April 2019 Reflections

April went by really fast, but there is little to discuss beyond one big event and updates on the usual.  Here is a rundown of some of my activity and thoughts from the month.

Damascus

My husband and I went on a little trip to Damascus, VA.  This was something he chose and planned.  We stayed at the Old Damascus Mill Inn.  We had a room right on the river, so all night long we could listen to the sound of the river fall over the mill.  Unfortunately, it rained pretty heavily for most of the trip, so we had to adjust our itinerary to account for the rain.  Friday night, we arrived pretty late, so all we did was check in and eat at the restaurant run by the hotel.  Saturday, my husband went to a disc golf course in the morning.  I read a little bit, but ended up falling back to sleep for several hours.  Once he returned, we went to Abingdon, VA for the afternoon.  We ate at Moon Dog Brick Oven for lunch, which was decent pizza for a relatively inexpensive price.  Then, we went to the Heartwood Artisan Center and the William King Museum of Art.  We wrapped up the afternoon with a trip to the Abingdon Winery for some wine and some folk music.  After returning to the hotel, we walked to the Damascus Diner for dinner.  My husband left for Damascus Brewery after dinner, but I stayed in to journal, read, and stare at the water outside the window.  Sunday, we walked a 3.5 mile strip of the Virginia Creeper Trail out and back (7.0 miles total).  This was a gorgeous hike, especially after all the rain Friday & Saturday.  The water was just pouring down the mountain side, so the waterfalls were in full gushing mode and even the mountain walls just seemed to continually weep.  We had lunch at Mojo’s Trailside Café which is one of the most raved about places in town.  It was good, and I indulged in some Coca-Cola cake that was delicious.  After lunch, we made the trek home.  It was a beautiful weekend, despite the rain.  I would really like to go back some day.

CPA License

I have made zero progress on my CPA license since last month.  I have been waiting for the letter from the VA Board of Accountancy, but I have not received it.  I did check my profile a few weeks ago and it was missing two of my test scores, even though my last exam score sheet showed credit for all four.  I need to get back on to the site to check if those are filled in yet.  If not, I will probably email the board to see what the status is on my CPA exam requirement.  I keep putting off getting the ethics exam, because I just do not want to study any more.  However, it is time I get this done, so I am going to order that and complete it in May.

Job Search

I have made some progress on the job search.  My LinkedIn profile and resume are updated.  I talked to a recruiter from Robert Half, but I ended up canceling the full interview.  At first I thought it would be a good thing to work with the recruiter since I am so out of practice with job searches.  Internet research and my husband’s warnings though made me too anxious to take the chance that they would not actually help and instead just use me to fill their quotas and garner new company leads through my references.  I have applied to a handful of positions directly.  After I eliminate everything going toward DC, those posted by recruiting firms, government contractors, and auditing/tax/operational accounting positions, there is barely anything left to consider.  I have done one phone screen and one interview at the location, both for the same company.  This was recent, so I am waiting to hear back from them still.  I had one email inquiry for another position, but after canceling one phone screen and stating she wanted to reschedule for this week, I have not heard anything from her.  In the meantime, I just try to scan the job boards every few days for new options for which I can apply.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Note:  There are no plot spoilers to Avengers:  Endgame below.  However, there are some vague references to things in the film.  Read at your own risk if you really want completely pure dead silence going into the film.

Last month, I mentioned that I began a full Marvel rewatch project to prep for the final Avengers movie.  I gave a partial list of movies watched to date in the order that I liked them.  In April, I finished this project.  Here is my final list of Marvel movies in order from least favorite to favorite, not including Endgame itself.

The Incredible Hulk (actually did not rewatch this one, and it is the only I do not plan to rewatch)

Iron Man 2

Iron Man

Doctor Strange

Avengers:  Age of Ultron

The Avengers

Thor:  Dark World

Thor

Ant-Man

Iron Man 3 (technically not a rewatch as I somehow never watched it the first time around)

Spider-Man:  Homecoming

Captain America:  Civil War

Captain Marvel (not a rewatch either, but I saw it once in the theater)

Captain America:  The First Avenger

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Black Panther

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

Thor:  Ragnarok

Avengers:  Infinity War

Captain America:  The Winter Soldier

I have actually seen Avengers:  Endgame, but I decided not to put it in my official list.  I honestly am not sure where I rank it yet.  In terms of homage to the fans’ journey through the MCU, I think the film is brilliant.  It is an emotional roller coaster, taking us laughing, crying, and screaming for more down memory lane of all the energy we have put into the franchise.  I really like some of the character arcs they did.  I think some of the plot decisions were bold and unexpected, but good calls nonetheless.  I think the pacing is surprisingly good considering it is a 3 hour movie.  I am just not sure I think it is a particularly strong movie taken as a whole.  I found the “people turned to dust” problem resolution confusing, and it leaves several holes in logic with certain people/items/events during the course of the movie.  While I can get behind some of the character/plot decisions, I question some of the others.  I understand the emotionally driven reason why everyone possible has been brought into the film in some way, but I am not sure it was the right choice to pack in so many little scenes that are there solely to indulge this desire.  In the end, I think I need time and probably another rewatch or two before I can wrap my brain around everything and fully determine what I think of it.

Social Media Purge

I made some progress on the social media purge this month.  I deleted my Goodreads account.  I deleted my Twitter account (which probably means I will lose what little traffic I have to my blog).  I unfollowed almost everyone on my Instagram account, except those that I actually know.  I am not sure the Instagram purge is permanent, but I just wanted to reset and take a break for a while.  I narrowed my Youtube subscriptions to 10.  I binged a bit to catch myself up to current on those 10, but now I am hoping this will not generate enough new eye-catching videos to get me so off track again.  I will have to make another cut though if I find I still dump too much time into watching makeup reviews.  I really, really want to delete Facebook, but at this time it just does not seem feasible.  I get most of my social event invites and most of my family updates through the site.  Maybe some month I will feel comfortable taking the plunge, but for now I am just going to try to stop getting on 50 times a day.  I also decluttered my podcast list, but I ended up adding almost as many new different things over the month that no real progress was made there.

Personal Products Project

When it comes to my overload of personal products, I am just carrying on with my previously mentioned strategies of trying to use what I have and only buy what I really need.  For April, I used up/trashed 10 items – 1 eye liner, 1 eyeshadow, 1 liquid highlight, 1 hyaluronic acid serum, 1 exfoliating face mask, 1 SPF face oil, 1 hand cream, 1 foot cream, 1 perfume, and 1 deodorant.  I only bought 3 things in April – Paula’s Choice Skin Recovery Enriched Calming Toner, Paula’s Choice Skin Recovery Daily Moisturizing Lotion w/SPF, and Native Deodorant in Cucumber Mint.

Books

As stated above, I deleted my Goodreads account.  I still have an Excel spreadsheet that has been around longer than my Goodreads profile and has always basically been a duplicate to it.  However, I feel way less pressure to reduce my list with it in Excel than I did with it online.  I also feel less pressure to read from the list when it is just there for my own reference (not that I really think many people were stalking my Goodreads profile).  For April, here are the books I read during the month with my ratings (1-Awful, 2-Disappointing, 3-Decent, 4-Good, 5-Amazing).

The Right and Wrong Stuff:  How Brilliant Careers are Made and Unmade by Carter Cast – 5 stars

A Study in Sable by Mercedes Lackey – 3 stars

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh – 3 stars

Daddy’s Little Girl by Mary Higgins Clark – 3 stars

Weep No More, My Lady by Mary Higgins Clark – 3 stars

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides – 4 stars

The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh – 3 stars

There you have it, my month in review.  I am hoping May will be a month of good energy.  May has a lot of special events in it already, including my birthday, my wedding anniversary, and my husband’s birthday.  I am also planning a trip home to see my sister and baby T which will hopefully be lots of fun.

See you next month!