Nerdy Ravings: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Over the weekend, I went to see the new Hobbit movie!

I want to preface this by saying that I am a fan of The Hobbit and LotR. I like the movies a lot, too. Possibly better than the books in some ways, but that's a discussion for another Nerdy Ravings post.

I liked this movie. (Well, Benedict Cumberbatch's voice--where's bad??). And I love Legolas, so really any time he is on screen, I'm a happy bear. Even though he's not supposed to be there.

My main issue is that Peter Jackson is determined to drag this one little book into three different movies. Fine. I think he's only doing that because he missed that bandwagon when he did the LotR series. Maybe that's just me. And while I am alright with having another movie to look forward to, he seems to be struggling to put in all sorts of filler material: see Legolas, Tauriel, changing plot lines, and so forth. And I just want to know why you would cut out ALL of these other scenes from the book just to fill it with made up junk.

Not that it's all junk, but honestly! So much of the actual book stories are completely cut, only to have them desperately (in my opinion) try to add more filler and action sequences. This seems so very unnecessary! The material is already there! Why can't you use that? I would have loved to see everything with Beorn as it was supposed to be. What about the dwarves loosing the road in Mirkwood and trying to follow the elves? What about Bilbo luring the giant spiders away with his voice so he could rescue his friends? Why cut all of that just to make up other things to fill up the time and space?? I just don't understand.

Alright, that was my mini rant. Otherwise, I liked it. Some of it was a little to action-y for my tastes. But I LOVE watching Orlando Bloom as Legolas when he does fight scenes. That man works hard to look so graceful. I love it. The romance between Tauriel and Kili was charming, I thought.

Some girl behind me (she was annoying throughout the movie) kept saying at the end, "But a dwarf and and elf?! That's just not OK. Just not OK." Et cetera, et cetera. But she had no reason except that it was, apparently, just not right. Great reason, eh? And I don't know why it matters anyway. She probably hasn't read the books. She was dumb. I liked it. (Plus, we had been refering to Tauriel as "Legolas' girlfriend," which made me want to hurt her, because he's mine! So now I can like her.) I did like seeing a strong woman and a strong female elf. Not that Arwen was weak at all, but she wasn't a fighter. And I do so love archers...

I won't ruin anything else. There were a few little issues, but overall I liked it.

Happy Thanksgivukkah!

As many of you know, Thanksgiving and Hannukah overlapped this year. This hasn't happened for (estimated) 100 years and isn't predicted to happen again for another 60 or so. That makes this pretty special, if you ask me!

I didn't do a post on Thanksgiving, though I definitely thought about it. Since it is still the season, here are some of the things that I am thankful for:
-My family who love and support me
-My friends who always know how to cheer me up and whom I am so comfortable with
-My boyfriend who works hard to make our lives better and who I am still in love with after all this time
-My rats who bring me endless joy
-Being able to go to continue my education to obtain my Masters
-Good books!

The first night of Hannukah was the night before Thanksgiving. Tonight is the fifth night. I celebrated by putting my construction paper menorah on my dorm room door:

My alternative, DIY construction paper menorah! Jealous?

Today is also December 1st. I always get excited for December. A few of my friends have birthdays this month, which means we get to have lots of fun! My birthday is in December, and I do love my birthday. I like to celebrate for about a week. Hannukah comes during December (or, this year, end of November and into December). And then, of course, Christmas.

It means that I can pull out the decorations (Hannukah and Christmas, alike), the Christmas music, and Christmas movies. I enjoy the decorations and music everywhere I go. It just feels joyful.

For me, Christmas is a very normal, public celebration. When I celebrate Hannukah, it is usually just me and just for me. Lighting the menorah (or pasting fake candles on my paper one, as the case may be) is something that I do by myself and for myself. Hannukah is personal and Christmas is what I usually celebrate with my loved ones.

I am not religious. Frankly, I would say that I am agnostic at best, but I identify atheist (or Jewish, depending on my mood). But much of my family is Jewish and the Jewish culture and religion appeals to me greatly. It is a huge part of my background that I identify with and cherish. It is a time for me to remember my grandparents who survived the Holocaust and to acknowledge their families who did not make it. It reminds me of winter and most importantly: hope. For me, lighting the menorah and taking part in my own little Hannukah traditions is more meditative than religious. Christmas is for me and my family and friends. Hannukah is for me.

So there you have it. Happy December, everyone!

Staying Positive

Staying positive is something that I try to do on a constant basis. It's not always easy to stay positive when life gets hard. Since many people have this problem, I thought that I would share some thoughts.

On a personal level, I feel that I am still trying to work on things to help my relationship with Isaac work better. Then our condo flooded, ruining our floors. After that the A/C was broken, and we had a leak in the bathroom ceiling. Now we have problems with the furnace, the dryer caught fire, and plenty of other little things like doors to be fixed. Because we don't have any money, the work falls to us and it is expensive and time consuming. We can only afford to do so much at a time and it takes a long time to finish some projects. It becomes a rather discouraging cycle in addition to our condo being a complete disaster area. And, of course, tensions run high. There is a lot of discontent at home for these reasons.

To make it worse (especially for Isaac), I am always up at school and only home on the weekends. And I usually have to cram all my work and friend visitations and time with Isaac into a very short amount of time. Not to mention trying to help out around the condo. I know that this strains Isaac because most of the responsibility lands on his shoulders.

As a result, Isaac doesn't often feel very positive about how everything is going at home. Sadly, I feel that way, too. It's hard not to feel defeated about all these bad things and not being able to make it all go away. And even when I am not around, it is difficult. I'm not there to help when something goes wrong (like the dryer catching fire) and the general negativity really begins to wear me down.

I do my best to stay positive. I know there is a lot to do and we can't do it all at once, but we are trying to get there. We always have projects to work on (some more fun than others). That our financial situation won't always be so rough. Even though I know things will get better, it gets hard to endure the time in between. Especially because I thrive best when the people around me are positive. So when Isaac is feeling down, it gets hard for me to see someone that I love so much being so unhappy and not being able to do anything about it. That part is probably the most discouraging.

Plus, being up at school all the time sometimes makes me lonely. None of my friends and family are up here and I rarely get to see any of them. I actually enjoy being alone most of the time, but on occasion, it does make me a little sad. And I really miss my little ratties. How could I not, right? Those cute little faces!

Little Remus and Romulus!

And there is one way I stay positive: I look at pictures of my rats and always look forward to playing with them on the weekends. I always look forward to seeing the rats.

I try to make some little plans with friends and Isaac. If I get to see some of my family, that's a bonus, but our schedules don't line up all the time.

Sometimes I think we have to get away and take a break. That is something that I get plenty of, but I know Isaac doesn't get enough. I try to make sure I spend time with him, preferably away from the condo for a bit. I think that helps both of us.

I watch (or listen) to a lot of shows via Netflix. Sometimes I take little breaks from homework to watch a silly video, or go on Tumblr (which always has things to make me laugh), or read a chapter of a book. Sometimes I text my friends or bother them on Facebook. I am lucky enough to have good friends who reach back when I reach out. That always makes me happy. Sometimes I just need a cookie or a cup of coffee to cheer me up. Mostly I stay busy with my program, which is a pretty effective distraction, if nothing else!

Halloween, my favorite holiday, was a little sad this year. I spent it by myself in my room doing homework in my costume... That sounds pathetic, yes? I was feeling very down, until I Skyped with Isaac. He talked to me for a long time and brought out the rats. They all cheered me up very nicely. I hope that I have a similar effect on him.

I like to feel happy and positive. In all honesty, I usually succeed. Every once in a while, I just need a boost. And I am making it my goal to try to stay positive through all of this, for myself and for Isaac. Isaac, if you are reading this, I love you and I think we can see this through together.