i don't know what to post

I'm not sure what is going to come from this post. Honestly, I just needed a break from reading Breaking Dawn. A co-worker of mine told me that it took her a while to get through reading it. Of course, at 768 pages, it close to the length of a Harry Potter book. So it's not a light-weight by any means. In fact with a spine 1.75 inches wide, Breaking Dawn could cause some real damage if I ever needed to wield it as a weapon. Fortunately, that hasn't been the case which I'm glad about because its a library book, and I don't want a fine for its damage.
The break from Breaking Dawn, though, was more facilitated my the need to give my brain a rest to process what is going on in it so far. I am somewhat of a Twighlighter because I'm reading the books, and I'm curious about what happens to Bella, Edward, and Jacob. But, as a reader, I prefer more of popcorn-style subject matter rather than the intense drama of Meyer's books. I can read them for a while, but then my brain needs a break from Bella's angst of becoming a vampire and Jacob's pain of knowing he'll lose Bella. Ah - the drama.
So in non-Twilight speak, I've become hooked on two TV shows recently. How I Met Your Mother annoyed me at first because my first impression of Barney was that he was kind of sexist. And, Ted was so focused on being married that he was kind of desperate. But, I kept watching it, and I don't know if it was the repetition or the fact that I was won over by the funny, quirky storylines. And, seeing Neil Patrick Harris as a hippie was a hoot as well. But, I could only get season one and half of season two from the library at once so that left me with time to start another new series.
Actually, its a cancelled TV series, and I saw the pilot a long time ago. But, I recently watched Men With Brooms again so it made me curious to see more of Due South. So right now I'm trying to watch season one before it's due back at the library. The funny thing I that I noticed last night about watching this series is that I was most concerned about the wolf. I mean the main character, Constable Benton Fraser, is an attractive man, but while watching him and Det. Stanley Raymond Kowalski solve crimes, I was was constantly watching to see if Diefenbaker (the wolf) was okay when they encountered trouble. Hmm - so maybe worrying the wolf isn't exactly non-Twilight speak.
But, I did watch a movie recently that had nothing to do with wolves. I actually got to see The Hurt Locker at my local cineplex. My faith that its 18 screens can show alternatives to mainstream cinema is restored. Well, a little bit at least. As soon as I saw The Hurt Locker playing, I knew I had to go right away, and I'm glad that I did because a week later, the only showtimes available were in the evening.
So about The Hurt Locker - I agreed with the Time review that it was an "almost perfect film." Because it was. The action was suspenseful. The storyline made you interested in the characters and what happened to them. But, walking out of the theater, I just felt numb. The adrenalin level of the film was so high that I felt spent. And, in some ways, I felt like I would never be the same because I had seen something quite extrodinary. Men who suit up and walk out into no man's land to disable bombs. They don't know always where they are or if the people around them are friend or foe. But, they control their emotions and figure out, if they can, how to cut the wire before they and their friends are blown to bits. Walking out of the theater and knowing that what I saw was somewhat based on reality, I was in awe.

pasta rant

I tried this mac and cheese dish tonight for the first time. And, what did I find in it besides the pasta, cheese, and veggies featured on the cover? Tofu - ick!

This is the 2nd time I've discovered weird things in my pasta. When I visited the Hard Rock Cafe in Nagoya, Japan, I found squid in my pasta dish. Yuck! It was kind of nasty, but the good thing about finding it there was that I had no qualms getting some Ben and Jerry's ice cream for dessert. That was my first encounter with Ben & Jerry so I guess the squid was worth it.

Now I'm just waiting for something good to come from the tofu.

summertime blues

I really haven't take a vacation from work this summer. But, these past few week-ends, I've found myself doing vacation-like stuff. Two Sundays ago, I went to the North Shore and hiked a lot near Gooseberry Falls, Split Rock Lighthouse, and Tettegouche State Park. Since I'm more of a walker and a biker in 10 to 20 minute intervals, the hiking started to take its toll on me at the end of the day. In fact, I reached a point where I didn't want to put my feet forward anymore. But, logically, I knew I had to keep going because I needed to return to the car. So as I was straining to go up the steps at Tettegouche, I recalled Donal Miller's story about him climbing the Grand Canyon in Through Painted Deserts.

The other vacation-like destination I went to last Saturday was the Mall of America. Think there's a recession going on? You could hardly tell with all the people there sporting shopping bags. Surprisingly, I didn't return with one. But, I did spend money on food. There's this stand that sells chocolate bananna crepes that were great. And, another place that had terrific veggie rolls with tomatoes, cucumber, and avacodo. Of course, I walked around a few hours so hopefully I burned everything off. I guess time will tell on that one.

Of course, I've also been watching movies and reading books. Kind of taken a break from zombies. Vampires, well - I watched most of the 7th season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And, spies? I have the part of the 6th season of MI-5 at home, but I haven't watched it yet. I like MI-5, but it's kind of intense to watch. And, lately, I've been more in the mood to watch popcorn type stuff. But, I might see 500 Days of Summer this week-end so that's a romantic comedy, but with an indie spin (at least that's what I heard).

Basically, like weathering the heat and humidity, I've kind of flowed through time these past weeks. People are in town that I want to see, and I want to use my bike before time runs out (when the cold temps and snow arrive). A friend of mine asked me recently how I spend my time. I really couldn't come up with a cohesive answer. My response was more of a little of this and a little of that. But, I suppose that's what life is - a flowing syrup of moments. Some fly by without sticking to you, and others just graze the surface.