The Problematic of the Unproblematic

Anne: Ah...another week passes and this time I really did not watch a whole lot. This post will be a little different from the usual. I spent over 60 hours at work last week and didn't get much of a chance to watch anything but Netflix.  Does everyone know what show on Netflix that I am eluding to?  That's right...Season 2! Gasp! Now let's get right to this discussion. If you didn't know anything about the original story, this is actually a great story. The pressure of being in charge of the family and every member depending on your decisions and add that to the aristocratic legacy and you have a sense of what Anthony is going through. It is unclear in the drama how old he was when his father passed away and him having to take over a job that he wasn't prepared. And I do like this version of Kate, incredibly head strong and willful and knows what she wants.  However, if you, like many, remembered any little details of the original story, you might be pulling your ha...

Anne: Spring break is finally over and the five year old is back at school. I now have a little peace and quiet while I am working from home (yes, I went nowhere, I am very boring)...because I'm sharing an office with another manager because we don't have enough space for everyone to be onsite. Now granted, the ground is being leveled for two more buildings and a parking garage (yes, there are also not enough parking spaces) but it might be a few months before we see the fruits of that labor. In the meantime, I'm planning another team building activity, inter-department this time with QC. While tossing around ideas for activities, someone suggested paintball, which quickly got squashed because there is high risk that certain individuals might take the opportunity to vent out unresolved issues. My plan is to indoctrinate everyone I work with on the meaning of Lab Week. I am constantly surprised that no one around me at work knows about this great holiday. What I would like t...

Anne: Hello everybody! Isn't it funny that when my son wants to do a puzzle, that is like 200 or 300 or 500 pieces, somehow it always ends up being me finishing it for him? He's always asking "Mommy find a piece that goes with this one." Understand that it has to be ONE that fits into the one he's holding in his hand. If I found two other random pieces that fit together, his follow up comment inevitably will be, "Not that one. I need one that fits into THIS one." Yes, the concept of non-sequential order of doing things completely escapes a five year's comprehension level. I don't know how I manage to complete the puzzles and watch shows and spent hours upon hours trying to get QA to align with QC and wondering why two such closely related function have a communication problem. And how I end up with my timelines affected by groups that I have no control over. Oh well... life in a regulated industry.  On to the more interesting things... I actually...

Anne: And the Texas weather continues to surprise us with a 30F drop in temperature from 8am to 4pm. I wish I could say that my week was filled with nothing but relaxation and show watching...but no, it was filled with anxiety that only was made worse today by brick walls that kept popping up in the middle of roads that I thought I had beaten to a perfectly flat surface. I'm hoping somebody has spent a better week than I did. And on with the one show that I managed to catch up on. Autumn Ballad Well...it was a happy ending after a going in a VERY big circle of some (I thought) unnecessary plot challenges for the main CP. How many saw that collaboration between Liang Yi and Yuan Lang? Maybe I missed the intricacies of the difference between Liang Yi's scheming and Yuan Lang's scheming? Was there a difference? If someone can explain it to me, it would be great! Qiu Min...Did anyone else thought that it was really suspicious that she knew where the head eunuch was hiding? When...

Anne: My memory these days is really lacking. As I'm starting this, I swore that I had something interesting to say about what happened last week...but for the life of me, I cannot remember what in the world that was. Okay...while I'm trying to remember what my past week was all about...let's just get right into the shows. Or rather...mostly just one show... Autumn Ballad We are only 4 more episodes away from the ending! And how cute was it this week when Liang Yi put the "handcuff" back onto Qiu Yan's wrist and his own? For the most part, this week's episodes had a LOT of "repeat" scenes. Yes, the angst between the CP is a lot of self sacrifice and letting the other person have enough room to grow. I do like the message. Liang Yi is giving her the freedom to do what she wanted. It's a very often used "separation" sub plot in modern dramas, but it is not as often employed in historical/costume ones. I do have to say that I was very ...

Anne: My week pretty much passed the same way as it always has...too much work and trying to figure out how to add more time into my day. The only funny thing that happened was that my husband made a reservation for my birthday, and let's say that I had an little inkling that something might happen. So I asked if he got an email reminder for the reservation. And he picked up his phone and said, "For 2 at 9:15pm March 17." I looked back at him and said, "March?" He nodded and looked at me for one second. I raised my eye brow and repeated, "March 17?" Something finally clicked and he said, "Aw...sh@t!" So we still went and waited for like an hour. But the food was yummy and we went dancing. So everything was pretty good. Yes, this was not the first time he did this. Autumn Ballad How much do I LOVE this show? A lot! Since there are only 6 episodes a week, I wait until Sunday so I get 4 episodes before I start, and catch the last two on Monday. ...

Anne: Happy Valentine's Day! Look at the loot that my five year old carried back from school! He was really happy to get gifts from his friends. I spent the day sitting in front of my tiny laptop talking to people back and forth. I didn't even get to eat lunch until 2pm! But I did get my noodle soup... so a perfect day! Most of my week was again spent doing a bunch of work and having strange welts popping up all over my skin. I think I should wash my newly bought clothes before I wear them. But I did make time to watch ONE show... The Autumn Ballad How good is this drama?! I didn't think it could get better, but it did! So many things happened in 6 episodes. Qiu Yan's mom died. Qui Yan accused her grandmother and father of conspiring to kill her mother (her father's main wife, not really her birth mother), and took this all the way to court. Liang Yi found the "key" to the handcuff that still remained on her wrist. But in one split second he changed his mi...

Anne: My boring life continues to be filled with work and an unending series of meetings. I am going through a HanFu buying spree, and gifted myself I think about 7 different outfits! Unfortunately, I have at least 3, that despite my buying the biggest size they had, is still about 2 inches to small. Ugh! At some point I have to admit that I probably should actually get a treadmill to be installed at my desk. I have never sat so still doing nothing but computer "work" for hours on straight. I wonder if corporate will pay for this as encouraging a healthy life style for their staff. On my birthday, I'm working from home and will be wearing one of my Hanfu just for the heck of it! On a different note, I watched the Netflix documentary on the Tinder Swindler...WTF! So...there are technicaly no laws against personal fraud? The only thing they could charge him with is the fake passport. Seriously!? And why are people still giving him money!? Shining for One Thing Everything en...