Floating Leaf

Childhood Privilege Meme (snagged from rainweaver13 and mellacita) - the bolded sentences below are the ones that were true about me (also, I removed a few that didn't apply simply because I didn't grow up in the United States).

Father went to college.

Father finished college.

Mother went to college.

Mother finished college.

Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor. (No; of all our relatives, my parents were probably the most educated.)

Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers. (Not sure I understand this one. Was I higher class than my high school teachers? In what way?)

Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.

Had more than 500 books in your childhood home. (Maybe... I'm not sure. If not, that's only because there wasn't enough room.:D)

Were read children's books by a parent.

Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18. I took private English lessons while in high school, which made it possible for me to pass the entrance exams for the English studies at university - because my high school English teacher clearly knew less than I did at that point.;P

Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18.

The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively. I think so... lol.

Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18. (I don't think I'd heard of credit cards before I turned 18.;)

Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs (costs after scholarships). (Nope. Education was free in my country. If it wasn't, probably neither my parents nor me would have gotten any.:P)

Went to a private high school.

Had a private tutor before you turned 18.

Family vacations involved staying at hotels. Very cheap ones, more like hostels, I guess... but yeah, sort of.

Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18. (Nooope. I lived in a world of used clothes, hand-me-downs and my mother's own inventive creations.;)

Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them. (Well... certainly not when I was a kid. They bought me one here, four years ago... and it wasn't a hand-me-down from them, but it was used anyway.)

There was original art in your house when you were a child. Yes. My father's paintings.:)

You and your family lived in a single-family house. (Nooo... we lived in a one-bedroom or studio of sorts until I was seven - the four of us, including my grandmother - and then we moved to a two-bedroom, with each of the bedrooms about the size of two large office cubicles.:|)

Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home. Yeah. It was a rathole, but they owned it.:)

You had your own room as a child. Well... for about two years, I guess. After we moved to the bigger apartment and before my sister came along.:) But even during the time when I sort of had my own room, my grandma slept in it. She spent most of the day in the kitchen, though, or in front of the TV, so I guess I could be alone in that room... SOMETIMES.:|

You had a phone in your room before you turned 18.

Had your own TV in your room in High School. (No. And I still don't. Because I don't want it.:P)

Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16.

Went on a cruise with your family. (Buahahaaa, no. Not until now, btw.)

Went on more than one cruise with your family. (See above.)

Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up.

You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family. As a kid, I lived pretty much in my own world and wasn't much aware of the financial aspects of life - but I knew it was a BAD THING when I spent too much time running hot water in the bath (especially since we had one bathroom for the five of us, from the time I was nine - which is when my sister was born - until my grandma died when I was 18).

Btw, we weren't considered poor back in the old country. We were middle class, I guess. Which might give the Americans on my flist some idea of what 'lower class' Eastern European living was like.:D To paraphrase a quote from one of my favorite movies: "That's why we left. To find a better life.":P


But speaking of movies... I watched Perfume last night. ( You know, the one based on the famous novel by Patrick Suskind. )

Okay. The garbage misplacement mystery has been solved.:) ( It wasn't me, and it wasn't some supernatural telekinetic force either.;) )

Anyway... time for a change of topic. I made Spicy Aromatic Chicken today - with artichoke hearts, tomatoes and black olives, among other things - and it turned out delicious. I bought ground cloves specifically for this recipe, and I can't get over how absolutely orgasmic they smell... lol. Almost better than cinnamon!... (and that's saying a lot, because I could totally get high on cinnamon...;). I have a nice little collection of fragrant spices in my kitchen cabinet now, and sometimes I just open the containers at random and take a sniff... just for the hell of it.;D I still can't believe I am making all this wonderful food all by myself, eating better than I ever have, AND losing weight. It is a wonder. I am loving it. And yes, cooking takes time. A good few hours per week I would otherwise spend glued to my computer screen, munching on some 'quick'n'easy' high-calorie snacks and growing another set of spare tires around my middle. When you look at it that way, I am doing myself a favor in more ways than one. *nods*

So here I am. All by myself on New Year's Eve. Looking forward to having a Viggo-watching marathon later tonight... but now I just felt compelled to make a little post, since it seems to be a general tendency among my flist to do some kind of summary of the year 2007 and whatever good or bad things it brought with it. And well... normally I don't like to do this, because my life in recent years seems pretty monotonous, and there's really not much to write home about (not much by way of good things, anyway)... but 2007 was a bit different, actually, so maybe this is the time to take note of that. Or maybe I just needed an excuse to make another post, because I'm an obsessive-compulsive Babbler For No Reason (how's that for a lofty and meaningless honorary title, hmmm?...;).

( So here are the positive changes/events that have occurred in my life since January 2007: )

Hello, everyone. I survived Christmas.;) Actually, if I had a T-shirt saying exactly that, I would be wearing it now.:P ( I can't tell you how glad I am that this massive celebration of gluttony - which is the most apt description of Christmas at my parents' house - happens only once a year. )

Okay. Change of topic. I bought the Eastern Promises DVD yesterday, and I am disappointed to note that it contains very little by way of additional material. Only two short documentary features: one a typical 'making of' story, the other specifically about the tattoos. Very interesting, that's for sure... but how about a longer Viggo/David interview, deleted scenes, premiere footage etc.etc.etc. There was so much extra stuff on A History of Violence. I guess I expected just as much here... *regretful sigh*

Well... I guess that's it for tonight. I am tempted to whinge and complain some more, but enough is enough.;) There's a lot of lovely Christmas V/O fic posted all over my flist; I'd better save time & energy for catching up.:) Best mood-lifter there ever was.:D

I think I love my workplace. We had another holiday lunch today, and then they let us go home, while still putting a full eight-hour day on our timesheets. The same thing (four hours work with pay for eight) will happen on Christmas Eve, and then on New Year's Eve. Not many companies do that - not here in the States, anyway. It is also the most relaxed, comfortable office I have ever worked in. ( Most of the people - including top managers - are totally laid back and non-threatening, with no power issues whatsoever. )

The scale this morning: 145 lbs. Yay! :) And you know what? I'm not afraid of Christmas. I will only stay at my parents' house for about 24 hours, after all. Whatever I eat during that time isn't going to destroy me.;) And I am way too happy with my new eating habits (and the results!) to just abandon them on a whim. I am pretty confident I can 'stray' from them every once in a while, for a special occasion, and then easily come back. It's happened a few times already. Luckily enough, I don't seem to have a neurotic relationship with food. I feel no guilt, no regret, no intense cravings for whatever isn't good for me (as long as someone doesn't place it on the table in front of me, of course ;P). No urge to overeat, either - however wonderful something tastes. When I'm full, and there's still food on the plate, I cover it up and save it for later. I find it a very practical approach, especially since I started cooking on a regular basis; the less I eat at any given time, the longer the dish will last. So it's a win-win situation.:D

Anyway... gotta go now, but might make another post later tonight, if time allows.:)

Yesterday morning the scale showed 146 lbs. Today it's a bit higher again, but still over a pound down from last week's score. So all's good. I'm losing again - if a bit slower. That's fine. As long as I drop another 10 lbs by next spring.:D

Also, today I had a day off. The boss actually reminded me that I had some unused personal time available! ( Can you imagine a boss like that? )

So... this is the latest news on Alatriste. When I logged on to Amazon a few days ago to make a complaint about that bootleg I received instead of the original Spanish DVD, the first thing I noticed was a BRAND NEW LATIN AMERICAN RELEASE, REGION 1, NTSC. I nearly flipped over, let me tell you.:) I ordered it as soon as I got an email from the bootleg seller with an apology and a promise to send my money back. I'm still waiting for the money, but the new DVD is here already. I found it in my mailbox this afternoon. Which is amazing enough in itself, since I ordered it about four days ago, and didn't expect it to arrive till sometime next week. So, if you happen to live in North America and are interested in owning a legal, region 1 copy of this movie, IT IS NOW AVAILABLE from a reliable source, and ships very fast too. And costs over fifty bucks, I might add. But, honestly, what does money matter where Viggo is concerned?...:D

Not sure I can make a coherent post about the movie itself right now, since I have only just seen it... but let me say only that it is beautiful. And heartbreaking. And very atmospheric. The photography is absolutely stunning. The music is a very subtle, but perfectly fitting background, adding even more depth to the images. The story itself could use another two hours to be told in sufficient detail, I believe, because too many of the characters and events are glimpsed too briefly; but that is the common problem of literary adaptations. I just need to read the books, I guess.:) In the end, though, I don't think it really matters that much whether you know exactly who is who, what they are plotting for or against and why. The overwhelming sadness and fatality of it all is a clear enough message on its own. And Viggo plays a perfectly heartbreaking tragic character - precisely because he is so understated about it. But that's Viggo. He possessed the ability to speak volumes with a single look or gesture twenty years ago already; it's just getting more and more refined. And don't even get me started on his scenes with Ariadna Gil. Oh. My. God. The one where he comes to see her at the hospital just made me bawl my eyes out... (not that it's a surprise; romantic!Viggo does that every time :P)

Anyway... I have to stop now. It's far too late for me to still be up and online, weekend or not. I just had to share the excitement.:D

Snagged from alliwantisanelf:




Ahahaaa!... Go me.:D

In other news, my Alatriste DVD has arrived. Except it's unplayable. Yes, I knew it was gonna be 'region 2', and I didn't expect it to play on my laptop - but we tried my brother-in-law's computer on Thanksgiving (he has some super-duper software installed that supposedly plays all regions), and it didn't work either. In fact, it's probably a bootleg copy. The box says: "Edicion limitada - 2 discos", and there's only one disc inside, which looks slightly damaged; moreover, there is some Chinese (Korean?... Vietnamese?...) lettering on it next to the Spanish. WTF?... Looks like the guy I bought it from makes his money by selling multiple burned copies of the same original movie. I am SO going to report him to Amazon. Not that it will help me much, because I don't honestly care about his illegal business, or even about getting my money back (luckily, it wasn't my money - I used a bonus gift coupon from my workplace); I just want to FINALLY see this film, dammit!!! Is waiting two years for it not enough???... *seethes*

So... if anyone reading this happens to have it, and could possibly make me a copy... I would be in your debt forever. In fact, I would gladly pay you for your trouble. I don't mind if it's a copy made from a region 2 DVD; I SHOULD be able to watch it SOMEWHERE, as long as the disc is not damaged. I just don't want to order another one online and risk getting duped again. *sigh*

So, this morning the scale showed 149 lbs. That's like... WOW. Almost two pounds down since Wednesday. Not that I'm complaining, but I don't quite understand why I'm doing so well all of a sudden. ( Read more... )