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...