Ah thank you internet! I first saw this classic cartoon by Canadian animator Cordell Barker back when I was in college. It’s the kind of animation that shows the recent comments made by film critic Mick LaSalle to be total and utter tripe.
Health Advisory Notice: It’s been fifteen years since I saw this film and I had only just got the song out of my head last week. So don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Just a few shots from yesterday when Eve and I met up with my sister and her little boy to go to the Greystones Arts Festival. The place was packed and the weather was hot so we took a break from the jugglers and acrobats to go take a walk on Greystones beach.
We brought Eve to the cinema for the first time last Thursday. It may sound funny, but I was kind of nervous about it. I know (because I used to be in the same position) that a lot of people think parents of small children do things just to annoy them. You hear it everywhere, from planes to restaurants: “Why,” they ask, “do people bring children here?” The understanding being that these places are for grown-ups alone and for the most part I agree; A nice restaurant isn’t the place for a small child and a plane is hellish enough without a screaming toddler kicking the back of your chair.
The problem is that it gets to the point where you can be intimidated into never leaving your house, even to go to the places that are meant for children. Either that or you develop the thick skin that screams, “yea, my kids are little monsters but you’re just going to have to live with it!” (Hmm, t-shirt slogan perhaps?) Neither option appeals to me.
We chose our film carefully and planned the timing with military precision. A sweltering Thursday afternoon and a showing of a film that’s been out for over a month (Over the Hedge) would mean the cinema was fairly empty. Eve went down for a nap at the prime time to ensure a balance of adequate length and precision waking time so she was at her freshest and least cranky. Even with all this planning, as we walked into the cinema foyer and she squirmed to get out of my arms so she could explore, I wondered if we were making a mistake. She’s too young to stay still for so long, I thought, she’ll want to run around the cinema and climb up to the screen or crawl under the seats. There’s no way her attention will be held and we’re sure to have a meltdown when we try to get her to stay in her seat. Already I imagined the other cinema-goers would be looking at us and thinking “I certainly hope they’re not going to the same film as us!” I faked some of that thick skin and ploughed on.
In the end the whole thing passed off beautifully. The second the lights went down Eve was entranced. She sat on my lap the whole way through, her eyes wide and glued to the screen. I enjoyed the film (the animation on the Grizzly bear and the hyperactive squirrel was priceless) but I found myself watching Eve more than the screen. Every now and then she’d look back at me with a huge grin on her face as if to say, “Can you believe how cool this is!? A giant cartoon!” I wondered if she would remember it like I remember my first cinema film, “The Jungle Book”, which I went to see in the Savoy when I was just a little bit older than Eve is now.
When the inevitable slow moment came about a third of the way through, a bag of popcorn was plenty to keep her occupied until the final act sped things up again. Matt and I walked out of the cinema with stunned smiles on our faces as a world of opportunities to leave our house opened up before us.
Next week it’s “Cars.”
Just as I was gathering information from a family friend (who is also a property solicitor) and reading up on tenant’s rights and building up a head of steam in order to take on Mrs B…she rang us. She told us everything seems to have checked out so she was putting our cheque in the post. Sure enough, this morning it landed on our doormat. So, before it really started, it’s all over. I’m still annoyed that she took so long and had us jump through so many hoops to get what was rightfully ours, but it’s such a relief to have it sorted. Much as we were in the right, it was still a scary thought that we would have to get into a nasty fight over it all. In the end I think it came down to the fact that she realised she had no excuse not to pay us…much as she tried to find one. Either that or she does read this blog and you guys shamed her into paying us!
Things I’ve learned from this:
1. Make sure all contracts are in order and that the landlord/lady is registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board so if any trouble comes up you can go through them.
2. Take photographs and make notes that detail the condition of the house when you move in. Agree on them with your landlord/lady and get them to sign them.
3. Take photographs the day you move out to show you have left the house in the same condition as when you moved in.
4. Keep all receipts of final bills.
5. Be friendly with your landlords but don’t get lax about the official stuff.
Thanks for all the comments and good advice everyone.