Pet Peeve #1

So like many people, I've a number of things that bug me.  They run from 1 barely registers as annoying to 10 I'MGOINGBALLISTICAREYOUSERIOUS?!?

This one ranks about a 5 but ca easily escalate to 10 depending on outside influences.

Drum roll please.....

People who show up late for movies.

Yes, I know, first world problems but I live in a first world country and attend a lot of movies so this is a trigger.

Now, I was brought up that if you're 5 minutes early you're already late.  If an event starts at 6:45 pm that means you are sitting in your seat and ready to be entertained when the curtain rises, NOT wander into the venue and stare myopically at everyone else who's arrived on time and wonder where all these people came from.

Example of a 5: We are sitting opening weekend (okay opening day) in the theater waiting for Skyfall the new James Bond movie to start.

Now we arrived when the theatre opened 45 minutes earlier to ensure that we:

• Had seats together;
• Had seats in the middle of a row 3/4 of the way up (optimal seating position see Sheldon Cooper for confirmation);
• Have had our bio-breaks and are ready to sit for the next 2.5 hours;
• Have purchased all snacks, drinks, picked up a magazine and are ready to be entertained
  
  
  Now, part of the movie going experience are the trailers. I have a good friend who leaves the theater when they start as she feels that they ruin the whole movie by giving away too much.  She is allowed to do so because a: she is eccentric and that's why I love her, and b: her ass was in the seat well before said trailers started.
  If you are held up in line getting your snacks etc., unless you are alone you should have sent someone from your party ahead into the theatre to Harvey Hogger and  saved y'all some seats!
  
  
  You walking in, in the dark trying to find four seats together opening night anywhere but the front row is ridiculous.
  
  
  I love to watch these bewildered individuals who obviously couldn't organize themselves out of a burning paper bag try to figure this out.
  
  
  Well how does this become a 10, you ask.  Allow me to retort.
  
  
  So, this one time, at a major movie opening weekend, the usher comes in and asks the rest of us to make room for people as there may be a seat here and there that are open.
  
  
  ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!?! I don't think so Tim.  I'm not moving over a single seat to allow for some dipshit and his loser family who've decided at the 11th hour to come to a movie, late no less, so they can sit anywhere but the front row.  Guess what idiot, you loose. Sit down front in neck-crick land or ask for tickets to the next show.  The other 300 of us got ourselves and kids organized and made it here to pick decent seats so we weren't being pain in the asses.
  
  
  It's true, there have been a few times where we've arrived later than expected and had to sit waaaay closer than we wanted to (like fourth row from the screen, right side for Thor: The Dark World) but we owned that and sat in crappy seats and ended up seeing it again in better seats a few days later.  Our bad.  Did we make anyone move over or conquer and divide our team? No. We sucked it up and dealt with it.
   
  So how does one avoid the dipshit reshuffle? Well, location is one way. We live in small (small) town so this is frequent and cannot be avoided unless we travel 30+ minutes.
   
  Timing. Yes this whole post is a bitch about timing but maybe don't see the prime time showing on opening weekend.  Actually my fave time to see a new flick is the 12:30 on Sunday morning.  It's usually quiet and they'll play the 2D version then. Aside: I hate 3D it's a waste of time and very few movies need to be seen in 3D.  It's a money grab and nothing more.
  
  
  One of my new favourite things is saving up our Scene points and then going to the theaters where you can book your seat online like a real theater. It's a numbered seat and everything. Then there's no snafu at the beginning taking away from my trailer enjoyment. 
  
  
  I'm also loving the adult only theaters with reclining seats, boozey bevys and table service.  If I'd ha a blanket I'd have slept through the movie accidentally.
  
  
  So there you have it, one of my Pet Peeves. 
  
  
  What are your thoughts on late movie goers (comers)?
  
  
  I'll be thinking of you as I'm off to the show tonight.
  
  
  Love Mel

Holy Hiatus Batman!

Wow, so internet, it's been a while.  Miss me?

It's not that I've not been writing, just not stuff I'm ready to share with anyone yet.

But I'm back thanks to spring and a renewed interest in sharing my shit online.

I've taken on a new obsession since we've last been together: Sam Roberts Band. Sigh and heart flutter.

Awesome music, lyrics that both speak to and confuse me and some delish eye candy as far at the members of the band go.

I first came across them at the movie theatre spring 2014. Yes really. The Cineplex preshow used to have a SiriusXM clip with a Canadian band/singer featured and Sam Roberts Band was on for their new album Lo-Fantasy.

We see A LOT of movies at our house.  I love going to the theatre and getting swept away into a story.  There are few movies I've not enjoyed (Agnes of God I'm looking at you) and few I've walked out of (JFK booooring).  And I'm a total snob as far as where I sit.  I'll Sheldon out and find the optimum seat for sight and sound and I'm willing to arrive 45 minutes early to get said seats.

Needless to say we see a lot of preshows and here's this cutie pie of a singer promoting his song Shapeshifters which is catchy to say the least.  And he's Canadian. AND speaks fluent French and Spanish. I'm interested enough to google.

My job changed since my last post and I now have a minimum of a 2 hour daily commute which has allowed me to listen to music other than Top 40 crap and really appreciate stuff like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Neil Young, The Whos (original and Guess) etc. and every time I'd hear certain songs I loved and shazamed them guess who was singing them? Yep, Sam Roberts Band.

To the iTunes store!  Between iTunes and Youtube I realize I've missed out on SRB for almost 15 years!!!!! My excuse is that they weren't around when I had control over the radio and for 12 years the soundtrack to my life was Disney/Dora/Sesame Street/The Wiggles and then Top 40.  But now my music options were wide open and I was ready for something that wasn't repetitive, autocorrected or fully computerized.

So I snowball into SRB addiction. First comes a few downloads from iTunes, then tickets to see them at the Kee (omg I'm dying, they were awesome), then more downloads and the husband begins to realize that there's at LOT of SRB in my life.

Then husband goes above and beyond and gets me the best birthday gift ever. 4 tickets to SRB in Buffalo for me and 3 friends!!! Whaaaat a girls weekend in Buffalo that culminates with a live Sam Roberts Band show? Yes please and thankyouthankyouthankyou.

Best concert ever!  Seriously front row, got to touch the man himself, sang to every song and couldn't hear out of my left ear for two days. Awesome.

Here's a sample of some older Sam Roberts Band for your (okay my) enjoyment.

 Now I'm hooked. I'm a junky. I'm watching youtube videos and reading articles like there's a test at the end.  That brings us to the 2015 Junos.

BFC mentions: SRB is nominated for Junos, you should check out the website and be a seat filler so you can see the show.

You have my attention.

And as I research the Junos, I discover I CAN MEET THE BAND!!! My heart stops then starts then stops again. Logical brain says: Calm down woman, you're in your 40's and are taking this too far. Illogical brain shoves logical brain to the rear screaming: DO IT DO IT get the free tickets to meet him and kidnap him and make him sing for his freedom!!

With age comes wisdom and I take a little from column a and from column b and calmly order tickets for me, BFC and SILS, fill out the request for seat filler and quietly plan another SRB weekend.

BFC goes above and beyond and gets me and 10kmom tickets to the charity hockey game that Sam's playing in. Exqueese me? How'd I miss that?!? Oh right, screaming teenage Mel is still coming to terms with the fact she's meeting the band and has a singular focus.

So, last Friday I had the distinct pleasure of attending the 2015 #JunoCup in Hamilton. A charity event which pits former pro-hockey players such as Wendel Clark, Rick Vaive and Gary Roberts against The Rockers including Chris Crippin from @Hedleyonline, Jon Gallant from @BillyTalentband and your favourite and mine, #14 Sam Roberts from @samrobertsband

I was impressed by the number of Rockers vs NHL Greats (31-12) and by the number of fans in the crowd.  As a hockey fan (what true Canadian isn’t?), I was expecting a good time but I was really impressed with how much fun this event was.  I’ve seen my fair share of live pro hockey games and the Greats still had “it”. They skate like they’re floating over the ice and instinctively know where their fellow players are and where the pucks coming from.  

Intermission brought some fun little skill games and then the second half brought out why I was there: Sam.

As I realize Sam’s a mere 6 feet away from me I turn into that screaming psycho teenage girl (inside) and have to mentally restrain myself from leaping over the small wall screaming “I love you, sing Uprising Down Under to me right now!!”

Instead I distract myself by taking photos of him waiting to play in the second half:  

Who knew Sam Roberts was such an amazing skater? He obviously has skill and loves to play. He’s able to keep up with the alumni and has a fierce competitive streak (as evidenced by the fact he was in the middle of the action during every shift).

I thoroughly enjoyed the night and had some luck with the camera. I was able to print off some of my better shots and present them to him at #JunoFanFare the next day as a memory and got a special Mel original 8 x 10 picture signed by Sam.  

The first step is admitting you have a problem and I’d go watch @samrobertsband open an envelope. 

Keep Chasing the Light.

Love Mel

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