interviews, one here in Utah and one in Colorado. It's kinda crazy.

So yeah, lots of times things do work out.

Diploma Received!

The diploma arrived in the mail this weekend!

The Obsession Continues

Like I said, when I have an obsession I like to indulge it. So today I saw Les Miserables again. This makes the third showing of the movie in a week. I just can't get enough of it! I love experiencing something so moving with complete strangers--to know that we all cry and are moved by the same thing. Seriously, everyone around me was wiping away tears and blowing their noses.

Also, I might have a slight crush on Eddie Redmayne, who plays Marius. Which actually isn't surprising. Apparently, the Daily Beast is referring to him, Ben Whishaw and Andrew Garfield as the "New Brit Pack"--with all of them being "spindly and expertly coiffed". Ha! That's exactly why I like each one of them! Nice to know someone else has caught on to what makes a man attractive (to me at least). In my unfinished review of Skyfall there was a decent amount dedicated to Q.

Old Foto Friday

Ivy taking a nap on the floor with Clifford. She loved that stuffed red dog. Ivy's probably one in this picture, so it's Spring/Summer of 2002.

Good Things 2013

This is my "Good Things 2013" Jar (thank you Pinterest), where I can write down good things that have happened throughout the year, then read them all on New Year's Eve.

 I think my bow looks lame but I couldn't get it to lay right.

I've already put one good thing in it for the year--seeing Les Miserables with my mom and sister on New Year's Day!

Encore

After seeing Les Miserables last Friday, I became slightly obsessed. The London cast recording has been playing on repeat all weekend. And since I like to indulge my passions, I decided to take my mom and sister to see it today. And it rocked! Maybe I needed to familiarize myself with the story to enjoy it more, because I was totally into it this time around.

Everyone, including Russell Crowe, is pretty awesome. I don't get all the flak Crowe is getting for his singing. Anna Hathaway is crazy good. That tear that falls out from Marius' eye while he sings "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" kills me. I get chills when "Do You Hear the People Sing?" and "Red and Black" are performed.

I again cried during "I Dreamed a Dream", it's that good. Em barely shed a tear, while my mom lost it when Gavroche was shot. She burst into tears again while we were sitting through the credits. Seriously, the story is so moving and inspiring.