Puzzles, a Job Offer, and a Hive Mind of Sea Pigs (among other matters)

This past week has picked up considerably from the week before. Most importantly, I've accepted a job offer, so my job search is thankfully over! It's worth noting that it took about 3 weeks of dedicated searching, with an average of about 2-4 applications per day. I accepted the offer on Wednesday, January 23, and the current projected start date is February 10.

The most interesting thing about this job is that I received the lead from a friend of mine at the canasta group that I attend some Fridays at Panera. I'm looking forward to going there again, maybe next week, to let her know that we're going to be colleagues now!

A few things are also exciting in the creative realm: I've finally landed on what kind of YouTube series I'll do (I've long had an interest in vlogging): I'm going to try out doing a jigsaw puzzle time lapse series, where I show my process of categorizing pieces and assembling them. I see other videos like it have done well, and I figure it will be both educational (for people who want to get into jigsaw puzzlery) and soothing to watch the puzzle come together - kind of like those addicting videos on Facebook where it shows a recipe being prepared, sped-up.

In any case, below is the first video I've done so far. I'm going to try to come out with new updates weekly, and I'll probably record the assembly footage for the next puzzle today!

The other fun thing that happened this week was that I went to Maryland to visit Nathan, the same day that I accepted the job. It was a good way to celebrate and I haven't seen Nathan for some time (since before the holidays) so it was great to catch up with him as well. Below is what we got up to:

• We went to Rinconcito Mexicano (one of our favorite restaurants in his area and the only Mexican restaurant in these parts that even remotely compares to Pancho Villa's).
• After we had indulged our gluttony, we returned to his house and played several rounds of his very wholesome video game "Dead at Daylight." I'm so terrible at it that my one gameplay as the killer brought down his ranking :D 
• He showed me an episode of "Hazbin Hotel." It was an interesting idea but I ultimately do not think that it is my jam.
• We slept and I had an interesting dream that I'll share more about momentarily.
• We lazed about in the morning until we both got really hungry and then we went to the General House (where it turns out that you cannot eat real generals, but you can partake in all-you-can-eat sushi).
• We went next door to Great Clips so that Nathan could get his hair cut.
• We watched the new Star Wars movie
• Later that evening, I went ahead and packed up and headed home since he would have to get up early the next morning for work anyway.

Now, regarding the wacky dream I had: I was at some kind of resort or apartment complex and my dad's family was nearby (they came in later in the dream, but I don't remember what all we got up to). Outside, it was nighttime. It had just rained a lot and the sidewalks and concrete stairs were flooded. I saw these weird little pinkish creatures drifting through the water and I felt revulsion. They looked like sea pigs.

This is a sea pig

I tried to avoid brushing against them, treating them with the same aversion as seaweed. I sloshed through water up to my ankles until I made it to the swimming pool, which was, of course, overflowing.

My boyfriend sat in the swimming pool, reclining in the corner with his elbows resting on the curb of the pool. I went over to talk to him (I am unsure now about what) and while we were speaking, a naked woman (there were several of them in the pool) came over and swam all up in his personal space, very suggestively (though I think it would have been hard to do it any other way in her current state).

My boyfriend was (understandably) distracted from our conversation, and I was irritable. I wanted to say, "Hey, lady! Can't you see me trying to have a conversation here?" I also felt jealous in the dream, so I ended up storming away at some point, at which time I reunited with my dad's family for the part of the dream that I no longer remember...

So I woke up and told this dream to Nathan, and the funny part was his response to it:

Nathan: Why didn't I get naked ladies?
Me: Maybe you were somewhere else in the pool and I just didn't talk to you.
Nathan: Maybe I was underwater the whole time and I died.
[After a moment]
Nathan: I was the sea pigs.
All of them.
A hive mind of sea pigs, drinking deep of the images of naked ladies.

Now that moment and a few others during my visit have led me to decide to keep a text/photo journal of amusing moments, both with Nathan and others. I think I'll probably ultimately store that on here, as a blog draft, so I can go look at it and get a giggle occasionally. Nathan shared that his friend Brent does the same thing. He has several Nathan quotations stored on his phone, some of them with context that is no longer remembered by either of them. After we talked about my dream, we actually called Brent so that Brent could share the quotes with me. I told Nathan that Brent is my favorite out of his friends (I like how he appreciates Nathan's humor as much as I do, and he seems like a very supportive, cool friend in general) - but I told him not to tell Brent that so it doesn't go to his head.

Finally, as I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to talk a little more about something I've started to call "film poetry," but that post was getting a little long so I figured I'd touch on it again here! What do I mean when I say film poetry? Well, here's how I tried to explain it in the last post:

Occasionally there will be a moment in a film that just comes across perfectly - sometimes it's the acting, sometimes it's timing, and other times it's a perfect synchronization of what is being shown onscreen and the music. Sometimes it's not even a very significant moment.

 In the last post, I described several such moments (at least from my aesthetic perspective) in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Here, I want to touch on one moment in The Ring, my favorite horror film and a film which happens to be full of film poetry. The reason I want to treat this one moment specifically is because of how insignificant it is in the scheme of the whole plot - yet at the same time, it underscores the pathos that the majority of the film is striving toward.

In this scene, Rachel is watching a recorded therapy session where the child antagonist, Samara, is explaining how she feels that her father doesn't love her. About 17 seconds in, after Samara says this, Rachel makes this sympathy noise, almost a clucking of her tongue. I've always really loved this gesture from Naomi Watts.

To me, it is a perfect expression of the essence of her character. While she is a busy mother, a mother who is not always there, the film underscores her maternal role nonetheless, both in her attempt to protect her son from the curse and in her sympathy toward Samara. Here, the noise she makes feels like a mingled frustration and sadness - she is sad that a child would feel that way, unloved by her father, and frustrated that her parents made her feel that way.

You almost feel her, in this scene, yearning to make it right herself - just as she later tries to tell the corpse of Samara that everything is OK before the latter decomposes before her eyes.

Job Search, Florida, and Dirt Cake (among other matters)

"It's been far too long since I've written," says Robyn as she prepares to write another blog post that is likely to be the only one in several months. That said, each time I look back through past posts and get a smile from them, or remember something from that time in my life that I've forgotten, I am reminded how rewarding of a habit it is to actually keep a journal. So here's to hoping I can get back to that.

It shouldn't be too hard for me to do at the moment, as I am currently between jobs. But it is funny how busy I've been despite not having regular work hours. I've done my best to make my job search my job, and when I'm done with each day's round of applications, I find that I'm pretty tired. I think some of it might be the inherent emotional drain of the job search, which Rodney mentioned today on the way to ice cream and which I think is very possible. Each day I seem to alternate between feeling hopeful and frustrated, though I'm sure that's normal.

Apart from the job search, which is not too interesting in itself (I do have a few interview opportunities coming up next week, so that is at least exciting), here's what else is going on:

• I've been thinking of Florida lately

This is not unusual for me. Florida has always been my happy place, where we would go on vacation to see family and visit Disney World. Last year, I had the lucky chance to go to Florida twice: 1) to Miami, where Steven and I stayed a day before embarking on a cruise to the Bahamas and 2) to Naples to see family (my dad, Heather, Hope, Annalie, and Holden were there at the same time for spring break).

The Miami trip was cool because it was my first time in that city, and it was also a chance to see Dexter filming locations from the first (and best) season of the show (apparently filming for subsequent seasons mostly took place in California). Here's a map of the places we saw.

On the mainland, there was the Bayfront Marketplace (where Dexter is on a date with Rita before one of the ice truck killer's victims is found in the fountain) and the old drawbridge right next to it, no longer in operation, where Dexter pursues the ice truck killer and gets a head thrown at his car.

A little further north was the Seven Seas Motel, whose swimming pool featured as a crime scene in the very first episode. It is also the setting where Debra first gets introduced.

From there, we Ubered to the north tip of Miami Beach to take a look at Dexter's apartment. Last but not least, we traveled down to the southeastern corner of Miami Beach to the street where the ice truck killer's truck is discovered. This street also features in the first episode (and I forget, maybe a few other parts of the show as well).

Each of the locations described above can be looked at in this Google Photos album.

So now, on my film locations list, I can say that I've tackled the following:

• Amelie
• The Ring
• Dexter

While it was very exciting to see all of these filming locations, one of the more moving moments of the Miami trip happened on the morning after I arrived (I got in late at night), before we even started sight-seeing. I woke up and Steven went to get in the shower, and I recall lying in bed, watching the light play on the wall from the shadows of palm trees waving outside.

Here's a quick glimpse of the flourishing life

that I could see outside the window in Miami

There’s something unique about Florida sunlight, or maybe it is just something I see through rose-colored nostalgia lenses. The light is so yellow and cheerful. I recall lying in bed, looking at that light and the dancing shadow on the wall, and feeling a peace and bliss that I have felt very rarely since childhood. I also simultaneously felt full of energy and excitement, so that once I did get up, I was ready and eager to go explore the film locations after a breakfast-lunch at the nearby Wendy's. Stepping outside and feeling the breezy sea-heat on my skin, I felt like a young girl again. It was a very weird, very intense joy that is hard to describe.

Not too long after the cruise, I had the opportunity to go back down to Naples to visit family. I felt the same general happiness described above throughout my time there (I even find that I forgive Florida for its heat, whereas I do not excuse other states for their high temperatures; it may just be that I have not been often exposed to Florida summers, which I know are supposed to be particularly beastly). In addition, when I visited my grandmother's house (and met her cat Gypsy for the first time!), I had another sentimental moment. I think her house is one of the greatest places in the world and it almost strikes me like a sacred place when I enter it - the unique, mystical incense smell; the furniture and photographs mostly in the same places they were in from the time I was very young; my mother's old belongings from adolescence preserved in her room. It is a place full of history and also the place where I remember being the happiest as a kid, spending time with my cousins.

So now, jump back to present day - I've decided that I don't want to go another three years before I return to that wonderful state. I definitely want to wait to make travel plans until I have another situation, but I'm hoping that Florida will be able to make the list along with New York City (I want to take my mom there, probably for her birthday, but we might wait until the autumn so that we're there when the weather is most beautiful).

Another question about Florida has crossed my mind - I occasionally wonder if I would have the same feelings about it if I were to live there continuously. I'm sure that my shitty adult mind would eventually take it for granted, wake up, and be like, "eh this fucking place again." Just like how, before I came to DC for school, I had this idea that I would go to the Lincoln Memorial at least once a week and do my homework on Honest Abe's lap (I didn't actually think I'd get to sit on his lap - but I did think I would make regular pilgrimages there) - and out of the four years I was at school, I went over there maybe three or four total times. As it turns out, two miles away (distance between Georgetown and the memorial) is just far enough that walking there frequently becomes a pain in the ass, while it's just short enough that one doesn't want to spend the metro fare on it. Anyway, the point is that for four years, I had DC and the glory of the National Mall at my fingertips, and I rarely ventured outside of the bubble of campus except for walks in the Georgetown neighborhood.

I'm sure the same sort of thing would happen with Florida, and besides, I would not want to leave my loved ones to live there. So, it appears that my love for Florida will continue to flourish from afar and that is probably for the best.

• I've determined the kind of cake I'll have for my birthday this year

Worms and Dirt cake! I was talking to Kalyn on the phone last night, and she was telling me about having this kind of cake as a Lunchables snack. It made me remember how my then-best friend had this kind of cake for her 5th birthday at Jonestown Pool, and I thought it was the most wonderful cake and I've wanted to have one ever since. So now, appropriately, for my 25th birthday, I will make that childhood dream come true. I've found a recipe that looks pretty delicious so I will endeavor to make the cake myself!

• I'm listening to Crime and Punishment on audiobook

I don't have too much to say about it yet except that it makes a good audiobook - all the internal dialogue is much more dramatic when someone is reading it to you. I'm four hours in and have 16 hours to go!

• I've decided that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (AKA Harry Potter and the actually correct suspicion about Draco Malfoy) is actually a pretty good film, despite my original beef with it

My original beef with it was mainly:

• The stupid added fire scene at the Weasleys' house
• The removal of key memories from the Pensieve scenes - especially Ogden's memory
• The cave scene could have been longer and creepier

On rewatching, I still regret the above things, but it also has a certain thing going for it that I might refer to as poetry. What I mean by this is occasionally there will be a moment in a film that just comes across perfectly - sometimes it's the acting, sometimes it's timing, and other times it's a perfect synchronization of what is being shown onscreen and the music. Sometimes it's not even a very significant moment. In my next post (since this one is getting long), I might talk about just such an insignificant moment in one of my favorite films, but for now I'll focus on where this happens in HP6:

• The moment when Ron is poisoned

Even in the book, this moment is very shocking and unexpected - the mood changes all of a sudden from very silly (when Ron is under the influence of the love potion) to extremely serious (we almost lose one of the main characters of the whole series, and we don't even know if he's OK until we turn the page to the next chapter). In the movie, the way the shot is framed with Slughorn and Harry on either side of Ron, and the latter taking his swig and keeling over while Slughorn gives his toast "to life!" - there's just something about it that is very impactful on watching. I think it is a combination of timing and the visual content of the shot (how Ron is framed in the middle).

• Aragog's funeral

This one is definitely a combination of the music and the content being shown onscreen. The contrast of the beautiful, Celtic-sounding lament music and the humorous dialogue between Hagrid (who loved Aragog), Harry (who has very good reason not to care for Aragog after Book 2), and Slughorn (who mainly wishes to gain financially from Aragog's venom but who also wants to be polite and respectful to Hagrid).

• The moment after the true Slughorn memory

This is the moment when Dumbledore is explaining how to find horcruxes. As he is explaining that dark magic like that "leaves traces," Harry touches the ring horcrux and has a flash of Voldemort related images. At the same time, the music intensifies, and afterward, Harry cracks his neck in a way that we've come to associate with his snakelike, Voldemort-imposed dissociations. A perfect combination of acting, music, and timing.

• "Journey to the Cave"

I put this in quotes because it is the title of the track that plays when Harry and Dumbledore first arrive at the rock outside the cave. Beautiful, sorrowful music and equally beautiful, austere cinematography. Even though the subsequent scenes lack the creepiness they could have achieved, those of us who read the books can appreciate what is coming. I wrote a little more about why I love this piece in a practice Spanish journal entry on italki.

• The bird motif

Like a leitmotif in music, the bird that Draco uses for testing the vanishing cabinet becomes a significant motif. In that quiet moment when Ginny and Harry open the vanishing cabinet door and the live bird flies out, we the audience who have read the book get to have an exquisite moment of dramatic irony: "Oh shit, he's fixed it..." The moment is all the more exquisite because the characters do not recognize the significance of it.