::kristinlynch.com

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

World's most pathetic blogger

I'm hands down the world's most pathetic blogger. I haven't blogged at all in months, and I'm only blogging NOW because I'm waiting for some software to finish installing.

So...what's new? There MUST be something new after months of doing only-God-knows-what-but-it-sure-as-heck-wasn't-blogging. So let's see...

1. July was nice and quiet and warm and awesome. We got a new boss so that was pretty upsetting at the time, but things have settled down and going well.

2. Family visited in August so that was swell. I don't see my brother and his wife very often - maybe twice a year!

3. I took some cool pictures at the Erie Zoo in August.

4. August must have been a good month because I also saw my first Rufus Wainwright concert and met him for the second time that year. See more pictures - including one of myself with Rufus.

5. This fall and winter I've spent a lot of time with work projects - specifically some site redesign projects that I'm pretty proud of - such as http://www.eriecountyelections.com, http://www.digerie.com, http://www.goerie.com/varsity and http://www.goerie.com/showcase.

6. I met a nice guy a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving so we've been seeing each other for over 2 months now. It's going well and even though we're very different, we both care about each other very much.

7. I took 11 days of vacation for the holidays so that downtime was a blast. I slept in, putzed around and goofed off, went out several nights...it was just great. For once I didn't even really about work or do anything on my notebook during that time that was even remotely work-related.

Well now we're into the new year and things are getting back to normal. I can already see 2008 shaping up to be much better than 2007 started out to be, but who knows what the year will bring?

Friday, June 29, 2007

5-second movie reviews

Really short reviews on some movies I've seen recently...

1. Casino Royale - Daniel Craig's convincing portrayal as James Bond has quickly become a fan and personal favorite. He's at ease as the sauve, smart, strong and sexy Bond, and Craig's version really does justice to the long-running character. The plot is smart, the action fast and exciting, and the bad guys believable. Judy Dench is wonderful as 'M'. (4 stars)

2. The Queen - The aftermath of Princess Diana's death and the reaction of those wacky Windsors of Buckingham Palace is the backdrop of this film, but a look at Queen Elizabeth II was really the basis for the plot. Helen Mirren's Oscar win for best actress was well-deserved in her role as the conflicted queen. (4 stars)

3. The Good Shepherd - I'm not sure if I really disliked this movie or had unrealistic expectations about it. Unfortunately, I was terribly disappointed. Maybe a second viewing would change my mind. Matt Damon is a very talented actor and was great in his role as a CIA agent, but I just couldn't get into the plot. (2 stars)

4. The Pursuit of Happyness - This was one of the best films I've seen recently. Will Smith was incredible in his portrayal of Chris Gardner, an unemployed-yet-fiercely-determined father down on his luck. Smith's real-life son Jaden shares the screen for the first time, adding to the warmth and chemistry of their characters. This true story is both inspiring and uplifting, and the DVD is worthy of any movie collection. Be sure to watch the DVD's special features for an interview with the real Chris Gardner, and a history of the Rubik's Cube. (5 stars)

5. The Last Kind of Scotland - Forest Whitaker won a well-deserved best actor Oscar for his portrayal as the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. The story centers around his relationship with Scottish physican Nicolas Garrigan (played by James McAvoy) in the early 1970s. This unfortunately true story was accurately intriguing, sad and gruesome. (4 stars)

6. World Trade Center - Any movie based on the unfortunate events of September 11th is bound to be difficult to watch. Oliver Stone went off course from his normal film-making, and this time resisted modifying historical events to convey his own political interests. This was a good film, although I thought 'United 93' was much better. I was impressed with some of the special effects in 'WTC', but so much of the movie took place in the blackness under the tower wreckage that it was a bit difficult to watch. Regardless, it's definitely worth seeing, although I'd recommend 'United 93' as well. (3 stars)

7. An Inconvenient Truth - I was very impressed with this film, in spite of never being much of an Al Gore fan. Gore's passion for the environment is abundantly obvious, and I couldn't help but be wowed by his commitment and dedication after seeing this film. His work for the environment is truly his legacy, and this documentary should allow a much wider audience for his message. He presents a comprehensive and compelling argument for the ecological dangers we're facing as a result of global warming. He manages to present complex (and what might otherwise be boring) data in a way that is easy to understand, interesting and (dare I say) entertaining. I highly recommend this film, but watch it with someone because you'll want to discuss it afterwards. (5 stars)

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Philly Trip

Friday I drove to Philadelphia to meet Rufus Wainwright. It was a 7 hour drive and I was really wiped out by the time I found a hotel room, but I got to meet Rufus, get my CD signed and hear him sing in person.

I got there late Friday night so I drove around a while through Bryn Mawr so I could locate the Borders store. I needed to find a hotel and wanted to make sure I knew where I was going the next morning. I did find a hotel room, very overpriced for what I needed but I couldn't very well meet Rufus without some sleep and much needed primping. I barely slept at all, unfortunately.

Villanova was welcoming graduates and the campus was all decked out for the following day's graduation ceremonies.

Just down the road is Bryn Mawr, a quaint area with countless unique shops. I saw couples going into bars such as The Grog and Maloney's on a Friday night - and noticed all the women were really decked out in little black cocktail dresses. So, even if I had been up for going out somewhere, I wouldn't have - not in my jeans and t-shirt.

I found a Ferrari / Mazarati dealership so I stopped to take some photos for my friend Jeff since he's a real car nut and we don't really see many of those car makes at home. I took some really good ones, then accidentally deleted them the next morning playing with my camera.

I got to Borders very early the next morning equipped with my Starbucks coffee, crumb cake and loaded iPod. I sat in my car for hours listening to TWIT podcasts and watched other people show up.

Once we were able to go into the store, we immediately grabbed our signing passes and found out where the stage would be placed. My initial plans to work on my notebook and grab more coffee were foiled when I found out the cafe was being renovated and their TMobile hotspot service was way too expensive to be so lousy. I browsed for books, worked offline on my notebook, listened to iTunes and talked with fans as they showed up. Rufus has very friendly fans. It could be that we all feel a kinship for having discovered Rufus since he's not in the mainstream.

Rufus was wonderful. Adorable, personable, funny and of course, insanely talented. It was great to see and hear him in person. Since I'd gotten there so early, I was able to sit up front.

He sang 'Art Teacher' to warm up his voice, then played 'Sanssouci' on guitar. He finished with 'Going to a Town' after talking about why he wrote the song, his feelings towards Philadelphia and how he thought the founding fathers would feel about our country's current state of affairs. He was warm and friendly and funny - just as I would have expected.

After his performance, I was able to meet him and have him sign my CD. Photos with him weren't allowed because of the size of the crowd, so that was disappointing - especially since the Borders staff kept the line moving unnecessarily fast. Several fans were obviously confused by why the staff handled things so poorly. In fact, even Rufus himself seemed confused by their behavior. In spite of all of this, it was still great to be able to meet him in person.

My videos are terrible and some of my photos were lousy, but here are a couple that turned out OK: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristinlynch/sets/72157600232863815/.

The trip home was made much longer since I'd barely had any sleep. At one point I started falling asleep driving so I pulled off an exit to rest my eyes for a few minutes and woke up about an hour later. I grabbed some coffee and was OK for the rest of the trip home.

This morning tickets went on sale for an August Rufus Wainwright concert. I bought them right away and managed to get 3rd row center section tickets.

But for now, it's good to be back home with my boys taking it easy until I have to return to work tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

This stupid blog

I've been debating over the past few days about posting because I'm in a lousy mood. I thought maybe I could get some things off my chest and feel better and besides, no one else reads this anyway. But then I thought better of it. With my luck it would be found by someone and used against me later.

I need to learn to just shut up. It accomplishes nothing and besides, no one really cares to hear it anyway. I tried to find some real help but that fell through too. I have so much to say and no one to say it to - and now can't even use my blog for that purpose either. I give up.

So I'll need to save this stupid blog for mentioning what I saw on TV recently and other incredibly ridiculous minutiae - and leave it at that. Again, fortunately no one reads this or they'd be subjected to meaningless commentary about meaningless subject matter.

My, what wonderful weather we're having.

Friday, April 27, 2007

I can't even come up with a title

I'm particularly happy it's Friday this week. I've had a bad cold for 3-4 days and I'm sure a little extra sleep tonight will get me back to feeling better much quicker. What's odd about being sick is that as much as it drags you down and makes you feel achy and tired and icky, at least you can be pretty certain it's short term. When I'm sick I always think about what it must be like for people who are actually ill. When I go through my occasional back 'outage', I'm always forced to think about people who actually deal with real chronic pain. I mean, I know I will feel better! So as much as I mope and whine about feeling bad, I still always appreciate that I've never actually been SICK.

I worked for a doctor when I was in college and inadvertently learned a life lesson. I saw kids come in whose lives revolved around doctor visits, tests, missed school, etc. - or worse - and they had huge files. I was in my early 20s and still had a file that was only about 8 pages and most of those pages contained entries for routine exams, forms I needed filled out to play sports, etc. What a shame that we only appreciate our health when we are witness to those who can't afford to take life for granted.

I added Twitter to my profile on the right menu...for really no other reason than because I know how to do it. I've been thinking about writing a column or publishing a podcast, but I haven't decided on a topic or if I'm serious enough to do it. I'm always interested in taking on projects like this, but there are always so many things I should be doing first. Do other people let these things bother them so much? I always feel like everything in my life is so messy - my home, my office, my computer files, my finances - and those are just the messy TANGIBLES. There are so many other aspects of my life that feel messy too. I suppose everyone thinks this to some extent, but it really bothers me. Actually, in spite of feeling so messy, I'm probably more organized than most people. But perhaps that's why it bothers me anyway - because only an organized person would obsess over whether they were REALLY disorganized.

This photo has nothing to do with anything; I just like it - and you're Satan if this doesn't make you want to say 'awe....'. Maybe it's because I've been watching that Planet Earth series so much lately on Discovery. I might become a treehugger after all. More on that some other time.

I brought 'The Queen' home to watch this weekend. I'm looking forward to it. Helen Mirren is an exceptional actress - but she doesn't need me to tell her that while she stands there holding her Oscar.

The Yankees better figure out how to resolve their pitching problems or their season will be over before it gets started.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Car Inspection

No other two words spark fear in a single woman than 'car inspection'...well other than 'missed period'. Well I'm PMSing big time today so I'm OK on the second front. And at least with a car inspection you pay one big check and then you're eventually off the hook.

So anyway, I'm sitting here waiting for them to pimp my ride and encrust it in diamonds and 14 carat gold. Apparently it will take them a few more hours to get this done. I suspect they're spending the majority of that time just standing out of view laughing at the sucker they reeled in today and that it really won't take that long but they figure that for $1600 they want me to wait sufficiently long enough to make me think they're actually doing something to it. Yeah, you heard me right...$1600. I thought that for this much money I'd be able to fly the thing now too but I thought wrong. Besides, then I'd need flying lessons and those are also expensive.

Well, I'm getting back at them by drinking all the Diet Pepsi in their fridge so who knows...maybe we'll come out even by the end of the day.

This really nerdy guy came in and I thought 'I'll bet he has a nerdy car' and sure enough, I was right. He openly admitted to being the proud owner of a Mercury Sable. If I had a camera phone the photo of him would be right here -->.

I just realized I'm now going to be afraid to drive what was previously a little piece of shit shoebox that I adored for its sheer functionality. The damn thing is worth too much money now for me to drive so I'm considering putting it in the garage and investing in a bus pass. But the last time I rode a city bus was several years ago and I watched a grown man pretend a rubber alligator was chewing his arm so I think I'll rethink that solution.

I can't help but wonder if I'm being screwed. If so, I'd just like to know because there's nothing worse than being screwed and not even being aware of it. Why do I suspect I'm experiencing the vehicular equivalent of 'is it in yet?'

Now they're worried they can't get everything done today so I thought quickly on my seat and told them to just do the work that needs to be done to pass inspection because I need to leave today with a Jeep under a new inspection sticker. Otherwise I'll come back another day to have the other work done. Which means either my bill just came down considerably or they'll have to haul some major mechanic ass to get it done by 5pm. Either way I win. If they don't do everything I'll take it to a friend-of-a-friend to have the rest of the work done and I know I'll get less of a screwing from him. In fact, he'd kill me if he knew I was allowing them to do any of this to me...well, to my Jeep...but you knew what I meant.

I don't have much more to add today. Spending over a $1000 on anything kind of instantly becomes the biggest news of the day in my uneventful little life.