No Reservations

I can't believe it's August already. It seems the summer has flown right past me and now it's time to enter fall. The fall semester, that is. Weather-wise summer is still in full swing. The power at my house continues to go out at weird intervals with the monsoon storms, which is a nuisance, but watching the storms come in is so fun. We get lightning in Tucson like no other place I've been.

So, the past several days have been an assortment of fundraising, furniture arranging, sorting through almost all of my earthly possessions, and late-night painting escapades which last into the wee hours of morning. I'm preparing for three new roommates, and part of that involves moving into a different room in my house. I've experienced time and again that I don't know how much stuff I have until I have to pack it up to move. And, while this move is just down the hall, so there's less packing, I'm downsizing, so I'm realizing just how much stuff I have. After a summer in Africa, it's humbling.

Another part of the preparation for new roommates involves losing an old roommate. Amy moved out this week, and as she left, I realized this really is the end of an era for us. I have lived with Amy longer than any other person except my family. We've lived together a total of four out of the last five years. We've learned how to live together well, and I'm sad to see her go. Tonight we spent an evening together, just to get some good time in before she leaves for Texas. We did a little shopping, had some dinner and then went to see the movie No Reservations. I HIGHLY recommend this movie. It's definitely worth seeing, though I think there aren't many movies worth paying the $9.25(what??!!!??!!) I had to pay tonight. That, however is another topic for another conversation...

It's been awhile since I've gone to a movie where I've laughed, cried, felt totally drawn in by the love story, totally swept away by the soundtrack, and left afterwards feeling absolutely happy with how it turned out. I didn't quite know what I was about to see going in, because the previews I'd seen were kind of confusing. There was one with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Abigail Breslin where Catherine's character is a chef who takes in Abigail and has to learn how to be a parent - almost like Raising Helen. Then, I saw one where Catherine's character is a chef who has to deal with a new chef, played by Aaron Eckhart, who comes and challenges her in the kitchen and, of course, they fall in love. So, I didn't know exactly what to expect - was this a love story or a learn-to-be-a-parent story? The beautiful thing about it was that it blended both storylines seamlessly. Abigail Breslin (of Little Miss Sunshine fame) is an amazing little actress, and I felt she stole every scene in which she appeared. Yet, I really liked Catherine Zeta-Jones here, too. She's a hit and miss actress for me, but this one was definitely a hit. And I'm not familiar with Aaron Eckhart, but he won my heart for his character. I'm trying not to give too many details of the actual plot, but I can say I was blown away by the character development and the individual relationships. It was a sweet, sweet movie, and it's going on my "to own" list.

So, not that you read my blog for movie recommendations, but there you go. I'm kind of a movie buff (just a little bit), and I get excited about movies, and sometimes I just need to share that with the world. I also get pretty passionate about movies I don't like, so it goes both ways. If you want to get me riled up, just ask me what I think of the movie Love Actually...