2019 So Far: Wedding Plans, Final Exams, And What To Do When Someone Buys You An Egg Cooker

Sorry about that really long title, folks. But it kind of sums up what I've been doing for the past several months, and I think it's time to give you a "lately" post...I'm about due for one.

Life has been....a little bit crazy over the past few months and let me tell you, planning a wedding is...well, it's more work than it sounds like. Or at least, more work than I thought it would be. But it's all good work, so that's the important thing! Since that's probably the most exciting thing that has been going on for me, I'll talk about wedding planning and such first:

Me when trying to plan decorations for my wedding

No, I shouldn't complain. Things are actually going quite well! The whole event is coming together slowly but surely, with LOTS of help from my family and my squad of girls who are always there to help out. :) It's crazy, but all of a sudden May is almost done and there are less than 2 months till the actual wedding! How did that happen? I sound like an old woman, but wow, time is going really fast. Plus, I don't actually know how to plan a wedding...I'm the first in my family to be married, so we've never done this before. *nervous laughter*

I did have a couple of lovely showers thrown for me, which was great! I am a terrible introvert, which makes me DETEST being the center of attention at a party, which, well, at a bridal shower, you can't really avoid. But, thankfully, I am blessed with lots of great friends and family who are Much More extroverted than I am and who can mediate between me and...*ominous pause*...socializing.

But it actually all went very well, I'm pleased to report. And I added a new and excellent possession to the list of kitchen supplies that were gifted to us...it's called an egg cooker, and it looks something like this: 

I know, I know, I had my doubts too. It kinda looks like a spaceship or something...like from Jimmy Neutron. We were so curious about how it worked that we tried it out the evening of the shower, actually!! And it works! It works very well, cooks a great hard-boiled egg. We still aren't sure what the spaceship's cockpit is for other than a handle to open up the lid, but hey, it's still a great and newfangled contraption. I approve. 

ANYWAY, in things mostly unrelated to showers and wedding planning, I have successfully finished my 2nd year of college, halfway to being done with my bachelor's degree. (Woop woop!) Nothing VERY exciting happened, and exams are over. I'm very thankful to have a few months off. Though I did have one class held in Meadowbrook Hall, the old estate that was owned by the woman who founded my university. Now THAT was pretty cool. 

Meadowbrook Hall, as I approach for my class...

I have been working two days a week at our local library and still enjoying it immensely--it's a great job for me I think; it fits me well. I found this Absolute Gem of a DVD while I was shelving one day. 

Isn't that just the coolest and most up-to-date thing you've ever seen????? 

As far as writing, reading, and movies go: 

I have finished the final edit of my second book, and am working on formatting stuff, hopefully to be able to self-publish through Amazon this summer (however, I plan to wait till after I'm married so I can publish it after my name is changed). I wrote this flash fiction mainly for my creative writing course at school. 

I went to see Endgame the night after it opened, and we finished basically all the movies in the MCU (here's my post about that) before seeing that. I also reviewed The Greatest Showman, saw How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (which I'm planning to review after I see it once more), and finished up the Pirates of the Caribbean series (which I hope to review sometime in the future as well). 

Reading? Well, ha, I have discovered that now that I don't have to go to school and do homework, I have SO MUCH free time!!! It's great...I've already read the Ascendance Trilogy (by Jennifer Nielsen, and maybe I'll review that eventually), The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and I'm working on The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. 

Anyhoo. that has been my life lately...just thought it was about time for a "recently" post. I hope that everyone's springtime is going well! :D If you all have any ideas for posts that you would like to see me write this summer, then please let me know! :) I'm hoping that I'll have some time this summer to post a few things that aren't just wedding pictures! :P 

And now, I shall leave you with an inspiring quote from Pooh Bear: 

#don'tspoiltheendgame

Is that how the hashtag works? *whispers* I'm actually not very social media savvy...

This post is a review/reaction to Avengers: Endgame, which I saw a little over a week ago. Me, my brother, my fiance, and a group of our friends all went to see it together, which was a lot of fun...despite waiting in line for like two hours! Anyhoo, it was...pretty much what I expected. Not all of it was what I expected. But the basic gist was exactly what we knew was coming. 

Now, I'm going to TRY MY HARDEST not to give you any spoilers, so if this review seems somewhat vague, then that's why! Here we go: 

Plot: 

There isn't a whole lot about the plot itself I can say without ruining everything for those who have not seen the film. I guess I can say this much: it's an Avengers movie.  The team (the original six who were left after everybody got dusted in Infinity War) is setting out to save the world, as is their habit. Now, I'm not going to tell you if they succeed or not. But overall, this film's plot serves to end an era that has lasted about 11 years, and to "pass the torches" on to the next generation of superheroes, so to speak. It was a well-woven and well-executed plot that pulled everything together neatly. 

Characters: 

These are the characters that we know and love. Arcs are completed, time goes on, and really, these people are the reason that moviegoers (myself included) love the films so much and are so invested in the story. Robert Downey Jr. was (as always) stellar, and will always be my favorite as Iron Man/Tony Stark. Steve Rogers finally got rid of that beard he had in Infinity War, which I appreciated, and his character was an excellent, worthy leader of their "army" against Thanos and company. Thor...was great.  He was not what I expected (no spoilers!) but still great. And probably the most lighthearted of the three. 

As far as those outside "the big three" go, I really liked Natasha/Black Widow more than I have before in other movies. I think her character, as well as Clint/Hawkeye's, was developed a lot and made perhaps less shallow. Bruce/the Hulk was his scientific, soft-spoken self. All of our other friends in this film are great, but nothing different than they always are. 

Now, here's an unpopular opinion...I was irritated by Carol/Captain Marvel. SUPREMELY irritated. I mean, sure, she has cool skills, sure, she's powerful, sure, I'm FINE with her joining the team--it's her flippant, stuck-up attitude and utter self-centered-ness that I simply cannot stand! I believe that the basic gist of her attitude is this: "You all better be glad I came to help, cause you would have died without me. Yeah, Thanos would never have happened if I was here, but I'm going back to space because I have other responsibilities back there." *puts nose in air and screams about feminism*

Okay, okay, I could be overreacting. I haven't seen Captain Marvel so I could be completely wrong. But, as a woman myself, I can honestly say that the amount of pure radical feminist agenda that emanates from Brie Larson's acting of her character makes me want to throw up. Sure, go ahead and fight, be a strong woman, but don't be all trying to make a point! I don't care if you've got other responsibilities in space, but there is NO CALL to treat the old team, the team that has won their places in our hearts and has reached a bar of achievement that you never will, the way that you do??? How RUDE! To quote Mr. Knightley, "That woman is so full of herself I'm surprised she can stay up on that horse!" 

Okay, enough ranting. On to the next category. 

Film Quality/Aesthetic: 

Excellent as always. Produced wonderfully, good acting, good music...just a very enjoyable thing to see and listen to. There are lots of little visual and mentioned references to the past movies, and picking up on those was really fun to do! Well done. 

Content:

This is, content-wise, about on par with all of Marvel's other movies. I'd check the IMDb page (which I linked to up earlier in the post) for very specifics, but I'd just say that there is some language comparable to their other films, as well as the violence level. It is much more emotionally heavy than a lot of the MCU movies, as I learned from the girl violently sobbing behind me in the theater (which conveniently made me laugh, therefore preventing me from crying...because it WAS very sad!), and there are many moments of hopelessness or grim helplessness. 

There is one moment when Steve is sitting with a group of dudes, maybe talking about life after the snap, and one man mentions going on a date with another man, which makes Steve start a big spiel about "baby steps" and putting their lives back together. The gay dude was totally just thrown in there for the company to be lauded for showing it, but it is there nonetheless. A lot of people thought it was Bruce Banner, but have no fear, it is not.

All in all, I would recommend age 16+ to view this movie without any Clearplay or skipping or what-have-you. 

Overall: 

Personally, I enjoyed this movie. I thought it was a fitting end to a saga, and even though it marks that end, there is no other way that it should have ended, in my opinion. It's kind of the same feeling as the end of Lord of the Rings (not quite as fantastic, of course, but similar to that), when everything is over and done, Frodo is sailing away, and we know we can never come back. It's a terrible, heartbreaking feeling, but at the same time, one of content and perfect satisfaction with the ending that we have. 

An era has ended. There is no post-credits scene. And the torch has been passed. 

Part of the journey is the end.