Crime and Punishment

I went to see this dramatic play based upon the classic book by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. The play was ninety minutes long and very intense. Uncharacteristically, we arrived 45 minutes early....this was due to our confusion on what time the event started. We have been having trouble with this lately. Due to arriving early we were lucky enough to hear a reading about the author and a bit about the book since neither of us has read it or were familiar with Dostoevsky's life. This was extremely helpful in understanding the action and the plot of the play. The author who adapted the book focused specifically on two parts of the plot, one on the action between the police inspector and Rodion (the lead character) an the other between a prostitute who lived nearby and Rodion. This play was very intense, and when it was over I just sat in my seat for a few minutes to absorb the action. It seamed that most people felt the same way as the applause was very subdued. I really enjoyed this production and I am glad that I went.

After we were done I was thinking to myself that I wouldn't have a story about this event. I was WRONG! Before the play we met near Wishard hospital at a parking lot that has multiple restaurants. I rode with GH to the IRT on Washington Street and we parked on the street about three blocks from the theatre. After the play we have a very long and cold walk back to the car. I don't normally complain about being cold but the wind was really blowing in our faces and my feet were freezing. About a minute after we started driving back to my car we heard a loud noise and the entire car started to vibrate. WTF...what happened to the car. We assumed that she just got a flat tire. I would like to mention now that two weeks ago GW was able to do the impossible. She sent in the final payment on her car and she now owned it free and clear. Three days later some bozo hit her and caused about $4000 worth of damage, and put it in the shop for several weeks. So on this cold and windy night we were riding in her rental car.

When we got back to the parking lot she parked under a street lamp and we got out to inspect the damage. The tire was completely flat and the rim was very damaged and bent up. This part is our conversation on what to do about the flat tire:

GW: What should we do?
CS: I guess we need to change the tire.
GH: Do you know how?
CS: I think so.
GH: Have you ever done it before?
CS: Once, fifteen years ago.
GH: I think I know a boy in the area, maybe we should call him.
CS: No! We can do this!

We opened the rental car's trunk and found the dingy tire and jack. I am proud to say that between both of us we were able to change the tire in about 40 minutes. During this event there was much laughter! I am glad that GH is a good natured person like me and sees the humor in this crazy situation and wasn't mad. You should have seen both of us trying to get the first lug nut off, it took both of our arm strengths. Then I couldn't figure out how to work the jack. I tried for several minutes and we had to change jobs because I just didn't understand it. GH finally figured it out and up the car went. It took us several tries to get the new tire installed. Apparently, we were trying to put it on backwards...I guess that is why it wouldn't fit.

After the tire was changed GH wanted to go and look for the missing hub cap. So we took her car out to drive on our previous path to see if we could find the missing part. We couldn't find it but it was a good test of the newly installed tire. We were talking as we were driving and I said that I just couldn't understand how the rim got so damaged. When we looked at the car again all of the pieces suddenly came together. It now appeared that someone hit the rental car and took off. There was also damage to the back panel. It is horrible how unethical people are. To hit someone and damage there car and then leave the accident scene.

What a horrible thing to happen to GH cars in a two week period. I am glad that we rode together and she didn't have to be out there alone.

The Oscar's

I had a fun little adventure tonight seeing the Oscars. This is not normally something I would watch from start to finish, because I usually loose interest very quickly. But, it is hard for me to pass up a social event as well as a good deal.

Earlier this week I received an email from Goodrich Theatre's advertising that they were going to be showing the live Oscar telecast in the movie theatre. The best part was that the showing was free. This seemed like a fun thing to do so I passed it on to a few friends to see if it would spark any interest. N and her husband were looking for some Oscar fun so they decided to attend.

I thought it was intriguing that the theatre would offer this for free. I had never seen this type of thing before. Last year I attended a live telecast of a Glenn Beck stage show but never something that was playing on regular TV.

When I arrived at the theatre and got my free tickets they informed me that because I was one of the first thirty to arrive I was entitled to a coupon for a free admission to a future show. I got three of them and gave the other two to N and her husband. It was like they were paying us to watch TV. I also came armed with a coupon for a large soda and popcorn for $3.75, this is practically free for a movie theatre. They also offer free refills at conveniently located drink stations. At the Castleton AMC theatre it costs almost $5 for just a large soda. I really like their business model and it makes me want to spend more of my movie dollars there. Before the broadcast started the employees brought in a box of individually wrapped cookies from Paradise bakery for the guests. I felt like we were getting Noblesville's version of the royal treatment.

Now my thoughts on the Oscars!

The logo that had the 81 indicating it was the 81st Oscars cracked me up, because it reminded me of the logo from the Eminem movie, 8 Mile. Every time I saw it through the telecast I chuckled to myself. I enjoyed the creative opening number and the interaction with the audience and Hugh Jackman. I was happy that Kate Winslet won for the Reader because she did have a very compelling performance and I really enjoyed the film. I was also delighted to see that Slumdog Millionaire won 8 Oscars including best picture. The movie was so very different than ordinary Hollywood films as well as being very captivating. I enjoyed Beyonce's musical performance. She really looked good in the red outfit. BTW...N had to point out to me who she was.

We were in the movie theatre for a total of five hours. We arrived at 7pm and the telecast finished at midnight. I don't think that I have ever been in one movie theatre for such a long period of time. The seats began to get a bit uncomfortable after hour three! I don't think that they were designed for a five hour viewing.

I am very happy that I went and had this new experience. I hope that they will continue to have new and interesting events such as this one in the future.

Back to the Future

I am a girl who loves classic 1980's movies. These are the movies of which I am the most familiar as I watched them incessantly in my childhood. I am very excited that the UA Galaxy Theatre in Fishers has decided to play a series of them in February, March and April. The first movie played this week, Back to the Future, and it is a particular favorite of mine. The experience was very similar to my childhood, it consisted of smuggled in Pop and Goobers from the gas station and and a wallet friendly $5 admission price.

The theatre is making these weekly movies a big deal by having a local radio station sponsor the events and having give-a-ways for answering trivia questions. It is all a bit cheesy but fun. The movie kept my rapt attention throughout it's two hour playtime and it was a fun and cheap outing with my friends. I was excited to see the theatre was about 75% full of excited patrons.

The theatre will be playing seven more movies in the upcoming weeks. The following is a list and I think I will be going to most of them. So if any of you are interested in having fun one evening let me know!

02/25/09 The Breakfast Club
03/04/09 Flashdance
03/11/09 Sixteen Candles
03/18/09 Gremlins
03/25/09 Ghostbusters (I probably will not see this as I saw it at the IMA this summer)
04/01/09 The Lost Boys
04/08/09 Grease

Fun at Push! Gym

I have made a pact with two of my friends to get together once a week to work-out. This agreement has significantly increased my motivation level, at least to me working out once a week now, opposed to never going. We have been trying different locations and programs and we went to Push! in Castleton today. As usual there was a funny series of events that occurred while we were there.

After I arrived and took the tour, N and I were waking around waiting for our class to start. I realized that I had left my water bottle in the car so we headed back to the locker room so I could grab my keys, and as I was walking there was a step down. I guess I didn't see it because the next moment I was lying on the floor. I looked around in shock and started to laugh. I cannot believe that I fell down in the middle of the gym. I just got up and shook it off. I did skin my knee a little bit, but I was fine. I headed out to my car to get my water bottle and it wasn't there. I wondered to myself where I could have left it, and when I walked back in, i spied it on the front counter. Duh...it was right where I left it.


I had expected this dance class to be similar to the Zumba class I have attuned at the YMCA. I was very wrong. Basically this class was comprised of a slow warm up and stretching, some ab work and then he taught us steps to the Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) music video. I should mention that I am aware of who Beyonce is, but I am not familiar with her music. I know...I know...where have I been? Even my 5oish roommate knew the song. I think that I kind of like it.

Here is the link to youtube so you can enjoy the tune while I finish my story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mVEGfH4s5g


The instructor was a very flamboyant black male who really likes the girls (Beyonce, Christina, and Brittany). He liked them so much that he named each of the students in the class after a famous female singer, I was Christina. Is there any resemblance? I didn't think so! N was Brittany and she objected, but he didn't rename her.

There were only four of us in the class so we each got extra special attention and I could not hide in the back. I guess my body is just not made for dancing. I have no rhythm and I cannot seem to remember more than three steps at once. I got confused and I was always on the wrong beat. I just flayed all over the place. I was very grateful that there wasn't a video camera in the room, or at least one that I saw. Even thought I looked like a complete dork, I had fun, and I am glad that I went to the class. The downside is that it really wasn't much of a workout. I don't think that this is the type of group exercise class that I can use for a cardio workout.

The Sea Farer

I went so see The Sea Fare with GH on Thursday night at the Phoenix Theatre. We met at our usual spot at 6:30 and we got there at the same time. She asked if I wanted to ride with her and I said yes but I wanted to eat first. I headed into When Harry Met Salad and ordered dinner. GH didn't eat and acted antsy while I was eating...I wondered why she was rushing me and acting anxious. At one point I asked her to stop rushing me and that we have plenty of time. She gave me a funny look and looked at her watch and then said, "Do you know the play starts at 7pm and it is 6:45". I was like "holy crap we are so late". I was under the impression that it started at 8pm...I am not sure why as all of the plays we have attended on Thursday nights always start at 7pm.

We rushed around, I thru out my garbage and she filled up her iced tea, and we got in to her car. When we sit down she panics because she cannot find her phone. She hands me her large purse to hold and eventually finds it in her lap. We laugh and I try to sit her purse in between us on top of the drinks. She picks it back up and hands it to me, and then picks up her drink which now has a pencil shaped stab wound in the middle and is flowing all over GH lap. I immediately start to laugh hysterically.....ha...ha...ha....I finally composed myself enough to find a towel in the back seat so she can dry herself. All of this craziness and we were late to the show.

We rush in and are immediately shushed because the play has started. We take our seats and settle in watch the show. I didn't have any expectations of the show but it was kind of weird and slow. It was set in Ireland and the actors had thick Irish accents. It was often difficult to understand what they were saying. During the entire first act neither of us could understand the point of the show. We wondered where was it going, what was it really about, we didn't know. I didn't dislike the show but I don't think that I really liked it either. It just was very slow and I feel like I have seen that story in various forms several times. I am sorry to say that this show does not get my exaltation.

Trip to Columbus

When I first moved to Indianapolis I got a job from a temporary agency working at a bank downtown. While working there for two months I learned that my boss commuted everyday from Columbus . I thought this was strange and it seamed very far away, she even told me that it only took 45 minutes for her to drive downtown everyday. I was confused until I discovered that she meant Columbus Indiana , a place that I didn’t know existed until that moment. All along I assumed she meant Columbus Ohio , because that is the Columbus that I was familiar with. So I went on a trip to Columbus last weekend, and to clear up any confusion I mean Columbus Ohio , not Columbus Indiana .

When I went to NYC last summer I saw the musical Spring Awakening and I was super excited to discover a few months later that they were going on tour. I was sad to discover that the tour wasn’t coming to Indiana and the closest location was Columbus . I decided to get some of my friends together for a weekend road trip to see my favorite Broadway Musical. We headed out on Saturday morning at 10 am for the three hour car ride to the hotel I chose in Columbus .

After arriving and settling into our hotel we decided to take a tour of downtown and ended up parking and walking around the art district of their city. The section of town had a similar feel as the Broadripple area with small local shops and restaurants. We wondered around for a bit and ended up in a local dining establishment (The Burgundy Room) for a cheese tasting and a beverage. The ambiance was nice and the restaurant had these great circular booths with circular chandeliers above. It was very visually appealing to me. After our break we toured a small art gallery and enjoyed some small boutiques. I bought a stylish new purple bag that I love and it was even on sale for 30% off.

Moorewrites was in charge of picking out our evening meal and she was successful in picking out a great location. She chose Lindey's Restaurant which is a local steak house. I ordered the duo of steak option and every bite in my mouth felt like heaven. The service was wonderful, when we sat down the server noticed what color pants we wore, and exchanged out the white napkins for black for those of us wearing black trousers. I thought it was a nice touch and none of my well traveled companions had ever experienced this luxury.

After dinner we headed off to the Palace Theatre Columbus to see Spring Awakening. When I was growing up I would often hear radio advertisements for concerts and activities at the Palace Theatre and I never had the opportunity to go, so it was exciting to me to go as an adult. There was tons of people milling about which caused the atmosphere to be very excited. I was so happy to be in the seat to see my favorite show again. However, I was a bit disappointed. This experience was a bit different than my first. First of all I had NO celebrity citing…ok that isn’t important…but the play didn’t impact me the same way it had when I was in NYC. The location in NY was very small and intimate and I had a front row seat, the Palace Theatre was gigantic and it held loads more people. The actors did a great job and the singing was terrific but somehow it was lacking. I guess I was anticipating it too much…but I still love the music.

After the play we ended up at an Applebee's near our hotel for dessert and drinks. While we were there NM made friends with the server who suggested a local Towny bar we should try out. It was defiantly a local place. There was load music and a dance floor and about 100 people inside. We found a table and I got a drink and I proceeded to people watch the rest of the night. Some of my friends went dancing and had fun letting loose. I held back as it makes me nervous to dance. There were a few couples on the dance floor engaging in some serous foreplay. There was also a lesbian couple dancing together having a great time being totally engaged with each other. They seamed oblivious to the rest of the place. It was funny how you could tell the difference between the lesbian couple and the various women dancing together. We stayed till last call at 2am and then went back to the hotel.

We had two connecting rooms for the five of us and it was nice to have all of the space and be able to interact with each other like we were in the same room. About an hour after we went to bed NM came into our room and crawled into bed with KG because there was a snoring problem in the next room. I was oblivious to this until the next morning. There was even people in and out of our room to use the bathroom while I was sleeping and I was completely unaware. I find that very odd that I wouldn’t notice.

We checked out of the hotel at 11am and went to Easton Town Center mall to check it out. It is a large outdoor mall similar to the one in Carmel except much larger. We meandered around and one of the places we went into was the C.O. Bigelow Company store. This is a fairly girly store that sells cosmetics, lotions and various body items. When I was at the checkout counter moorewrites saw me and said; “Candy…are you finally getting girly on us? What are you buying?”. So in this gigantic girly store the two items I chose to purchase were mouthwash and toothpaste. She was flabbergasted at why I would choose those two items out of all of the options. Due to my various and extensive dental troubles I have become a connaisseur of dental hygiene products. That is just what I wanted and I like them very much.

The last stop before we headed home was the local Graeter's ice cream shop. The ice cream was delicious and my double scoop of chocolate and peanut butter was a great substitute for dinner. We headed out on the road about 5pm for our three hour trip home that speed by. We had interesting conversations about music and sampled many artists for our various IPODS.

The only downer to this trip was the two unexpected costs associated with me driving. While we were parked on the street on Saturday I received a $25 parking ticket. Apparently, you must feed the meters there on Saturdays. I guess I am now aware of that stupid rule. The second thing is that when we were driving I hit some very large pot holes. This caused my muffler to make a loud vibrating noise. On Tuesday after I returned I took my car to the dealership to discover that I bent the heat plate on the bottom of my car and it needed fixed. This cost me $50...I was definitely bummed to spend $75 this way.

I had an excellent trip and it was nice to spend so much time with my friends and have interesting and lively conversations.

Sledding Adventure at Fort Ben Harrison State Park

I convinced my brother, his wife and four of his children to go sledding with me on Saturday afternoon. I just thought that it would be a perfect way to spend the afternoon. I wanted to go to Fort Ben Harrison State Park because they have this fabulous gigantic hill.

The hill was fairly busy when we arrived and quite crazy. There were no rules! There was a path on either side of the hill that was textured a bit to make it easier for the long climb, and I was out of breath every time I reached the top. This is a photo of Lou and Paige (she is wearing the pink snow pants) making the arduous climb.

When we first arrived and were waiting at the top for our turn we saw a horrible accident. There was a kid about six years old standing at the bottom of the hill and he was facing away from the hill and the sledders. Then this other kid gets on top of his sled and zoomed down the hill. We all watched in horror as he gained speed and SMACKED into the kid. The kid flew up in the air and over the sledder onto his back. The parent was at the top of the hill and saw it all happen. I think that the kid was OK, but it was funny and scary at the same time. We learned our lesson pretty early to keep a close eye on the crazy sledders.

This is Paige and I getting ready for the long descent. I was fairly scared the first time I went down, I didn't want to hit anyone or anything. I kept my feet off the sled as we went down to use them as brakes so I wouldn't go too fast. The side effect was that I would kick snow up on to our faces the entire ride. I don't think it was the brightest idea.



I never did get cold when I was outside for two and a half hours even though it was in the 20's. I wore an enormous amount of clothing. I had on a pair of sweet pants and then jeans. I had on a t-shirt, a sweat-shirt, and my jacket. I had on two pairs of socks as well as my running shoes. I thought that I would get better traction with my running shoes rather than my boots. I also had on two scarves, my hat and gloves. I even think that took off some of the layers at one point.

This is a photo of Sarah and I chilling at the top of the hill waiting for our turn on the sleds. You can see all of the snow accumulated on my scarf.

This is Lou and Paige preparing for their ride. He is a daredevil and he liked to go super fast.


We had a complete BLAST! I am glad that we went on this little adventure.

Bad Aunt Candy

My brother requested that I watch my two nieces on Friday night so he and his wife could go out with some friends. I picked them up on Friday night at 9pm after a scrumptious dinner at The Capital Grille and took them to my house. They were very excited to come over and immediately made a requested to watch the "fat person" show from my DVR. They were talking about The Biggest Looser, what a funny request from the six and eight year old. So I got us settled down in my bed to watch TV and eat some popcorn.



About fifteen minutes later Sarah began sneezing and her eyes got all red. She is allergic to the cats so she requested some allergy medicine. I told her that it was on the bathroom shelf. She held up one bottle that was brown and I shook my head and I told her it was a large fat white bottle. She took the pill and came back to my bed. About an hour later I put them both in the guest room for the night and I went to my bathroom and I got very scared. The big fat white bottle on the counter was Tylenol PM and not the Allegra.

Ooops...I freaked out. I drugged Sarah. I paced around the house for a bit to decide the best course of action. JoAnne had just arrived home and she read the bottle warnings and it said it should only be ingested for children 12 and over. That made me feel worse and I decided I better call my brother. I didn't want him to be mad but I wasn't sure if I should do anything. He answered his phone and just laughed after I described to him my story. He told me to relax and she would be just fine.



She was fine when she woke up in the morning. I asked her to get the bottle and I explained to her the difference. I guess I learned my lesson....always monitor the children. You would think I would have already learned this lesson. I guess it needs to be taught a couple more times.

This photo is from the fall of 2007 when we went camping in Tennessee. Aren't they super cute!