Movie Review: Captain Phillips

Last week I saw Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks as the title character. This movie is based on the true story of a cargo ship that was taken over by Somali pirates in 2009. The whole time I was on the edge of my seat: this film is VERY intense! You're wondering if someone's going to die, and if so, who is it going to be and when. What makes the movie scarier is the fact that this really happened: I can't imagine how frightened Captain Phillips must have felt! Although, Hanks did a very good job of portraying that fear. I felt for him the whole time, especially at the end when he was finally rescued and he's in total shock. I was very moved by the film and would definitely recommend it if you like the feeling of suspense!

Photo from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535109/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Chutter's Candy Store

I bet you didn't know that the longest candy counter is the world is hidden in Littleton, NH. Well, it is.

Chutters boasts 112 feet of candy, from chocolates to gummies to gumballs to everything else you can think of. Every summer my parents would take my sister and me to this store, and we would go crazy picking out candy. And every time I go up to New Hampshire, I still have to stop in for some sugary loot. Last weekend I picked out mainly sour gummy candies, which are some of my favorites.

But now I have a dilemma: to satisfy my sweet tooth after lunch, am I going to have some of these, or stay true to the Halloween spirit and eat the candy corn hiding in my desk?

Old Man in the Mountain, NH

I should preface this post by saying that the Old Man in the Mountain is no longer there. I saw him several times before he finally fell, but at least now there is a park where you can relive his glory days. Below are some photos.

There's the sign for the park, and a glimpse of Profile Lake, where the Old Man's reflection would have been.

That cliff is where the Old Man's face used to be.

This sign is hanging in the visitors center. Daniel Webster was a critical character at Dartmouth, so of course he already has a special place in my heart. But I love this quote from him.

Because of my family's connection to New Hampshire for the last 30+ years, we decided to buy a stone at the park to remember the Old Man by. Now every time I visit I will have to try to find our brick!

Dartmouth Homecoming 2013

Last weekend was my first homecoming since graduation. I'm actually glad that I waited until two years out: everyone else goes back the first time, but I had moved on from college at that point. The second year is better because you're going back to enjoy Hanover and to feel the Green spirit, not to relive your college days and lament the fact that you're a grown-up now. Plus, very few of my '11 classmates were there, which is exactly what I wanted: I just wanted to remember Dartmouth for me and no one else.

The fall foliage was amazing in Hanover. It was fun seeing all of those old building surrounded by the yellow and orange leaves from the trees. Autumn is one of my favorite times to be in New Hampshire, which is probably why I never took a fall term off while I was at Dartmouth.

Baker Library is probably the most beautiful building on campus. Every time I'm in Hanover I can't help but stare in awe of it!

Dartmouth now has a new president, Phillip Hanlon '77, and this is his humble abode.

Occum Pond looks quite different when it isn't frozen and covered with ice skaters!

Epsilon Kappa Theta, my sorority house. One of the reasons I joined the sisterhood was for this castle-like building. I lived there for a year (my sophomore summer through my junior spring), and I loved it. While visiting last weekend, I got to meet a few of the new sisters. They were so sweet and reminded me why I joined the sisterhood in the first place.

During Homecoming, people are invited to take tours of the bell tower of Baker. You can see the little people in this photo! And we snuck into Sanborn Library, which makes everyone think of the library in Beauty and the Beast.

This is the structure of the bonfire before it becomes engulfed in flames. There were these ugly plastic borders around for safety, but luckily they were removed before the festivities started. And before everything got underway, I did meet with two friends (a '10 and a '15), and it was absolutely wonderful to see them. I was glad I got to pick and choose exactly who I wanted to meet up with!

The bonfire looks okay in this photo, but it actually seemed pretty small and sad this year. The middle was burning low, and the outside structure took a long time to finally collapse. Plus, the freshmen ('17s) were too busy instagram-ing the fire to actually run around it. So all in all, pretty lame. They really are the worst class ever.

My first alumni homecoming brought back many good memories. It reminded me why I went to school in the first place, the amazing people I met while I was there, and of my own freshman homecoming, which was probably one of the most fun weekends of my life (thus far, anyway).
I'm not sure when I'll go back next, but I'm glad I got to make this trip!

"What's your excuse?"

The Today Show had a story on this photo, and I thought I'd give my take on it.

The women of Today found the picture annoying and offensive; the men thought it was more inspiring/motivational, and said if it were a man, they wouldn't be bothered by it. I'm siding with the guys here. Al made the good point that, if you don't like it, don't look at it! So that's number one. But I too find the picture more motivating than anything else. This is a woman who's saying, "I have three small children, and yet I still have a rockin' bod. You can, too!" Now Tamara made a good point that the woman in the photo is a personal trainer or somehow works in the fitness industry. So, unlike most of us who have to make time to go to the gym, this woman gets paid to go, so she does have an advantage there. But that is not the point. The point is that children should not be used as a crutch for your flab. Yes, those kids certainly helped you pack on a few pounds (one of the many reasons I don't want to have kids in the first place), but you can't blame them for keeping you fat. That's all on you. So get with the program and get fit! Start with small dieting measures (ex. cutting out soda or not going to McDonald's), and small exercise routines like taking a walk around the neighborhood. Baby steps are key: you don't want to get discouraged. Start small, make gradual changes, and even with a family, you can look like this woman. There's no excuse.

A Night with the Caps

Every year, the Washington Capitals host a night at Six Flags America where season ticket holders can get the chance to meet some of the players and get their autographs. This was the first year my dad took me, and it was a lot of fun! Below are some photos.

Here we have John Carlson and Eric Fehr. We met them first that night!

Connor Carrick is really young and only just started playing with the Caps. A line a high school girls had him sign each of their jerseys...which they were wearing at the time. So these girls each had their backs to him to get his autograph!

We didn't get to meet Alex Ovechkin (you had to sign up super-early, etc.), but there he is!

Troy Brouwer, who reminds me of Eric Bana a little bit. Mmmm....

 We had to wait in a long line to see Braden Holtby, but he was worth the wait!

My dinner that night. Pretty sad...I hope next year they have cheeseburgers!

Advice from a Security Guard

I'm not even sure how this discussion started, but the other day, I was talking to a security guard. We were chit-chatting, he started talking about his family, and he gave me this nugget about relationships: "It's all about communication, compromise, and spending time [together]."

I thought this was a nice, concise way to sum up what a relationship is all about. Clear communication is key to a healthy relationship. You need to be able to tell your partner what you're thinking about, how you're feeling, what you need from him/her, etc. Some people are naturally good communicators, others need to work at it, and a couple are simply hopeless. So choose wisely, but also keep in mind that communication skills can definitely be taught/learned! Compromise is an obvious one. A relationship involves two people, and in most cases, the two aren't always going to want the same things at the same time (this can be as menial as what kind of take-out to get to something more important like if/when to buy a house). In the smaller cases, just let your partner get what he/she wants. I know I'm used to having my way, but I've learned that insisting on which movie to watch one night is silly; only put your foot down if it's something really meaningful that's going to have a large impact on you yourself or your relationship as a whole. Spending time together is the fun one. If you're with someone, of course you should enjoy his/her company! In today's busy society it can be difficult to see your special someone all the time, so you have to make sure you dedicate time every week to being with that person. And vary what you do together! When you get to the point that all you do together is watching movies and have sex (and maybe not even the latter), you know the relationship is growing stale. So mix it up! Try different restaurants, take a day trip somewhere new, explore a new activity (might I recommend blues dancing?)...anything to keep things fresh and entertaining!

You never know where good advice is going to come from. So keep your ears open!