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Entry tags:
Stupid neighbor dog; S&S; lamp-making, not one of my skillz
Oh, so much to say.
Murderous!dog is still around, though not for much longer. Sunday I had spent a peaceful, quiet morning in my hammock with my Mitten, until the stupid beast emerged and immediately began its usual noise, again for no discernible reason other than perhaps it noticed the sun shining. I tried to ignore it, but the mood had been utterly shattered. Stupid bloody useless creature, and I didn't hesitate to yell as much across the short distance between our balconies, before angrily stomping inside, Kitten in tow.
Then a couple of hours later our doorbell was rung by our neighbor. He had come to apologize and explain his family was in town for his son's graduation, and they (and the dog) would be gone by Tues. Furthermore his mother was allergic to dogs, explaining why it was so often shut out on the balcony. He agreed that "she's crazy" (the dog, not his mother, presumably) and that he personally preferred Yorkies. I thanked him for speaking to us about it, and said as long as it wasn't permanent we could put up with it for a short while longer.
I regretted being such a bitch, but was also thankful we hadn't actually filed a complaint against him yet.
~*~
I had decided some weeks back that my thirst for more Alan couldn't wait for the November release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and that there was nothing to be done but buy Sense and Sensibility, a movie I'd seen once with MyFriendDeb but that obviously didn't make too much of an impact on me at the time, other than Alan was completely edible in it.
I found it cheapest online at DeepDiscount.com, for $9.66 and free shipping. A mere few days after placing my order, I received a text from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kavieshana that Target had it for only $5 (pure coincidence on her part, she didn't know I had ordered it. She's very insightful that way). I flew back to DDD, only to find the price lowered to $5.99. Worse and worse. I emailed them outraged, demanding a partial refund, threatening to return my order and buy it elsewhere. Within 12 hours they had complied, to my huge relief.
Then I waited. And waited. And waited. Saturday, close to the 2-week mark, I had decided enough was enough. Free shipping or not, 2 weeks? From Illinois to Colorado? Was it coming by wagon train? I checked the Target website where it was listed for $7.49. Slightly higher price, but if my principles demanded I fight for a $3 refund, they also didn't mind paying another $2 to prove a point. My life is so complicated, and all by my own design, but I believe a life without principles is no sort of life at all.
So Sunday I bought it from Target (win-win, it was actually still only $5), and sure enough, it arrived today from DDD, Monday afternoon. It's almost as if someone was watching me, planning out an elaborate and completely unfunny joke. So it's going back, along with a hefty piece of my mind, and I'll certainly have second and third thoughts before ordering from them again, free shipping or not.
Sense and Sensibility, despite being a good movie, probably wouldn't be my cup of tea without the Rickman. I'm not one for Victorian period pieces, at all. Which isn't to say I don't own one or two (or three), but each one has something special about it that attracted me. In this case, it's a fluffy-haired, blonde and hopelessly romantic Rickman.
Don't you just want to lick those sideburns?
Elinor (Emma Thompson) and Marianne (Kate Winslet) are sisters, left penniless by a cruel twist in inheritance fate and therefore undesirable marriage candidates. Which, right off the bat, makes me reflect on a society where men are judged by their wealth, but they seem to get that wealth from their wives' dowries. What kind of sense does that make?
The sisters don't lack for suitors, a frustrating state of affairs when the men are invariably scared off by society's rigid strictures. First Elinor develops feelings for Edward (Hugh Grant, who's attractive enough if you're fond of bassett hounds), only to have him vanish when his stern sister intervenes. Then Colonel Brandon (la sigh) appears, becoming instantly smitten with young Marianne -- which seems like a bit of an age mismatch, until we're told of his tragic past with a young woman very similar to her. But almost immediately he's shoved out of the way in favor of Mr. Willoughby, a passionate, fiery suitor who has a mysterious dislike of Brandon (mutual).
What's funny is all this high society intrigue is precisely what bored the pants off me in The Barchester Chronicles. But here, in Emma Thompson's Golden Globe-winning script, it's actually quite involving. Or maybe again that's thanks to the Rickman (infinitely sexier as the Colonel).
Who spends a distressingly short period of time on screen, even though I'm used to that by now. He swoops back in just at the point Willoughby is revealed to be a womanizing, two-faced cad (which Brandon knew all along but kept to himself, being the perfect gentleman), and Marianne realizes perhaps there are more important things in love than how passionately one reads Shakespeare's sonnets (though how she can prefer listening to anyone's voice over Alan's remains to be explained -- must be the vapors). He and Marianne are married happily ever after (despite him being a closer contemporary of Elinor's) and surprisingly Edward comes through for Elinor (despite perhaps being better suited to Marianne -- and still resembling a bassett hound).
When asked about this movie in interviews, Alan complains that it's not very interesting playing such a snow white, purely good character. But he does it so well. As in all his roles, he makes every second on camera count. You can see the desperate desire in his eyes when he looks at Marianne, his anguish at being ignored, his helplessness when she falls ill and he can do nothing. His performance is heartbreaking, as much as it is heartbreakingly brief. When Charlie Rose forces him to watch a clip during their interview, he claims to see only mistakes made. Oh Alan, so humble. Stop making yourself so damn irresistible!
~*~
I'm including this part at Tery's insistence. My newest hobby is faux stained glass -- glass painting that comes close to stained glass at a portion of the cost. One of the simpler projects that I just completed is a lampshade. I thought it would make a cool idea for Christmas gifts, so I looked into buying cheap lamp parts to create a lamp from scratch. I found a base on eBay and a lamp kit on a craft site. I hoped by buying a kit I could avoid having to wire it myself, but in vain.
Today all the parts arrived and I tried to build a lamp. Despite following instructions I found online, it wouldn't turn on (leading to many nerve-wracking, but ultimately anticlimactic, attempts). I called Tery to tell her yet another tale of me biting off more than I could chew, leading to this exchange eventually (cookies to who guesses the movie first):
"I'm an idiot because I can't make a lamp?"
"No, you're a genius because you can't make a lamp."
I'm currently communicating with the eBay seller to see if she can talk me through wiring it, or returning the base if I can't. We'll see. Why can't things ever be simple for me?
Murderous!dog is still around, though not for much longer. Sunday I had spent a peaceful, quiet morning in my hammock with my Mitten, until the stupid beast emerged and immediately began its usual noise, again for no discernible reason other than perhaps it noticed the sun shining. I tried to ignore it, but the mood had been utterly shattered. Stupid bloody useless creature, and I didn't hesitate to yell as much across the short distance between our balconies, before angrily stomping inside, Kitten in tow.
Then a couple of hours later our doorbell was rung by our neighbor. He had come to apologize and explain his family was in town for his son's graduation, and they (and the dog) would be gone by Tues. Furthermore his mother was allergic to dogs, explaining why it was so often shut out on the balcony. He agreed that "she's crazy" (the dog, not his mother, presumably) and that he personally preferred Yorkies. I thanked him for speaking to us about it, and said as long as it wasn't permanent we could put up with it for a short while longer.
I regretted being such a bitch, but was also thankful we hadn't actually filed a complaint against him yet.
~*~
The Things I Do in the Name of Obsession
I had decided some weeks back that my thirst for more Alan couldn't wait for the November release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and that there was nothing to be done but buy Sense and Sensibility, a movie I'd seen once with MyFriendDeb but that obviously didn't make too much of an impact on me at the time, other than Alan was completely edible in it.
I found it cheapest online at DeepDiscount.com, for $9.66 and free shipping. A mere few days after placing my order, I received a text from
kavieshana that Target had it for only $5 (pure coincidence on her part, she didn't know I had ordered it. She's very insightful that way). I flew back to DDD, only to find the price lowered to $5.99. Worse and worse. I emailed them outraged, demanding a partial refund, threatening to return my order and buy it elsewhere. Within 12 hours they had complied, to my huge relief.Then I waited. And waited. And waited. Saturday, close to the 2-week mark, I had decided enough was enough. Free shipping or not, 2 weeks? From Illinois to Colorado? Was it coming by wagon train? I checked the Target website where it was listed for $7.49. Slightly higher price, but if my principles demanded I fight for a $3 refund, they also didn't mind paying another $2 to prove a point. My life is so complicated, and all by my own design, but I believe a life without principles is no sort of life at all.
So Sunday I bought it from Target (win-win, it was actually still only $5), and sure enough, it arrived today from DDD, Monday afternoon. It's almost as if someone was watching me, planning out an elaborate and completely unfunny joke. So it's going back, along with a hefty piece of my mind, and I'll certainly have second and third thoughts before ordering from them again, free shipping or not.
Sense and Sensibility, despite being a good movie, probably wouldn't be my cup of tea without the Rickman. I'm not one for Victorian period pieces, at all. Which isn't to say I don't own one or two (or three), but each one has something special about it that attracted me. In this case, it's a fluffy-haired, blonde and hopelessly romantic Rickman.
Don't you just want to lick those sideburns?
Elinor (Emma Thompson) and Marianne (Kate Winslet) are sisters, left penniless by a cruel twist in inheritance fate and therefore undesirable marriage candidates. Which, right off the bat, makes me reflect on a society where men are judged by their wealth, but they seem to get that wealth from their wives' dowries. What kind of sense does that make?
The sisters don't lack for suitors, a frustrating state of affairs when the men are invariably scared off by society's rigid strictures. First Elinor develops feelings for Edward (Hugh Grant, who's attractive enough if you're fond of bassett hounds), only to have him vanish when his stern sister intervenes. Then Colonel Brandon (la sigh) appears, becoming instantly smitten with young Marianne -- which seems like a bit of an age mismatch, until we're told of his tragic past with a young woman very similar to her. But almost immediately he's shoved out of the way in favor of Mr. Willoughby, a passionate, fiery suitor who has a mysterious dislike of Brandon (mutual).
What's funny is all this high society intrigue is precisely what bored the pants off me in The Barchester Chronicles. But here, in Emma Thompson's Golden Globe-winning script, it's actually quite involving. Or maybe again that's thanks to the Rickman (infinitely sexier as the Colonel).
Who spends a distressingly short period of time on screen, even though I'm used to that by now. He swoops back in just at the point Willoughby is revealed to be a womanizing, two-faced cad (which Brandon knew all along but kept to himself, being the perfect gentleman), and Marianne realizes perhaps there are more important things in love than how passionately one reads Shakespeare's sonnets (though how she can prefer listening to anyone's voice over Alan's remains to be explained -- must be the vapors). He and Marianne are married happily ever after (despite him being a closer contemporary of Elinor's) and surprisingly Edward comes through for Elinor (despite perhaps being better suited to Marianne -- and still resembling a bassett hound).
When asked about this movie in interviews, Alan complains that it's not very interesting playing such a snow white, purely good character. But he does it so well. As in all his roles, he makes every second on camera count. You can see the desperate desire in his eyes when he looks at Marianne, his anguish at being ignored, his helplessness when she falls ill and he can do nothing. His performance is heartbreaking, as much as it is heartbreakingly brief. When Charlie Rose forces him to watch a clip during their interview, he claims to see only mistakes made. Oh Alan, so humble. Stop making yourself so damn irresistible!
~*~
I'm including this part at Tery's insistence. My newest hobby is faux stained glass -- glass painting that comes close to stained glass at a portion of the cost. One of the simpler projects that I just completed is a lampshade. I thought it would make a cool idea for Christmas gifts, so I looked into buying cheap lamp parts to create a lamp from scratch. I found a base on eBay and a lamp kit on a craft site. I hoped by buying a kit I could avoid having to wire it myself, but in vain.
Today all the parts arrived and I tried to build a lamp. Despite following instructions I found online, it wouldn't turn on (leading to many nerve-wracking, but ultimately anticlimactic, attempts). I called Tery to tell her yet another tale of me biting off more than I could chew, leading to this exchange eventually (cookies to who guesses the movie first):
"I'm an idiot because I can't make a lamp?"
"No, you're a genius because you can't make a lamp."
I'm currently communicating with the eBay seller to see if she can talk me through wiring it, or returning the base if I can't. We'll see. Why can't things ever be simple for me?
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I'll take my cookies please. :)
Also? Dogs who bark constantly piss me off so badly. I honestly wonder, if it's bothering me so much, how the owners don't even notice. WHAT THE HELL!
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Me too, obv. We think the exact same thing. I think it's like parents who don't seem to notice their children's blood-curdling screams at the store, or something. I don't get it. When our bird gets a little too loud, I knock over furniture to rush over and shut her up.
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Also: I gave a shout-out to you in my most recent LJ entry. :D
Also Also: I tried to respond to the e-mail that you sent me about staying with Tery's brother, but I kept getting Maeiler Demon (spelling?) stuff back saying that my message couldn't be sent. So, a brief summary of the contents: it is totally cool with me if you want to stay with her brother. I absolutely understand, especially since it is cheaper for a direct flight to JFK instead of Newark. So don'tcha worry one bit. I'm just glad you have a place to stay. :)
Also Also Also: I saw in your last entry what you wrote about "stimulating your economy ::waggle waggle::" and, well, here's the deal. I have in my desk an envelope that says "Equus Ticket Money," and in it is the money for my ticket to Equus (obviously). I was planning to give it to you when I saw you in New York. I didn't realize that you would want it sooner. If you want me to write you a check, I think I can do that (although my dad currently has hold of my checkbook), but otherwise, it'd be easier for me to just give you the envelope. So lemme know which you'd prefer, okay? Okay. :D
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Okay, cool, I didn't want to hurt your feelings. : ) That's strange though, I certainly haven't changed emails.
No worries. On one hand the purchase is racking up interest on my credit card. On the other, I can understand not wanting to send money off just in case something falls through (though I can't imagine what). Whatever's easiest for you, Tery made me temporarily paranoid by quoting Judge Judy's feelings on loaning money to strangers (but I trust you).
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This whole process you went through with the DVD is lol-funny, and I am shamelessly proud of being in the middle of it. I love that you'll haggle over $3, and that you can't wait two weeks for a movie you've already seen. These are endearing personality traits, at least to someone who doesn't live with you. ;)
Because I don't want to be left out, I'm going to buy S&S too. I've avoided it, even though I love Victorian period pieces, because it's about my least favorite Austen book (I was rooting for Colonel Brandon all the way, and even when he got the girl it still felt like he'd lost). Howevs, if you think it's worth seeing then I guess I can spring $5. Oooh, sort of on topic: I have just seen Love, Actually for the first time and it may now be one of my favorite movies. 9.7 on my EMBD scale.
I can't wait 'till The Breakfast Club hits the $5 shelf at Target!
Wouldn't it cost just as much to buy a ready-made lamp, sans shade, off eBay? Only the sort of people who can program their own VCRs (this may soon become a dated reference) can wire up household appliances.
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For $5 it's worth every penny. I watched Emma's commentary the other night and, as expected, she was hilarious. You must purchase it at once.
Mmmm, Love Actually is one of my top faves, esp when I feel like crying my eyes out unashamedly. So much angst and sweetness. I think my favorite plot in the movie is surprisingly Colin Firth and his English-challenged housekeeper. Yours?
You're absolutely correct. The problem is I'm so used to getting CDs/DVDs so dirt cheap online that it never occurs to me to check store prices for other things. Lowe's has a fabulous selection, all $20 or under. Just another life lesson for me.
Oh please, dated reference. I grew up with an 8-track tape deck in my house, and to this day the only way I can keep North-South-East-West straight is by picturing the antenna directional box that sat on top of our TV.
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That plot was my favorite one, too! I loved how they communicated before either of them "learned" the others' languages. I thought the singer was the funniest character, though.
Lowes sells CDs/DVDs where you are?
That's a well dated reference, ma'am. The only way I can guess the directions, even in other states, is by picturing where I am in relation to the house I grew up in.
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No WAY (that your favorite is the same is mine). For funniest I'd have to go with Hugh Grant defending his intern, "Oooooh, would we say chubby?" or perhaps Emma's classic line, "How many lobsters WERE there at the birth of Christ?"
No you goof. $20 or less on lamp bases.
You goof, part II. How would you picture where the house you grew up in was if you were in Denver? (fortunately we make it even easier: the mountains are west, take it from there).