Ambiance: The Living Planet Aquarium

I have been having quite the eventful week!

Yesterday, the accounting and HR departments at work celebrated the end of auditing by treating themselves (and me!!) to a day at the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy.

The aquarium is another of those things that I've always wanted to visit, but I could never make myself spend the money. It's not cheap. But the departments hosting the trip actually paid for us all to go, and treated us to lunch, AND I still got to count it as a work day! So I practically got paid to go to the aquarium! I was not complaining at all.

And I'd heard all these stories about the old aquarium, which used to be this dinky little grocery store-like building in the shopping district of Sandy, so my expectations were pretty low. This new aquarium was amazing. I'll give you a complete rundown.

First, we got to go through this special side entrance to one of the event halls where lunch was catered for us. One wall in the room was a floor-to-ceiling window into the same giant tank that has the shark tunnel going through it. It was cool to eat our lunch while watching sharks, sting rays, and sea turtles swim by. One of my coworkers commented that it was like watching a fire--it doesn't really do anything crazy, but it's strangely hypnotizing to watch. So true.

Our lunch was hamburgers, baked beans, potato salad, and lemonade--all high quality. When they said we were eating at the aquarium, I thought we'd just buy something cheap at the little cafe they have there, but catered hamburgers tasted amazing, as did everything else. And I'd been craving barbecue ever since Monday, when we could smell everyone's summer kickoff barbecues going on.

I digress.

After we'd had our fill, we all splintered off into little groups and explored the aquarium. I stuck with my friends Taylor (pictured above) and Jolene. We started at one end and explored every single place in the building.

The first section was "Journey to South America," which was pretty unique. You always hear that there are these millions of species in the Amazon rivers and jungles, but I'd never seen an aquarium dedicated to it. That section was very humid (reminding me a LOT of Paraguay), and was two stories tall, with huge trees in the middle and birds flying around.

This picture of the South America exhibit is from the Living Planet Aquarium website. It's not mine.

They had all kinds of critters in there that I can't remember or list them all. The ones that stuck in my mind were these black stingrays with white polka dots (there were a bunch of different stingrays--I didn't know there were so many in South America's rivers!), a huge electric eel, an anaconda easily twelve feet long, colorful poison dart frogs, toucans, a macaw, giant tortoises, a goliath bird-eating tarantula, piranha, caimans, and these HUGE river fish. Like, HUUUUUGE fish. If I lived along the Amazon, I'd be equal parts grateful for such a plentiful food supply, and terrified of swimming.

Since that part was two floors tall, we ended up on the upper level and went across to the "Antarctic Adventure." The penguins weren't very active today, but it was a cool little area designed to look like you're actually in some antarctic research station, looking out your window at the wildlife. The little gentoo penguins were very cute. (For a sneak peak, check out the website's Penguin Cam.)

This picture of the penguin exhibit is from the Living Planet Aquarium website. It's not mine.

That part was also two floors tall, so we headed down and saw that there was also an underwater observation room. Right when we got there, one of the penguins decided to dive in and play along the bottom right by the glass. It was very fun.

Exiting the penguin area, there were displays of jellyfish and a cool play area for kids with an arctic backdrop and fake orca to climb on.

Then came my favorite area, "Discover Utah."

(Oh yeah, and you know how I said before that my phone doesn't take pictures anymore? Yeah, I discovered AFTER I was done at the aquarium that the camera was working completely fine all of a sudden. I was so mad, but I managed to snap these two pictures of me before we all left.)

I thought it was very cool that the aquarium would have a section devoted to Utah. I mean, Utah is NOT what you think of when you picture an aquarium. The fact that we even have an aquarium in the desert is kind of hilarious. But this exhibit showed that we have tons of water critters, too.

It also dedicated space to actual desert animals, though, like the coral snake, toads, tortoises, and tarantulas (of course--thanks for reminding me that we have those here...). But there were lots of tanks of fresh water fish like trout and catfish, and amphibians like frogs and salamanders.

My absolute favorite part, though (in "Discover Utah" and the entire aquarium) was the otter exhibit. Oh. My. Gosh. I love otters. And I'd forgotten that we have them here in Utah...somewhere... They were SO CUTE. I know how gushy and girly that sounds but they were seriously the most adorable animals in the whole place. The penguins had nothing on them. They were so big and fluffy and agile in the water, and so active. I tried to go back and snap a photo of them when I discovered that my camera worked, but it came out blurry because they moved so fast. They were so playful.

This picture of the otter exhibit is from the Living Planet Aquarium website. It's not mine.

The caretakers had put fish inside this huge water jug and inside a ball with holes in it, so they were working really hard to get the fish out. The one with the jug kept its face against the hole and pushed it around underwater, trying to move the fish down the hole. The one with the ball was on its back spinning the ball in its paws, trying to get the fish's head through one of the holes. They were tenacious and obviously enjoying themselves, and I could have watched them at it all day.

Finally we went to the largest section of the aquarium, "Ocean Explorer." This had all the things you would expect to see at an aquarium--a HUGE pacific octopus, star fish, clown fish and anemones, these prehistoric-looking shellfish, lobster, shrimp, lion fish, puffer fish, sea urchins, more jellyfish, sea horses, eels, a shark tunnel, these funny whack-a-mole worms, and a sting ray petting pool.

This picture of the shark tank is from the Living Planet Aquarium website. It's not mine.

My coworkers were surprised that I was so brave around the animals. They're those rare people who know me well, yet don't know me well enough to know the biggest thing about me--that I know A LOT about animals. I was one of the few to reach in and pet the sting rays (something I've always loved to do since I was a kid at Sea World), and when we were in the shark tunnel, someone asked who would dare swim in that tank for $1,000. I said, "Yeah, I'd do it" without hesitating even a second. And when they asked why it didn't scare me, I explained how those sharks were too small to be aggressive around me, and besides, even big sharks don't like eating people, they just bite us on accident, thinking we're seals or sea turtles. So yeah, if I could do it for an easy $1,000, I totally would. And I'd have a blast doing it. :) They thought I was really brave, but honestly, knowledge is power. It's not bravery if you just aren't scared of sharks at all.

Anyways, it was a really cool aquarium. I was impressed. I've seen several aquariums, including the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, and this one is my second favorite after Sea World. I REALLY wished that my nephew was with me because he would love it. It's a great place for kids, and we adults enjoyed it a lot, too. I definitely plan to go back someday.

Doodles in the Margins: Random Drawing Practice

I've decided I need to spend less time on the computer and more time doing other hobbies besides surfing the web and watching stuff on Netflix.

So I've been doodling a lot lately, and just wanted to dump my latest doodles into one post. I didn't even to bother taking quality photos. :)

A very rough sketch of a fox.

A very leggy horse (though, to be fair, it was supposed to be a young horse, which tend to be leggy)

This one I'm actually proud of. That perspective was not easy to do right.

Besides animals, I've decided I want to learn how to draw people. I STINK at drawing people. So I'm approaching it the same way I learned to draw dogs and horses and things--by doing lots of random tutorials and identifying the underlying shapes that form the human body.

First I decided to start with hands, because despite looking at my own for my whole life, I REALLY stink at drawing hands. This tutorial by FOERVRAENGD on DeviantArt was extremely helpful, and I've been practicing all weekend with my own hands and hands that I can observe without being creepy about it.

Note: if you looked at the tutorial, you'll see my attempts to copy, and they're not very good. I'm a beginner, so don't judge too harshly. :)

So yeah. I'm still very much a beginner, but I'm getting there, and I'm glad I turned to tutorials instead of just blindly trying to copy like I've been doing my whole life. Human anatomy is HARD. Dogs are way simple by comparison.

Ambiance: Utah Olympic Park

(Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures of this event. My sisters primarily used Snapchat, and my phone no longer takes photos.)

Yesterday was awesome. For the first time in forever, all of us had a day off. Usually Ashley works like 18 hours a day, six days a week, but she managed to convince her boss to give her a Memorial Day vacation.

I'm so glad she did! With all of us at home, Dad decided to take us all to Park City. More specifically, the Utah Olympic Park. It's been raining like crazy for the past few weeks, but Sunday started out rainy and ended up gorgeously sunny, so we hoped the same would happen for Memorial Day. And it did!

When we first drove out to Park City at around noon, we drove through scattered showers and the sky was dark with clouds. We were worried that after a nearly hour-long drive we wouldn't even be able to do anything at the park. But we packed our rain jackets and remained optimistic.

By the time we arrived at the Utah Olympic Park, the sun was streaming through the rain clouds, and all raindrops had stopped. The parking lot was full enough for us to know that the park was open despite the weather, yet the rainy start to the day had scared off the majority of the crowds. We had the place practically to ourselves.

Dad got us a pass for the day, so we got our wrist bands in the welcome center and checked out everything they had to offer.  Even just the welcome center was cool, with a gift shop of Olympic apparel that took me right back to my childhood during the 2002 Winter Olympics, and a bobsled that we took a sisters picture in, and maps and videos to show all the cool features the park has to offer.

There were a few things that we'll have to come back later to do, such as watch pro skiers jump into the pool (which wasn't even filled yesterday), try out an actual bobsled run, and do the adventure course. But we had a great time with the two most popular features--the Alpine Slide and the Extreme Zipline.

The Alpine Slide was one of those things that I've heard about for years but never really thought I'd do. It's a bit pricey for how short your ride is, but it was pretty cool! Check out the link for a glimpse of what it's like.

Basically you get this little sled and go down a narrow track through the forest all the way down the hill to the main area of the park.  It was a pretty long track--I mean, you have to take a ski lift just to get to the beginning of the track. It was a bit scary seeing how narrow the track was, and hearing the "ride operators" (I guess you'd call them...) say that if you fell off it, to just walk back. But the way the sleds work, you have total control of your speed the entire time. That was a big consolation.

The first time I went down the slide, I didn't realize that I wasn't pushing the accelerator as far down as I could have, so I was going pretty slow. At one point I almost came to a halt and I was terrified of getting hit from behind by another rider. But I made it to the bottom okay.

That's Sarah and Ashley on the ski lift, passing over the huge ski jump. The view was awesome.

The second time we went up the ski lift, my family wanted to do the Extreme Zipline. I was too scared of my mind to do it, and there were only four harnesses at a time anyways, so I let them go ahead of me while I took the slide back down a second time. THAT time, I went much faster. Almost too fast. It was pretty exhilarating.

But seeing my family go down the Extreme Zipline together made me feel like I missed out. And I realized it couldn't be all THAT scary. I mean, Ashley was freaking out when she got strapped in. She's almost as afraid of heights as I am, and she was worrying about the looseness of her harness and the brakes at the end and everything. But when I met her at the bottom she promised me it was totally fine. That gave me confidence to try it for myself.

So I DID. I felt so brave. :) I've always liked ziplines, but the ones I've done before were always fast more than steep. This one was steep. The link doesn't give you a great idea, but you know how steep ski lifts go, right? The zipline was perfectly parallel to the ski lift we were on. When I was at the top getting harnessed in, the descent looked like an almost-straight plunge. Only Ashley's reassurances that it "wasn't bad at all" gave me courage.

So I got strapped in, and they had us in like a starting gate, where you hang in the harness and rest your knees against this door where you can't see anything--just contemplate your doom. Then the operators push a button, the door opens, and WHOOSH! You're gone!

My stomach leapt just the tiniest bit, but to my relief, Ashley was telling the truth. The harness had a controlled descent that made the plunge exhilarating but not out-of-control rapid. It was really cool, zooming down a mountainside like that. I'm really glad I worked up the courage to do it. I conquered a fear and had a great time.

When we'd all had our fill of the slide and the zipline, we took the ski lift to the top one last time, then walked all the way down, but went around to the other side of the park where the bobsled track and adventure course were.

SUCH a gorgeous day!

That's the bobsled track towards the bottom.

We didn't do either of those things during this visit, but it was fun to watch other visitors zoom by on the bobsled at 70 miles per hour. And there were these guys on the adventure course who were determined to cross everything without relying on their harnesses for balance. It was very entertaining.

We'll definitely go back for those. Well... we'll go as a family, but I don't know if I'll do the adventure course. I've done one before, and it was terrifying. This one looked twice as scary as the one I did in Provo. And a separate part of the course is a drop tower, where you have to zipline to this tower, then jump off to the ground (strapped into a harness, of course). It's probably a super controlled fall, but I don't think I'd have the guts to jump straight off like that. Who knows, though? Maybe that'll be my next fear conquered.

Anyways, if you're in Utah and you're looking for something fun to do with the family, I'd recommend this park. On top of the things I mentioned, there's a mini adventure course for younger kids, and smaller ziplines, museums, tours, lessons, etc. Plus, just being there was fun. True we had amazing sunny weather just after a rainstorm, which gave everything a crisp, fresh feel, but I've been to Park City at all different times of year, and it's always gorgeous.

The mountains are breathtaking and there's always a good trail to explore. There are hawks and chipmunks and moose. The views are spectacular. And it's just a short drive away from Midway, which I like even better than Park City. But I'll have to blog about Midway later, when I actually do something there. :)

Sunday Soliloquy: I Know That My Redeemer Lives

I was a mess yesterday, which is why I didn't post this sooner. Some things went very wrong earlier this week, and I'm struggling to recover. I was so depressed that I almost didn't go to church at all. I thought, "I'll just go to Sacrament meeting, then go home." But then once I got there, every talk and every song was exactly what I needed to hear. It was so comforting that I just wanted to stay forever.

First in Sacrament meeting they talked about Christ's Atonement and His infinite love, and we sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." It's one of those songs that we hear so often in the Church, but yesterday the verses hit me hard, and I had to fight not to cry as I stood in front of the entire congregation leading the music.

The middle two verses were especially poignant:

2. He lives to grant me rich supply. He lives to guide me with his eye. He lives to comfort me when faint. He lives to hear my soul's complaint. He lives to silence all my fears. He lives to wipe away my tears. He lives to calm my troubled heart. He lives, all blessings to impart. 

3. He lives, my kind, wise, heavenly friend. He lives and loves me to the end. He lives, and while he lives, I'll sing. He lives, my prophet, priest, and king. He lives to grant me daily breath. He lives and I shall conquer death. He lives, my mansion to prepare. He lives to bring me safely there. 

Then our Sunday School lesson was more about Christ's love. The teacher told the story of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead, but focused on the fact that even though Christ knew that everything was going to be alright and that He could raise Lazarus again, He still wept with Mary and Martha, feeling their pain and mourning with them.

It was a good reminder that even though Christ knows exactly how things will turn out for us and knows that our lives will get better after a tragedy, He still is the first to cry with us. He empathizes with our grief and is always there for us, understanding perfectly how we feel even when we try to hide it from those around us.

Finally, one of the teachers played this song called "Blessings in Disguise," which I've heard playing at Deseret Book before, yet I never really listened to the words.

Here's a video for it that I found on YouTube so you can listen to it yourself.



And while the rest of my Sunday wasn't exactly puppies and rainbows, I was still very glad that I went to church today and was reminded that my Savior is there or me, even when I feel completely alone.

Wednesday Soliloquy: The Rain Never Bothered Me Anyway

Photo credit Robert Adams

If you're living in Utah, then you know that the weather has been crazy the last few weeks. Almost every morning starts out sunny, or maybe a little bit cloudy, but then by mid-afternoon these huge dark thunder clouds come rolling in, and by the time I get home it's pouring rain.

Well, on Monday I didn't take the train home like I usually do. My dad went out of town after his work day, so he needed me to drive his truck home from his office. I was excited to do so, because trains are smelly and sometimes I have to sit next to people who make me uncomfortable. But that's a topic for another day.

I was very happy to find the car on an upper level, backed into a corner spot. The truck is huge and the parking garage is very narrow, so this made me happy. I safely navigated out of there and through the tiny little exit without incident, and then I successfully got onto the freeway ahead of the worst of the day's traffic.

When I was in line for the on-ramp, it started raining. It took me a minute to figure out the fancy truck's windshield wipers, but I'm glad that I had that moment to fiddle with it, because by the time I was on the freeway, the storm had hit us.

You had to be there to understand just how crazy this storm was. Imagine everything going dark, and your front windshield getting blasted by a fire hose. That's seriously how it was. One minute I'm cruising along with my windshield wipers going half-speed, the next they're going full-throttle and there's still too much water for me to see anything.

There was so much water on my windshield and on the ground that I couldn't even make out the lines dividing the freeway. Even when the sky ahead of us cleared, the water reflected the sky and effectively blended with the color of the lines. The best I could do was follow the grooves that indicated where different lanes of asphalt had been poured, and just carefully watch the car ahead of me. I never dared look any further ahead than about fifteen feet.

If it weren't for the moving truck ahead of me, I would have definitely veered into other lanes, and I'm sure the other driver was thinking the same about whoever was leading him. I stared at the back of that truck so steadily that I memorized the number of the company painted on the back. I was tempted to call the number and thank that guy for leading me along, even if he was doing it completely unawares.

Oh, and did I mention the lightning? Yeah, it was too dark to see much, but every minute or so there'd be this blaze of purple light like a very close-up camera flash. I'm pretty sure the light poles along the freeway were getting struck, but the rain was too loud for me to even hear the thunder and accurately guess how close it was.

The most disconcerting part about my drive, though, was when I would pass under an overpass, and there'd be this sudden silence as the rain was blocked. Then BOOM! I'd be out in the open again, and I'd get blasted by water and have to squint past it again and be slightly startled by the returning sound of rain pounding on the roof. It was terrifying.

Everyone on the road was as freaked out by it as I was. Everything slowed to a crawl. A glance at my speedometer showed that we were only going 30 miles per hour in a 65mph zone. Everyone gave each other plenty of space as we all made our way bravely home. There were a few cars pulled over--probably people waiting out the storm--but surprisingly, no accidents the whole way. Aside from the fact that we were moving at half-speed, it was one of the steadiest commutes I've ever experienced on I-15.

After about twenty minutes of this, I was confident enough that I was going to make it out alive that I relaxed a little. The muscles in my back screamed when I sat back. I hadn't realized how straight I was sitting in my seat. My fingers were stiff, too. I'd been gripping the steering wheel as hard as I could, terrified of losing control of the vehicle.

And it was only then that I realized that this whole drive, I'd been singing along to the radio at the top of my lungs! Singing! With lightning coming down all around me and water blocking my sight and other panicked drivers in my vicinity, I was still just calm enough to do what I love to do best--sing out loud to my favorite songs.

In fact, singing despite the danger is probably why I made it out of there okay. It was a self-soothing gesture

So here's what I came away with after this experience.

1. Try to avoid being on the freeway during a blinding rain storm.

2. If you do have to be out in a blinding rain storm, make sure...
   a. that you're in a lightning-proof car
   b. that your lights are on so other drivers can see you
   c. that you don't panic and swerve when lightning and overpasses startle you
   d. that you follow what little you can make out despite the blinding factors
   e. and that you sing all the way. 

That's right, I'm gonna get all metaphorical on you.

Rainstorm = Adversity

"...The devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yeah, his shafts in the whirlwind, [and] all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you..." (Helaman 5:12).

Let's pretend for a moment that this rainstorm represented the horrible things that happen in our lives. Maybe it's losing your job or losing a loved one. Maybe it's a difficult temptation or an overwhelming addiction. Maybe it's poor health or a self-inflicted issue. Whatever the case, we rarely see life's challenges coming. If we do, we tend to do our best to avoid them. But if we don't, or they just can't be avoided, there are certain steps we can take to make sure that we survive the experience.

Truck = Faith

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" (Ephesians 6:16).

When that lightning was coming down so close, my only reassurance was my knowledge that cars are rarely ever struck by lightning. That car was my shield. As scary as it was, I knew that I was pretty darn safe in the cab of the truck, with A/C and a radio and windshield wipers and a comfy seat. Had I had had to be outside completely unprotected in that storm, I would have had a much more terrifying and potentially lethal experience.

Faith is very much the same. If we are inside the protective bubble of faith when the trials of life hit us hard, that shield will keep us safe, and we will have peace in our hearts, having faith that things will work out in the end.

Head- and Taillights = Guiding Influence

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house" (Matthew 5:14-15).

One of my favorite things about the Humans of New York project is that we get to see how everyone goes through trials--some of them so severe that we can't even imagine how someone could survive it. And yet, the majority of these people interviewed have made it through their struggles, and now by sharing what they learned on Facebook, they are showing others that it's possible to do the same!

A similar thing happened to me on the road. The head- and taillights of the cars around me were pretty much the only concrete thing I could see during that rainy drive. If we all had our lights off and made it every man for himself, there would have been dozens of pileups on the freeway. Instead, we played "follow the leader" to find our way out.

When we have a light to follow, we need to pass it on by being a light for others. Call it the Light of Christ or a shining countenance or whatever you will, we need to set an example of perseverance and hopeful progression to those around us who are struggling.

Don't Panic!

"Let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you" (Deuteronomy 20: 3-4).

You know how in books and movies, people attribute adrenaline to these awesome feats of strength and clarity? I don't know if that's just Hollywood or if I'm defective, but I tend to do stupider things when I get startled--like drop the can of biscuits that popped or veer a little bit when someone honks at me.

Thankfully, I had enough peace of mind to not swerve around like a drunken snake when the lightning flashed all over the place, but do I have enough peace of mind not to freak out about the trials that come my way? Mmm.... not so much. I get angry or defensive and snap at people. I cry and think that all is lost. I

But then I get reminders at Church or during scripture study that there's no need to panic and act rashly. That scripture above is only one of probably hundreds of the Lord promising to be on our right hand and on our left, and to guide us every step of the way. As long as we trust in Him and not rely so much on our own abilities, we can handle life smoothly and calmly, and everything will be okay.

Build Upon a Sure Foundation

"You don't know everything, but you know enough!" (Elder Neil L. Andersen, October 2008 General Conference)

I had virtually no idea where the lane lines were when I was driving through that storm. But I did know enough to still find my way. I knew from many other drives the relative width of the lane. I knew how close the cars on either side of me were. I knew that the truck in front of me was following something. And I could see the little grooves in the road that indicated the lines were down there somewhere.

In fact, there was this one point where the truck in front of me suddenly went to the left. I couldn't see the lines, but I had been following him for so long that I instinctively went left, too. Only after I did so did I see the grooves that marked a sudden shift in the lane path. Had I kept going perfectly straight, I would have crammed the car next to me or possibly forced him onto the shoulder.

The point is that just because I couldn't see clear lines, that didn't mean that I was powerless to move forward. I had enough information to make it home safely.

Similarly, there are so many times in life when we're not sure where to go or what to do. We may even begin to doubt past decisions, like our major or our job choice or even our religion. If we focus on those doubts, though, we will come to a standstill. Had I decided that I couldn't drive on the freeway without clear lines, I would have just pulled over and stayed stagnant. Instead, we can focus on what we do know, and continue to move forward confidently and figure it out as we go along.

Sing!

"And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yeah, I will sing praises unto the Lord" (Psalm 27:6).

Okay, I've read the whole Bible before, but I've never noticed that verse before! That's beautiful!

And life is beautiful! The greatest lesson I came away with after that rainy drive was that even when life gets bleak and scary, there is always something to sing about. And after the trial, we have all the more reason to praise God and find happiness in our life. After all, thunderclouds make beautiful sunsets.

Freewrite: Better Safe than Sorry

Today is not going well for me. I’m pretty sure I’m struggling with mild depression anyways, but on top of that, the first call I got at work was from a very disgruntled customer who felt that our company was purposefully ignoring his calls and refusing to resolve his problem. And when I couldn't help him but promised to find someone who could, he basically threatened me and said he'd better hear from someone or he'd call me again tomorrow and "not be nearly as nice." Great.

This doesn’t happen very often, but it seems that whenever it does, people get mad at me for not being able to fix all their problems. There are three reasons why that’s an awful thing to do.

A) I’m just the receptionist. No matter how mad you get at me, no matter how much you threaten me, there is almost NOTHING I can do to fix your problems.

B) I really do try! I actually call ahead to make sure that they won’t get a voicemail, or to just double check that I won’t waste their time by transferring them to the wrong person. But if I ever come back to them with an answer they don’t want to hear, they accuse me of lying. That’s the thanks I get for doing all I can personally do to help them.

C) That is not what Christ teaches we should do.

Christ also taught to turn the other cheek, so I am trying to do that, but sometimes I just can’t handle these kinds of angry calls. As you (hopefully) read in last month’s blog post, I have a chronically weak emotional immune system. I don’t bounce back easily from personal attacks. And enough things happened to me this morning to already put me in a depressed mood. So yeah, this really hurt. I actually started crying, and the only reason I was able to stop was because I’m a receptionist--I can’t afford to cry in front of everyone coming and going.

Anyways, it just really motivated me to write this blog post, to remind myself (and others) that we have no excuse for being outright rude to others. Just like my dad taught me that I never have any excuse for speeding--getting somewhere just a little bit sooner is not worth the cost of maybe accidentally killing someone because you’re driving recklessly. 

That’s an extreme example, but is it? I mean, I have mild depression (I think). How would it be if I actually had suicidal tendencies? You never know what someone else is dealing with, so don’t be reckless with your own emotions and possibly ruin the life of an innocent receptionist you’re screaming at. I already feel like I have no one I can cry in front of. I already struggle to find any reason to be happy with myself or with my life. So to be personally attacked when I'm just barely limping along is a real low blow.

This quote kept popping up on my Facebook feed, and I think it says it better than I can:

I don’t really know what else to say about this except to be kind. "Bridle your passions." Obviously there will be days and situations when you can’t help but explode, and there will always be people who seem to deserve our backlash, but really, better to be safe than sorry.

Movie Reviews: Cinderella, Age of Adaline, and Avengers 2

Sorry for the long lack of updates! I haven't felt much motivation to write lately, except now I've seen four movies in as many weeks, and I'm really happy this month. After a long winter of nothing good to see in theaters, this is awesome.

After Freetown, the next two movies I saw were both chick flicks.

First, Cinderella.

Synopsis:
Pssh! Like you need one. It was very similar to the original animated version.

My rating: 5 out of 5 

As always, there were some things I didn't like about this movie, but overall I thought it was pretty near perfect. I went into it expecting to find it enjoyable but not incredible. I was so wrong. It was beautiful. There were a couple moments of cheesiness, where we--the audience--laughed when we shouldn't have. However, the children in the audience loved every minute, and I bet if I'd been a kid when I first saw it, it would be one of those movies that I'd rematch three times a day. It's one I hope my kids watch repeatedly as they grow up.

It was beautifully made. The costumes were gorgeous, the scenery was stunning, and the CGI (while noticeable) was better than I expected it to be. The characters grew on me faster than I thought they would, and I actually really liked them. Cate Blanchett was awesome, as usual, and Cinderella was genuinely adorable.

What I loved most about it was that finally we got a remake that wasn't about changing a beloved character from a delicate princess into an armored, sword-wielding heroine. I hope this means that Hollywood is finally realizing that just because we women want to feel empowered, that doesn't mean we want prowess in battle--we just want to be influential. One can do that when still enjoying a gorgeous blue ball gown and falling in love with a prince. Not all power comes from one's ability to physically fight an army; some battles are more subtle--waged with words and attitudes--and are no less important.

The theme of "have courage and be kind" is one that we all need more of in our lives. I was really pleased to hear it from such a mainstream source, where millions will hear and hopefully apply it.

Also, the soundtrack was so well done that I can still remember the main tune. It usually takes me a few viewings to get a new song stuck in my head.

Oh, and I cried. Twice. You know how I feel about a movie if it makes me cry.


Now, Age of Adaline.

Synopsis:
A young woman, born at the turn of the 20th century, is rendered ageless after an accident. After many solitary years, she meets a man who complicates the eternal life she has settled into.

My rating: 4 out of 5

This was another one that I went to with relatively low expectations and ended up being impressed by. I'd only ever seen Blake Lively in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, so I wasn't sure how great she would be in this movie.

She was excellent. Every shot of her was breathtaking. Not only is she already gorgeous, but she was so good at acting like a 100-something-year-old woman. The way she talked and emoted and dressed made me think of my great-grandma, while her face told me she was much younger. If they were trying to get the audience to feel how weird the situation was, it worked perfectly. In every other movie I've seen that involves an ageless person (*cough* Twilight! *cough*), said person still acts like they're 19 or whatever. Adaline acted her age.

Unfortunately, by reminding me with every mannerism that she was actually 100-something years old, I was kind of weirded out by the fact that she was still falling in love with 20-something-year-old men. She was so wise and experienced and matronly... what did she see in these guys? Don't get me wrong, it was adorable and I wanted her to be happy, but it was still kind of weird.

My sisters liked that they tried to give a "scientific" explanation for how she doesn't age anymore, but I kind of wish they'd left that part out. Can't we just attribute it to magic? I mean, their explanation practically was magic. They just said, "And then, this thing happened, which scientists won't understand until the year 2035." Ooookay... So... you really can't give a real scientific explanation. So let's just say magic.

I was also hoping for more about her past--like a continuous narrative of how hard her life was, instead of just the modern-day stuff. I wanted to see how she lived during both World Wars and the Cold War and everything. She saw it all, but we didn't. But what they did show of her life was enough to make you feel so sad for her, and so hopeful that she would find happiness someday.

I highly recommend it. It was so unique and so well done.

Okay, and the guy playing Harrison Ford's character's younger self was a dead ringer for the actual young Harrison Ford. I bet you anything the producers were just like, "Hey there's this kid in my neighborhood who does a sick Han Solo impression--let's use him!" Usually they just find kids who kind of sort of almost look like the adult actors, but this guy not only looked like Harrison Ford, he acted just like him, too. Go to the movie just to see that, if nothing else.


Finally, Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Synopsis:

When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it's up to Earth's Mightiest Heroes to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

I've seen this one twice already, and it's been in theaters for less than a week. Yes, I am a huge nerd.

The first time I saw it, I went by myself because my family didn't feel like going and I was really looking forward to it. By myself was not nearly as much fun, and the audience I was with was really lame. I wasn't really blown away. I was actually kind of disappointed, to tell you the truth. I'd just rented Captain America: Winter Soldier (my favorite Marvel movie to date), and I was really hyped up about this one. So it was kind of a letdown for me. I thought it could've been so much better.

But then when I saw it again last night, my family found it as funny and awesome as I hoped they would, and the whole theater reacted to the movie's ups and downs, which made it much more enjoyable overall. I was in love. I mean, really, I found very few faults the second time. The new characters had grown on me, I was excited for my family to witness the plot and action that I'd already seen, and I decided I could happily watch it again.

I've had so many friends either love this movie or hate it, and I found myself in both camps over the course of a few days. Ultimately, though, I really love it. And I think once people get over some of the weirder aspects and see it again at college parties and stuff, it'll be better received.

So I guess I advise you to go with people who have seen all the other Marvel movies and will appreciate the inside jokes and neediness. And just have fun with it. This was a great superhero movie--good versus evil, right over wrong, sacrifice and compassion in the face of total annihilation. It was, in a word, epic.

And now I can't wait for Captain America: Civil War. Grrr! Why is it not coming out until next year?? I guess I'll just have to settle for Ant-Man in the meantime. I know it's part of the MCU, so I should pay attention and enjoy it, but I'm not nearly as excited for it as I am for Captain America 3. 


So this was my movie month recap. See you again when I review Jurassic World (or hopefully before that)!