Friday, May 09, 2014

When Science and Mythology Collide

I slept in this morning; it was late before I got to eating breakfast and watching Thor: The Dark World. Thor (Chris Helmsworth) generally seems to have weathered the events of The Avengers better than Tony Stark did. When we pick up the story, he's bringing his eternally sarcastic younger half-brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) home to Astgard to be put in jail. Thor's tired of battle and wants to be with his girl Jane (Natalie Portman), but there's too much going on in his world. Jane and her two interns make an incredible discovery outside of London - a barn that contains portals to other worlds. When Jane accidentally finds one, she absorbs the evil artifact that the race of elves who are fighting Thor's people are looking for. Thor ends up having to partner up first with Loki, then with Jane to stop the elves from taking over every universe.

I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much as Iron Man 3, but I wasn't a huge fan of the first one, either. I think the characters just don't do it for me. On one hand, Portman had more to do and was more involved in the plot, and Hiddleston's Loki had some of the best lines in the film (especially while he's in jail). On the other hand, other than Loki's quips, everything still feels stiff, including Thor. I'm afraid I just don't find him to be as interesting as some of his fellow Marvel tough guys. Your mileage may vary, especially if you're more of a fan of the cast or characters than I am. I think I'll wait on Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past instead.

I did some major vacuuming before work. In addition to doing the floors, I vacuumed all around the baseboards and around and under any furniture I could actually move. I only do this twice a year, in the spring and in the fall. It's not easy to move all this stuff when you're by yourself!

I also got something I've been hoping to find for a good price ever since I picked up Josefina last year. Unlike some of the other American Girl dolls who have been around for a while, Josefina only has two hard-to-find outfits in her collection. I finally got one of them, the Weaving Outfit, for about $38 with free shipping on eBay. This is one of her prettiest skirt and camisa combos, a maroon and white-print skirt over a white camisa (shift) with lovely maroon embroidery. It didn't come with the striped sash or the maroon print wrap, but many reviews claim the wrap is just cheap cotton anyway. She may be better off with her meet accessories rebozo. This dress can go up to $70 and more on eBay. I'll take it even in incomplete condition. Josefina doesn't really have much in the way of clothes.

It took me so long to vacuum, I had to rush my leftover chicken and noodle soup for lunch, then rush off to work! I wish I hadn't. Work was a total pain for a day that was only steady. People were cranky and rude. One man said I was being disrespectful when I was just trying to explain that the sign on the shrimp said $11.99 a pound, not two for $11, which would not happen with pricey seafood. Another woman fussed when I told her she got the wrong juice for her WIC checks. And I'm tired of everyone using their "issues" as an excuse to behave badly. I'd be more sympathetic if people would just behave better. I spent as much time as I could shelving one of the four full carts of returns we had to do.

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