Pages

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Middle Sunday

A lot of the magic with Wimbledon is the tradition. The strawberries and cream, the required white outfits, the Royal Box, and Middle Sunday, which we are about done with.

It's tough to be off work an entire day with no tennis because it feels like such a waste, but it was also kind of nice to have a day for some errands and catching up on other TV. Oh, and I watched the Murray match I missed the other day. So, I guess I cheated a little on Middle Sunday.

Starting tomorrow, the tourney really heats up with the 4th rounds (and, because of some rain on Friday, the conclusions of some 3rd round matches). So let's see where we're at:

The Gentlemen

Djokovic vs Tsonga- I picked Djokovic to get through this one, but Tsonga is a great player. Tsonga will probably be tired from his super long (and rain-delayed) match, but also, who knows if Djokovic's arm was affected by his fall the other day. Head to head Djokovic owns him so I'd put money on him.

Chardy vs Cilic- I had originally picked Gulbis to get through this round after his great French Open, oops! So, Chardy vs Cilic? They've only played once and it was years ago so not much to go on there. I'm gonna go with Cilic based on his winning over Berdych, a tough player, and he has that great serve.

Murray vs Anderson- I, of course, picked Murray to win the tourney so he better make it through this round! Anderson will be tough because he has a great serve, too, but Murray is one of the best returners and he has been looking super sharp so far in the tourney. They've played twice and split the wins, in 2010 and 2011. I can see Anderson getting a tie-breaker set, but I do think Murray will come through this one in 3 or 4 sets.

Dimitrov vs Mayer- Dimitrov is my other favorite player and I've picked him to get through, too. They've never played, but I think Dimitrov will get through in 4.

Note: Wawrinka/Istomin and Lopez/Isner, both in this part of the draw, have 3rd round matches to complete.

Robredo vs Federer- I'm not a big Federer fan so I'd love to see an upset, but Robredo just had a long 5-setter. He has beaten him once, at last year's US Open, but the 10 times prior, Federer won.

Raonic will await the 3rd round match of Botelli/Nishikori.

Kyrgios vs Nadal- Super excited for this match up between the rising and on-fire Kyrgios and Nadal who is a relentless competitor. I think Nadal will win, but I'd love to see Kyrgios get a set (or 2!) off him. I had originally picked Gasquet to be in this match and to actually beat Nadal so what do I know?

The Ladies

Cornet vs Bouchard- I picked Bouchard to win the tournament, but I definitely thought she'd have to beat S. Williams to do it. I think this match might go 3, but Bouchard will come through in the end. They've only played one time before (in 2013) and Cornet came through in 3, but Bouchard has been awesome lately. (Although...so had Cornet!)

Kerber vs Sharapova- Sharapova will probably lose the first set and then find some freakish way to come through and win the thing. That's her thing. Their head to head is 1-4 in Sharapova's favor.

Halep vs Diyas- Halep should get through this. She beat her in the Australian Open this year and has been cruising lately.

Ivanovic/Lisicki and Keys/Shvedova have 3rd round matches to complete from this section of the draw.

Smitkova vs Safarova- I think Safarova will get through this one on experience as the older player who is ranked 23. This is the section of the draw where I thought Cibulkova would have gotten through so these are all just guesses now.

Makarova vs Radwanska- This is really a toss up. Makarova won their last meeting on a hard court and has been playing really well, but Radwanska is the type of player who can get through tough matches. I'm gonna go with Radwanska.

Kvitova vs Peng- Kvitova has owned her in their past 4 meetings and I think this won will go the same way.

Wozniacki vs Zahlavova Strycova- Head to head this goes to Wozniacki and I think that will continue. Zahlavova Strycova just beat Li Na, but it was a tight match and Wozniacki is so consistent that I think she will pull through.

So, my initial picks for winning the tournament are still in play: Andy Murray and Eugenie Bouchard!

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Dads are Rad!!!

In honor of Father's Day, I wanted to do my own version of the Best Dads in Pop Culture!

In no particular order...

  • Jack Arnold in The Wonder Years.
    • I'm sure not everyone would think of Mr. Arnold as a Dad of the Year, but he was always so heartbreaking in that show. I felt like he was completely misunderstood. He was a man who grew up in the Great Depression and fought in the Korean War. He was an old school man trying to deal with raising a family in the 1960s. I was so sad when they said he died when Kevin was in college.
  • Steven Keaton in Family Ties.
    • No other dad in the universe is as accepting as ex-hippie Steven Keaton, which is constantly explored through his relationship with his Republican son, Alex P. Keaton. I loved how funny he was and how much he obviously loved each of his very different children.
  • Keith Mars in Veronica Mars.
    • I love Keith Mars because he would sacrifice anything for his daughter and also because he believes in her so much. 
  • Eddard Stark in Games of Thrones.
    • More than pretty much everyone, Ned Stark wanted to teach his children right and wrong. He also actually cared about his kids and where they would end up. 
  • George Banks in Father of the Bride.
    • What a great dad! He would do anything to make his daughter's wedding perfect:) 
  • Bryan Mills in Taken.
    • I loooooove that scene when he is on the phone with his daughter and he is all "Listen. You're going to be taken." He is so badass.
  • Charlie in Twilight.
    • He is one of my favorite parts of these books/movies. I just love that he wants Bella safe, but he's not really sure how to do that always. 
  • Harry Stamper in Armageddon.
    • I mean, he gives up his life for his daughter's love. I love this movie!


Do you have any you'd like to add??

Happy Father's Day!

Sunday, June 08, 2014

Day 8: Kirkwall To Glasgow

Getting from Kirkwall to Glasgow was probably the most stressful part of the trip for me. A lot was riding on things going kind of perfectly and, spoiler alert, they did!

We were up at 4am or something to catch the first bus from Kirkwall to Stromness on the bus that we had been assured would arrive in time for the ferry back to the mainland. The bus was to arrive in Stromness with about 10 minutes to spare for us to meet the 30 minute before departure deadline for buying tickets for the ferry. We couldn't buy tickets beforehand because we got a discount with our rail pass and we had no printer. If we missed the first ferry, we would have to wait about 5 hours for the next one and then it would throw our train plans all off. Basically, it would have been really bad to miss that ferry. It's also interesting to note that after our trip I noticed a lot of times during the winter when the ferries would be canceled. I had not even thought about that possibility, thank goodness!



(Note: For anyone planning a similar trip, I would actually recommend looking into the overnight bunks on the ferry.)

The ferry ride itself was also kind of rough. We both slept at first and tried to read for a bit, but we were on the verge of getting SO seasick that we both went back to sleep. I caught a few photos, but man, any more and I would've vomited.



We arrived in Scrabster at about 8am-ish and needed to get to the very nearby town of Thurso to catch the train. This was another moment of the travel day that had me very nervous. We needed a cab and had not pre-booked one. So, we run off the ferry to hopefully be first in line when this bald cab driver with a super thick Scottish accent says, "Need a cab?" Wow! Such good luck! We couldn't believe it.



On the way the cabbies phone rings and basically his accent is so thick we can barely understand him. "I'll be there in 5 minutes," we make out. And then he says, "I thought you were the Sweeneys!" Turns our when we heard "Need a cab?" he had said, "Sweeney? Cab?" Ruh roh! He was cool about it and we tipped him well, but man, we were so nervous to run into the Sweeneys later on the train. We kept imagining them pulling up as the train was departing and our cab driver pointing us out. Yikes!

The train for the first long leg was pretty nice. NOTHING like the Hogwarts Express, much to my disappointment.



Train travel can be tough because it is so long, but the first part of this trip was nice and we saw some beautiful sights.





Check out this Gaellic:



In Inverness we had to switch trains to get on the one headed to Perth. This is when the trains got a bit more cramped both is spacing and with people! And we didn't know people could reserve seats, which kinda freaked us out when we first got on. It was super hard to get around while carrying out huge suitcases and trying to find seats. So, not many pictures of this part of the day.

Ali yelled out, "I got a seat!" so I grabbed the first one I saw, which had plastic on it and a "wet" sign. Oy! I actually stayed dry, but then I started thinking, "What if this is urine?" so after we got going I assessed the situation and moved to another row. Ali and I emailed during the trip since we were far away and planned our next move for when we got to Perth.

This switch was fine, but the train seemed to get even smaller and we were basically on a metro-like train to the city. I stood the entire hour trip because it was too much trouble to try to get my suitcase into an overheard compartment. It was also Halloween so a lot of people were getting on in costumes. That was pretty amusing.

I liked traveling by train because we got to see more of Scotland, but it took forever and the parts without comfy seats together were kinda rough. I think I'd travel by train again, but only if I didn't have to switch trains. (I'm a big fan of planes!)

I was a little nervous pulling into Glasgow because so many people had warned us about it. It's way more city-like than Edinburgh, but for a visit, I really liked it. It reminded me of all the great Scottish bands I like. I could just imagine all of them living there and playing music.

Our hotel was the Alexander Thompson Hotel, which was right by the main shopping area. We checked in to our very spacious and comfortable room and then went for dinner across the street at a restaurant that looked over the street and gave us a great view called The Corner Bar.





It had been a LONG, LONG day so after we dinner we watched some TV and went to sleep!

XO,
SVR

Pretty Little Liars Intel: There's No Place Like Homecoming

We're on to Episode Six!

So, last episode: Lipstick message on mirror, Hanna sneaks into Jenna's therapist, Spencer meets Alex, Aria's parents are fighting a ton!



Aria has ennui.



She is sad because she was having such a great time with Ezra, but then A messed it all up. The girls think she is just super sad about her parents fighting. The girls show up to cheer her up and to talk about Homecoming. Hanna is worried about the Homecoming Queen votes, but they all assure her she is a lock to win. Spencer is nervous because her first date with Alex is at Homecoming. That doesn't seem awkward at all. Aria makes a Samantha Ronson lesbian joke and Hanna steps in to make it less awkward for Emily.

"I might want to go with someone. I just don't want people thinking it means more than it does," says Emily.

Hanna attends the Real Love Waits meeting, which reminds me a lot of church youth group I went to in middle school. They're doing role playing, which is always pretty awful, but Lucas speaks the truth when he points out that someone like Hanna would never go for him.





In the hallway, Aria, in a good outfit, tries to talk to Fitz, but he blows her off.



Emily and Maya run into each other and it's a bit forced and awkward, but they agree they should hang out again soon.

At lunch, Spencer pressures Hanna about getting the file that they think is on Jenna. Mona joins them and makes a remark about Spencer and her Cinderfella (Alex). She is nervous about bringing Alex, but the girls assure her it will be great.

  • Mona mentions she would do anything for Hanna.

First they find out Toby bought two tickets to Homecoming and assume he is bringing Jenna (ew). Then they see Toby's tattoo, but aren't sure what it means.
  • "901 Free At Last"

 Toby ends up asking Emily to Homecoming, though, much to her surprise. He pretty much calls her out on not wanting to be seen with him, but she ends up saying yes.


Spencer, who is of course on the Homecoming committee, is painting props for the dance when Alex comes to ask about her dress and to give her a wad of cash for the tickets. (And the dance is at their school so why is it so expensive?!) They have A LOT chemistry.
  • Seriously though, how'd he get so much dough?


Hanna is the one to now run into Maya and tries to do some matchmaking, telling her that Emily would love to see her at Homecoming. Oh, and Maya is in jazz band.

Jenna is sitting there, being super blind, when Toby comes up and she asks him "Were you talking to her?" Yes, he was talking to Emily! But he does end up helping her go home.
  • Jenna says, "She'll learn the truth about you."

At the dental office building Hanna is snooping around and while she does get caught, she unlocks the door so they can get in there over the weekend.

At Aria's, Hanna continues to try to cheer her up and help her through the parental stuff that is going on. Hanna says that Chris Bozzini has a crush on her, but it's Aria's reactions that lead Hanna to realize that Aria is already into someone! She guess it's a Viking in Iceland, though.

Homecoming time! It's a carnival theme, which is just asking for it.
 Aria does show up and looks amazing, if not a little Victorian goth.

Spencer and Alex look great, too.


Aria's volunteer shift is first up and it turns out she's in the beanbag game with Mr. Fitz! And Mr. Fitz got a haircut and looks GOOD.

Melissa is also there as the fill-in former Homecoming queen who will be giving out the crown. Like, I get it that they have someone come back to hand out the crowns, but omg, Melissa should not be there hanging out. How embarrassing for her. She has a mission, though, it seems, and makes sure Spencer knows she saw the stolen essay and will NOT accept Spencer's apology.

Lucas is at the dance...for yearbook. Muna is SO rude to him.
  • He takes tons of photos. Does he do videos, too?

Mona and Hanna looks great, though.
  • Mona threatens Hanna if she messes up her popularity. 

 When Alex and Melissa meet, we find out Alex goes to PS 187, which is hilarious because they're in Pennsylvania, not NYC, and it's not like Rosewood High is some fancy prep school.

I love the screenshot of Aria in the heart:) She assures Fitz that she sis NOT tell anyone and clarifies that it was not a friend who sent that text to him.
  • "So who is A," Ezra says. 
Aria starts to tell him something, about last summer, but stops herself when she realizes it's not just her secret to tell.


Toby and Emily then show up fashionably late, although based on his suggestions for going elsewhere, maybe he was stalling to get there.
  • He suggests a Fritz Lang double feature at the theatre. I looked up his films, but I don't see anything that might make this an actual clue. Let me know if you know anything.
Toby says that Emily's friends think he is a freak and she says (HAHA), "Not all of them!"

Aria says her claustrophobia kicked in (What?) so Spencer gets someone else to do the beanbag throw with Fitz. (Note: I'd like to do the beanbag throw with Fitz.) Spencer says a "dark booth with Fitz is every freshmen girl's dream." (And mine.)
  • Aria is claustrophobic?
The girls see Emily come in with Toby and they are Not Happy.
  • Aria accuses her of "sleeping with the enemy" which is comical on many levels.
  • Hanna says, "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a freaking duck." Maybe A is an obvious guess?

Melissa is once again a bitch and tells Alex that he is just being used by Spencer to get back at their dad. Ugh!
  • Melissa says she likes people watching.
Spencer finally realizes what Toby's tattoo must mean.
  • September 1st! The day Ali went missing.
Hanna is sent to get the file and Lucas ends up driving her there. Meanwhile, Spencer and Alex go to the fortune teller (Gypsy!) so Spencer can keep an eye on what Toby is doing. She should have paid attention to her cards, though.
  • Her cards: journey, someone hurt, running away, bad match, violence.
  •  And an A card.

Emily confronts Maya to ask what Hanna told her. Maya calls Emily out on her feelings and it's a really sweet moment where Emily can't deny her feelings, but needs more time.

Fitz sees Aria dancing with Sean and leaves, but she follows him. (He is SO hot.) It's hilarious that they're talking in an empty hallway. Echos much? Aria says that she can't bear for him to hate her, but he says he could never hate her. He just realizes that she should be with someone her own age so she doesn't have to hide.
 Hanna, meanwhile, has not found Jenna's file...she has found TOBY'S!



This is when a bunch of stuff starts to go down:

Alex leaves because Spencer keeps running off and ignoring him and Melissa is so pleased about it.

Toby tells Emily he wants to tell her something and they head for the quiet chem lab. He asks about Maya and she admits she wanted to come with her. Emily asks why Toby is so nice to her after everything that happened.
  • He says "We've all got secrets, Emily."
Sean and Hanna win Homecoming King and Queen, but she is MIA:(
  • They find out from his file that Toby was still in Rosewood the night Ali went missing
  • Also, Ali knew about Jenna and Toby-ew.
  •  Mirrors! Who is two-faced!?
  •  What was Jenna doing in there?? Does she hear everything?


They try to call Emily to warn her, but Toby has her attention because he wants to confess to something. She freaks out when she receives a text from the girls.
 The girls look for Emily, but can't find her. Meanwhile, upstairs in the Chem Lab after she receives the text, she runs away, but first pushes Toby into a shelf, hurting him, before she runs out of the room. She ends up falling herself and ends up unconscious.


The episode ends with A changing the town's population count.



SPOILER ALERT FOR CURRENT SEASON STUFF/ANALYSIS SO FAR:

It's hard watching old episodes looking for clues when we're several seasons head and, honestly, I have no good guess as to who A could be now. It's not Mona, it's not Toby, and it's not Ezra*, but all of these people had clues that led straight to them. What are we missing in these early episodes, guys? Supposedly Marlene King has known since the beginning who Big A would be so I feel like there has to be something in these early episodes that support who it is. Marlene King has also said that A is someone we meet early on in the series. I hope it doesn't end up being someone random like Alex who is seen and then forgotten about. A lot of clues support Mona being A, but we later find out she was working for A so do we throw all of those clues out the window?

One thing to note, I read that Marlene King said that Toby joins the A team after this Homecoming episode. Interesting! In my research (shut up), I've found some interesting points about this. The line Jenna says, "...once she finds out the truth about you she'll hate you."--Maybe it's not about the sleeping with his stepsister thing, but that he is on the A team!

Ahhh, I want to figure this out!

*Unless the big reveals of them NOT being A have been lies.