I got a TV for Christmas. Or, rather, my parents used my "wish list" as an excuse to buy themselves a present and then "gift" me with their old bedroom set. Not that that TV is old or anything. Quite the opposite. My dad bought it new when he came out here two years ago, so it's only 2 years old, flat screen and just about the exact size I wanted. They would not have bought themselves a newer, bigger TV if I had not wanted one the exact size of their old one for Christmas.
I then locked myself in my bedroom with my PS3 and new TV, only coming out to make ice cream, eat dinner, talk to my Grandmother on the phone, and pop downstairs a handful of times to make sure no one was missing me too much. And today, after getting back from the eye doctor, I did a repeat performance of that. I made a concerted effort to spend time with Dad when he got home from work today so he couldn't repeat his comments about me hiding in my room. I'm embarrassed by how much time I've spent playing that game, but I can't seem to stop! Earlier today, I noticed that my game time was at 23 hours and such-and-such minutes, and I've only had the game for five days. And that 23-something, I'm pretty sure that was at least close to an hour of game time ago. I was up until 1:30 last night even though I knew I needed to get up to make an appointment for contacts (my other Christmas present). I guess it's not too much of a surprise; I do tend to throw myself headfirst into things I enjoy...
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
First Post-Apocolyptic Entry
The world did not end. Obviously. But I enjoyed the countdown. After I got home from work, I finally hooked up my PS2 and played FFXII until it was almost time. Watched a few minutes of news to make sure there was no planet-altering event and then I fell into bed.
I've been playing my video games a lot lately, actually. Well, since the whole end-of-the-world thing at least. And not like, "gamer a lot" but like a "me a lot." The next night after work, I logged another hour or so on the game and then yesterday, I met my friend Ashley for lunch/dinner and she gave me my Christmas gift: Final Fantasy XIII-2. I'd been telling myself that that was going to be my reward for finishing XIII (which I'm having a hard time getting through on account of the lack of opportunities to grind/explore and the completely open map in my file on FFXII). So I played that yesterday for almost two hours (which is a considerable amount since I won't play it when either parent is downstairs and they were both home all day yesterday), and then today, after Sunday dinner, I convinced both my parents to go upstairs and I played for another hour or two.
So far, I really like my new game. I've been avoiding finding out too much about it (in order to avoid temptation, avoid knowledge *wink*) but now that I have it... The more I learn about it, the more excited I get. Unfortunately, one of the things I've learned about it is that my brothers bought the game for me as well. Oops! So I've been dropping heavy hints about how I'd really like to try out Persona 3 as well. I think (hope?) they got the message. I'll find out tomorrow when we open our one present after the Christmas Eve Service.
Bit of minor drama about that, too. And while I'm not participating, I can't say I'm not at least a little annoyed with Jake. My little brother agreed to do a musical offering at the 11pm service without talking to anyone else. If Jake has to be there, well then Mom has to be there, too. Heaven forbid she miss Jake playing his ukulele in the worship band. But Dad (and I, although I'm not saying anything) was wanting to go to the "flashlight - candle lit" family service at 5:30. If you can't have your own kids or grandkids to watch enjoy the holiday, other people's are the next best thing. So then, my mom started talking about going to 2 services, which everyone but mom thinks is a bit excessive, even if Pastor did promise there was a different sermon for each service. And all this happened because Jacob didn't think to TALK to anyone before committing himself to something as important as a Christmas Eve service. We've only done the midnight service 2 or 3 times, so it's not like it's something we do every year and he should have called or texted someone because everyone else knew Dad wanted to go to the 5:30. Enough family drama.
I have decided I really hate this whole mid-season break thing. I finally have time to watch TV and, after catching up on the few weeks I missed, there's nothing to watch! Does that make any sense? And I'm really trying to reign in my spending, so no Smallville for now, either!
I've been playing my video games a lot lately, actually. Well, since the whole end-of-the-world thing at least. And not like, "gamer a lot" but like a "me a lot." The next night after work, I logged another hour or so on the game and then yesterday, I met my friend Ashley for lunch/dinner and she gave me my Christmas gift: Final Fantasy XIII-2. I'd been telling myself that that was going to be my reward for finishing XIII (which I'm having a hard time getting through on account of the lack of opportunities to grind/explore and the completely open map in my file on FFXII). So I played that yesterday for almost two hours (which is a considerable amount since I won't play it when either parent is downstairs and they were both home all day yesterday), and then today, after Sunday dinner, I convinced both my parents to go upstairs and I played for another hour or two.
So far, I really like my new game. I've been avoiding finding out too much about it (in order to avoid temptation, avoid knowledge *wink*) but now that I have it... The more I learn about it, the more excited I get. Unfortunately, one of the things I've learned about it is that my brothers bought the game for me as well. Oops! So I've been dropping heavy hints about how I'd really like to try out Persona 3 as well. I think (hope?) they got the message. I'll find out tomorrow when we open our one present after the Christmas Eve Service.
Bit of minor drama about that, too. And while I'm not participating, I can't say I'm not at least a little annoyed with Jake. My little brother agreed to do a musical offering at the 11pm service without talking to anyone else. If Jake has to be there, well then Mom has to be there, too. Heaven forbid she miss Jake playing his ukulele in the worship band. But Dad (and I, although I'm not saying anything) was wanting to go to the "flashlight - candle lit" family service at 5:30. If you can't have your own kids or grandkids to watch enjoy the holiday, other people's are the next best thing. So then, my mom started talking about going to 2 services, which everyone but mom thinks is a bit excessive, even if Pastor did promise there was a different sermon for each service. And all this happened because Jacob didn't think to TALK to anyone before committing himself to something as important as a Christmas Eve service. We've only done the midnight service 2 or 3 times, so it's not like it's something we do every year and he should have called or texted someone because everyone else knew Dad wanted to go to the 5:30. Enough family drama.
I have decided I really hate this whole mid-season break thing. I finally have time to watch TV and, after catching up on the few weeks I missed, there's nothing to watch! Does that make any sense? And I'm really trying to reign in my spending, so no Smallville for now, either!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The End of the World
My life has been SO crazy lately. First, there was the move that never ended. We hauled all our crap from one town to the next over the course of the weekend and then settled in. And then the weekend before exams, we accepted the rest of our household goods, which had been sitting in storage until we found a bigger house. And then there was exams. All in all, it was a month of absolute craziness. I practically ignored ongoing series (except in the case of DwtS and that only because my Mom kept putting it on and has an unfortunate habit of erasing them out of habit). Furthermore, I picked up the unfortunate habit of watching Smallville as a horrible procrastination technique. And I really mean it. I'm halfway through Season 8.
Now that schools out, I have been catching up on the series I've missed. Arrow, Beauty and the Beast, Once Upon a Time, Castle. And, of course, I've been continuing Smallville. Jake sees my shows more so than anyone else and for some reason, he keeps confusing the shows. I think it helps a bit that the same actress is in Smallville and Beauty and the Beast. But now he's even confusing Castle and Once Upon A Time. Really? I think he's doing it just to annoy me, and I have to say, it's working. He's driving me crazy! I'm almost at the point where I won't watch TV when anyone else is home, much like I won't play my video games (and for the same reason).
So, I've been watching TV like a woman possessed. And I baked an entire store of Christmas cookies that I preceded to hand out with the Christmas gifts I bought for my friends. And I watched The Hobbit and enjoyed it. And today, after I finish Once Upon A Time, I get to go to work and continue my Doomsday Countdown there. Eleven and a half hours until the end of the world and I spent my last few days watching TV shows. If the world does end, I will regret making myself stop paying for Smallville and not finishing the show when I had the chance. And if you think that A) the world is going to end or B) that would really be my biggest regret (or even an actual regret) then it's because sarcasm doesn't work over the internet.
Now that schools out, I have been catching up on the series I've missed. Arrow, Beauty and the Beast, Once Upon a Time, Castle. And, of course, I've been continuing Smallville. Jake sees my shows more so than anyone else and for some reason, he keeps confusing the shows. I think it helps a bit that the same actress is in Smallville and Beauty and the Beast. But now he's even confusing Castle and Once Upon A Time. Really? I think he's doing it just to annoy me, and I have to say, it's working. He's driving me crazy! I'm almost at the point where I won't watch TV when anyone else is home, much like I won't play my video games (and for the same reason).
So, I've been watching TV like a woman possessed. And I baked an entire store of Christmas cookies that I preceded to hand out with the Christmas gifts I bought for my friends. And I watched The Hobbit and enjoyed it. And today, after I finish Once Upon A Time, I get to go to work and continue my Doomsday Countdown there. Eleven and a half hours until the end of the world and I spent my last few days watching TV shows. If the world does end, I will regret making myself stop paying for Smallville and not finishing the show when I had the chance. And if you think that A) the world is going to end or B) that would really be my biggest regret (or even an actual regret) then it's because sarcasm doesn't work over the internet.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
A Wish List
I am just as excited as the next person (okay, maybe a bit more excited than the next person) about the return of Star Wars. In fact, the only thing that has stopped me from scouring the net daily for the latest rumors (writer finally announced: Michael Arndt; does anyone else find it strange that it took IMDb over a week to create a page for this movie?) is the incredibly imminent move. And I love Star Wars. But Disney acquired a heck of a lot more than Star Wars when it bought Lucasfilm and it's subsidiaries. The first few days there was some passing mention of the money they'd save with the special-effects that come with the rest of the deal, and the apparent apathy towards Indiana Jones. What I want to focus on today is Lucas Arts, or more specifically, Monkey Island.
The Secret of Monkey Island is the story of a wanna-be pirate with the unfortunate name of Guybrush Threepwood. He falls in love with the beautiful governor and eventually rescues (?) her from the clutches of the cursed pirate LeChuck. The series goes on as Guybrush and Elaine Marley travel around the Caribbean, fighting LeChuck, breaking curses and finding treasure. I'm not much of a gamer at all, even less so a computer gamer, but I have played every Monkey Island game for at least a couple hours, and have seen even more as my younger brothers would spend hours beating each one. These games are all fun, witty, entertaining and have something that actually resembles a plot underneath all the "find this, this and this" "solve this puzzle" quests. And last night, my brother said the one line that basically ruined me: "I want Disney to make a Monkey Island movie."
Oh, yeah. I think Monkey Island could potentially be the best video game-movie adaptation ever. Shoot, some of the later games are almost at that level already. It's not all that out there for a movie plot; in fact, it's not unlike Disney's successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but perhaps the family-comedy version. And that'll probably by why it never happens, not by Disney at least. Any Monkey Island movie would be very spoof-like and Disney's not going to make fun of a genre they've managed to bring back (the swashbuckling pirate adventure) with a comedy like Monkey Island. Their loss.
I've also been a bit consumed with my final paper for my Film & Lit class. I've managed to turn it into a discussion about superheroes by decided I want to prove Zorro is an early American superhero. So, I've been thinking a lot about superheroes lately. And watching them. Well, watching old TV shows. I've already bought two seasons of Smallville and have been working my way through a few other shows at various online sources for free. I'm thinking this is going to be one of those things I don't tell people about, at least not people I know in the real world. Like the fact that I've seen every episode of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. My guilty little secret.
The Secret of Monkey Island is the story of a wanna-be pirate with the unfortunate name of Guybrush Threepwood. He falls in love with the beautiful governor and eventually rescues (?) her from the clutches of the cursed pirate LeChuck. The series goes on as Guybrush and Elaine Marley travel around the Caribbean, fighting LeChuck, breaking curses and finding treasure. I'm not much of a gamer at all, even less so a computer gamer, but I have played every Monkey Island game for at least a couple hours, and have seen even more as my younger brothers would spend hours beating each one. These games are all fun, witty, entertaining and have something that actually resembles a plot underneath all the "find this, this and this" "solve this puzzle" quests. And last night, my brother said the one line that basically ruined me: "I want Disney to make a Monkey Island movie."
Oh, yeah. I think Monkey Island could potentially be the best video game-movie adaptation ever. Shoot, some of the later games are almost at that level already. It's not all that out there for a movie plot; in fact, it's not unlike Disney's successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but perhaps the family-comedy version. And that'll probably by why it never happens, not by Disney at least. Any Monkey Island movie would be very spoof-like and Disney's not going to make fun of a genre they've managed to bring back (the swashbuckling pirate adventure) with a comedy like Monkey Island. Their loss.
I've also been a bit consumed with my final paper for my Film & Lit class. I've managed to turn it into a discussion about superheroes by decided I want to prove Zorro is an early American superhero. So, I've been thinking a lot about superheroes lately. And watching them. Well, watching old TV shows. I've already bought two seasons of Smallville and have been working my way through a few other shows at various online sources for free. I'm thinking this is going to be one of those things I don't tell people about, at least not people I know in the real world. Like the fact that I've seen every episode of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. My guilty little secret.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Solo Pulls A Spock
WARNING: The first few paragraphs of this entry trace my love of science fiction from kindergarten to the present day; if all you want is the meat, skip to paragraph #4 (and just to make thing perfectly clear, this warning is not a paragraph)
I was raised on classic science-fiction films. True, you can make a great case for Star Wars being a "space fantasy" as opposed to a "science fiction" and you would be correct. But let's be honest here, for the intent of any conversation on science fiction, Star Wars really is the first of the modern sci-fis. When I was in kindergarten, my parents let both me and my younger brother invite our best friends over for a "movie night." We pulled out the hide-a-bed, made some pizzas, bought chips and popped popcorn. Tina and Brandon came over and everyone put on their pajamas and curled up on the hide-a-bed, eating. The prologue rolled up and Mom and Dad read it to us: A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far Far Away Star Wars. I was transported to this galaxy filled with droids and lightsabers and the force. I loved it. And I loved it the following weekend when my family watched The Empire Strikes Back and the weekend after when my parents gave us the edited version of Return of the Jedi (without the part where Leia strangles Jabba the Hutt or what we fondly called "the slime monster" a.k.a the Rancor). When the special editions were released in '97, I vividly remember going to the theater with my younger brothers and parents. I loved it all and trace my current love of science fiction all the way back to these three movies.
When I was in 6th grade, my family moved to South Korea. This was the age before online streaming, so we were limited to a very small video rental place on the military base. The selection was poor and it wasn't long before my dad came home one Friday night with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (the store didn't have the original Star Trek movie). My family worked our way through all the star Trek movies that had even cameos of Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the gang. My dad must have been at least a mild Trekkie at one point, because he would tell us background stories after the movies sometimes. "Leonard Nimoy didn't want to do any Star Trek movies; he finally promised to do two. So that's why they killed Spock, but they left it open in case they could convince him to change his mind."
I've maintained my enjoyment of Star Trek over the years, although I admit it comes no where near my love of Star Wars (look at my Trek/Wars search ratio... they both do have movies coming out in the next few years). Every now and then I'll watch an episode of Next Generation and on the very rare occasion I would see the original show on the TV Guide, I would watch it. I've seen most of the original Trek movies at least twice (including the first one) and have seen Wrath of Khan probably half a dozen times (it's my brother's favorite villain and one of his favorite movie lines "KHAAAAAAAAN!"). When the new Star Trek came out, I was in the theater with the rest of my family and then went back for seconds and even thirds. The new movie is proudly placed right next to my six Star Wars movies on my DVD shelf and the original movies are somewhere midway down my "to buy" list. And so when I saw the latest rumors about the upcoming Star Wars movie, I thought almost immediately of Star Trek.
I've seen very little evidence of this supposed war between fanboys and fangirls (let's give females like me our due) of the two sci-fi giants (Sidenote: I did very much enjoy the back and forth between Carrie Fisher and William Shatner a few years ago, as well as the concluding plea from George Takei). Maybe it's because I've never been to a convention (yet) or maybe it's because I'm not much of a Trekkie (does the hostility come from their side) or maybe it doesn't really exist. Either way, comparing the two series at all is supposed to be taboo, but I couldn't help it when I read the rumors this morning. According to a widely quoted article from Entertainment Weekly, Harrison Ford might be open to reprising his role of Han Solo after all, "but don’t be surprised if his contract includes a mandatory death scene for the sly old space smuggler." I couldn't help but laugh out loud. When I saw that one of the deciding factors in Ford taking on the role of Solo again was a death scene for his character, I couldn't help but think of Spock's untimely end in Wrath of Khan (especially untimely because in less than half of a movie, Spock was alive and kicking again). And so, if rumors are to be trusted, Solo just pulled a Spock. I realize speculation is running rampant and most of the information coming out is going to prove to be 100% false, but if I could chose just one rumor to be true, it would be this one, if only because I find the entire concept so amusing.
Onward to a short geek side-note: Total fan moments in this week's Castle! Castle and Beckett are at a science fiction convention trying to solve a murder. Let me just list a few of the quotes and situations that made me think of Firefly:
"Shiny!"
Nebula 9 was "canceled over decade ago after 12 episodes"
Castle is a fan of "good sci-fi: Star Trek, Battlestar, that Joss Whedon show"
"Kreavers" are "the evil alien race from Nebula 9. Nasty creatures; they'll eat your face off when you're still alive and then serve your organs to their young"
And finally there is talk about the return of Nebula 9: "maybe even doing a movie"
Ah, I miss Firefly. Castle is a poor way to get Nathan Fillion in comparison, but at least I'm still getting him in some form... Ah, Joss Whedon, when will you create another world as wonderful as that of Firefly?
I was raised on classic science-fiction films. True, you can make a great case for Star Wars being a "space fantasy" as opposed to a "science fiction" and you would be correct. But let's be honest here, for the intent of any conversation on science fiction, Star Wars really is the first of the modern sci-fis. When I was in kindergarten, my parents let both me and my younger brother invite our best friends over for a "movie night." We pulled out the hide-a-bed, made some pizzas, bought chips and popped popcorn. Tina and Brandon came over and everyone put on their pajamas and curled up on the hide-a-bed, eating. The prologue rolled up and Mom and Dad read it to us: A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far Far Away Star Wars. I was transported to this galaxy filled with droids and lightsabers and the force. I loved it. And I loved it the following weekend when my family watched The Empire Strikes Back and the weekend after when my parents gave us the edited version of Return of the Jedi (without the part where Leia strangles Jabba the Hutt or what we fondly called "the slime monster" a.k.a the Rancor). When the special editions were released in '97, I vividly remember going to the theater with my younger brothers and parents. I loved it all and trace my current love of science fiction all the way back to these three movies.
When I was in 6th grade, my family moved to South Korea. This was the age before online streaming, so we were limited to a very small video rental place on the military base. The selection was poor and it wasn't long before my dad came home one Friday night with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (the store didn't have the original Star Trek movie). My family worked our way through all the star Trek movies that had even cameos of Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the gang. My dad must have been at least a mild Trekkie at one point, because he would tell us background stories after the movies sometimes. "Leonard Nimoy didn't want to do any Star Trek movies; he finally promised to do two. So that's why they killed Spock, but they left it open in case they could convince him to change his mind."
I've maintained my enjoyment of Star Trek over the years, although I admit it comes no where near my love of Star Wars (look at my Trek/Wars search ratio... they both do have movies coming out in the next few years). Every now and then I'll watch an episode of Next Generation and on the very rare occasion I would see the original show on the TV Guide, I would watch it. I've seen most of the original Trek movies at least twice (including the first one) and have seen Wrath of Khan probably half a dozen times (it's my brother's favorite villain and one of his favorite movie lines "KHAAAAAAAAN!"). When the new Star Trek came out, I was in the theater with the rest of my family and then went back for seconds and even thirds. The new movie is proudly placed right next to my six Star Wars movies on my DVD shelf and the original movies are somewhere midway down my "to buy" list. And so when I saw the latest rumors about the upcoming Star Wars movie, I thought almost immediately of Star Trek.
I've seen very little evidence of this supposed war between fanboys and fangirls (let's give females like me our due) of the two sci-fi giants (Sidenote: I did very much enjoy the back and forth between Carrie Fisher and William Shatner a few years ago, as well as the concluding plea from George Takei). Maybe it's because I've never been to a convention (yet) or maybe it's because I'm not much of a Trekkie (does the hostility come from their side) or maybe it doesn't really exist. Either way, comparing the two series at all is supposed to be taboo, but I couldn't help it when I read the rumors this morning. According to a widely quoted article from Entertainment Weekly, Harrison Ford might be open to reprising his role of Han Solo after all, "but don’t be surprised if his contract includes a mandatory death scene for the sly old space smuggler." I couldn't help but laugh out loud. When I saw that one of the deciding factors in Ford taking on the role of Solo again was a death scene for his character, I couldn't help but think of Spock's untimely end in Wrath of Khan (especially untimely because in less than half of a movie, Spock was alive and kicking again). And so, if rumors are to be trusted, Solo just pulled a Spock. I realize speculation is running rampant and most of the information coming out is going to prove to be 100% false, but if I could chose just one rumor to be true, it would be this one, if only because I find the entire concept so amusing.
Onward to a short geek side-note: Total fan moments in this week's Castle! Castle and Beckett are at a science fiction convention trying to solve a murder. Let me just list a few of the quotes and situations that made me think of Firefly:
"Shiny!"
Nebula 9 was "canceled over decade ago after 12 episodes"
Castle is a fan of "good sci-fi: Star Trek, Battlestar, that Joss Whedon show"
"Kreavers" are "the evil alien race from Nebula 9. Nasty creatures; they'll eat your face off when you're still alive and then serve your organs to their young"
And finally there is talk about the return of Nebula 9: "maybe even doing a movie"
Ah, I miss Firefly. Castle is a poor way to get Nathan Fillion in comparison, but at least I'm still getting him in some form... Ah, Joss Whedon, when will you create another world as wonderful as that of Firefly?
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Message from the Sick Bed
I have been sick for days. That never happens to me. At worst, I'm out of commission for one day, tops. Today is my fourth day and I could have finally gone back to regular activities if I hadn't spent the last three days laying around the house, sleeping and struggling to keep food down. I was still on "Medical Watch" by my mother. At least I won't have to call in for another day of work; I am totally good to go for tomorrow.
On that note, I really haven't done much of anything aside from lie on the couch and watch whatever happened to be on (everything from The Shining to the news). Oh, and I rewatched the original Star Wars trilogy. I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point, those movies became the movies I watch whenever I'm sick. I love them; they're some of the only movies I can just watch without having to multi-task, but I know them so well, I can literally watch them with my eyes closed. So, when I'm tired and pop one in, I watch it for a little bit, and then I close my eyes because I'm sick and tired, and then the end credits are rolling. It's like magic. Please tell me I'm not the only one with a "sick movie!" I can't be.
The only other thing I've really done is tear through various Kerrelyn Sparks books. Okay, they're super cheesy, but I like them. Leave me alone. Isn't a girl allowed one vampire series? I started with Eat Prey Love (my absolute favorite; I'm going to chalk that up to my love of cats of all sizes) and it kind of took off from there, mostly rereading ones I've only read once or maybe twice. There's a new one coming out the end of this month, too (which I pre-ordered while I was on the topic). I would normally say "Right in time to get in the way of finals" but I'm pretty sure I'll have the next book knocked out in 24 hours, 48 tops, days before finals start. That's the usual pattern. Maybe these are my sick books? Something to ponder...
I can tell you there were two creatures happy I was sick. My cat definitely enjoyed me napping on my bed in the middle of the day. Okay, she spends the bulk of her day on my bed irregardless, but she's been spending even more time than usual (if that's even possible), stretching out on my bed and cuddling up to me while I was sleeping. The other happy camper was my mom's cat. When I wasn't napping on my bed, I was stretched out on the couch downstairs, which meant an available lap that she didn't have to beg for. Okay, cats never beg. But she didn't have to sit there and stare in a threatening manner at whatever laptop was on the lap she currently preferred. My lap was completely at her disposal when I was downstairs, which meant she could curl up on someone whenever she liked and not look like she wanted a lap, now, and the computer was in her way.
I am so far behind in my school work. I should have knocked some of it out today, but I was too busy being a bad patient (complaining about the restricting diet, playing the sick card when it was to my advantage and then loudly declaring I was perfectly fine 20 minutes later when I felt like it). Thank God it only lasted three days; I can't imagine what I headache I'd have been if it had lasted any longer!
On that note, I really haven't done much of anything aside from lie on the couch and watch whatever happened to be on (everything from The Shining to the news). Oh, and I rewatched the original Star Wars trilogy. I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point, those movies became the movies I watch whenever I'm sick. I love them; they're some of the only movies I can just watch without having to multi-task, but I know them so well, I can literally watch them with my eyes closed. So, when I'm tired and pop one in, I watch it for a little bit, and then I close my eyes because I'm sick and tired, and then the end credits are rolling. It's like magic. Please tell me I'm not the only one with a "sick movie!" I can't be.
The only other thing I've really done is tear through various Kerrelyn Sparks books. Okay, they're super cheesy, but I like them. Leave me alone. Isn't a girl allowed one vampire series? I started with Eat Prey Love (my absolute favorite; I'm going to chalk that up to my love of cats of all sizes) and it kind of took off from there, mostly rereading ones I've only read once or maybe twice. There's a new one coming out the end of this month, too (which I pre-ordered while I was on the topic). I would normally say "Right in time to get in the way of finals" but I'm pretty sure I'll have the next book knocked out in 24 hours, 48 tops, days before finals start. That's the usual pattern. Maybe these are my sick books? Something to ponder...
I can tell you there were two creatures happy I was sick. My cat definitely enjoyed me napping on my bed in the middle of the day. Okay, she spends the bulk of her day on my bed irregardless, but she's been spending even more time than usual (if that's even possible), stretching out on my bed and cuddling up to me while I was sleeping. The other happy camper was my mom's cat. When I wasn't napping on my bed, I was stretched out on the couch downstairs, which meant an available lap that she didn't have to beg for. Okay, cats never beg. But she didn't have to sit there and stare in a threatening manner at whatever laptop was on the lap she currently preferred. My lap was completely at her disposal when I was downstairs, which meant she could curl up on someone whenever she liked and not look like she wanted a lap, now, and the computer was in her way.
I am so far behind in my school work. I should have knocked some of it out today, but I was too busy being a bad patient (complaining about the restricting diet, playing the sick card when it was to my advantage and then loudly declaring I was perfectly fine 20 minutes later when I felt like it). Thank God it only lasted three days; I can't imagine what I headache I'd have been if it had lasted any longer!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Screams of Joy and Terror
Things have been happening in the wide, wide world of my personal entertainment. I have been keeping up with all my shows, but there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy (except for maybe Castle, which I was pretty impressed with). But there has been so much more going on than TV, I'm going to completely disregard television shows for the rest of this entry.
First off, Monday night, I did Haunted Lagoon up at the Polynesian Culture Center. It was mostly fun, but in a different way than last year. Let's be honest, it's hard to scream when the ghouls were too busy complimenting your hair to actually jump out at you when you turn corners. In their defense, the wig I had on was hot pink and lit up. The people in the actual lagoon were a bit more professional, but there were some loud, lewd women sitting right behind us that left us more annoyed than scared by the time we reached the halfway point. Since half the fun is expectation, waiting in line, talking to friends, I'd still say it was worth doing, even if it did cost me a fortune in gas and keep me out until 11 when I should have been home working in a paper. At least the actual ticket was cheap ($10 online).
And now the big news: Star Wars VII. I read a quote by J.J. Abrams (I think) that has a word that describes my feelings perfectly: Thrillified. Yep. That just about covers it. But no matter how scared I am, who the get to direct it, I will be in line to watch the midnight release, possibly in costume, in 2015. I have been totally geeking-out today, reading all sorts of different articles and reactions to this news. After reading dozens of articles on other's opinions and points, and balancing them with actual facts, I have decided that while Disney could ruin the films, they've also been able to maintain the momentum of other things they've acquired (like Avengers) and therefore could do an amazing job, depending on the director and writer.
Thanks to my film class and living the last few years with a movie geek, I have a passing familiarity with some of the more well-known directors and those I'm seeing on lists of "Who Could Do This" that I don't already know, I'm checking out on IMDB. My conclusion: while I'm seeing a lot of names being bandied about by fans and writers, a few of whom might be able to pull it off, the one I want behind the helm is J.J. Abrams. My brother made a great point this morning as I was driving him to the bus "Abrams has already made a better Star Wars movie than Lucas' newest trilogy when he made Star Trek." I love Joss Whedon, but I don't think he's exactly right for the project. He has a particular brand of wit and comedy that fits well with superheroes running around in bright blue suits and ridiculous-looking hats, but I'm not sure it belongs in the Star Wars universe. I could be wrong, but the light moments in Star Wars are a completely different feel from Joss' brand of "funny."
Unfortunately for fans like me, in the end, this is all just "wish lists" from fans; there aren't even rumors about who Disney may be looking at to revive Star Wars. In fact, about all we do know is that it's supposed to come out the same year as The Avengers 2 and that George Lucas supposedly created the basis of the plot for the next three movies. And that movies will be coming out every 2-3 years "well into the future", which seems to imply they plan on getting beyond #9 in the fans keep lining up days before the movies in theaters. And that could be some awesome news for people like me who love the series so much, they'll actually willingly sit through Episode I. The more I read, the more excited I get. The world cannot end until after 2015; I don't care what the heck the Mayans thought.
First off, Monday night, I did Haunted Lagoon up at the Polynesian Culture Center. It was mostly fun, but in a different way than last year. Let's be honest, it's hard to scream when the ghouls were too busy complimenting your hair to actually jump out at you when you turn corners. In their defense, the wig I had on was hot pink and lit up. The people in the actual lagoon were a bit more professional, but there were some loud, lewd women sitting right behind us that left us more annoyed than scared by the time we reached the halfway point. Since half the fun is expectation, waiting in line, talking to friends, I'd still say it was worth doing, even if it did cost me a fortune in gas and keep me out until 11 when I should have been home working in a paper. At least the actual ticket was cheap ($10 online).
And now the big news: Star Wars VII. I read a quote by J.J. Abrams (I think) that has a word that describes my feelings perfectly: Thrillified. Yep. That just about covers it. But no matter how scared I am, who the get to direct it, I will be in line to watch the midnight release, possibly in costume, in 2015. I have been totally geeking-out today, reading all sorts of different articles and reactions to this news. After reading dozens of articles on other's opinions and points, and balancing them with actual facts, I have decided that while Disney could ruin the films, they've also been able to maintain the momentum of other things they've acquired (like Avengers) and therefore could do an amazing job, depending on the director and writer.
Thanks to my film class and living the last few years with a movie geek, I have a passing familiarity with some of the more well-known directors and those I'm seeing on lists of "Who Could Do This" that I don't already know, I'm checking out on IMDB. My conclusion: while I'm seeing a lot of names being bandied about by fans and writers, a few of whom might be able to pull it off, the one I want behind the helm is J.J. Abrams. My brother made a great point this morning as I was driving him to the bus "Abrams has already made a better Star Wars movie than Lucas' newest trilogy when he made Star Trek." I love Joss Whedon, but I don't think he's exactly right for the project. He has a particular brand of wit and comedy that fits well with superheroes running around in bright blue suits and ridiculous-looking hats, but I'm not sure it belongs in the Star Wars universe. I could be wrong, but the light moments in Star Wars are a completely different feel from Joss' brand of "funny."
Unfortunately for fans like me, in the end, this is all just "wish lists" from fans; there aren't even rumors about who Disney may be looking at to revive Star Wars. In fact, about all we do know is that it's supposed to come out the same year as The Avengers 2 and that George Lucas supposedly created the basis of the plot for the next three movies. And that movies will be coming out every 2-3 years "well into the future", which seems to imply they plan on getting beyond #9 in the fans keep lining up days before the movies in theaters. And that could be some awesome news for people like me who love the series so much, they'll actually willingly sit through Episode I. The more I read, the more excited I get. The world cannot end until after 2015; I don't care what the heck the Mayans thought.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Warning: Excercise Involved!
Today, I sat around Ala Moana for three and a half hours and successfully avoided riding the bus during rush hour because of it, although you wouldn't have known it looking at the people packed like sardines inside. But it was also a shorter ride because H-1 was not stop-and-go by the time the bus got on. Which is what I was trying to get out of.
When I got home, my mom already had Dancing with the Stars started and paused, waiting for me. So, we watched Monday and Tuesday's shows. The individual dances, while not bad, didn't really stand out to me (with the possible exception of the Cinderella song, for obvious reasons). No, what I loved this week were the group dances. I hate the song "Call Me Maybe" but the dance they did to go with it was downright breathtaking. Very impressive, original, fit the song very well, and made me almost enjoy the song. In fact, I might, if the song were not currently lodged in my brain. But the dance was probably my favorite since Donald Driver's country free-style last year. "Gangnam Style" had the potential to blow that out of the water, if it had been a bit more polished. It was a fun dance, but the obvious mistakes were distracting and the routine wasn't as good as it could have been. I think it probably worked to their favor that they were on a different night. Don't get me wrong, my mom and I enjoyed the heck out of "Gangam Style" but the first team dance performed was executed much more cleanly.
And then, since my mom's cat had settled on my lap, I started New Girl. It wasn't a bad episode at all, but they showed all the funniest parts in the commercials my mom and I kept seeing when we were at Chili's Sunday watching the game. Funny, worth watching, but the best jokes had already been laughed at and dismissed Sunday. Maybe our expectations were too high, but I don't think that was the best episode this season...
Now the only thing I'm behind on is Once Upon A Time...I think...
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Mostly Plans
So I really haven't done or watched anything to talk about since Tuesday (except for my Ghost Hunters marathon yesterday, but there wasn't anything too noteworthy in there). But I have made plans.
Monday, I'm going out with Amy (and anyone else I can find) and going on a hike. Yay me. I can't wait. The following Sunday, I'm doing Haunted Plantation with anyone who I can convince to go with me and the day after that, it's Haunted Lagoon. I'm also stockpiling wigs for this year. So far, I have a long purple one for Saint Urho's Day and a light up pink one for the "Haunteds" this year. I've also talked to my manager (to make sure it'd be okay) and have decided I'm going to wear a wig and doing some serious make-up fun when I have to work on Halloween. Yay October. I might have more fun on Saint Urho's Day, but October has the potential for a lot more fun days than March.
I did watch one thing. Ashley from work (not to be confused with any of the other Ashleys I know) asked if I had watched Beauty and the Beast on the CW. I told her that while I love that story in general and tend to watch/read any version of it I can, I thought that particular rendition looked like a Twilight knock-off. She told me it was actually pretty good and I should give it a try, so I watched the pilot on Hulu. I could see the show going either way (although I haven't watched the second episode yet). It could be another Twilight wanna-be, but it also could go in a different direction, although I'm not quite convinced it would be a better direction. Okay, almost any direction is better than Twilight, but it might not be "better" enough to keep me watching. I'll watch a few more episodes at least.
It's official. I'm saving up my tip money from Subway for a PS Vita and a few other things to go with it (like a game). $6.75 down, $353.73 remaining (including sales tax).
Okay. I'll stop here, while this entry is still (relatively) short.
Monday, I'm going out with Amy (and anyone else I can find) and going on a hike. Yay me. I can't wait. The following Sunday, I'm doing Haunted Plantation with anyone who I can convince to go with me and the day after that, it's Haunted Lagoon. I'm also stockpiling wigs for this year. So far, I have a long purple one for Saint Urho's Day and a light up pink one for the "Haunteds" this year. I've also talked to my manager (to make sure it'd be okay) and have decided I'm going to wear a wig and doing some serious make-up fun when I have to work on Halloween. Yay October. I might have more fun on Saint Urho's Day, but October has the potential for a lot more fun days than March.
I did watch one thing. Ashley from work (not to be confused with any of the other Ashleys I know) asked if I had watched Beauty and the Beast on the CW. I told her that while I love that story in general and tend to watch/read any version of it I can, I thought that particular rendition looked like a Twilight knock-off. She told me it was actually pretty good and I should give it a try, so I watched the pilot on Hulu. I could see the show going either way (although I haven't watched the second episode yet). It could be another Twilight wanna-be, but it also could go in a different direction, although I'm not quite convinced it would be a better direction. Okay, almost any direction is better than Twilight, but it might not be "better" enough to keep me watching. I'll watch a few more episodes at least.
It's official. I'm saving up my tip money from Subway for a PS Vita and a few other things to go with it (like a game). $6.75 down, $353.73 remaining (including sales tax).
Okay. I'll stop here, while this entry is still (relatively) short.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
All Caught Up(ish)
So, this week's TV.
I've pretty much given up on Revolution; I'm a week or two behind. Or, at least I was. I did sit through the latest episode, but that was only so I could have the TV; I was in a Castle kind of mood.
So, Castle. I think it's getting back on track, if Monday's episode was any indication. There was a bit of wit and stupidity, mixing in together for that dry sense of humor. The ending felt a little forced, but not completely arbitrary. The Police Chief was probably the worst part of the episode; he was obviously overdone. The Esposito-Ryan subplot as they try to discover who Beckett's mysterious new boyfriend is felt very well done (especially the big reveal); unfortunately, it doesn't quite line up with previous episodes where you get the sense that they have a pretty good idea that something is going on. As a stand-alone, Castle (the show, not the character) is back; when fit in with the rest of the season, it isn't quite meshing yet. Still, a good step forward and I'm looking forward to next week.
Dancing With The Stars. Bristol is gone, which really isn't a bad thing. Kirtsie's dance was a lot of fun, but my favorites this week have to go to either the disco or the mambo. There were a few other dances I might have enjoyed if I didn't actively dislike the style of dance they had to do (i.e. Hip Hop and Contemporary). It was an interesting week and I really look forward to "guilty pleasures" for next week...
Yesterday, I finally got all caught up in Once Upon a Time. On the one hand, I kind of like where this series is going and I certainly think it's probably one of the better post-curse directions it could have taken, but on the other hand, people are actually legitimately, completely dying. Last season, they saved that for the mid-season finale and I was so pissed then when the Huntsman died. In fact, it was several weeks before I stopped watching only to see if he was going to come back to life (we are talking fairy tales here...)
Anything else to talk about? I'm sure I could dig up some animal story or a small little happenstance (like my sting-style shoe-buying mission). But I think I'll call it a night (on the writing front, at least). It's probably a bit shorter than normal, but I haven't been up to much.
Things to look forward to: Nothing on TV until next Sunday, and then Monday, I'm going on a hike with some friends. Yay for Monday's hike! Wherever we end up going...
THIS JUST IN: I have (after countless google searches) FINALLY found a date for the new season of Psych. And it's it February. The end of February. On the one hand, it's nice to finally know, but on the other... February feels so far away. It's next year and everything. If the world does end in December, I'm never going to get to see it!
I've pretty much given up on Revolution; I'm a week or two behind. Or, at least I was. I did sit through the latest episode, but that was only so I could have the TV; I was in a Castle kind of mood.
So, Castle. I think it's getting back on track, if Monday's episode was any indication. There was a bit of wit and stupidity, mixing in together for that dry sense of humor. The ending felt a little forced, but not completely arbitrary. The Police Chief was probably the worst part of the episode; he was obviously overdone. The Esposito-Ryan subplot as they try to discover who Beckett's mysterious new boyfriend is felt very well done (especially the big reveal); unfortunately, it doesn't quite line up with previous episodes where you get the sense that they have a pretty good idea that something is going on. As a stand-alone, Castle (the show, not the character) is back; when fit in with the rest of the season, it isn't quite meshing yet. Still, a good step forward and I'm looking forward to next week.
Dancing With The Stars. Bristol is gone, which really isn't a bad thing. Kirtsie's dance was a lot of fun, but my favorites this week have to go to either the disco or the mambo. There were a few other dances I might have enjoyed if I didn't actively dislike the style of dance they had to do (i.e. Hip Hop and Contemporary). It was an interesting week and I really look forward to "guilty pleasures" for next week...
Yesterday, I finally got all caught up in Once Upon a Time. On the one hand, I kind of like where this series is going and I certainly think it's probably one of the better post-curse directions it could have taken, but on the other hand, people are actually legitimately, completely dying. Last season, they saved that for the mid-season finale and I was so pissed then when the Huntsman died. In fact, it was several weeks before I stopped watching only to see if he was going to come back to life (we are talking fairy tales here...)
Anything else to talk about? I'm sure I could dig up some animal story or a small little happenstance (like my sting-style shoe-buying mission). But I think I'll call it a night (on the writing front, at least). It's probably a bit shorter than normal, but I haven't been up to much.
Things to look forward to: Nothing on TV until next Sunday, and then Monday, I'm going on a hike with some friends. Yay for Monday's hike! Wherever we end up going...
THIS JUST IN: I have (after countless google searches) FINALLY found a date for the new season of Psych. And it's it February. The end of February. On the one hand, it's nice to finally know, but on the other... February feels so far away. It's next year and everything. If the world does end in December, I'm never going to get to see it!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Party and Movies
Yesterday was pretty much awesome. The Packers destroyed the previously-undefeated Texans, but to be honest, I wasn't even paying much attention to the game after a while, since it felt so one-sided and I was surrounded by friends I haven't seen in ages.
I totally geeked-out on my gifts, too. A pan to make superhero-shaped mini-cakes, an R2-D2 spatula, a birthday card the recites the Green Lantern Oath (which was probably designed with an elementary school boy in mind...) and the final two Blu-Rays needed to complete my Avengers collection (Iron Man 2 and Thor). And you know I watch Thor yesterday, and made sure I made it at least through my favorite scene (let's go shirtless superheros!)...
And after the party was over, I got my mom and brother to Wal-mart so I could buy a new SD card for my camera. My previous SD card was older than my 6-year-old camera, a 128mb hand-me-down from my Mom when she got a new camera for herself. (They don't even make them that small anymore...) And before I went to pay, I hunted down the $5 Dive Bin for DVDs. Sometimes you can find some really good stuff in there; that's how I got Robin Hood: Men in Tights. It was, hands down, the best Dive Bin ever. By the time I had 8 DVDs in my hands, I started being selective about which ones I even grabbed for later review. At the end, there were 11 DVDs that, had they been in any other dive bin, I would have bought, no questions asked. And that's after I handed 2 to Jake that I thought stood a better chance of making the final cut with him than with me. But they were all in the same bin on the same day. I told myself I'd get five, but when I got down to picking out the last one, I couldn't bear to put either of the last two "competitives" back, so I bought six. I'm calling it my birthday present from my grandmothers. So, what did I get? Alien, The Fifth Element, Guess Who, Men in Black and Men in Black 2, and Pride & Prejudice (the 2005 version with Keira Knightley). And the two Jake got that I would have bought on another day? Logan's Run and Young Frankenstein. And both of us were dropping a lot of good movies. I have to find a new place for my video games; my DVD rack is now too full of my DVDs and Blue-Rays to house them anymore...
I totally geeked-out on my gifts, too. A pan to make superhero-shaped mini-cakes, an R2-D2 spatula, a birthday card the recites the Green Lantern Oath (which was probably designed with an elementary school boy in mind...) and the final two Blu-Rays needed to complete my Avengers collection (Iron Man 2 and Thor). And you know I watch Thor yesterday, and made sure I made it at least through my favorite scene (let's go shirtless superheros!)...
And after the party was over, I got my mom and brother to Wal-mart so I could buy a new SD card for my camera. My previous SD card was older than my 6-year-old camera, a 128mb hand-me-down from my Mom when she got a new camera for herself. (They don't even make them that small anymore...) And before I went to pay, I hunted down the $5 Dive Bin for DVDs. Sometimes you can find some really good stuff in there; that's how I got Robin Hood: Men in Tights. It was, hands down, the best Dive Bin ever. By the time I had 8 DVDs in my hands, I started being selective about which ones I even grabbed for later review. At the end, there were 11 DVDs that, had they been in any other dive bin, I would have bought, no questions asked. And that's after I handed 2 to Jake that I thought stood a better chance of making the final cut with him than with me. But they were all in the same bin on the same day. I told myself I'd get five, but when I got down to picking out the last one, I couldn't bear to put either of the last two "competitives" back, so I bought six. I'm calling it my birthday present from my grandmothers. So, what did I get? Alien, The Fifth Element, Guess Who, Men in Black and Men in Black 2, and Pride & Prejudice (the 2005 version with Keira Knightley). And the two Jake got that I would have bought on another day? Logan's Run and Young Frankenstein. And both of us were dropping a lot of good movies. I have to find a new place for my video games; my DVD rack is now too full of my DVDs and Blue-Rays to house them anymore...
Friday, October 12, 2012
Queen Beth's Birthday Hike!
I absolutely loved my new Camel Bak and hiking shoes. Trail Runners were the right way to go if I wanted lightweight shoes to do short hikes in. I had plenty of pockets for everything: the guidebook, the car key, my cell phone, my special nut-free trail mix. And it was so nice to be able to take a sip of water whenever I felt like it without having to stop and dig a bottle out of someone's bag. I really think that contributed to the feeling that it wasn't too hard of a hike. Usually, I find constant change of elevation very hard to do, but I was doing switchbacks climbing down thigh-high drops with no problems. I highly recommend some sort of Camel Bak or a knockoff to anyone who plans on hiking even semi-regularly. I really think it make a difference.
Now if only there were a way to get an easily accessible camera without hanging it around my neck... Mom kept digging it out of the back of my bag, which in some ways is good. Our 2-hour hike resulted in 50 pictures, and it probably would have been triple that if I had had my camera in my hand (or a short reach away) the entire time. (Mom said I need a smaller camera, but I love mine and refuse to replace it; it's 6 years old and when I pull it out, people still say it's a good camera.) It's hard to stop taking pictures, though. I don't go on hikes for the views, or to experience nature, but it's hard not to notice the natural beauty around you. I would have added "when you live in Hawaii" but I'm sure everywhere has amazing views. Otherwise, why would people hike? Sure, there's the "I did it!" and "exercise" excuses, but I think without beautiful views of nature, hiking as a sport would not exist. Besides that, there's certainly beauty in everything God created.
Movies and Superwoman!
I have not been keeping up with TV at all. I've been a bit busy. So,
what have I been doing? Well, Wednesday, I was out all morning (hiking
and tracking down food) and then I had a movie to watch for my Film
& Lit class and a movie I just wanted to see. Thursday, I was in
class all day and then spent over 2 hours getting home afterwards; I was
absolutely exhausted and ended up crashing just after 10. Today, I
woke up, got caught up on manga, watched a few special features on my
new DVD and then just got home from a crazy night at work (where I
discovered my least favorite co-worker is Super Woman).
Let's work our way backwards through my stories. The first: the story of Super Woman. From about 7:05 (I know the time because my break got cut short) until about 8:15, we were slammed. Two-people-up-front, running-around, constant-line, run-out-of-meats-and-breads slammed. And when we were finished, there were sink-fulls (note the plural) of empty dishes. In the 45 minutes between the end of the rush and closing, my co-worker washed well over 2 sink-fulls of dishes, swept and mopped the lobby and behind the line and took out the trash. I may be Queen Beth at Subway, but she is freaking Super Woman. I expected us to be there until quarter till 10, or at least 9:30, but she walked out the door with the very last bag of trash (which I usually take out) at 9:05 and I was locking the front door 15 minutes later. She may annoy the heck out of me most of the time, but there is no one I would rather work with on a night like tonight than her.
For my birthday, my little brothers bought me The Avengers on Blu-Ray. :) Okay, so I wasn't surprised (I mean, shoot, I sent Jake a text from Wal-Mart the day it came out letting him know it was there already). But I enjoyed it immensely. And the deleted scenes were a lot of fun, too. A lot. Watching the movie was a great way to finish my birthday. After my third watch-through, I've made a couple of guesses about the future of the series, but I think I'll wait until the movies come out before I talk about them (or at least until I've watched the movies a few more times...)
Before that, though, I had to finally sit through Blade Runner. Okay, I'm a sci-fi geek. My movie collection has only 3 chick flicks and 10 sci-fis (counting Firefly the TV series as 1 and not counting my superhero movies). That's a 3:1 ratio. The only thing I have more of is fantasy and that's only because I have several series. I watch more science fiction on TV or in theaters than anything else (in fact, the last two years have been odd TV-wise since I'm watching so little sci-fi). And on the rare occasion I go to Blockbuster, I walk out with a classic sci-fi movie. I even did a huge paper on dystopic sci-fi movies two years ago. And yet, despite the fact that there are three copies of Blade Runner in my house, I have never sat through it. Oh, I've started it a few times, but I just didn't like it. If it hadn't been for school, I probably would have never sat past the part where Roy slowly and calmly pushes in Tyrell's eyeballs until he dies. Uuuggghhhh! The violence in Blade Runner is done so calmly, quietly, and by such human people despite that. When describing why I didn't like it, I found myself referring to Alien, which has the same director. Both movies are futuristic science fiction that have a lot to do with humanity and robots; both are dark, almost fatalistic. But Blade Runner has such deliberate, slow violence, while Alien, sure, there's a part where the alien literally pops out of the one guy's stomach, and there's blood everywhere, but then that's it. The violence is quick and mostly in the shadows. There's no slo-mo as a woman gets shot three times and crashes through windows, her red blood trailing down the inside of the see-through rain jacket. I just can't handle that. I can tell you I am probably never sitting through Blade Runner again.
Alright. I think that's enough (especially since I want some pics when I talk about my hike, so I'll do that as a separate entry...
Let's work our way backwards through my stories. The first: the story of Super Woman. From about 7:05 (I know the time because my break got cut short) until about 8:15, we were slammed. Two-people-up-front, running-around, constant-line, run-out-of-meats-and-breads slammed. And when we were finished, there were sink-fulls (note the plural) of empty dishes. In the 45 minutes between the end of the rush and closing, my co-worker washed well over 2 sink-fulls of dishes, swept and mopped the lobby and behind the line and took out the trash. I may be Queen Beth at Subway, but she is freaking Super Woman. I expected us to be there until quarter till 10, or at least 9:30, but she walked out the door with the very last bag of trash (which I usually take out) at 9:05 and I was locking the front door 15 minutes later. She may annoy the heck out of me most of the time, but there is no one I would rather work with on a night like tonight than her.
For my birthday, my little brothers bought me The Avengers on Blu-Ray. :) Okay, so I wasn't surprised (I mean, shoot, I sent Jake a text from Wal-Mart the day it came out letting him know it was there already). But I enjoyed it immensely. And the deleted scenes were a lot of fun, too. A lot. Watching the movie was a great way to finish my birthday. After my third watch-through, I've made a couple of guesses about the future of the series, but I think I'll wait until the movies come out before I talk about them (or at least until I've watched the movies a few more times...)
Before that, though, I had to finally sit through Blade Runner. Okay, I'm a sci-fi geek. My movie collection has only 3 chick flicks and 10 sci-fis (counting Firefly the TV series as 1 and not counting my superhero movies). That's a 3:1 ratio. The only thing I have more of is fantasy and that's only because I have several series. I watch more science fiction on TV or in theaters than anything else (in fact, the last two years have been odd TV-wise since I'm watching so little sci-fi). And on the rare occasion I go to Blockbuster, I walk out with a classic sci-fi movie. I even did a huge paper on dystopic sci-fi movies two years ago. And yet, despite the fact that there are three copies of Blade Runner in my house, I have never sat through it. Oh, I've started it a few times, but I just didn't like it. If it hadn't been for school, I probably would have never sat past the part where Roy slowly and calmly pushes in Tyrell's eyeballs until he dies. Uuuggghhhh! The violence in Blade Runner is done so calmly, quietly, and by such human people despite that. When describing why I didn't like it, I found myself referring to Alien, which has the same director. Both movies are futuristic science fiction that have a lot to do with humanity and robots; both are dark, almost fatalistic. But Blade Runner has such deliberate, slow violence, while Alien, sure, there's a part where the alien literally pops out of the one guy's stomach, and there's blood everywhere, but then that's it. The violence is quick and mostly in the shadows. There's no slo-mo as a woman gets shot three times and crashes through windows, her red blood trailing down the inside of the see-through rain jacket. I just can't handle that. I can tell you I am probably never sitting through Blade Runner again.
Alright. I think that's enough (especially since I want some pics when I talk about my hike, so I'll do that as a separate entry...
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Too Busy for TV
Of this week's shows, all I've seen is Dancing with the Stars and New Girl. And I admit that the only reason I watched DwtS is because I've kind of gotten my mom hooked on it, so she's all "You don't want to watch Dancing with the Stars?" Monday when I get home from work and doesn't stop any time I sit down in front of the TV until we watch it. Which is kind of nice. Sure, a majority of my shows are still just things I watch, but having something that someone else wants to watch with me is fun, especially a show like that. Most of my other shows I can at least talk about them after the fact with one of my friends.
Today is my birthday, which we make into a big deal in my family. You get to chose the menu, don't have to do any chores, get breakfast in bed, and, of course, presents. I asked for this day off of work months ago, and since it's a Wednesday, I'm class-free, too. So, how do I want to spend this day that's all about me? I'm making my mom take me on a hike and I'm using all my brand-new hiking gear. Maybe 2 weeks after I broke my ankle, I found an amazing deal on a pair of shoes for hiking (half-off a pair of higher end shoes, which made them cheaper than the lower-end ones I'd gone to the store to price) and I finally get to use them (the 30 min walk around the neighborhood to make sure the supported my foot and ankle doesn't count). And for my birthday today, I got a brand new purple Camelbak L.U.X.E. and some hiking socks designer for warmer climates. Score! So I'm going out, I'm hopefully doing all seven miles and I am giving my virgin gear a break-in!
Today is my birthday, which we make into a big deal in my family. You get to chose the menu, don't have to do any chores, get breakfast in bed, and, of course, presents. I asked for this day off of work months ago, and since it's a Wednesday, I'm class-free, too. So, how do I want to spend this day that's all about me? I'm making my mom take me on a hike and I'm using all my brand-new hiking gear. Maybe 2 weeks after I broke my ankle, I found an amazing deal on a pair of shoes for hiking (half-off a pair of higher end shoes, which made them cheaper than the lower-end ones I'd gone to the store to price) and I finally get to use them (the 30 min walk around the neighborhood to make sure the supported my foot and ankle doesn't count). And for my birthday today, I got a brand new purple Camelbak L.U.X.E. and some hiking socks designer for warmer climates. Score! So I'm going out, I'm hopefully doing all seven miles and I am giving my virgin gear a break-in!
Friday, October 5, 2012
A Little Bit of Ketchup
Please ignore the totally lame pun in the entry title. It's almost midnight where I am, I had a long, hard night at work, I spent the last hour calming myself down after a crying fit and I'm back on pain meds for my ankle.
Today's topics: My Birthday disappointment; Thoughts on Castle: Cloudy With a Chance of Murder, Revolution: No Quarter, and New Girl: Fluffer
Today's topics: My Birthday disappointment; Thoughts on Castle: Cloudy With a Chance of Murder, Revolution: No Quarter, and New Girl: Fluffer
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Rambling from the Sleep-Deprived Mind
Today, I'll start off with my wake-up call. Okay, it wasn't really a call, but when my cat rolled over and fell off the bed this morning, it certainly woke me up, with a laugh. I have got to have the most uncoordinated cat ever. My story: she has to be cross-eyed. There is no way a perfectly healthy cat can be so klutzy unless there is something wrong with her vision. When I got home from school, I wasn't so happy with her. She'd left a little, accidental "present" just inside my bedroom door. And at the top of the stairs. And outside the bathroom I share with my brother. I know I should feel bad, because she's obviously not feeling well, but those messes were sitting there for hours because no one comes upstairs during the day and I had a hard time cleaning them up. According to my mom, she left a present at the bottom of the stairs, too, but my mom saw that mess earlier and got it up no problems.
And now to school: It's really amazing how fast I can churn out a paper when given the right incentive: usually, a deadline that looms closer by the hour. Take today for example. My first class today, I had a 10ish-page paper due on Othello and King Lear. I had from Thursday evening when I got home until Monday night to complete this paper. Did I work on it? Not until two hours before I had to go to work on Monday. I finished a page and a half before leaving. You'd think that all those pages would be haunting my entire shift, especially since it was such a slow night, but most of the night, I was able to forget it completely. And then I got home. I just knew I would be up until 2 am or later, finishing up my paper. 10:45, 11:15, 12:00. Before 1 am, I had written a total of nine-and-a-half pages, found legitimate sources to back up what I already knew (and some dates I found on Wikipedia), and had gone through my paper and carefully cited every quote and anything else that needed it. I'm sure it's not my best work, but based on previous last-minute papers, I'm guessing a B. Maybe a C. But hopefully a B. Since the teacher said "Just use something legitimate" when asked which style of citations we should use, I'm pretty sure I won't get burned there (and that's where I was most sloppy). I'm thinking, I probably spent a grand total of three-and-a-half hours on it, not counting breaks and the like. And then I was able to even squeeze six hours of sleep in before I had to get up and tackle my day. Score one for the English major!
Of course, by the end of my day today, I was completely exhausted. I just CANNOT mess with my carefully constructed sleep-habits without it biting me in the butt, and staying up late and then sleeping in does not make for a good night of sleep. Well, not a good morning, at least. I had six hours I could have slept, but the last hour or so was more dozing then sleeping, and that does me more harm than good. I know, I know, it's pitiful, especially for a college student, but that's the way I am. I've always needed more sleep than my contemporaries; I don't need any more sleep than I did growing up, but while others have been able to whittle down their time sleeping, I've stayed basically the same. And so while others talk of only an hour or two of sleep, I'm yawning and losing focus when I've had five hours of good sleep. So, when I finally got home from school (walking a mile instead of calling for a ride was probably not the best thing for me to do, as tired as I was), I had energy to eat, wash a few dishes, take care of my poor cat, and watch Dancing with the Stars.
Yesterday was quick-step and the jive, two of my favorite dances to watch. But until Apolo Ohno came out on the floor, I felt like they were a little flat or, in the case of Bristol Palin, not even the right dance. My favorite dances were the two Olympians. Apolo's was the first dance that really felt energetic and fun and the footwork was absolutely awesome, from what I could see. And I must admit that I loved the song Shawn Johnson danced to, which made the entire thing feel more fun than it might have to a different tune. Future reference, it's much easier to skip through the results show if I just watched the competition one. I admit I expected Bristol to survive this week, but I expected her to at least be in jeopardy. Once you had the bottom three couples, though, I pretty much knew Joey "from N*Sync" would go. He has got to have one of the best attitudes I've seen about getting the boot, although I admit I've watched maybe three seasons and the first season or two I watched were six, seven years ago. Looking forward to next week.
Tomorrows Goals:
Acts 1 and 2 of As You Like It
Revolution, Castle and New Girl
And now to school: It's really amazing how fast I can churn out a paper when given the right incentive: usually, a deadline that looms closer by the hour. Take today for example. My first class today, I had a 10ish-page paper due on Othello and King Lear. I had from Thursday evening when I got home until Monday night to complete this paper. Did I work on it? Not until two hours before I had to go to work on Monday. I finished a page and a half before leaving. You'd think that all those pages would be haunting my entire shift, especially since it was such a slow night, but most of the night, I was able to forget it completely. And then I got home. I just knew I would be up until 2 am or later, finishing up my paper. 10:45, 11:15, 12:00. Before 1 am, I had written a total of nine-and-a-half pages, found legitimate sources to back up what I already knew (and some dates I found on Wikipedia), and had gone through my paper and carefully cited every quote and anything else that needed it. I'm sure it's not my best work, but based on previous last-minute papers, I'm guessing a B. Maybe a C. But hopefully a B. Since the teacher said "Just use something legitimate" when asked which style of citations we should use, I'm pretty sure I won't get burned there (and that's where I was most sloppy). I'm thinking, I probably spent a grand total of three-and-a-half hours on it, not counting breaks and the like. And then I was able to even squeeze six hours of sleep in before I had to get up and tackle my day. Score one for the English major!
Of course, by the end of my day today, I was completely exhausted. I just CANNOT mess with my carefully constructed sleep-habits without it biting me in the butt, and staying up late and then sleeping in does not make for a good night of sleep. Well, not a good morning, at least. I had six hours I could have slept, but the last hour or so was more dozing then sleeping, and that does me more harm than good. I know, I know, it's pitiful, especially for a college student, but that's the way I am. I've always needed more sleep than my contemporaries; I don't need any more sleep than I did growing up, but while others have been able to whittle down their time sleeping, I've stayed basically the same. And so while others talk of only an hour or two of sleep, I'm yawning and losing focus when I've had five hours of good sleep. So, when I finally got home from school (walking a mile instead of calling for a ride was probably not the best thing for me to do, as tired as I was), I had energy to eat, wash a few dishes, take care of my poor cat, and watch Dancing with the Stars.
Yesterday was quick-step and the jive, two of my favorite dances to watch. But until Apolo Ohno came out on the floor, I felt like they were a little flat or, in the case of Bristol Palin, not even the right dance. My favorite dances were the two Olympians. Apolo's was the first dance that really felt energetic and fun and the footwork was absolutely awesome, from what I could see. And I must admit that I loved the song Shawn Johnson danced to, which made the entire thing feel more fun than it might have to a different tune. Future reference, it's much easier to skip through the results show if I just watched the competition one. I admit I expected Bristol to survive this week, but I expected her to at least be in jeopardy. Once you had the bottom three couples, though, I pretty much knew Joey "from N*Sync" would go. He has got to have one of the best attitudes I've seen about getting the boot, although I admit I've watched maybe three seasons and the first season or two I watched were six, seven years ago. Looking forward to next week.
Tomorrows Goals:
Acts 1 and 2 of As You Like It
Revolution, Castle and New Girl
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Mostly Fairy Tales
Okay, so today the Packers won in a very close game. That I really didn't watch. I don't know why, but I just cannot seem to sit through a game that's already over. I can watch it live, but if it's recorded, I just can't get into it. By halftime, I'd already cracked and check online for the results...
But Sundays now mean more than just football (as if that's not enough). Once Upon A Time started today and I must say, I did not see that end coming. My mom was in the living room, and I had to keep pausing to explain ("She's been outside so she's aged, but they've been in this town and they haven't aged", "There's two timelines, the fairytale world and the real world", "She's the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and he's her son"). And then my mom made a duh comment and said this show was such an Elizabeth show. Fairy tales? Curses? A crossing of two worlds? The only thing it's missing is a space ship. And maybe a superhero (although you could argue that the heroes of fairy tales are proto-superheroes).
While watching the show, I'm thinking that it's not exactly the best episode and the action sequences could really use some work. I'm watching and pausing whenever mom starts talking about something so I don't miss anything, and raising and lowering the volume as needed, but I'm not as engaged as I have been in some episodes. And then the bomb drops at the very end: Sleeping Beauty and Mulan are in Real Time, not some flashback to the fairytale world, but in the fairytale world itself right now. As soon as the initial OMG-Didn't-see-that was over, I immediately worded a text to Ashleigh along the lines of "What the heck!?! NOT a flashback?" and then saved that as a draft in case she wasn't watching live and sent one that was more like "Did you see that!?!" Although both drafts used copious amounts of caps lock (I think I used up my monthly caps lock ration for this blog yesterday). So, how long until next Sunday?
But Sundays now mean more than just football (as if that's not enough). Once Upon A Time started today and I must say, I did not see that end coming. My mom was in the living room, and I had to keep pausing to explain ("She's been outside so she's aged, but they've been in this town and they haven't aged", "There's two timelines, the fairytale world and the real world", "She's the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and he's her son"). And then my mom made a duh comment and said this show was such an Elizabeth show. Fairy tales? Curses? A crossing of two worlds? The only thing it's missing is a space ship. And maybe a superhero (although you could argue that the heroes of fairy tales are proto-superheroes).
While watching the show, I'm thinking that it's not exactly the best episode and the action sequences could really use some work. I'm watching and pausing whenever mom starts talking about something so I don't miss anything, and raising and lowering the volume as needed, but I'm not as engaged as I have been in some episodes. And then the bomb drops at the very end: Sleeping Beauty and Mulan are in Real Time, not some flashback to the fairytale world, but in the fairytale world itself right now. As soon as the initial OMG-Didn't-see-that was over, I immediately worded a text to Ashleigh along the lines of "What the heck!?! NOT a flashback?" and then saved that as a draft in case she wasn't watching live and sent one that was more like "Did you see that!?!" Although both drafts used copious amounts of caps lock (I think I used up my monthly caps lock ration for this blog yesterday). So, how long until next Sunday?
Saturday, September 29, 2012
A Real Short Rant
I just have one little rant to put up here, and only because it's screaming to get out of me but I can't write it or talk about it anywhere else...
If I have given up hours at worked and rode a packed bus an hour one way just so I can spend some time with you DO NOT spend the entire time talking about all your problems with you classmate, giving me impossible situations and telling me to tell you what to do. I don't know what's going on; I don't know who these people are and you've kind of made yourself into what an English major would call an "unreliable narrator." I am your friend NOT some genius of social interaction and I do not always know what you should do, especially when I have never met the people you are having problems with. DO NOT get mad at me when I don't respond or if I say "I don't know what to tell you" after you've shot down or ignored what little advice I felt safe to give you. I do understand that that can be frustrating for you to have a friend unable to help you, but it's also frustrating to me when you expect me to have the answer to all your problems. You are welcome to talk about them to me, but I do not have all the answers and don't expect me to.
And if I've given up a shift at work so I can write a 10-page paper on Othello and King Lear but still show up and hang out with you for six hours, understand that I really gave up that shift so I can spend that time with you AND DO NOT LAY A GUILT TRIP ON ME! I am here, spending time with you, at the expense of a paper and my paycheck, so you are OBVIOUSLY important to me and I don't appreciate you constantly commenting on how I am never there for you BECAUSE I AM STANDING RIGHT THERE, LISTENING TO YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS FOR THREE HOURS STRAIGHT (after watching a movie I had no interest in seeing and only went to because I knew you wanted to see it and I know things have been rough for you). AND I AM TRYING TO GIVE YOU SOME ADVICE, EVEN IF IT'S NOT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR! And then it drives me even more crazy, when you act like hanging out with you is SUCH an imposition. The way you're acting, it is! This is the 2nd time in a row I've gone out with you and felt like crap afterwards. I understand you've having issues with other people, but stop letting it control the little bit of time we have to hang out together!
I am a senior, I am working almost triple your hours at work, and I live an hour (minimum) outside the city, as the bus drives (and with gas as expensive as it is, that's how I'm getting around). I have just given up what practically amounts to my entire day, minus a few hours in the evening. I haven't seen Amy since the beginning of August and the only reason I've seen Lindsay recently is because she lives right next to where I work. I'm not ignoring you or avoiding you or dropping you for new, more exciting people; I just haven't had the time/energy to spend time with any of my friends SO TRUST ME AND BELIEVE ME WHEN I TELL YOU SO! Stop getting so jealous because I have other friends.
*Deep Breath* I feel so much better now.
If I have given up hours at worked and rode a packed bus an hour one way just so I can spend some time with you DO NOT spend the entire time talking about all your problems with you classmate, giving me impossible situations and telling me to tell you what to do. I don't know what's going on; I don't know who these people are and you've kind of made yourself into what an English major would call an "unreliable narrator." I am your friend NOT some genius of social interaction and I do not always know what you should do, especially when I have never met the people you are having problems with. DO NOT get mad at me when I don't respond or if I say "I don't know what to tell you" after you've shot down or ignored what little advice I felt safe to give you. I do understand that that can be frustrating for you to have a friend unable to help you, but it's also frustrating to me when you expect me to have the answer to all your problems. You are welcome to talk about them to me, but I do not have all the answers and don't expect me to.
And if I've given up a shift at work so I can write a 10-page paper on Othello and King Lear but still show up and hang out with you for six hours, understand that I really gave up that shift so I can spend that time with you AND DO NOT LAY A GUILT TRIP ON ME! I am here, spending time with you, at the expense of a paper and my paycheck, so you are OBVIOUSLY important to me and I don't appreciate you constantly commenting on how I am never there for you BECAUSE I AM STANDING RIGHT THERE, LISTENING TO YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS FOR THREE HOURS STRAIGHT (after watching a movie I had no interest in seeing and only went to because I knew you wanted to see it and I know things have been rough for you). AND I AM TRYING TO GIVE YOU SOME ADVICE, EVEN IF IT'S NOT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR! And then it drives me even more crazy, when you act like hanging out with you is SUCH an imposition. The way you're acting, it is! This is the 2nd time in a row I've gone out with you and felt like crap afterwards. I understand you've having issues with other people, but stop letting it control the little bit of time we have to hang out together!
I am a senior, I am working almost triple your hours at work, and I live an hour (minimum) outside the city, as the bus drives (and with gas as expensive as it is, that's how I'm getting around). I have just given up what practically amounts to my entire day, minus a few hours in the evening. I haven't seen Amy since the beginning of August and the only reason I've seen Lindsay recently is because she lives right next to where I work. I'm not ignoring you or avoiding you or dropping you for new, more exciting people; I just haven't had the time/energy to spend time with any of my friends SO TRUST ME AND BELIEVE ME WHEN I TELL YOU SO! Stop getting so jealous because I have other friends.
*Deep Breath* I feel so much better now.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Thank God for Film Class and Football
Thanks to my Film & Lit class, I have fallen in love with Zorro. For class, I've had to read the original Zorro novel (The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley; although the novel has been published under several different titles over the years) and watch The Mark of Zorro (1920) and The Mark of Zorro (1940). Okay, I'll admit I like reading pulp fiction novels although my mood wasn't right and I had a hard time getting through it; it was doubly frustrating because I know there are times I would have devoured the book. I wasn't sold until the 1940s movie. And then I not only bought a ticket, but wanted as many different tickets as I could possibly get... I get all girly and squealy just thinking about it. So, of course I figured if I was practically swooning over some guy I've never heard of who doesn't have a sexy accent, I'd go into cardiac arrest if I watched Antonio Banderas. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the The Mask of Zorro (1998), but 1940 wins. I am totally writing my final paper for this class on Zorro. And when I was doing some preliminary research (okay, I was trying to appease my not-so-inner fangirl), I saw something about a reboot coming out in 2014... Because I don't have enough movies scheduled to come out way in the future to look forward to... (Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World in 2013, Captain America: The Winder Soldier in 2014 [SQUEE!!!], Avengers 2 in 2015...) Okay, so I love superhero movies. Superheros and Sci-Fi.
Speaking of men that make my heart pound, today I finally was able to have a conversation with a very cute regular, and all because of football. Yeah! Okay, I'm sad, I know. But he is SO cute and military (okay, a Marine, but I might make an exception for him if he ever gave me the time of day) and he's never come in with a girl or even grabbed an extra sub. Might have a long distance relationship, but I don't think he has anyone in Honolulu, which makes him being single more likely. And he came in with a friend today who was wearing a Saints shirt, so I made a comment about them being 0-3 and the conversation took off from there. I know, it's so high school to get excited like that over finally talking to that cute guy (besides the "How can I help you today?" questions) but I just can't seem to help it.
Speaking of men that make my heart pound, today I finally was able to have a conversation with a very cute regular, and all because of football. Yeah! Okay, I'm sad, I know. But he is SO cute and military (okay, a Marine, but I might make an exception for him if he ever gave me the time of day) and he's never come in with a girl or even grabbed an extra sub. Might have a long distance relationship, but I don't think he has anyone in Honolulu, which makes him being single more likely. And he came in with a friend today who was wearing a Saints shirt, so I made a comment about them being 0-3 and the conversation took off from there. I know, it's so high school to get excited like that over finally talking to that cute guy (besides the "How can I help you today?" questions) but I just can't seem to help it.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Lots of TV and a Little Self-Pity Party
Once upstairs last night, I was too tired to give an opinion (besides "Stupid Refs") so I went quietly to bed.
Pamela Anderson is gone on DwtS, thank God. There's really not much else to say. It's still the beginning of the season and I haven't picked out my favorites yet (the only thing I knew was that I wanted Fake Boobs gone...)
I enjoyed both episodes of New Girl. Even better, my mom enjoyed it to; I had to rewind to everyone's reactions to Jess losing her job because my mom was laughing so hard she wanted to see it again. And then I had to pause and wait for her to calm down so I could hear the TV. It was all because of Schmidt. Well, Schmidt and Obama...
I also managed to sneak Castle in today before work, mostly because the girl I was working with also watches Castle and I was hoping to discuss it with her. She had the TV on while she was in the room, but didn't remember a thing about it (probably fell asleep in front of the TV). I admit I had been kind of avoiding the episode because it was obviously one of the episodes about Kate's mom and I tend to not enjoy those as much. Still, once I sat down and watched it, I found myself enjoying it and was almost late for work because I had to watch all the way to the end.
Today, I am a proud member of the Packer Nation. Why? Because Green Bay fans have a sense of humor. First, you have the Replacement Weather Guy, and then I heard about an eye doctor in Green Bay that is offering free lasik to any replacement refs.
Aside from the news that the real refs are back and the fact that I managed to get four-and-a-half hours into my shift before a twinge reminded me to wrap my ankle, this afternoon has pretty much sucked. Work was a nightmare, with non-stop customers that kept Ashley and I from cleaning, thereby keeping us there until almost 10. And then I got home and got on Facebook and saw that one of my best friends from high school got engaged. My first thought was "Congratulations Trish!" and that lasted until after I told her so on her wall. And then the depression sunk in. Kylie and Tim are getting married next week already; sure, I've barely talked to Kylie at all since high school, but some of the friends I have managed to keep in touch with are still close to the two of them. And aside from Ashleigh (who is driving me crazy right now) and Amy (who is single by choice) all my friends out here are getting engaged and/or having babies. My cousin Stacey, who's younger than me, just had a baby girl and let's not get into the four weddings in a year and a half that I just had on that side of the family (including Stacey's). I'm 24 years old, still in college with no boyfriend and no prospects. It is depressing to be surrounded by people having babies and getting married, even if a lot of the people are mostly people I keep up with on Facebook now a days. So, I'll let myself drown in a little self-pity tonight and tomorrow, I'll get up and face the day with a bright, positive outlook.
Because, hey, if I can go more than four hours non-stop at work, maybe a hike is only 2 weeks away, instead of 3; and maybe I can start wearing heels again next week. And one day, I will meet the guy God has planned for me. And I have a job. And life IS good.
Pamela Anderson is gone on DwtS, thank God. There's really not much else to say. It's still the beginning of the season and I haven't picked out my favorites yet (the only thing I knew was that I wanted Fake Boobs gone...)
I enjoyed both episodes of New Girl. Even better, my mom enjoyed it to; I had to rewind to everyone's reactions to Jess losing her job because my mom was laughing so hard she wanted to see it again. And then I had to pause and wait for her to calm down so I could hear the TV. It was all because of Schmidt. Well, Schmidt and Obama...
I also managed to sneak Castle in today before work, mostly because the girl I was working with also watches Castle and I was hoping to discuss it with her. She had the TV on while she was in the room, but didn't remember a thing about it (probably fell asleep in front of the TV). I admit I had been kind of avoiding the episode because it was obviously one of the episodes about Kate's mom and I tend to not enjoy those as much. Still, once I sat down and watched it, I found myself enjoying it and was almost late for work because I had to watch all the way to the end.
Today, I am a proud member of the Packer Nation. Why? Because Green Bay fans have a sense of humor. First, you have the Replacement Weather Guy, and then I heard about an eye doctor in Green Bay that is offering free lasik to any replacement refs.
Aside from the news that the real refs are back and the fact that I managed to get four-and-a-half hours into my shift before a twinge reminded me to wrap my ankle, this afternoon has pretty much sucked. Work was a nightmare, with non-stop customers that kept Ashley and I from cleaning, thereby keeping us there until almost 10. And then I got home and got on Facebook and saw that one of my best friends from high school got engaged. My first thought was "Congratulations Trish!" and that lasted until after I told her so on her wall. And then the depression sunk in. Kylie and Tim are getting married next week already; sure, I've barely talked to Kylie at all since high school, but some of the friends I have managed to keep in touch with are still close to the two of them. And aside from Ashleigh (who is driving me crazy right now) and Amy (who is single by choice) all my friends out here are getting engaged and/or having babies. My cousin Stacey, who's younger than me, just had a baby girl and let's not get into the four weddings in a year and a half that I just had on that side of the family (including Stacey's). I'm 24 years old, still in college with no boyfriend and no prospects. It is depressing to be surrounded by people having babies and getting married, even if a lot of the people are mostly people I keep up with on Facebook now a days. So, I'll let myself drown in a little self-pity tonight and tomorrow, I'll get up and face the day with a bright, positive outlook.
Because, hey, if I can go more than four hours non-stop at work, maybe a hike is only 2 weeks away, instead of 3; and maybe I can start wearing heels again next week. And one day, I will meet the guy God has planned for me. And I have a job. And life IS good.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Hidden Power
"Lifes not fair" That is the exact text my father sent me while I was still screaming like a banshee over the results of the review of that final call in the Packers-Seahawks Monday Night Football game. "Theres other four-letter words id use to describe THAT call" but my father didn't respond to my text. I can't take these refs anymore. I really can't. I was stressing about how the Packers were playing but I was also stressing about these loose-cannons on the field; these refs have proven they have the power to decide the game so let's put someone there who actually knows what they're doing. I woke up Monday morning to my mom's favorite news channel talking about the bad calls at the Ravens - Patriots game and to be honest, it made me afraid. I even said it yesterday: "bad refs are bad football." And so, until the real refs get back on the field, I'm not watching any more games. I can't stand to watch any more teams, whether I like them or hate them, lose a game because of multiple bad calls by the officials. I'll check the scores online, maybe follow a game on NFL.com, but I am not sitting down in front of a TV where I'll actually see what's going on. Not until it's a game worth watching.There is one loophole in that promise, and that's for my birthday party, which I've been planning since the 2012 schedule was released.
Thank God there was more TV on afterwards to get my mind off the game ('cause the forced trip to the beach didn't help). After our post-game, let-the-dog-run beach jaunt was over, Mom and I settled right back down in the living room and watched Dancing with the Stars and Revolution.
I really don't have much to say about DwtS right now. I'm sure I'll have something to say about it tomorrow after the first couple gets the boot, but I was still too mad to really enjoy the show and didn't get much beyond "I hate her outfit" and Google searches on the various stars (most of whom I've never heard of before; a side effect of not following pop culture since the 90s, I suppose).
Here's my take on Revolution's second episode: If there is not some character growth for Charlie, and fast, I will most likely stop watching this show. The premise is pretty cool, the sets are amazing, most of the characters are likable, or at least watch-able, but Charlie is driving me crazy. I can't take much more of her self-important, self-absorbed quest to prove she's always right. If hers is a coming of age story, she better start learning soon. It's the trailer for next week, more so than the end of this weeks episode, that's getting me to watch one more week.
I'm sure I'll have more to talk about tomorrow (I still have an episode of Castle in my DVR and then tomorrow is the first DwtS elimination and the season premier of New Girl) and I originally planned on waiting and posting this all tomorrow, after I watched all that, but I think I have enough to say to warrant a post tonight after all. Tonight's final message:
My Facebook feed is full of people, Packers fans and fans of other teams begging for a bit of sanity to be returned to "America's Obsession"
Thank God there was more TV on afterwards to get my mind off the game ('cause the forced trip to the beach didn't help). After our post-game, let-the-dog-run beach jaunt was over, Mom and I settled right back down in the living room and watched Dancing with the Stars and Revolution.
I really don't have much to say about DwtS right now. I'm sure I'll have something to say about it tomorrow after the first couple gets the boot, but I was still too mad to really enjoy the show and didn't get much beyond "I hate her outfit" and Google searches on the various stars (most of whom I've never heard of before; a side effect of not following pop culture since the 90s, I suppose).
Here's my take on Revolution's second episode: If there is not some character growth for Charlie, and fast, I will most likely stop watching this show. The premise is pretty cool, the sets are amazing, most of the characters are likable, or at least watch-able, but Charlie is driving me crazy. I can't take much more of her self-important, self-absorbed quest to prove she's always right. If hers is a coming of age story, she better start learning soon. It's the trailer for next week, more so than the end of this weeks episode, that's getting me to watch one more week.
I'm sure I'll have more to talk about tomorrow (I still have an episode of Castle in my DVR and then tomorrow is the first DwtS elimination and the season premier of New Girl) and I originally planned on waiting and posting this all tomorrow, after I watched all that, but I think I have enough to say to warrant a post tonight after all. Tonight's final message:
My Facebook feed is full of people, Packers fans and fans of other teams begging for a bit of sanity to be returned to "America's Obsession"
Are you ready?
It's Monday today, which means several things this week:
1. Both Castle and Dancing with the Stars starts tonight.
2. It's Revolution night as well.
3. Finally, and most importantly, it's time for
Monday Night Football: Packers vs. Seahawks, Baby!
Okay, so I'm sad. No, I'm not. I refuse to call myself sad because I love football. If anything, people who don't watch it or guys who let themselves be out-screamed or out-knowledged by a girl are the sad ones. So, it the world of football:
Teams I Want To Lose (from least hated to most hated):
1. Both Castle and Dancing with the Stars starts tonight.
2. It's Revolution night as well.
3. Finally, and most importantly, it's time for
Monday Night Football: Packers vs. Seahawks, Baby!
Okay, so I'm sad. No, I'm not. I refuse to call myself sad because I love football. If anything, people who don't watch it or guys who let themselves be out-screamed or out-knowledged by a girl are the sad ones. So, it the world of football:
Teams I Want To Lose (from least hated to most hated):
- Dallas Cowboys: 2-1 - Blegh!
- New Orleans Saints: 0-3 - Not gonna being doing bounties anymore, are ya?
- New York Giants: 2-1 - Double Blegh!
- New England Patriots: 1-2 - Thank you, horrible call of the Refs! No, not really, because bad refs are bad football, even if it causes the team you hate to lose.
- Chicago Bears: 2-1 - At least ya'll had the grace to lose to the Pack!
- Minnesota Vikings: 2-1 - That's not good news!
- Baltimore Ravens: 2-1
- Tennessee Titans: 1-2
- Detroit Lions: 1-2 - Okay, so I have a really hard time cheering against the Lions because they've been so pitiful these last few years... And if anyone else is getting the NFC North play-off spot, they are SO much better than the Vikings or Bears
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Buried it Pillows
Today was a cloudy, rainy day. Surprisingly, even in Hawaii, that can make for a miserable, chilly day if you happen to get wet and spend any amount of time in AC. So, someone who busses in from the other side of the island (usual time spent at bus stops is probably between 15 and 30 minutes) and goes to the Catholic school (where the AC can make even a hot day uncomfortably chilly when you have classes back-to-back for 6 hours). On top of that, I've had a persistent headache for the past three or four days. So by the time Mom picked me up from Wal-Mart, I was in a pretty miserable mood. But I got home, warmed up a plate of food, piled pillows on myself and settled down to watch TV with my mom anyway.
Sometime last week, I was skipping through commercials when a name caught my eye: J.J. Abrams. I stopped, backed up, watched the commercial in question from the beginning and continued to let commercials roll as I found it on the guide and set it to record the pilot episode of the show. I thought it looked kind of interesting and the name in question just so happens to be one of my brother's favorite directors, so...
Mom and I watched the pilot episode of Revolution without him today. As soon as it was over, I asked Mom for the remote and she said "You're going to set it up to record the next episode, right?" I wasn't overly impressed but it was the first episode and I wasn't particularly unimpressed (although I admit to making a game out of calling out what was going to happen next). There was enough of a hook at the end and enough promise in the series to keep me watching for another week at least. I think Mom was more taken with it than me.
Then I watched a Ghost Hunters that had the first investigation in Waipahu. So, they were investigating in Waipahu, on the south side of the island, just west of the middle. Their hotel looks an awful lot like the hotel I swim near when I do Waikiki with Lindz and them (south-east part of the island) but they kept driving in front of an island that is on the north-east area and IT DROVE ME CRAZY! I don't know why, but it did! They had no reason to be over there, investigation-wise at least, unless I am totally mistaken about the hotel. The investigation wasn't all that shocking (footsteps is all you could get?) but it was kind of cool to see one done where I live. I mean, shoot, I ride H-1 past Waipahu more days than not. And then, last October, I remember a group of my friends trying to go to the Haunted Plantation they do there and not being able to get in because it was already sold out.
Despite the motrin I downed 30 minutes ago, my headache is getting worse, not better, so the other thing I wanted to talk about (I know there was one more thing!) is going to have to wait until I remember it and it doesn't hurt to look at a computer screen.
Sometime last week, I was skipping through commercials when a name caught my eye: J.J. Abrams. I stopped, backed up, watched the commercial in question from the beginning and continued to let commercials roll as I found it on the guide and set it to record the pilot episode of the show. I thought it looked kind of interesting and the name in question just so happens to be one of my brother's favorite directors, so...
Mom and I watched the pilot episode of Revolution without him today. As soon as it was over, I asked Mom for the remote and she said "You're going to set it up to record the next episode, right?" I wasn't overly impressed but it was the first episode and I wasn't particularly unimpressed (although I admit to making a game out of calling out what was going to happen next). There was enough of a hook at the end and enough promise in the series to keep me watching for another week at least. I think Mom was more taken with it than me.
Then I watched a Ghost Hunters that had the first investigation in Waipahu. So, they were investigating in Waipahu, on the south side of the island, just west of the middle. Their hotel looks an awful lot like the hotel I swim near when I do Waikiki with Lindz and them (south-east part of the island) but they kept driving in front of an island that is on the north-east area and IT DROVE ME CRAZY! I don't know why, but it did! They had no reason to be over there, investigation-wise at least, unless I am totally mistaken about the hotel. The investigation wasn't all that shocking (footsteps is all you could get?) but it was kind of cool to see one done where I live. I mean, shoot, I ride H-1 past Waipahu more days than not. And then, last October, I remember a group of my friends trying to go to the Haunted Plantation they do there and not being able to get in because it was already sold out.
Despite the motrin I downed 30 minutes ago, my headache is getting worse, not better, so the other thing I wanted to talk about (I know there was one more thing!) is going to have to wait until I remember it and it doesn't hurt to look at a computer screen.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Today, I took my cat and my mom's cat to the pet store to get their nails clipped. Both of our cats have been indoor/outdoor cats since we got them seven years ago (has it really been that long), so that's claws on eight different paws to clip and since our cats both have a bit of a wild streak, mom and I opt to pay someone else to do the dangerous job for us. My mom's cat, Kissa, was hanging out downstairs near the food bowl, trying to get me to realize that there were only a few crumbs left and I should feed her and my cat was hiding upstairs somewhere when I decided it was time to head out. Instead of feeding the cats (which I knew would get them both downstairs and on top of the little bookshelf) I hauled both cat carriers inside and got them set up: I threw one of my dirty shirts in the one that still had a pad on the bottom for my cat and put Kissa's little rug in her carrier before pulling out the almost empty bag of cat food and filling up their food. Just as I expected, Sisu came running downstairs to eat, but Kissa was much more intrigued by the new additions to the living room. She went over and sniffed all around the door to her carrier, finally sticking her head inside and sniffing inside a few times. Suddenly, she stiffened, and had she been able to speak English, I'm sure it would have gone something like this: "Oh, s***! I know what this is!" Luckily, I was right behind her by then and was able to get her in the carrier before she got away, but she wouldn't shut up the entire way to the store or home. At least she was well behaved at Pet Co; since my cat's difficult behavior is the opposite of Kissa's (she's fine in the car, but difficult at the groomer's or vet's) "they both have a chance to shine" (my Dad).
I watched the so-called apparition episode of Ghost Hunters. Yep. It's pretty freaky. I now understand, though, why I could never find a screen shot of it: unless you actually see it form and disappear, it looks like someone is just standing in front of the camera, half-blocking the shot. I was very careful to save this episode to watch with my Dad later. Ghost Hunters is about the only show we can both agree on, so I try to make an effort to save the really good episodes for him. Unfortunately, autopilot usually kicks in.
I watched the so-called apparition episode of Ghost Hunters. Yep. It's pretty freaky. I now understand, though, why I could never find a screen shot of it: unless you actually see it form and disappear, it looks like someone is just standing in front of the camera, half-blocking the shot. I was very careful to save this episode to watch with my Dad later. Ghost Hunters is about the only show we can both agree on, so I try to make an effort to save the really good episodes for him. Unfortunately, autopilot usually kicks in.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Fall Season
I have never in my life even mildly felt like a slave to TV; in fact, I've always been one of those odd-balls who barely watches it, except for a movies or something when bored. That's changed since I moved out to Hawaii. And new episodes are starting this month for my shows:
Ghost Hunters has already started and I am definitely getting more than recommended doses of the paranormal. I think there's something like 12 episodes in the DVR right now. The other day, I sat through the entire movie of Gran Torino (and I DO NOT DO dramas like that; they piss me off for days; in fact, I'm still mad about it) just so I would have first dibs on the TV when Mom was done with her stupid movie and could watch another episode of Ghost Hunters or two before bed. And yesterday, when I was checking the scheduled recordings, I got all excited because one of the episodes, according to a Google search I've done two or three times, supposedly has AN ACTUAL APPARITION! The new episode that aired last Wednesday was good, too. In fact, it was so good, I was planning on saving it for my Dad to watch, but erased it out of habit. Darn it. It was actually looking to see if they were going to be replaying it in the next few days that I found the episode I've been dying to see...
The 24th of this month (not this coming Monday, but the following one), Dancing with the Stars and Castle starts. I LOVED last season of DwtS, but if someone doesn't catch my interest the first few weeks, I can easily see this show going on a shelf. Let's face it, I would not have started the show last season if Donald Driver hadn't been one of the contestants, and if my favorite contestants (because, yes, I found several people I was cheering for) hadn't lasted till the very end, I probably wouldn't have stuck with it.
As for Castle, I watch that show for one reason: Nathan Fillion and I don't see his character changing enough for me to stop. But that's always been a very casual watch on my list.
The following day is New Girl. Zooey Deschanel. That about covers my attraction to this show.
September 30th is when things really get good: Once Upon A Time! Probably my favorite show last year (although if Psych hadn't had such a time lag, there would have probably been some competition). I can't wait for the new season, when hopefully, my suspicions about deal old Rumpelstiltskin are finally answered (although, the season finale did not look good). EEE! So excited. I need to rewatch this show soon it's all fresh in my mind when the new season starts.
And my last show stubbornly refuses to release the date of the first episode of the next season. After ending season 6 on such a cliffhanger. Curse you, USA! Just tell my when Psych will be back already!
Ghost Hunters has already started and I am definitely getting more than recommended doses of the paranormal. I think there's something like 12 episodes in the DVR right now. The other day, I sat through the entire movie of Gran Torino (and I DO NOT DO dramas like that; they piss me off for days; in fact, I'm still mad about it) just so I would have first dibs on the TV when Mom was done with her stupid movie and could watch another episode of Ghost Hunters or two before bed. And yesterday, when I was checking the scheduled recordings, I got all excited because one of the episodes, according to a Google search I've done two or three times, supposedly has AN ACTUAL APPARITION! The new episode that aired last Wednesday was good, too. In fact, it was so good, I was planning on saving it for my Dad to watch, but erased it out of habit. Darn it. It was actually looking to see if they were going to be replaying it in the next few days that I found the episode I've been dying to see...
The 24th of this month (not this coming Monday, but the following one), Dancing with the Stars and Castle starts. I LOVED last season of DwtS, but if someone doesn't catch my interest the first few weeks, I can easily see this show going on a shelf. Let's face it, I would not have started the show last season if Donald Driver hadn't been one of the contestants, and if my favorite contestants (because, yes, I found several people I was cheering for) hadn't lasted till the very end, I probably wouldn't have stuck with it.
As for Castle, I watch that show for one reason: Nathan Fillion and I don't see his character changing enough for me to stop. But that's always been a very casual watch on my list.
The following day is New Girl. Zooey Deschanel. That about covers my attraction to this show.
September 30th is when things really get good: Once Upon A Time! Probably my favorite show last year (although if Psych hadn't had such a time lag, there would have probably been some competition). I can't wait for the new season, when hopefully, my suspicions about deal old Rumpelstiltskin are finally answered (although, the season finale did not look good). EEE! So excited. I need to rewatch this show soon it's all fresh in my mind when the new season starts.
And my last show stubbornly refuses to release the date of the first episode of the next season. After ending season 6 on such a cliffhanger. Curse you, USA! Just tell my when Psych will be back already!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
The Day Between
Today was even more interesting than yesterday; it was also a pretty
good day except for the first little while after my wipe-out.
I woke up, played around on my computer, worked on some school work, and then decided to take a break and run with Mom to the shoppette to pick up milk and soda. Trunk full of 12-packs of soda, a case of bottle water and some ice, Mom decides to take a quick detour to the Post Office to pick up some Priority Flat-Rate boxes to fill as care packages for my baby brother at Madison. The day is going smoothly so far; we grab some boxes, almost get hit crossing the street to get to our car. My mom climbs in and reaches over to unlock the passenger door. I swing it open and lift up my foot to get in the car when my ankle gives out. A few very long nanoseconds later, I'm on the ground and my ankle is hurting so badly, I can't get up. I lift myself into the car with my arms and my very concerned mother drives me home, gets me on the couch and elevates and ices my poor ankle. After waiting a while, I call in to work and my mom drives me to an urgent care clinic to get some x-rays. I tore some ligament and when it went, it took a little bit of bone with it. So, I broke my bone, but it's not actually broken. I guess I was overdue for an injury like that. While they were fitting me for an ugly boot, I couldn't stop laughing at the absurdity of it all: how many people break bones climbing into a car? My guess would be not that many. At least, not that many in their 20s.
My mobility is okay on flat surfaces, but going up and down all those stairs at school tomorrow is going to be a problem. I'm getting to school early, so my first class won't be too bad since I'll have time to rest and it's on the first floor or Ching, but after that, I have to get to the top floor of Henry (in about 10 minutes) and from there to the top floor of Ching (also in about 10 minutes). And my school is not very handicapped accessible: no elevators for me to take and I am not standing on a little floating platform while security runs me up and down the stairs. I'm going to be hurting by the end of the day tomorrow. But I'll also enjoy giving a colorful description of exactly HOW I managed to hurt myself. Because the stories are the best part of it and I should know, I have plenty of ridiculous stories to go with burns and sprains and broken bones and concussions. And this one is quite ridiculous; my baby brother told me it was almost as good as the time I broke my toe answering the telephone. I really should have been named "Elizabeth Grace."
I woke up, played around on my computer, worked on some school work, and then decided to take a break and run with Mom to the shoppette to pick up milk and soda. Trunk full of 12-packs of soda, a case of bottle water and some ice, Mom decides to take a quick detour to the Post Office to pick up some Priority Flat-Rate boxes to fill as care packages for my baby brother at Madison. The day is going smoothly so far; we grab some boxes, almost get hit crossing the street to get to our car. My mom climbs in and reaches over to unlock the passenger door. I swing it open and lift up my foot to get in the car when my ankle gives out. A few very long nanoseconds later, I'm on the ground and my ankle is hurting so badly, I can't get up. I lift myself into the car with my arms and my very concerned mother drives me home, gets me on the couch and elevates and ices my poor ankle. After waiting a while, I call in to work and my mom drives me to an urgent care clinic to get some x-rays. I tore some ligament and when it went, it took a little bit of bone with it. So, I broke my bone, but it's not actually broken. I guess I was overdue for an injury like that. While they were fitting me for an ugly boot, I couldn't stop laughing at the absurdity of it all: how many people break bones climbing into a car? My guess would be not that many. At least, not that many in their 20s.
My mobility is okay on flat surfaces, but going up and down all those stairs at school tomorrow is going to be a problem. I'm getting to school early, so my first class won't be too bad since I'll have time to rest and it's on the first floor or Ching, but after that, I have to get to the top floor of Henry (in about 10 minutes) and from there to the top floor of Ching (also in about 10 minutes). And my school is not very handicapped accessible: no elevators for me to take and I am not standing on a little floating platform while security runs me up and down the stairs. I'm going to be hurting by the end of the day tomorrow. But I'll also enjoy giving a colorful description of exactly HOW I managed to hurt myself. Because the stories are the best part of it and I should know, I have plenty of ridiculous stories to go with burns and sprains and broken bones and concussions. And this one is quite ridiculous; my baby brother told me it was almost as good as the time I broke my toe answering the telephone. I really should have been named "Elizabeth Grace."
Monday, August 27, 2012
Last Day of Freedom
Today, I am a walking, talking contradiction. I am ready to start
class, yet not ready to deal with it all. I wanted to completely enjoy
my last day of freedom, yet couldn't resist putting an hour or so in to
stuff for school. I am looking forward to and dreading tomorrow.
I suppose it's not all that uncommon a feeling for the last day of break. I'm done lazing around, doing nothing but working at Subway and occasionally meeting up with my friends on the rare occasions our schedules didn't clash. I'm tired of spending all my time in Kapolei, doing nothing, or Aiea, working. I'm ready to spend some time in the city and not just a few hours ever couple of weeks. I'm even ready to start riding the bus again and not feel like I need to drive everywhere.
At the same time, I am not looking forward to the endless balancing act again: school-work-social life in that order. I have five 300- and 400- level classes this semester: four English and a History. That's going to be a lot of time spent out of class on reading alone, without even thinking about papers and other assignments. And then I was just promoted to Night Shift Leader at Subway, which according to my manager means basically squat in the new responsibilities area and $0.50 in the wage area. But it also means I'm going to be ending my halfhearted job hunt for something better, at least for a while. Which means I'll continue to work at somewhere that's halfway between work and school and inconvenient if I'm coming from either direction. And finally, for the first time in my life since high school, I have an active social life. I have friends and we do things like watch movies and get pedicures and go on hikes and hang out at the beach. I'm even an (honorary) auntie now to little baby Jayden (who is 8 days old today). I most certainly don't want that to suffer because that is one of the few things keeping me something that resembles sane. I had a hard enough time keeping that up this summer, though, when I was only balancing work and a life. Will it even be possible once I throw school in on top of everything else? Or will it be easier since most of my friends are college students and will therefore be cutting back on work in favor of school? Either way, I am going to have to have some amazing time-management skills if I want to get through this semester. Help?
Technically, the term started today, but since I only have classes Tuesday and Thursday, I had one more day of reedom to enjoy: so enjoy it I did. I met my friend Amy for lunch at Ala Moana and ate a huge burger. From there I rushed off to school to pick up my friend Ashley for a day of window-shopping and pedicures as a late birthday celebration. The window-shopping turned into a bit of real shopping when Ashley found a cute green pencil box in Sanrio (I've been looking for one casually for almost a month now) and I found three volumes of Cipher I needed at a Book-Off (and it was hard to tell myself know since I've been so stingy with the book money lately). And of course, I had to pay for Ashley's favorite "girl's day out" activity: the pedi. My toe-nails are now Green Bay Green in honor of the best season of the year; luckily I was wearing my I (heart) Packer Football shirt and was able to hold up the greens to pick out the best fit. Ashley's decided I am not allowed to get green or purple next time, but it's not like she has any say over what color I paint my toenails. Besides, those two colors match my wardrobe best. And finally, we finished off our day with some (overpriced) chocolate-covered strawberries from Godiva. Still, I stayed amazingly close to the budget I set for myself despite my unplanned purchases.
And then I got home and instead of enjoying my last few hours of light responsibilities, I spent probably at least an hour online, going over the syllabus and doing the first reading for my online class: Multicultural Lit. I haven't responded or done anything else, but I've thoroughly read anything I could find and participated in such mundane organizational tasks such as split the book-list into "Need Immediately" and "Can Wait on Amazon" and making a list of important dates. It was the sort of thing many would consider "busy work" but I consider essential if I want to survive this semester with even a bit of organization and efficiency. If I don't start off on the right foot, I'm doomed to always be playing catch-up. I've learned that the hard way more than once.
Another very important tool of survival I'll need is sleep. And since I now have to get up in less than 7 hours, I think it's time I ended this reflection and work on that.
Signing off!
I suppose it's not all that uncommon a feeling for the last day of break. I'm done lazing around, doing nothing but working at Subway and occasionally meeting up with my friends on the rare occasions our schedules didn't clash. I'm tired of spending all my time in Kapolei, doing nothing, or Aiea, working. I'm ready to spend some time in the city and not just a few hours ever couple of weeks. I'm even ready to start riding the bus again and not feel like I need to drive everywhere.
At the same time, I am not looking forward to the endless balancing act again: school-work-social life in that order. I have five 300- and 400- level classes this semester: four English and a History. That's going to be a lot of time spent out of class on reading alone, without even thinking about papers and other assignments. And then I was just promoted to Night Shift Leader at Subway, which according to my manager means basically squat in the new responsibilities area and $0.50 in the wage area. But it also means I'm going to be ending my halfhearted job hunt for something better, at least for a while. Which means I'll continue to work at somewhere that's halfway between work and school and inconvenient if I'm coming from either direction. And finally, for the first time in my life since high school, I have an active social life. I have friends and we do things like watch movies and get pedicures and go on hikes and hang out at the beach. I'm even an (honorary) auntie now to little baby Jayden (who is 8 days old today). I most certainly don't want that to suffer because that is one of the few things keeping me something that resembles sane. I had a hard enough time keeping that up this summer, though, when I was only balancing work and a life. Will it even be possible once I throw school in on top of everything else? Or will it be easier since most of my friends are college students and will therefore be cutting back on work in favor of school? Either way, I am going to have to have some amazing time-management skills if I want to get through this semester. Help?
Technically, the term started today, but since I only have classes Tuesday and Thursday, I had one more day of reedom to enjoy: so enjoy it I did. I met my friend Amy for lunch at Ala Moana and ate a huge burger. From there I rushed off to school to pick up my friend Ashley for a day of window-shopping and pedicures as a late birthday celebration. The window-shopping turned into a bit of real shopping when Ashley found a cute green pencil box in Sanrio (I've been looking for one casually for almost a month now) and I found three volumes of Cipher I needed at a Book-Off (and it was hard to tell myself know since I've been so stingy with the book money lately). And of course, I had to pay for Ashley's favorite "girl's day out" activity: the pedi. My toe-nails are now Green Bay Green in honor of the best season of the year; luckily I was wearing my I (heart) Packer Football shirt and was able to hold up the greens to pick out the best fit. Ashley's decided I am not allowed to get green or purple next time, but it's not like she has any say over what color I paint my toenails. Besides, those two colors match my wardrobe best. And finally, we finished off our day with some (overpriced) chocolate-covered strawberries from Godiva. Still, I stayed amazingly close to the budget I set for myself despite my unplanned purchases.
And then I got home and instead of enjoying my last few hours of light responsibilities, I spent probably at least an hour online, going over the syllabus and doing the first reading for my online class: Multicultural Lit. I haven't responded or done anything else, but I've thoroughly read anything I could find and participated in such mundane organizational tasks such as split the book-list into "Need Immediately" and "Can Wait on Amazon" and making a list of important dates. It was the sort of thing many would consider "busy work" but I consider essential if I want to survive this semester with even a bit of organization and efficiency. If I don't start off on the right foot, I'm doomed to always be playing catch-up. I've learned that the hard way more than once.
Another very important tool of survival I'll need is sleep. And since I now have to get up in less than 7 hours, I think it's time I ended this reflection and work on that.
Signing off!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Still Kicking!
I am here! I am alive! I am typing this up on my brand-new computer!
I don't think I ever went into it here, but almost exactly 6 months ago (February 17th, to be exact), I came home from work, flipped open my computer, tried to go online and discovered that the screen was no longer working (and for all I knew, the entire computer might have been shot). I made a panicked trip to the Best Buy in Aiea as soon as they opened the next day. The service was rather horrible but eventually I learned my screen was gone and would cost $500 to repair. $500 for a piece-of-crap 5-year-old computer that should have been recalled!? Uh, no. I told the guy I could buy a new computer for that. "You could." I told him I didn't have $500 and what could I do in the meantime? I finally asked him straight-up if I could hoop it up to a monitor. "You could." And what would I use to do that? "There are cables back there somewhere." Thank you oh so much for stellar service. So for the past 6 months, my computer time has been curtailed by the necessity of having my laptop hooked up to an external monitor and the horribly uncomfortable (but totally cute) desk chair in my bedroom. Until last night. Last night, I took my meager savings and finally went to Best Buy (where I was well taken care of this time) and I bought a brand new Dell Inspiron for significantly under the $500 it would have cost me to repair my old computer. Viva Technology! My only regret is that I work tonight and therefore will have to get off my computer in three hours to start getting ready.
Now, I'm trying to get caught up on all the things I fell behind in while my computer was equal to the chair of torture. Okay, I admit, that is mostly manga...
I don't think I ever went into it here, but almost exactly 6 months ago (February 17th, to be exact), I came home from work, flipped open my computer, tried to go online and discovered that the screen was no longer working (and for all I knew, the entire computer might have been shot). I made a panicked trip to the Best Buy in Aiea as soon as they opened the next day. The service was rather horrible but eventually I learned my screen was gone and would cost $500 to repair. $500 for a piece-of-crap 5-year-old computer that should have been recalled!? Uh, no. I told the guy I could buy a new computer for that. "You could." I told him I didn't have $500 and what could I do in the meantime? I finally asked him straight-up if I could hoop it up to a monitor. "You could." And what would I use to do that? "There are cables back there somewhere." Thank you oh so much for stellar service. So for the past 6 months, my computer time has been curtailed by the necessity of having my laptop hooked up to an external monitor and the horribly uncomfortable (but totally cute) desk chair in my bedroom. Until last night. Last night, I took my meager savings and finally went to Best Buy (where I was well taken care of this time) and I bought a brand new Dell Inspiron for significantly under the $500 it would have cost me to repair my old computer. Viva Technology! My only regret is that I work tonight and therefore will have to get off my computer in three hours to start getting ready.
Now, I'm trying to get caught up on all the things I fell behind in while my computer was equal to the chair of torture. Okay, I admit, that is mostly manga...
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Do you believe in ghosts?
Okay, I think I've gotten WAY too into Ghost Hunters or something. Not that I've been watching it all that much lately, but I've been thinking about ghosts and the paranormal a lot lately (at least since I started DVR-ing the show). But let's be honest: it really doesn't take much for me to get into it. When I was away at school, I watched it all the time and it was one of the first shows I thought to record once our cable provider changed and we got DVR. And some of the stuff you see on that show...
I don't believe in ghosts, at least not in the traditional sense. I don't think people's spirits hang around here after they die. But I most certainly believe in the paranormal and things science cannot, and will possibly never, be able to explain. There is something out there beyond what our five senses show us and I think it can sometimes affect our physical environment. What it is, I couldn't say. But I would very much like to experience it at least once. Maybe I need to get a job as a tour guide at some old historical landmark or something...
I don't believe in ghosts, at least not in the traditional sense. I don't think people's spirits hang around here after they die. But I most certainly believe in the paranormal and things science cannot, and will possibly never, be able to explain. There is something out there beyond what our five senses show us and I think it can sometimes affect our physical environment. What it is, I couldn't say. But I would very much like to experience it at least once. Maybe I need to get a job as a tour guide at some old historical landmark or something...
Thursday, March 8, 2012
COMING SOON... (well, soon-ish)
I have not gotten a good night's sleep yet this week, and it's already Thursday. Last week, my computer broke. Cost-less-to-just-replace-it broke. It's currently rigged to several other sources so it can limp along until I can afford a new one. Last night, I got into a yelling-fight with my coworker, only the second time I've ever done that in my life. And the worst part about it is that I know she'll be telling everybody about it before I get back to work on Friday; that is what she did when she got into a fight with Linda two weeks ago. Let's just say that my life has been crazy and wrap this up here.
But thanks to the awesomeness known as "Hulu Plus" and "PS3" I am still managing to keep up with a few of my favorite TV shows: shows like Castle, Psych, New Girl and Once Upon A Time. While I have things to say about all these shows (glossing over the engagement ring was not cool, Psych), I think I can certainly talk the most about Once Upon A Time. And that is exactly what I'd like to do. So I am going to start what will be known as "The Rumpelstiltskin Files" where I go all Lit-Analysis on some aspects of the show. I'm going to try to post a little article at least once a week, culminating in my favorite issue over Spring Break (the last week of March): Rumpelstiltskin (hence: The Rumpelstiltskin Files).
Some of the issues I plan on exploring are:
Narrator interference
Good and evil
Girl power
and a reconstructed timeliness of events from beginning (in the fairy tale world) to the end (in our world)
But thanks to the awesomeness known as "Hulu Plus" and "PS3" I am still managing to keep up with a few of my favorite TV shows: shows like Castle, Psych, New Girl and Once Upon A Time. While I have things to say about all these shows (glossing over the engagement ring was not cool, Psych), I think I can certainly talk the most about Once Upon A Time. And that is exactly what I'd like to do. So I am going to start what will be known as "The Rumpelstiltskin Files" where I go all Lit-Analysis on some aspects of the show. I'm going to try to post a little article at least once a week, culminating in my favorite issue over Spring Break (the last week of March): Rumpelstiltskin (hence: The Rumpelstiltskin Files).
Some of the issues I plan on exploring are:
Narrator interference
Good and evil
Girl power
and a reconstructed timeliness of events from beginning (in the fairy tale world) to the end (in our world)
Friday, February 3, 2012
Aida
Tuesday, I ran into a very interesting bit of culture and how I ended up there is a story in itself. It all started Monday night when I got a text from my best friend, Leigh. Her step-mom was sick and didn't think she'd be up to the Broadway play that they had bought tickets to a few months ago so Leigh asked me if I wanted her step-mom's ticket. My only question was how to get home afterwards. We discussed appropriate dress (jeans and a nice shirt, advised by her Dad who had been to Broadway shows before out here where Hawaii-casual reigns everywhere) and then said good night. Tuesday morning, I woke up earlier than usual so I would have time to get ready, put on a knee-length blue-jean skirt complete with nylons and walked around all day in my favorite high-heeled shoes. I felt ridiculously over dressed, especially when I found out Leigh was wearing jeans and flip-flops. She teased me mercilessly over the heels, until she got a text from her Dad asking her to unload his ticket as well. She spent the rest of the day asking everyone she even kind of knew to take it. We finally convinced my brother, who has no fondness for musicals, to use it, but only with the help of my Dad (who thinks James needs a social life).
As we're walking up the block, trying to figure out exactly which building at the Blaisdell Center our show is, we notice a group of people gathered outside, so we walk over and discover it's a lecture on opera. We half-listen for a few minutes and then continue on our way, turn the corner and find something completely unexpected.
There's a large crowd milling around; most people are our grandparents age at least, although there are a few younger people. And me, who had felt overdressed all day, I suddenly find myself severely under-dressed. Men are wearing three-piece suits (I didn't even know men who lived in Hawaii owned three-piece suits) and some of the women have on ball gowns. Sure, there were a few other people as under-dressed as Leigh and I, but we had to actively look for them. And that's when we realized we had tickets for Aida the Opera, not Aida the Broadway musical based off of the opera.
As we're walking up the block, trying to figure out exactly which building at the Blaisdell Center our show is, we notice a group of people gathered outside, so we walk over and discover it's a lecture on opera. We half-listen for a few minutes and then continue on our way, turn the corner and find something completely unexpected.
There's a large crowd milling around; most people are our grandparents age at least, although there are a few younger people. And me, who had felt overdressed all day, I suddenly find myself severely under-dressed. Men are wearing three-piece suits (I didn't even know men who lived in Hawaii owned three-piece suits) and some of the women have on ball gowns. Sure, there were a few other people as under-dressed as Leigh and I, but we had to actively look for them. And that's when we realized we had tickets for Aida the Opera, not Aida the Broadway musical based off of the opera.
Friday, January 27, 2012
A Bit of a Lot
It's been a while since my first (and last) post, so I thought I'd try to put up something. I've been busy lately with school work (trying to avoid it) and my job (unavoidable) so I haven't had time for much of anything else. Or, I wouldn't if it wasn't for the 15+ hours a week I spend on city buses and hanging out at bus stops. Instead of buying new books for my kindle, though, I've been rereading old favorites instead; the last two or three days I've been reading books by Karen Witemeyer. It started with Head in the Clouds, which I love probably because I identify with the main character so much. I mean, really. She almost falls off a porch because she's too busy reading to look where she's going and we all know I've never done that before. Well, maybe not a porch, but... And then, I was so enamored by the book (which I would like to point out I've already read multiple times) that I downloaded A Tailor-Made Bride by the same author, which I have also already read more than once. I'm almost finished with it, but one particular scene put me in mind with another favorite churf* title, so I already have The Measure of a Lady (by someone else) downloaded and ready to go. Thank God I'm simply downloading books I already own and not buying these things one right after another; it's no wonder I always end up spending too much money on books!
The only other thing I can think of that I did purely for entertainment purposes was I watched an episode of Castle on Hulu. I really want to just sit down for a couple hours one day and catch up on all my shows on there...
Anyway, this weekend, I'm really going to push myself to get decently ahead in school (somewhere in the two-week range) so I can take it a bit easier on homework during the week and have time to watch TV shows on Hulu and read books when I'm not on a bus. We'll see how well that plan works out...
*Christian-Historical-Romantic-Fiction with a u thrown in to add a vowel
The only other thing I can think of that I did purely for entertainment purposes was I watched an episode of Castle on Hulu. I really want to just sit down for a couple hours one day and catch up on all my shows on there...
Anyway, this weekend, I'm really going to push myself to get decently ahead in school (somewhere in the two-week range) so I can take it a bit easier on homework during the week and have time to watch TV shows on Hulu and read books when I'm not on a bus. We'll see how well that plan works out...
*Christian-Historical-Romantic-Fiction with a u thrown in to add a vowel
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Sergeant York
Today, I watched Sergeant York (illegally) for my American Lit class. Not my usual bill of fare at all. First off, it's one of those old movies with dozens of awards that everyone should see. I almost never agree with the critics who tell you those things. Second, it's a war movie (kind of). In fact, I think it would be safe to say that if I hadn't had to watch it for English, I wouldn't have watched it at all. Still, it was a decent movie, even if it did move a little (okay, a lot) slow. I mean, I kinda knew the whole plot before I started the movie (Wikipedia is my friend). So, I knew he'd become what would today be called a "born again Christian" and not want to go to war because of it, go to war, perform admirably and then come back home. It was an hour into the movie and he just found God. An hour! So, yeah. Think I liked it better than Citizen Kane (which I also had to watch for American Lit, but that was watched in-class). It's done now, and I still have reading from the textbook to do for my religions class (which is tomorrow! Help!).
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