Tag: Hacks

Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run there’s still time to change the road you’re on.

Sara Mazariegos

Still processing the end of Hacks. I was excited to watch the final episode of Hacks last Friday, but it was surprisingly sad. I should’ve seen it coming—there were hints—but I didn’t think they were going to go that route. The final season felt like it went by entirely too quickly. I enjoyed it much more than the final season of Mrs. Maisel, that’s for sure. They could easily make a spin-off series about Jimmy and Kayla, though I’m not sure what the main plot would be.

I’m going to miss that show. I miss it already.

We’re going to pivot to watching Andor on Fridays now. We’ve tried starting it several times, and we haven’t gotten into it, but Jessica Williams convinced me to give it another chance. Diego Luna is awfully cute. The actor, not the soccer player.

Speaking of Diego Luna and soccer… Luis and I have been watching the World Cup whenever we get a chance. We predominately cheer for Argentina and Spain, but I also like Netherlands and Morocco. On Friday this week, since it’s a holiday, we’re going to watch the US vs. Australia at a sports bar with his family. We’re also going to try to convince my dad to let us watch the second half of the game on the 4th of July, but we’ll see about that.

So far, it’s been pretty unpredictable, with a lot of games unexpectedly ending in 1-1. The usual “underdogs” are doing well this go-around. It makes it more exciting to watch than if the big European teams just dominate like always. And how about that US vs. Paraguay game? I did not expect them to win 4-1. I don’t hugely support the US team, but it’d be nice to see them do well, especially since they didn’t even make it in back in 2018. This year, Poland didn’t make the cut. I wish all countries could participate (except for like Russia because they don’t play fair,) but then it’d go on for five months.

Three Ds: Dentist and Disclosure Day. On Saturday, we went to the dentist. I always get anxious about it, but my teeth are still going strong. I do in fact have a tooth under my last baby tooth, but the dentist is going to leave it alone as long as it’s not bothering me. I also need to get a night guard. Apparently I grind my teeth in my sleep, but I’ve never noticed any pain or anything. I’m mostly going to pretend I have braces when I have it in, because I never had braces. (I don’t want braces.) Just have to get over the anxiety that I won’t be able to swallow while it’s in, and then it should be fine!

We also saw Disclosure Day on Saturday. I really liked it. I’m glad I didn’t know too much going in, because it would’ve killed a lot of the fun mystery. Emily Blunt is so good in it. I wonder if she’ll be nominated for awards for it. How often does sci-fi win Oscars? I also adore Colman Domingo, who seems to be in so many great things lately.

The Fox and the Hound isn’t a great date movie. My original short movie pick was A Hard Day’s Night, but Luis deemed it too long because it’s an hour and a half, and that’s normal movie length. His short movie choice was Duck Soup which is only like an hour long. So I chose The Fox and the Hound, which we haven’t watched together yet. It’s an hour and twenty-three minutes. I can’t help it that most animated movies are also normal movie-length!

We watched it on the 14th, which is our special date. It’s so sad. The animals are cute and everything, but the tone of it is so dark and cold. Tod and Copper basically have one fun day together, and then they’re not really friends for the rest of the movie. Also, aside from “The Best of Friends,” the songs in it aren’t very good. They’re mostly spoken rather than sung. And it’s weird because Pearl Bailey was a great singer. I used to be obsessed with that movie when I was a kid, but it was purely because the animals were cute. Now that I’m older, I see all the flaws.

My writing brain is getting antsy. Last week, I wrote a query letter draft for my new story, since I’m thinking about it. Other writers have said it’s a good idea to write the query letter before writing the story, so the most important beats are there before it’s even been written. I have the general idea down, so sharing what my novel is about is fairly easy and concise. Then I’ll get into the weeds with it when I’m actually writing it.

The novel I’m currently reading (the ARC one I can’t tell you about until July 7th) had something happen in the plot that aligns with something I’m planning in my novel, which gave me a boost! I feel like the outline I have for this new story is great. I just have to make the actual execution of it as good as possible.

Two more weeks, and then I’ll be writing again!

I’m not the kinda girl who gives up just like that, oh no.

Sara Mazariegos

We’ve created a TV schedule for our weeks, sticking to the same few shows until we finish them/the season and then watching different things. It used to be that we’d start watching a show, get distracted by something else, and then forget about the show. Granted, the shows in question were classics like Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart Show, and Golden Girls so we’re already more than behind on them, but you know what I mean. It’s been nice to think, “Oh, it’s Tuesday: Shogun night.” I like watching things that others are watching, so I don’t feel like we’re missing out. Shogun, The Bear, and Hacks are so good! Cable used to be like that, but you couldn’t skip ads or pause to go to the bathroom, so streaming is still more convenient.

Cable is going to go away. It’s not really a question. The only question is, how soon? It kind of relates to Hacks, in a way. Why have a late night talk show anymore?

The books I’m reading are enjoyable and quite different from each other. Aside from still weathering the storm that is House of Leaves (which is amazing! It’s just a dense textbook written by a crazy man,) I’m also reading A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston and Island by Aldous Huxley. Ashley Poston’s so fun, and her novels appeal to my interests because they’re humorous romances involving ghosts or imaginary characters (within the story; obviously all novel characters are imaginary.) I previously read and had to own The Dead Romantics because I liked it so much, and this novel is no different. It also has a gorgeous cover. The Aldous Huxley book is in a similar vein to Brave New World, but it doesn’t feel as bleak. I’m not far into it yet, though. It’s fun to read him discussing more modern things, since he wrote it in the 60s. It also feels prescient about what’s going on in D.C., which I kind of hate. 🙃 History just repeats and repeats itself… It needs to stop.

I’m looking forward to seeing John Green at the National Book Festival, though I’m still nervous about being in D.C. I’m always nervous about being in D.C., and I have to go there a lot for work. It will be nice to see him again! I wish I could talk to him in person, but he’s not doing a book signing or anything, so the chances are slim. I waited like a loser after his book reading in March, so we’ll see if I wait to try and spot him again. I understand he doesn’t like social situations much. I don’t either. I just really like him. He means so much to Luis and me.

Reading the Ashley Poston book has given me some useful plot guidepost ideas. I’m around the same page number in her book as well as in my writing, so I can’t help comparing where the characters are in their respective arcs. I may have mentioned before that A Novel Love Story is a good comp for my current work-in-progress, even though my story doesn’t involve any magical realism. It’d be fun to add some of that, but I don’t know how and my story already has a lot going on. I could keep it in mind, but maybe for another story. I’m currently within the “Dark Night of the Soul” part of the story, which means everything sucks for my main characters. Things are piecing together and building up to what’ll hopefully be a satisfying finale. I just realized I’ve been subconsciously following the Save The Cat beats without even marking them all out like that in my outline.

That’s pretty freaking cool.

Our world could use this beauty, just think what we might do.

Sara Mazariegos

As usual, I’m getting into a TV show that’s several years old. Luis and I recently started watching Hacks, and it’s so clever. I admit, I initially wanted to watch it because Hannah Einbinder is Laraine Newman’s daughter. Before checking it out, I watched some of her standup, and she’s funny. I love her voices. It’s fun to see her and Jean Smart together.

Aside from Hacks, we’ve been watching another Hollywood-focused show called Death by Fame. It’s mostly about famous people or “famous” people losing their minds and killing people. Sometimes they get killed themselves, but I’ve noticed it’s mostly the “famous” people who snap. Some of the episodes are a stretch. Others are really good, because they introduce me to actors or whatever I may never have noticed before. I had no idea Drew Carey once had a fiancée who was murdered. ☹️

I’m looking forward to our trip to L.A. this month. I’m a little nervous, too, because of the airplane stuff that’s been happening, and the fires. Thankfully, it looks like the fires have been contained. This year already feels so strange, and it’s only the beginning of February.

For all of February, I’m taking a break from writing, to give my brain a break. I’ve been reading The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers. It’s really cute so far. There’s a deceased character in it, and it’s really creative how she writes about her. She’s not quite a ghost, but she’s ghost-esque. You know I love ghosts.

This weekend, we’re going to play board games with one of Luis’s old friends. She was in our wedding, and we haven’t seen her in far too long. And then on Sunday, we’re going to the movies and other things to avoid the big football game. We do not partake. 😝