Sunday, March 25, 2012

An Odd Occurence

The power flickered last night. 


Not a big deal, really. It reset the clock we have in the bedroom. Oh, and it turned on the heaters in both rooms. 


We always turn the overhead heaters off before going to bed as I can't sleep with hot air blowing in my face and, well, we sleep under warm covers. For the coldest months we used a space heater to help keep the room bearable for my wife, whose body doesn't run as warm as mine does.


Anyway, I woke up early this morning, about 4:30, and had to go to the bathroom. I zombied back into bed. Then the overhead heater kicked on. "I didn't turn it on," said Chelsea, a little defensively  (to my ears anyway). 


I lay in bed for a few minutes, too lazy to want to get up and turn off the heater. I was hoping I could sleep with it on, but no luck. So I got up and turned off the bedroom heater. I could still hear a blowing sound, so I opened the bedroom door and turned off the unit in the other room.


Just a little weird. Usually power flickers turn things off, not on.





Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Birthdays

I turned 35 today.


I may be a bit young for this mentality, but I tend to ignore my birthdays as much as possible. When Chelsea asked if I was excited for my birthday, I quoted Vanessa Carlton, "Just a day, just an ordinary day." 


My principal reason for not making a big deal out of my birthday is that I am an introvert. I just don't like all the attention. If I am able to, I will usually take the day off of work. This year that wasn't an option, as I have plans for my vacation days.


I know that other people enjoy making a fuss about the person who is having a birthday. I usually try not to advertise my birthday, so I can avoid the fuss. Facebook has prevented this. So I've learned to be gracious and thank people for their well-wishes.


At the English Village, we have the students as questions of the teachers they've not had before. A popular question is "how old are you?" I've told my students this week that I am 34, but will be 35 this week. It takes them a moment to realize that I'm having a birthday. Then they clap. Last night, one girl told me, "Have a happy birthday tomorrow." It was very kind and thoughtful of her to remember.


I still don't think my birthday is a big deal, but I appreciate the thoughts of others.





Friday, March 9, 2012

Sergeants 3...

...is an interesting film.

I just watched it for the first time. From what I've read, it's a western remake of Gunga Din, starring the Rat Pack. I've never seen Gunga Din, so I can't comment on that aspect of the film. It was a fun movie, though. I actually felt like the acting was pretty solid. 

It made me a little bit homesick. Sergeants 3 was filmed in Southern Utah, specifically Bryce Canyon National Park and the canyons and area surrounding Kanab, UT. I grew up in Kanab. I recognized most of the scenery. Even knew a couple of the canyons. There was a lot of "Oh, I've been there quite a few times."

I decided to watch this movie because I've heard about it repeatedly throughout my life. My father was an extra during the filming of the movie. I watched for his face and never picked it out of the crowds. 

Whenever my dad talked about this movie, he had a very low opinions of the stars. The only member of the Rat Pack that he thought was a good guy was Sammy Davis Jr. Dad thought the other guys were jerks, to put it politely. 

Overall, it was fun to watch. I felt it was a little light on plot, that the story needed a little fleshing out, but it was worth a watch, even if you only watch it to try and pick out the face of a particular extra during the crowd scenes.