The Internship

I like buddy comedies.

A lot of this movie was hard for me to watch.  The dialog can be painful.  On the other hand, the predictable lessons taught are great.  The movie ends strong.  The audience was into the movie and laughed easily.  I went with Pumpkin, Squash (my sister-in-law) and my mother-in-law.  One gauge I use regarding whether a movie is engaging is if mom is awake during the entire movie.  "The Internship" passed this test.  Mom, who fell asleep in the car on the way to the theater, was awake the entire show.

Vince Vaughn is the kind of guy with whom I would like to spend time.  He is someone is entertaining just being himself.  So, the movie uses this quality.  In fact, it kinds depends on it.

Finally, it is a commercial for Google.  I now love Google.

Putin

"Wat does Vladimir Putin have that the Buffalo Bills don't?  A Super Bowl ring."

Jay Leno (except that he took his shot at the Cleveland Browns)

 

Man of Steel

Another quick movie review.

First, if you are going to Studio Movie Grill, and you are buying tickets on-line, remember that the first five row have you looking straight up to see the movie.  It isn't a comfortable position.

Second, "Man of Steel" is a terrific movie if your idea of a terrific movie is watching Superman get his butt handed to him for two and a half hours.  I understand the need to build some suspense, but really, this guy gets beat up pretty badly. 

So, do I regret spending money on this movie?  No, not really.  I was going to need to see it anyway.  Besides, the pizza at Studio Movie Grill is pretty good.

Star Trek

Quick Movie Review:

Alice Murphey once commented about my taste in movies that I like everything.  That is, for the most part, true.  Still, I offer to you my review of "Star Trek Into Darkness".


Lots of action.  Some mild swearing, such as the original James T. Kirk would have done had NBC allowed him to do so.  Lots of references to Star Trek The Original Series.  Several references to Star Trek the Motion Picture(s).  An extraordinary amount of effort to mimic the ticks and mannerisms of the original actors.

Worth $9.75?  For me, sure.  If you aren't a Star Trek fan, likely not.  If you are a huge Star Trek fan this movie will cause your head to explode, and not in a good way.

I left Pumpkin at home for this one.  

The Arms Race for College Admission

I listen to Marketplace on National Public Radio. The following story caught my attention. The premise is that, to be accepted to a selective college a student must demonstrate a variety of outstanding skills. My experience has been that, if being a student athlete or musician, or whatever special experience you bring, is what got you across the threshold of a specific school, then you're likely not a good fit academically for that school.

Of course, the exception is the student who is offered a full grant-in-aid athletic scholarship.  In that case nobody really expected you to excel academically anyway.

Lake Placid Countdown

I spoke to friends yesterday regarding my upcoming travel plans.  For many years I would spend a week in July or August in Lake Placid with these friends.  I hadn't taken this trip for several years, for a variety of reasons.  New job, old job, morbid obesity, but it was never because I didn't want to to spend time with these friends.  Well, several months ago I made a commitment to join them again this summer.  I asked Pumpkin if she wanted to go and, at the time, she didn't think she had the vacation hours available.  Additionally, part of the trip is hiking trails in the Adirondack State Park.  While Pumpkin loves nature, she mostly loves it from afar.

Loving nature in the abstract is something that Pumpkin and I share.  When this group first started taking this trip we did so with mountain tents, gas stoves and the intention of living outdoors for several days.  That inaugural year went fine until it began to rain.  A little rain never hurt anyone, but a lot of rain, when you are tent camping, is a real bummer.  After an afternoon of rain, then a full night of rain, then a full morning of rain, leading to rain in the early afternoon I turned to Joe and said "Joe, I was a Boy Scout from age 11 until age 18.  I earned the Eagle medal.  I've done this type of camping a lot.  You know what Joe?  This sucks.  I'm hiking out to the trail head, getting into my car and driving until I find a hotel or a motel."  At this Joe looks at me and asks, "you can do that?".  "Yes, Joe.  You can.".

So, the group of us hiked to the trail head, got in our cars and we began driving.  We found a hotel in Lake Placid, which was much farther away than I had anticipated.  I forgot the actual name of the hotel, but it could have been The St. Maritz.  We checked in, dried out, got dressed and went to a steak and seafood restaurant in town for dinner.  I think we also saw a movie that evening.  The next day we drove back to the trailhead and hiked back to the camp site.  We did this because we had left all the camping gear there.  We had left in a hurry.

Now, let's put this into perspective.  The hotel was awful.  The plumbing leaked.  The walls were paper thin.  There were bugs.  We were sharing rooms and my roommate, Chris White, snored like a bus with the need of an engine rebuild.  Still, it was better than being rained on yet another night.

Since that weekend we, as a group, have stayed in hotels in Lake Placid.  For a number of years it was the Ramada, which has since changed hands.  For the record, the Ramada was also awful, but not as awful as the St. Maritz.  We then moved to the other end of the street and stayed at the "Golden Arrow".  The "Golden Arrow" has a pool and is along Mirror Lake, so that was nice.  I began staying in following years at the Holiday Inn.  The advantage of the Holiday Inn, from my perspective, was that it had a nicer pool and it was not the Golden Arrow, where my friends were staying.  The friends had begun bringing their wives and children.  I felt they needed to be free of my bad influences.

The Holiday Inn is now a Crown Plaza.  They have added a lounge on the front of the hotel which is stunning.   It has a great view of Mirror Lake and the Adirondack Mountains.  The group now all stays at the Crown Plaza, which is great with me.  The kids are now young adults, with whom I am able to converse.  Their parents are not as likely to take hikes which lead to death or permanent disability (One year we hiked Algonquin Mountain, thinking it was a moderate hike.  I walked "funny" for the next two weeks.)  And the last I heard, the steak and seafood restaurant is doing a good business.

I don't really know what to expect of my week in the Adirondacks.  I haven't hiked a challenging trail in a number of years.  I suspect I'll get in one good hike early in the week and then spend the remainder of the week taking Tylenol and reading books on my ereader.  That will be fine.  The rest of the group can meet me at the Crown Plaza in the evening, and we can go out to dinner.

That's my idea of a vacation.

In the News

Some things you just can't make up.  For example, a nation's regulations regarding flying witches.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/17/african-country-prohibits-witches-from-flying-higher-than-150-meters/

Wow.  Just wow.

Stormy Weather

There is nothing like a tornado to focus the mind.  You are sitting in your recliner, watching television, when the Emergency Broadcast System interrupts the programing.  The announcement is that a tornado has been spotted.  People in the vicinity should seek shelter.  Really?  Shelter?  I'm not from here.  Define shelter. Define vicinity. 

A community on the other side of Fort Worth was hit badly.  Six people were killed.  A tornado is a scary thing.

Since then I have been researching storm shelters that can be installed in the back yard.  I don't know anyone who actually has installed one of these bomb shelters, but right now it seems to be a great idea.  The only spot in my house that fits the definition of "shelter" is a closet under the stairs.  Frankly, I've got six well fed adults living in my house right now.  All of us in that closet would be like putting 10 pounds of dirt in a five pound bag.  Additionally, from the news footage of the damage done by the tornado, I didn't see any closets still standing.  All I saw were slabs of concrete.

I don't recall being this concerned about the onslaught of 20 inches of snow.

Summer Vacation

I've booked my flight for my summer vacation.  I have a hotel reservation.  I was even able to use my Holiday Inn points to save some money.  I'm going to the Adirondack Mountains.  The hiking there is wonderful.  I will likely do very little hiking.  However, I will likely do a lot of sitting in the hotel lobby reading a book, as it is a wonderful hotel and I really like their lobby.

To fly from Dallas to the Adirondacks you do not get a direct flight.  The best I could do was to fly to Burlington, Vermont.   To do this I must first fly to Houston, then to Chicago, then to Burlington. From there I will need to rent a car, take a ferry across Lake Champlain and then drive on narrow roads to Lake Placid.  By the time I arrive I will need several days to rest.

In Lake Placid there is a great bakery, run by a German fellow, who thinks one of my friends is Mike Myers.  It doesn't get us a discount.  After all, the man is German.  There is also a fairly good steak restaurant.  Other than that, not much.  Oh, there's a movie theater.  I'm certain I'll catch up on the summer block busters.

Vacations confuse me.  I hesitate to leave my house, for which I have paid a pile of money, to stay in a room in another city, at great expense, where my stuff is not located.  However, this will be a week for me to catch up with some old friends.  Without a doubt we will get on each others nerves.  

It will be great.

Interview Questions

Interview questions for an entry level financial aid administrator:

Are you insane?

Did you read the job description?

Again, are you insane?

Have you ever been diagnosed with an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

            Are you taking medication for that disorder?

            If offered the position, are you willing to reduce or quit that medication?

Do you enjoy working in an environment where your questions will usually be answered with the statement "it depends"?

Do you enjoy reading the Federal Register?

            If yes, again, are you insane?

Do you know anyone who has aspired, as a child, to work in a musty basement with poor lighting, explaining to young adults that they are not likely meet their educational goal of being a brain surgeon, considering they have a cumulative GPA of 1.6?

            Are you that person?

How do you feel about earning less than someone who stands at a table handing out publications and explaining why the school's tennis team is outstanding?

Do you love your family?

            Do you want a believable excuse for not seeing your family?

Interviews with me can be fun.

Five X

My professional association, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, is selling t-shirts to raise funds for a scholarship fund.  The sizes go up to 5x.  I wonder, what does that say about us as a profession?

High School Life

I spoke today to two classes of high school juniors.  The topic was the college financial aid process.  I am reminded once again how un-hip I can be.  I want to be clear.  The students are fine.  The teacher was great.  I, however, do not translate well to the 14 to 17 year old cohort.

To find the school I had to use Google Maps.  This is a school in the same community as the college which employs me.  I should be embarrassed.  At least this time I asked in advance for the school's street address.  The last school I visited I assumed there was only one high school in Garland, and that its name would be Garland High School.  I was wrong.  So wrong.


On the way back to campus I stopped at Whataburger and picked up a large diet Dr. Pepper and an apple pie.  I don't usually leave campus during the day.  In fact, I don't usually leave campus when the sun is up.  It was nice.  I should do that more often.