A Nice Day

About every 6 months or so, I take a day and do absolutely nothing. I'm usually pretty active, and a full day of unconscious bliss doesn't sound appealing. Occasionally however, the option to not answer to anyone or exert any effort toward anything; to recharge is the most appealing. Aside from a small efforts of Jenn and Alice to wake me, I remained in bed and asleep for most of the day. Tomorrow I will be back on my feet and living life. Until then, it's a lazy day.

Petsmart

Xerxes and I went to Petsmart yesterday, which was a far more crazy experience than I thought it would be. We hopped in the car, and it was a normal ride until we pulled into the parking lot.




From that point on he was pretty much jumping out of his skin. We got 2 toys: 1 long blue squishy squeaky dog, and a rattley scrunched up dog. He likes them both, but the blue one is his favorite.



I know he can't wait for Kennie and Aubree to get home, but I'm trying to be the best dog sitter ever. (And I promise, if I ever get a dog of my own, I will not put so many pics on my blog.)

Berxerxes

We're getting along great - me 'n Zerk. He goes nuts sometimes...when we see another person...when along dog is around...at 8am...when I get home from work...at 9PM...at 10PM...

He's funny when he plays.




And he got a new toy from Jenn. Crustacean! Say with a french accent.

House 'n Dog

I've come to the conclusion that life just doesn't slow down. I used to have a full day every week or so to recoup, organize: do what I wanted. Once I graduated from college, life gained momentum and now It's like a rock rolling down a hill, gaining speed momentum and excitement. On average I'm going from 5am to 10pm and then I crash.

As an update (I've been absent lately)
- I'm trying to lose 30 pounds
- working a lot
- busy all the time

Now for the adventure this week:

I'm housesitting for Kennie and Aubrey while they vacation in Oregon. It's a long drive from my place, but it's close to work and I get to play with Xerxes, their spunky dog.

I just got here a few hours ago and took some pics. When I got him to somewhat sit still.




I think he was happy to see me.


Sitting did the trick. He is a very photogenic boy!



This will be fun!

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Loco Rocco

I have found a yummy nut.



Loco Roco2 is the most cheerful video game I have ever played. Made for the PSP, the main feature of the game is to tilt the screen from side to side using the bumpers. This allows you, a smiling little adorable jello- ball- thing, to roll and bounce across each level, collecting more balls and making yourself bigger.

The one game where getting fatter gets you points.

In tight spots, you can separate into single parts (if you have 5 of yourself, then you will have 5 little jello balls.)

Pick your own Loco Roco, I'm playing with the Kulche- or Energetic Youngster. I am the hero of the Mui Mui, and the worst nightmare of the Bui Bui. (Exactly the same except the good guys are black and the bad guys are red.)

Yes - even the least suspecting video game character has enemies. While the cheerful music plays, you need to worry about avoidig shapr objects and getting away from unfriendly things that will eat one of you, like the black spider Moja, and the Gigi. Play on (and in) the over-sized penguin, Domingo- Popo. Ram against black clouds.

And the best part: following along with the songs. The game is Japanese, but all the songs are in a gibberish language that makes no sense and makes you feel silly. It reminds me of being six at Girl Scout camp.

When I beat this game, I wanted to play again.

Ferducious Car!

A long time ago, there was a show I watched called "Young Hercules", featuring Ryan Gosling as Hercules. He travelled around mythical ancient Greece with his friends and occaisionally had to go to school, taught by a Centaur Ferducious.

fantastic + righteous = ferducious

My friend Lindsi and I picked it up as a catch word.

And yesterday I saw a ferducious car in my apartment parking lot.

Check it out



Apparently they like Billy Idol



Excuse my shadow




And my favorite part: the Moose on the hood.



Closer up



Whoever owns this car, you're awesome.

Whoever painted this car, you're more awesome.

I believed him

As I was rushing around my apartment getting ready for a Thornbirds extravaganza with Jenn (yup- she's back in town!), and I get a text.

"I broke my leg"

From my boyfriend.

How worried was I? He works at a gym for little kids. How is he supposed to work? I texted and texted and I wasn't getting a response. Shortly after I left his sister a worried voicemail, did the thought come that I was getting April fooled.

I didn't know whether to be worried or good naturedly pissed.

Then he texted that he was at the ER and that he couldn't have his phone. He didn't tell me where he was or if I could come help.

For the next two hours, Jenn and I continued our descent into forbidden love melodrama...

and Matt had me going on this horrible April fools joke.

It wasn't long after he texted that Holly had dropped him off at the hospital that she called me.

"Did Matt April Fools you?" HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Dang it.

He called five minutes later.

"Ironic that it would happen today, huh?" He sounded sad. Down in the dumps.

"Matt, Holly just called me." (I caught you, you dip.)

"Crap"

Good job Matt!! You had me going!

Busy is buzzin, bored is dangerous

An occasional lazy day is a nice treat, but when I'm not ripe for one, I will go crazy. I have discovered that being bored to tears is not just a saying. For me, it's an emotional state. I work hard to increase the irregularity of these episodes, but especially after school ending, I have a lot more time on my hands. It really makes me crazy.

You know it's bad when you play tetris for hours just to fill the time.

Or read two books in one weekend and regret that you were not doing something else. Reading is my favorite activity.

Or organize your iTunes because it makes you feel like you are doing something constructive.

In other words, do busy work when you don't have to. I don't cherish these times. I would rather be talking to people, driving around town...catching up on things I need to do.

My solution to this problem is to plan for the weekend. (With Jen back in town, this should be easier.) I should also get some hobbies. What do you think? Cooking? Hiking? Painting?

What Guys Think?

While girls seem to value their wedding day as a penultimate event in their lives, (socialization, of course being a culprit in this mindset), guys seem to disvalue the day just as much. In guys math

marriage = death

At least social death. Most guys point out the advantages of marriage.

I always hated the guys in movies who viewed their role as groom- to- be, husband, and father as a pain. I didn't understand until recently.

Yes- I am a girl and I want all the matrimonial gushiness, but I want to have fun in the meantime. Yes, logistics sucks sometimes (I don't live with my boyfriend), but freedom and fun rules.

What helped me to understand this? The part of The Lion King where they sing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" Pumba and Timon sing their version at the end of the song and burst into tears.

Simba, Pumba and Timon have been having fun in their bachelor pad jungle, and in comes Nala, who physically attacks Pumba and takes Simba away. If I was Timon or Pumba I wouldn't be happy either. How dare she beat me up and take my friend away? Then Nala tells Simba he needs to reclaim his gone- to- waste kingdom. In other words: leave paradise and re populate the flora and fauna of an entire Savana. Yeah- not fun.

But on the other hand- he does get to roar and have the lionesses get food for him- so how bad can it be in the end?

Here's my glimpse of understanding, guys.

Mind you, I live in a crappy apartment complex

There is a family of six living across the way from me. Six people crammed into a two bedroom apartment. The parent sit outside and smoke at night.

So when I come home at night, I have to walk by them. I say hello and stuff. Sometimes I'll stay and talk.

And sometimes they say hello back and want to talk. Other times they just stare. SUper creepy. I thought maybe they had brain damage or didn't want to talk. But after nine months of doing this, I realized that the times that they didn't respond were when they were tweaking.

That explains why their kids wear rags and they are always late on rent. And why they need food stamps.

I wasn't surprised once I figured it out. I'm more embarrassed that I'm so sheltered.

Hangover 24

I've always loved stories for their characters.

If you're an awesome character (be you good or evil), I will love you until the end. The end of the book, or the movie, or the end of the TV series.

Some of my favorites are Scarlet O'Hara, Darth Vader, Serena Van der Woodsen, and Jack Bauer.


Unfortunately the last of these is why I feel like crap today. 24 is entralling, and exhausting. There's no cut- off between episodes, you just keep watching. You don't mess with Jack Bauer. But when you watch him for 11 hours in one day, he definitely messes with you.



I will go home tonight and watch more until season 5 is done. (I started season 1 in January). Until then, I'm working, and my head hurts and my stomach feels weird (but clean) because I got carried away eating grapefruit while I watched yesterday. Overall, I am lethargic and all I want to do is find out what happens next.

Jack Bauer, I love you, but

DAMN IT!

Dozer!

Matt's brother Bridger just got a puppy on Sunday. The cutest Bloodhound in the world! Dozer! (Or Doser- not quite sure.) Here's a pic of him with Holly.



And here's a video. That's Matt's voice in the background.

Pretty but...

One thing I don't understand: decorative pillows. Chic- definitely. Useful and comfortable- not usually.

I look at pillows like this and I love the designs. I think: when I am in charge of decorations, I will accent my furniture perfectly.

But when I come home and throw myself on the sofa for a night of TV.

Or cozy into a couch corner for a day of reading.

Or situate myself for a productive day of work at home.

Decorative pillows just don't do it.

So awesome, I don't want to get them dirty or mis-shapen (not a good move for the puppies I want in the future).

So awkwardly shaped that they befuddle all cuddling.

I would either avoid them or remove them when I needed to use the furniture.

Yet they remain a temptation for their general brightness and completion of theme.

A great addition and a pain in the butt.

And I love the pillows featured.

Slumdog Millionaire

This was the best movie I have seen in a long time! Loved it! Can't wait to see it again!

Here's what I think about YOU, Stephen King

You're awesome!

I'm reading the third book in the Dark Tower Series, "The Waste Lands". I was skeptical of the series at first, just because it was written by Stephen King and I thought it would be scary, but it is really good! Roland's world in "The Dark Tower" series is very intriguing, and it's mixed with different times of ours. The characters are so true and the descriptions and words King uses are pinpoint perfect.

It was late and I was getting a little reading in before bed and I ran into a word. Didn't know it. Looked it up in the dictionary. Not in dictionary. Stephen King is a genius!

Also, King and I share a common viewpoint. Stephanie Meyer can't write. (Come on. Stab me through the heart, Twilight fans.) Twilight was interesting, and I liked it right after I read it, and everything after that was soap opera crazy. Check out Evil Beet Gossip to see the direct quote from King.

If Stephen King says it, it's good for me, he's earned the right to say that someone's a bad writer.

Does not Compute

Sadly, my computer has broken, and must send it to CA to have it fixed. I won't go into the details, but I hope it will be okay. My blog entries will be less frequent while my computer has surgery, which could take a few weeks.

I'm writing this at ROCKET MEDIA right now on my lunch break.

Here's the good news: I'm going to be writing blogs for ROCKET MEDIA! Yay!

Interesting?....Or AWESOME- ting?

Web logging, or blogging, as it more popularly called, is a growing art.

What once was the world of online journals, and then the place for writers to show off their talent, and then a place to celebrate the daily short message, picture, or video; is now being used by businesses. Everyone who is anyone has a blog. Even if they don't USE it, they still have a PLACE for it on their website.

I spent the past hour and a half reading my subscribed blogs (hooray for RSS feeds!), and checking out new blogs (and adding them to the RSS feed). I strongly believe that in order to become a stronger, better writer, you need to READ.

Multiple writers.

Multiple genres.

Multiple subjects.

Multiple media.

And blogs are one of my favorite media to read...and write.

I was so quiet for the past hour that Matt kept asking what I was doing. I usually am doing whatever I'm doing, and partially paying attention to his video game. I'm sure it was out of the ordinary when he didn't hear a peep from me.

I tried to explain blogging to him, but he doesn't get it. Oh well. You can't love everything.

Here's the thing. I was doing more than having fun. I was finding blogs that would help me at my new job at Rocket Media! I was bettering myself! I was learning!

So in this ironic blog- about- blogging, I reaffirm my love of the Blogosphere.

Gran Torino

The only thing that would have made Gran Torino a better movie would be to have been IN a Ford Torino while watching it at the Drive- In last night.

Clint Eastwood is such an awesome badass! It was like if Jack Bauer was 80. You just don't mess with men like that!

My roommate and i laighed and cried and loved it!

Funny? Yes! Meaningful? Yes! Would I see it again? Yes!

I recommend this one.

OD on OJ

For the past few days, Tropicana has been my best friend. Somehow it managed to nurse me through a coughing, sniffing, blurging, pill- popping altogether miserable cold. I have emerged from my convalescence to return to work today. (I thought I would die of boredom).

I have made a few conclusions about colds:

1. Battlestar Galactica is bad to watch while having a cold. It's an already depressing show. (My apologies to BSG lovers, I've given it three attempts and an honest effort. I'm halfway through season 2.5, and I'm done.) So it doesn't help an already depressed immune system. I switched on How I Met Your Mother, and it made me feel a lot better.

2. Life is better when you pretend you don't have a cold. Go about your daily business and schedule time for naps.

3. Don't drink milk while having a cold.

4. OJ is good!

Movie Review

To be social, I went to see Paul Blart, Mall Cop. Funny, Yes. Dumb, Yes. Meaningful, No. Will I see it again? No way.

I need to make a rubric for movie ratings

Had to try it!

Aubrey was my roommate for two years, so I definitely thought this was awesome when I saw it on her blog!

1. Put Your iTunes/iPod on shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
5. Tag at least 10 friends.
6. Anyone tagged has to do the same, because fun pointlessness spreads like a virus.


If someone says, “Is this okay?” You say?
Poker Face- Lady Gaga
(Yeah- I'm totally unreadable...psych!)


How would you describe yourself?
Represent, Cuba- Orishas
(I do have some spice to myself)


What do you like in a guy/girl?
So Long, Farewell- The Sound of Music
(I must like it when they're not around. I do like being around Matt, but I DO love my autonomy.)


How do you feel today?
Stuck on You- Stacie Orrico
(I am stuck on this survey.)


What is your life’s purpose?
Wish I- Jem
(I do keep wanting things I don't have.)


What is your motto?
Play That Funky Music White Boy- James Brown
(LOLOL! I'm the whitest person ever!)

What do your friends think of you?
Can't Stop Loving You
Van Halen
(Aww.)


What do you think of your parents?
Same Direction- Hoobastank
(They definitely think along the same lines. At one point in my teen years I thought they shared a brain.)


What do you think about very often?
Anytime- Kelly Clarkson
(It's a love song. I do think about Matt a lot.)


What is 2 + 2?
Thanks for the Memories- Fall Out Boy
(Yeah, the memories of when I had to take math in school.)


What do you think of your best friend?
Lift Me Higher- Poets of the Fall
(My best friends make me a better person.)


What do you think of the person you like?
Upside Down- jack Johnson
(He is a little wonky somtimes.)

What is your life story?
A New Day Has Come- Celine Dion
Yup. Especially lately. Lots of opportunities. Just have to get through the tough spots.)


What do you want to be when you grow up?
The Warmth- Incubus
(Whatever that means. Maybe my writing is hot or something.)


What do you think of when you see the person you like?
Breathe- Anna Nalick
(1.5 years and he takes my breath away. Cheesy.)

What will you dance to at your wedding?
Believe- Disturbed
(I will have a hardcore wedding.)


What will they play at your funeral?
Take me Home Country Road- IZ
(This version of "Take me Home Country Road" talks about Hawaii. Sweet! I'm gonna have the afterlife in Hawaii!)


What is your hobby/interest?
Irish Drinking Songs- from Boondock Saints
(Matt is Irish.)


What is your biggest fear?
This is How We Do It- Montell Jordan
(How about having to dance to this song in front of lots of people. I dance in my car, but that's it.)


What is your biggest secret?
Boys Are Back In Town- Thin Lizzy
(I'm not clever enough to connect this one to my life.)


What do you think of your friends?
My Love- Justin Timberlake
(Ain't No One Who Can Take Your Spot, friends.)


What will you post this as?
My Girl- The Temptations
(Not Really, I like the title I made up)

Judge the Meltiness

I love the mozzarella sticks at Sonic. (Sonic has the tag-line America's drive- in; however does not exist in the Bay Area, and I was ignorantly deprived of such deliciousness as I grew up.)

Cheese stick just don't match up to anywhere but Sonic. I order them consistently.

Now I was at Sonic with Aubree today and a guy with a clipboard walked up to our table. I shook my head no at him, thinking he was trying to "help the environment" or "increase minimum wage" or something like that.

Not at all.

He had a survey about the Mozzarella sticks! I marked "excellent" on everything. The overall look of the food, the temperature at which it was served, the taste, the speed of delivery, and the cost. (I could afford those things when I was dirt poor.) My favorite part?: marking "excellent" on the overall meltiness of the cheese.

Way to go Sonic. You are awesome! I will use the $5 gift card I got for taking your survey in the near future.

And Pop

My roommate decorated my apartment for my birthday. It was pretty much awesome to find a card slipped under my door in the morning and the "living room" filled with balloons and the wall covered in posters declaring "Happy Birthday Kate!" The balloons were HUGE though. Amy (my roommate) said that one popped when she was blowing it up and her ears rang.

I didn't believe her until one popped on me and HOLY CRAP! I thought the church bells were ringing for the second coming. It goes without saying that I was spoiled rotten for my birthday. Thanks everyone in my life! I feel so loved!

And since I love everyone in my life so much, I will not cook for you.

My cooking is about as easily combustible as my birthday balloons.

Matt is closing every night at the gym, so I told him I would help him out and make dinner for him once a week. Last night was the first week, and I messed up tuna casserole. I forgot potato chips (1 of 4 ingredients), and even though I put it in the oven, I forgot to mix it up so it was icy cold. Yeah- wow- who does that?

Matt and I had a good laugh about it. He said "Well, now WE'RE cooking every week."



New goal: get better than my boyfriend at cooking. It's kind of disgraceful. At least I don't have an easily combustible boyfriend!

Glued

Right now I'm watching 24. Very Addicting. I mean, I'm getting stuff done...thank you cards, crosswords, cleaning up my computer, socializing via facebook. I couldn't just sit here and watch TV. Jack Bauer is awesome!

Also- another opportunity just popped out of the blue. I'm tutoring a 7th grader in english. This will be so fun!

Playing Again!

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of perpetual motion. End of school- for good. Graduation. Christmas. Full of friends and family, parties, traveling and many things to do in between. I sat down to write a blog about graduating, but it's super surreal right now- being done. Everything was happening so fast, I had trouble soaking up my experiences, as great as they were.

So I'm skipping the holiday season and talking about current events

Yesterday was awesome! Matt and I relaxed at his house watching the Bowl Game. I went home to bathe and eat sourdough bread (brought straight from Fremont. Let me tell you: yum.) We added a short excursion to Borders and Best Buy. Then Stopped for dinner at Joe's Farmhouse, where he ate a burger and me a big ahi tuna salad. Then we hung around in bed and I did my book of crosswords and he played video games. One whole day with my boyfriend.

Is it me or do the best things in life start with B?

Forgive the cheesiness. I'm having fun.

I've also really enjoyed playing the piano. I brought my sheet music back with me from home, and It has been fun plinking away. I'm rusty, but it feels really good to be playing. I'm excited to expand the types of music I play, and get better as I do it.