The Hunger Games Movie -- A Few Thoughts

I just got back from the Hunger Games movie and had a few striking thoughts.  Don't worry, no spoilers (I don't think).

For those of you unfamiliar with the series, the 3 books are set in a post-apocalyptic-type North America.  We've got "The Capitol" in the Rockies, the center of power brimming with technology, out-of-this-world gourmet food, and a rich and self-obsessed population.  The rest of the land is divided up into 12 "Districts."  The 13th District was destroyed by the Capitol after they crushed an uprising, 74 years ago.  Each year, the Capitol orchestrates The Hunger Games: entertainment for the Capitol dwellers, and broadcasted to the rest of the population to remind them who is in charge.  2 "tributes" are selected at random from each District, and thrown somewhere together in the middle of nowhere with one purpose: they are forced to kill each other off, until only one tribute is left.  Oh, one more thing.  The tributes are all children, between 12 and 18 years old.

I just finished the first book last week, and enjoyed it (apart from the 1st person/present narrative style, very......different). This is far from my favorite series ever, but it was exciting, and I felt the author was trying to get a message out.  Maybe I'll need to read books 2 and 3 to get the whole message, but I thought it was something like this: the people from the Districts are all constantly threatened, even terrorized, their own land's natural resources being stripped from them to be enjoyed by others, and they feel powerless to do anything about it.  Or, another interpretation (as one of my friends pointed out to me): modern society is obsessed with reality TV shows and violence.

I expected the movie to be much like the book, which it was, except........it wasn't.  First of all, as soon as the "competition" part of the movie started, I was horrified to watch children killing children.  Even though I knew it was coming, it was very different seeing it reenacted on the big screen.  (Which is probably one of the author's points -- this. is. wrong.).  But then to look around me at the hundreds of kids in the theater (I'd say the average age of the kids was 12 or 13), and to watch the children watching children killing children, THAT was nightmarish.  And it only got worse.

One friend in my group said that the author wrote the books so that children would understand the brutality of war.  To try to give them perspective without them actually having to live through a war.  Well, I think after the first few children were killed, the kids in the theater were a little shocked.  But soon, they started to cheer, as each of the "bad kids" were taken down.  Cheering and cheering and "yes!" and then settling back down to watch more.  My friends and I were taken aback.  Our theater had become "The Capitol."

Only.....there was a little girl sitting next to me.  Maybe 7 or 8 years old.  And when little Rue from District 11 died, this little girl started crying.  And she couldn't stop.  She understood.  Her parents just patted her leg and kept watching the movie, but I knew how she felt.  So I gave her a tissue (she definitely needed it).

The other kids in the theater probably just didn't know how to deal with the gravity of the movie, so they got excited and cheered.  But if the author's purpose really was to teach children, I don't think the opportunity was necessarily lost tonight.  But those kids are going to need parents that do more than just pat them on the leg.  After all the cheering dies down, the kids will need:

To talk.  Children are sharp.  They would understand an explanation of the real-life parallels the movie/and/or book introduces.  And they'll need parents who know when they're ready for such movies/books/and talks.

They'll also need examples of adults who aren't obsessed with reality shows and violence.  (Do a little soul-searching -- as you're watching March Madness, would you rather see a jerk of a player get an elbow in his face that had it coming to him, or see a player help his opponent up?)

Or these kids might just need a hug, and another tissue.

Wedding Photos

Well, these are too amazing not to post. The supposed snow/ice/sleet/wintry mix that was supposed to rule the day fell apart the morning of, and just left us with a beautiful dusting of snow.  The rest of the day was nothing short of magical.

The Wedding - 1/21/2012

Our photographer was my dear college roommate and longtime friend, Lauren Moss.  You can check out her website here:  http://www.rmossphoto.com.

Thanks again, Lauren!!!!

JUST MARRIED!!!

 Mike and I were married in the Washington D.C. LDS Temple last Saturday!  It was the perfect day, I don't think things could have gone better.  We were a little worried about the weather (the forecasts were calling for a "wintry mix" which usually = "wintry disaster" in D.C., but it just snowed a few inches the night before.  The morning of, before the wintry mix of rain and grossness could wash the snow away and ruin out pictures, the storm system split in two and went around D.C.  Just for us!!!

We were married in the D.C. LDS Temple, which Mike's grandfather designed.  Mike's grandfather (Keith Wilcox) passed away right before Christmas, and we were both lucky enough to attend his funeral in Utah.  He was a great man with a great vision for such a landmark of a building, and it was a very special day for us.  If you're not familiar with LDS (Mormon) weddings, it was a small religious ceremony, in a beautiful white room with mirrors on opposite sides, reflecting eternity. 

Then, we had our wedding reception at Woodend Mansion in Maryland, which was designed by the same architect who designed the Jefferson Memorial!  It a historical site now owned by the National Audubon Society, and it was just beautiful (see above).  After spending the past two years overseas, it was so fun to catch up with family and friends I hadn't seen, and introduce them to Mike!  Mike's family is mostly out west, so we will have an open house out there in a few months, which we're also looking forward to.  His parents and brother's family were able to come to D.C. though, and they are great! 

We went to New York City for a few days for a quick (but wonderful) honeymoon, where we saw a taping of the Jon Stewart Daily Show, the Broadway musical Wicked (Mike got us AMAZING seats!), and we ate.  A lot.  New York was great.

Mike is back in Venezuela now, finishing out his tour, and I am still in German training for the time being.  However, we hope to soon be able to tell you where and when our onward assignment will be!  Stay tuned!!! (And more pictures are on their way!  Didn't my college roommate Lauren do a great job!?)

Well......

Life is crazy.  I don't think people should make so much fun of Franck from Father of the Bride, because planning a wedding is VERY difficult :) 

Franck Eggelhoffer: Uh-oh, I bring the wrong color thread. I assumed you'd be wearing a black tuxado.
George: It IS a black "tuxado."
Franck Eggelhoffer: I don't think so, babe. This tux is "nuffy" blue. No doubt about it.
George: What're you talking about? Armani doesn't make a blue tuxedo.

I don't think we'll have any blue tuxado problems, but you never know.  I love Martin Short and Steve Martin, by the way.

45 days left until the wedding (January 21st, 2012).  Some cool things about this are: it is my parents' wedding anniversary, who also got married in the DC Temple, and.....the DC Temple was designed by Mike's grandfather.  How neat is that?

In the meantime, I am in full-time German training, preparing for my alleged onward assignment to Austria (which, by the way, will probably change after we get married, seeing as how Mike is assigned to go to Argentina next, and they aren't exactly next-door to each other).  So stay tuned to see what corner of the world we end up in next!

(We'll just be happy to be back together again. Going cold turkey -- from spending every day for a year together, to 3 months apart before your wedding and possibly three more months apart after -- is pretty tough.) 

Some news......

Well, now you will all finally discover why I have been such a slacker at blogging for nearly the past year......I was busy falling in love!

I met Michael Keith Ritchie (Mike) during training in July 2009 in DC. We had both been assigned to work at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. We got to know each other a little bit during our first year in Venezuela (though not too much, because I decided my best course of action was ignoring him at work, so nobody could corner me and ask me if I liked him, which I did :) We started dating almost a year ago (so glad he had the gumption to ask me out), and tried to keep it on the down-low as best we could, though I think towards the end pretty much everyone at the embassy knew.

My 2 year tour in Venezuela ended on October 1st, and Mike took his R&R to coincide with my trip home. We visited New Mexico (the land of my birth!), and met up with his family in Albuquerque for the annual hot air balloon festival. We spent a day in Santa Fe, then flew to Phoenix (where Mike is from) to spend time with his family and see the sights! Mike is an ASU grad, so we spent some time in Tempe, ate way too much good American (and Mexican) food, saw downtown Phoenix, the Capitol, a desert botanical garden, and lots more. Then we drove up to Sedona and saw more beautiful desert scenery.

Then we headed to Utah. The original plan was to go to DC for him to be able to meet my family, but my parents were out in Utah for BYU's homecoming events (of course!). We went to the homecoming football game, and Mike pulled my Dad aside to ask his permission to marry me.......I think I was more nervous than Mike! But they had a good chat while Mom and I waited in the stands. Our schedule was so packed in Utah, meeting siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents on both sides, that the only time available for a proposal was Sunday morning (I told Mike I'd set aside a few hours for him).

So.......we were both so exhausted from all of our travels, that when Mike kept saying at the football game "I'm about ready to go," I didn't think anything of it (even though we were only up by 10 at that point, and I shouldn't have felt comfortable leaving with so small a difference in scores). Even though we left a little early, we got up to his brother's place in Salt Lake pretty late. I worked on getting my giant duffel bag out of the trunk while Mike was fumbling around in his backpack (he says he dropped the ring box, but luckily I was too tired to notice). We get to the front door, and he drops my bag and starts fumbling around in his jacket pocket. I think he's getting his phone out to call his brother, so as not to wake his niece up. But then he says "go ahead, I think it's open." So I open the door, knock a little, call out "hello?" Hm, no one's there. But there were candles lit on the table, and Frank Sinatra playing.....what a nice home! Haha, Mike calls out "turn around...." So I turn around, and there he is on one knee, and he proposed to me right there on the doorstep. I said yes! And then about passed out from the shock. Not from saying yes, that was a given. But I was SO SURE it was going to be the next day. There just wasn't any other time that would have worked! Mike's brother and sister in law had, under Mike's direction, set up this beautiful romantic scene that I only saw after saying yes (I was pretty oblivious). They made our favorite dessert from Venezuela, an amazing butterscotch pudding, and had out lots of other favorites of mine, like hot chocolate, and bread and cheese, and raspberries (and lots of flowers! And rose petals scattered all over the ground!). Amazing. Not to mention the ring, that's probably another reason why I almost passed out. The proof, below:


I love you Mike!

Wow, that was a long blog post. Just trying to catch up :) Will be back with more soon!

Oh, and we're getting married in January, in the Washington D.C. LDS Temple!

Ciao gente!

Well, today is my last day in Venezuela, and then I'll be off on a new adventure.



It has been an amazing experience for me -- very difficult at times, but I learned a lot, I loved my job (most days :), and I met some great people.



I have some pretty good stories.......especially from the last 6 months I spent in the immigrant visa section ("Why did you decide to marry her?" "Well, we got along, she was nice, and I thought 'Eh, why not try it out?'"). But there are too many for one blog post. I'll be in DC for the forseeable future, so look me up and we'll catch up!

But before I sign out (I had to do something to keep me occupied while interviewing those 15,000 visa applicants) here is a list of my favorite names I saw on people's applications:

Gloria America
Virginia America
Birginia
Diva
Missleaddy
July
Hilario

Ciao!

In order to activate your new debit card, please.........stand on your head.

Sometimes it's the little things that are good for a laugh. I almost laughed myself to tears after this latest episode of my life:

[Automated phone response] "To activate your new [Venezuelan] debit card, please enter your debit card number."

"Please enter the first 2 digits of your ID number."

"Please enter the security code on the back of your card."

"Please enter your PIN."

"Please enter your 18-digit checking account number."

"Please enter the last 4 digits of your phone number."

"Please enter the day of your birth."




Anyway, there may have been a couple more "Please enter's," but needless to say, this was not what I was expecting when I called. I actually had to call back a couple of times because I didn't have all the numbers I needed (yes, I do know my birthday, thank you), but then the questions would change each time I called back! It was a miracle I was able to activate it. Except I think it made me change my PIN somewhere in that sequence, and now I have no idea what numbers I used. So I haven't actually used my newly-miraculously-activated card. But I had a good laugh.