Sunday, January 27, 2013

The Oscars

This month, I've decided I am going to watch all the best picture Oscar nominees.  I've certainly never done this on purpose before!  Most of the time, I might have seen one or two before the big night.  I suppose this means I'll actually need to watch the Oscars this year.  :)

There's something to be said for creating goals ... even regarding trivial things.  Rather than just ho humming my way through TV shows on a Saturday morning, I've made a concerted effort to watch these movies.  It gives my free time purpose and that is a great feeling.

Speaking of concerted efforts, I have done so much these past few months to live a life that I'm proud of.  For far too long, my life was too run of the mill ... too simple.  I wasn't putting myself out there.  I am so enjoying taking advantage of all my moments of free time to live an exceptional life ... one I'm thrilled to document and one that lets me answer the question "What have you been up to?" with something besides "Oh you know, work."  I'm finishing up a month of infectious disease at Stanford.  It has been an amazing experience in and of itself.  Sometime soon, once the month is actually truly over, I'll let you know all about my many experiences both in and out of the hospital.

But, back to the movies, the point of this post!  Here's my thoughts so far ...

Amour
I haven't seen this and I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to.  It doesn't seem to be playing anywhere in Tulsa.  It is playing in a theater near me right now ... and depending on how tomorrow goes, I might try to squeeze it in after work.

Argo ★★★★☆
This is seriously one of the best movies I've seen.  It is such a cool story ... and the actors look so much like the real people it is almost a bit scary.  Even though I knew the ending throughout, I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen.  It was truly a great story!

Beasts of the Southern Wild ★★★
A pretty good movie.  The acting done by the little girl was truly amazing for someone so young.  I'm not entirely sure it is oscar worthy as best picture though.

Django
I am not a Tarantino fan and I'm not looking forward to this.  Maybe my mind will be changed ... but I'm not expecting it.

Les Miserables ★★★★☆
The first 15 minutes was tough to get through ... simply because I had to adjust to the singing.  After that, it was incredible.  The costumes, the singing, all of it.  I think this is my top choice to win right now.  If you haven't seen it, run to a theater because I think seeing it on the big screen with surround sound would blow away the couch and the TV.

Life of Pi
I had a hard time getting through the book ... but I'm mildly excited about seeing this in 3D next weekish.  I just hope its more riveting than the Tom Crews volleyball friend movie.

Lincoln ★
Not worthy of best picture.  Not worth seeing it on the big screen.  I might have enjoyed it more had I watched it at home with a few intermissions.  It was long.  Really long.

Silver Linings ★★★★
Wow.  This movie did such an amazing job of portraying mental illness in a legitimate way.  Such an eye opener.  It was moving, exciting, and sweet.  I highly recommend it.

Zero Dark Thirty ★★★
Really good seat of your pants thriller type movie.  It wasn't exactly what I was expecting and it was a little long.  Just so so.

Monday, January 21, 2013

A New Look

Welcome to the new year ... and the new look for Becoming Dr Jane!  What do y'all think?  Isn't the design just wonderful!  Thank you very much to my wonderful fantabulous friend, Jessica, for putting this together!


In addition to working for the CFF, having two adorable little girls, and taking care of her very nice husband, Jess does design work.  If you need anything ... head over to Diamond Doll Designs to get your own work done!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  As we all know, 2012 was not my all time favorite year for a couple reasons.  However, it still was a pretty amazing year full of many amazing memories.  My family was able to spend lots of quality time together and we were blessed to see the outpouring of love and kindness and generosity of so many others.  I almost didn't even mention 2012 ... but it was such a life altering year that it deserved a few lines.  :)

here

How in the world did that happen?  I remember 1999 and wondering how we were going to describe the coming years.  Would it be twenty oh one or two thousand and one?  Funny how something that seemed like such a big deal turned out to be very minor.  Everyone gets to call it want they want.  Two thousand something isn't as rough to say as one thousand nine hundred ninety nine.  I'm not sure why we didn't realize that FOURTEEN years ago.  If you did realize that, then keep your mouth shut smarty pants.

As always, new years are full of the hope of changes and resolutions for most.  Last year was the first year I ever had quantifiable goals for the new year and it made it so easy.  This year, I'm following suit, for the most part.  I have 9 quantifiable goals and 4 more generalized goals.  That's right ...

13 GOALS FOR 2013!!!!

I'm sure you are all dying to know what each of the 13 are ... but like last year, I'll share most of them with you at the end of the year.  Some people believe that publicly stating your goals makes you more likely to achieve them.  I believe that keeping them to myself makes it easier for me to stumble and then keep going without feeling like ... damn, I messed up and everyone knows it so why keep going.  

However, I will let you in on the general theme.  This year, I'm going to do what I want to do.  I'm going to take care of Jane emotionally, physically, spiritually, and any other ally that may come along.  This is the year I graduate from medical school.  The first half of the year will be immensely easier than the second half.  I'm going to take advantage of the first half to help me get ready for the second half.

And ... as my first example ... my current trip from Tulsa to Stanford.  I began on Christmas Eve and I'll arrive on January 3.  or 4.  I haven't completely decided.  I've driven through pouring rain (seriously Oklahoma ... it hasn't rained in basically years and it pours when I'm driving?), dense fog, snow, and a bit of sleet.  I've been to Albuquerque where I ate some interesting food and saw a beautiful sunset and sunrise.  I stopped at the Meteor Crater ... which is the most expensive $16 I've ever spent to see a big hole in the ground.  I sure hope that the next time something comes barreling into earth at 26,500 mph it hits someplace equally desolate!  I visited the Grand Canyon ... which is the single most majestic and amazing thing I have ever seen in my life.  I thought I'd see it and be done with it forever.  Now, I just want to go back and spend a week navigating the Colorado River.  Or maybe I should start with two days.  :)  I spent an afternoon in Flagstaff and had an amazing meal of enchiladas de camaron at Salsa Fresca (I think).  Today, I'm headed to Vegas for a little bit of eating and sightseeing!  Hopefully, it will be as much fun as the last two days have been!