Failure

Well, I failed the road test.

Apprehension

Tomorrow is my driving test. Last night, as I waited for sleep to come, I envisioned all sorts of horrible accidents I could get into. This is not helpful. I'm anxious enough as it is without thoughts of injury or death. I'm not so worried about myself, but that I might hurt someone else. I don't think I could forgive myself if I hurt someone with my car.

On a somewhat unrelated subject, I saw Bourne Ultimatum yesterday(lots of car crashes in that movie). It was beyond awesome, and everyone must see it.

Break Time

After 18 months, I'm taking a break from writing. I figure a month should be long enough. No updates, no deadlines. I can write what I want, when I want; or not at all. It's good to have the pressure off. Granted, I put all that pressure on myself, but I've put more effort into my story than I have into just about anything I've ever done. I think it's good for me.

I can't quite relax though, because my driving test is next week. I haven't driven in over a week. A neck injury prevented driving practice for a few days last week. I've been reading the Wisconsin Motorists' Handbook and Study Guide. A little more practice with parallel parking and negotiating parking lots, and I should be good to go.

Movie Review: The Others

I've been watching some creepy movies lately. With the older movies, it's more of a film study, and I don't get too into the story, but watch for things that made them creepy. The twists are usually predictable, or at least not terribly surprising. But the twist in The Others was great.

The film started out alright. The music wasn't really creepy, the main character seemed a bit odd, but her strangeness was explained away. I settled in for two hours of what I figured would be more mildly creepy stuff with increasingly creepy music.

As the movie progressed, things got weirder and weirder, and I wasn't quite sure what was going on. It was starting to seem like some sick practical joke, 1940s style. Then the twist hit. Wow. I did not see that coming. Rarely does a movie have such a surprise ending.

On a scale of 1 to 10:

Music: 8
Creepiness: 6
Acting: 10
Plot Twists: 10

School

It's finally here: the first day of school. I had the kids ready to go nearly half an hour before the bus came because I figured it would come early due to road construction. It came maybe five minutes early, though we waited about twenty. We had to wait for it at the end of the driveway because the view of the road from the kitchen window is blocked by corn and a tree branch.

All of that waiting would have been alright if I hadn't injured my neck yesterday. I woke up yesterday morning, adjusted my neck as I usually do, and got a cramp, or so I thought. Turns out I pinched a nerve or ligament or something. I've done this before. It takes a few days to get better. Meanwhile, my head is almost constantly tilted to the left, I can't make sudden movements, and I can't turn my head very far to the right.

The limited range of motion will keep me from practicing my driving for a few days. The last practice went rather well. I didn't get lost, but the Wal-Mart parking lot continues to torture me. Hopefully, my neck will get better soon, and I'll get more practice in before my road test in two weeks.