Aaron's movie reviews

Ok, while I havent been able to see as many movies as I would like to have seen, I figure this would be a good time to give, the maybe 2 people that read this, my thoughts on movies I have seen recently, and what movies I am looking forward to.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
A- I think this movie is definitely one of the better films of the HP series. Obviously as they are growing up, the content gets more mature. I'm glad David Yates is directing the next 2 (for those of you who dont know, the last film will be broken up into two as per all of the important content.) and I think that this is Daniel Rad's best acting... My only complaint was the ending. Obviously we all know who dies, but the scene should have been more... dramatic, emotional... im not sure, but I just didnt feel the loss as big as they could have made it. overall.. go see it.

(500) Days of Summer
B++
I was going to give it just a B+ but... it really is a good movie, I just dont think I can put it in the A category. The director, who has come from directing music videos, stepped in the way of the story too much. I LOVE artistic directing, but at times it was distracting. The story is about Summer seen through the eyes of Tom.. and how our rose-tinted glasses can make us see more than what is really there and can therefore skew our reality. The parts are cast perfectly and played perfectly. My biggest critique is the director getting in the way... and the fact that it reflects my life too much that it makes me depressed! Moving on.

Away We Go.
A-
From director Sam Mendes, I walked out of the movie feeling happy, optimistic, encouraged about life. I guess that is a reason we all go to movies. We know this life is pretty messed up and things can look really shitty at times, but somewhere inside of us, we can choose to believe it will work out. John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph play off of each other amazingly. And the supporting cast is unbelievable. (it just took me 5 times to try to spell that word without spell check... damn our education system and microsoft). Go see the movie it is great!

Sadly, that is all the movies I have seen recently. My goal for the next 2 weeks:
G.I. Joe... which I know will suck but I have to go see it.
The Hurt Locker.. which is being hailed as one of the best war movies ever made
District 9... I'm a sucker for aliens and peter jackson (I KNOW he didnt direct it)

What I wont be seeing is:
The Time Traveler's Wife... of TTW as Dudney puts it. I might actually have her write a review of it, come to think of it.
Bandslam... because who besides tweens care about it.
and sadly I wont be seeing Inglorious Bastards... SHOCK! but I am trying to stay away from movies with just gratuitous violence... and lets face it... its Tarintino.. with Eli Roth... its going to be over the top.

ok.. that's all for now.

Sick Sucks

last night I woke up at 3 in the morning after having a dream that my toes had fallen off of my right foot... im not sure what that means, but upon waking up I realized I was totally sick with the flu. Dad said that a lot of the Texas Rangers got sick with it the other day, so I guess it only attacks people who's bodies are in amazing shape and look amazing. It's science.
So I've spent all day today laying around.. getting an I.V., trying to sleep but not wanting to because my dreams are freaky when I'm sick, but I did manage to get a phone interview for a graphic design job... so we will see how appealing I sound on the phone when I cant breathe out of my nose at all...

Back home for 2 weeks

It is just now hitting me that I am home, I have been home for almost 2 weeks and I am finally getting used to the idea that this place is my new home. I kind of assumed that as many "big moves" as I have made in my life, that this move wouldnt be too difficult. But after spending a year in the slow leisurely pace of Prague, its like sitting in the Lazy river at wet n wild and then getting immediately thrown onto the Geronimo... ( I know it is hurricane harbor now, but it will always be wet n wild to me).

But with that drastic change, it has been pretty cool. I have got to reconnect with a lot of friends that I havent seen in years. The most intense reconnection was friday night at Chris Lee's wedding. I was one of the groomsmen and it was an awesome wedding, but it was a bit overwhelming to try to catch up and see everyone in that short period of time. I felt like I was totally ignoring my kick-ass date (sorry Laura).
Here are some pictures of the wedding and us golfing before! Erin is an amazing photographer fyi.. you should all hire her for... everything.
http://eephotography.squarespace.com/blog/2009/8/10/amanda-chris-wedding.html

All-in-all I'm still very much in a transition period that will continue for the next few months. I still have to find a job, an apartment, a car... preferably in that order. But I know I have really good times ahead with some awesome people. I'm just putting my faith that God will provide and reward my constant searching and emailing for jobs.

Time for church and sushi with laura and A-gib.. so it will be a good day!

Zeus Brought the Lightning

Sitting in a pub with frank drinking Mythos beer. We got rained on on top of the Acropolis today, but it was awesome. We watch the storm roll in over Athens and there was some awesome Lightning.
Just thought I would post a couple of pictures so you all could see.
Tomorrow, we head off to Sifnos.

AND... SCENE

So today I finished my last class of the year. I had a fun little party with my 2.G students (6th grade). They were sad that I wasnt coming back next year, and to be honest, I'm a little sad. I know home is where I need to be, but knowing this may be the last time I see many of them.. It's not easy. It's been a pretty emotional week. Goodbye's are never fun. But with the sadness, I am excited of the next stage in life. I have no idea where God will take me. For now its Dallas, but very quickly that could change.

So this afternoon me and joseph are meeting up with the whole Czech team to have our end of year retreat. It will be really good to see everyone one last time all together. I volunteered to do the end of year slide show. So I thought I would post it so any of you who want to watch it, feel free!

ESI slideshow from Aaron Rector on Vimeo.

give and take

So as my final days in Czech Republic are upon me. I was getting a little nostalgic. Thinking about leaving this place after being here a year. Then very quickly after, I started thinking of things about here that I am very happy to leave behind. So I thought it would be good to make a list. Things I will miss and things I'm ready for in America.

Things I will miss:
half liter beers for a dollar... all the time, everywhere
Subways, Trains, and trams
Bo Bagel breakfasts
Walking through Old town square early in the morning the morning after it snowed, before anyone is there.
Svíčková ( an amazing czech dish)
People walking so much more to get around
Talking at Pubs
Dancing at Lucerna
Great conversations with students



Things I am ready for in America
A bathroom that is INSIDE of my flat
No more Czech winters
Not having to walk a 4 miles twice a week in Czech winters at 7:00 am
People wearing deodorant
Somewhere to go eat breakfast! (besides bo bagel)
Having a normal schedule
An abundance of Cheddar Cheese and Sushi
Watching sports! holy crap. This long without watching only ONE basketball game.

I'm sure there are more I will add on later. But this is enough for now.

Even with this list. I will be sad when I leave here. With all of its ups and downs. Czech Republic will hold a very special place in my heart for a very special time in my life.

updating for 5 months

these are my blog updates over the past 5 months... these are from emails or personal journals.. because i am bad about updating... more to come.After talking to a friend, I realized I really need to keep up with this. So.. they are late, but here they are.