Platoon

First of all, I just want to say how grateful I am and how much respect I have for the men and women who are currently serving or have served in the U.S. Military. Your willingness to serve - not to mention the harsh conditions you have had to endure, the awful things you have seen, and so much more - is deeply humbling. I thank you.

When I decided to watch all of the best picture winners for the past 30 years, I chose to leave out several that I knew I really did not want to see or could not handle, as the completion of this list is supposed to be fun. One of those that I left off is the Hurt Locker. I get really emotionally involved in movies and, having had two of the most amazing, God-fearing men I know pay the ultimate sacrifice in the Middle East, I didn't think I could handle it. So I am not sure what in the world made me think I could handle Platoon.


Set on the front lines of the Vietnam War, Platoon brings to life what the soldiers of the day experienced out in the jungle. This is a fictional story based on Oliver Stone's time as a soldier, but it does a good job of making one feel the never-ending fear, drudgery, and horrors the soldiers must have experienced. No wonder so many of them never want to talk about it...it was surely a living hell. I get sick to my stomach thinking about soldiers coming home, not to a hero's welcome, but to anger and jeers, being called some of the worst things in the book.

I have to be honest...I only made it 50 minutes into the movie before I had to turn it off. I'm still counting it as complete for the purpose of the list, as I believe the response it elicited from me is exactly what Oliver Stone wanted. For those that had to actually live through the real deal, who could not turn it off after less than an hour (including my uncle, a hero in my eyes), thank you.

Zelda

Of all of the video games I have played, I have enjoyed playing the various iterations of Legend of Zelda the most. And yet I have yet to finish a single one. I played the original one, but never beat the end castle. I played Majora's Mask with one of my best friends and then-roommate Christy, but we only got about 2/3 through before we moved, and we haven't played much since then. I played WindWaker with Matt, but we stopped playing for awhile and forgot the tasks we were on, so moved on to the next version. I played Twilight Princess with Matt and then also Grant, but we stopped about 2/3 through.

This is not to imply that I have never beaten a video game; I have - many of the Mario games, Pit Fall (which, incidentally, just repeats if you beat it; boring), The New Tetris (yes, you can beat Tetris, at least that one), two Gauntlets (awesome, but pretty quick), I helped finish a Halo game, usw. But, for those that really count for me, I have just fallen short. And I've heard the Zelda games have the best endings. So, before I turn 30, I want to finally finish one.

To take that step toward video game domination (and because he's awesome), we had Grant over this weekend and the three of us took on the next "castle" in Twilight Princess (each "castle" takes about four hours, and there are tasks in between, so the game has to be done in stages). This weekend we conquered the Arbitor's Grounds, which introduced a new weapon/tool for Link (the hero), one more awesome than any before...the spinner. It allows you to cross harsh ground and climb walls like never before.


With the flu going around like crazy, two of us were naturally suffering from sore throats, and the other is just getting over a cold. So there were lots of hot tea and ice cream to be had.


Some footage for you...

Oh, did I mention I'm kind of a nerd?

Ride a Segway - Check!

Epcot (formerly EPCOT - the Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow) never ceases to surprise me. Typically, when I go (which has oddly been a lot recently), it's to visit the countries, see Soarin', watch the final fireworks, or shop. But each time I see something that I didn't realize was there before, or explore an area I had skipped in the past. There is so much more than meets the eye. The backs of the countries have neat little enclaves that help you to feel like you're really in that country. The Kim Possible missions add a special something to each area. Figment still makes me smile. And, I was pleasantly surprised to rediscover the areas at the front of the parks showcasing innovation.

Now, I remember going in these areas when I was younger. I vividly remember photo editing to make people's faces look funny, in a time before we had a home computer. Mind-blowing. And I remember leaving my favorite sunglasses there, and by the time I noticed they were gone, well, they were gone (they were so cool -the lenses had three colors, a dark blue at the top, a light blue in the middle, and white at the bottom; I still miss them). But in recent years, I am guilty of just cutting through there to get to Soarin' before everyone else (now do you know where I'm talking about?), and barely taking a second glance.

To get to the point...Thanks to my friend Jen and her husband Dave, I got to ride a Segway at Epcot! That's right, there in the front of the park, nestled among what I like to call fun, is a showcase that allows anyone over 16 (with minor restrictions) to ride a Segway. It's a quick ride, but definitely enough to get the feel of it. I know I have walked by it, but I never realized it was there. Jen made sure that THIS time we did more than just walk by. We stopped to smell the roses.

Scottish Highland Games - Check!

Last weekend I got to check the Scottish Highland Games off of my list, when my parents and I went to the Central Florida games.



We started the day early, leaving the house while it was cold and miserable outside, but the day quickly turned sunny and beautiful...though a little more cloud cover would have been nice. The caber tossing is what initially drew me to the games (tree throwing = awesome), but the thousands of other people that attended were drawn by a sense of pride in their heritage. This pride was so infectious I left wishing I were Scottish.




To paint a picture of the day...imagine bagpipers scattered across the park, each playing a slightly different song that somehow still fit with the others; a plethora of tasteful plaid; kilts, kilts, and more kilts (a deep symbol of Scottish pride, check out the history if you have time); tents; rocks; delicious
scents wafting from the food vendors; and general merriment. We all know morning is not my happiest time (thanks mom and dad for going early with me anyway!), but even I was not immune from getting into the spirit of things.



We headed straight for the games themselves, catching the very end of the sheaf tossing - using a pitchfork to throw a bag over a pole at different heights - and got to watch all of the hammer throw and caber tossing. The hammer throw is possibly one of the scariest spectator sports out there - I
kept waiting for them to lose their grip and to throw it wildly into the crowd, or for the top (21 lbs!) to pop off, but it never happened. Instead, we watched them launch it farther and farther, with the winner's going 104 feet, 10 1/2 inches.


Then, the moment I had been waiting for...the caber toss!!! I had been curious; just how DOES one toss a tree? Turns out, they pick it straight up and try to toss the one end as high as they can in order to get it to flip completely over. Points are awarded based on the angle they get the end up before it falls back down. It's amazing - when they throw it and get it to 80 degrees, it seems as though it would be impossible to ever get it to flip over. But, when they do get it to flip completely, it seems like the easiest, most natural thing in the world. I'm sure there is a life lesson somewhere in there...



On to the parade of clans! The official start of the games meant a grand, true parade on the field. Out they came, family by family, some with only one person, some with many, to much fanfare. Then the pipers, then the national anthems, and finally a reading of those that passed away over the past year.

































We wandered, we watched more games, we ate, then we sat on the bleachers to wait for the border collie sheep herding. While waiting, we were treated to the piping competition and the most unexpected delight of all...the boulder boogie. Anyone could prove their mettle by trying their hand at carrying massive rocks around the field (to the left of the pipers). And when I say massive, the smallest one was around 90 lbs., one was around 125, one was around 178, one was just over two hundred...and one was the top of a giant Celtic cross, weighing well over 300 lbs. Men, women, a few boys that couldn't have been more than 14...some made it farther than others, but all of them did better than I could have. Picking it up and getting a good grip seemed to be the hardest part, and each person had their own plan. Only one person actually picked up the cross (a few tried) and he made it seem like he was carrying a pillow. Why it was so entertaining, I have no idea. But It rocked. (hahaha yesssss)

Finally (for us), the sheep herding. Loved it, and it kept making me think of this video I had seen on YouTube last year.


And of course there was the dancing, the village, the hatchet throwing, the rock bands, the vendors....but you'll just have to go for yourself! They are all over, so you should be able to find one close to you. Thanks mom and dad for going with me! I am so glad I got to experience it with you. My mom told me her family used to go to Welsh festivals, so I will have to keep an eye out for those next!

30 Things Before I Turn 30

With less than 6 months before my 30th birthday, naturally my mind has begun mulling over the imminent demise of my 20s.   I've decided that, rather than let myself think too much about it, I'm going to take the next few months to celebrate going into my next 30 years (and now that song is stuck in your head) by accomplishing a random list of 30 things that seem like they would be fun to do.  Thanks to everyone who has given me ideas!  If you haven't gotten your idea in, there is still time to make the "next 30 years list" (I haven't been able to get the song out of my head all week); a few of the ideas I received ended up going in that list already.  A few qualifiers before I get to the list...while I received many great ideas, I culled the list for things I could definitely do in the next few months and check off without question.  This means taking into consideration cost, scheduling, time, and probability.  And fun-ness level.  Also, I realize that there are more than 30 things (for those of you will count, you know who you are), but I liked the whole list and I figured I would give myself a little bit of a buffer in case some proved untenable (I've already started on the "best picture" movies, and Platoon is ROUGH).  
 
SO - without further ado, here it is...
 
30 Things
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_ Paintball
_ Bouncy ball race (ala Phoebe from Friends)
_ Bicycle jousting
_ Watch all episodes of a tv series, in order
_ Finish a book series (I'm 7 1/2 books into a 12 book series...I really just need to finish it)
_ Learn to ride a unicycle
_ Camp 
_ Go to an observatory
_ Go to a firing range
_ Start a fire without matches, lighters, etc.
_ Do things to earn 3 Girl Scout badges
_ Learn to make some origami thing
_ Watch every movie that won "Best Picture" since 1981, allowing for up to 3 exchanges with older winners
_ Skeet shooting
_ Rent a convertible & drive to the Keys for the weekend
_ Go back to Yalaha for bread
_ Go surfing
_ Test drive a ridiculous car
_ Have a tea party
_ Sing karaoke
_ Finish a video game
_ Wedding dress party
_ Make ravioli from scratch
_ Go to the Scottish Highland Games
_ Pick out a book blindfolded at the library and read it
_ Go to a play
_ Go to PomPom's Teahouse and sanwicheria at 3am
_ Go to the British Pub on Robinson (I wanted to add WITH the Robinsons, but that might prove difficult)
_ Read the entire Bible 
_ Go kayaking or canoeing
_ Do the mentos + diet coke experiment
_ Make a pinhole camera
_ Get something out of a claw machine
_ Ride a Segway 
_ Run a 5k (or walk it...)
_ Go skiing

So that's it!  I tried to make it a mix of things to do at home, out of the house, by myself, with friends and family, on lazy days, on crazy days, etc.