The Dark Knight Rises

After a couple of days of working really late, staying up even later, and not getting much sleep as a result, today ended up being a total wash for me. I was awakened at 10am by a phone call from my OB/GYN Doctor - Dr. McLean. She is the doctor that delivered Nolan and the only doctor I have seen since. Since I'm pregnant again I was anxious to talk to her and see how to proceed, but I had some difficulty trying to figure out how to leave her a message at the office on Friday. Fortunately, one text to my nurse friend Tifni and that was solved. Tifni's solution? She would text Dr. McLean herself and tell her to call me. And so Dr. McLean did. I told her the news and she responded that she had a feeling that was why I wanted to talk to her. I told her about the appointment I had already scheduled with her for late August, but Dr. McLean seemed as eager to know that everything was okay as I was. She thought it would be best if I had some labs done to test my HCG levels to see if I was having a normal pregnancy. This was music to my ears. I would give anything to know now that things are going well so far instead of finding out at week 10 that they aren't. So hopefully, by mid week Dr. McLean will have that all worked out so I can get the labs done here in Charlotte and sent to her in Wilmington. She is also calling the high risk maternal fetal medicine office to see if they want to see me in August as well. Then she did something I've never in my life had a doctor do - she gave me her cell phone number and told me to call or text her there if I had any questions or problems. Who does that? I don't know any doctors that do that. Not that I blame them. I'm sure they don't want to be bombarded by patients at home. Marshall always said Dr. McLean seemed more like a midwife to him in the way she handled patients. She was more caring and more emotionally invested than most doctors. At least in our situation. I've loved her ever since that day in the hospital, but today I have even more admiration and appreciation for her.

I figured since I was up now, I would call my husband and chat with him a bit. He sounded like he had a full day planned of boating and movies with Dino and his friend. We talked until he had to go meet the guys. Then I turned on the TV, cuddled up on the couch and fell sound asleep again. I awoke mid afternoon to talk to Marshall again for a bit only to go back to sleep. I knew when I woke up again at 6pm that I was in trouble. There was no way I was going to bed at a decent time tonight now. So, I got up, took a shower and went out shopping. On the way I texted a few friends to see if they wanted to catch a movie, but most were already occupied. Fortunately, one of my old college friends, Carl, was equally as bored and ready to get out of the house. So he agreed to meet me and go see The Dark Knight Rises. To kill some time I popped into Barnes and Nobles and of course I ended up leaving with a new book. This one, however, wasn't for me. Ever since Susan had turned me on to the Goodnight series informing me that there was a Goodnight book for every major place in the US, I always looked at bookstores to see if there was one for that town. While I didn't find a Goodnight Charlotte book (as it very well might not exist), I did find a Goodnight North Carolina book. So I bought it. Yes, it is a child's book, but I didn't think of it as buying a book for the baby. Instead, I thought of it as buying a collectors item. Some people collect mugs or spoons for everywhere they go. I've started buying children's books from every place I go. It started on my honeymoon in Hawaii where I bought two children's books on the Hawaiian legends and fairytales. Now every where I go I will first see if they have a Goodnight book and if they don't then I will look for another regional specific children's book.

While it normally takes me a few days to fully process a movie and decide if I really liked it or not, I will say a few initial thoughts about The Dark Knight Rises. First, while it was entertaining I did find it too long. It stalled in the middle for me and I think some of the fight sequences and the sequence with Bruce Wayne in prison were too long. We all knew he was going to make the climb. Did we really have to see him try and fail three times first? And it was so obvious that not only would he make the climb, but that he would make it without the robe that I found that part a bit cheesy and cliché. I like the guy that played Bane, but I found him hard to understand a few times. As my husband the sound guy will tell you, nobody notices good sound but everybody notices bad sound. Yes, Marshall you are correct. Bad sound just takes you out of it. If you can't understand what they are saying, you miss part of the story. I did not, however, realize that Matthew Modine had such a large role in the movie. I worked with him a couple of years ago here in Charlotte on a movie called The Trial. He's a great actor and a really nice person so it was fun to see him on screen in such a blockbuster film. All in all I had a good time, but it was by no means the best of the Dark Knight trilogy. I do feel sad that the opening weekend of this highly anticipated film was tainted by the senseless killing of those people in Colorado. How horrific. I can't even imagine someone doing something like that in a place where people go to escape from reality and be entertained. I heard that out of respect for the victims, the studios have agreed to withhold box office standings over the weekend - an unprecedented weekend in Hollywood.

"I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families."

                                       -Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight