Departure

So, I'm leaving today. Let the ranting/arguing about directions/driving begin. But not on my blog. Suffice it to say that I hate the way my brother drives. He isn't terribly enthused about how I drive. Neither of us can drive the whole distance. And we're taking an entire day off in the middle, to spend in Ohio. Joyous.
I just want to get to school ASAP and in one piece. I'd also like to get to a good liturgy on Wednesday. We'll see how that goes....
Safe travels to all my fellow students!

Das Boot- a superficial review.

Yeah... I'm really selling my review here by the title. It's one of those movies that you almost have to watch in multiple sittings and my brain is telling me that I haven't really finished cogitating where it's concerned, but oh well. If I don't write this now, I'm not sure when I will, so here goes:

It's a wonderful/awful movie. It's hard to explain. It's like watching someone you don't particularly like go out for a walk on what looks like a moderate, sunny day. Only you have this vague presentiment that they're going to get hit by a car or something. But because you don't particularly care for them, you're... not exactly concerned. More like curious to see whether or not your dire prediction comes true. And then bad things start to happen to them. Not the car hitting them yet, but other bad things- a dog chases them, their wallet gets stolen, it starts to rain and they lose their railcard. And then you start finding out that you really do care a bit about them- even if they've got some dumb/bad habits or even serious character flaws. Because you start thinking that they aren't so very different from you. And now you don't want them to get hit by that car after all, and you get more and more sure that they are going to get hit by that car... and you'd really rather they didn't. Yet, it's sort of like historical imperative, they're going to... Argh. This is a really bad analogy. Please forgive it.
Anyway, the movie is great. I'd say it's a must see, but I recommend seeing it all in one go. It's one of those weird movies where watching it is almost though not quite like penance. Weird imagery, right?
It's really weird to be rooting for the Germans. Especially if you've actually lived in England and heard stories about the war from people who survived it. You know you really should be cheering for whoever ends up sinking them, NOT for the wolves who are attacking supply convoys. But that little bit of text at the beginning is kind of haunting- out of the 40,000 German naval personnel who served on U-boats, only 10,000 saw the end of the war. That means that approximately 3 out of 4 people died. I started thinking about that in terms of the size of my class and it was rather sobering.
It kept you on the edge of your seat to the end. And the director was right for a change- it was not a movie about Nazis, or Germans, it was a movie about people.


SPOILERS BELOW!!
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I mean it!









You have been warned!





You still want to read on?





Okay










As you may have guessed, this is not a happy movie. Everyone we care about except for one person dies. It seems horribly unfair, yet oddly enough you sort of know it's going to happen. I guess it's a typical tragedy. Hm. I think at a later date in time I may go around seeing how exactly that sets up from a literary point of view. I mean, some people you know are going to die because of the movie conventions- never show anyone pictures of your family or tell them about your girlfriend, etc. But the manner of their death. Well, everything ends where it starts... Very symmetrical. I would really love to make a music video to this, although I don't know what music I would use... I succumbed to buying not only the Prague orchestra's rendition of the main them, but also U-97's techno/elektronica mix. Perhaps the Last War of the Wolves? Now all I need to do is buy it, rip it and get to work... But I'm OT. The music is good if a bit 80s in places. The accuracy as far as I can tell is very good. There are a few very unnecessary points from my (prudish) POV- the whole bar scene in the beginning and the rear nudity throughout are quite unnecessary. I long to make myself a properly edited copy of the whole movie. Or perhaps find the original release version, so I can compare it to this director's cut one.
Familiar faces include the first officer (who I swear has played a Nazi in every movie that requires a vaguely handsome, arrogant young Nazi officer), Martin May as Ullman (see how my brain remembers some things really well and not others? I mean, how random is that? He's a fairly minor character), and of course the war correspondent is familiar to us though I forget his name too. Likewise the Captain who played Leto Atradies (sp?) in the old version of Dune.
Technical notes- All I can think of is that the subtitles needed help. There were too many times where there was just random shouting in German. A simple translation of "What's happening?", "We're all going to die!", and/or "Quick- pass the wire." would have satisfied me. It's just irritating to have nothing to read as there are various things being said.
Well, that is all I have for now. If I think of more, after my brain chews on it for a bit, I shall amend this post.

My New Job (kinda) and Its Dangers

Well, with a grand total of four days left to work at MFWIW (Motorized Factory Where I Work), the Grand High Supervisor Dude (emphasis on the 'Dude' part here, he has loong hair which he usually wears in a braid) decided I ought to broaden my horizons. So, fearful that I had done _something_ bad, I followed him to my new job, in the dipping section.
Pros
-It's so much cooler! You can actually feel the AC
-It's not too hard, once you know how to hang the parts
- No more tiny flakes of hardened primer getting into my eyes!

Cons
-For one part, I can't reach all the way around and fasten it on the hanger, so I have to straddle the conveyer thingy. If I don't get out of the way in time, I could end up with serious bruises/a crushed leg. It's very motivating.
-Even when the part you're fastening is relatively easy to fasten, you have to sand in a very awkward way that makes even a simple task difficult. This is because there is a knee cord that runs the length of the conveyor for the purpose of stopping it if you get your leg stuck in it- see above con. Regrettably, it's really easy to hit it by accident, and if you do, the whole line stops and everyone glares at you.
-Snapping on parts is tricky sometimes and you can gouge your fingers. I've done that a lot...
-Since the parts don't really want to go on the way they're supposed to, it helps if you have good upper body strength. I don't...

And now for the stats
Number (#) of times I have hit myself in the safety glasses with a part- 7
# of times a coworker has hit me with a part- 1
# of times I have hit myself with a part in a region other than the safety glasses-8
# of times I have narrowly avoided dropping a part- 20
# of times my safety glasses have almost fallen off because I was trying hang a part properly- 4
# of scars/scratches I have that makes it look like I'm attempting self-destruction-9
# of coworkers who don't speak English as their first language- 3
# of dollars stolen by the crummy vending machine- 1
# of times I have jammed/stopped the line in my new section- 0!!:D

And that, for now, is all. Especially because I'm working OT tomorrow instead of going to the Czech festival.

How often have I said this?

Those of you who really know me will not be at all surprised that while I hoped to update sooner than August, I am infact updating in August. I meant to update a lot sooner. I mean, it's not like anything particularly interesting/earthshattering has happened recently in my life. Then I'd have an excuse for not posting. But I don't. So, if I have any readers out there (which I doubt). I am very sorry for my absence. That being said...
I did say I'd talk about music, ages ago. And since it's 2.00AM CT (Guess what second shift does to your bodyclock? It resets it!), I shall keep my thoughts on music brief.
One- If you cannot sing to save your life, I'm sure God would understand if you went through Mass without singing along.
Two-If you _can_ sing, make sure your brain is plugged in before you attend Mass. If you hear only male voices and you are female, this is your cue to _NOT_ sing. Wait until you hear other girls singing. Please?
Three- On a non-liturgical note, the "Vitamin String Quartet" rocks my socks. Check them out. Their music makes me very happy!
Four- I have a CD that has scratches. Since I paid lots of money about four years ago to get it imported from Japan, this makes me very unhappy with a certain younger sib. I mean, it just _had_ to be _that_ CD, didn't it? Not my crummy random mix of songs, but that nice, cool (expensive) CD of mine that you dropped out of the car and onto a gravel road. Luckily my favourite track appears to be undamaged.
Five- I still remember almost all the lyrics to the entire album of Nightfall in Middle Earth.
Six- My alarmclock/CD player is at least temporarily dead!:( Woe is me!
Seven- There _will_ be music in Heaven. And no, it won't be all harps or all acapella.
Eight- (appropriately enough) I want to hear the Great Music of the Greatest Artist for all eternity. It will be beyond 'classical'.