the perks of being a wallflower

 

I wish I had read the book first, but I had only made it about 20 pages in when Ron asked me if I wanted to see a movie and what movie would I like to see? I had heard that this movie was "The Breakfast Club " of this generation and had seen the trailers for it. I even got a recommendation from jb to go see it. It looked like a movie that I would enjoy, so two weekends ago, we went to see it. I wanted to finish reading the book before I wrote about it, though. I just finished the book this afternoon.

The story is told by Charlie, a very sensitive and fragile 15 year old boy who dreads going to high school. It is a very touching story about a boy who doesn't understand himself or his family, but finally feels some sense of belonging and normalcy when he is befriended by the "Wallflowers." The young actors in this film are wonderful. Logan Lerman as Charlie, Emma Watson as Sam and Ezra Miller as Patrick acted their characters so convincingly that it made me grateful that I grew up back in the old days before being a teenager was too complicated. The story is set in 1992 and the movie was produced and directed by the author of the book. I'm sure it made a huge difference to have Stephen Chbosky write the screenplay as well.

This type of movie is not for everyone, but I loved it. It was sweet and sad, but did have a happy-ish ending. I found myself really hoping that Charlie would be okay during his next school year. The book is a quick read (it would have been quicker for me if I hadn't been so distracted), and I enjoyed it almost as much as the movie.

The bottom line - I give the book and the movie 2 thumbs up and 4 stars!

"Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack..."

Ron and I have settled in for the evening so that we can watch GAME 4 of the World Series. I have never really considered myself a baseball fan...until now! I have been glued to the TV since the playoffs began and have been watching nervously ever since. I used to tell people that I enjoyed going to baseball games but absolutely not watching them on TV. How could I be so silly?

Ron has had tickets to a couple of Giants games during this season, but  I didn't go with him. The first time I wasn't interested in going and the second time I had just gotten out of the hospital. So Mandi got to stand in for me. I wish now that I had gone, but they had a great time.

It's the bottom of the 2nd inning and I really need to focus my attention on the game now. Who would have thought I could get so caught up in the excitement of baseball and the World Series?! But before I sign off, I will leave you with a couple more pictures from another Giants' game a few years back...

 Oh and btw,

GO GIANTS!!!

HMB Pumpkin Festival 2012

Ron and I went to Half Moon Bay last weekend so I'm a little late with this entry. To hurry things along, I will tell this story mostly in pictures. Going to the Pumpkin Festival is an annual tradition for us. It was really great to be able to go and experience it again this year.

It was a beautiful sunny day.

Ron indulged me with 2 new glass pumpkins!

We both wore hats to keep the sun off of our baldness!

Not sure what this pumpkin was made of but I want one!

Exceptional carving by Farmer Mike

Ron had to do all the heavy lifting

My glass pumpkin collection 

I'm almost ready for Halloween now!

The Kindness of Strangers

Health Status Update:

I feel good! 

I am no longer using any assistive devices at home (although I did use a cane while we were at the pumpkin festival last weekend). I am now able to do household chores and other normal things. Strength and stamina are still an issue for me, but I am exercising and getting better all the time. Yesterday I had an appointment with one of the doctors that took care of me when I was at UCSF Medical Center. The last time she saw me I was flat on my back and now she got to see what I look like when vertical! She seemed genuinely happy to see how much progress I have made.

My family and friends have been so wonderfully supportive during this difficult time. It's because of them that I have had the strength to face the hard work of recovery. It's no surprise that they love and support me. What has surprised me is the kindness of absolute strangers. People have gone out of their way to hold doors open for me when they see me with my walker or cane. Once when shopping for a pair of dressy flat shoes, I became tired and had to sit down. While Ron was searching for options for me, another customer came over to me and asked if she could help me find some shoes. As I have started going back out into the world, I have really noticed how nice people can be. I promise to pay this kindness forward.

I'm thinking that I could start by volunteering somewhere for a few hours a week. Any suggestions?

The Passage

I just finished reading this book on my Kindle. It was recommended to me by my cousin Danny and I am so grateful. I downloaded the book without knowing what it was about and just trusting Danny's judgement. It turned out to be just the kind of book I love to read. If you look on the internet to see what genre of literature it is, The Passage is listed as follows: Dystopia, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Epic Science Fiction and Fantasy, Science Fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Vampire fiction, New York Times Best Seller list. In some ways you could compare this book to The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton or The Stand  (one of my all time favorites) by Stephen King. 

The Passage tells the story of the origin and outbreak of a deadly government engineered virus that changes the world forever. The book follows a colony of survivors 100 years A.V. (After Virus) in their determination and struggle to survive. The author explores how little society values the lives of homeless, disenfranchised people and the morality of drug testing on these "throw away" human test subjects. There is also an interesting spiritual aspect to the story.  

The characters that Justin Cronin created in this book are complex and the relationships between them had me hooked from the beginning. When I pick up a new book, it has to grab me in the first couple pages otherwise I lose interest. That was not a problem here. The only problem I see is that The Passage is listed as the first book of a trilogy...the second book, The Twelve, is scheduled to be released next week on October 16th. You can bet that I will be downloading it ASAP. The problem? There were 2 years between the publishing of the first two books...does this mean that I will have to wait until 2014 to see how it all turns out? I guess it will give me something to look forward to, huh?

I wonder how long it will take for this book to be made into a movie...

Solidarity

When I was a little girl growing up in El Paso, hardly a week went by that I didn't spend time with my Gonzalez cousins. Sometimes they would come over and spend the night at my house, but it was so much more fun when my sister Ginger and I spent the weekend at their house. The happiest and best times of my childhood were the weekends I spent with Leslie, Leah, Lisa, Lori and Lynne under the watchful and loving eyes of their mom, my Aunti Frankie.

The hardest thing about moving away from El Paso when I was 11 years old was leaving my cousins. The best summer I ever had was when Ginger, Stef and I flew by ourselves from Indiana back to Texas to spend 6 weeks with my cousins. These girls were more than cousins to me - they were best friends and sisters. We have remained close over the years and eventually I moved back to El Paso after Ron and I got married and graduated from college.

During the 10 years that I lived in El Paso as an adult, my cousins and I shared many important events in our lives including weddings and the births of our children. Once again, we went to Aunti Frankie and Uncle Roger's house on the weekends where everyone would gather for a big meal and family fun. A new job for Ron took us to Arizona in 1994, but we went to back to Texas often to visit. At the end of 2000, we moved to California. Even though the Beeson Family kept moving west, my cousins have remained very important to me and my family.

It shouldn't have been such a surprise to me to see what 3 of these Gonzalez Girls did to show me their love and support after my recent health crisis. Ron and I flew to Texas this past weekend to have our eyes checked and to visit with the family. On  Friday night, Leah, Lisa and Lynne showed up sporting SHORT haircuts and each of them had a different color in their hair...

My beautiful cousins R to L - Lynne, Leah and Lisa

I feel incredibly loved and supported and will never forget this amazing gesture of strength and solidarity. I love you, too, Cousins!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Big day ahead...Ron and I are flying to El Paso, Texas today for a quick visit! We are using the excuse that we need to see our favorite optometrist (we really do) but we also get to see and spend time with my cousins. I am a little concerned about all the walking I will need to do in the airport so I may ask to use a wheelchair.

This feels like another step towards getting back to normal. I am really looking forward to seeing my family. Of course, I'm taking a camera! Like I said, it's going to be a quick trip...we will be back on Saturday evening to be home in time to go to a wedding on Sunday. This is the kind of schedule Ron and I used to keep before I got sick. I hope I can keep up!

Now, it probably would be a good idea to start packing since we need to be at the airport at noon...