End of a nerdy era

Tonight (at midnight) I will be at the movies watching the final installment of the Harry Potter series. I was 19 when I first heard of Harry Potter. I was watching the Rosie O'Donnell show and she was GUSHING over this story about a boy wizard. I had to get it. This was the first series I ever bought all in hardcover, and I devoured them. I couldn't wait for the next one! It hooked me from the start.

J.K. Rowling is an amazing writer. Her writing style is simple, but she doesn't talk down to her readers, like so many other books for young readers. I felt like I was growing with her characters. And the fact that Harry was born the same year as me helped me connect with the stories. (I'm aware that this entire post makes me a huge nerd, but I embrace it.) I worked in Barnes & Noble for most of the book's first run, and the excitement around the book releases was always overwhelming. The release party for the last book was amazing. Kids were dressed up, the line for the book at midnight was the entire length of the store. And this was for a BOOK!!! A BOOK!!!!!!! As a book nerd, that brought me so much joy.

I watched the movies with the same excitement I had for the books. For the most part, the movies did the books justice. I went to the midnight showings for all except the Deathly Hallows Part 1.

So tonight, when the lights come up at the end of the movie, I'll be sad. This is the last piece of the Harry Potter phenomenon. The only thing left to wait for is the DVD release. And I know I'll be anticipating that as soon as I leave the theater tonight.

Television! I've not missed you!

I haven't had cable since 2003. That was the year I graduated college and got my own apartment, which meant that cable was WAY too expensive for me on my own. I've always been a big reader and watched a lot of DVDs so I didn't really miss watching TV.

Until yesterday.

I'm currently house sitting, and the house has CABLE. And DVR!!! And ON DEMAND OMG!!!! I spent just about all of yesterday watching TV. It was never ending. I watched Law and Order: SVU, Extreme Home Makeover (it made me cry), Whale Wars, How It's Made, some random wedding cake show, Extreme Couponing, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Say Yes to the Dress, and a show about killer crocodiles.

I realized that much has changed since I had cable. When did all those channels show up? There's a channel for everything! I don't remember there being more than 60 channels. There was only one MTV and it played videos. There was no cable box or special remote! I feel so old. "Back in my day...!"

I spent most of today reading to cleanse my brain. I'm going to be alright.

Controlling the fluff

I was petting Maya yesterday, and about an entire kitten's worth of fur came off of her. I decided it was time to groom her.

This is how we chill.

Maya getting brushed is a complicated ritual. I had to change into shorts and an old T-shirt and find her harness and leash. Then I had to catch her before she realized that I found her harness and leash, and wrestle her into it. Even before I get it on her, she goes flat and flips onto her back. Not easy to get it on her when her weapons are facing me. I finally got it on her, and we went onto the porch, with me carrying her because the harness and leash make her go into slither mode. We sit on the front steps and I make her sit down in front of me. And I brush. And she complains. I have the Kong kitty brush. I've found that this is the only brush that she will tolerate. I've attempted to furminate her in the past, and I still have the scars. So I brushed her, and she was good for the first 5 minutes. The problem is, she's got TONS of excess fluff and it takes forever to get it all. Maya got impatient. And started yelling. She would yell, then look back at me with sad kitty face on. So pathetic.

We were outside for about 25 minutes, and the amount of fur coming off in the brush never diminished. There were tufts of fluff flying around the porch. It looked like it had snowed. And still the fluff came off. It was NEVER ENDING. I finally stopped brushing her when the mosquitoes started biting. In 20 minutes, I got 7 bites. Not cool.

I stood up and attempted to brush the layer of fur from my clothes. This is why I have a special Maya-grooming outfit. I was wearing grey shorts and a blue T-shirt. By the time I finished, the color was no longer visible. I was covered in white. Looking around at all of the fluff flying around, I realized that this was that much less fur to fly around my apartment. And I felt accomplished. Maya was pissed. She chased around the fluff, trying to reclaim it.

I opened the door and tried to lead her inside but as I mentioned before, when she is in her harness she turns into a Swiffer. So I had to carry her in. I gave her her favorite kitty treats (Pitr Pats) and she settled down on the back of the couch. I swear she looks smaller now.

Movie magic

My cousin called today and we made plans to go see the midnight showing of the final Harry Potter movie (IN 3D!!!!!!!!!!!!). That got me thinking about my greatest movie experiences.

I love movies. I have Netflix and watch at least 4-5 movies a week, whether it's new or one from my DVD collection. I recently rewatched the LOTR movies (the extended versions, of course). And here is where I expose my geeky-ness. I have the movies in 3 separate formats. Original, extended, and special edition extended. Just wait until I upgrade to Blu-ray. Oh yeah.

I used to go to lots of midnight premiers. I stopped when my body couldn't manage to go to work on Friday after getting home from the movies the night before at 3 am. I guess I can't hang like I used to.

The best movie experience I've ever had was the midnight showing of the last LOTR film. I saw it at the new (at the time) theater at Jersey Gardens. This was the first and last time I ever went there. I was with my friend Larry and some of his friends. We got in line around 10pm and were no where near the front. It was madness. People were dressed up in costumes, yelling to their friends. It was like a big party. I've never felt such excitement.

When the film began, there was silence from the audience. We were all excited. We were unified in our geekdom and adoration of these films. And we were going to enjoy the crap out of every second of this final film in the trilogy.

The theater itself was awesome. The sound in there was amazing. When the Nazgul-birds screamed, it actually hurt. (I would like to point out here my insane need for accuracy. I actually looked up the proper name of the screaming bat-dragon creatures that the Nazgul flew. I am a nerrrrrrd.) The audience cheered, gasped, laughed, cried. It was a beautiful thing. Now all I have are these DVDs. Sigh.

Boredom breeds creation

Being home all the time is really boring. The novelty of not having to be anywhere has worn off and I really don't have much going on. Cabin fever has set in.

But I have been trying to keep myself busy. I read lots now (ouchies permitting) and have sewing more. I made a stuffed robot for the cutest baby boy I know, and Maya purses for the nieces. I also have a few ideas for stuff I want to make. I'm considering opening an etsy store, but I need to get a working sewing machine first. My crappy one broke making the robot. It died trying to sew felt. How sad is that?

I'm planning a massive redo of my apartment. I bought a bookcase from Target last week (which lived in my trunk until this morning when Steve was awesome enough to stop by before work to carry it in for me) and will FINALLY get my library under control.

I've also been hanging out with the nieces more. They stopped by yesterday morning (waking me up) and watched Monsters, Inc. with me. They also chased Maya around. She's still not fully recovered.

I'm looking forward to the 4th of July holiday. The nieces won't be around, but Steve and I will be hanging out. That's always a good thing. :)