Crap I swiped Left

I stink at dating. It's true, I have always found it easier to have guy friends than boyfriends and it never bothered me growing up. I wouldn't get asked to school dances, but I was the first girl the guys would text on the weekend to hangout. Granted that text had the subtext of, bring your hot friends with you. I was ok with that, and through college it didn't bother me. Now that I am 28, I figured it was time to jump back into the dating world. I haven't had a relationship that would be considered "facebook official" since 2004. Sure there have been casual dating and a few first dates, but I decided that work came first and dating second. My friends have mostly all gotten married and have started to have kids and I figured maybe I should try the dating scene again. The sad truth is, I really just want a companion to do things with, go on trips, hike, dinner, running events, all selfish reasons, but my reasons nonetheless. I tried 'Plenty of Fish' based on a suggestion from my friend Jamie. You just get to swipe left or right based on looks. Superficial, but fun. I got bored though after a week and quit. Next I downloaded 'Tinder', same premise but it links with your facebook profile so you know its legit. But I still wasn't getting results, just a lot of matches. My new years resolution is to go on three dates this year and I needed to step up my game. 'OK Cupid' was the next step. So now I have two apps going and so far guys are responding. Still a few creeps but I have gotten the first date of 2014 out of the way. My favorite thing about this one is it has an UNDO button. Boy the amount of times I have swiped left by accident is high and I appreciate the do over. I will let you know how it goes....

Dark Knight

I was lucky enough to view the latest batman movie, "The Dark Knight" at midnight Friday, July 18th. The movie theater was packed full, with additional theaters being added to accommodate the demand from our Midwestern town. As we all waited patiently for the movie to start, one could not help to think of the mix in the audience. Were they there to see Heath Ledger, were they fans of the new batman series or were they fans of the comic books. Personally I was there because of the highly anticipated performance of Heath Ledger. I did see "Batman Begins" but felt that movie was not that great in comparison to other batman movies.

Finally the lights dimmed and the crowd applauded when the first preview started. Now I understand that you plug movies made by the same company or staring the same lead actor, but both movies advertised, "Watchman" and "Terminator" seemed to be rough cuts and failed to excite the audience.

As the minutes dragged on, the main title finally came up and the movie started. From start to end the movie was captivating with its plot and action scenes. Ledger delivered one of the best performances ever and one he will be remembered for. Bale was not as good as one would hope, but it was an improvement from his first turn as batman. Maggie Gyllenhaal delivered the same performance as all not adding anything new to her character as Rachel Dawes. Aaron Eckhart was able to portray two vastly different sides of Harvey Dent and I hope to see him reprise his role in the next film. Gary Oldman once again performed well in his turn as Lt. James Gordon.

The plot offered many turns and the necessary material for the audience to emotionally attach to the characters and feel as though Chicago was truly Gotham City. I can only hope the rumors are true and that a third movie will be done with the same director and cast. The one regret I have is not seeing the film in IMAX, which I hope to correct soon by traveling to the closest city to offer this.