Tag: Game of Thrones

A Phone Call

My friend told me the other day that my blog reminds her of a morning call with a friend. I love that! So today, I am going to write my blog with a phone call dialog:

Me: Hello! Good Morning!

You (my friends): Oh wow, you called me kind of early on a Sunday morning. But hey, how goes it?

Me: My daughter and I went to Costco yesterday, but before that, we went to PetSmart and bought a couple of little fish for my pond and then we realized we couldn’t keep them in the car safely. I didn’t want to find some boiled fish when we got back to the car, so we had to walk around Costco with a bag of fish.

You: You walked around Costco with a bag of fish? What did people say?

Me: It was actually pretty funny. You would think that only dogs, or maybe carrying around a baby kitten or a bunny, would get you some attention, but we got a fair amount of comments about the fish.

You: I bet you did.

Me: Yeah, we started calling them our “emotional support fish.” Can you imagine fish with little vests on?

You: They’d be more like lifejackets.

Me: Hahahaha! I told people that the fish had separation anxiety, so we couldn’t leave them at home.

You: Speaking of pets, how are the pups?

Me: Oh, they’re great! Today is their birthday. Our dogs have the same birthday. Do you believe it? Ralphie, our lab, is two today and Josie, the collie, is one. My daughter made sure that we put “birthday bandannas” on them. They seemed pretty excited, but they’re excited every day. Dogs act like every day is their birthday. I want to be like that . . . .

You: Yeah, for sure. Are you psyched for the final episode of Game of Thrones??

Me: Is grass green? It’s going to be bittersweet though. GOT was always so much fun to look forward to and I haven’t found a series that I have liked nearly as much as I like it. I think all of the fuss about changing the ending, is more about people grieving that the show is actually over now.

You: Oh, so you like this last season? Do you think it is good?

Me: I feel kind of neutral about it. I don’t think it is the best season of GOT, but it isn’t terrible. I think with the long break, everyone’s anticipation was just on over-drive. Nothing could ever measure up to the expectations, I think.

You: So true.

Me: I have this sign in our powder room that says “happiness is a journey, not a destination”. I think everyone is just sad that the journey with GOT is over, you know? By trying to get a new ending, they are just trying to keep the journey going. Like my son is graduating from high school this week, and the graduation ceremony, and the celebrations and dinners and parties will all be fun, but the real story, the real adventure, the real meaning, was all of the years of his primary schooling. . . . all of those years of transformation from being a little boy, to becoming a capable young man. Do you know what I mean?

You: Absolutely! You know what? This conversation reminds me of your blog.

Me: Yeah, you’re right, there is something there, to write about it. It’s like we are always racing towards the finish line in everything we do. “I can’t wait for school to be over or to be done raising kids or to win some kind of award or medal”, but the finish line is sometimes a “mwah-mwah” because it is usually at that end moment, that you realize, you were actually really enjoying “the process” of whatever you were doing. You are not sure you are ready to let go of that journey just yet. It is usually at those final moments that a light bulb goes off and you think, it was never about the ending/finish line/gold medal, after all. It was really about everything that it took to get to the end. “Happiness is a journey, not a destination.”

You: Okay, you’re getting deep. I gotta go. Go write your blog.

Me: Thank you. I love you! Bye for now.

Happy Reunion

Watching Game of Thrones last night was like going to a big, happy reunion, getting reacquainted with a bunch of people from your past. (In the case of Game of Thrones, there was also a major feeling of relief – oh, yay, Jorah, Theon, Gendry – that’s right! You are still alive! Hooray!) Reunions, when you haven’t seen familiar people in a long, long time, are always joyful. You find that you are even happy to see the “less than savory” characters, because of the familiarity of your shared history. There’s been enough time and distance to soften the level of annoyance that person brought to your life and if you are honest, the annoyance that you may have brought to their life, as well.

Our two youngest children sat down with us to watch the start of the final season of Game of Thrones. They are not the GOT addicts that their parents are, so they had only seen a sprinkling of episodes. Other than what they heard anecdotally from us and their friends, they had no idea what was going on.

“You can watch with us but you can’t talk and ask questions while the show is on. Understood?” was my very serious proclamation before the show began and while HBO was ceremoniously teasing us with a countdown to the beginning of the final season.

Of course, throughout the show, I made several lively comments, as I joyfully recounted the history of the various characters to my children. They looked at each other knowingly, but dutifully kept quiet throughout the viewing of the episode. I must have used the word “remember” 18,000 times to my husband, as an old familiar face would pop up on the screen and we would try to recount what had happened to that particular character throughout the history of the Game of Thrones TV extravaganza. My only disappointment was, just like the weekend, the show was over way, way too fast. I had to check the clock to really be sure that we got our full hour’s worth.

“I was eating in a Chinese restaurant downtown. There was a dish called Mother and Child Reunion. It’s chicken and eggs. And I said, “I gotta use that one.” – Paul Simon

“Every parting gives a foretaste of death, every reunion a hint of the resurrection.” – Arthur Schopenhauer

Winter Is Coming

I slept in big time this morning. I need my energy for the “Big Night” tonight. The final season of Game of Thrones is tonight and I am giddy! The anticipation and lessons in patience have been excruciating. This has been a weekend of miserable chores like spreading mulch, deciding on paint colors for bathrooms, and finalizing our tax return. Painful! But the prize at the end has made it all worth slogging through. The final season of Game of Thrones has been long in coming, but the wait will be worth it, I am sure. It is almost bittersweet, knowing that these are the last six episodes. I can’t wait to see it, but at the same time, I don’t want it to come to an end. Here are some memorable quotes from the show:

“Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armour, and it can never be used to hurt you.” — Tyrion

“Power resides where men believe it resides. It’s a trick; a shadow on the wall.” — Varys

“Any man who must say ‘I am the King’ is no true King.” — Tywin

“Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder.” — Littlefinger

“The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.” — Ned Stark

WINTER IS COMING!!!!! Enjoy!!!!

There Are Two Sides of the Brain

As I’ve mentioned, we have some bathroom/laundry renovations going on at our home right now. A very nice young man is supervising the project and he seems to be doing a lot of the woodwork, many times solo. When the project first started and there were a few men here, I heard the soft sounds of country music in the background. However, as it became time for the woodwork and it was solo time for the young man, I didn’t hear any music being played. I heard a woman speaking with a prim, crisp British accent. Curious, as I am a naturally curious person, I found myself wandering over to the corner of the house where they are working, under the guise of offering refreshments, honestly, to see what the woman’s voice was all about.

From what I could tell, it became obvious to me that the young man was listening to recorded books as he did the work on our house. I was so admittedly, pleasantly surprised. I have three “young men” sons myself, and honestly, I think that they would be listening to rap music (or sometimes zany podcasts), if they were in this young man’s shoes. It was also a self-awareness moment for me. I already had preconceived notions of what young men listen to, what they are interested in and maybe even a little bit of “if you are a tactile person with talents like woodworking, you aren’t a cerebral person who likes books.” Damn, this self-awareness movement has me looking at myself in a whole new light and sometimes, it ain’t pretty!

Here’s the best part. The curious part of me who doesn’t have a great filter, couldn’t leave it at that – I had to know for sure that he was listening to recorded books, I was curious about what book he was listening to and I was little disconcerted that he sometimes goes outside to cut wood and the English woman reading the book is still prattling on. Doesn’t he get confused and miss some of the good parts? Maybe he just gets lonely and likes to hear a voice in the background as he works?!?

So, one morning, while I probably hadn’t even pulled a comb through my hair yet (think bedhead), I just couldn’t help myself.

“Excuse me, I have a personal question for you . . . ” I said.

At this juncture, the young woodworker looked up at me in horror. Reflecting back, I wonder if he was thinking, “Oh gross! Another desperate, middle-aged housewife!” He had a very concerned, guarded look on his face. In retrospect, the curious part of me wonders if the renovation company trains these young woodworkers and plumbers on how to stave off advances (kind of like they do for young NBA players). It’s quite possible.

“Are you listening to recorded books while you work?” I asked quickly and furtively.

The young man still looked a little disturbed but relieved at the same time. This started a conversation between us about what book he was currently listening to and what his favorite genre of reading is (sci-fi/fantasy). It turns out that he is listening to Game of Thrones. I love the TV series of Game of Thrones, but he told me that they leave so much out in the TV remake and as always, the books are so much better. As for being concerned about missing sections, he told me that he has already read a lot of the books (over 700 pages each) and he has seen the show, so he can fill in a lot of the dots, when he misses a few pages being read. We, as two lovers of literature, had a really great conversation before he reminded me that he had to get back to work.

“The reality of life is that your perceptions – right or wrong – influence everything else you do. When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions, you may be surprised how many other things fall into place.” Roger Birkman

I am so grateful that my curiosity usually overtakes my perceptions! I learn about life and those who live it, that way. And often reality is a hell of a lot more interesting than my perception of it. Isn’t that grand?