Battle With Adulthood...

Merriam-Webster defines "adult" as fully grown and developed, mature and sensible, not childish.

Wikipedia claims that this is a group of adults

I've always thought this is what adults were supposed to look like too...but I'm relatively sure I still look about the same as I did in high school.  I've supposedly been an adult for years...though I'm not sure if I'm mature or sensible...and childishness is questionable.  Maybe if I had one of those cool hats?

I have a job where I sit at a computer and type things, I pay rent and have insurance and do my taxes.  But I don't have a savings account, I've lived in my apartment for 4 years and still have stuff in boxes, I don't actually know what my insurance does and if taxes didn't exist on the internet in a series of easily clickable buttons, I would probably be in jail right now.

I've had this blog with the title "Battle With Adulthood" for almost two years and I have made very little progress.  I barely even manage to write blog posts (I started this one back in February).

Adulthood is kicking my ass.

2014 is going to be the year that I conquer adulthood (4 months into the year...) and figure out what the hell an IRA is...(something to do with Irish people right?)

The Battle with Adulthood is going to cover many areas of my life...pretty much all the areas.  Below is a vague list that I haven't really thought through in no particular order:

1. Health.  This includes diet and exercise (she said as she ate a handful of Gobstoppers with a ginger ale chaser).  Apparently I shouldn't be eating cereal for dinner anymore?  And ramen isn't a balanced meal?
2. Income.  Time to get that savings account and figure out what that one thing that has been taking my money every month is (I think it's something to do with retirement but...ehhhh)
3. Apartment.  Let's get some crap on the walls...and maybe actually unpack.  Oh...and it'd be cool if I could find the floor in my bedroom.
4. Organization.  This goes with finding the floor...I need to find a lot of things and they all seem to be under a pile of mail or clothes.
5. Sleep.  So maybe I stop going to bed at 2 am on weekdays?

The focus is starting on health.  Now that it is possible to go outside without my face freezing off, it's time to get out and do something.  Also maybe I should stop eating these Gobstoppers...

The Worries and Fears of CVS Managers

There are two CVS pharmacy locations near my apartment and those two locations are only two blocks apart.

Overkill.

One day while shopping for cough drops at  CVS #1 I noticed that there was a locked cabinet that contained all condoms and condom related things (cough drops live next to the condoms I guess).  Apparently this is a thing:  CVS has a condom problem.  I decided that this was probably because people might steal condoms?...I guess?  My most prevalent thought was "man it would be embarrassing to have to ask for those".   When I moved two years ago I started shopping more at CVS #2.  One day, as I stared blankly at the dish soap, I noticed that there was a locked cabinet that contained all candles and candle related things.

Apparently the CVS on Clark/Division doesn't think you should buy candles or candle related things without employee supervision.  The condoms were free and clear sitting on a shelf over in the pharmacy and I think they even have Dayquil sitting around there (though I've had to get a special receipt and talk to 5 people to get it from a Target before).  But candles...candles are a problem.  This CVS even has a call button next to their locked candle display.  It looks suspiciously like one of those Easy buttons from Staples and I have, in the past, been tempted to push it and run away just to see if it actually does anything.  But when I first saw the locked cabinet full of candles my most prevalent thought was "man it would be embarrassing to have to ask for those".

No one just knows which candle they want,  picks it up and walks away with it.  You have to smell the candles to know which one is the best.  So when you push their easy button (possibly made of plastic and connected to nothing), do you have to make the CVS employee stand there while you smell all the candles and make the best choice?  Will they leave you alone while you make your very important air freshening decisions?  Is it in their job description to give you their opinion on what they think smells best?  "Does this really smell like fresh linen?"  "How does Glade know what cashmere woods smell like?"...also, what ARE cashmere woods exactly?"  Like a fall afternoon with a hint of sweater.

This leads me to wonder who decides what gets to be locked up in a box at CVS.  Does every CVS have a locked cabinet and it's up to the manager to decide what goes inside?  If this is the case, I can only determine that whoever runs the CVS at Clark/Division has a horrible fear of open flame and misleadingly descriptive product names.  I guess I'll never know.  But I do know that if you need condoms you should go to the CVS on Clark/Division and if you need candles you should go to the one on State/Division.  Otherwise you're going to have to talk to someone...and that's something I generally try to avoid.

The Use and Abuse of the Shaky Cam

According to Wikipedia, experiments using a hand-held camera in film began as early as 1925, however, I feel like I've been seeing it a lot more the last few years...maybe too much.  In my opinion, there is a right and a wrong way to utilize the shaky cam...and sometimes, the way director's choose to use it doesn't work.

I like the use of the shaky cam in a lot of movies.  Saving Private Ryan used hand-held cameras during the Normandy beach scene at the beginning to make you really feel like you were a part of it.  It put you on the edge of your seat and made the horrors of war even more horrible (probably part of the reason I still will not watch that movie a second time)  It made sense and it wasn't distracting...it worked to make the movie better.  The Blair Witch Project took this style to another level and used the shaky cam to make their film look like a found footage documentary.  It is shot exactly like a documentary in that it is only about the experiences of the moment and not about the characters involved.

Since then the shaky cam/found footage idea has been used in many movies...from Cloverfield to the Paranormal Activity movies.  Mostly the shaky cam just makes me dizzy and has me almost shouting "Turn around!  Look the other way!" at the screen.

Recently I saw End of Watch starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña.  Peña and Gyllenhall play two police officers in L.A. who stumble upon some stuff and get in trouble with a drug cartel...I think?  Mostly we just follow them around as they make jokes in their car and arrest people...also the find some really horrible crap in people's houses.  For some reason Jake Gyllenhaal has a camera.  He tries to explain why at the beginning of the movie...something about law school and a film class and how he's making a movie...or something?...but he's mostly just videotaping his friends in locker rooms and holding the camera when maybe he should be focusing on chasing down that criminal and using his gun properly.  So the footage cuts from Gyllenhaal's camera to their dashboard camera...or maybe it's just his camera on the dashboard because I thought dashboard cameras were supposed to face out?...not into the car, and sometimes seems to be held by some mysterious man in Gyllenhaal's closet (someone is recording Gyllenhaal's sexy scene with Anna Kendrick...so I'm going to assume that it's Joe the creepy closet man...either that or it's Michael  Peña and that would make for a whole different movie).  Also...the criminals have a camera...and they're recording themselves too.  Everyone likes to have video evidence of that one time they drive by shot all those people right?  There are also some steady transition shots of the sunrise and some palm trees.

Overall I liked the movie...but I feel like you either have to choose to do something documentary style or not.  The shaky cam effect really worked to increase the drama and really turn those tense moments into nail biting ones.  It did exactly what it was supposed to do when things got rough.  But don't introduce the movie as "hey I'm Jake Gyllenhaal and I'm shooting a friendly little school film about all the people I shoot everyday" and then have scenes from someone else's perspective...as well as scenes that were shot the normal way and added for flow (hey look everyone...the sun is rising so that means it's tomorrow!).

You can use the shaky cam and not introduce it as a plot point (like Saving Private Ryan) or film documentary style (like The Blair Witch Project), but it doesn't make a lot sense when you try to have it both ways.         

On a side note I learned how to type ñ on the computer today.

The Dos and Don'ts of Cleaning your Window Air Conditioner Filter

There is a reason the title of this blog is Battle with Adulthood.  There are so many things that irk me about being an adult.  Today at the top of my list is window air conditioners.  Not the air conditioners in general (they help me survive the 100 degree weather we've been having daily), but their filters.

Firstly, we didn't have air conditioning at all when I was young and when I lived in apartments during college, you pushed a button and AC came out of the vents.  In my current apartment in Chicago we have two window air conditioners:  One in the living room and one in the bedroom that looks like it was built from spare parts in 1959.  Last summer we called the maintenance man to complain about our ancient bedroom AC thinking we would just get a new air conditioner.  He came up, cleaned out the filter and basically told us we were idiots before leaving.  Every time we see Ricky, our maintenance man, I hope to myself that I am not the stupidest one in the building when it comes to my apartment needs.  Yes, I didn't know that window air conditioners had filters, I accidentally pulled one of my outlets out of the wall before I realized the Febreeze plug in plug turned and the outlet didn't have to, and he seems convinced that I pour kitty litter down my tub drain.  But...there have to be worse people right?

So Ricky came and cleaned the filter...giving that look he likes to give when he thinks you've done something stupid (seemingly his only facial expression).  That's how I first learned about filters...though I wasn't actually home at the time.  My air conditioner still looked like they found it on the side of the road and then installed it in my window...but it was kicking out more air.  That was toward the end of the summer and we had a pretty mild winter where we didn't use the heat much.  So...enter the horrible week of 100 degree days that we've been having in Chicago.  Laying in bed sweating last night around midnight...I decided that maybe the filter needed to be cleaned again...you only have to do it once a year right?

According to ehow.com this is the correct way to clean an air conditioner filter:

1. Turn off the window unit.  Vacuum the front cover before removing it if it is dusty and grimy.
2. Remove the cover from the front of the unit, unscrewing its screws or pressing its push tabs to get the filter.  Note any tabs or cutouts to you can correctly align the cleaned filter.  Grasp the filter by its center and pull it outward.
3. Clean the filter at the same time as the front of the unit, in a sink if these items are not too big, or outside otherwise.  Place the cover and filter in a pan of warm water containing dishwashing liquid or just hose off with a fine firm mist.
4. Shake the filter gently to remove excess water.  Let the cover and filter dry completely and replace.

This is how I cleaned my filter last night:

1.  Turn it off before doing anything...because...duh that's an electric thing.
2. Feel around the outside of the cover to see if anything is really holding it on...nothing?  Then yank!  Did the cover come off on one side but stay connected on the other?  Then you yanked incorrectly.  Try again.  And again...and again.  Is your floor now covered in dust?  Probably should have vacuumed the cover if it was dusty and grimy.  See that metal wire thing hanging out from the left side?  Just ignore that and work on prying the filter out.  Did you punch your fingers through one of the foamy squares?  Well...you probably don't need that foam anyway...
3. Since you weren't home when the maintenance man cleaned the filter, just wing this.  You don't want to do anything over the sink because then he'll think you put kitty litter down there too.  Better go for the toilet...that just flushes away.  Just peel all those dust clumps off and try to remember that you love your cat and it's not her fault that she has so much fur that seems to have all been sucked into this filter.  Now your toilet and floor are covered in dust...and it won't come off with a simple wipe down with water...for some reason.  Now might be a good time to break out the vacuum.  
4. It's probably a good assumption that you shouldn't get this thing wet right?  You already poked through some of the foam...who knows what will happen if you get it wet...and you've got this whole unmoveable dust issue to deal with now.  Again...try to remember that you love your cat even though she just ran into five things on her way to freaking out because you turned the vacuum on.  It's okay to vacuum at 1 a.m. right?
5. Clorox wipes seem to be removing the unmoveable dust...so...just call it good on that cleaning debacle.  The filter should look like it's at least less encased in dirt...bend it back into the air conditioner...even though it doesn't seem to fit anymore for some reason.  Shove that metal wire thing back in...those prongs on it will stick if you slam it in hard enough.  Quickly jam the cover back on before anything moves.  You can probably just assume that it's okay to turn back on again.  

It might be a good call to check the internet before I do anything from now on.

My Major Problem With Independent Film

So I think Indie films are great.  They're a chance for people to really get out there and do something interesting because they don't have to worry about the studios turning them down and conforming into something that only exists to make money.  But I have noticed as I've watched more and more indie films that this seems to make the film makers think that it isn't worthy of a happy ending.  Or, in some cases, an ending at all.

I guess the happy movie ending is cliche and it is edgier to have your main character die at the end...or the couple doesn't get together and everyone is left a little more depressed than they were when they first started watching.  Or not.  I guess it depends on how you look at it.  I don't need every movie to end happily with everyone smiling in the sunshine, but I don't mind it happening sometimes.

The biggest problem I have is the movies that don't have an ending at all.  You spend at least an hour and a half with these characters following them as they unwrap a certain problem only to have that problem or the character in general not be wrapped up.  It's something I've seen a lot in Indie films...you're almost to the end...the character is about to reveal something to meet someone or have that final moment that you need...and instead the film cuts to black and the credits roll.  To me, it's gut wrenching...I'm invested and I want to see how this situation plays out.  A couple of examples: (spoilers)

"Another Earth" - main character decides NOT to travel to the other Earth where there are parallel versions of everyone on our Earth and instead allows her boyfriend guy to go instead in hopes of finding his dead wife and son there.  That's a fine place to end...I guess...you still don't know what happens to him, but it wraps up the character's relationship at least.  They take us one step further, however, and show the main character rounding a corner to see the other Earth version of herself standing there - theirs eyes meet - cut to black!  I won't go into what happens in the rest of the movie in much detail...but for me seeing that other version of herself was the movie finally getting really interesting...a chance for her to see what she might be like in another reality where maybe things have gone better for her...but we don't get to see what they talk about.  And what is the point of including that small scene?  Besides to leave audiences wanting more?

"Your Sister's Sister" - guy's brother has died and his girl best friend sends him out to their family summer house to get his head together...the girl best friend's lesbian sister is there.  The guy and the lesbian sister get drunk and have sex.  Enter the girl best friend the next day and it turns out she loves the guy (obviously) ...later we find out that the lesbian sister just wants a baby and poked the condom full of holes like a crazy person.  The guy leaves to go camp in the woods and the sisters spend all of one day being angry at each other before they're best friends again (yay!).  The guy returns and declares his mutual love for girl best friend and that he'd be happy if lesbian sister had his baby and let him be involved (yay!).  GROUP HUG...weirdest long weekend ever.  That's a fine place to end....but we see another scene where all three of them are crowded together in a bathroom with a timer and a pregnancy test.  The timer goes off - they all look at the pregnancy test - cut to black!  Again...did we need that scene?  I would have been fine not knowing whether she was pregnant or not, if it wasn't for the scene that led me to believe that I was going to know!

I think this is both a trick and a cop out.  It's a trick that leaves people with something to talk about and argue about...like Christopher Nolan's "Inception" and the spinning top at the end.  It's there so that when the lights come up every person in the audience is going "Well I think THIS happened...I think he was asleep!  I think he was awake!  I think she was pregnant!...I think she wasn't!"  Even if the rest of your movie was strange and awkward what the audience is left with is that final moment and something to talk about.  It's a cop out because you don't have to write an ending.  You don't have to figure out how you want to sum up your characters...it's an open book...you leave the final analysis to the audience.

I get that films are an art and that indie films allow people to express themselves in a way that main stream film does not.  But I think that these depressing or drop off indie movie endings have become just as cliche as the Hollywood endings that they were replacing.  You can expect, when you sit down to an indie movie, that you will not be completely satisfied at the end. I like to go to movies and be entertained...it doesn't always have to be happy, but I at least want to know how it ends.  If I wanted to come up with my own ending to a movie, I would write my own movie.

Summer Heat

I am NOT a summer person.

It occurred to me sometime in June last year that summer is the season I like the least.  The only reason I ever thought that I liked summer before was because when I used to hear the word "summer" I would think "vacation".

This is no longer the case.

Now the only thing that makes summer different from any other time is that getting places is terribly uncomfortable and a large portion of the population smells funny...usually the people standing closest to me on the bus.

It also occurred to me that the biggest reason I hated winter was driving on icy roads.  Now I don't own a car and my driver's license expired over 6 months ago (it's on my to do list).  Though walking on the icy sidewalks is still an issue and I fall at least once a year (usually more than that and usually in front of a lot of people or in the road), I would still take that over the sweaty, smelly, summer in the city.

It isn't even June yet and today was already a mid 90s kind of day.  I am dreading the next couple months and happily looking forward to sweater weather again.

The Kitten Cam

I find that it helps me get through my work day if I have The Kitten Cam (http://new.livestream.com/FosterKittenCam/MirandasKittens) open in one of my windows.  I don't activately watch it, but being able to glance at four kittens jumping around makes everything feel better.