Yet Even More Proof Why I Can't Have Nice Things

*Big Sigh*

I got some bad news... and some good news. 

First things first... the good news. 

My car has been brought back from the dead and is up and running right now. My dad checked it and said that the engine looked okay but the oil was old so I have to get that checked soon. All it needed really was a jump and gas... then he asked me if my gas gauge was working to which I replied, "Yes... but I drove for half an hour when the little needle was on the red line once and the car didn't stop." I just knew my dad was cringing on the other side of the phone. That showed how ignorant I was and still am of car stuff. Just imagine when -- and I said WHEN not IF -- we have hover cars and they just stall... the consequences of having your car die would be A LOT more severe. Oh... and I guess I graduated from the University of Iowa... but never mind that...

...Now for the BAD news...

Yes, my car has been revived but is in critical condition right now. When ever I turn on the A/C, the radio, or just pretty much drive, it smells like gas. I initially thought that it was just because I was dealing with the gas when my car stopped... but it still smells strongly of it after a while. Not only that, but I filled it up on Monday so on Tuesday, when I went to work which is about 10 minutes away from where I live, it was full. Fast forward to Thursday, with no driving in between, and the needle went down to the third line... WTF? Either I'm losing gas or have to get my eyes checked because I'm reading the gas gauge wrong.

Speaking of eyes, I broke my glasses on the last day of classes. It was actually pretty stupid. I was sitting on the floor with my laptop because there was a spider the night before on the sofa... I'm deathly afraid of spiders, even tiny ones. So that's why I was sitting there. My eyes were tired so I took off my glasses and set them beside me with every intention of putting them right back on in a few seconds. However, the phone rang. It was pretty loud and gave me a good scare. I stood up immediately to answer it... but it was a telemarketer so I sat back down. That's when I noticed it. I had heard the "crunch" when I was walking to the phone, but it never dawned on me until I saw it, that the "crunch" were my glasses breaking under the weight of my sneaker clad feet... embarrassing.

I was tempted to tell someone who asked me "What happened to your glasses?" that I was saving a small child from a ninja. We were using all kinds of karate and ultimately his nunchucks hit my glasses -- not my face, because I'm just THAT good at dodging -- and knocked them straight off my nose.  Anything but, "Oh... I crushed them whilst departing from my temporary work station to answer the phone". Not only is that explanation boring but it made it seem as though I had some sort of personal vendetta against my glasses and broke them because they had wronged me... or something. However, that would have been lying... and being the semi-good girl that I am, I couldn't do that.

Needless to say, I pretty much spent two weeks without glasses and I don't think that's a good idea, especially now that I have to take an ibuprofen almost everyday for the headaches I'm getting. They're not even that bad... I'm just a wuss.

Take all of this and add to it the fact that now I am officially out in the real world and no longer have an excuse to live at home. Well, not until I really get my car fixed, that is.

Wow... it looks like I have more bad news than good news. Maybe that's telling me something. 

Either I'm a negative person... or bad stuff just happens to me.

P.S. The hinge on my laptop is still broke... but it works like a charm and plays Syberia just swell!

 

More Proof I Can't Have Nice Things

Oh... my... goodness...

For the second time in my life, I had my car just stop in the middle of the road. The first time was in Connecticut about five years ago. I had a 1993 Ford Taurus that I had bought for just 700 dollars. I was going to Three Rivers Community College, lived with my dad, and had a 'job' as a pianist in his Latin jazz band... pretty cool for a 17 going on 18 year old fresh out of college.

I had just come back from a piano lesson in Norwalk and was going back to New London which was approximately an hour. Half way into my trek back home, my car started to slow down. I pulled over into the side line and turned my lights on alerting everybody that my car was acting up. Apparently, I had so many things on my mind that I hadn't put gas in my car and completely overlooked the fact that the needle was on the red 'E'.

I was hysterical, trying to start my car up and banging my head against the steering wheel when the engine would start but just fizzle out seconds later. Suddenly it hit me, I'd call my dad. I had misgivings about calling the police in a state that I was completely new to. I talked to my father, on the verge of tears. He was a bit pissed because I was expecting him to drive an hour to help me get gas--earlier that month, I had locked my keys in my car while on campus and again I called him. Later on, he pulled me aside and asked me what I'd do in the same situation and I couldn't call him or my mom. I just shrugged and didn't think that would happen... but oh how wrong I was.

Fast forward to Tuesday December 7th, 2010. My car, a 1997 Chrysler Concorde LX that I had bought with my own money and was just a tad bit more expensive than the Ford Taurus. The previous owner was a professor at the University of Iowa and had installed a 6-CD changer in the back. The windows and locks were automatic and it was a pretty big car. 

It broke down on my way to work in the middle of the intersection. Luckily I was close to a gas station so I went to get some gas. I returned to where my car is and by now the police where there... I wondered if somebody had called because of my car. Unfortunately I didn't have my phone, so I couldn't call them myself. Apparently there had been another car that stopped just a little ways away from where I was and they were called there. They saw me and offered to sit behind my car until I got back from getting yet another gallon after the first didn't start my car. 

Well, that extra gallon didn't help and the officer even tried to start the car for me... to no avail. They called me a tow truck and I even sat in the back of the police car... I intend that to be the last time. It was uncomfortable, but at least it was warm. 

A two truck was called... 80.25 to have the car towed back to my house. After an awkward fifteen minutes of sitting in the towtruck, we arrived at my house and the car was placed in the driveway off to the side as I always parked it. My dad had to pay the majority of it... but at least I have it back. 

I was just so angry at myself. I knew I had to change the oil but never had the time or money and now if my engine is burned out, that would mean the end of that car for me. Lord knows that I won't have the money any time soon for a whole new engine. Whatever... that car wasn't that great anyway. It had a good run... obviously that run was longer with the previous owner than with me... but it was good nonetheless.

It's not official yet but...

R.I.P Chrysler Concorde LX June 11, 2009 - December 5, 2010

Graduation, Dresses, and Feeling Sorry

Well, I am graduating... finally after five years. Two in Connecticut and three here in Iowa. I'm sort of being wishy washy on whether to graduate now in December or in May. Though, since it's already December, chances are that I'll be graduating now. I'm just so freaking tired of school. This is what happens when you go to college because your parents tell you to. I'm not saying I would have never gone... but I went right out of high school because of their urging and maybe I should have taken a year out before applying. I know, I know, "but you have a mind of your own... you can do what you want". Yeah, but it's always been in my nature to want to please people. Still haven't grown out of that.

Anyway, I kind of don't want to participate in graduation. I just want my degree really and I won't get that until January or February... but my family wants me to walk so... what can I do? Though I don't really see the point in it.

We're not rehearsing... which I guess is the case with most college graduations. Besides, it's pretty straightforward. You go, listen to boring ass speeches, sit down, walk across the stage, sit back down, then leave. Still... it might have been nice to have some sort of walk through the day before. I just hope I don't fall on my face or do anything super embarrassing. I just have to remember... I'm done after the eighteenth, that should help me get through it. A friend of mine will be there too... so that will at least settle me a bit.

Let's get away from graduation though, it's exciting yet at the same time I hate thinking and talking about it.
Yesterday, I went to David's Bridal with two of my friends. One of them being the bride-to-be of course. I was in a great mood... we were going to try on dresses so that was exciting. However, I finally realized how much I have failed at my diet when I tried on the first dress that was a size 12 or 14... which I am in regular clothes. It didn't fit and I had to get a size 20--18 was the tightest I could wear though... I couldn't even believe it. I guess I just didn't take into account the fact that these types of dresses may be sized differently. Needless to say, I was feeling very self conscious.

Not to mention, I've had low self-esteem for pretty much my whole life and I've been standing sort of hunched over because of it. When I looked at the mirror, it just looked as though I was standing but also slightly curling up into myself... don't know how to explain it... but it wasn't flattering.

All of this wasn't made any easier because in the room next to our two was a lady and her daughter. She would keep looking at us with her lips pursed and giving us this dirty look. You know the one that says, 'I'm awesome and my daughter looks so much butter than you'. Or maybe that was the way she always looked... like something was up her butt.

When I feel bad about something, I tend to shut down... so that's what I did. It wasn't fair to my friends because we were there to have a good time looking for dresses. We did find one... but I wasn't loving it because of how I was feeling. If I were chipper that day, I would have absolutely adored it... but that wasn't the case. It really was a beautiful dress though.

They could tell something was up... but I think that they thought I hated the dress since I wasn't smiling... far from it.

These past few times we had hung out, I always ended up in some sour mood. I mean, at first I thought it was just because both their significant others were also hanging out with us and I was just... not jealous, jealous sounds a bit intense... but discontented that here I was, at the time 22 and almost out of college, without EVER having a boyfriend. I've had many, many crushes... they all know this... but never a boyfriend. However, now that we had hung out just us three... I still get into a funk during our hang out time.
I realized that I'm just a negative person and I'd find anything wrong with myself or my surroundings. But I haven't always been like that... still, I haven't exactly been the most positive person in the world either. It had to be somewhere in the middle. I wonder what happened. What was the turning point in my life that made me unable to even enjoy hanging out with friends?

Maybe I just don't deal with change very well. Some types of change are okay... but the change I'm talking about is between friend relationships.

I'm a pretty quiet person when I don't know someone... some people might even say I'm anti-social. That may be what I seem like... but that's not the truth. It's hard to make friends and I've had the same two good friends since Jr. High. Sure, I've had acquaintances, but I never really clicked with them. So, I noticed that most of these changes in mood came after one of them talked about their future, either away from Iowa or with their present significant other. To me, it's like being far away from your friends would mean that you'd lose touch with them... that's not something I want, but I guess I'll have to accept it and I have a hard time doing that. Who will I hang out with after they all move?

Maybe I'm too emotional. I guess that's why some characters in movies don't get so attached to people. Sometimes I think that would be a good way to live my life... but then, wouldn't that be a pretty abysmal existence?

Hopefully this all passes.

Turkey Day Break

Well, I'm back!

I've been neglecting so many things since I last wrote and during Thanksgiving break. I told my dad that I couldn't go to his place for Thanksgiving because I had so much stuff to do... which was true. If I want to graduate in December, I have to get my second grade options in, paying off my u-bill, and pass my current classes, class discussions -- art book projects, some Italian show and tell thing. I also work, granted it's only 15 hours... a little more during Thanksgiving break, but still... it's work.

Well, the idea was to get everything in... but something happened to my plan.

I had all intentions of doing all that stuff... really I did... but after going to school for four months without a break and nonstop homework, I just wanted to relax. Maybe that's another reason for not driving two hours to and from my dad's. I mean... I wanted to relax and REALLY relax. I just felt like being completely sedentary that whole week... but even that wasn't possible.

I know, I know, "responsible people don't do what they want, but what they have to do..."... well... I was responsible for about three days.

My brother came home on Tuesday and all my school plans went down the drain. True, he practically lived downstairs in his room occasionally coming upstairs to fill his face with food, or borrow some video games to play in the 'cube downstairs, but he was still there and for some reason I went from being OK with doing work during Thanksgiving break to "Oh hell no, it's my break and I'm gonna f*cking enjoy it!"

I had to work Thanksgiving day... bummer. I had to buy sparkling grape juice before going home when I got off work... took me 30 freaking minutes to find some stupid wine bottles filled with grape juice. I mean, you'd think they're in the back with the booze... but they're not!

It never even occurred to me, until circling the grocery, soda, and wine aisles, to check the Christmas Shop aisles and there they were. Sitting on an end cap... all one flavor, but I didn't care much. I spent half an hour looking for them. Honestly Wal-Mart... why put them in with Christmas wrapping paper and all that crap? Even though it's all festive, I say the fake wine should be either with the juice or real wine... I'd make a good department manager if I do say so myself... except for when people come to me with their problems about so and so assistant manager. Solve the shit on your own!

We went to see Megamind on Friday... I loved it! Baby and kid Megamind were so cute!

I had to work on Saturday... but after that, I brought the PS3 from my room into the living room since the TV there is much bigger and I hurt my eyes squinting to try and read the text on my TV. I wanted to play Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks... but curse Sony and their non PS2 compatible PS3s. Lets see... I played LittleBIGPlanet instead the rest of break. Awesome game... still haven't finished it yet. I'm on Grandmaster Sensei's last level... I get to duke it out with the oni!

Well... break wasn't as productive as I wanted... but it was enjoyable!

 

Second Book Project

Well, next Monday is when our second book project is due and once again I have fallen victim to that dastardly disease... procrastination.

I think it was two weeks ago when we went around in class and presented our book concepts. So many people had good ideas and everyone around me seems so... artsy.

I'm not an art major, I'm a Spanish major but I do like to draw and I would love to have some kind of career in it... but, that's just it, I draw and want to illustrate stories. I'm not a photographer, I'm not some clever text artist or whatever those are called... if they even have a name, I can't take a photo that some one else has taken and make it into my own project without it being flat and boring, what I know about photoshop is limited to sketching with a tablet, maybe digitally inking, and coloring... that's it.

Our instructor says he wants us to do the work that we want to do, but he'd at least want us to try and branch out... okay. What I want to do is write and illustrate. My first book was a story that I rewrote from one of my Spanish creative writing classes and illustrated it. Should I do another illustrated kid's book? Will that be too boring? Will that mean I wasn't even trying to branch out?

I really want to learn Illustrator because it's what some artists I really like use for digitally inking and adding in speech bubbles, making logos, things like that. So my initial idea presented two weeks ago was to make a book that was a sort of compendium of illustrator text tutorials that I have tried. But... I have the text and what will I do to it to make it artistic?

Did I mention that we have to have image AND text somewhere in there... I hate that stipulation.

Anyway, I scrapped that idea and went with a similar idea to just use photo effects in photoshop AND illustrator. I'd pick a word then take a photo and try and manipulate the image to represent that word... does that make sense? Ex. words: Liquid; Image: A head made of water or something like that.

I figured that would be too hard so I'm going back to illustrating.

 

...Why the hell is this so difficult. It's infuriating...

 

My next idea is to take a few words from a song, that will be my text, then I'll illustrate either an image from the song or that phrase I picked out from it... not exactly sure on the small details yet. I think I'll stay with this idea... it's better than the above ones.

 

From Typepad Conversations

I like answering these things. Makes me feel like someone really cares for my opinion :)

As kids we're taught that sharing is caring – who do you love to share stuff with and why?

It depends...Are we sharing information, electronics, CDs, books, feelings... what are we sharing?

If it's information like "What time is it?" or "When is so and so getting married?" then sure, I share with pretty much anybody.

If it's books or anything else I can replace if they get broken or not returned... I might share. I'll pretty much share those things with family that way I have no qualms about annoying the hell out of them until they return my shit. But fortunately, my family doesn't want any of my stuff... so that's no problem.

However, when it comes to electronics and things I really, really, really value... you can forget sharing. I don't want to share my PS3, digital camera, laptop etc. with anybody trustworthy or untrustworthy because if they break it or don't return it... I'll be pissed.

Sharing feelings? I'm not so much into that. Recently I had to share my feelings with my father. He's been conditioning me to share feelings for 20 years and I'll tell you... never worked. I need to work on that because I suppose that it must be done some time.

What Does It Mean?

I dreamt something... and it was sort of strange.

A couple days ago, I watched some Paranormal show on TruTV. It went through some videos of sightings that I thought were obviously fake (Aliens, witches, odd looking 'fairies', some 'ghost' kid that appeared in the hallways of a hotel when it could've easily been the own family's child)... but one really got me shuddering.

Shadow People

I wasn't fully paying attention, but some guy had put video cameras in his childhood house. There was one video that was just an image of a chair in a closet. After a few minutes or so, you could see this faint shadow gradually forming into a humanoid shape and finally it stood up before fading away... creepy.

My first thought was that somebody was behind the video camera and was sitting down and standing up slowly. However, it was too precise, faint and faded in and out too abrupt that I don't think it could have been a person's shadow on the other side. Still, that doesn't mean that it couldn't have been faked.

One of the paranormal 'experts' said that shadow people, while rare, are a manifestation of negetive energy and they're usually malevolent spirits.

Anyway, that and the fact that I recently played Nancy Drew: Shadow at the Water's Edge which made me think of the vengeful spirits --yurei-- in 'The Grudge', 'The Ring', and 'Dark Water', was probably what spurred on this dream.

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DREAM: let me just note that this was on Halloween

PJ Franklin (Jordana Spiro) from My Boys on TBS was in a Bates-like motel with all her friends from the show. She was sharing a room with her boyfriend, Bobby Newman (Kyle Howard) but PJ was sleeping on the bed and he was sleeping in a chair because they got in a fight for some unclear reason.

Something happened during the night and when PJ awoke, she found boyfriend Bobby dead (This was unclear also... but he was dead and she was crying) She was distraught and went into the bathroom to get ready to meet her friends and tell them the bad news when the iconic horror film moment happened. She opened the mirror cabinet thing to get her pills (Don't know what kind) and then closed it and...oh no... she saw a pale ghost with stringy hair and black eyes. She screamed and ran out of the room.

Some other stuff happened and random people who are not from the show died. I think Bobby came back as a zombie. PJ and Brando Dorff (Reid Scott) were walking outside the motel. For some reason Brando had a chainsaw. Either Zombie Bobby or some random ghost jumped out of the bushes then went back in them, but this made Brando so scared that he took the chainsaw and beat PJ into the ground.

Brando was about to run away after he realized that he killed his new girlfriend, but she rose up from the ground as a yurei/vampire and sucked on his kneck, instantly killing him. His body fell to the ground and she stood on it, Captain Morgan style...

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That's it... that's where it stopped. I don't even know why the characters were from My Boys

I was freaked and it didn't help that I heard a strange noise downstairs.

END

I'm Not Taking Italian and Paying a Crap Load of Money For Classes to Forget How to Speak/Write It

...Well it's true...

Instead of trying to learn the language by myself from books, CDs, etc. I opted to take a class filled with people you may or may not like who can make fun of your pronunciation... let's not forget professors who come across as condescending and know-it-alls because they're frustrated with how little we know or how short our memories are for remembering something said literally a second ago. (I like my professor though)

Usually, that's how you learn a language... in a class setting. Still, you have to work at said language to be able to continue to say that you speak and comprehend it. Still... next time I'm gonna learn a language by myself on livemocha.com... but that's for another post... maybe.

So...I have decided to write my next post in the little Italian I know so I can guarantee that I won't forget it.

Any Italian readers of this blog (which I doubt I have) feel free to make corrections or else I'll make the same mistakes.

Here goes...

And why not write it in Spanish too because I'm forgetting my first language and that's just sad.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ITALIANO

Ieri era il mio compleanno. Non ho avuto niente perché io ho lavorato ieri sera. Dopo il lavoro, ho recivuto un text dalla mia buona amica che mi chiedeva se ho votato nella l'elezione di medio termine... *sospiro*... non mi sono voluta un buon compleanno. Ma gli altri miei amici mi sono voluti un buon compleanno. Grazie tutti!

In ogni caso, non ho votato perché non ho avuto il tempo dopo il lavoro né prima quando ero all'università. Non mi piace la politica comunque.

Ma la mia mamma mi ha compruto una focaccia con glassa di formaggio cremoso... yum! In seguito... sono andata a letto.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I just read that out loud and didn't like how I sounded. I sounded like a little girl... I guess that has nothing to do with pronunciation though.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ESPAÑOL

Ayer era mi cumpleaños. No hize nada porque trabajé anoche. Despues del trabajo, recibí un text de mi buena amiga que me preguntaba si voté en la elección de mitad de trimestre...*suspiro*... no me deseó un feliz cumpleaños. Pero mis otros amigos me desearon un buen cumpleaños. ¡Gracias todos!

De todos modos, no voté porque no tenía tiempo despues del trabajo ni antes cuando estaba en la universidad. No me gusta la politica de todas maneras.

Pero mi mama me compró un bizcocho con glaseado de queso cremoso... ¡yum! Luego... me acosté.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

There we go!

Moral... or whatever... if you're taking a foreign language and want to continue with it so you could communicate with other speakers of that language... you need to practice. It won't just stay in your brain and be perfect whenever you decide to take it out.

¡Felíz Cumple!

It's my birthday... well... not yet. My birthday is actually on 'Day of the Dead', November 2nd... but I'm excited as opposed to me being depressed at growing older like last year.

Not only am I turning a whole year older, but I'm also graduating this year in Dec. (if all goes well). I'm also going to New York for Christmas this year. It'll be the first time in about four years for me, but the first time in almost ten years for my mom. Tomorrow, I'm going to Missouri to see a play my brother's in. I think it's called Threepenny Opera... or something. That should be fun!

Also, I bought myself a new mp3 player last night. My old 2GB SanDisk was acting up, and since I can't live without music on the go now, I had to buy another one before it completely died. This new one's an 8GB black Sony Walkman NWZ-E344... kinda cool actually. I named it King Sammer after the unlucky Sammer Kingdom in Super Paper Mario for the Wii. That part almost made me cry... I know... I'm such a dork.

Anyway, I'm feeling good about this birthday... I think this will finally be the year that I become a "responsible adult".... nah, it's so much more fun being an "irresponsable adult"... I think I'll give myself five more years.

 

Shadow At The Water's Edge or SAW...E

Well, I commend HerInteractive on this one! I'm not even done with the game yet but I like it so far. I loved the movie Dark Water, the American version and the original Japanese version (my fave!) and this game immediately reminded me of it. As well as The Ring, which I haven't seen but have heard of, and Saw, which I haven't seen either... actually... I don't even know if it's like Saw at all.

Maybe I'm just easily scared, but so far it's creepy and I can't play it at night. Well, I can play it at night, but I need my lights on. Also some odd sound outside my window while I was playing sort of frayed on my nerves... that and the crash downstairs. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say this... but I didn't go down to check on it... I know what happens in horror movies. I think I'd survive one of those nicely.

The music that starts out all traditional and then becomes sort of... creepy with uneven almost random notes and varying intensity does NOT help ease the spookiness of this game. Every turn you take, you keep thinking, will I see a ghost? Will something spontaneously combust? Will I see those creepy twins from The Shining?

One thing I don't like though, and this is pretty much for all if not just the recent Nancy Drew games, is the fact that she's really nosy and pushy. I honestly think that she could garner at least some information by observing people and not asking insensitive questions... but even after that, the characters she interacted with are still their cheery selves and it's like she never even asked anything. I mean, that's not real at all... but I still LOVE the games. If I were this family, I 'd kick her the hell out! Maybe I should run that by HerInteractive... but then again, I don't want to seem pushy either.

I'm also playing this without a walk-through (except for when I don't want to bother with Sudoku or even *shudder* master Sudoku) mainly because I've been relying on them quite a lot instead of really thinking hard when I would seldom use them earlier on in my adventure gaming experiences... I missed that. Also, I kind of want to savor the game for a bit. I've been waiting far too long for this one and I don't want to finish it so quick.

Also, the whole idea of a ryokan -- traditional Japanese inn -- is sort of spooky. Not even just a ryokan, but even a modern hotel with dim lighting like I once was at in the mid-west. You never really know what happened before you decided to take a trip and stay there. I mean, obviously millions of people would've stayed there. How many of them were murdered or simply died of natural causes? How many were murderers, rapists, electrocuted? Most likely they would have unfinished business. More importantly, would they come back as benevolent ghosts or malevolent ghosts? You never now.

And on that note, I end this post.

Happy Early Halloween my kiddies...

Stress Up To My Eyeballs

This is partly my fault really. We had three or more weeks to do a book in my Digital Design for Artist's Books class, but being the chronic procrastinator that I am, I put it off until the week before it was due... more specifically, it was put off until Saturday and Sunday. I think I did a pretty good job for having done most of the work in two days.

The story was one that I wrote a while ago for a Spanish Creative Writing class last semester. I liked it, however, I had to adapt it to a picture book... which meant I pretty much changed the whole story. I think I like this one better. Maybe I'll post them side to side and have you all decide.

All I have to do now is cut and adhere the cover and then I'm all set. I hate some of the illustrations, but I can't change that now.

For more added stress, I have a quiz in my next class. It pretty much sucks because we had to watch a movie on our own time... who does that? Why not just watch it during class time? Seriously though, I haven't seen it yet and my prof. says that there are some questions about the movie on the quiz... just my luck.

On Friday, when I had all intentions to start my book, I had to do a stupid annotated bibliography... I really don't see the point in them. They don't help me at all... but I understand that some people swear by 'em. That's not me though. I had to finish it by 11:59 and turned it in a 11:52... bad timing... but at least it was done. That's the class where I constantly watch myself because the prof. knows my mom.

I do understand that if I hadn't put off any of this, the feeling of hoplessness wouldn't be that great... but it's a habit that I find is very, very, very, very hard to break.

On another note... the new Nancy Drew game comes out tomorrow. I already pre-ordered the download which I'm regretting not pre-ordering the boxed version so I could have played it during the weekend.. but maybe that was best not to have it on Saturday because of the all the stuff I had to do. I commend my foresight.

Anyway, a good friend of mine already has. She didn't preorder it but bought it at Best Buy... which I think is against the rules, but whatevs. Needless to say, I'm not talking to her until after Tuesday... that's not cool in my book for some reason. :) Just kidding... but not about the ignoring her until Wednesday part.

I think it's safe to say that any homework this week will be put off even further due to the game. I blame HerInteractive and Nancy Drew. It's never my fault!

.

To Quote Pink, "I'm Not Dead!"

Man, it seems like forever since I wrote anything here. My life is just so boring right now... even more boring than it usually is... and I can't find it in me to write anything. I've even stopped drawing for a while... that pretty much scares me because I never want to stop doing what I love. I think it's just the stress of school and being tired. I'm not eating right either, that probably has something to do with me being so lethargic to the point that all I want to do is sleep.

Despite all that, the only time I really feel "awake" is at night. This sort of creeps me out because I keep thinking I'm turning into a vampire. And if I were turning into a vampire, it wouldn't be one of those wimpy twilight ones either but the ones that are like, "I'm gonna suck your blood now, and there's nothing you can do about it because I'm the shizz... word".

What the hell... I'm being crazy.

Anyway, despite all that above crap, I've been writing. A long time ago after playing "Tales of Monkey Island" by TellTale Games (which by the way is AWESOME!) I had this idea. I really liked one of the new characters introduced to the story and after the game was through I got to thinking about the unanswered questions, the deciet, etc. So I wrote a story and posted it on some fanfiction site. Think of it what you will, but until I actually think of an original story with original characters, I'll be writing fanfiction.

So, there was a girl on deviantart who actually read my story and liked it. She has the same name as me too... but that has nothing to with anything... just throwing that out. So, since then she's been waiting for a new chapter. I believe I have failed her. She wasn't pushy and understood that I was sort of lacking inspiration, so knowing that sort of makes it less easier to deal with failing someone. My story has been on hiatus for a year now and I haven't gotten the inspiration to write anymore for that story. I think originally I didn't even know what I was writing about... I was probably hopped up on sugar and super exited about having played all episodes of the game.

So, Werita, if you're reading... I have not forgotten about it and I'm actually in the process of brainstorming what will happen next... but I'm not promising anything.

On another note, I saw "Up" yesterday as well as "Old Dogs"  and "Planet 51" the day prior after having discovered our Mediacom On Demand free movies... with subscription of course. "Up" was pretty sad, but Dug the talking dog made me laugh. I especially loved -- and this is a small spoiler if you could call it that -- when Alpha, what I'm guessing is the Alpha dog, had some malfunction on his talking collar and his voice would change from really deep to super squeaky. I cracked up at that everytime.

"Old Dogs" was okay... I just couldn't get past that fact that Kelly Preston, John Travolta's wife, played the part of Robin Williams' 'wife' while John Travolta himself played the part of Robin Williams' best friend. John Travolta's daughter also played the part of Robin Williams' daughter... she's so cute!

I liked "Planet 51". The idea was cute but I wouldn't say it a was great movie. I loved the graphics though. There were points in the movie where I was just awed at how realy buildings and stuff would look.

After that, I went to play Assasin's Creed. I think I'm hooked and have a bit of a nerd crush on Altair... sad right... he's a freaking game character. My dad had it on PC but couldn't play it because he was so exited and didn't look at the system requirements. Same thing happened to my brother and I after buying Prince of Persia in 2005 for our PC... our computer was nowhere near the MINIMUM system requirements but I had heard good things about the game. Luckily we were able to return it, but my dad wasn't so lucky. Now he can't even play the game so I said I'd buy it sometime for PS3. He just looked at me and shook his head. He hates video games... but playing them on computer is pretty much the same thing. His way of thinking is a tad bit odd.

 

When Thing's Aren't Okay

I swear I'm so pathetic sometimes. I'm very quick to say, "Oh, it's okay" when somebody apologizes to me. Whether they step on my foot, bump into me while rushing out of the elevator, snap at me, or whatever else they'd apologize for, the answer is still "it's okay". Maybe I'm just too 'nice' and I'm thinking of other people's feelings. I can't just have someone apologize for something and then be like, "No, It's NOT okay!" and then have there be bad blood between us. However, thinking like that is just stupid. Most of the time, this exchange happens between me and a customer at work, which means that:

A. They're not my friend

B. They probably won't even remember who I am the next time they come in

C. Who cares if they're mad at me

Unfortunately, for some odd reason, I do care if complete strangers are mad at me.... I don't understand it at all. Maybe, I just shouldn't say anything and have the person who's doing the apologizing guess what I'd say or what's going on in my mind. But, shouldn't you say something after someone says "sorry" to you? Agh, Why must I be so nice and care so much? They're just strangers.

La Lezione d'Italiano Comincia Alle Nove e Mezzo - Italian Class Starts at 9:30

I'm usually late to my Italian class which, as you can see above, starts at 9:30. Most of the time it's because I sleep in and have to take a later bus that gets me on campus at 9:30 on the dot, but I still have to walk to the building where I have class and that takes about two minutes going across the street and my class is on the second floor so that's another one or two minutes.Today was different though. Sometimes I'm a really heavy sleeper, sometimes I'm not... and I guess this was one of the times.

I woke up to a sort of popping sound and I'm like, "what?". I looked at my alarm clock and saw that it was completely off. Well, at this time I'm like, "Dang, the power went out...". So, I literally rolled out of bed, looked for my rubber rocketdog flip flops --- but couldn't find them --- and walked down to the garage to check the circuit breaker and switch things on and off... there was no difference. I could only wait. Once I walked upstairs again, I tried to go back to bed, but I couldn't after being woken up already. 

Anyway, I took a shower in the dark since the power was still off and didn't come back on until 8:00... nearly 40 minutes later. I hate not having light and it gave me at least for forty minutes that I often take electricity for granted. This was a common thing in Santo Domingo where my mom's from and we went there once, but I guess I was just too little to care.

So, what does this have to do with Italian class? Nothing... sort of. By the power going out early this morning, I was forced to wake up early thus having enough time to get ready to take the 8:50 bus that would get me to class BEFORE 9:30. That's all, really. I just thought it's be better starting with the 'why' instead of going like, "I woke up early, which sucked, and got to class on time. The End!" 

Tired Times Fifty-Two To The Nth Power

I'm so very tired. I wasn't at school on Monday or Tuesday because of a stomach flu/cold type thing. It was probably just something I ate the day before and it was extremely cold in the house too, so I was out of commission the whole day on Monday and just half the day on Tuesday. I missed one linguistics class, two Italian classes, one art class, and one Spanish history class. Needless to say, I've been making up those classes.

Today, we had a vocabulary quiz in Italian class. I think I bombed it because I studied the conjugation of regular and irregular -er and -ir verbs, but the vocab... not so much. After class, even though my eyes were drooping and I very much wanted to sleep, I had to do an online quiz. It was just four questions and if you BS your way through it, you pretty much get 100 points. So, that wasn't so bad. 

Finally, we had a test in Intro to Bilingualism. Multiple choice, short answer, and essay. I don't do well on tests, so I'd say I got under a C on that one. After that, I was done with school stuff for the day. However, my messenger bag was digging into my shoulder and my shoulders would lean to one side. I've had enough and went to the CVS and bought a backpack along with some treats.

Now, I have to go to work at 5:30. It's just 4.5 hours, but when you're so tired, it seems like a lifetime. Fortunately tomorrow, I get to sleep in. Maybe not as late as I'd like because I have to work at 10:30, but at least I don't have to wake up at 8:00

New Sealy Posturepedic

I got my new mattress yesterday and it was late might I add. First, it was supposed to be delivered from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm but got here a little after 6:00 pm. I was at work from 10:30 to 4:00 and all the time I was thinking that my mattress had arrived. I got home at around 4:30 and still there was no mattress. It's all good now though, I have my mattress and no I'm thinking it's too big for my room. It's a queen size mattress and takes up quite some space in my room, but that's what happens when you upgrade from a twin size bed. I just have to adjust to the reduction in space. I slept on it last night and I think it was the best sleep I've had in years. Not to mention my back didn't hurt either. I found myself switching from one side of the bed to the other just because I'm not used to having two sides all to myself. That's also something I have to adjust to.

Oh, and the sheets I bought... They're so soft and I love the colors! I actually bought the sheets a week ago so it would be done. The set is called 'Orkaisi'. I like it, but I wonder if having four pillows is necessary.

This isn't my room but my digital camera is on the fritz so I just googled a picture.

Fourth Week or So of School

I am hating school right now. The only thing keeping me going is the fact that I will be graduating this semester... then I'll be DONE! No grad school for me, at least not in the immediate future anyway. Five years in school may not seem like much, but I can't do it anymore. The B.S.-ing on papers, pretending to like your classmates and teachers, getting up super early, insane deadlines, finals, all that good stuff.

Speaking of which, I'm supposed to be writing a paper as I write this post. It's about the personality of the Cid (a national Spanish hero of the reconquest) in these short poems we read in class called "romances"... or at least that's my aim. There are just so many ideas we've talked about that I want to incorporate... but I don't want to complicate my topic for adding in other ideas that may correspond slightly to another topic. I don't even know why I have to write the whole paper (4-5 pages) today. I mean, the actualy paper isn't due until September 22nd so I have some time. What we're doing today is going over our  outline. To me, outline is this since I've spent so many sleepless nights doing these before writing a draft in High School:

 

I. Intro

    A. yadda yadda

        i. I will talk about how awesome  yadda yadda is

        ii.I will use this quote about yadda yadda to prove myself

or something similar that just serves as a guidline to a draft.-- i.e. organized notes.

 

So, that's probably what I'll do since we're not turning them in and just working in groups. If she's angry... who cares. But she did say outline so she CAN'T and SHOULDN'T get angry. Besides, it's not like I'll have nothing written. Also, I'm going with the outline instead of the draft because of time constraints. There's no surprise there.

I had class all day on Monday and couldn't really clean out my room. On Tuesday, I got home early and started washing clothes so that they'd be clean when I put them in my closet. Then that way I could move things around in my room... or at least that was the idea. Since I went to bed late on Monday and used my brain for quite some time during classes that day, I was very tired on Tuesday. I did wash clothes, but I didn't really start on moving anything in the room because, after a good amount of clothing was washed, I fell asleep watching the trial of Michael Riley. He had been over medicating his four year old daughter and administered the final lethal dose that ultimately killed her. It was tragic, I mean, how can someone murder their own child let alone anybody else. I couldn't continue watching. So I was asleep and woke up in time to take out the trash and get ready for work. Today, I'm going to have to up the ante and do a lot of work if I'm going to get my mattress out of there and room cleaned up by Saturday.

Plus, I've been working on my art projects for my digital design class. That takes up a lot of time since we're using Photoshop, which I'm familiar with, but Illustrator as well, which I'm not so familiar with, so I've been checking out tutorials.

I'm working 23 hours a week (I've changed it to just 16 hours a week and that won't go into effect until the 25th. That should make a difference on the work front) and have other homework due like possibly other college students are doing, I just don't have time write a whole draft, four pages and all. Especially since it's not being turned in.

Computers and Such - Microsoft vs. Windows (Warning: This Post Contains No Technical Comparisons of the Two Operating Systems)

 My dad bought me a Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop in '07 and I have no complaints with it, well except for the fact that the battery died after a month and now it has to be plugged in to a socket. Due to my own stupidity and my inability to take care of nice things, the hinge is breaking off so I have to be extra careful when closing, opening, and setting the laptop upright. Also, since I'm eating while writing papers and the like, many of the keys are pretty sticky. I have to apply an insane amount of force to just type any capital letter, w,n,s, or simply delete a letter. Other than that, it works great!

I just don't have a few hundred dollars to waste on a laptop that is a luxury and by no means a necessity. I have a capable desktop that was bought last year. It's certainly newer, more powerful, and all the keys on the keyboard work. I just need something to use Photoshop, browse the internet, play the occasional game during finals, check e-mail, and all that good stuff.

Also, if I do decide to get another laptop (or just another desktop), I'd want to save up for a MacBook or iMac. Macintosh was my first computer and I've had good memories with it. It was way before I knew anything about computers let alone the fact that Windows even existed. My dad, my brother, and I would spend hours upon hours playing such games as "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "The Secret of Monkey Island", "King's Quest VII", and other awesome adventure games.

 

Those were the days. But as I grew up, Windows became more dominant in my life. The only time I'd interact with Macintosh computers where at school, and then that wouldn't come until much later, when I went to college (we'd get the occasional Macs in high school, but there weren't many that weren't being used for classes).

I fell in love with the new designs. The object dock was one of the main things I really liked. The other being iLife. I've never tried it, but I read about it on Apple's website. GarageBand really caught my eye since I play piano and at the time was in a band. Albeit my dad's Latin jazz band, but a band nonetheless.

A couple years later, I would go to a computer fair where I spoke to a few people about Macintosh vs. PC. Something I wouldn't ask now because I know now that I can't really make a decision between those two based on someone else's opinion. I'd have to try it myself (for more than just school work). However, this guy I talked to said that he had a Windows, but used a Macintosh for more creative things. For example, Photoshop, Flash, writing out music on Finale etc. My eyes lit up, that's what I wanted to do, and that's the impression I had, and still have, of Macintosh. Besides, Macintosh UI (I hope I'm using that right, I've come a long way from the young kid who knew nothing about computers, but I still know very little), although Windows 7 is looking pretty good too.

 

Fast forward two or three years and I still want a Mac, whether it's an iMac or a MacBook. I don't care... I just want a Mac. But the price... it's enough to give you a heart attack. I just hope Apple doesn't go out of business by the time a rake up enough dough to buy one. I seriously doubt that though what with everyone and their mother wanting iPods and iPhones.

 

Creative Type Stuff

I finished my print last night. There was no shading but I think I made up for that with the background. The girl looks sort of... strange though. I don't know, I just don't like it... but I do like the background. My style is just... boring. If I could re-draw it, I would, but then I'd still be unhappy with it and not to mention I don't have time since it's due today at 6:00. Anyway, they're being critiqued during class and I don't do well with critiques. I mean, I don't get all angry and stuff... but I do get somewhat sad and/or depressed if I get a bad critique, maybe with some anger mixed in, but that's pretty rare.

Anyway, I did this last night on a trial of Adobe Photoshop cs5 because my copy of cs3 was accidentally stepped on and broken. I've been spending the past few hours looking for free or cheap alternatives because I can't dish out over 600 dollars for it. I've also been looking at an Illustrator alternative. The Illustrator cs5 trial that I downloaded was too laggy on my computer so I immediately removed that. I'm thinking about using Inkscape... but I haven't been able to figure out how to use it.

After doing this assignment, It's sort of taken me out of my block and I want to keep drawing and coloring. But, I can't do that until I at least find some image editing software that is NOT MS Paint. I also want to try out vector graphics.

Here's last night's image so y'all can make fun of it.

 

New Mattress

I bought a mattress yesterday at Slumberland in Iowa City. It kind of amazed me that I bought a mattress that same day. Maybe I made a choice to fast because I tried out only a few firm and luxury firm/plush mattresses and made my decision kind of rushed because they were closing at 6:00... 2o minutes at that time. Also, the other mattresses that I sort of liked were way in my price range but would be a lot more added on with the cost of delivery, box spring, and metal frame.

The first one the salesman showed us was a Sealy Posturepedic Firm mattress. I'd try out the luxury firm, which was okay, then some other high end firm mattresses but I'd always go back and try the Sealy Posturepedic. Even though the decision was a bit rushed and probably spurred on by the notion that the next day after they opened, the prices would go up (it was an extended labor day sale) I think I made a good decision. I am a little worried right now, but I think that's normal until I get the actual mattress on Saturday.

My main concern is that it looks like my old mattress. That's to say that the top of the mattress looks sort of... boring, and if you lay on it without sheets, it's sort of scratchy instead of soft... if that makes any sense. But I don't think that should matter really. It's not like I'll be sleeping without sheets and bed covers anyway, so it shouldn't be a big deal.

Online Mattress Shopping

I'm still shopping for mattresses as I'm writing this. I chose online because that way the mattress will be shipped to our address instead of us having to rent a truck to store the mattresses and drive over an hour to the nearest Sam's Club. I'm still checking if there are stores that sell mattresses closer to where we live... but we'd still need to rent a truck. I don't want to do that. Still, I'm at school almost all day on Monday, I don't get home until 11:16 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I work from 5:00 to 10:00 and then Don't get home until 3:00 on Wednesdays and Fridays. I heard that if delivery companies bring something that big to your door and you're not there three times, they return it. So now I'm thinking maybe we should just rent a truck and buy the mattresses. Also, that way, we won't have to wait a week or two before getting them.

I just wish that I would stop fussing about this. It's just a mattress really. But this is my back I'm talking about. If I'm going to buy a mattress, it has to be one that is relatively inexpensive (obviously) and will support my back--I even slept on the couch because my current mattress is too soft. Maybe it is better to just go into a store and check out the mattresses, that way I can try it out... I'll talk to my mom about it and see what she wants to do. 

This seems like such a silly thing to lose sleep over.

 

Time on My Hands

I should really be doing homework right now…

Instead, I’m sitting at home, writing on this computer, and watching TV. I didn’t even do exercise which I vowed to start this week if I’m going to be a bridesmaid at my friend’s wedding, nor did I wash my stinky hair.

I am so tired after school and I don’t really understand it. I mean, it’s not like I’m walking to school, running from class to class or doing jumping jacks in my free time. I don’t even want to sit down and work on my print that’s due on the 13th of this month. I have the concept done, but I still need to draw, ink, scan it into Photoshop, add text, and crop it to a size that’s suitable for the project. Not only that, but we have to have a concept of  our first book project.

Now for that, I got inspiration from my friend’s upcoming wedding. My idea was to chronicle a couple’s relationship. I don’t want to have too many pages so I’ll probably just go through the couple’s first meeting, first date, third date, two pages where they’re doing various activities (ie. swimming, dinner, picnic etc.) engagement, and then wedding. I’m not sure if I’ll have a final page that shows their happily-ever-after… but that’s pretty much my idea.

Well, as the title says, I have all this time on my hands, but I’m not doing anything with it at the moment. I really have to do something about this fatigue.

All Hallows Eve

It's not even half way into September, and I'm already thinking about Halloween. A couple years ago, I wanted to be a Jedi Knight but was too lazy to actually buy a costume. And what was the point anyway, all my friends were in Iowa--I was presently in Connecticut--and I sure as hell was not going to go out by myself in a makeshift Jedi Knight costume that consisted of my burgundy bath robe, my taekwondo gi, and cardboard cylinder posing as a lightsaber. So, I gave out candy to the few kids that knocked on our door. 

Fast forward two years in the future. I'm back in Iowa for Halloween. This time I'm with my friends and we all dress up for the festivities. Well, not so much festivities, but we did hang out, played games and took pictures. There was even this Santa lawn ornament strapped to the roof of one of her neighbors houses... awesome! I was a neo hippie while one of my friends was a flapper girl and the other was a doctor. That was fun. I got to put tons of gel in my hair to get it all curly and frizzy and then I put on some butterfly temporary tattoos. 

A year later, a friend of mine was a goth... which I totally wanted to be... but since she already took it, I dressed up as pirate. I liked the costume, I didn't have to buy much of anything since I just used an old button down shirt, khaki capris, knee-high socks, loafers, and a bandana. All that was bought was a tri-cornered hat and a toy flintlock pistol. My 'goth' friend also had an inflatable parrot to put on my shoulder, but I didn't end up using it because I forgot it at home.

Now, I want to be some sort of superhero. This might be the last halloween all three of us have together, so I want to dress up as something memorable and fun. I was thinking Storm from X-men or maybe even Freefall from Gen 13. A lot of female superheroes have ridiculous costumes that show off too much skin... that will definitely aide my decision when picking a superheroine.

Juschillin'

I'm back from work and my back is killing me. This isn't supposed to happen. I mean... aren't you supposed to complain of back pain in your forties... fifties...? I've been complaining since forever it seems and I'm not even 23 yet. I blame my mattress. For that reason, I checked out Sam's Club online for a cheap-ish mattress. That twin mattress I'm sleeping on now is as old as I am.

I found a queen size foam mattress for 318 dollars. Shipping is about 50 and tax adds on six dollars. It comes with a bed frame as opposed to the one that has free shipping but is only the mattress and nothing else. Oh well, I think I can pay about 368 bucks to go towards my well being. My mattress budget is 390 anyway. I've heard such great things about memory foam mattresses and hopefully I wake up feeling less lethargic and achy.

Crappy Customer

I was having such a nice time at work today at five, but when I was supposed to leave, my mood went downhill.  A customer service manager came by and told me to turn off my light since I was going home at 10:00.  This was at about 9:53 or so.  Just as she turns off my light, I look up to make sure that my light really is turned off and in the process, I see that I have two people left in my line. One young man in white, and a lady in pink.  In the middle of the guy in white's order, I look up and see that a new person had joined the line.  A new lady in red and black.  Remember, when my light was turned off, there were only two people in the line.  Then, there were three halfway into the first person's order which wasn't that long (five or six things).  

Well, at this point I'm tired and am a little cranky.  I say, "ma'am...", she looks up and seems to be content. Then I say, "I'm closing this lane down... sorry."  I see her mood change in an instant and she yells, "After I've been standing here for some time now... can't you just ring me up?"  I roll my eyes because, obviously, she's full of it.  So I say, "...no".  Thankfully she went elsewhere.  She wasn't waiting there for a while... she had just gotten there and was stupid enough to think that I wouldn't notice she wasn't there before. 

Anyway, what's worse is that after I took all my returns back to the service desk, I see that there's another associate who had re-opened my lane.  I'm like, "what the hell?" Now I'm gonna look like a liar and I hate that more than anything. 

Honestly, people at Wal-Mart, especially before the football season starts, are so annoying.  I just wanted to punch her and a few other nasty customers.  I found it kind of funny since I had to do a customer service expectation training on the computer. Basically it was telling us how to be "Wal-Mart Friendly" and that it was "Not an option, but an associate expectation"... I say, screw that.

A Case of the Blahs and Impulse Buys

Today started out as an uneventful day... until I got an idea that made me giddy the rest of the day... but that comes later. 


I woke up at 1:05 and was dreading the rest of the day because I had to go work at 5:00. Not only that, but my room was a mess because I had the genius idea of rearranging it so I had more of a work studio. In other words, I didn't want to get up from my computer to go to my art table or my keyboard, but lamentably, the keyboard then would've been in the middle of the room and it would have looked odd... so I had to deviate from my initial plan. 

Anyway, after the rearranging, I had lots of Wal-Mart bags, broken jewel cases, coins, and empty game cases in the middle of the room. I had a quick breakfast, turned on my computer, logged on to pandora.com, and started to pick stuff up. My goal was not to completely finish everything before work, just to make it look I had made progress so that my mom wouldn't yell at me after coming home. 

After a couple of songs, I decided I was in need of a break. I sat at my computer to play Street Fighter IV which I had bought over four days ago but only got to downloading today since something was jacked up on the site. There were two hours left until I had to get ready for work and I definitely was going to enjoy that time. Well, I would've played it, if I could've gotten the game to work at all. I spent almost an hour trying to turn on Direct 3D or whatever. Then after I had accomplished that, all I'd get after clicking on the executable was a black screen. I've tried waiting a couple of minutes to see if something would happen... no... nothing. And I was looking forward to it too. 

I don't understand it. I've checked the system requirements and it looked like everything checked out. The only thing I didn't have was an Xbox controller for windows. Oh well, I think I solved the problem anyway.

Wait for it... wait for it...

I bought a Play Station 3!

I know what you may be thinking, "Isn't it kind of silly to make a 300 dollar investment on a Play Station 3 for just one game?"

Well, maybe... but after so many years, the Play Station 3 has finally swayed me with games that aren't out for my trusty Nintendo Wii and I have an old PS one, my brother owns a PS2, why not finish it off with a PS3.

Visit To Rural Scoggins, Minnesota

Beware, beyond here be wee SPOILERS! -- eh, really depends on what you consider a spoiler... I bought Puzzle Agent from Telltale Games about two days ago and have been hooked on it. Let me tell you, if you like being faced with a puzzle without feeling the intense urge to throw your keyboard at your computer screen then this game is for you. Unfortunately, I tend to get uber frustrated at solving puzzles and I'm not ashamed to say that. Think what you will. However I still enjoy this game and get a strange thrill when trying to solve a puzzle myself and then actually solving it.I would likely play it again even though it seems that the game play doesn't change after playing through once.

The game starts out with Nelson Tethers who works in the U.S Department of Puzzle Research. Something is amiss at the Scoggins, Minnesota eraser company and inquiry towards them by the White house have been met with strange puzzles. It's Nelson Tethers' job to try and solve these puzzles and find out what has happened to the eraser factory. The game feels like one of those quirky scary movies. It's not terribly scary, but you know something's wrong with the town and the townsfolk and everything's just... creepy... for lack of a better word. For example, people blankly stare at Nelson for long periods of time, they don't respond when he's talking them, odd answers, things like that... and don't get me started on the creepy gnomes. Well, I tried to describe the suspense but it's better seen with your own two eyes. I'm still not done with the game because of some computer rebooting problems and having to restart the adventure a couple times... but I'll definitely play the next chance I get.

Wally World Rant

I know that most people would say you don't have to like your job and I think that as well to a point. However, I'm dreading work every time even more than usual.

I work at Wal-Mart as a cashier and it's pretty nice sometimes (a very small sometimes)... but on days like today, where it seems like everybody in the whole city AND their mother is in the store (which is most times), it sucks. You get a lot of blank and oftentimes angry stares in your line when you're going as fast as you can. Honestly, do people think that we're robots programmed to run everybody's items at the speed of light?

I especially love those people who complain about how there are so many people and how slow everybody is. Hmmm... here's a thought. If you want to get through the line quickly don't buy so much stuff... or if you don't like that the store's so freaking crowded every freaking day (especially on weekends) don't even go shopping there on those days. It's not like Wal-Mart will go out of business or burn to the ground on the days you're not shopping there. And if so, there are many other stores to shop at.

Another type I like, is the person who rearranges everything according to the plan in their head. If I were telepathic there'd be no problem... but I'm not. How about telling the cashiers where you want everything because even though that's annoying too, you do have the right to say you want something bagged a particular way. This seems stupid, but it makes me feel bad and my self esteem goes down a couple notches because you're telling everybody who's watching that I don't know how to bag and I don't have enough sense to know that obviously marshmallows don't go in with bread because marshmallows are junk food or those same light fluffy marshmallows might magically solidify and squish the bread while being tossed around in your car. Maybe that's an exaggeration... but you get the point. 

It's always so busy here. Maybe I should've thought about that when I applied... but unfortunately I did not. Still, the day goes by faster with so many people but unfortunately some customers have complaints and we get a lot of those now that we're doing this remodel of the store that for some reason is deemed necessary. The complaints are mostly due to not being able to find anything... but what do you expect with a remodel.Though, we can do without the new fangled touch screen registers which have been even more if not equally problematic than the older ones. 

And the bathrooms sure are a great improvement on the old ones. I don't know about the men's bathrooms since I'm not a guy and can't enter said bathroom nor do I want to, but the ladies' bathroom used to have two paper towel dispensers, two hand dryers, and stalls whose doors would only be closed when they were occupied. Now, we have ONE towel dispenser, ONE hand dryer, some odd mystery thing beside tampon/pads machine, and stalls that would stay closed even if no one was in it, which means that we have to walk down the line of stalls and sort of check if someone's in it either through the crack between the door and the frame or underneath... which is obviously disturbing.

Maybe after this remodel I'll get back to semi-liking my job again. Sorry, it was hot and I get cranky in this weather. Our store doesn't believe in turning on the A/C it seems.

Something Fishy in Hyrule (Complete Boredom, Sugar, and Video Games Don't Mix)

I've been playing Twilight Princess and I gotta say, I'm loving this installment of The Legend of Zelda series. I'm to the point where I can't wait for Skyward Sword to come out. However, I do wish that they would've given Link an instrument instead of just having him howl (my ears can't take it).

Something else is odd though. Well, there's a spirit in Faron spring... and one in Ordon spring and Eldin spring in Kakariko. Since Ordon village doesn't have any internal plumbing in its houses... or none that I could see... where would the inhabitants go to bathe? There's always that river that runs through the village and pools behind it, but I don't imagine that to be very private what with the whole village being just a few feet away. What if the villagers wanted a more secluded spot? Would they walk to the Ordon spring which is more secluded since there's a gate and walls and there's even a spot up on a few steps for added privacy. Or would they go all the way to Faron woods and bathe in Faron spring? That seems a bit much but it would be private since the only person there is Coro and he seems more interested in the birds than in anyone else. But with those two choices... there's still a problem... the spirits. If you were an Ordonian villager and knew about the spirits in the springs, would you want to bathe there? I certaintly wouldn't. So I guess the river behind Ordon village would be your best bet. At least that way you'll be able to see the peeping toms, because lets face it, a peeping spirit who has the ability to hide himself in the springs water is much scarier than peeping humans you can throw shoes at and maim.

Kakariko has the same problem, but they do have a hot spring above the Elde Inn. However, unless the villagers and guests are great jumpers (while using the little ramp with the sign next to it), they can't get to the hot spring. Also, there'd have to be a Goron in front of the inn and get on his back to get to the top.... but who'd want to do that just so they could bathe? You could also go to Kakariko gorge and use the hotspring there. So lets see... Kakriko's best bet would be to just use the pool behind Eldin Spring. Yes, there may be a spirit but they'd have to deal with that. The water in the hotsprings is too shallow to bathe in.

Next up is the fact that Link can use hotspring water to regain hearts and it's even sold in Hyrule Castle Town. Anyone else think that's kinda... ick. I mean, the water in Zora's domain is alright because it seems like it's being treated (I'm thinking of the house in Ocarina of Time with the doctor in Lake Hylia) but you just put some hotspring water in a bottle and drink it. Gross... it probably tastes like... Gorons and other beings that have been in the water. I don't want to imagine that.

Maybe I'm thinking too much about this. Actually... I know I am because I've had about a dozen oreos and a bunch of fruit punch... not to mention other sugary goods. When that happens, I tend to over think simple things like this. All in all, it's just a game and anything's possible in a game. Like how wearing shiny blue ninja armor makes Link able to swim underwater without worrying about air. Ah, game logic.

Shoes

I bought one of those women's athletic shoes today after work. These were Danskin which I think is a Wal-Mart brand... not sure. Without feet in them, they look kind of weird, but once you have them on they sorta look... kinda... normal. I heard somewhere that they were supposed to help posture (my posture is awful and I have this pain in my upper back) but those were the Sketchers Shape-Ups. However, since I don't have hundreds of dollars to throw away on shoes that may or may not 'work'... I decided to buy the Danskin ones for 25 bucks which look pretty much the same. They have the black ones but not in my size so I had to suck up my hatred for pink and buy the gray and pink ones 'cause I needed shoes. I really don't care if they tone my buns and thighs, slim me, or whatever the hell else Sketcher Shape-Ups and the rest of them newfangled boat bottomed athletic shoes do.

 

General Motors With the Vista OS! The Next Generation of Auto-ing

 

This was given to me way back during the release of Microsoft's new OS, Vista. I just found it a couple days ago (I thought it was lost during my move from Connecticut). My Physics teacher always liked to start class with current events and the like, so he gave us a print out of something he found on the 'net.
Now is where my own words stop and the words of whomever it was that wrote this being. Basically what's in bold isn't mine.

Gates vs. GM
For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on. At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon." In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics: 

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash... twice a day

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this

4. Occasionally, execution a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive, but would only run on five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed and Illegal Operation" warning light

7. The airbag system would ask, "Are You Sure?" before deploying

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key, and grabbed hold of the radio antenna

9. Every time a new car was introduced, car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car

10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off

Okay, back to me speaking -- er, writing.
I imagine that if this were to happen sometime, in the far far far far x infinity future, anybody would completely and utterly hate driving. I think it'd be easier to use a computer with those "problems" than it would be to drive a car like that... especially if it shuts down if you steer wrong or deploys the airbags only after you give your consent. Uh... you'd be dead or seriously wounded before you could scream 'YES!' at the top of your lungs. But hopefully your car would also have a menu or check off list somewhere in the glove compartment where you can shut off features like that. 
Let's just hope that General Motors or Microsoft never do decide to buy the other out. However, having a security feature like Vista does that pops up after you do pretty much ANYTHING would be sweet only if, and ONLY IF, something pops up on the windshield or wherever they'd choose to put it when thieves try to get into your car. It would freeze them so they can't do anything until you hear the alarm and run to the scene. It'll be like "An unnauthorized action is being performed on your car... do you wish to let it continue?" Since it'll keep the thief frozen, you'll have enought time to get your bat/golf clubs/racket... or your AK-47 and deal a decent amount of justice.

NOTE: Actually I don't have an AK-47 and I'm generally opposed to guns... a kid in my last semester storytelling class does though. I would seriously not mess with him.

 

100 Themes Challenge

Saw this on a deviantart group I joined that's devoted to a thing called 100 themes challenge. Basically you have 100 themes and the challenge is to draw something for all of them. Since I'm pretty much stuck in the fan art rut right now, I'm going to try this and I expect myself to stick to it. Hopefully things work out this time.

1. Introduction

2. Love

3. Light

4. Dark

5. Rot

6. Break

7. Heaven

8. Away

9. Cut

10. Breathe

11. Memory

12. Insanity

13. Misfortune

14. Smile

15. Silence

16. Spit

17. Blood

18. Under

19. Gray

20. Fortitude

21. War

22. Mother

23. Distastefull

24. Want

25. Lurking

26. Europe

27. Foreign

28. Sorrow

29. Urban

30. Rain

31. Flower

32. Night

33. Wrath

34. Moon

35. Walk

36. Precious

37. See

38. Abandoned

39. Dream

40. 4:29 PM

41. Citric Acid

42. Still

43. Die

44. Two Roads

45. Two Guns

46. Drop

47. Dirt

48. Young

49. Preservatives

50. Breaking the Rules

51. Sport

52. Old

53. Desecrate

54. Tower

55. Need

56. Biohazard

57. Sacrificial

58. Kick in the Head

59. No Way Out

60. Desert

61. Fairy Tale

62. Voodoo

63. Do Not Disturb

64. City

65. Horrorific

66. Snow

67. Drum

68. Hero

69. Annoyance

70. 67%

71. Obsession

72. Mislead

73. I. Can't.

74. Confrontation

75. Mirror

76. Broken

77. Testament

78. Drink

79. FUCK [if this theme offends you you may do the alternate theme "Balk"]

80. Words

81. Pen and Paper

82. +

83. Heal

84. Cold

85. Sick

86. Seeing Red

87. Hunger

88. Pain  

90. Triangle

91. Drown

92. Rape

93. Iron

94. Soft

95. Advertisement

96. Storm

97. Safety

98. Puzzle

99. Alone

100. Gone

Let's Take It From The Top...

Okay, I just have to write this down because if I don't then it'll be on my mind the whole day. Sometimes I take a different bus on Wednesdays and Fridays because I get out of class at 12:20 and I pretty much just want to go home right away. So, instead of waiting for the bus that comes at 1:20 or so and takes me straight to my neighborhood, I take the bus that stays at the downtown bus stop from 12:20 or earlier and leaves at 12:30. I usually stop somewhere that is a couple blocks away from my house and walk to my street otherwise it'll take me to the mall, stop for a while, then make a loop and finally take me to my stop.

So, I took the second bus route today and I'm walking up from the stop.  On the way, I see this blue car that honks at me. I didn't get a good look at the driver so I have no idea who it is and if they even know me. This is probably the third time it happened, and I know it's the same car because I saw it two of those three times. Today, the driver honked and passed me.  I just looked back all while thinking "Who is that?".  I told my mom about it once and she said it might be one of her friends but that particular friend hasn't seen me since I was 13 and I doubt they'd remember me... it could be though.

It's more frustrating than creepy because I don't know who it is... It might be someone from work but I don't really look at the type of cars people drive so I wouldn't know. Maybe it's someone from class... but I usually keep to myself so I don't know why someone would honk at me and greet me on the street from their car, unless they're really friendly. I know it's not one of my friends because one has a red car and the other has a green car and she's probably at work by now. Maybe, and this is the explanation I'm leaning towards, it's a big joke or a misunderstanding. There's probably this guy...or girl... that thinks it's funny to honk at people on their way home, or they think I'm somebody else. Man, it sucks not knowing who it is.

N Is For No Survivors!

I find myself getting back into watching SpongeBob after I stopped watching it semi-regularly. While SpongeBob was and still is a character I like because of his funny voice, naive outlook on life, and random laughter, I find that Plankton is steadily becoming my favorite. I like the fact that he's supposed to be an "evil" character who is always after the secret formula of the Krabby Patty yet you can't help but feel sorry for him. He can't seem to get his evilness right and for some reason I think that's funny. Another reason why I think he's funny is his voice. He shouts and talks all diabolical and it's kind of monotone. I don't know how to explain it but I think it adds to his funniness. So, in honor of the "evil villain" Sheldon J. Plankton ... some quotes:
---------------------------------------------------
"U is for Uranium... BOMBS!"
---------------------------------------------------
"Your whole life will become a swirling torrent of pain and misery!"
---------------------------------------------------
"This is my Lab! *Labrador barking* And this is my laboratory!"
------------------------------------------------------
"Just look at him. Square... the shape of evil!!"
-----------------------------------------------------
"I WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU!!!"
-------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Krabs:    "What's that smell in the air? ...I smell...PLANKTON!"
Plankton:     "Oh yeah, Well I smell... phew, he's RIGHT!"
---------------------------------------------------------
Plankton:    "Shut your mouth, you mediocre clarinet-player!"
Squidward:  "Mediocre?"
Plankton:    "You pretentious little insignificant artist. Your sniveling creations are worth less than a protozoan's waste."
--------------------------------------------------------------
" It is becoming increasingly obvious... I can deny it no longer... I am small."
------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ravioli ravioli, give me the formuoli"

Around Again

I have this really upset stomach again. Normally, I wouldn't think it's a big deal because I get an upset--and I mean tremendously upset--stomach every month or so (Girls, you know what I'm talking about). But this time, it's not that, and I'm driving myself crazy wondering what it is. Here are some of my ideas as to what it could be:

One -- I think my stomach may be starving, or at least semi-starving, because I don't eat breakfast in the morning and basically eat little snacks during the day with one other meal.

Two -- it could be the opposite. I don't eat breakfast in the morning yet my snacks are pretty big, therefore I eat a lot and my tummy hurts because of it.

Three -- I may have some parasitic worm that eats up all the food in my stomach constantly making me feel hungry thus having this stomach issue. This one comes straight from my insane mind. The same one that thought I had radiation sickness during Freshman year of high school (seriously, I had MOST of the symptoms, though I obviously didn't die).... but that's another story.

So, I went to work anyway and at about 8:30 I felt like vomiting. The feeling was full blown at 9 something during my break. At this point, I was feeling like a pregnant lady experiencing morning sickness, which is funny because I've never been pregnant so I don't know the feeling and I hope don't get pregnant any time soon. Luckily, the feeling subsided at 10:00 -- an hour before I left.

Now my mom says it's probably because I was eating prunes -- which she made me eat -- but I was sick before that and I missed a day of classes because of it. So, I don't think it was the prunes. I'm sticking with my parasitic worm story though... just because I like living a fantasy more than the cold reality.

Vampires Picket Blood Bank! - From Uncle John's Triumphant 20th Anniversary Bathroom Reader

I always love the real and bizarre news headlines in Bathroom Reader books... Here's the one in the current book I'm reading.

• Researcher Calculates A Snowball's Chance In Hell To Be .000000000134%
• Missing Baby Found Inside Watermelon! He's Alive!
• Scientist Proves Earth Is Going Through Menopause! Global Warming Is Earth's Hot Flashes!
• Flea Circus Goes Wild With Hunger And Attacks Trainer!
• Researcher Finds More Than 100 Businesses That Are Like Show Business!
• Prom King And Queen Seek U.N. Recognition Of Their Own Country...Promvania!
• Veggie-Eating Mother Has Green Baby!
• Meek Sue To Inherit The Earth!
• Satan Hires Publicist To Improve His Image!
• Firefighter Fired For Fighting Fire With Fire!
• Adam And Ever Found In Asia!
• Bigfoot Cured My Arthritis!
• Bin Laden Wants To Join ZZ Top!
• Moon Rays Turned Apollo Astronauts Into Werewolves
• Germany Invaded--By Nazi raccoons!
• Toads Explode In "Pond Of Death"!
• Vampires Picket Blood Bank
• Seven-Year-Old Gang Member Hijacks UFO!
• Dog Lands Plane After Pilot Has Heart Attack
• Night Watchman Sues Over Working Nights

 

Les Triplettes De Belleville - Mathieu Chedid

What can I say? It's an awesome song!

Why Ask Why? - From "Uncle John's Triumphant 20th Anniversary Bathroom Reader"

I like reading "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader"... it's full of strange facts and funny stories. This was one of my sources of knowledge during our long break. Think of it what you will. Anyway, I was reading last night and came across this little "list"

• If the doctor always says to take two aspirins, why don't we just double their size?
• Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "Quick"?
• Is there ever a day when mattresses are not on sale?
• Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected?
• Do bees get wax in their ears?
• Why do mirrors reflect backwards, but not upside down?
• If Wal-Mart keeps lowering its prices everyday, how come nothing in the store is free?
• Why is it that no matter what color of bubble bath you use, the bubbles are always white?
• Why does it take so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?
• How can traffic come to a standstill? Shouldn't it be a sitstill?
• Why do you start slowing down immediately when the sign says "Speed Zone Ahead"?
• How much faster would lightning travel if it didn't zigzag?
• How do you write zero in Roman numerals?
• Why do drugstores make sick people walk to the back to get their prescriptions, while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front?
• Why isn't "palindrome" spelled "palindromeemordnilap?
• How come you have to go to the "Start" menu to shut down your computer?
• When the stars are out, you can see them; when the lights are out, you can't. Why?
• Can you be a closet claustrophobic?
• Why is it that one match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to light a barbecue?
• If swimming is such great exercise, how come wales are fat?
• Why "milkshake"? Shouldn't it be called a "milkshook"?
• Why is it that most nudists are people you would never want to see naked?

And this isn't part of the list but it was at the bottom of the page... I thought I should share it
"If a word in the dictionary were misspelled, how would we know?" --Steven Wright

 

How Emo I Be

I was bored and wanted to take a quiz so here it is...