Ghost Face Did It

Last week I went and saw Scre4m. I wanted to go with my brother, but he was busy. So I asked my friend Kory if he could come with me, but he was busy too. My mom said she would go with me, but my mom hasn't seen any of the Scream movies, so I didn't want to have to explain everything to her. I really wanted to see the movie, so I went by myself.

It was an early evening movie, so hardly anybody was at the theaters and no one was in the Scre4m theater. Just me. Just me and my large popcorn and pop combo. Yum. I love movie popcorn. It's so good, and so bad for your health, but so good!

Since no one was in the theater with me, I had my choice of seats. I picked the last row, because I wanted to be able to see everything...it's a scary movie I wanted to know that no one was behind me. Paranoid? No, just smart. Anyway, I texted Kory to make him feel bad about not coming to the movie with me, saying that I was all by myself. He had a paper to finish for school, so there was no way he would be able to make it to the movie.

I put my phone away, because even though I was the only one in the theater, I still like to put away my distractions and make my $20 movie going experience worth it. About 30 minutes into the movie, someone walked in and stopped where the theater opens up to the seats. I couldn't make out who it was. I was a little freaked out, because the person stood there watching the movie for like 5 minutes. It was uncomfortable to say the least. I figured it was just one of the employees because they left.

Finally, I thought, now I can watch my scary movie in peace. NOT! The next thing I see is someone wearing the Scream (ghost face) mask come barreling into the theater and up the steps. He stood above me, and I knew it was Kory. It was, thank God, because if it wasn't...well, I would've been out of that theater in two seconds.


He knew I was alone in the theater, since I texted him that information. And he was the guy who came in and scoped out the theater before scaring me with the ghost face mask. Kory could only stay for a few minutes, because he had to go and turn in his paper, but I give him credit for trying to scare me.

The movie was really good. I was surprised by the ending, as usual. If you're into the Scream movies, then I recommend seeing the 4th movie. It was nice seeing the cast back together after ten years.

Holy BALLS!

The other day on my way home from work I was listening to the radio and 4:00 Trivia came on. Normally, I never call in...even if I know the answer, but this was for two free movie tickets, so I HAD to call in.

The question was: "Stairs and bicycles are two of the top three inanimate objects that cause accidents. What is the third inanimate object?"

I thought for about two seconds when BALLS came to my mind. Balls, balls, balls, it has to be balls. People get hit with balls all the time. I've had two accidents where balls were the number one cause. When I was about 14 I played short-stop and I got hit by a line drive right in the mouth. It hurt really bad. No teeth were lost, but there was a lot of blood.

In high school, my coach had me out in right field, and I was sprinting to catch a fly ball. I ran so fast that I didn't pay any attention to my surroundings. The next thing I remember is literally bouncing off the fence with my FACE and landing on the ground. I had fence markings on my chin for about a week. *I caught the ball, though, but when I fell to the ground the ball fell out, and the umpire said it wasn't an out. What a lousy ump.*

BALLS! It has to be. So I start dialing. Busy signal. Redial. Busy Signal. Redial. Busy signal. Redial. Busy signal. I couldn't get through. Typical.

Then the song ends and someone guesses the toilet. Wrong. I know it's balls, so I call in again. Busy signal. Redial. Busy signal. Redial. Busy signal. Redial. Busy signal. I give up.

The next person guesses a ladder. Good guess, but wrong. So the radio host gives a clue, "It's something you throw." Ugh, I was right!!!! But I couldn't get through. I'm spinning angry.

I didn't even try again to call in, because only a dummy would call in and get the answer wrong. There was no use for me to keep redialing only to hear more busy signals. Those movie passes could've been mine. Balls.

Playwright = Me

I'm officially a playwright. I guess I was officially a playwright when I won the competition, but last night I actually felt it when I watched my play, "A Little Bit," on stage. It was a nerve-wracking experience up until last night, but wonderful none-the-less.

Yesterday, I spent my day doubting myself and my play: Would people laugh? Would they enjoy it? I hope they don't walk away from it saying it was a waste of money.

I am my own worst critic. My stomach was in knots...literal knots. I was so nervous that I barely had an appetite. And I always have an appetite.

Anyway, to make a long story short, my play did a fine job. My three actors really played well off of each other and the audience laughed appropriately. I was very touched to have about 25 close friends and family come to the performance just to see my play. That was my favorite part of the whole night.

Catching Up

I'm going to make this post a quick read, bullet style.

- I saw Cedar Rapids this week, and it was great! I've always wanted to see a movie by myself, and I finally got to do it. It was a very enlightening experience, and I can cross it off my bucket list now...not the movie, but the act of seeing the movie alone ;)

- Started my job this week. So far, so good. Actually, I really, really, really like it. The people are awesome, and I'm sincerely looking forward to learning about insurance.

- I cast my play this week too. (I've had a very eventful week) I'm very happy with the three parts I was able to fill. Right when I saw and heard the two women that read for the leads, I knew I had to pick them. They were perfect! Plus, the rest of the auditions were kids under the age of 15...I couldn't possibly have a 7 year old play the part of a pregnant woman. That would not look good.

- The weather is amazing here! And when I say "amazing" I mean upper 50 degree weather. That's pretty good here, especially when I can still see snow patches and mounds in the front yard. So I played some basketball with my niece after she got off the bus. It felt good to be outside without a jacket on.

- Watched the movie Unstoppable from Netflix. It was a very stressful viewing experience. Very stressful.

Do you know how I know why I will never be on Jeopardy?

The "smarties" on Jeopardy know a lot about a variety of subjects. They have to...that's how they get on the show. I like to think that I'm pretty good at Jeopardy, shouting out a few answers here and there, but really I would come in last place every single time.

Unless, of course, most of the categories were about tv, movies, (some sports) and other pop culture. I would clear the categories on my own, and the crowd would applaud at how amazingly fast I buzzed in with the right answer.

If you pay close enough attention to Jeopardy most contestants save the pop culture category for last. They pick "The History of the Wheel" or "Around the World." They know things like who invented the apple peeler, or the name of Queen Victoria's head chef, or how much wood could a wood chuck chuck! It's crazy what these people know.

But today I was watching and you know what clue none of the contestants buzzed in for with Spice Girls in the category? "Tell me what you want, what you really really want...is this popular song...?" Okay, I can't remember the clue word-for-word, but they gave part of the lyrics! No one buzzed in. Hello? It's WANNABE!

Typical Jeopardy "smarties." They may have a broad knowledge of everything textbook, but they don't know the most popular song by the Spice Girls. They may know that Millard Fillmore was the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president, but they don't know the name of the actor who plays the lovable Jim Halpert on The Office.

This is how I know why I will never be on Jeopardy. I can't compete with the contestants who choose "American Politics of the 1940s" over "American Pie Sequels." I really have no chance at all.

Wimpy Kid Mania

On Saturday I took my lovely little niece, Caitlyn, to Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. It was really good. Very funny - for both adults and children.

Short review: Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) returns to middle school a year older - 7th grade. This time the movie focuses less on school and more on family with Greg's older brother/tormentor Rodrick (Devon Bostick) as part of the main plot. Their mother (Rachael Harris) bribes the boys with "Mom Bucks" in exchange for brother bonding. The movie soars with undeniable funny family feuding, and the loyal best friend Rowley (Robert Capron) steals a few scenes with his endearing self. Also stars Steve Zahn as Frank Heffley.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

I asked my niece if she liked the first Diary or this one better, and she replied: "This one."

Now I have to tell you about my experience while waiting in line to get popcorn before the movie. We arrived about 25 minutes before the movie started to give us enough time to go to the bathroom, get concessions, and find a good seat. Well, as Caitlyn and I headed to get popcorn, this little girl (about 6) raced in front of us, turned the corner to the concessions stand, and went straight up to the counter.

I noticed right away that she "cut" in line. The people (a high schooler with what looked like her younger sister), now behind her, also noticed but didn't say anything. Caitlyn and I stood in our respective spots in line. About 10 seconds later, the little 6-year-old deviant's father and brother walked up to the stand. The dad asked for five popcorns and two large sodas. The register dude said, "That comes to $40.37."

The dad was outraged at the cost. Meanwhile, Caitlyn asked what time it was. I said I didn't know, but not to worry, because we have a lot of time before the movie starts.

The father then said, "What if I get 3 popcorns and four large sodas?" The poor guy behind the counter told him that the price would still be 40 some bucks. Still outraged the dad said that was too much money. Um, yeah! CAN'T YOU READ THE PRICES IN FRONT OF YOU? Jeez.

I bent down to Caitlyn and said, "See that little girl." Caitlyn nodded. "If she wouldn't have cut in line, we would be sitting in theater by now." Caitlyn nodded again with an extra eye roll. I looked to my right and saw that the other line for concessions was moving at a regular pace. Ugh, I couldn't switch lines now, we were so close! So I stayed in my line with an annoyed look on my face.

Back to the father: Finally he decided on a large popcorn combo and another soda. The register guy asked him what kind of soda he wanted. And ya' know what? The father didn't know. He asked his two kids what they wanted...they didn't know either. So they THOUGHT about it for awhile.

Ohmigosh! I was starting to lose it. I was seriously going to throw some punches soon. Caitlyn looked at me again and asked what time it was. I told her again that we still have lots of time. I honestly had no idea what time it was, but I didn't want to worry Caitlyn that we might be late for our movie, because of some indecisive/unprepared parent. People in line behind me were also getting annoyed, shuffling their feet and rubbing their foreheads.

After they paid, the line moved fast, since everyone had plenty of time to decide on what they wanted. It's really a no-brainer...this theater concession stuff. Pretty much everyone I hear in line knows what they want before they get there. It's not like people are deciding on a five-course meal here.

When it was my turn to order I simply said, "One large popcorn with butter. That's it." Wow, that took me less than a minute to order, pay, and receive my food.

I like people. I do. But when some people pull a "stunt" like this, I get really annoyed. Quietly annoyed. I would never throw punches...haha, I wouldn't ever even say anything. I'm too scared to do something reckless like that.

Anyway, after the movie was done, Caitlyn and I walked to my car, and Caitlyn said, "Remember that girl who cut in line?"
I said, "Yeah."
"Well," Caitlyn said, "We would've gotten our popcorn a lot faster if she didn't cut."

Yep.

Wanna hear something sad?

It's not boo-hoo-hoo sad. It's pathetic sad. My favorite kind of sad.

Yesterday, our local NBC station was out because their tower was down. Instead, we received NBC out of the cities. Bummer.


Anyway, the sad part is, at 11am, I switched over to our local NBC channel to watch Kathie Lee and Hoda on Today. What I found instead was Kare 11 news. Boy, was I disappointed. Kathie Lee and Hoda are my guilty morning pleasures. I find them utterly entertaining. They drink early in the morning, interview B-List actors, and interrupt each other constantly. They're a hoot! But I didn't get to see them. My whole morning was thrown off. What was I going to watch from 11-noon?

Today is different though. My local NBC channel has been up and running since yesterday at noon. Too bad it wasn't fixed at 11. Sigh.


**I have more good news!**
I got offered a job! I'm so excited about it, and I can't wait to start. Everything is coming together for me, and I am so thankful. Plus, with this job I'll get to use my writing expertise!