We all die, my strange little friend.

[lunabee34]

1. I had my first mammogram yesterday. It was not the most comfortable experience, but it didn't hurt, and it was over in a matter of minutes. I was very pleasantly surprised. I suspect this is one area of life in which having enormous boobs is a plus. LOL

2. I'm doing the spa package today (my birthday gift from Josh): massage, facial, manicure, pedicure. They do them back to back, and it takes four hours, and it is glorious. I get my hair and brows done tomorrow, and then I will be ready to go back to work on Monday after scrubbing the summer off. LOL

3. Yesterday was our last trip to the pool for the year. It will continue to be open through September, maybe even into October, but I don't enjoy going once the students come back for the fall. The pool gets very crowded. Also, I stop dying my hair at the end of April/beginning of May because it seems really dumb to pay to have it done and then dunk it in 100% chlorine, so I quit going to the pool once I start getting my hair dyed again in the fall. And finally, when we went on vacation to my parents, my bathing suit started to disintegrate, and I really don't want to buy another one right now. I got away with it for the two weeks after we came back because the pool is largely empty, and a bathing suit with a couple of patches worn thin is not the tackiest thing I saw at the beach on Tybee LOL. I will miss swimming, but I'm ready to start running again.

4. My BFF from middle school to high school (about 5th-9th grade) contacted me out of the blue at my work email, and so we're going to talk on the phone tonight. I'm excited to catch back up with her.

5. Thanks for linking me to your Stranger Things thoughts, everyone! I am slowly going through them. Here's my take on the last two episodes:

Episode 7

I love every single thing about Scoops Troop in this season. I love the rescue masterminded by Dustin and Erica. I love Dustin scrambling around trying to figure everything out and get them out safely. IMHO, Dustin gets the most character growth this season of all the kids except for Max who also really gets to shine.

The scene in Hopper's cabin is really tense. I love the way Nancy is always, "Welp, I'm just gonna shoot it." She is so badass. Lucas is pretty badass here, too. I also love his idea about the fireworks.

Back to the Future FTW! I love those movies so hard (well, 1 and 3 anyway), and they hold up, too. My friend from #4 and I had such a crush on Michael J. Fox. We watched The Secret to My Success until the VHS nearly wore out.

Just when the bickering between Joyce and Hopper is about to tax my admittedly high tolerance for it, Murray intervenes, and that's the end of it for the rest of the season. LOL

I like Mike admitting he was wrong and that he was jealous of Max. He gets to grow up, too. :)

The Mind Flayer leaving a little Meatwad baby in El's leg is nightmare fuel. Bleck.

The scene with Steve and Robin in the bathroom is one of the best in the whole show. I love them both being vulnerable and admitting scary truths about themselves, and I love that Steve accepts Robin. There were some tears.

I wasn't sad about Alexi dying because he's an evil Russian scientist. At no point did I get the impression that Alexi is a good guy; I didn't want him to die, but he was merrily opening the Gate. Being afraid of the Terminator doesn't mean he's suddenly on the side of the light.

Love El showing up and saving Scoops Troop. That hug for Dustin is gold.


Episode 8

And the grown ups are here! I love the moment when all the groups converge.

I absolutely love that Hopper categorically tells all the kids they are not going back in the evil Russian base and does his best to get them out of dodge. I think the MCU could take a page re: Spiderman.

I like Hopper's little benediction for Mike.

El losing her powers is really interesting. I'm assuming that she will get them back next season, but having her be unable to save the day creates a very different dynamic going forward. I like that ultimately what saves her from the Mind Flayer is not her physical strength but her creating an emotional connection with Billy. I knew he was going to die, so I'm really glad his death is one of sacrifice and resistance.

Joyce and Hopper kill me here. I should have known the second they admitted their feelings for each other even in such a small way that he was going to die. :( I hate for that weight to be put on Joyce, but she doesn't even hesitate because she is amazing.

Steve and Robin going back to the mall to save the day is awesome. I will never get tired of Steve showing up out of nowhere and slaying the dragon.

Love the Jurassic park shout-out with all the kids hiding from the Mind Flayer.

Suzie is real! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean, yes, singing the song is silly and a pacing mistake, but I kinda love it.

Love the epilogue scene with Robin and Steve being all BFF. Absolutely love that El is part of the Byers family now. Love that she tells Mike she loves him, too. Love passing on the D&D to Erica.

Worst packed U-Haul ever, Jonathan. Sheesh.

And the Russians have a Demogorgon (which is weirdly whitish compared to the others, yes?) and an American in a cell who I am going to assume is Hopper until proven otherwise.

Will is still pretty much a non-entity this season which disappoints me. I wanted him to get to do more and grow as a character, and he's largely sidelined. Lucas also to a large extent. I mean, I'm not necessarily upset about it because my faves get tons of screen time and forward momentum, but I feel like this season struggled with the ensemble nature of the cast in a way that the previous seasons did not.

Looking forward to the next season.

Comments

[independence1776]

I hope you have a good conversation!

Worst packed U-Haul ever, Jonathan. Sheesh.

Yeah, that U-Haul is going to be a meeeessssss when they open it. It was supposed to be a poignant moment, but it definitely broke me out of the moment a little.

an American in a cell who I am going to assume is Hopper until proven otherwise.

I'm assuming nothing but would love it to be Hopper. We never did actually see him die.

[lunabee34]

OMG, it was so good. We talked for an hour and fifteen minutes. It was so nice to catch up. It's so nice to be able to catch up with an old friend.

[oracne]

Congrats on getting the mammogram done! Also yay spa.

[lunabee34]

Spa was awesome. I am looking mighty fine. After I get my hair done tomorrow, I will be on the top of my game. LOL

[tabaqui]

Pretty much a huge YES to almost all of this! I was *so* please Susie was real, was very wth? at the singing thing (wow, that was weird), loved Steve and Robin hanging and being very up front but omfg, get OFF THE FUCKING FLOOR OF A PUBLIC BATHROOM, are you nuts?

Poor Will just wanted to be the kid he didn't get to be for two years, and that really hurt, but I think going forward he'll be better in himself.

Poor Billy. At least he got his moment, and tried to be good at the last.

I dislike Hopper immensely, but i don't want to harsh your bliss.

Another season! That's awesome.

[lunabee34]

It was the drugs, Tabi. They couldn't help it. That floor was extremely comfy. *g*

Oh, you're not harshing my bliss. I think I'm a party of one in liking Hopper this season; I don't think I've seen anyone else reacting positively to him this season. I'm the outlier weirdo on this one. No worries. :)

[tabaqui]

*shudders and flails*
Fucking bathroom floors. Way too many shows/movies have people touching and crawling and *laying down* on public bathroom floors like - are you OUT OF YOUR MINDS? No normal, actual person does that. EVER. YUCK.

Ha, yes, probably. But hey, you do you. :D

[lunabee34]

I explained a little below to chelseagirl my reasoning re: Hopper but totally get the antipathy.

[tabaqui]

Ha, yes, I saw that. I just...ever since he yelled at El for being *lonely and sad* because he isolated her in a cabin all alone for what, a year? and then threatened to call the 'bad guys' and have her picked up by them?

I just lost all sympathy for him. That was lame, and he never really apologized for it.

And he really seemed to expect Joyce to just fall all over him, like he *deserved* her, like she *owed* him. Blech. Not for me.

[lunabee34]

*nods nods*

[tamoline]

Is it wrong that I kind of want an arc of Robin and Nancy kind of warily learning to respect each other/becoming friends? There was that comment about Robin considering her a priss, and we have no idea about what Nancy thinks about her, if anything, and they're both so smart and into investigating and... Well, assuming Robin is back for next season and it's a year later, I can't help wondering if they're just going to be friends next season a la El and Max, and that would be good too, it's just... The process of them becoming friends would be fun to see too.

Enjoy the spa!

[lunabee34]

Absolutely not! I would really like to see Robin and Nancy interacting. I'd like to see Jonathan and Steve interacting. I'd like any of the groups who didn't get much time together to be able to spend time together.

I loved the Max and El friendship. Easily the best thing about the whole season for me.

[wendelah1]

Back to work on Monday. Wow. It seems too soon but my brain is still on the University of California academic calendar which doesn't start until mid-September. The rest of the schools begin in August, though the new semester for LA Unified doesn't start for three more weeks. But St. Genevieve's HS Fall semester starts in less than two weeks. Ugh. Parking is already getting bad again. Traffic is, too. Marching band practice is driving me nuts. Obnoxious parents are already blocking my driveway. I wish we could get restricted street parking like rich people do. Just yesterday there was a parent parked at a stop sign RIGHT NEXT TO A FIRE HYDRANT. staring at their phone, completely oblivious.

[lunabee34]

We don't actually start classes until August 14 (which is still way early for a lot of places), but Monday begins the meetings and administrivia that marks the start of the semester.

We're such a tiny place that parking and traffic aren't really a problem, but what gets me every year is the idiots dropping their kids off/picking them up for the first time and how long it takes them to learn the car rider rules. PULL ALL THE WAY UP TO THE BEGINNING OF THE LINE! YOUR SPECIAL SNOWFLAKE ISN'T ENTITLED TO FRONT DOOR SERVICE!!!

[wendelah1]

The elementary (K-8) on the same site has its parents organized: you follow procedure, you wait your turn, no ifs ands or buts. There are parent volunteers keeping people in line. Unfortunately, we live three doors up on a side street the dead-ends at a street that abuts the high school. Their parents are the worst. It's a good school and probably helps our property values but I dread the opening of school more every year. The family on the corner got tired of the noise and the traffic and sold their property to the church, which is remodeling it into a residence for their rector. Can you imagine? There's a housing shortage in California that has left thousands of people homeless, and this church is spending its money creating a two-story house for a celibate man.

[lunabee34]

This is way off topic, but I adore your icon so much. That is awesome.

[sholio]

Re: mammograms - I had my first one this year too! (Gotta love getting older.) I had the same experience - it didn't hurt at all, was barely even mildly uncomfortable, and was over in just a few minutes. I was baffled that I'd heard it was such a big deal and the attendant says, yeah, she hears that a lot, and no, it usually isn't! I'm sure for some women it must be an unpleasant experience, because everyone's boobs are different, but it definitely isn't something that's widely and commonly traumatic like you'd think from the media.

[lunabee34]

*nods nods nods*

My attendant said that it's often much more uncomfortable for women with really small breasts because there's just not much there to smash, and she has to pull and pinch all the surrounding area to gather enough to smash between the plates. But I suspect YMMV even on that.

[chelseagirl]

Scoops Troop in general, and Robin in specific, are the best! And is it wrong that I adored those silly uniforms?

I did not share your enthusiasm for Hooper this season -- in fact, you're the only one whose comments I've read who wasn't really put off by him. Which says something, considering he was a favorite of mine and I think everyone's in s. 1 & 2. But I am SURE he is "the American" because he's too big a part of the ensemble to kill off. We lose people like Barb and Billy who are supporting characters, not (yet) majors.

[lunabee34]

I loved the uniforms, too. The colors were great on the actors.

I am in a lonely camp of one re: Hopper this season, and that's okay. LOL I am definitely the weirdo outlier there. I think I just have a lot of sympathy for him. I think as a result of the traumatic experiences he went through, he's lapsing into some bad coping mechanisms. It's subtly done, but it looks like he's started drinking again to me (ETA: I mean in the opening scene with the kids in the room; it's definitely not subtle at the restaurant, but that could be taken as a one time situational deal). I can imagine he's got PTSD and anxiety about all the bad things that happened. I suspect that parenting El, while something he's happy about, is also something that makes him sad on some level. How could he not think about Sarah and wonder what parenting her through this moment or that would be like? He's probably also worried about the government coming for El again despite Paul Reiser's reassurances. Then he finds out that Joyce is leaving, and there goes his only support system, the only grown up he can talk to about the things that have happened to them. He can't do that with the kids. Plus, El and Mike are being really obnoxious LOL and teens are exasperating without monsters and shadow government orgs.

So, I get his anger and just doneness with everything; it makes sense to me.

I think I also see his interactions with Joyce differently than most are seeing them. I think they're supposed to be a riff on Han/Leia, Sam/Diane, the couple from Moonlighting who are often bickering and antagonistic with each other but care about each other underneath. I think they go a little overboard with the bickering, but I think that's what the show is going for.

I guess I also don't read him as being mean or ugly to Joyce. She stands him up and doesn't apologize (at least I don't remember her doing so or being particularly sorry about it), and she's giving back as good as he dishes out the whole time. Most of Hopper's bluster seems directed at the world at large (for a lot of it, he's hungover and had the hell beat out of him, too, which would make anyone grumpy) and not really at Joyce except for the being stood up part.

All that being said, I totally get why you and everyone else don't like it and find it annoying at best. Not trying to sell anyone on Hop the Angry Bear LOL.

[chelseagirl]

He was definitely drinking at the restaurant that night. I'd forgotten that was one of his issues; the problem with binge watching sometimes is not remembering details by the time the next season comes around.

[lunabee34]

And he's drinking in the opening scene, too; that was what made me think he's started regularly drinking again to cope.

I know what you mean re: binge watching. And I'm unlikely to rewatch any time soon. We're already on to the next thing.

[timespirt]

Well hon, this is almost the time to get a new suit because they will be bringing in the fall stuff soon so they will be getting rid of this years things cheap. You might find something nice.

When does school start for your students?

Hope the spa package was great and relaxing.

"HUGS"

[lunabee34]

I know! But we don't get paid until the end of August, so we are on a tight budget until then.

School starts on Aug 14, but all the meetings and etc start on Monday.

Spa day was awesome. So happy.

about #1

[archersangel]

i've had 3 now. the first wasn't TOO bad, but now they know i have somewhat dense breasts they squeeze harder.

did they put down that adhesive paper thing so you don't stick to the machine? the first year they didn't for me & i felt like i left half of my sikn every time i removed my boob from it.
the second year the tech was like; "we have this thing so you don't stick." and i thought where was this last time?

Re: about #1

[lunabee34]

I don't think there was anything on the machine, but I didn't stick to it either. IDK That sounds like it really sucked.

[notasupervillain]

There is nothing worse than students seeing me doing ordinary things. Like, I do not want to dance or swim in your presence. It's different if we're friends, but random students, no.

[lunabee34]

I've had to mostly get over that because I'd never do anything otherwise. There's nowhere to go without the students. LOL

[notasupervillain]

I do not miss living in a university town.

[lunabee34]

I miss living in a real university town. This town has a university, but it is not a university town. I miss stores and restaurants and coffee shops and bars and music and famous writers and actors and musicians. *sigh*