Sturm Haus

it’s educational

A few weeks ago Jon said, “you should try this,” and started an episode of Crash Landing On You on Netflix.

OMG it’s so good. SO. GOOD.

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She’s just your typical driven and successful South Korean businesswoman from a wealthy and complicated family. Right after finding out she’s been promoted, she goes parasailing to test out a new line of athletic wear. It... doesn’t go well.

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He’s just your average, bicycles-to-work, super hot North Korean Army officer. While he’s out on patrol along the DMZ, a crazy woman falls out of a tree on him. He and a handful of soldiers from his company go after her.

Many shenanigans ensue. 

The series is 20 episodes. There are plots within plots and a huge number of excellent supporting characters around the two leads. Family drama, hilarious moments, very serious political bits, terror and suspense — the series has it all. Of course the most important part is the True Love part.

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And because it’s all subtitles, I can’t do other things when I’m watching it. I have to read. At the end I felt like I’d finished a really great romance novel, and I was SO hooked.

So then I watched The K2. Action! Danger! Romance! High drama!

I might be developing a small problem.

I decided my obsession would be more fun with friends, and dragged Annabel in with me. We are now mid-way through Cinderella and the Four Knights, which is a teen rom com kind of thing.

It’s super cute and funny, and I keep begging Bel to stay up a little later and watch a little more. Last night her excuse was that she had to go to BED because she had SCHOOL the next morning. Wah wah wah.

We laugh so hard, it’s great.

And because I have this addiction to feed now, I’ve also started watching It’s Okay To Not Be Okay, which is a more serious drama. The lead actor, Kim Soo-hyun, was one of the Company 5 soldiers in Crash Landing On You. He was also one of the bodyguard/security guys in the background of The K2. I’m kind of following him through what I can find on Netflix right now.

Last night, during a critical moment in Cinderella when one of the guys was confessing his love to the heroine, the subtitles cut out. I switched them from English to French, and they kicked back on, so I was translating French subtitles from a Korean drama to Annabel in English. I have decided this whole K drama thing is therefore educational, and I am allowing myself to watching nothing BUT K drama from now through the end of the year.

what a snow day

Jon and I took a vacation day today. We thought maybe we’d do something fun together, like start cleaning out the garage. But it snowed last night, like, a lot. And we’re TIRED. So today seems to be a day for wearing pajamas and sleeping instead.

 

The Trib just announced that they’re expecting the Governor to close schools for the remainder of the year (our current stay-at-home order ends Apr 30, our original back-to-school date was May 4 I think), which will be a blow to the kids. I also told Otto last night that I didn’t want to alarm him, but that it was very possible we wouldn’t have summer camp this year. It would’ve been his last summer to attend the park district day camp, where he’s had both fun and social success with like-minded kids and awesome counselors. Bel is still registered for one Girl Scout camp right now, but the music camp we were considering has already cancelled. I’d better start thinking about what we’re going to do instead. Backyard sleep away camp anyone???

 

Jon had a virtual goodbye party yesterday for a colleague who’s leaving for a new job — I couldn’t figure out why he was drinking beer on camera at 4pm, but that’s how it is now I guess. Zoom everything. His colleagues got to see Charlie, though, and that’s good. He got many compliments.

 

I am trying not to worry, but the ghost of 2008 looms large in my subconscious. I remember driving around my little district to drop off library promo stuff while listening to public radio’s 24-7 coverage of the financial crisis. It was bad. Lots of sleepless nights. Lots of hard decisions. We handled it the best we could, but the funding, hours and positions the library lost then were only restored in the last few years. Same at my current library, where it took 10 years to regain the income lost back then. Finances are only part of it; as the nation contracts and pivots, it’s clear that lots and lots of things are going to be different from now on. It’s scary to think about it, and impossible not to think about it.

 

Current coping mechanisms include: 

• Collecting articles (I think this must be a librarian brain thing) https://bit.ly/2QGAcdC
  
• Drugs. I wish a dose of my beloved bourbon worked for stress relief, but if I’m already feeling anxious, alcohol only ratchets the anxiety to 11. Meds help. So do meditation and walks and etc. Usin’ the whole toolbox!
  
• Updating my iPad lock screen with Oscar Isaac in character as Duke Leto Atreides for the new Dune movie. Mm hmm.

If we’re gonna live in a dystopian sci fi novel, might as well enjoy the benefits.

 

(Photo is from this great article —  Behold Dune: An Exclusive Look at Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, and More at Vanity Fair)

Happy Easter

what are you watching?

Bel has been picking movies to watch while we're home. Last week she and her dad watched most of the Fast & Furious movies -- I think we had to stop at 6, which doesn't seem to be available anywhere for free right now.

Tonight she and I watched the 2016 Ghostbusters -- the one with Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon. It was the perfect pick. Seeing smart, funny women find and then destroy a nebulous, ghostly menace in order to save their city was exactly what we needed tonight.

And it didn't hurt to watch Chris Hemsworth play the very silly assistant, either. Bel has only really seen him act as Thor in the Avengers movies, so when he made his entrance, she was expecting more of the same. And then he said

It caught her by surprise, and she giggled so hard that I had to laugh too.

O turned in his big assignment - he got it all done! And tomorrow they are off for Good Friday. Whew. Another week down...

what a trip!

I have watched this a million times today.

 

 

 

 

 

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(Rotterdam, Netherlands): Jeroen wasn’t letting Quarantine stop him from taking his first class flight... from the laundry room.☺️😅 Credit: @jeroengortworst Jeroen no iba a dejar que la cuarentena cancelara sus viajes así que se puso en primera clase.... desde su lavandería! 😂

A post shared by Good News Movement (@goodnews_movement) on Apr 8, 2020 at 7:31am PDT

la la la la la la la la la la

I don't know who misses school and teachers more right now - me or the kids.

O had a rough day today with a big assignment that was due (checks calendar) two weeks ago. He's been extended extra time, but hasn't done much of the work. I sat down with him, we read the directions together (again), and I made him an outline with checkmark boxes for what he needs to accomplish. Then I set the timer for 20 minutes and left him to it. I took him snacks, water, and more snacks every 20 minutes for awhile, and at the end of it he had some good stuff done. He was discouraged though. Is there anything worse than feeling like you've failed before you've really properly started?

So I made him noodles for dinner (his favorite), told him to take a shower, and made sure he was in bed early with a book to read. And I got him to laugh at least once before wishing him goodnight. Tomorrow we will try again.

Whatever the mom version of hazard pay is, I earned some today.

Bel is more on top of assignments this week. We've got a daily Zoom session going with her lunch group, which has been great. And I asked Jon to take her for a bike ride before dinner. They came home sweaty and smiling. Sunshine is the best medicine.

I took Charlie out for a short walk right as it started to thunder here. We moseyed down the block while I kept one eye on the clouds. As I got back to the front door, iTunes cued up a song I haven't heard in awhile...

Indeed.

shelter-in-place, day ?

This morning, the DJ in my brain decided to play this song on continuous loop. I'm not mad. You won't be either. Paul Simon is always a good choice.

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Jon said last night, “I think tomorrow morning I will go get a BREAKFAST SANDWICH.”

I said, “do you really think that’s a good idea?” while making a face that indicated I didn’t really think it was a good idea.

“Oh,” he said. “No? No. Maybe not. OK.”

”We have waffles and breakfast sausage!” I chirped. “That’s almost as good, right?”

This morning he reported with some umbrage that our cross-the-street neighbors are NOT following the rules because someone came to the house with COFFEE and BREAKFAST to share with its inhabitants.

He knows this because he has an excellent view of their driveway from the family room windows, where his desk is located.

”I think it’s her sister,” he said. “That whole family drives Jeeps.”

Windows > TV right now.

From now on I’m calling his corner the froffice. Also, I feel kinda guilty about my stance on drive-thru breakfast sandwiches.

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It’s spring break this week - WORST. SPRING. BREAK. EVER. - so the kids are doing whatever they want. Otto’s in bed with his Switch. Last month I successfully taught him how to order things from Amazon using his teen account; he needed a new calculator for math and I wasn’t about to be on the hook for ordering the wrong thing. That’s turned into him ordering a new Nintendo game, new Magic cards, and a massive case to organize his cards into. Annabel is making elaborate perler bead pixel art and has completed her first year in Hogwarts Mystery. And because I’m not riding herd on their 6-8 class assignments every day, I am getting some work done (with some = a quantity > none but < a real work day in my previous life).

I discovered a surprising quantity of 1/8” elastic in my sewing box and have started making some masks. Bel finished one for her American Girl doll.

And so it goes.

 

tiny desk concert

If ever there was a time to get caught up on Tiny Desk Concerts, this is it. Here's my current crush, Harry Styles.

now listen up

I'm beginning to obsess over noise, headphones, and noise that comes out around the edges of headphones. 

Last week I bought 2 pair of headphones, one for Annabel and one for me. Jon has some earbuds he already likes. Otto doesn't much like wearing headphones or earbuds, so he has a couple of perfectly good sets in his room that he very rarely uses.

For Annabel I ordered a pair of Skullcandy Hesh headphones. She wore out the pair I got her awhile ago, and this time wanted a pair with a mic. She wore them today to watch videos about black holes for science class, among other things. She's had them on most of the time since they arrived, and if she's not watching videos she's listening to music.

I ordered a set of noise-cancelling headphones by Anker for myself. I don't know if I'll like them, but based on reviews they're supposed to do an ok job of cancelling ambient noise, which is what I need. The true test will be whether I'm still knocked out of my chair by Charlie's barking the next time we get a UPS delivery.

Fingers crossed.

worth the scroll

I've read this before, but got to read it again today thanks to a timely email newsletter from the Academy of American Poets.