Lighten up...

Okay.  So what do you want to talk about today?  Wouldn't that be fun?  It would be almost like an improv session.  You could give me a topic and just watch me spin a yarn a mile long about it - perhaps even making some connective points.  Feel free to leave a comment if you have suggestions and want to try that out sometime.

I have to go to the dentist tomorrow.  It's time to get my tooth fixed.  I get to sit in a chair for about 2 hours or so while they build me a crown.  It'll be custom fitted.  I'm gonna feel a little like a car - they will be all up in my grill and everything.  Woo boy.  That was a good one.  Anywho.  I was at Target picking up a prescription for 2 Valium.  I was worried because I have gone to the pharmacy with a fraction prescription before and they tried to charge me for an entire lot and I was all like, heck no and my body was all like, uhm, yeah, you can't afford to skip this stuff and I was all like, nuh uh and my body was all like, see what I mean.  So I spent the $30 co-pay for like 4 or 5 pills.  But this a prescription that was written out for just 2 Valium.  And I didn't have to pay full price.  I get to take them tomorrow.  I don't mean to sound eager but when you are someone who is a little uptight like I can be from time to always, I'm interested in a mellow down moment.  On top of that, I have to just be still.  They said I could read or listen to music.  Or sleep.  Hubs has to drive me there and home.  This is gonna be like the best dental visit of all time.  So, I was strolling around Target with my $10 gift card that I scored for letting them fill my $5.99 prescription.  And I was feeling all giddy like I do when I have money to burn.  But I didn't have money to burn.  I realized that when I was looking through the clearance sections for these amazing candles I found a week or so ago.  The scent is so delicious - just strong enough and not overpowering.  All I found was one.  It was still marked as crazy expensive - $9.xx on clearance.  I was about to take it over to the "please verify that this item hasn't become more affordable scanny thingy" when I stopped myself.  I didn't need that candle.  I wanted it - sure.  I had a gift card that would about cover it if it wasn't marked down any further.  And the reality is that even if it was marked all the way down to 2 or 3 dollars, I still didn't need it.  It was an extravagance.  And I put the candle down.  This probably sounds perfectly logical to some or most of you.  But it's not that kind of no-brainer for me.  For me - if I want it, I get it.  Fortunately, I don't much want to be dripping in diamonds, wear designer clothing or drive the most gorgeous, brand new, deluxe mini-van.  What?  I'm just sayin' - I still have munchkins to cart around and there are a lot of them so what else do they fit in - it still has to be a mini-van.  Whatever.  You know it's a lovely, roomy ride when you are in one so don't even play.  But if I want a new shirt - I get it.  I'll search high and low for a good bargain on one, but I'll get it.  I loved this candle - sought it out and everything.  But it doesn't fit in with where I'm trying to take myself at this point.  I made a commitment and I'm thoughtless and I'm selfish from time to time but I'm trying to get there.  And even a $2 candle (should it have been such an incredible bargain... do you think it had gone down again?  Maybe I should have just checked?  Wouldn't that make this all the more poignant, if it had even been cheaper and I still walked away???...) shouldn't be enough to sway me.  Now, had Jungle Jim's had some salted caramel flavored jeni's splendid ice cream in stock today - you know for $9.99 a pint, perhaps that would have been a harder temptation to resist but they didn't so I didn't have to worry about it.  I bought some milk, some yogurt, 2 packs of coffee (the little one pot size) some shampoo and some conditioner and I left.  And I still have 2 bucks and change left on the gift card.  Maybe it's enough to double check on that candle...

Speaking of stuff I like to eat (what?  It just happened - I mentioned the jeni's splendid ice cream.  C'mon, I move fast, you gotta keep up...), I just tried the Yoplait Light Boston Cream Pie flavor that I didn't get to try during the get-together and it was DEEE-licious.  9 out of 10 Jenny's jewels.  I will state that I am disappointed that I only save 60 calories with the light yogurts over the regular style.  What's up with that?  If it's all sugar free, shouldn't it be like 8 calories?  And don't tell me that it's because it's dairy because I hold firm that yogurt has barely any sort of a milk situation going on.  So, unless cultures are caloric, I am not understanding this at all.

Here's what I am processing through these days.  So, Unbound is over.  The campaign is over.  The Saudi moved out.  I know that I told you I had grieving to do.  And I still do.  But on top of that, I'm feeling ridiculous lightness.  I used to feel like the phrase "room to breathe" was really just that - a phrase.  But now I get the truly literal sense of that.  It feels as though these commitments were pressing down on me like cement blocks and I was barely even able to enjoy those things much less anything at all anymore. I'm not saying that I have made a total return and I'm Holly Golightly (I've totally never even seen that movie) but I've never been a Holly so that would have been an unrealistic expectation.  Just for now, I'm feeling an expansion.   Don't get cute - I'm not talking about my bum.  Not this time.

Okay - on to today's new thing.  And it is a doozy.  I have told you about my adoration of Netflix and the worlds it has opened up to me.  For instance, tonight I thought that I would check out a movie called, "Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter".  I dig camp.  If it was pulled off just right, that could have been a killer combo. Are you kidding me?  The Light of the World against creatures who aren't allowed to be out in light?  Think it over peeps.  It could have been killer.   But they didn't do it right.  I watched the intro and the credits and knew that it just wasn't gonna work.  So, for background I turned on something that I have had in my queue for a while.  I don't know if I should just jump in with what it is or tease this out.  The reality is that I am watching it right now and I'm struggling just a little with words.  I know.  This is that good.  And by good, I don't necessarily mean Oscar worthy.  Which is an excellent segue as this has some Oscar connection.  Alright, alright.  I'll tell you.  It's called LXD.  Here's the premise as laid out by Netflix:

This unique Web series combines breathtaking dancing and a taut storyline about the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers: a group of former nobodies who suddenly acquire superpowers and face off against shadowy enemies. Injured ex-soldier Sp3cimen (Chadd Smith), widowed nurse Autumn (Pandora), petty criminal Jimmy Angel (Travis Wong) and the other members of the LXD seek to unlock the mystery of their newfound abilities


I would like to point out that it is in the comic book and superhero genre as well as the Urban and Dance, pop cross reference.

There are disjointed episodes with a dude who is doing some sort of cryptic story telling narrating.  And it's all melodrama and nuances and knowing stares.  And dancing.  Ridiculously talented dancing. I don't know if I'm looking too hard to find the connections or if I am missing something or what.  But I'm just having a little trouble following the common thread.

It starts with this motherless kid who grows up with an overly protective father and he's in high school and he just wants to go the last school dance of his high school career and stare at his crush who of course has a boyfriend.  But the dad is all - no way.  And the kid of course sneaks out and gets to the dance and blows everyone away because they just thought he was the quiet dork and he is an amazing breakdancer.  And some other guys come dance with him and the boyfriend of the girl tries to front him but oh, no, he can't because he's not an extraordinary dancer and therefore not in the League of eXtraordinary Dancers.  Which is who ends up recruiting the dancing kid.

The next segment is two dudes dancing it up in an warehouse.  And using packing peanuts to take their dancing to acrobatic levels.  That's right.  One says "later" to the other one because he's been recruited to the LXD.  He's all like - next time it'll be you dude.  So the other dude is all sad and doing some sort of dancey twirly stuff and this obviously bad guy is spying on him and sees sad dude's backpack and notices that there is a recruitment letter tucked in the pocket.  So sad dude was recruited too and he didn't even know it.  And I looked away for a second but I suspect that the bad dude hurt the sad dude.  Because in the next one, there are no words and this guy is in a hospital and some sort of ominous other guy is sticking a wood cube in his guts which starts dancing in him and he starts rehabilitating with dancing.  That's right.  And this nurse helps him but is wracked with guilt about something so she stops visiting him and he keeps waking up at the same time to dance with her but she's not there until finally she leaves him a note to get out because it was a set-up.  If you need to know what the set-up is - I can't help you there.

The last one I'm going to lay on you is the next one.  I'm finding it all very entertaining and definitely odd but I'm in front of it and I just don't know if it's coming across on your end or not.  It's an office setting and a secretary is filling the boss in on what's going on for the day and she tells him the new guy is starting.  So the new guy conveniently walks through the office right then and is all staring at the boss man.  And the boss man seems confused that the new guy is staring him down but he doesn't fire him - which is more proof that this is all quite so fantastical because he would totally fire the dude in the real world.  So, this goes on the whole day and at quitting time everyone leaves the office and the two dudes run at each other and have a dance off.  It's pretty awesome and only ends because in all their fury and flurry some papers go flying around and new guy slips on some paper while standing on the table and falls and cracks his head on the table.  Which is totally what I tell my kids will happen and now I have the proof that I can show them.

I'm mesmerized.  It's so weird and I just can't bring myself to turn it off.  Imagine the fine acting and cheesy set-ups of Power Rangers (without the stupid alien type beings - as of yet) and then put that to some pretty cool music and mind-blowing dancing.  You see what I'm saying now, right??  And the thing is - apparently the LXD performed at the Oscars.  Which I would know except that somehow I stopped watching the Oscars.  That's a story for another day.  One final note.  The dude who plays Mike Chang from Glee is a choreographer for the show and he is in the episode that is on now.  He has found some shoes in an ornate wooden box hidden behind a wall.  My guess is that they make him dance.  Like real good.  Yep.  I called it.  And they don't even need his help.  He's just sleeping and they are gonna dance anyway.  So far, this is my favorite one.  As a whole, I will rate The LXD 5 out of 10 Jenny's jewels.  I'm so on the fence.  You know the phrase, "that's just crazy enough to work"?  I just don't know if it is or not.  I know it's crazy.  I don't know if it works.

Speaking of Glee, I got to watch it tonight and it was incredible.  I don't like Gwyenth Paltrow.  Probably it's jealousy but I like Kathy Griffiin  and she's met her and the way that she describes her in person is pretty much exactly like I have always imagine her.  So, I was right all along.  But I'm going to give her some mad props.  She did a great job.  And there was some serious music tonight.  I have never heard any Cee Lo before.  I don't even know what local station on my radio (do I sound like a total antique right now??) would play his music.  I'm going to go find more and listen to it.  He might be a little naughty so I'm not recommending him to the under 18 crowd.  I'm just saying I liked the way it sounded and I want to know if I'm missing more grocery store worthy music.  Glee gets 10 out of 10 Jenny's jewels tonight.

Here's the deal, folks.  You have GOT to stop keeping me up so late.  I have to hang with the four year old crowd again tomorrow.  And then I'm getting a crown.  And then I'm going to the Unbound celebration.  It's a big full day.  I can't be all the time staying up until 11:30!!  Oh well.  I'm just going to tell you that you are worth it.  Do I need a sign off?  Like a regular one that I use every time?  I don't want to become predictable.  Hmmmm...   At any rate, for me, for now, it's lights out.