Trips are so exciting!

...And so expensive.

Tickets, clothing, travel expense, etc, etc. Not to mention the urge to buy a new digital camera so I can have AMAZING photos of the races. I almost got a new digital camera a few years ago (a DSLR camera), but opted against it. My digital camera did okay last year. It wasn't bad, but I didn't always get "crisp" photos because I zoomed so much. Sometimes it's just needed, especially on the back stretch when you want the entire field and you're standing on the rail. Oh man, I can't wait for that. It was FANTASTIC watching the races on the back stretch. You can actually hear the horses running by and see them without a sea of people in front of you...So excited. At any rate, no new camera. I just can't splurge THAT much, but I am going to bring BOTH digital camera batteries. I took so many photos and video that I could barely even photo the final race because my battery died and then I used my phone for some photos, which almost killed my phone battery. So...This year...Both camera batteries AND I know that Santa Anita has horrible cell reception so I won't even bother with my phone and won't need it for a camera. I'm excited! I do need to figure out my shoes...I bought a pair of shoes (relatively cheap at $10) because the PERFECT pair of shoes I found (they match my hat!) weren't available in any of the stores. I came home, looked them up, and found a pair available on-line, but shipping and cost, they come to about $22. Do I really need the perfect pair of shoes for my hat or should I stay with my "workable" shoes, which work with everything, but aren't "perfect"? I've got about a week to decide if the extra money is worth it or not. The tickets arrived, though, and I got my cardigan for my dress and plane ticket. So...It's coming together! It's going to be good. :)

In the mean time, I'm taking a non-credit certificate program for grant writing at Oregon State University. OSU offers the class through the university, but there's an organization that actually sets up the class. I had a really difficult time paying for the class because of my lack of reading and being tired (tip: don't pay for things when you're really, really tired...), but I FINALLY got the class paid for and I'm taking it (honestly, for a digital class, my payment difficulties seemed absolutely ridiculous). It's been interesting. I never realized how much work really goes into grant writing. Wow! To be really prepared, it's nuts! Then again, a lot of the work is just getting your end of things in order (statements, etc), but knowing what materials the potential funder needs/wants will definitely take time. Also, finding funders will take time and shouldn't be kept to just internet searching. At any rate, just 3 weeks into the class, but it's interesting. The only thing that determines if you get the certificate is your final so I'm not always doing all the assignments, but I am making sure I do the quizzes (only 5 questions) and doing all the reading. I am reading my fellow classmates discussion stuff too.

Work's been an interesting roller coaster this week...Can't really say much about it, but it's been interesting...In the end, things are pretty much the same. It was a long week and a week I seemed to be tired everyday. Oh well. Continuing my job search, tyvm...

With that, movies! I actually watched a movie I rather liked this week.

The Great Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire) - It's been a long time since I've read Gatsby, so it's hard for me to compare it to what the book is. It does make me want to break out my AP English notes when I read the book my junior year in high school. I will say, I'm a little disappointed in it. Baz Luhrmann (Australia, Moulin Rouge, Romeo & Juliet, Strictly Ballroom) is known for being opulent and over the top and the trailer showed this opulence. It's definitely opulent and over the top, but it gets bogged down in the sad moments and mostly just ends up being rather depressing and misses the interest of the book. I may not remember the book, but I don't remember hating it or finding it boring (we read it in 9 days -- a chapter a day). It sort of drags in certain scenes too. I at first thought Maguire was a good Nick and Mulligan a good Daisy, but I'm not so sure now. DiCaprio was a decent Gatsby. I liked him a little less the more I watched. He isn't bad and, in ways, sort of saves the movie, but I guess I felt like it was too "expected" of DiCaprio? Joel Edgerton who plays Tom was good, though. I wish Baz had just gone all the way, I suppose, with his vision of the film. The music in the beginning was kind of weird too. I like the Florence + the Machine song (of course) and I do enjoy the "party" song, but some of the rest just didn't work as well. At any rate, I'm glad I saw it, but I don't think I'd readily recommend it. Grade: C

Redemption (Jason Statham, Agata Buzek) - Predictable and kind of funny since he ends up falling with a nun, but the movie doesn't have a happily-ever-after ending and the middle of it is the only non-depressing part of the movie. The rest of it is rather dower. Wasn't a bad Statham film, though. I've seen worse. I did sort of like the redemption part of it, but the end kind of threw it out of the window too. Grade: C

Fill the Void (Hadas Yaron, Yiftach Klein) - I'm still a little confused by the movie. I liked it, but the falling-or-each other part was a little mystifying to me. I'm not in doubt at the end that they truly love each other, but I am a little mystified how it happened. I know part of it is the family connection, but it was a little odd in that sense. With that said, I liked the movie. There's something about it that works. It's gentle, not pushy, artsy, and, yet, is a movie that everyone can understand even though it's set within a very orthodox Hasidic Jewish community. Family obligations and wanting to be loved are not things that religion or nationality discriminate against. Arranged marriages are going out the door, but this didn't feel the same like you normally see. Glad I watched it, but not sure how often I would recommend it. It's one of those foreign films not many people will watch. Grade: B-

The Kings of Summer (Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias) - I adored this. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. It has a somewhat flavor as Moonrise Kingdom (the running away from your weird family and living off the land) or even Stand By Me, but this was about growing up, finding who you are, independence, friendship, family, and summer. I really liked it. The part I did NOT enjoy -- I have to mention this for my animal rights friends -- is the killing, skinning, and eating of a rabbit. I did not enjoy that scene and it IS the only incident and it's a relatively important scene, but it bothered me. It is frivolous and silly and could have been better, but I still liked it. Grade: B

Imposter (Documentary) - I'm not sure why I wanted to watch this, but watch it I did. It leaves an interesting opening at the end about the family. I thought it was a good documentary that showed everything that happened, all the speculations, and the final outcome. It was played out to be a bit of a mystery with the family and how they were so convinced that their son had returned. It's just not my normal thing to watch and I was a little bored through it... Grade: C+

This is the End (Seth Rogan, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill) - What in the world?! I knew it was going to be absolutely ridiculous and far beyond ridiculous with some laughs thrown in and maybe some other bad humor jokes; it met all those expectations, but I still at the end went, "What in the world?!" I think the best thing about the movie is how how the actors play their named selves, but they're playing different versions of themselves. Because they're playing different versions of themselves, there are a lot of jokes that revolve around their previous acting gigs. Like they poke fun at Emma Watson playing Hermione and James Franco in 127 Hours or the ones in Pineapple Express. There are a lot of cameos by various actors/singers, which was kind of fun to see. Knowing what these actors had played in does help you a little in getting some of the jokes. With that said, this movie was absolutely ridiculous and almost sacrilege! Though, the end with the Backstreet Boys in Heaven was rather hilarious. I did enjoy that, but the rest of it is not my thing. Grade: C- (for the laughs)

Dredd (Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby) - My housemate watched it and liked it (he's a comic book fan). It came out on DVD earlier this year and I contemplated renting it, but ended up not. My co-worker recently watched it and absolutely enjoyed it so I decided to watch it because it's streaming everywhere now (Netflix and Amazon Prime). I liked it! I think it's just about the perfect length (1.5 hours) and I think Urban did a good Dredd. I also liked the evolution of Thirlby's Judge Anderson. It is rather violent and bloody, but it's not more than like Wanted. I thought it was better than it's been given credit for and I wouldn't mind seeing a Dredd 2, but I don't know if that'll happen since it didn't do very well in theaters. It's not quite a movie I would want to own, but it is available on streaming and I think, at some point, I would watch it again. Grade: C+/B-

Just 18 more movies to 100!