Getting Chatty at the Cinema: A Movie-Going Epidemic

The summer movie season is about to kick off in just two short weeks with the release of Iron Man 3, for which I am crazy pumped. As a movie junkie, I enjoy going to the theater year-round, but there’s just something so awesome about the summer movie season. It’s loud, it’s fun, it gets your fists pumping in the air during particularly action-y scenes (or is that just me?)… it’s a great time for movies. I like to have my brain challenged in the winter Oscar season, but I love to whoop it up with superheroes in the summer.

But as excited as I am, I’m facing a serious problem. Wait, a serious movie-goer problem. (Lest you all think I’m a privileged moron, I needed to clarify. I know there are far more dire things in the world than this.)

You see, going to the movies has always been one of my favorite life activities. Yes, of all of the amazing things that life offers us, sitting in a dark theater to watch a new release of cinematic art is one of the best. It’s magic for me.

Preparing for the End of the World

I watch a lot of HGTV shows... House Hunters, Income Property, Love it or List it (which is obnoxious, but I still watch from time to time). I try my best to be crafty and do a lot of DIY projects from Pinterest. And I am also obsessed with The Walking Dead.

And it just dawned on me that all of those things are related.

I'm having a little bit of a revelation here, so bear with me.

Yes, my revelations involve home improvement and the zombie apocalypse. I'm a big thinker. Obviously.

Anyway, Rich suggested the other day that I look through my New Year's resolutions and see whether I'm making any progress. So this morning I scrolled through the post I wrote 2 months ago. I'm doing pretty well in some areas (exercising semi-regularly, being less angsty, enjoying the things I have), but in other areas I'm kind of failing.

Oscar Predictions

The Oscars are the biggest night of my year. It's the awards show that a movie junkie like me gears up for for months in advance. There are sports fans out there who spend all football/baseball/hockey season breaking down teams and players and making predictions on who will go to the Superbowl. Me? I do the same thing for movies and the Oscars. Awards season is an adrenaline rush. I follow the nominations, the smaller awards shows, pay attention to the statistics (only 3 movies have ever won Best Picture without a Best Director nom!), devour any Oscar-related article, track the momentum of each nominee, and work out the odds of who will go home with an Academy Award.

I watch the show for the fashion and host, sure. But I've also got my ballot in hand for each category (the one I spend hours agonizing over) and I sit, knee bouncing nervously, for the announcement of the winner... Best Picture or Best Animated Short, the weight of the category is the same to me. I don't always get to see every movie nominated, but I do my absolute best.

Basically, the Oscars are a BIG DEAL. And so, with the Big Night looming nigh, I figured I'd release my predictions to the general public. I'm not an expert by any means, and some of this is just my gut, but know that a lot of research and late nights went into this. I usually have about a 70% accuracy. This year's race is one of the most wide-open in recent memory. So far, the previous awards show winners are all over the place, and not as consistent as usual. This all makes for a very exciting (though stressful) show. So, without further ado...

2013: The Year of Getting Things Done!

Okay, okay, I know, I’m getting pretty bad at this blogging thing. I could blame the holidays, but it’s honestly a bit more than that. It’s a whole lack of motivation/feeling overwhelmed/sweating the small stuff/not feeling like I have enough time to do anything thing that I have going on right now.

Not a terribly fun opener to this post, I suppose, and I don’t intend for this to sound whiny, but yeah. I’ve been feeling pretty stressed out lately. Like, anxiety-knot-in-my-chest stressed out. The crazy part about that is that I really don’t have much to feel overwhelmed about. I don’t have kids, I don’t own a house, and I’m not in school… I really just work and go home and I still feel like I don’t have enough hours in the day. It’s probably silly, I know. But by the time I make dinner, do my laundry, buy groceries, run errands, read up on the latest in pop culture news, watch my beloved tv shows, tend to my dying garden, and hang out with that crazy cool boyfriend of mine, I’m exhausted and feel like I haven’t accomplished anything.

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” --L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Let me start with two quick notes. 1. I didn’t mean to go so long without updating. I just got lazy, which really isn’t much of an excuse. But blogging regularly does take some discipline, which I haven’t seemed to acquire just yet. I’m working on it. I will do my darndest to update with much more frequency.

2. I started this post about a month and a half ago, and it’s all about fall. Since we are now in the Christmas season (yay!), I realized that this post will start to sound really out of place (if it doesn’t already) if I hold off any longer. So here you are!

Now, onto the writin’ stuffs.

Vote.

I am dating a man who is a British citizen, but grew up with a passion for American football, and immigrated to this country in order to pursue his dream of coaching. He received his MBA in the U.S., and has spent the last 10 years working as a collegiate football coach. But his job is about much more than the sport. He has helped hundreds of young men attend college, when without his recruiting, they might not have ever had the chance. He has guided them through financial aid and the application process, giving them an opportunity that too many young students in this country don't have access to. He has served as a mentor to these young men—guiding them both on and off the field. He trains these athletes to be leaders, teammates, and to put everything they have into everything they do. He works 80 hours per week during the football season, and almost as many out of it.

As a resident of the United States, he pays taxes, he abides by the laws set by our government, he contributes to the economy, and quite honestly, he does more to contribute to society than I, an American citizen, do. He's an amazing person, and someone our country should be proud to welcome.

The Best Damn Cupcake I've Ever Eaten

Living in SoCal is dangerous. But I'm not talking about gangs or road rage or murders or that kind of danger. I mean that within a 1 mile radius of my apartment, there are more restaurants of every variety I can think of than I've ever had access to in my entire life. More than one should have access to.

It's dangerous because I now not only have a cupcake shop I like (something I didn't have before in the Midwest), but I now have a favorite cupcake shop. Meaning there are multiple bakeries devoted solely to cupcakes and I have sampled enough of them to both feel like a complete glutton and come out with a favorite.

Dangerous.

Dangerous because I've been on a diet for the last 11 months or so, and I've lost 45 pounds so far, which is great and I'm crazy excited about it. I haven't done any crazy fad diet either... when people ask how I've lost the weight, I usually say, "I'm on the 'put less shit in my mouth' diet." 90% of the time, I'm really good and eat well and healthy and all that, but once in awhile, I just need a day where I say, "screw this" and then I go and get a cupcake.

Which, really, is what a healthy diet is all about right? Balancing the good with the occasional indulgence? Please agree, at least to make me feel better about these cupcakes.