THIS PAST SUNDAY, EVERYTHING WAS GOING well until it was not. I had my usual chores of laundry and meal planning for the week, besides running to the health club for a pre-Oscars workout. My morning went as planned; I worked out first then came home to make lunch. It was sometime around 2 pm, when I sat down to read the Sunday newspapers, I discovered the Oscars’ telecast was starting one hour earlier. Already having pushed the clock ahead one hour and now the show was starting an hour earlier, I was cramped for time. Suddenly, I was behind schedule; I still had to bake a dessert and prep dinner so it would be ready to go into the oven. My stress level skyrocketed as I raced around the house trying to finish everything I had planned for the day. With ten minutes to spare, I washed the last of the dishes and was brushing my teeth. The television was already turned on to the station that was telecasting the show, but I had to miss watching the red-carpet arrivals. I was glad I had earlier set up both segments to be recorded. Gratefully, I sat down with my predictions list and a pen a couple of minutes before the main show began.      KNOWING THE HOST WAS JIMMY KIMMEL brought a sense of comfort. There was not the usual anxiousness about how a new host would manage the responsibilities. Jimmy is dependable, funny, quick on his feet and does not come with an agenda; exactly what a host should be. His opening skit, sitting with Barbie, was the perfect icebreaker that created a lighthearted show. The monologue went on a little longer than it needed to, in my opinion. Most of his jokes landed, but not all. However, I thought the playing back and forth with people he called out in the audience went without a hitch. Each celebrity did an excellent job keeping things fun and light. I absolutely loved the way the producers had groups of past acting winners come out and each one introduced a nominee; I thought it was a wonderful idea, especially if one of the presenters was familiar with their assigned nominee. It was such a touching and loving gesture. In the past, I would sometimes get upset with the Academy’s picks, but this year none of the winners disappointed me. The only surprise I felt was in the best actress category, simply because there was so much talk about it. Jimmy’s skit with John Cena was a perfect moment; it was a funny bit, plus it certainly had people talking about it for a couple of days, besides seeing clips plastered all over social media. The producers knew what they were doing. I enjoyed all the song nominations and especially appreciated that the artists came and performed their songs on stage.      TIME PASSED BY QUICKLY FOR ME, thanks to the even and steady pacing of the show. Nothing felt rushed, nor did I feel anything dragged on too long. My only complaint was about the last awards presentation. I thought Al Pacino was intoxicated or mentally impaired, the way he handled his category of best motion picture. With no mention of the nominees (granted we saw clips throughout the show), opening the envelope and simply saying he sees Oppenheimer, it was such a letdown moment, anticlimactic. I came to find out it was not his fault; it was the producers who made the decision not to announce the nominated films to save time. They were afraid the show was running late and chose to eliminate the listing of best picture nominees. Such a poor decision, in my opinion, and disrespectful to the nominees and the audience. Except for that mishap, I was pleased how well the show went off and even more pleased I was not made to stay up so late that I would be a zombie at work the next day.