2018 Wrap-Up

As I finished writing our annual 2018 Christmas card letter to friends and family, I realized that we had an exceptionally great year. Admittedly, I missed the mark on many of my goals, but the primary reason for failing to reach my targets was unanticipated vacations and days spent with family. I was fortunate in 2018.

We started 2018 with Felix ( my step-son) visiting us from Sweden. It was a very last-minute trip, but wonderful. We took him to Las Vegas and Palm Springs, where we experienced unseasonably warm weather and spent the winter holidays swimming. We rang in the new year with local friends and witnessed the Big Bear torchlight parade, a mountain tradition where skiers come down the mountain with torches. It was beautiful.

Dan had to work in Portland over Valentine’s Day, so I traveled with him to be together for the holiday. We flew back in time to catch a Miranda Lambert concert near the Ontario airport! In March, we took a trip to Washington, as Dan considered a job offer near Seattle. My high school friend Valerie and her family spent the weekend with us. It was wonderful to catch up and to have her young daughters experience snow! At the end of March, I left my marketing position with a local home rental company. It was a good experience and I made several friends at the company, but even with a flexible schedule, I felt tied down. In April, I spent a week in Las Vegas enjoying the pool and visiting with friends, while Dan attended his annual trade show ( where he works very hard!)

At the end of May, we went to England. I stayed with my mother-in-law, while Dan had business meetings all over Europe. I had quality time with family, which is the theme for 2018. I treasure that this was my big take-away from 2018. After a week with my family, I joined Dan in London. Dan had to work the entire time, but I was able to sight-see. I had spread-sheet and walked London until my feet felt like they were going to fall off. London is such an amazing city and even though I’ve been fortunate to visit several times, there is still so much more to experience. On this trip I took in two shows, Young Frankenstein and Killer Joe (starring Orlando Bloom.) I also fulfilled a teenage dream of going on a “Jack the Ripper walking tour.” It was not all that I imagined it to be, but it was a fun night out with my niece Pippa, who was a good-sport for coming along!

A week after returning home from England, we saw that our senior cat, Nicolette, was not doing well. She was a rescue and was at least nineteen years old. We made the very tough decision to have her put down. It was the hardest part of 2018 and her presence is missed every day.

In June, we drove to the Bay Area, so that Dan could attend a NASCAR event for work. I went to a baseball game with my high school friend Bekah and her two kids. I had not seen Bekah in many years, so this was another day to treasure in 2018. Even better, we did not plan it in advance, so it was spontaneous! This was also my first trip back to the bay area since the late 90’s.

Zoe and Felix visited for a month in mid July-August. We had a “stay-cation” with a focus on pool time= three trips to Las Vegas and two to La Quinta. At the La Quinta resort, we were able to get an enormous casita with a backyard and private pool/spa. It was incredible.

In late August, I started working as an online ESL Tutor. This new job is rarely dull. I’ve met people from all around the world ( although mostly from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Brazil) and it has completely opened up my awareness of different countries and cultures. I’ve met amazing people and have quite a few crazy stories to share. Mostly, I feel inspired by students who are attempting to master a new language and their stories of why they wish to learn English.

My mother-in-law visited us for three weeks in September. It sounds a bit like a broken record, but we also took her to Las Vegas and La Quinta. A funny highlight was taking her on a bizarre walking tour of the Vegas arts district, an “up and coming” area, with an emphasis on “coming.”

In September, I accompanied Dan on a conference in Los Angeles, where we stayed at the Bonaventure Hotel. The Bonaventure has a rotating bar, which I used to frequent with my friend Luke in our early 20’s. I had not been there in years and it was hilarious tor visit it. It so retro 70’s and not in a good way. This trip was a delight for me, as I played a tourist in my hometown. I went on an architecture tour of downtown Los Angeles and I visited both, The Broad and The Grammy Museum. I walked around downtown in a way that I had never quite done before and it gave me a huge appreciation for Los Angeles. I love LA and I miss living near the city. It made me homesick.

On November 2nd, we celebrated our fifth anniversary with a stay at the La Quinta Spa and Resort. If it isn’t already clear, this is our new favorite vacation getaway. It’s a magical place and we always leave feeling refreshed.

In early December, I traveled with Dan to Portland to see friends and have all of our annual doctors appointments. We still don’t know where we will be living long-term and we just love our doctors in Portland.

Christmas has been very exciting this year. We have both Zoe and Felix with us for the holidays. I flew from Las Vegas to London to Stockholm to pick them up, the first time that I’ve made this journey. I spent one night in the airport in Sweden and returned to Vegas with them. It was exhausting, but worth it. In early January, I will repeat the journey, but this time i will spend a few days in England to visit family. We had a spectacular Christmas day, which included snow = my very first white Christmas! It was also the first time that I had Christmas morning with excited children in the house. We woke up early to dive into a giant pile of presents. We have many other fun activities planned, but mostly it is just about enjoying the family time.

If you add up all of the time that was spent with family and friends in 2018, we are very wealthy! I hope this trend continues into 2019.

Theatre Review- Killer Joe

On my recent trip to London, I was able to see the play, Killer Joe at the Trafalgar Studio 2. This show is hot and I booked tickets more than a month in advance. I went with my niece, Pippa, who is currently attending drama school in London. 

Believe it or not, the main draw for me was not Orlando Bloom. Sure, Bloom is sexy and a major star, but I would have seen this no matter the cast, because I'm a fan of the playwright, Tracy Letts. Killer Joe is Letts' first play and not one that I was familiar with, although I've since learned that there is also a film version. I'm a fan of his Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning play, August: Osage County. I also enjoyed Superior Donuts, which has since been turned into a television series. I'm a fan of Letts' mother, novelist Billie Letts. Clearly, they have a talented family!

Admittedly, I was a bit disappointed when I looked at the London theater offerings. There wasn't much that I hadn't seen or couldn't easily see in Los Angeles. Some shows had even premiered in Los Angeles. Killer Joe was the big stand-out: a play with a stellar cast by a playwright that I admire. I had to see it.

We scored very good seats, but Trafalgar Studios 2 is a small venue and I think that any seat would have provided a great view. I would definitely return to this venue for future shows. It reminded me of the Kirk Douglas Theater in Culver City, California.

The play started as the audience was filtering in, with Dottie (Sophie Cookson), walking around the stage, watching television and grabbing items from the kitchen. Killer Joe takes place in a trailer home in Texas, with the action happening in the living room, kitchen, and roof of the trailer. I'm not sure of the exact year that Killer Joe is set, but I assume late 80's/ early 90's- none of the characters use cell phones and although cells might exist in their world, my assumption is this was a time before they were common place. The characters in Killer Joe are struggling and even a few thousand dollars seems out of reach.

The blue-collar Smith family lives in the trailer. Ansel (Steffan Rhodri) is the patriarch and his current wife is Sharla (Neve Mcintosh). Dottie, Ansel's daughter from his first marriage, also lives with them. She is in her late-teens and appears to be slightly off-balance, hyper-sensitive and living in a dream world. Ansel's son, Chris (Adam Gillen), has been living with his mother, Ansel's first wife. Chris is in his early twenties and has not been able to keep himself out of trouble.

Chris owes his drug dealer money, a sum that he cannot possibly repay. He knows that if he does not figure out how to repay it, they'll kill him. However, Chris has another plan, a plan that involves Killer Joe (Orlando Bloom), a detective who moonlights as a hired hitman. Chris approaches Ansel with a plan to have Joe kill Chris' mother. His mother has a fifty- thousand dollar life insurance policy and Chris has discovered that Dottie is the beneficiary. Chris has no love for his raging alcoholic mother and Ansel has no love for his ex-wife, so they agree to meet with Joe. Sharla catches wind of the plan and soon they are splitting the money three ways, minus Joe's cut.

Joe comes to the house and is immediately taken with Dottie. He demands his fee upfront, but when the Smith's can't pay it, another option is proposed. Joe wants Dottie as a retainer. Joe intimidates the entire Smith family, except Dottie, who seems pleased that he has entered her life. He moves into the trailer and into Dottie's bed. Chris, who has an extreme attachment to his sister, decides that he wants to call off the job, but Joe has already set the plan in motion. Plus, Joe really likes Dottie. The only thing for certain is no one is getting out of this arrangement unscathed.

As I previously mentioned, I had no idea what to expect with Killer Joe. I did not know the plot and only an hour before seeing the show, did I learn that I would get a glimpse of a nude Orlando Bloom = bonus. After seeing Killer Joe, I read other reviews, many of which were negative, primarily ripping on the abuse that the female characters endure. A few reviews mentioned that when Letts wrote Killer Joe, he had a lot of wiggle room, but now with the "Me Too" movement, the way that the women are portrayed in Killer Joe just isn't acceptable. It's doubly unacceptable because Killer Joe is written by a man. 

I disagree.

Yes, the violence towards the female characters is hard to watch. It's incredible uncomfortable. It's abuse. However, the world in which these characters live is not pretty. The only "good" character in the play is Dottie, who through much of the story seems to just float through life, allowing terrible things to happen to her. She is the perpetual victim. The other characters are all the perpetrators and they all get their comeuppance. The characters in Killer Joe are either themselves violent or they turn a blind-eye to it, only looking out for their own benefit. 

****SPOILER ALERT****

Dottie is the reason why the violence works. She is the victim throughout the entire play, until the last few minutes, when she snaps. We get glimpses that Dottie isn't totally checked-out. She may not be actively involved in the plan to kill her mother, but she is aware and seemingly okay with it.

She seems to go along with the Joe plan, almost as if he is courting her. In fact, Dottie seems to be using Joe as a shield to protect her from Chris. Although not explicitly stated, it is implied that Chris has molested Dottie and that he has a continued romantic interest in his sister. Ansel easily hands his daughter over to Joe and although she seems to be hesitate, Sharla also agrees with the plan. Every single person in the play uses Dottie. Dottie has a gun when she finally snaps and shoots both her brother and father. She spares Sharla, who has suffered other indignities at the hands of Joe, but only after hesitating. In the last moments of the play, Dottie has the gun pointed at Joe, who remains calm and collected. The final line of the play is Dottie telling Joe that she is pregnant. Lights out.

The play ends in a way that is left open to interpretation. I've given it thought and I think it's a power move by Dottie. She has the gun, but she is still intimidated by Joe. Telling him that she is pregnant buys her time, gives her a chance to get him in a position where he is more vulnerable and she has a better chance at survival. Because of the short time line, I don't think she could possible know that she is pregnant. I think it's a bluff to give her the upper-hand. Dottie is smarter and better at survival than anyone would suspect. Ultimately, she will win, crushing Joe and everyone else who has abused her. Dottie is no longer a victim, but she has to play it smart.

The ending has a great fight sequence that makes use of music and slow motion. It's intense. 

**** END SPOILER ****

Killer Joe is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. It's violent and brutal. That said, I thought it has a gripping plot and excellent dialogue, exactly what I've come to expect from Letts. It's also very funny, plenty of dark comedy in this morality tale. The acting is top-notch, expecially Cookson's portrayal of Dottie. I didn't realize that Cookson plays Roxy in The Kingsman movies. Great stuff. Bloom is truly intimidating as Joe, using his calm demeanor and towering presence to terrorize the Smith family. Killer Joe was well-worth my limited time and budget during my London holiday.