we were meant to live for so much more

[chestnutcurls]

It's an exciting day around the office- my friend Cortney is engaged! Her boyfriend proposed yesterday; it was her birthday. I'm so excited for her. For a couple of weeks, I've had a gut feeling that another girl I knew would be engaged before the year was out. So it's good to know who it was. Of course, it could still be one of you. :) 2004 is officially going to be the Year of Weddings. It's great that I can be excited about other people's engagements now, without that underlying fear and sadness that it will never happen to me. Sometimes I still can't believe I have been so blessed. Even if I don't get any presents this year, I already have everything I want for Christmas. :) Sorry if this makes anyone sad. I just can't help but gush sometimes. (Edit: Just to clarify, I am not engaged. I am simply a girl in a happy dating relationship who knows, so far, four couples getting married in 2004.)

Yesterday I was suddenly, strangely exhausted. It was like someone had taken an Energy Vacuum and sucked the life right out of me. I had to rest in the middle of doing dishes. I fell asleep at 8:00 while Evan was there. This morning wasn't much better, till I had coffee. I hope I'm not getting the Dreaded Flu.

tingilya asked about everyone's top five albums of 2003.

Clay Aiken, Measure of a Man - To be honest, I might be bored by some of these songs if they were sung by someone else. But I must praise them because they come from The Man. The Voice. The Clay.
Evanescence, Fallen - This album rocks. If you don't have it, you need to get it. In March, on my way somewhere, I flipped to an Evanescence concert being broadcast on 93X. I was so blown away that I went straight to Target and bought the CD. It did not disappoint me. (Incidentally, it's hard to believe that "My Last Breath" wasn't written for Matrix Revolutions- has anyone else noticed the weird parallels?)
Linkin Park, Meteora - I love anything Linkin Park does. They could put out a CD of them banging pots and pans together, and I'd probably buy it. Actually, that's not far from what they already do. :P :) (To continue the accidental-soundtracks theme, I was shocked by the lyrical similarities to the Draco Trilogy by Cassandra Claire (the only fanfiction story I follow). I don't guess any of you have read that, though.)
Derek Webb, She Must And Shall Go Free - At first I found this CD to be a little slow and didn't listen to it much, but I grew to appreciate its genius. It's enriching and a great concept album.
Michelle Branch, Hotel Paper - Again, this second album is slower and less poppy than Spirit Room, but very enjoyable once you get used to it. I imagine it would be an excellent CD to listen to after a breakup. Plus, it's creative- one of the songs has a chorus in French! How cool is that?
Switchfoot, The Beautiful Letdown - I bought this because I had heard about it from Danielle and it was on sale. I was happily surprised.

What are yours?

I'm sure everyone is tired about hearing about ROTK, but have you heard how long this movie is? Three hours and forty minutes. That confirmed it- no midnight showing for me. Evan and I are going to the 8:00 show tomorrow night. I can wait one more day. I'm anxious, though. Please, Peter Jackson, don't butcher my favorite book of all time.

Comments

[sp00f.livejournal.com]

2004??
Officially? since when? ;-)))

[chestnutcurls.livejournal.com]

Oh no, not for me! My two best friends are getting married in 2004, and now I know of two other couples, and I'm sure there will be more. I am not engaged, though. :)

[sp00f.livejournal.com]

Ahh I see. I was thrown off by officially I guess! I tend to take things too literal sometimes.

[canticles.livejournal.com]

I know exactly how you feel. A good friend of mine got married this past weekend (I wasn't able to attend, because the wedding was in Tennessee). I would have been happy for him anyway, but at the same time you wonder when it will be your turn... But this year, I feel very content and happy with my life. :)

Get plenty of sleep and take your vitamins and zinc lozenges and don't catch that awful stuff! *hugs* No sickies for The Brens!

Eep! I can't do a three hour long late night movie, my sleep schedule is messed up enough! Ok, I may wait a few days before I attempt to go...

[chestnutcurls.livejournal.com]

Yes...contentment is the best blessing of all, whichever way it comes. :)

Thanks. I've been sure to take my vitamins ever since the flu outbreak got bad. It would be awful to get sick this close to Christmas- I already did it last year and I don't need a rerun. :P

[canticles.livejournal.com]

I had pneumonia over Christmas once... it was a nightmare... *shudders*

[thetenthshadow.livejournal.com]

I've heard that there were changes here and there that distinquish it from the book...but the spirit of it all should be about the same, and it will be a grand finale movie, so the drama, tension and action should be top notch. We'll have to see...

Did you feel Fellowship and Two Towers were ok, in spite of the changes?

[chestnutcurls.livejournal.com]

Fellowship was best in terms of faithfulness to the book. I enjoyed Two Towers, but I was pretty angry about the gratuitous changes there- mainly Aragorn's random collapse into the river and Faramir being pseudo-evil. I mean, WHY did they feel the need to cut out parts of an incredible plot and insert their own melodrama? Whatever. The actual plot of ROTK is wonderful and seamless, so if they pull the same tricks this time, I'm going to be twice as mad. Fear my wrath, PJ.

[aardwolf.livejournal.com]

I'm disappointed that the ending of the second book (major cliffhanger) isn't happening until the third movie. Oh well... hopefully they'll leave the storyline in question for a while to build the suspense. :)

[thetenthshadow.livejournal.com]

I think aragorn's fall was so he could dream about Arwen and resist the temptation of Eowyn (though I'd totally go for Eowyn). Faramir, I chalked that up to the pull of the ring. Sure pulled on Boromir something fierce.
It's hard seeing movie adaptions to books. Hell, I'm a writer and I cringe at some Hollywood hack taking a crack at my work someday. But I do know that some things in writing just don't translate well in visuals (witness the Dune books and their adaptions) so some compromises must be made. It's a bittersweet pill to swallow.
Still, I gotta give credit where it's due; this is far better than the Ralph Bakshi cartoon "Lord of the Rings" from 1979. Wow. That was abysmal!

[trozzort.livejournal.com]

>Sorry if this makes anyone sad. I just can't help but gush sometimes.
It's lovely to hear you gush! You deserve it, I'm very happy for you!! :-D

>I'm sure everyone is tired about hearing about ROTK, but have you heard how long this movie is? Three hours and forty minutes. That confirmed it- no midnight showing for me.
Same here. I'm planning on going on Thursday afternoon with a group from church. I half want to see it just so everyone will hush up about it. (It's gotten old already, but I am looking forward to seeing it).

[chestnutcurls.livejournal.com]

:D Thanks Shelley!

Yay, I'm glad someone else is waiting.

[dakoda.livejournal.com]

Three hours and forty minutes?!?!?! ::dies:: WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!

[aftondays.livejournal.com]

Are you sure it's that long, Brenda? I saw that it was three hours and 20 minutes...not that that's a whole lot different. LOL

[chestnutcurls.livejournal.com]

That's what Evan saw, but I guess it was a typo. Whew, I'm so relieved by that fewer 20 minutes. lol.

[laura8225.livejournal.com]

"Draco Trilogy... I don't guess any of you have read that, though."
Oh, yes, I have! I've been waiting months for her to write the next chapter! I hope she didn't quit. I want to know how the story ends.

They had some ROTK stuff in the newspaper today. They said it was only 3 hours and 20 minutes. Yeah, only. That's a very long movie either way, but I don't care. 7:40 tomorrow night for me! 21 hours and 9 minutes away!

[chestnutcurls.livejournal.com]

Oh yay! I thought it was a shame that no one else on the friends list was hooked on that. When was the last chapter- June? I always sort of forget about it by the time the next chapter comes out, and then after I read it I'm addicted all over again. :) I'd like to print out the entire story and have it bound or something.

[sominfun.livejournal.com]

LOL! I don't even remember purchasing a cd in 2003, but surely I must have...

Have I told you how much I like your journal design? I remember thinking it, but I can't remembering saying so.

Hugs,
Lauren

[chestnutcurls.livejournal.com]

:) Thanks!