Couch Potato

This summer I've been catching up to the TV series I didn't watch during the regular year.

Heroes: I know it's the third season. Season 1 was awesome, season 2 sucked and was cut off short due to the screenwriters' strike. I hadn't seen it because it comes the same time as DWtS, and DWtS is always a priority for me. Season 3 looks a bit better. I have seen 5 episodes so far and I'm lost, partly due to not remembering most of season 2. Many wtf moments so far. Looking forward to the rest.

Fringe: I have spoken about it before. It's the new series by JJ Abrahams. That is enough to make it good (okay, I didn't like Alias, I admit it, I stopped watching it in the middle of the first season). It's a freaky twist on the X Files, mixed with the LOST crazyness. And Joshua Jackson is in it. Anyway, the pilot episode was a little "ah, whatever", but once you keep going, it's addictive. I watched all 22 episodes in less than 2 weeks.

Dollhouse: Okay, this is a Joss Whedon series and I was very reluctant because of that. It's the guy who created Buffy - a really bad show based on a bad movie. I watched a few episodes (mute on) because of David Boreanaz who played Angel, then he got his own series, but the storylines sucked too. He's in Bones now, which I watch if I happen to catch it. Anyway, I watched one and a half episode of Dollhouse and I am hooked. Think "Total Recall" meets "The Matrix pod" (something I'd totally like to have in my head). Plus I like Eliza Dushku.

How do I fit all this in a schedule that already contains Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, LOST and the whole nine yards? Do I need to cancel my netflix? (please say no)

It's just getting worse...

Since the huge metro accident last month, service - that was already poor - just went downhill.

Last night the commute was especially bad since I took off work 10 minutes earlier to avoid the usual mess.

- Got to the station. There was a train leaving the platform and the sign said another one would come in 4 min.
- I wait. The 4 min appear and disappear from the sign, for about 10 min. Then finally changes to 3, 2 and 1. And it doesn't show up.
- It gets more and more crowded. I look angrily at the metro employee. On the other side, 3-4 trains pass by.
- A few minutes later, the train passes by the station, empty, lights still on. It stops. People get to the doors. Train resumes the trip (wtf?)...
- Sign says next train will be in 3 min. We wait. It gets more crowded.
- Train finally comes, fully packed with people Only 6 cars instead of 8.
- A few individuals come out. Then everyone just shove themselves in. No A/C. No space to breathe.
- 2 Russian young ladies read a book together (which is hard cover and kept hitting me on the shoulder) and giggle, like it's the ride of a lifetime.
- 2 kids (10 years old maybe) roughhouse on the seats, right next to their Mom, who does nothing
- Trip goes on, and I finally reach my destination at 6:00PM, 40 minutes later than it should have been. Considering it's a 30-minute trip (in theory), it took more than twice the time.

And it was short, considering it's taken me more than 90 min at times.

A few considerations about metro:

- a mild delay is about 15 min (for me, a mild delay is about 5 min)
- a delay is about 30 min
- a severe delay is about an hour
- if there's a delay, there's an 80% chance it's on the red line
- e-mail metroalerts will not come out until 20 min after the event occured, which means most of the time you're already at the platform waiting
- if they tell you to "add 30 min to your commuting", add 60
- if they tell you "find alternate means of transportation", you're screwed. Buses only take you to metro stations, never home. You will have to spend $$$$ in a cab
- rush hour fare is 4.50 each way (even when you're late to work and never get home on time), plus 4.75 parking. If they cut service, they won't discount your fare.
- if metro's ridership is up, they raise the fares. If the ridership is down, they have to raise the fares too. The fact that bananas are yellow also causes metro to raise their fares.
- metro employees are extremely rude and think they're there just doing you a favor. If I acted that way at my workplace I wouldn't have a job anymore.
- metro employees don't use metro system. They know it's unreliable. There was a fire in the red line a few years ago and metro personnel was late to work, stuck in traffic on Connecticut Avenue
- metro is unreliable and dangerous - per the Washington Post. The General Manager, obviously, denied.

I have ridden subway systems in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, New York, Paris and London. DC metro is - by far - the worst and more unreliable of all.

Is it March 5, 2010 yet?

How cool - and freaky - is this?

Harry Potter

My son and I started to read Harry Potter together. We just read a few pages every night before bed time. It's nice, he takes his shower, gets ready for bed and we read.

He has a lot of interest in reading. His teacher said that at 5 1/2 years old, he has the reading level of an 8-year-old.

We picked Harry Potter as a series of books to do. Plus when he's a bit older he can ready them all by himself. But we're pretty busy as it is now, there are quite a few to go, since we barely started the first volume.

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys

Women too, I guess... :)

Sound of Music mode on

When I was little girl, I watched "The Sound of Music" every single day. Our VCR was one of those that had a remote connected with a wire LOL. My cousin had taped it from the TV and I would watch it over and over again. My mother would get fed up sometimes - just like we do when our kids *have* to watch Monsters Inc every day.

Most of the times we watched all the way until the wedding scene, and then turn it off, cause after that the Nazis invade Austria and things go downhill.

But when we did watch till the end, it was amusing to count how many times the lady bows at the festival. My aunt and I used to count it out loud. I think it was 23 times :P

So, I was chatting with some friends in Orkut how much I love TSOM - what's my nickname, again? - and we all found out we have a Julie Andrews virtual fan club. We all want to go to Saulzburg to sing and dance - how sad is it? LOL

I was very fortunate that when I visited NYC in 1996, Julie Andrews was playing the main part in Victor/Victoria. My father and I were fortunate to get tickets (and a guy who looked exactly like Kyle MacLachlan was next to us). It was a dream come true and I even shed a little tear.

So, while searching youtube, I found these. Pretty cool!

BTW, Nicholas Hammond, who played Friedrich, also played Spiderman in the 1970's series.

10!

Exactly 10 years ago I boarded a plane from Rio de Janeiro to Washington, DC, connecting in Newark, NJ. The immigration line was so long when I arrived I missed my domestic connection and had to be on stand-by for the next flight.

It's easy to remember the date. The day I arrived was the day JFK Jr. died. I remember seeing all the commotion in the airport, people looking at the monitors, their sad faces. It took me a while to grasp what was going on, I was still sleepy.

It was supposed to be a 2-year stint, but hey, I'm still here!

So, I guess, happy anniversary to me!

Hey, Mauro same to you!!!!

A bit of everything

Well, where do I start? I write posts in my head, daily, then I get home and don't write anything...

I've been working a lot. No news there. Times are hard, the company slashed our overtime. We're not authorized to do it, they won't pay for it. I end up doing it anyway, the work has to get done. I guess management did notice I was going above and beyond the call of duty and gave me a promotion. I was pretty happy about that!

Now hubbs and I are shopping for a new vehicle. His car payments ended in 07, mine in 08, so we did have a few extra bucks every month (which was nice considering there is a recession out there). I'm going to get an appraisal on my car tomorrow to see what we are able to afford.

T is his happy self, as usual. We traveled to WDW/Universal during memorial day week. He had a blast, rode 2 rollercoasters with his Dad (which means he cannot possibly be my son) and the splash mountain. The following week was his Pre-K graduation, the same day we met "his lovey girl who he's going to marry". He has very good taste, I must say.

BTW, he has decided the theme of his birthday parties in 2009, 2010 and 2011, which makes everything so much easier for me. 2009 and 2010 are practically ready. For 2011 I already have a few things - yes, I'm a planner!

I am still volunteering my time at the Bring Sean Home Foundation. Despite favorable court decisions, appeals after appeals have been filed. Add that to a slow judicial system... that really makes me mad. The Federal Judge wrote a brilliant, airtight 82-page sentence on this case (followed by a 2nd ruling concerning parental alienation). I feel really bad for this child, all this abuse. The family wants to cut all contact between him and his legitimate father. It makes me sick to my stomach...

I just realized I didn't write a single movie review this year. We've seen a few. There's also the TV series. LOST is more awesome than ever. I can't believe next season will be the last. Since we have a lot of time to kill before the next season, we've been watching it from inception? Who's we? Well, I attend a LOST roundtable every Friday at my friend's workplace (down the street from me). Well, now I'm also addicted to Fringe. I found the episodes from Season 1 online and I'm almost done. It's like the X Files, many conspiracies, twists and freaky stuff (and cutie Joshua Jackson). Lil Ole Nerdy me loves it.

Just wish I were in San Diego for the Comic-Con.

Deadly Metro Collision in DC

To celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary:

Shortly before 5pm today, there was a major accident on the DC Metro Red Line. Yes, it's the line I use to get to and from work. Fortunately I was not injured in this accident since it was on the opposite side of the line.

Traffic and train circulation is a zoo, though, and the metro trip that usually takes 35 min + delays took over 90!

As of 10pm today, there are 6 dead and over 100 injured.

Sending my thoughts and prayers to the victims and their loved ones.

Images below: CBS News


 

Shocked!

Seriously, I think I've seen everything now.

There's a couple, they're friends with my Dad and it's the guy's third marriage. My Mom was telling me the things they say about each other.

First, he told his wife "you're not the wife I loved the most but I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you".

Pretty sweet, huh? Especially for a guy who's been divorced twice.

Now it's the wife's turn, talking about her husband.

"He's my master and I do everything he says, I'm here to please him".

That was my queue to start whistling the theme from "I dream of Genie"... This is 2009, people!!!!! How can someone act like that????