The Messengers

We have two cable cards at home, one for Tia since she would badger me about letting her watch her cartoon networks all the times, and one for me to watch all the movies that I wanted. That is the downside of living with a very busy husband who just started work in a new company. He is just not there much of the times, so both of us, meaning me and Tia, would have to make do with the arrangements for now.

But anyway, I watched lots of movies on Star Movies or HBO. It is a hit and miss. Sometimes I would love most of what they aired, but some weeks it would be too dull, and I ended up not turning up to the movies channels at all.

One of the movies that I enjoyed was this one. I had it recorded since I knew that I would have to watch it when Tia is asleep, at night, since during the day I would be at her beck and all. Yes, I know, sounds like I am her maid. Thankfully we only have one kid at the moment, so I don’t mind doing stuffs for her.

Especially since she is only three and a half, and most stuffs she could not do anyway. Heh…

I recorded the movie, and I watched it few times afterwards. It was scary during the first screening when you had no idea what was going to sprang out, but after couple of times, it was not that surprising no more.

But anyway, here is what I think about it….

That’s one of the main characters in The Messengers, Jess Solomon (Kristen Stewart) , a troubled teenage girl who just moved to North Dakota from Chicago with her parents, Roy and Denise (the very hot Dylan MacDermott and Penelope Ann Miller) and little brother Ben,(the very adorable Evan and Theodore Turner). Dylan is mute, partly due to an accident that occur about a year ago. And partly due to Jess’s fault. The family had to spend all their savings for Ben’s medical bills in Chicago, made worse by the fact that Roy had not been able to secure a job in the past year or so. That prompted the move to North Dakota. To start anew.

When they arrived to their newly bought piece of land, the house greeted them.

When I first had a glimpse of the house, it freaked me out big time. Just look at the color. Just look at how abandoned it looked. I know that if my husband would to show this house to me and said that we are moving there, I would show him the finger :p.

The Solomon’s moved there to plant sunflower, for the seeds. Though they could not afford to hire help around the farm, another character, John Burwell (John Corbett) passed through while Roy was attacked by a group of crows, and helped Roy around the farm afterwards.

Something sinister is a lurking around the house, and only Jess and little Ben felt it. Jess had gone through an episode where she thought that she was under attack in their house while she had to take care of Ben. Everything was thrown everywhere, and she called the police. She and her brother crawled out the window, but when she turned around, everything was as it should be.

Her parents believed that she was delusional and was going through a phase. She knew better, and she knew that her brother saw those things, too.

Things started to get pretty much predictable after the first episode of the attack. But one thing I could not get out of my mind is thing image.

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Compact

During the last couple of years of my stay before coming home, I stayed with this eccentric lady, let’s just call her Miss AL. This eccentric mature lady (she was way older than my Mom, even older than my Mom’s oldest sister) lives her life to the fullest. She partake the Ironman competition almost annually, so she rides her bicyle whenever she had the time, swim couple of times a week at the local, or rather over at the Greenwich, YMCA, took couple, or three dozens (I am NOT kidding!) health pills daily, eat organic foods (sometimes delivered from online orders, some bought at Stop n’ Shop nearby), plant vegetables during spring for summer harvest, and have live five persian cats!

When I moved in, she just finished remodeling the house, and that includes the kitchen. Almost all appliances in the kitchen were new. She just bought a new two door fridge (with the older fridge and a freezer stashed downstairs in the basement), a new electric range, and a new breadmaker. I woke up, some mornings, with the smell of freshly baked bread wafting upstairs from the kitchen. Heavenly, I must admit, but I have never used it. I could have used it to knead some dough for some doughnuts that I had wanted to make for awhile now.

Other than that, she also bought a GE trash compactor. I never used a trash compactor prior to this. I have never even seen a trash compactor bags . Yes, I am a country bumpkin. Before using that, Miss AL had assured me that anything could be thrown down the chute, and so being a country bumpkin that I am, I did just that. The accident occured one day while I was cooking something, probably chicken rendang. Or something that uses lemongrass, because I threw in the upper part of the lemongrass, and then buzz the thing.

It didn’t work. The thing did not buzz. Miss AL had to call in the trash compactor’s people, and they took it apart.

Enough to say, they found the lemongrass inside.

I felt so bad, but Miss AL brushed it off. She said she herself didn’t realize that lemongrass stalk would be too hard for the trash compactor to shred.

Heh.

Through this paid review, I am reminded (yet again) of how much fun I had while staying with Miss AL. I haven’t been in touch with her for the longest time, maybe I should now.

You’re the Man

Or rather, She’s The Man. Yes, I know. Totally teen flick. But hey, whatever works for you, or me, right? So anyway, I watched this movie like twice. I know this is an old movie, last year’s to be exact. But we don’t have the movies channel on Astro then, and we do now. But even if we had it last year, we still have to wait to watch it this year anyway, yes?

I don’t think I need to give a short synopsis of the movie. I believe everyone who was interested already knew, no?

So I watched it once, with much interruption from Tia. So I recorded it to watch it when she is sleeping or whatever. Last night I watched it, but still I was interrupted because Tia wouldn’t let me watch the telly. She wanted me to play with her. So what else is new, eh?

I know that I could stop the movie, and continue whenever I am free. But I couldn’t be hassled, really. I think I would wait later on tonight after she fall asleep and watch the movie then.

I really have to watch this movie because I don’t remember laughing so much while watching a movie lately. But then it could be due to the fact that I kept on watching horror flicks too much.

I can’t start laughing while gory scene was on, else people will think that I had gone wankers wonkers.

Heh.

Home Plans

Oh no, we are not looking into buying a property either here or in Singapore just as yet. This is all mainly educational, purely for garnering more information about home plans that is easily available (with some paid fees, of course) online.

First plan that I checked was the Log Home Plans. Why would I be interested in log homes? Easy. I remember when I was younger, I watched a lot of Little House on the Prairie. I loved the Ingalls very much, and I (like almost everyone who watched the series) loved the opening where Laura Ingalls and her sister, Carrie, traipsing down the meadows, all fresh and happy. I love their home, and though it was not a full blown out log home, but it looked almost the same, to some aspect, eh?

And what about Ranch house plans? Remember Bonanza? While Little Joe and Adam might be the looker (and with more fan mails, I bet), but the character most endearing to me would be Hoss. Almost childlike innocence in such a big man. I remember waiting for reruns for Bonanza, and I remember how much I loved looking at their home in that series.

My mom would be interested in single storey bungalow house Plans because she feels (rightly so, from my point of view) that it would be hard for older folks to be running (or walking) up and down the stairs so much. She is talking from experience, I will concur to that.

So what would it be, plan number one, two or three? Neither one? Well don’t fret, because there are others for you (and me) to browse and see. I just hope that one of these days, we would be able to build a home. Just like that one. I like