The Argument Clinic

So I am getting ready for my trip to indianapolis for the midwestern states risk assessment symposium (sounds exciting doesn’t it? )…focuses on trichloroethylene mainly. As always I am hoping for at least one sentence that I need to report back to people at work, cause that would make the hassle of the trip worth it. I am sure most of you are bored already, so I will move on…

Anyways, haven’t flown since the no liquids rule, so not sure how much that will slow down my day…but luckily albany airport is small anyways…so even when its crowded, its not like o’hare crowded or something. Luckily. Flying Southwest, so that should be good. After all the airlines I have flown with they are my favorite, probably because I am always in a 737 and never need to worry about getting stuck in a little plane. That definitely makes them #1 on my list! Was pretty funny though once when i was connecting through las vegas on the way to san diego, I was staying in the same plane for my connection…but apparently I was the only one…including the flight crew who was leaving…I was like “ummm…this is going to san diego right?” They said “Well, you will have to wait and ask the next crew about that” So there’s me…the lone passenger sitting on the plane waiting for the next crew to arrive. It was really weird, but I did get a really good seat for the next leg of my flight! Anyways, connecting in bwi today, so neither leg of my flight is very long…which is really good. Checked in yesterday and am in the A boarding group, so shouldn’t have a problem getting my aisle seat. YAY!

Weather is supposed to be good this week, so hopefully that holds up. Am a nervous flier (though I hold all of my emotions inside anyways, so no one can really tell )…so nicer weather helps my mood about flying in general. People say to me that I will get used to it, but just this year I have flown to phoenix, san diego, monterey, ca, jacksonville, fl (so only 1 east coast trip)…and have flown at least a few times a year since I graduated college (lost count by now) but am still not really used to it. Sure, its better than the very first time I went…but I still hate it. Though nothing compares to my hatred for propeller planes. Grrr…I hate them!! I do think my attitude would be different if I were leaving for vacation rather than a business trip…actually my attitude was somewhat different when I flew to antigua (though I was still nervous, wasn’t as pissed off about it), so apparently that does help…cause then you have something more to be excited about than listening to presentations and getting room service. Well, I need to stop being lazy and go get ready and pack (I don’t pack til the last minute usually…doesn’t take me long anymore anyways). Will probably post a couple times from my blackberry this week when I have time…

So I had a nice weekend away…went up to schroon lake again to see my grandma.  My uncle charlie and cousins had moved in to their cabin for the week as well….and my mom and dad also came up saturday cause my mom wanted to try out the inflatable kayak she picked up (i got the same one actually cause I wanted to try it out…figure i will get a better one next year if I like it…this one was only $60 including shipping, so pretty reasonable ).

The weather wasn’t that great saturday, there were moments when it was ok, but it rained on and off, was still nice to be away though.  Stayed over with my grandma saturday evening and the weather cleared up considerably on sunday (and is, of course, gorgeous today when I am at work!)…so I went for a walk in the morning, hung out, and read on the beach for a while.  Came home later in the afternoon yesterday, wanted some time at home before my work week started up.  Pretty short week in the office for me though since I am traveling to indianapolis tomorrow (business travel, of course), getting back thursday evening (so prayers for safe/uneventful travel would be appreciated)….then my vacation officially starts on saturday.  YAY!!  Will need it cause classes start september 5…

In other news, john abbott’s character on young and the restless passed away on friday, i was crying quite a bit…but mainly because the character had a stroke and had to be taken off life support…and essentially the same thing happened to my grandpa 3 years ago so it was a little too familiar…I knew it was going to happen on Y&R on friday and knew I shouldn’t watch it but couldn’t help it, was a good emotional release anyways.

Well, that’s it for now…all in all, had a nice relaxing weekend and am eagerly anticipating vacation next week…just got a busy week leading up to it…

So I read this article on relevantmagazine.com today and it intrigued me.  Unlike the author, I am a beatles fan…so thought the book the author is reviewing (called The Gospel According to the Beatles by Steve Turner) could be an interesting read sometime.  Will look into that at some point.  Can’t say I look up to the group as role models, but still curious about the book.

Always loved the movie hard day’s night (if you haven’t seen it you are missing out! Random quotes: “He can’t help that he has a hideous, great hooter, and his poor little head tremblin’ under the weight of it” (Paul’s grandfather on Ringo)…Ringo: “You know there’s a man in the cupboard” George goes to check, comes back, calmly sits down and says “He’s right ya know.” Others shrug it off and respond: “Well, there ya go” [i could go on and on, but i won’t ])….not as much of a fan of the movie help, but its ok….obviously enjoy their music as well.  Personal favorite is while my guitar gently weeps (have a preference for george’s songs).  Anyways, thought it could be a good read sometime…

According to this article, Bianca is returning to all my children in October for a long-term run (she has come back here and there since she exited in ‘05).  This leaves me in a difficult position….on one hand Eden Riegel (who plays Bianca) is one of my favorite soap actresses and I enjoy the character of Bianca….on the other hand I had cut back on my amc viewing (per my last post) and haven’t forgiven the writers for screwing up the return of dixie and attempting to pair her with zach when he belongs with kendall and dixie belongs with tad (and oh please, get rid of dixie’s half sister, di - please admit you made a mistake there writers and move on already!)…this will make for quite the dilemma in october…maybe I will have to record it and just avoid the parts I want to pretend aren’t happening through the fast forward button on my tivo?  Or perhaps I will read recaps during the first week and see how they are incorporating bianca’s character to see if it is compelling enough for me to watch (luckily I can catch up on soapnet on the weekend if needed )? 

I know this is a very big concern to others, I really am quite torn about this

Like I didn’t have enough difficult decisions come fall with scrubs, house, gilmore girls, AND eureka all on sometime between 8-10 on different channels on tuesday nights (maybe they will adjust the schedules and be nice to me? ) when I have orchestra and need to record my shows….and with the office and grey’s anatomy on at the same time on thursdays (why, oh why, couldn’t grey’s anatomy have stuck with sunday evenings?  And why is it that with all these shows I enjoy, none of them are ever on Wednesday nights when my tivo is conflict-free?  What is wrong with Wednesdays exactly???).  Oh well, I have some tough choices ahead

So a while back (in january) I wrote a post about my soap opera-related obsessions.  At the time, I was keeping up with 8 out of the 9 daytime soaps (whether through viewing or through online recaps)…I can proudly say though that I have cut back some.  I am currently only watching 3 soaps and not really keeping up with the others (too much of a time commitment ), except through random articles I read in soap opera digest or news articles on soapcentral.com (ok, i still have problems…oh well…).  Currently I am watching young and the restless, general hospital, and passions (so one on each network…). 

I primarily still watch passions because it was the first soap I got into…I have walked away from it on occasion, but I always go back!  I can’t help it, I am just addicted to finding out what the characters are doing.  Even though right now sheridan is being played by a temporary actress instead of mackenzie westmore (out on maternity leave).  And I just love GH and Y&R, they are the two best soaps out there in terms of acting, storylines, etc.  Just have connected with those characters more than the others.  Stopped watching all my children cause their stories have been lousy, plus my all time favorite couple (of all the soaps I watch), kendall and zach, got married….which only means they are going to break them up again (cause that’s how it works on soaps)…and I prefer to pretend that they exist in wedded bliss forever….so not watching was the only way to ensure that   (I know…I know…I have problems…).

I have noticed though that when you watch these shows every day, you really start to get to know the characters a little too well.  Start to be able to predict their dialogue (well, on passions that would be because they repeat stuff constantly)…mostly because you just understand how that character will react to a situation and how they approach things.  Its sad really, I notice that to some extent on other shows I have watched for a while (like friends when that was on), but when you watch it every day it is just different.  That is why my major pet peeve is when they change characters for the sake of the story and have them do something completely out of character.  They are doing that now with maxie jones on GH, have turned her into a very unlikable character lately, not even the love-to-hate type.  I try to not let it get to me too much though

So right now I am dreading the death of John Abbott on Y&R (he has been on the show forever so those scenes will be depressing) and anxiously awaiting the end of the sharon kidnapping storyline (uhhh…as a rule writers, it helps if you kidnap a character I care about…plus, she isn’t leaving the show so I already know she isn’t going to die…).  On GH, am looking forward to Laura’s return in October (of Luke and Laura fame), impatiently waiting for jax’s return from africa, and intrigued by what they will have next for sonny and jason’s storylines (sonny is a bipolar mobster, jason is his right-hand man who has temporarily taken over the business)…personally I am rooting for a jason and liz reunion, but who knows.  I suppose I will settle for jason and sam…though she just slept with his enemy, sonny’s brother Ric, so it could be a while before that reunion happens.  On passions, am interested in the Jared/Theresa (she may actually move on from ethan after 7 years of trying to get him!), Luis/Fancy (even though I was a huge sheridan/luis fan), and paloma as a cop storylines…should be interesting!  Will just have to keep watching!

So yeah, I still have issues but am cutting back some, so soaps really are taking less of my mental energy than before, but there are some I just can’t stop watching!