Don't get too excited. We're still a long ways off from finding out the sex of our child. But for various reasons, we suspect the child will be a girl. (I'd go into the studies that say female sperm are stronger and therefore if you have sex a few days before ovulation, you're more likely to have a girl, and male sperm are faster, so if you have sex during ovulation, you're more likely to have a boy, but you probably don't want to think about all that nitty gritty in regards to me and Murray.)
But there is new evidence that we'll be having a girl. Murray's coworker's wife claims that this Chinese birth calendar has been true for everyone she knows. Has it been true for you? Read the instructions carefully.
(By the way, the baby is due a couple weeks after my birthday... so I guess if it comes early, we're having a boy!)
(NOTE: If this Chinese birth calendar works, then the Chinese people could more easily avoid having baby girls... so I'm saying it probably is not too accurate.)
Vantage Point
A bit of advice I received for my pregnancy was to go out to the movies as much as possible with Murray. I think that both Murray and I (and especially Murray) really intend to take this advice to the fullest extent possible. Last night, in honor of Jimmy Stewart's 100th birthday, we went to see You Can't Take It With You at BYU. It was great. Definitely a great, classic, feel-good movie. A masterpiece.
On Saturday evening, we went to see a movie that is not actually a masterpiece. We went to see Vantage Point in the dollar theater. We could have seen the new Narnia movie. I wasn't looking forward to the crowds. We could have seen Baby Mama. I was in the mood for action. So we went to see Vantage Point. I thought that it looked good from the previews---just a brainless little action flick.
Brainless is a good way to describe the writers... This movie got so ridiculous that I actually started laughing out loud uncontrollably at very inappropriate moments. (Coincidentally, the last time this happened was in another Dennis Quaid flick, The Day After Tomorrow.)
(Vantage Point: A thrilling tale of terrorist plots, betrayal, and compact car chases.)
In case you didn't know, the movie follows the "vantage point" of several different characters. So you see the first 23 minutes of the film. Then it rewinds itself back to the beginning (conveniently, you also see everything you just saw in rewind) and you begin again from the vantage point of someone else. Each vantage point gives you further insight into what happened. My favorite vantage point was the final vantage point. Up until the last vantage point, each had focused on one individual. The last vantage point is "ethnic minority terrorists" where you get the vantage points of every non-white person involved in the terrorist plot. Nice.
Other nice things:
Sigourney Weaver being in the movie in a pretty minor and forgotten role.
Matthew Fox, after being revealed as a bad guy, saying "Now I no longer have to live my double-life!" I think they included this so that you know that he was bad all along. This was so ridiculous and so comical in fact, that Murray and I still haven't stopped repeating this line to each other.
The Spanish terrorists speaking Spanish to each other. Then English. Then Spanish. Then sending English text messages. Then speaking Spanish. Then speaking English. You get the idea.
A phone that controls a window fan (the terrorist simply clicked "window fan" on his phone's menu to turn on a fan set by a window to create a diversion), that controls a sniper rifle (the terrorist simply went to sniper rifle mode at which point his phone turned into the sight of the rifle in perfect high-def picture, and then killed the fake president of the United States), but that can't set off bombs. No, they needed a token suicide bomber to do that. Everyone knows that it can't be a terrorist movie if there isn't at least one suicide bomber willing to die for his cause.
Did I already mention "Now I no longer have to live my double life!" because, Bwahahahahahaha!
After the terrorists have killed hundreds, if not thousands of people, they finally have successfully kidnapped the not-fake president, they're driving him away to their secret terrorist headquarters in an ambulance, and a little girl (who's been seen in every vantage point) steps out into the road in front of the ambulance. Everything goes into slow motion, and the terrorist driver, instead of killing one more insignificant person, tries to avoid crashing into the girl (and by the way, we're panning over everyone's face in slow-mo right now, which might be contributing to my maniacal laughter), and crashes the ambulance instead, leaving his co-terrorist dead, himself almost-dead, and the not-fake president alive and bruised.
There are probably so many other things that I'm forgetting right now. Like Forrest Whittaker getting a phone call from his estranged wife at the very end of the movie, asking if he's okay, and you know that they're going to get back together, and even though Forrest Whittaker has witnessed terrible death and destruction all day long, and his life has been in danger several times, he laughs in wonderful relief, which is what signals to the audience that everything is okay now. But you know what? It's not okay! Forrest Whittaker just witnessed enough death and destruction to put him in therapy for the rest of his life. He's not going to be laughing it all off with his estranged wife on the phone, I don't care how happy he is that she's calling him.
Anyway. I definitely recommend this movie. For a really, really good laugh.
On Saturday evening, we went to see a movie that is not actually a masterpiece. We went to see Vantage Point in the dollar theater. We could have seen the new Narnia movie. I wasn't looking forward to the crowds. We could have seen Baby Mama. I was in the mood for action. So we went to see Vantage Point. I thought that it looked good from the previews---just a brainless little action flick.
Brainless is a good way to describe the writers... This movie got so ridiculous that I actually started laughing out loud uncontrollably at very inappropriate moments. (Coincidentally, the last time this happened was in another Dennis Quaid flick, The Day After Tomorrow.)
(Vantage Point: A thrilling tale of terrorist plots, betrayal, and compact car chases.)In case you didn't know, the movie follows the "vantage point" of several different characters. So you see the first 23 minutes of the film. Then it rewinds itself back to the beginning (conveniently, you also see everything you just saw in rewind) and you begin again from the vantage point of someone else. Each vantage point gives you further insight into what happened. My favorite vantage point was the final vantage point. Up until the last vantage point, each had focused on one individual. The last vantage point is "ethnic minority terrorists" where you get the vantage points of every non-white person involved in the terrorist plot. Nice.
Other nice things:
Sigourney Weaver being in the movie in a pretty minor and forgotten role.
Matthew Fox, after being revealed as a bad guy, saying "Now I no longer have to live my double-life!" I think they included this so that you know that he was bad all along. This was so ridiculous and so comical in fact, that Murray and I still haven't stopped repeating this line to each other.
The Spanish terrorists speaking Spanish to each other. Then English. Then Spanish. Then sending English text messages. Then speaking Spanish. Then speaking English. You get the idea.
A phone that controls a window fan (the terrorist simply clicked "window fan" on his phone's menu to turn on a fan set by a window to create a diversion), that controls a sniper rifle (the terrorist simply went to sniper rifle mode at which point his phone turned into the sight of the rifle in perfect high-def picture, and then killed the fake president of the United States), but that can't set off bombs. No, they needed a token suicide bomber to do that. Everyone knows that it can't be a terrorist movie if there isn't at least one suicide bomber willing to die for his cause.
Did I already mention "Now I no longer have to live my double life!" because, Bwahahahahahaha!
After the terrorists have killed hundreds, if not thousands of people, they finally have successfully kidnapped the not-fake president, they're driving him away to their secret terrorist headquarters in an ambulance, and a little girl (who's been seen in every vantage point) steps out into the road in front of the ambulance. Everything goes into slow motion, and the terrorist driver, instead of killing one more insignificant person, tries to avoid crashing into the girl (and by the way, we're panning over everyone's face in slow-mo right now, which might be contributing to my maniacal laughter), and crashes the ambulance instead, leaving his co-terrorist dead, himself almost-dead, and the not-fake president alive and bruised.
There are probably so many other things that I'm forgetting right now. Like Forrest Whittaker getting a phone call from his estranged wife at the very end of the movie, asking if he's okay, and you know that they're going to get back together, and even though Forrest Whittaker has witnessed terrible death and destruction all day long, and his life has been in danger several times, he laughs in wonderful relief, which is what signals to the audience that everything is okay now. But you know what? It's not okay! Forrest Whittaker just witnessed enough death and destruction to put him in therapy for the rest of his life. He's not going to be laughing it all off with his estranged wife on the phone, I don't care how happy he is that she's calling him.
Anyway. I definitely recommend this movie. For a really, really good laugh.
Happy May Run!
This weekend, back in my homeland of Timmins, this is the May Run weekend. It's not May Run in many other places, really. It's very distinct to Timmins. Most of the rest of Canada celebrates this holiday as Victoria Day weekend. But to Timmins and to me, it will always be May Run.
Or, if you will, it is also sometimes referred to as May Two-Four. What does two-four refer to? Why, that's a 24-case of beer, of course. And what does beer have to do with Victoria Day weekend? If you're in Timmins, the answer is everything.
May Run is the weekend where you go out and camp in the bush (forest) with your friends and get drunk. Teen pregnancy and drunk driving accidents skyrocket during this weekend.
Back when I was in high school, I was chosen along with a classmate to write and present a skit about teen pregnancy and spend a day presenting it from classroom to classroom. It was moving, I'm telling you. I awkwardly sat beside this pimply boy and told him that I was pregnant. When he said, "But I thought you said you were on the pill," I said, "I only told you that because I thought you wouldn't want me otherwise." Then I broke down crying. I'm sure that we convinced pretty much everyone not to have sex that weekend. That's how good we were.
In fact, it was all pretty much like this scene from Freaks and Geeks. Please watch it, and remember: drink responsibly, don't drink and drive, and don't have unprotected sex.
Or, if you will, it is also sometimes referred to as May Two-Four. What does two-four refer to? Why, that's a 24-case of beer, of course. And what does beer have to do with Victoria Day weekend? If you're in Timmins, the answer is everything.
May Run is the weekend where you go out and camp in the bush (forest) with your friends and get drunk. Teen pregnancy and drunk driving accidents skyrocket during this weekend.
Back when I was in high school, I was chosen along with a classmate to write and present a skit about teen pregnancy and spend a day presenting it from classroom to classroom. It was moving, I'm telling you. I awkwardly sat beside this pimply boy and told him that I was pregnant. When he said, "But I thought you said you were on the pill," I said, "I only told you that because I thought you wouldn't want me otherwise." Then I broke down crying. I'm sure that we convinced pretty much everyone not to have sex that weekend. That's how good we were.
In fact, it was all pretty much like this scene from Freaks and Geeks. Please watch it, and remember: drink responsibly, don't drink and drive, and don't have unprotected sex.
Baby Naps
So all my pregnancy books say that during your first trimester, you have no energy. I don't know if this is just power of suggestion for me, but I'm certainly finding it to be true. On days when I don't have to work, I average about two naps. Today I only had one, but I also had a lot of collapsing in front of the television.
By the way, we've been watching Planet Earth, which we bought for the kids because we're really great parents that way. And we'll enjoy it in the meantime.
What else did we buy for the baby? Well, so far, we've bought this:
(a mobile for over the crib---this was Murray's gift to me for Mother's Day along with some maternity jeans)
(Murray is an artist as you all know, but you have to know that he's also passionate about other artists and art history. So we couldn't resist buying these books...)
(You've already seen Leland the Lion. We actually bought him before we knew that we were expecting a baby.)
(These are two rattles. Daltongirl is going to knit me lots more.)
(We didn't buy this, but an investigator from my mission gave it to me. We'll hang it up as room decor until the little one is big enough to fit it.)
(I couldn't resist this rolling toy from Ikea. It opens its mouth as you pull it along.)
(And finally, this is more for me and Murray. It's a print of Brian Kershisnik's The Nativity, which we saw on our second date. We don't want a completely secular home, but we're also pretty picky about art. We want the art in our home to reflect our tastes and our values. This piece has sentimental value, and is also really visually appealing to us. Yay!)
By the way, we've been watching Planet Earth, which we bought for the kids because we're really great parents that way. And we'll enjoy it in the meantime.
What else did we buy for the baby? Well, so far, we've bought this:
(a mobile for over the crib---this was Murray's gift to me for Mother's Day along with some maternity jeans)
(Murray is an artist as you all know, but you have to know that he's also passionate about other artists and art history. So we couldn't resist buying these books...)
(You've already seen Leland the Lion. We actually bought him before we knew that we were expecting a baby.)
(These are two rattles. Daltongirl is going to knit me lots more.)
(We didn't buy this, but an investigator from my mission gave it to me. We'll hang it up as room decor until the little one is big enough to fit it.)
(I couldn't resist this rolling toy from Ikea. It opens its mouth as you pull it along.)
(And finally, this is more for me and Murray. It's a print of Brian Kershisnik's The Nativity, which we saw on our second date. We don't want a completely secular home, but we're also pretty picky about art. We want the art in our home to reflect our tastes and our values. This piece has sentimental value, and is also really visually appealing to us. Yay!)
Resume time again.
We're going through resumes at work right now. While I won't say anything specific about the resumes that I have seen in the last little while, I would like to share some general guidelines with you for preparing your resume and cover letters. I also wish that I could email some of these people individually and give them pointers...
- One page. No, seriously. Apparently in the last couple months, someone sent out a memo to the world announcing that it's okay to have resumes that are over one page. This is not true if you are applying for an entry-level position. And no one wants to read through pages and pages of resume. I am definitely okay with references being on a separate page, but please try to keep all the rest to one page. (I know that there are exceptions to this if you have about 50 years of experience and you're applying to be the CEO of a major company.)
- Keep it relevant. You need to send out a different resume to pretty much every job you apply for. Read the job requirements and tailor your resume accordingly. I honestly don't care about your horseback riding skills. Not one bit.
- I don't care about your GPA either. I'm just saying. (That's personal though.)
- I don't care what you did in high school.
- Edit, edit, edit. And then give it to a friend to edit. This especially applies if your aplying for an editter position.
- Save your sense of humor for the job interview. Leave it out of your resume. (Unless you're applying to be a comedian, then have at it.)
- Save your interests and your hopes and dreams and your personal life philosophy for the interview. Or don't, because it actually helps the employer weed you out before you even get to the interview and waste his/her time.
- If you're including on your resume that you were an AP on your mission, consider the fact that the people reading your resume may very well have loathed the majority of their APs. And that then they'll make fun of you before tossing your resume in the trash in honor of every one of those loathed APs.
- Make sure you have the correct spelling for the name of the company you're applying to.
- EMAIL ADDRESS. I've said this before, I'll say it again. Have a professional email address. And have an email address from a respectable company. I use gmail, and it works great. I won't mention any names, but some other email providers include ads at the bottom of your emails. Do you really want your email to your potential future employer to have an ad for weight loss at the bottom of it? I'm not kidding. This is a real example: "Burn fat. Finally, a diet plan that works." At the bottom of someone's cover letter. I wouldn't toss a resume out for something like that, but I would wonder why the person hasn't clued in that sometimes you need to be a little more professional.
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