Motion of emotion

This morning at work I received a phone call from an employee trying to verify coverage for his daughter. This particular employee was not happy. No, that doesn't even fit. He was livid. This guy's daughter is very sick and he can't afford to pay anything else out of pocket to see some kind of specialist. He was yelling at me, telling me that the previous person he spoke to needed to be fired and that he was going to sue the benefit company. I offered the options that I had for him, but of course it is such an urgent situation for him that the options weren't good enough. He continued to badger me and yell and bruise my ego. Side note: Now, it wouldn't have been that big of deal on any other day, but last night I got about two hours of sleep because of Mia. This entire week I've probably had a total of six to eight hours of sleep. Mia isn't adjusting to our new sleeping arrangements yet and has affected my shut eye. So when this guy threw at me, "You have no idea what I'm going through, being a father watching your child go through such terrible pain", it hit me. Hard. I informed this gentleman that I am a single mom and I completely understand. After this phone call ended, 45 minutes later and after my supervisor was pulled in without resolving anything, I burst into tears. Now it's been a very long time since I've cried. This wasn't crying, this was bawling, sobbing even. He hit a very sensitive nerve with the parent thing. I, of all people, understand the difficulties of being a parent and not being able to help your child who is sick or in pain. I had to step away from my desk for a good 20 minutes to compose myself before I could answer another call. Every time someone would walk up to me, the waterworks would start up again. My supervisor is the best lady in the entire world. She kept offering to give me a hug, but I knew if she even touched me I would lose it again. I'm sure this looks great being a temp. "Sure she can handle difficult calls, just give her an hour to cry it off". Damn it. Damn the hormones and damn the lack of sleep. I know that working in a job that I do requires some tough skin. I am the type of person that can resolve a problem and keep the person on the other end calm enough to get the problem fixed. I'm chalking this one up to exhaustion and hormones. I'm a woman for Pete's sake!

Twilight Review

Last night I had the great pleasure of seeing Twilight with Nicole and Linds. The movie started at 9:30 so I thought showing up an hour early would be sufficient for a good seat. Oh boy, was I ever wrong! There were literally 250 people in front of us in line. People had brought folding camp chairs, were wearing 'Team Edward' and 'Team Jacob' shirts and were generally excited to see this movie that we've all been waiting for. On our way to the theater, we stopped at Wal Mart to pick up some necessities (theater food and drinks are way over priced). I picked up the Twilight soundtrack while there and listened to it on our way to the movie. Lindsey and Nicole made fun of every song mercilessly (assholes) and kinda pissed me off. Okay, they really pissed me off. One of the songs on the soundtrack was written and sung by Rob Pattinson. I think it's a beautiful song and it's very well written. Nicole and Lindsey had other thoughts about it. Moving on.
I guess I'll just break up the review into points. Maybe it'll be easier to explain. Warning: if you haven't seen the movie, I really don't want to spoil it for you, and this is going to be full of spoilers.
1. Charlie. Billy Burke did an excellent job portraying Charlie. His uncomfortable relationship is thrown right out there from the very first scene together with Bella in his car when he notes that her hair is longer from the last visit. To which Bella responds that she had actually cut it since then. Cue the awkward silence. I loved the part when Charlie is cleaning his shotgun and Bella tells him that Edward Cullen wants to meet him and that she's going on a date with him. Charlie snaps his gun shut and says, "Bring 'im in". So funny.
2. The students. Mike, Angela, Jessica, Eric and Tyler were great! They fit the description of the characters wonderfully. Although, when Eric Yorkie was introduced, Nicole leaned over to me and asked, 'Since when was Eric Asian?!'. Eh, I thought he did an excellent job. Mike was the overly-protective wannabe boyfriend, Jessica was the jealous bitch and Angela was the kindhearted friend that Bella comes to lean on in Eclipse.
3. The Cullens. Where to start? All around they were excellent. Rosalie was very intimidating, very beautiful and very bitchy. Emmett was the fun loving handsome 'big brother'. Alice was tiny, beautiful and friendly and Jasper was very stand offish and you could tell that he was trying his hardest to control himself around the humans. Esme and Carlisle were great as the parents! There was the scene when Edward is taking Bella to meet the Cullens and they're cooking Italian food for her. Bella tells them that she's already eaten because she knew they didn't eat regular food. Rosalie is holding a glass bowl and shatters it making glass and food fly everywhere. After the little spat is over, Esme looks at Rosalie very sternly and says, 'You're going to clean that up'. Carlisle was breathtakingly handsome with his pale features and golden hair. I wouldn't mind getting sick just so he could tend to me. I was a little disappointed that the Cullens didn't have much of a presence in the movie. But what little parts they had were great.
4. Bella. She was the most disappointing character. Kristen Stewart tried really hard, but her acting skills just lack the flexibility to be feminine and relaxed. She is such a tense actor! But when I thought that she would ruin a scene with Rob, she completely surprised me. The electricity between Rob and Kristen was very tangible. She connected well with the love story throughout, but I wish she would just relax a little more.
5. Jacob. I loved Jacob! His part was very small, but what I did see of him I loved. When Stephenie Meyer says that Jacob is Bella's personal sun in New Moon, Taylor Lautner fits the mold perfectly. Bella and Jacob's relationship is so easygoing and carefree in Twilight. They set it up well for the sequels. And of course, Jacob's father's warning at the end 'We'll be watching' was perfect.
6. Edward. Oh my gosh, Rob Pattinson did a phenomenal job with this character. I have nothing bad to say about Edward. He was absolutely beautiful, intense, funny and just all around perfect. Where Kristen Stewart lacked, Rob picked it up. His little half smiles, his beautiful topaz eyes and his body (oh my god, his body) was just perfect!
Now, some of my favorite scenes:
1. The cafeteria. From beginning, the cafeteria set up the feeling of them vs. us, The Cullens vs. the humans. It introduced each character very well.
2. The Cullen house. I just loved seeing every one of the Cullens and their surroundings being 'normal'. I really liked the scene when Bella and Edward are listening to Debussy's Clair De Lune and Bella tells Edward that she can't dance to which he replies, 'I could make you'.
3. Tree Jumping. The special effects were amazing. Edward throws Bella over his shoulder and proceeds to run up the trees. Awesome.
4. The Baseball field. Everyone seemed to loosen up around Bella and be themselves. That is until Bella declares Rosalie out after she slides into home base. When Rosalie walks passed Bella with that fierce look on her face, it gave me chills.
5. The Kiss. Oh man. I think all of my bones melted and I forgot to breathe during this scene. It was hot, and very intense! I could see Catherine Hardwicke going other places with this scene, but I'm glad they kept it at the kiss. I don't know if I could handle anymore of the love scene in a theater full of 12 and 13 year old girls. Bella is on her cell phone with her mom telling her that she wants to stay in Forks when she's startled by Edward who has just come in through the window. Edward tells Bella that he wants to try one thing and to be very still. Then they move excruciatingly slow towards one another and lock lips. Bella gets a little excited and then Edward pushes her back on to her bed and it heats up even more. That is, until Edward growls and throws himself off the bed next to the wall and says he can never lose control with her again. Whew!
6. The hospital scene at the end was heart wrenching. Edward tells Bella that it's his fault that she's in the hospital with a broken leg, nearly severed artery and vampire teeth marks on her arm. He tells her that he will never put her in danger again and that he wants her to move to Florida with her mom. Bella gets a little hysterical and Edward tells her that he won't leave her.
7. The prom. It was kind of rushed and corny, but it ties things up nicely. Bella tells Edward that she wished he hadn't sucked the venom out of her arm and that she overheard Alice saying that Bella will someday become one of them, so why delay the inevitable? Edward leans Bella back like he's going to bite her neck and ever so lightly kisses her. Love it! Oh, and Victoria's at the prom, very upset. (I smell a sequel in the makings...)
All in all, I enjoyed it. Some of the special effects were corny like the vampires running. Supposedly, they ran so fast, it looked like they weren't running at all. The 'sparkly' part was actually done very well. The effect of Edward's skin in the sunlight could have gone very wrong but it turned out great. Oh, did I mention that Stephenie Meyer made her debut in the film? Yeah, kind of stupid if you ask me.
I walked out of the theater feeling excited and disappointed. Excited that I just got to sit through two hours of Rob Pattinson's glorious face and voice and disappointed in some of the things I mentioned previously (IE Kristen Stewart, the fast paced relationship and some of the effects). They couldn't please everyone, right? I really think that if you've read the book and want to see it, go into it not expecting to be dazzled. Remember that they couldn't fit the 500 plus page book into a two hour movie and that they only had 37 million dollars to work with. I probably won't pay to see it again, but I will purchase the DVD when it's released. So for now, I can listen to the soundtrack and enjoy the visuals in my head from the books.

Updates

Home life is going great! I've moved into my new place and the feeling is great. I feel free and responsible and peaceful (corny, I know). I can sit on the couch without feeling guilty that I'm not scrubbing the top of the refrigerator or baseboards. I actually sat through an entire episode of Arthur the other afternoon with Mia. Crazy, I know. I also live with some great people. Lacy is hilarious and always can make me laugh with her Borat impressions. Justin is a neat freak, but in a good way. His best friend, I swear, is his damn Bissel Spot Bot. Zack is very quiet and reserved, but comes up with the funniest comebacks, especially when he and Justin are bickering like an old married couple.
Work is getting busy. It's starting to pick up so my days fly by, which is always good. I enjoy the people I work with and I love what I do. Who knew customer service centers could be so fun? That is, until you get a "Test Call" from a stupid client that makes you sweat bullets and fear for your job.
Love life: Vacant. I am now taking applications. Musts: A good, stable job, is house broken, likes kids, is generally clean, good hygiene, enjoys long walks on the sidewalk and is honest and trustworthy.
My life is a-okay right now (knock on wood). Money is tight and stressful still, but somehow I'm managing.

P.S. Two days until Twilight!! You KNOW I have tickets. I'm dragging Nicole and Linds with me.

P.S.S. Thanks to everyone who wished me well on getting over the sinus infection from hell, the flu AND laryngitis! My voice is finally back and now I'm just coughing up the green crap from my chest. TMI... I know.

Happy Windsday, Pooh

I'm moving out. Finally. It's become very hard to live at my mother's house lately. Don't get me wrong, we've got plenty of space for everyone to coexist comfortably. Unfortunately, peace does not exist in that house anymore. If I don't move out now, my relationship with my mother will soon fail. I'm moving in with some great friends I work with. I am so looking forward to the freedom that this will hold. Unlike the last time I moved out from my mom's house, this time feels right.

It's raining and dark and blustery outside today. It matches my mood. I'm not ornery or grumpy, I'm kind of sad. A coworker of mine that I've grown very close to in these past few weeks is moving to a different building of ours tomorrow. This. Is. Depressing. It's only for a few weeks while this project is going on, but a few weeks is a long time for an impatient person.

I'm going to have pictures taken by a friend of mine with Mia this afternoon. This will be the first time since Mia was three months old that we have had professional pictures done. I'm thrilled! I'll post pictures as soon as I get them back.

Hopefully I'll see the sun today... This gloomy weather is starting to get annoying.

November 4th

I know, I know, it's been past "a few days" since my last post. I've fallen into a serious routine that goes something like this: Get up, shower, go to work, come home, feed Mia, go to bed. Get up, shower, go to work, come home, feed Mia go to bed. Don't get me wrong, I love the routine. It just doesn't leave much room for spontaneity, like blogging. So, I'm bloggin' at work. Shh!

I'm SO excited!! I bought three Twilight movie tickets last week for myself, Nicole and Linds for the November 21st showing at 9:30. Did I mention that I'm excited? If you didn't catch that, I am. I've been obsessively fine-tooth combing my Google reader through the several Twilight related blogs that I've saved for pictures, interviews and trailers for the movie. I've probably spoiled the movie already from everything I've seen so far. Who cares, I'm still going to see it opening night.

To feed my obsession with Twilight and the actors (Oh God, Rob Pattinson is a hottie with a sexy British accent), I received a direct message via Twitter from one of my favorite people residing on the east coast (okay, she's probably the only person on the east coast that I know), Fran, saying, "Edward Cullen (Rob Pattinson) was on my radio show this morning, Sexy British accent. Adorably self-deprecating personality. I'm in love.", I seriously started squealing. At work. My coworkers looked at me like I was nuts. My reply to this was something along the lines of, "Edward Cullen was on my friend's radio this morning! This justifies squealing!!" All the while blushing severely and trying to crawl under my desk. I have to remind myself to act like an adult. Say it with me: You are an adult. You are an adult.

Today is voting day! I haven't mentioned anything about politics previously because I hear about it enough at work and at home and I didn't want to discuss it here. Work politics always turn to the issues about homosexuals and religion. I just nod and space out when this happens. At home it's almost the same thing. My mom and I have different political views and for the longest time I wouldn't tell her who I was voting for. This would lead to a very long discussion (not argument) about the two different parties and why we thought the candidate we were voting for would make a good president. Not to mention their running mates and our opinions on them. It's been a crazy race so far with all of the media involvement. After much deliberation, I've decided that I'm voting for the Democratic party. A lot of this decision was made after McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate. That woman scares the shit out of me. Seriously. I think McCain is a great senator for Arizona, but he's getting up there in age. What if he dies? President Pa.. Pa.. Pa.. I can't even spell it, it's so terrible! So if you're registered, get out there and vote! It's time for a change. By the end of the day, we'll either have an African American president or a woman VP in the white house. This day will go down in history.