The New Normal

Magnet #1094 - Bali Dragon

My friend bought this dragon magnet for me in Bali. Pretty darn cool, methinks.

I had no idea that Komodo Dragons are native to Indonesia. I also didn't realize that the adults can be as big as me!!! And they're carnivores who can take down big animals with one bite!

Obviously, this means that I will not be visiting Bali for any of those daytrips or visits to their National Park to see these buggers. Yowzers.

That'll make my mom a little sad, since she really wants me to meet that American CEO dude on that HGTV show living in Hong Kong but house-hunting in Bali.

Yep. My mother. Still searching for my perfect soulmate. Only now the candidates are from television.

I've mentioned that I'm back home for a while, taking care of my parents in a post-heart attack world. The New Normal, is what we're calling it. It's a world that's both more gentle and more harsh, as we're more gentle and more harsh with each other.

A world where we're monitoring meds, diets, sleep schedules and exertion (no, not exercise - yet).

A world where we're thinking procedure to procedure.

A world where we worry about every little stressor and forgive a lot a heck of a lot more than we normally would.

A world where I'm running pick-up/drop-off for the parents, not the other way around.

But, The New Normal is also a world that includes both my parents right now, and for that, it's still a pretty good world.

Funny, because I feel like the last two years have been nothing but the redefining of The New Normal.

When the group I was working with got absorbed into a new company, that became The New Normal.

When half of the older employees in the group were laid off in the subsequent couple of years, not knowing if we were all going to have jobs by the end of each day, that became The New Normal.

When I was laid off for writing memos expressing my displeasure with the company we'd become and how to fix it, and I became a temporary "Woman of Leisure," that became The New Normal.

When I started living my life up and down 95 (/tm Julie), driving my parents up and down the eastern seaboard for my dad's eye surgeries, that became The New Normal.

When my apartment building was bought and I joined our tenants association writing minutes and suddenly caring about rent laws (because they now applied directly to me), that became The New Normal.

When I started doing freelance work this year, that became The New Normal.

But so now, as we try and settle into yet another The New Normal, my question is, when does The New Normal become the everyday?



eta:
I had to include this Komodo Dragon video. FREAKS. ME. OUT. Gentle giants they are not!

If there be dragons...

Magnet #513a & 513b - Dragon Magnerine

Yep, another magnerine, this one from the Met. My reason for this one today is kinda two-fold. (Ha. See what I did there?)

I have this little guy sitting in my cube, the companion to the other dragon sitting in the opposite side of my cube. That's the one who, with the little pearl in his claw, is my feng shui symbol, my little protector, and bringer of wealth, power and abundance of opportunities. Of course, I've been waiting for him to do his job, but he works here and there, I suppose. I mean, I haven't fallen out the window or anything, so far.

But, this magnet in my Photobucket was a gentle reminder that Merlin's coming on tonight on NBC. Yes, yes, of course, I'm still watching. I mean, really, are you surprised?

It's not the best show ever, but it's passable as summer entertainment goes.

I just can't figure out why NBC bought this BBC show, when it should have totally been BBC-A, as a companion piece to Robin Hood, or Doctor Who, or at the very least, they should have shared the rights with Siffy, because hello, of all the supernaturalness of it all. Heck, it even fits better on The CW with the youngness of their cast.

As far as Camelot and King Arthur retellings go, it's actually not bad. I do enjoy seeing Arthur as basically an egotistic frat guy (hopefully with a redeeming heart of gold in the end), and pre-evil Morgana being friends with the rather timid but brave Guenevere. But, I really love seeing Merlin as the unassuming, kind-hearted geek, getting tromped on by Arthur, sometimes his friend, sometimes his servant, but always both.

No, my problem is really the fact that nothing of import actually happens on the show - the story lines are fairly the same: King Uther Pendragon (love seeing Tony Head on my tv again every week) desperately fighting against the Magic of the Week in his kingdom every week - even though he's banned magix of every kind, somehow, a new one pops up every week. And while Arthur tries to save them all, it's Merlin and his mentor Gaius secretly using magic to get the job done.

Still, I love seeing the cute boys (hello, young Lancelot!), and their period dress, and hearing the anachronisms of their speech, and making fun of all the hoyay between the boys, the girls, and basically everyone walking on two legs.

My favorite, though, is this guy:

The captive magic dragon, the last of his kind, the one that everyone goes to visit in the depths of the castle.

He's a see-all, be-all, know-all giant, flying dragon, whom you know could escape at any time (what with him being a giant, flying dragon and all), but for some reason, he doesn't.

Rather, he hangs out in his little caverns, flying here and about, doling out his rather slashy Arthur/Merlin intertwined fates advice, week after week.

Eh, like I said, it's summer, it's somewhat entertaining, so of course, I'm watching.