Geeking out – March 2015

Well, it’s been a big month for TV in our household.  Hellooooo Netflix!  I always feel a bit sloth-like whenever I binge on couch-and-screen time.  I think it’s a guilt thing – I feel like I should be spending my time doing something more constructive or stimulating, like reading or exercising.  And I probably should.  But I’m not gonna lie, over this past month I have been loving the array of new shows at my fingertips ready to be discovered.  I’m like a kid in a candy store!  And I’m going to gobble up those candies until I feel like I could vomit!

Here’s what I geeked out over in March:

Reading

So let’s see, where were we……ah yes, I had just started reading Gone Girl.  While I was reading it I was really into it, I just wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next, and how all the intricate details were going to link up with each other.  But the more time that passes since reading it, the less I actually think of the book.  My sister recently asked if she could borrow it as she hasn’t read it either, and I was like “Meh, it’s ok”. As soon as I finished the book I immediately watched the movie, so now I don’t feel as out of the loop anymore!  I thought the movie was ok, Rosamund Pike really fit as Amy, with her intense creepiness!

Next up, I borrowed The Gunslinger by Stephen King from my library.  This is book 1 in the The Dark Tower series, and I’d read a very persuasive review that convinced me to make an immediate start on it.  It’s described as being a bit of a western/fantasy mash-up, and I’ve also read comments from people stating that it’s the best fantasy series ever!  You can’t ignore a recommendation like that.  I’d also never read Stephen King before and was keen to remedy that.  I was very excited to get started.  And I was SO. DISAPPOINTED. And even more disappointed that I was disappointed!  It was just a very weird book, and a lot of the names and reference didn’t make any sense to me.  A lot of the time I found myself doing that thing where you think you’re reading, and before you know it you’ve flipped through 5 pages without having a clue of what actually happened!  I hate that.  After finishing this book I had no inclination whatsoever to continue on to the next one, but after reading some discussions on Goodreads, I discovered that I’m not alone in hating The Gunslinger and that the general consensus is that it’s the weakest book in the series and it’s worth pushing on to book 2.  Apparently there is amazingness to come, so I might have to give The Dark Tower a second chance.

I also recently read Business & baby at home: A set-up and survival guide for mums.  With my return to work imminent, I began to daydream about working from home and for myself, making my own decisions, deciding my own flexible hours, how nice it would be to have the spare room set up as a home office so I could enjoy the view out to our leafy front yard while I tapped away at the computer……I began to ponder other career options, and the viability of starting up my own business.  I won’t go in to this further right now, that’s another blog post on its own and I still don’t know if I will actually go anywhere with it, but it’s an idea I’ve been really interested in lately and I wanted to read more.  This book was great, it included useful tips and information about starting up your own business, advice on working at home while looking after your baby/children, and quotes and stories from other parents who have done the same.  If this is something you have been thinking about too, I would recommend this book to you.  It’s one of those books that’s helpful to just have on your shelf so you can come back to it from time to time, you can dip in and out of it as you need.

Right now I’m reading Lev Grossman’s The Magician King.  This is the second book in the The Magicians trilogy.  I LOVED the first book (The Magicians), and so far book 2 isn’t disappointing either.  As I’ve said before, the similarities to both Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia can be laughable at times, but these books still do stand on their own.  It’s like Narnia for grown ups!  Thumbs up.

I’ve found some good online reads lately too.  This post by The Girl Has Sparke about Megan’s experience visiting a financial planner has stuck with me, and will probably result in me making a booking to see one myself.  I really want to get more informed about personal finance this year, in particular superannuation, so seeing a financial planner sounds like a good idea, especially now that I know you can have an obligation and cost-free first meeting!

I’ve been poking around the YFS Magazine site, thanks to my aforementioned new obsession with starting my own business.  This is a website for young entrepeneurs, and contains some interesting info about all stages of starting a business.

I also bookmarked 25 playful ways to get unstuck by Mum in search.  I’ve felt like this on and off for a few months now – inspired and motivated one day, with no drive or direction the next.  It’s made it even harder to actually do something about my self-employment ideas.  I find whenever I’m feeling this way, the best solution for snapping myself out of it is to kick my butt into gear and DO SOMETHING. Anything!

Watching

As mentioned above – Netflix has arrived in our house.  So far I have been watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (LOVE!! I was laughing within the first minute. I just want Season 2 to be available already), Bloodline (intrigued. It has sucked me in, as much by the swampy Florida Keys scenery as the storyline), The Returned (suspenseful, so many secrets to be revealed.  Reminds me a little of Heroes), and along with Moose, Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse (it’s actually really really funny, I laugh as much as Moose does.  Yes, Barbie lives in a big pink mansion and she has everything she could possibly want and the adoration of everyone around her, but the show kind of pokes fun at all that sugar-coating too).

Next, I want to start watching House of Cards, I keep hearing how great it is.  On a related note, I really wish Netflix had The West Wing.  I’ve been wanting to watch that for a while, you know, now that I’m all grown up.

Last time on Geeking out, I mentioned that we had become addicted to Gogglebox.  The laughs still continue.  I want Big R and I to go on this show!  We have the funniest conversations when we’re just watching TV together, although he does get a bit annoyed at me because I have to comment every couple of minutes.  We love Adam & Symon and Angie & Yvie.  They need their own shows.

Game of Thrones is BACK!! It’s too early in the series to comment really, but I kinda wish George R.R. would hurry the hell up and finish writing Winds of Winter.  I need more GoT in my life, waiting for the show to air once every year just doesn’t cut it.  I also wish Netflix included GoT.

Listening

Hi Dave!!

We went to Sydney at the end of February to watch the Foo Fighters live.  I was so super excited, they are my favourite band and Big R was coming with me this time!  I saw them a few years back but went without him.  That was one of the best concert experiences of my life, so I really wanted him to experience it too.  Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectation this time around.  But I don’t blame the Foos for that.  They put on a good show as always, and c’mon, they’re the Foo Fighters.  Their worst show is probably still going to be better than the best show by most other bands!  But the sound was awful on our side of ANZ Stadium, which really kinda ruined it for us.  I felt there wasn’t as much humour and banter with the crowd this time either, which is something I really love about their live show.  But they still covered all of the songs you would want to hear, and they played for about 3 hours, so I can’t complain too much.

Lately I’ve really been liking Courtney Barnett.  She’s just released a new album – “Sometimes I sit and think and sometimes I just sit”.  Her style is really cool and casual, listening to her lyrics is like reading someone’s diary about the ordinary and sometimes a little extraordinary things that happen in everyday life.

Also on repeat at our place – “Lean on” by Major Lazer (Moose’s favourite song right now), and Pray to God by Calvin Harris featuring Haim.

 

Far out, I really can bang on about popular culture, can’t I?!

I’d love to know what you’ve been reading/watching/listening to.  Have you read the Dark Tower series?  Did you get Netflix too?