Not feeling too articulate today (hey, maybe I could run for President), in sort of a crappy mood. The transition to the new branch isn't going quite as smoothly as I had hoped, and that's leaving me feeling a bit frustrated. I mean, it's only been a week, so it's quite possible that I'll settle in just fine, and once I'm used to the place and the people, and they're used to me, it'll feel a lot more comfortable. And I do like the branch, and the people I'm working with. It's just, through circumstances beyond my control, I feel like I'm not coming across at my best, and that bothers me, because what people are seeing are what will be their initial impressions of me. And it bothers me that now I feel like I need to climb out of a hole that I didn't mean to dig in the first place. Fortunately, I do have three months to decide if I want to stay or not... Once upon a time, the idea of giving up and going back would have been unthinkable. But I talked to a friend, someone whose opinion I respect, and she pointed out that what I need to decide is whether the circumstances that are making me feel off-footed are going to be constant or something I can work with. And if it turns out that I keep finding myself stuck between a rock and a hard place as far as making judgement calls because of things other people do, then maybe I do need to reevaluate whether I want to be there or not, and there's nothing wrong with getting out of a situation under those circumstances.

I don't know; like I say, it's been a week, and it's really too soon to tell anything.

What I can tell you is this: I saw Shaun of the Dead today, and it was great. It's a romantic comedy with zombies from the folks who brought us the brilliant comedy, Spaced, now apparently airing on Trio in the US. I don't get Trio, but I had the UK DVDs of Spaced, so I was already a huge fan. (And now there's a new DVD set, same as the old one, only with a third disk full of special features. Bastards.)

Anyway, Shaun... Take note, defenders of Sky Captain: this is what you get when you make a movie with a story and characters. The comedy is great, because it's actually funny, but the story works because the characters are actual people with personalities and lives that you believe extend beyond the confines of this story. They have thoughts, emotions, and speak the way people not quoting lines from scripts they appear to have just read that morning speak. The situation they are in, as fantastic as it is, is played perfectly straight, and although the thing is a comedy, there's a genuine sense of threat. It's a movie about which people can say, "Yes, it's quite good," not, "Yes, well, all those things are true, but it's got really cool cast-iron giant robots and you can actually see the rivets on them!"

And, because I'm such a loser, here's the list of TV programs I seem to be settling into this season:

Sunday:
The Worst Week of My Life
American Dreams
And I'm having trouble with my browser, so I'm going to plug the links in later, when I can find them.
Jack & Bobby (for now)
The Wire
And tonight, I'm going to sample Desperate Housewives

Monday:
Everwood
LAX

Tuesday (the big night):
Gilmore Girls
NCIS (I'd stopped watching it last year, but now I seem to be back)
One Tree Hill
Clubhouse (I like the style and characters better than Veronica Mars, but the stories are dumber than Veronica Mars... I may end up watching neither)
NYPD Blue
Judging Amy
Nip/Tuck (Season finale this week)

Wednesday
Smallville
Lost
Kevin Hill
Rescue Me

Thursday
ER
(Although there's an ABC teen dramedy starting this Thursday... )

Friday:
Joan of Arcadia
Enterprise (Fuck you all; I like it better than Next Generation, and Alan Brennert joins the writing staff this year)
Third Watch
JAG
Medical Investigation
(And when they come back in January, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis)
Plus I recorded the pilot of a new BBC show about mountain rescues called Rockface that I may end up watching.

Saturday:
Teen Titans
Justice League
Missing
Plus, in the morning, Endurance, Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, and The Batman