Trying Something Different

First of all, Happy Columbus Day! Here's hoping that you did some exploring of your own today.

I was up very late with Lauren last night. She's off today (she works for a bank in Pittsfield, and they were closed for the holiday) and I didn't work until 5. I wasn't up and about until 10:30! Didn't get to the laundromat until 12:30. That ended up working out rather well. There were a bunch of people leaving as I was coming in...and more came in as my drier was on its last few minutes. Mostly, it was me, the older woman who manages the building, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and The Chew on ABC.

When I got home, I put everything away, then had a quick lunch of leftovers. Since I still had some time left, I decided I'd do some rearranging. I never liked how I had the two large wooden shelves that held the children's paperbacks, comic books, American Girl books, and the file folders with various paper notions, directions, and other paper necessities. They blocked the two windows between my desk and my dresser.

I moved the shelves on top of each other. The narrow wooden shelf with the heart cut-outs that held the Care Bears was moved into the entertainment section of the living room. It and the wider, darker heart cut-out shelves that held the Christmas DVDs were moved where the small table that the lamp sat on was. That table was moved into my bedroom to hold the printer and the file folders. The boxy 80s video shelves that were next to the small table were put out with the recycling. I've cleared out so many videos, I really don't need them anymore.

I'm still not satisfied with the results. That little table isn't big enough to hold the printer, which juts out awkwardly and blocks the entrance to my bedroom. The shelves now don't have enough room for my Care Bears. The narrow heart shelf is too narrow for DVDs. I want to get another DVD rack for the living room and move the heart shelf back in the bed room for the Care Bears. I also want a table that fits the printer better.

Finished The King's Speech as I organized. This is one of the sweetest films to ever win an Oscar. It's the 1930s, and the Depression is raging in England. George, Duke of York, known as "Bertie" to his friends and family, is a shy man with a chronic stammer (Colin Firth). He's also one of the heirs to the title of King of England, a fact that brings him no amount of frustration. His wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) hires an elocution coach (Geofrey Rush) to help him with his speech impediment. Lionel becomes both a friend and confidant to Bertie, but their friendship is tested when Bertie's brother abdicates the throne to marry a divorcee. Can the timid Bertie find the courage to be king...and the voice to lead England into war?

I thoroughly enjoyed this real-life tale of an unusual friendship. As someone who also has difficulty with speech, I could understand why Bertie was so reticent to take the throne...but I could also see Lionel's point about the common man and how Bertie had to reach out to them to be a truly effective ruler. Firth and Rush both did well as the title reluctant monarch and the would-be actor who helps him find the self-confidence to pull England through some of their darkest days.

Went to work shortly after the movie ended. Work was busy when I came in (not surprising on a holiday), dead when I left.