It's time for the Wedgie Dance!
Wednesday, January 1, 2003
12:36 p.m.
Just got back from snowboarding. Or, we were /supposed/ to go snowboarding, but things didn't really work out that way, as I will explain.
We (Minh, Bridgette, Curtis, Julia, Matt, Cindy (Minh's friend), Irene, and myself) left on Sunday to head off to Reno to go snowboarding. Things didn't really go right from the beginning; we were supposed to have about 12 people total on the trip, but (unsurprisingly) people flaked left and right and so we wound up with only 8. We also got a late start because Julia and Matt were late; finally Minh got impatient and told them (since Minh and I were going in one car; and the others were riding in Bridgette's SUV) that they could catch up with us on the highway.
We got to the Reno area in good time, and stopped at the Boreal ski resort. The guys broke out the snowboards immediately and hit the slopes; the girls were tired and cranky and wanted to go later, so we just slept in the car until the night-skiing time. Everyone else went 'boarding, but I didn't want to since I was still tired (and more than a little cranky) and I really didn't want to change into my snow gear. So, I just shacked up in the lodge with my LotR book and was content. After a while everyone got tired and we headed off to Reno, and we checked into the Days Inn. We tried to make it to the buffet in the Silver Legacy casino, but were too late, because half of the group (Bridgette, Julia, Matt, and Curtis) took too long with their showers and getting ready.
The next day we were determined to go to Squaw Valley (since Boreal, while cheap, is /really/ small) so we loaded up and headed off (late, since while Minh, Cindy, Irene, and I are fairly efficient, the others took double the normal time to get their asses moving, which became *sigh* a typical pattern throughout the whole trip). On the way there, it began to snow really hard, and the road turned icy. We were on the road leading into the heart of the Squaw resort when it began to be very windy and began to blizzard so hard everything turned white, and we decided that it was too dangerous to go any further (at least, without chains) so we stopped to decide what to do. It looked like the resort was probably going to be closed, anyhow, since it's dangerous to be up there in such high winds. Just then Bridgette got a call from her friend Milton who had been skiing at Squaw that morning, telling her that her other friend Moe had crashed into a tree, sustained a concussion, and was on her way to the hospital via ambulance.
We discussed it and decided to head to Boreal, after all, and perhaps have people switch to Minh's car so Bridge could go visit her friend in the Truckee hospital. So, we got back on the highway. Halfway to the summit, it began to blizzard even harder and everyone was being stopped to put on chains. We stopped again and decided that we would all stop, turn around, and go visit Bridge's friend, since Boreal would probably be closed as well. At the hospital, we found that her friend had sustained a mild concussion and had lost all her short term memory. In the meantime, we played outside in the snow *grins* which was really fun, because it was all white powder and there were big fat flakes drifting down from the sky; all very pretty, Winter Wonderland stuff. Curtis and Matt built a snowman on top of Minh's car *grins* which was pretty cute (and I took a photo of it) but Curtis slipped and dropped it later while he was relocating it to a snowbank when we were leaving.
We decided to go back to Reno and perhaps salvage the rest of the day gambling in Circus Circus or something. We were stopped at a 4-way stop intersection when some SUV hit Minh's car with a loud hollow bang. Minh got out, looked at it, and then got back in to move his car to the side of the road. The white Chevrolet kept moving, so we started honking at him and followed him when the SUV suddenly accelerated and tried to run away. He sped into a gas station to cut the corner but slid on ice and slammed into the concrete pole protecting the gas pumps, hitting it hard enough to bend it backwards almost in half, backed out, and sped off down the street, the mechanic in the gas station chasing after him on foot.
It worked out okay; there was hardly any damage to Minh's car (which is pretty surprising, since the Chevrolet SUV hit us pretty hard and had a ram bar in front); the bumper was knocked a little off its moorings but was easily snapped back in. So other than a black smudge on the bumper, it doesn't look like anything happened at all. The SUV, however, lost at least a headlight when he hit the pole and caused more damage to his car than he would have had to pay for had he just stopped in the first place. Who says there's no such thing as karma? ^_^ We reported it to the police anyway, as did the gas station attendant. The cop just came, looked it over, and told us they couldn't really do anything since we didn't get a license plate number because it was all covered in snow, and just to call the insurance company. ...He really wasn't much help, so again, we were pretty lucky to get off with hardly any damage at all.
We got back to the hotel without other mishap, but very late in the day. We'd basically spent the whole day driving around at 25 mph in the snow. We headed off the Circus Circus casino to eat and then left Julia, Matt, and Curtis in the carnival section of the casino so we could gamble. While Minh and Cindy and Irene had made a good deal of money the night before (at least doubling it) that night we lost money. I tried gambling for the first time but lost five dollars, then stopped; I think the others made a little money (or at least cut their losses early on), then we headed back to the hotel. Having underage people in the group meant that we couldn't stay long. They on the other hand, *grins* spent a lot of money on a carnival game where one drops quarters down a slot on top of a pile of quarters to try to make quarters overflow into a catch funnel, to earn tickets. Suffice it to say Curtis got enough tickets to get his girlfriend a huge teddy bear, that cost 1,000 tickets.
The next day was our last day. We woke up to find the tv on and discovered that all the highways leading out of Reno was closed because of the blizzard, so we couldn't go snowboarding or go home. We briefly considered going to the Mt. Rose resort because it was in the opposite direction, but decided that it was way too expensive for such a small resort. Around 9 or so, the news came that things had cleared up, and so we were free to go as long as we had chains on. We decided to head off to breakfast and go gamble a little more, first. We lost a little more money (heh), then headed off. We got back home pretty late, New Year's Eve.
Minh decided that he was too tired to go out like originally planned to go and party in SF, so after dinking around on his computer, he went to bed. I was very disappointed. My idea of how to spend New Year's is to be at a huge party, not at home watching drunken frat kids in scanty clothing shake their asses to hoochie music on MTV. I was also very disappointed because I'd given up going to Las Vegas with Cindy (my friend Cindy) and Sam because I wanted to spend New Year's with Minh, because I hadn't spent it before with him. Him sleeping doesn't count as "spending it with him". My mood was not helped by my friends, all of whom apparently went off to do their own things without even deigning to give me a call and say hi, whatcha doing. Only Kalyan gave me a call back :) and he was sick. Why am I usually the one who has to give my friends a call and ask what they are doing in order to go somewhere? Why can't they call me? And then later I read in their journals that they went off somewhere and had fun together, without me.
Sorry, bad mood. Xmas a bust, New Year's is a bust, too. I'm not even going to pretend that I'm in the holiday spirit anymore.
On the other hand, my turtles seem happy. All three of the water turtles are stacked on top of each other on top of a rock, legs extended for balance. *snerk*
If a tree falls in the forest...with no one around to hear... who would it fall on?
Friday, December 27, 2002
08:34 p.m.
If you could buy any material thing at all in the world (legal or illegal), what would you buy?
It's a deceptively simple question, isn't it?
But think about it. My first thought was that I could buy a country. But would the responsibility be worth it? I would have to set up a government, have laws, work the budget, build houses and roads, and in general keep the people happy so they won't band together and try to overthrow me. Too much hassle.
Then, my perverted mind thought, "What about a love slave or a harem?" But that comes with responsibility as well. I would have to /feed/ them, dammit. And clothe them. And house them. Grrr.
Even a computer; you'd have to pay for the electricity to power it!
How about the ability to control a family like I do in The Sims? Well... even if I feed n clothe them, and make sure they get along with everyone else (or they get into slapping fights, which is really really funny), they'll just randomly die anyway, from electrocution, to fire, to drowning *evil chuckle*, to just getting a fucking cold and keeling over.
So... what can one wish for that doesn't carry a load of worries and responsibilities? ...A bottle of water? Donut?
"Wait here." "Why?" "Because I hate you."
Friday, December 27, 2002
05:36 p.m.
Read an article about how to teach kids to be money-wise.
Basically, make them budget, teach that buying unnecessary items really isn't a bargain, and don't bail them out if they spend all their money on non-essential items.
Or, you can do what my parents did. I was (and still am) fucking reluctant to ask my parents for /anything/ because the odds were, my request would be answered with a flat out 'no'. And I only began getting an allowance of $5 a week (IF my dad was in a good mood) when I was 12. *grins* Going through childhood without money and no means to get what I wanted (short of stealing, hehe) made me into the insane, paranoid Scrooge that I am today. Having less than $100 in my savings account makes me stressed; having a credit card makes me get an ulcer. When I go shopping by myself, I spend at least fifteen minutes dithering in front of a display wondering if I /really/ need this item. My mom says (fatuously, and she changes her mind when she gets pissed at me) that she's raised me right. *snort*
In addition to the book light, my brother gave me a $100 gift card for Barnes and Noble. O_o I hadn't noticed it in the box when I opened it the first time, but today I was sorting through things and cleaning out my car, and I opened the box again and saw it there. Now I felt even /worse/ about yelling at him, so I called him and woke him up to say thank you... ^___________^ I wuv my obba. I can go and buy LotR now!!! BWAHAHAHA! And Tale of Genji!
Steve replaced my side mirrors today XD they look pretty cool, though the mirrors are a smidgen smaller than my stock mirrors and so I have to get used to the bigger blind spot (well, it's better than having no mirror at all, and that's the biggest blind spot of all). It's also tinted blue (for less glare) which takes getting used to, as well. ^__________________^ But we had some problems after putting them in; mostly, the right door panel wouldn't pop back in properly afterwards and after an hour and a half of wrestling with it we gave up and went to the nearest Honda dealership. It turns out that we had to take the manual window crank thingy off (which Steve didn't know how to do, as his Honda is automatic) to lift the whole panel and snap it in. So, I was late to work cuz I'd anticipated that the whole 'put in my mirrors' thing would only take maybe an hour, but instead wound up taking nearly four. >_< Ah well. ^___________^ It's done, and the whole situation only cost me $54.
*gnaw, gnaw*
Thursday, December 26, 2002
10:19 p.m.
This is why I usually keep myself busy all the time with work and school. When I'm on vacation and have nothing better to do but read, type, and watch TV, I eat too damn much. *pats her belly*
Ah well... I'm gonna go snowboarding next week and I'm sure I'll burn off some calories falling down the mountainside. It's really not a safe sport for me; dude, the first (and only) time I went /sledding/ I somehow skidded and tumbled head over heels aaaaall the way down the hill, hitting my head several times. Snowboarding, a sport that requires ten times as much skill as sledding, is much worse.
But, it's fun. XD
In the shower, I was mulling over the lack of females in LotR. I know I think about LotR a lot, but it's partially Cindy's fault, her always talking about Eomer's brilliantly white teeth and Legolas being a 'right sexy elf bitch'. *LMAO* But anyhow... I was thinking that there is an amazing lack of females in the movie that provide the same 'I can kick your ass' movement! I mean, Arwen in the first movie/book does manage that cool little water trick, but seems rather limp the rest of the time. I know that Aragorn and Arwen are the ultimate couple, but at least in the movie it's hard to imagine them together since Aragorn is so vibrantly alive and moving, while Arwen is like...well, a turtle. She's there, but you don't really notice that she's moved unless you look at her in five minute intervals. ...Tho I suppose that /is/ the rationale of their attraction... Galadriel, however, is a bit more impressive (takes a ring of Power to do that XD). Eowyn, however, /should/ be the kick-ass female character that she is in the books, but *sigh* I didn't particularly like how she ended, marrying *SPOILER* and settling down to have his kids. What happened to her fervent wishes for adventure? Got too much, I guess. And I'm sure that there would've been a larger group of fanboys after the women in the movie if they hadn't made the men prettier than the women. *snerks* Especially the elves.
Talked to my brother today; like me, he doesn't hang on to a temper for very long (unlike my mom, who we've known to hang onto a grudge her whole life) and besides, he gave me a nice booklight that I'd been yearning for for years, so it was kinda hard to stay pissed at him after that.
Damn family; I hate their guts a lot of the time, but I still love them anyway, and /because/ I love them, I can't just say fuck this and dump them forever. >_<;; Although I'm still not talking to my mom. Hmph.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
01:27 a.m.
Why does it always happen this way?
I hate myself. Most of the time I can ignore that but when I get with my 'family' it seems I am the catalyst for all our unspoken angers and problems and things start falling apart like falling dominoes.
< /end self pity >
I would write more depressing, self-pitying things since I'm home by myself on fucking Xmas morning, following a big family hooraw that basically resulted in, "she's crazy and just plain wrong" and "she don't know what the fuck she's talking about" since I had lost my temper at their fatuous self-satisfaction and told them certain ugly truths that they didn't appreciate hearing.
Anyway, I'm here, and they're there. Bad timing for the Xmas thing...very very bad timing. Whatever Xmas spirit I had managed to scrape together to avoid being a total Grinch totally gone now.
So before I get too depressed again and cry (yes, I cry)...I'll poke around on the internet... And I do have to warn ya, I'm gonna be verbose in this post cuz no one else is online for me to chat with... =_=...
***********
It /is/ pretty funny how many of my friends (male and female) agree that Legolas and Aragorn are pretty damn...well, gay. *snerk*
The one thing I didn't get for Xmas that I wanted was nekkid elf bound hand and foot with a gigantic red ribbon on strategic places on his body.
...Oh dear, the neighbors upstairs are getting started again. They /always/ do it at this godforsaken hour! And they're not discreet about it; they're louder than a troop of horny chimpanzees. I bet she fakes it. Should I bang on the ceiling? ...Naw...I guess I still got some of that Xmas spirit left.
One positive thing, I got a lot of writing done. Thing is, I've noticed lately that my dialogues are /way/ too long. When I first started writing, I hated writing dialogue cuz it was hard for me, so I forced myself to practice. Now I enjoy myself cuz I like to see how much implied action and implied character information I can put into dialogue, but then there's very little action now! Argh! And I dunno how to balance it anymore! Well.... back when I used to write for other people I'd probably have stressed about it, but right now I'm just doing it for my own amusement.
Tuesday, December 24, 2002
09:57 a.m.
Yesterday I met up with Steve to go poke around salvage yards to look for a replacement mirror. While it was a very interesting experience as we rummaged through the various salvage 'pick n pull' yards scattered throughout the North Bay, we quickly realized that it is hard to find wrecked cars 2000 and newer, much less specifically Civics. >_<; It /was/ an interesting experience, tho, as I said. A salvage yard is a disquieting place, with eerie bashed-in cars sitting forlornly on their blocks, stripped of everything short of their frames. It makes you wonder what stories they would have to tell, if they could talk. What happened? What kind of heartbreak has occured here? Who died in those cars? What have they seen?
Anyway, after a while, we sat in the parking lot and talked it over, and Steve suggested that we go check out the local Pep Boys store cuz they carry racer accessories (I didn't know this, since I don't usually go into automotive stores) and they might have a set of mirrors. And *beams* they did. I was very tempted by the LED version of the mirrors, but couldn't quite afford the $130. The mirrors I did get were 'carbon-fiber-look' which I'm not too thrilled about (I'd prefer /real/ carbon fiber or just black), but I figure I'll get used to them or paint them, or something. *grins* What really tipped the scale was the fact that they were on sale, marked down from $80 to only $50, and also the fact that they are breakaway mirrors, meaning that if I hit my mirrors again, they will just snap off and dangle by a string, and I can just snap them back on again. ^_^; Better than insurance! Steve pointed out that he could probably find them cheaper online, but I'm really sick of looking around (there's only so much car stuff I can handle before I go insane) and besides, auctions and online sales aren't really that guaranteed. Even if the price seems cheap online, the cost of shipping will probably negate whatever savings you do get. I'll go get the mirrors installed later this week, after Xmas. And while I'm at it, put in my air intake XD I got for last Xmas (I think) and headlight bulbs my brother gave me for my birthday.
Tonight I have to go to Xmas Mass with my mom at /midnight/! I don't mind Mass too much, but midnight? My mom ignores me when I ask her bitterly to prove that Jesus really did get born at such a godforsaken hour. And to make matters worse, she's volunteered my brother and myself to be 'greeters' at the Mass, which means I need to stand at the door and say hello and welcome to the other people who are as crazy as my mother is. Last year, she volunteered me to get the collection (when they pass the basket around for donations). The thing is, I wouldn't mind so much if she'd fucking /asked/ me if I wanted to! But no, she just laughs and tells me that helping out is good for me and ignores the rest of my bitching.
I also went to a friend get-together last night. Since there's too many of them and it's costly to get a present for everyone, we do Secret Santa. We also had a twist this year: anonymous wishlists. The wishlist didn't help me at all, since I couldn't fucking tell who wanted what. *shrugs* But my SS, Alex, figured out somehow which in the list was /my/ wishes and gave me Dante's Inferno (heee!)...and book on Japanese body tattooing, *LOL* because I'd asked for an art book on East Asian art, but specified 'no pottery' since most E.Asian art books about China/Korea/Japan waste more than half the book gabbling about early pottery and later ceramics, which I'm not interested in at all (more interested in ink paintings). *snerk* I suppose the tattoo book fulfilled the requirements.
Also went to Golfland again yesterday while waiting to meet up with Steve. Nobody was around for me to humble. I kept getting my ass kicked by the game, however. I think Arcade mode's been jacked up to 'Hard' or 'Ultra Hard', or at least I'm hoping (for the sake of my ego). O_o Shit, it's the first fight and ten seconds into the round Taki is pulling her power moves and jumping all over the fucking place and doing her super-combos and *WHAM* Kilik's dead. Even taking into consideration that Japanese game designers are sadistic and like to make the sequel to a game ten times harder than its predecessor (I'm thinking of PPP2), this was just humiliating. I think I'm improving, however; instead of dying in the first round like I did when I first tried it a few days ago, I died in the fifth. Against Cervantes. That motherfucker was /hard/ in the first Soul Calibur, but he's just next to impossible in this one. It doesn't help that Kilik is a bit slower than many characters recovering from his moves, and I'm not familiar with the fighting patterns of the newer characters so I have trouble defending. But I'm getting better, I think. I'm so sad that Hwang is no longer in the game... it works out for my and Cindy's story arc, but he was nice eye-candy. XD Seung Mina I sorta miss too, even tho she was a bitch to kill... ...the fucking crazy thing is, Maxi's still around. Remember him? He "died" in the first one and it was a very sad affair, but apparently he was only wounded and the 'god of forges' (whoever the fuck that is) had the ground swallow him up, he fell into an underground river and washed up somewhere in a town and got healed in exchange for his memories of Kilik and Xianghua. ...What the fuck? What kind of story is that? *rolls eyes*
I kicked my coworker the other day. He's...jailbait *grin* junior in high school, and, as you can imagine (not to stereotype high schoolers, and I'm sure there're some high schoolers reading this in indignation, since they're so /very/ sure that they know everything), his mind has all the depth and resonance of a puddle. He's really nice, though, and we have fun working together. Anyway, he's very into wrestling, WWF, WCE, whatever they're calling it nowadays. And he was telling me about how he started reading Lord of the Rings, but he dumped it in favor of Hulk Hogan's autobiography. >_<*
Imagine my reaction.
After chewing him out royally (along the lines of, "You prefer to read a has-been wrestler's autobiography as opposed to the book that is considered one of the best fantasy novels of all time?!"), him grinning the whole while and trying to convince me that Hulk Hogan is a very, very deep person, *grins* his sister, who goes to UCLA or Irvine and is about my age, came in and we commiserated together. ^_^ *LOL* And then we double-teamed on him and scolded him some more for another thirty minutes.
This is why I love working the front desk of the YMCA. The pay sucks ass (as opposed to childcare and lifeguarding), but it's the job that maintains my sanity after a long and harrowing week in childcare and aquatics. I like it because of the variety of people I get to talk to, and the variety of the activities I can do (unlike making sure kids don't get themselves killed, and sitting there making sure stupid swimmers don't get themselves drowned). It's a very low-stress job where I can have fun and the day passes by quickly. *Grins* Not to mention that I can muck around online when certain supervisors ain't looking. This job will be the one I miss most when I transfer down to So. Cal.
Sunday, December 22, 2002
11:27 a.m.
I was just reading Sam's blog:
"Also, when Aragorn returns to Helm's Deep and Legolas gives him his thingy, I could have sworn they were going to kiss."
HAHAHA! This is why I love Sammy. ^_^
*lecherous grin*
If you strangled a Smurf, what color would he turn?
Sunday, December 22, 2002
10:49 a.m.
The other day I went to Golfland and took a poke around. They have Soul Calibur 2!!! XD HEEHEEHEEHEEHEE! I wub it so much! Thankfully they didn't change the controls much so I played Kilik (I don't like his new outfits too much--the first is this raggedy trenchcoat/cape thingy, and the second, which I like better, is like his second outfit in the first game, but less...flaming) and kicked people's asses for a while until they gave up in disgust and went off to the /other/ SC2 game that I wasn't playing on. As much as I hated Brian for being the only person I know who can beat me at the game (the only other person was a random stranger who whomped me good at Fanime Con a couple of years ago, when he saw that I was beating people and he decided to humble me), it provided very good incentive and training to get better than most other people. XD And since there aren't a lot of girl gamers, its fun to go to the arcade, play against guys who think that they'll have an easy win, and beat their asses in. ^___^
I want to get SC2 for my PS2, but I talked to Cindy and it's going to come out first on XBOX (grrrr) and PS2 way later. *sigh* In the meantime, I'm planning on catching up on PS1 games that I never had a chance of playing (since I didn't have a PS), like Puzzle Fighter, Xenogears, and Star Ocean, Grandia, etc.
I got a Legolas wallpaper for my computer desktop yesterday. Suffice it to say that Minh has developed a violent dislike for Legolas/Orlando Bloom. *evil grin* It's really not like me to get all fangirly and silly over a guy, but... who can resist? ^_^
Sunday, December 22, 2002
02:55 p.m.
*LOL!*
Find your Role-Playing
Stereotype at mutedfaith.com.
[Angel.]
Out of all the quizzes I've been taking that I've found on Drew n Kalyans' blogs (since I'm bored here at work) this one was the most accurate. The others were... uh, rather random. I'm a Cheery Care Bear, yet I'm an evil scientist who conquers by the book. *LOL*
Thursday, December 19, 2002
11:45 p.m.
Whooo! I'm on a roll!
I haven't laughed this much in ages. Check this page out:
Secret Diaries of Cassandra Claire
Basically a parody of Lord of the Rings characters (What they /really/ thought). *grins* Ooh, I have a cramp now...
Thursday, December 19, 2002
11:41 p.m.
*dies laughing*
I was surfing around and I came across this tongue-in-cheek synopsis of Lord of the Rings.
"A short little guy with hairy feet and his boyfriend throw a ring in a volcano. Oh, and some other stuff happens too."
XD I love it! Tell me what you think!
Thursday, December 19, 2002
07:55 p.m.
I watched the Two Towers today. I loved it! Minh thought that there was way too much talking in it *shrugs* which I didn't feel was true, but we just have different criteria, I guess. He likes the big noisy action movies where things get blown up. *shrug* Ah, well.
The movie was good. At first I felt that everything was way too rushed, but then realized that I can't possibly expect the pace to be anything like the book's (highly detailed and explanatory) since the screenwriters do have to cram 300 pages into 2.5/3 hours. Also, unlike the book, I can't just stop somewhere and go back and savor a particularly good part. After I realized that, the movie got a whole lot better. Some scenes seemed rather too over-melodramatic, like the scene where Gandalf comes to the rescue, brilliant white light shining behind him, his horse rearing up on hind legs and neighing loudly, Gandalf brandishing his staff. Rather cliche, I thought. The writers also took some liberties with the book, which I normally have issues with with any movie-based-on-novel...but I felt that it wasn't as noticeable as it could have been. One part, the Arwen bit, while I don't like it being inserted, I understand was to accentuate the romantic tension between Aragorn and Eowyn (tho in the book Aragorn didn't encourage her at all, whereas in the movie, he was pretty much flirting with her--tho it's explained in the movie with the Arwen scenes...) *rolls eyes* I coulda lived without that part--I mean, in the book, it's completely different, because ***SPOILER*** Arwen doesn't leave for the western shore (in Two Towers, at least), unlike the movie. It's been ages since I've read the books since I lost my LotR book a while ago *sob*, but as I remember, she either chooses to stay with Aragorn or goes west way later when he dies. And then, there're smaller liberties taken with the book, like how Frodo goes to Gondor because Faramir wants the ring (I'm also sort of disappointed by the actor chosen to play him; I was imagining a character similar to Aragorn) which I feel was a diminishing of Faramir's original characterization. I mean, in the books he is a very strong, noble character, more so than his brother, Boromir, but was just overlooked by his father. Also, the length of time taken by the Ents, and what exactly pisses them off enough to go take down Isengard. *Shrugs* But again, those parts aren't really important, and leave the main events in place with the book, so I didn't mind.
XD I think someone out there figured out that Legolas has a large coterie of rabid fangirls, so in this movie he got a good deal more screen time than in the first. *sloppy smile* I wasn't arguing. *ahem* There a couple of girls in the audience from Santa Clara University who squealed every time he came on. They were very amusing. *grins*
Monday, December 16, 2002
06:26 p.m.
Things're looking up. *giggle* After a hefty dose of chocolate, and the news that the parts might not cost as fucking much as I thought, and several offers to fix my car for free.
Though it is rather bizarre not having a side mirror--I didn't realize how much I used it until it was gone. And Steve keeps asking how I coulda missed seeing the wall edge coming up on the mirror--well, I dunno...this is embarrassing...but like I said, I was watching the side of my car in the mirror, not looking /at/ the mirror, if you understand what I mean.
*cries* I wanna get the Lord of the Rings books. I already had them (a 3-in-1 volume) but lost it somewhere... and then the other day found the edition for sale at Barnes n Noble... but it came down to gas vs. book. While I could have easily foregone food for the book, I need the gas to get around. >_<; Minh says I've got my priorities screwed up, but if I gotta starve to death, I least I won't die bored. Hee. I'd live in B&N if I could.
I was tutoring Minh's brothers with their reading. Matthew's gotten better. I've weaned him off crap Jack n Jill books and got him started on Harry Potter. He's a smart kid, just not very well educated. Peter, on the other hand, is a bit lazier and has an average intelligence, whines and doesn't wanna read and is still basically on a kindergarten level. >_<;
My tolerance for young children has gone waaaaaaay down after three years of working with them. I love older kids (3rd grade and higher) cuz one can actually talk to them without feeling brain cells rotting and without having to explain fucking everything to them three times or more. Urgh. I'm so quitting childcare after this year. >_<;
*eats more chocolate* I'm reading Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls again, my favorite book. It's such a good book. ^_^ My dad gave it to me for my 10th birthday, and it's still the best present anyone's ever given me (short of the PS2). It's such a tragic book, though. *sniffles and grabs more chocolate*
Sunday, December 15, 2002
09:14 a.m.
As my coworker put it so aptly, "Excuse me while I go kick a puppy."
This morning has been just one of those mornings where nothing goes right and you're sure there's some fucked up vengeful god up there out to get you just for kicks.
The setting: It's windy, rainy, with branches fallen everywhere and everything's flooded. Traffic sucks, the power's out, all the crazy people are out because the power's out at home.
I snapped off my driver's side mirror backing out of the garage this morning. Last night I'd parked a little too close to the left, and this morning I /knew/ that I was going to scrape the side of my car backing out, but I was so busy watching the fucking side of my car that I didn't watch for the mirror. It's amazing how easily it snaps off. And it's not one of those mirrors designed to just fold backwards if it's impacted. So, right now, my side mirror is sitting on my front passenger seat, and there's an ugly lump of plastic sticking out of the side where the mirror used to be. *sigh* I think Minh suspects something cuz when I ran back inside really quick he sat up and asked, "Did you hit your car?" so he probably heard, but I was rather harebrained and lied through my teeth, a big smile on my face, and said no.
And then I got to work. Since I was running late as it was, I didn't have time to muck around mourning for my car. But since I figured that I was late anyway, I tarried outside trying somehow to fix the mirror back on my car (being in denial). THEN, I heard the security alarm for the YMCA building going off! I ran inside, and discovered that the dumb fuck who's my coworker had forgotten his password to disable the security system. /Why/ he had gone inside, knowing I wasn't there, knowing that he'd forgotten his password, I don't know.
Then I was making coffee in the kitchen. And I was changing the grounds, and was throwing away the old, wet grounds from the last pot, and it dropped and went all over the floor. >____<;;;;
It's only 9 a.m. *cries* I have the whole rest of the day to survive!
The only good note that's happened is that I talked to a couple of YMCA members who're friendly with me and a couple of my guy friends, and I discovered that getting my mirror fixed won't be too expensive (compared to when I crumpled the hood of my car), and it will be even cheaper if I buy the parts myself and my friend Steve has offered to install the parts for me. ^__^
If I ever decide to get a new car, this car isn't worth selling, since it's considered 'salvage' because it's been in an accident before (the time where I crumpled the hood) which instantly cuts the value of my car in half. And then some bitch swiped my rear bumper, knocking it off its moorings and leaving a nice long scrape, which I don't have money for the $500 premium right now to fix. Also, the unit holding the controls for A/C, heating, the radio, and the vents on my dashboard (all being in one huge piece) is sticking out of the dash because the latches (or whatever) that holds it in is broken, and the people at Honda won't fix it, and I have no money to fix it.
*Groan* When it comes time for me to get a new car, I'll either donate it or sell it for parts.
Please let this morning end... (in a good way!)
Saturday, December 14, 2002
02:08 p.m.
Both Alex and Kalyan have put up entries on their journals complaining about how the quality of movies have sunk over the years. They both concurred that Star Trek: Nemesis sucks ass (they put it in politer terms) and then Kalyan went on to talk about other movies currently showing that represent the decline of quality in Hollywood.
Dude, there's a simple solution to stupid movies like that. Don't go see them! The reason why Hollywood churns out crap like that is because people go and pay to see it anyway whether they really wanna go see it (just cuz there's nothing else on tv), so Hollywood continues to make movies following the formula that works: if slap-stick movies where the epitome of wit is a guy getting kicked in the balls by a horse gets money, then make more of the same!
*grins* My rule of thumb is: If I feel any brain cells dying when I watch the commercials or the first five minutes (TV or movie), I won't go see it. Things that cause my brain cells to die: Movies based on good books that don't follow the goddam book (argh!), gonad-kicking, animal-abuse that's supposed to be funny, people getting hurt for comedic effect (America's Funniest Home Videos >_<;), movies of a series that they've made entirely too many of (for example, Star Wars *sigh*, Harry Potter--I know they've made only two, but two's one too many--and Star Trek), just plain stupid premises (Dude, Where's My Car, The Animal, etc.), and "reality" shows.
Of course, it's my misfortune to have a boyfriend who /likes/ movies like that, so guess who gets to be dragged along to the movies to watch brain-numbing flicks...
He says that I really have no sense of humor (which is true, to an extent) but shit, there /are/ good comedies out there! I loved A Bug's Life (I like a lot of children's movies, because (if it's done right) /those/ writers know how to make a good movie without having to resort to slapstick, ball-kicking, and perverted comedy), Analyze That (the first one), and Ocean's Eleven (technically not a comedy, but it's very clever and funny). *shrugs* There are good movies out there, but too many people just wanna watch something, so they pick a movie (or tv program) from a selection that isn't so great.
Anyways. This isn't the subject I actually care about. *shrugs* But while writing my thoughts on it, I've forgotten what I was planning on writing....
Just thoughts...
Sunday, December 8, 2002
10:26 a.m.
I was thinking (and no, it doesn't hurt) recently about the issue of bisexuality, and people's thoughts on it.
Most people, gay and straight alike, don't actually consider it legit at all- instead they consider it a form of straddling the proverbial fence, a transitional phase. You either are, or aren't.
This society is entirely too dependent on categorizing people. You either are, or you aren't.
I think that's completely wrong. I identify myself as bisexual, and don't particularly care who knows it. I actually think that everyone is bisexual to a certain point, being brainwashed into studying each other surreptitiously and judging if they're beautiful/attractive/has a nice body. I pity those who don't identify themselves as bisexual; I couldn't imagine limiting myself to a certain gender.
I have a boyfriend with whom I am very happy; that doesn't mean that I've decided to be straight, just as it doesn't mean that when I had a girlfriend I'd decided to be gay.
It's a prejudice that both straight people and gay people have. Straight people are usually less hostile about it, because they don't take it seriously (unless you're a guy, then the responses vary)--the usual response is, "Whoa, cool" because, of course, they've watched too many porns and are then imagining me tangled up sweaty and naked with a couple of other girls, with perhaps a guy (probably the imaginer) mixed in for good measure. Gay people, on the other hand, take it entirely too seriously. Many of them seem to take it as a personal attack; since they went through so much pain and suffering because of their sexual identity, I've taken the easy and cowardly way out. To that I can only say--it's only as hard as you make it. I'm not discounting the hardship that many gay people have suffered; I've been pretty fortunate in being surrounded by understanding people (or people who won't dare to say anything, since it's not PC) since I do live in the San Francisco area.
Most of the shit I've ever received for being bi actually came from my homosexual aquaintances. Among my gay male friends or aquaintances, the response is minimal, since who I'm attracted to (or who I'm not) is really not their concern and doesn't touch them personally. Among my lesbian aquaintances, however, the response is usually either a dubious "...Okay..." or a frosty silence.
Let me give you an example. Earlier this year I attended the Gay Pride Festival in SF, and rode up on an electric train with a couple of my friends. One of them was a former classmate of mine, a friend of my friends with whom I was going. On the train ride up, she revealed to me that she was lesbian and had a girlfriend. I didn't particularly care, since a good percentage of my friends have come out--enough of them, actually, anyone else coming out only results in complete non-surprise and a "Oh, you too?" She knew I was bi but not that I now had a boyfriend. At that news her entire demeanor and attitude changed--from mildly friendly (we've never really liked each other) to complete ice. At the time I couldn't figure out what caused the change; I only thought that I'd said something offensive that had insulted her. For the rest of the trip, she ignored me and threw herself (a little overmuch, in my opinion) into demonstrating that she was the biggest and most adamant lesbian in San Francisco. She didn't talk to any men except my friends, looked without comment at the huge penis float (I have a photo of that) and after the parade proceeded to drag all of us whether we wanted to or not to every single fucking lesbian magazine booth to subscribe, so we couldn't do anything else for the rest of the day (like leave her) for fear that we would lose her in the crowd. I was pretty pissed off and angry by the end of the day but I still couldn't figure out what her problem was.
My anger and irritation that day didn't match my fury when I discussed the situation with my friends months later (when we were coming back from Napa). They informed me that it was because I had informed her that I had a boyfriend. In sort, that I'd sold out. That pissed me off beyond belief. Fine, she had a rough time when she had come out to her family. What I do and who I love has nothing to do with her or her personal problems. Why should I have to prove myself to her? And I didn't need her to go hoofing around SF showing me what a real lesbian was like--I had attended the SF Dyke March the day before, for Christ's sake.
I'm tired of people (especially homosexual people) trying to classify me in this very category-oriented society. If someone wants to love someone of the same gender, or someone of the opposite gender, go ahead! It's none of my business. I only ask the same treatment. I'm proud of being bisexual, and I'm tired of being treated like an adolescent who can't make up her mind.
AAAAAAAAARGH!
Saturday, December 7, 2002
08:15 a.m.
"Davis Puts Education on Chopping Block"
*hernia* *twitchtwitch*
In an attempt by Davis to fix a $21 billion deficit in the California budget, he is cutting 3.7% from an already strained K-14 education system, $74 million from UC, and $60 million from CSU.
Wait a minute. Last year, wasn't Davis the one raising hell about raising state test scores and improving the educational system? So why the hell is he taking the largest chunk out of the educational system now, mostly leaving the prison and law enforcement budgets alone? And, let's not forget, that he's the one that exacerbated the whole budget problem with the energy crisis debacle?
I was standing in line at Noah's Bagels when I saw the newspaper. >_<;;;; I began swearing under my breath, much to the shock and amusement of several people around me.
Aside from my usual indignation about the state of the educational system, I'm also very upset about the budget cuts to the UC system. I know the rationale is probably that the administration should cut their operating costs (salaries, etc) but realistically, they're just going to spread it on down to the students. So it's MY tuition that's going to go up. And since my parents don't pay my tuition at all, it's just that much more in student loans that I need to pay off in the end--since I'm also going to attend graduate school and get a PhD. *cries*
Damn it, I know that the gubernatorial election didn't provide any good choices (Simon vs Davis, lesser of two evils?) but there WERE alternatives, you stupid people! We may be a bi-partisan government, but it doesn't need to be that way! I voted Green Party, and I figured that if enough people voted Green also, there'd be an upset in the tradition of Democrats vs Republicans. ...But no, it didn't happen that way, if only because people are so brainwashed into thinking that the two main parties are the only REAL options...
Friday, December 6, 2002
05:51 p.m.
I made a quiz about me! See how many questions you can answer.
Sweet, Sweet REVENNNNNNNNGE!
Btw, #9 or #10 is wrong; the right answer is SUPPOSED to be C, about the turtle...but I didn't catch it when I had the chance to edit the quiz, and now it's too late to change things. Hee. >_<;
Monday, December 2, 2002
09:36 p.m.
I took yet another one of those quizzes "Let's test how much you know about me" that my friends send me. I failed it miserably. *sigh* I'm not a very good friend. Of course, I really dunno how many minutes it takes for Sam's
morning routine (too damn long!) and other such personal questions (Alex) that really only boyfriends (*POKES Alex*) can really know... :P
I really want to make my own quiz and make my friends say "What the hell?!" in turn, but I'm not particularly witty, and very unimaginative at this time so...
Sunday, December 1, 2002
07:36 a.m.
I read somewhere that the older you get, the less sleep you need. Do any college students out there besides myself think this is total crap?
I got 3 hours of sleep last night, because my friends took me out to Napa for a belated birthday and do some wine-tasting, as well as catching the Harry Potter movie (which is crap, by the way, not helped by the woman sitting behind us who laughed tonelessly and long--huh huh huh--during EVERY scene). It was all a lot of fun and I enjoy hanging out with my friends whom I don't see more than 4 times a year (they're scattered all over California for college), but I got home around 2:30 am. And here I am at work at 6:30. A.M. Uuuuuugh.
What happened to the good old days of 3 all-nighters in a row without sleep during high school, after which I could still go to school with a reasonable level of sanity? Now, I miss out on 4 hours of sleep and my grip on reality is slipping.
*sigh* As the years pass, my aging body continues to betray me...
Friday, November 29, 2002
03:29 p.m.
I find it ironic that every Thanksgiving there're always the usual jokes about how turkeys dread Thanksgiving etc etc that we find incredibly funny, but how come no one takes it seriously and stops eating /turkey/? Does no one see their plight, take pity, and refuse to eat these pleading birds?
O_o Did /I/ eat turkey...?
Hehehehe.
Ummmmmm.... *hangs my head* yes....
Why? Because THEY TASTE SO DAMN GOOD WITH CRANBERRY SAUCE!
*looks innocent* :P
Sunday, November 24, 2002
11:01 a.m.
My professor presented my classmates and I a statistic the other day that is rather frightening. This statistic was announced last week on the radio and in news media in general. "Young Americans Flunk Geography"
Basically, 10% of young Americans between 18 years and 24, could not find America on a map. 85% could not find Iraq, and 83% couldn't find Afghanistan. 30% couldn't find the Pacific Ocean.
What the fuck? Please refer back to my rant about the public school education system. In addition to that, when I was talking to Matthew's 3rd grade teacher, she tried to defend herself when I accused her of ignoring the sciences and history and geography. She told me that she had no time-- she spends 2.5 hours everyday on English, 1 hour everyday on math, and then there has to be music or P.E. lessons. Needless to say, this didn't satisfy me. Does anyone else see something wrong with that schedule? Why does English need to be dwelt on for over two hours? Sure, I understand that California is trying to get over their horrible scores in English and Math, but beating children over the head with it is not going to work, and ignores some other subjects as well that are just as necessary as the three R's. If she took one hour off the English and used it for Science and History, it would do more good and the children would learn just as much. "Well," she hastened to say when I pointed that out, "Well, the children don't have the language skills to grasp science and history, so it's a little premature to begin teaching these things." I groaned. Taking the kids out for a nature hike and examining leaves and seeds to study the reproductive cycle of plants and other activities does not require reading. Going on a field trip to visit the missions that dot California and explaining the whole Spanish conquest to children does not require reading. Is pointing to a goddam map and teaching them each of the 50 states so hard? God forbid that she get creative. And if these kids are in 3rd grade, halfway through the year, and still can't read a fucking 3rd grade science or history book, something's wrong.
This is one of the reasons I don't want children. If I have children, I have to take responsibility for their education, so I'd probably wind up home-schooling them or sending them to private school. So I'd wind up having more stress over this issue than I do now, and probably give myself heart problems. *tic*
My professor presented us with this to prove his theory that we, as representatives of our age group, are pretty stupid. And, although this pissed us off royally (since that's the main conclusion he's come to in 40 years of teaching college) we really could not refute it.
I actually agree with him. Most people my age are incredibly stupid and shallow. They don't read, they don't bother thinking critically, and they're a bore to talk to because they don't think critically and don't yet have the life experiences that teach wisdom. That's why most of my friends are older than I am. And *sigh* that's why my professor thinks the way he does, and I can't really argue with it.
A week before that, he presented us with another statistic: that most adults read only 1 book a year.
My whole class disagreed loudly with that, so we took a poll. About 80% of us (a class of about 20) had, but the numbers went down as he asked about 2 books, 3 book, etc. THEN, he asked how many had read 2 books or more in the last month-- only about 5 people (including me) raised our hands. Then one guy *LOL* looked indignant and lifted his book to show us that HE was a reader... I laughed (I shouldn't have, know) because it was R.L Stine-- you know, for junior high kids, and he was so proud about reading it. *lol*
*ahem* I know, I'm elitist.
Augh? I urt y ung.
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
09:16 p.m.
OWWWWW!
I was eating bread just a few minutes ago and bit the living Christ out of my tongue.
The skin isn't broken, but the site I bit is swelling up and turning a nice shade of purple. I didn't think that a bit tongue would do that-- bleed, maybe.
Now I'm icing my tongue (and looking ridiculous) and hoping that I won't get frostbite, to boot.
Why do the most ridiculous things happen to me? For instance, like the time when I was about 6 and gave myself a huge purple hickey, smack in the middle of my forehead cuz I just wanted to see if a suction cup would stick to my forehead?
Wha? Duck! Political commentary!
Tuesday, November 19, 2002
08:46 p.m.
Isn't it ironic. John F. Kennedy was hiding his very serious health problems from the public during his term in office. If he were the President right now and this was revealed, the public and the media would be screaming for his head for concealing the truth. But no, he's the King Arthur of the 'Camelot' era, ignoring the fact that he was a womanizing playboy who couldn't keep his hands off anyone with boobs. Oh wait, was Clinton a womanizing playboy, too? But that doesn't matter, we just like JFK a whole lot better.
*********
...oh, Jesus Christ, someone shoot this guy. Actually, I hope an illegal alien shoots this guy.
"The Dark Side of the Illegal Alien Invasion" The title just says it all, doesn't it?
All of America's problems and homicides come from illegal aliens, according to this guy.
***********
Oh, and this article. "War Without Death".
One of the best kept secrets of the Persian Gulf War is the fact that the American military attacked, filled in, and smoothed over about 70 miles of trenches and bunkers, filled with Iraqi soldiers who were still alive. Did you know that? Probably not, keeping in mind that the American government has had a stringent policy of not allowing journalists anywhere near the front lines since the Vietnam War, since god forbid that they take photos like in the Vietnam War and incite another anti-war fury. Needless to say, this story was originally covered by international journalists.
And we as Americans spent so much time condemning the Rwandan genocide. Are we so much better? When did we start thinking that we are heroes? No one else in the world seems to think so.
As the American government chugs happily off to war, increasing 'homeland security' issues to the point where it's rivaling the paranoia and disregard for privacy and freedoms of the McCarthy era, very few people stop to think about WHY so many people in the world, especially Muslims, hate us so much.
Could it be our unconditional support for Israel, ignoring Muslim needs? In the whole Israel vs Palestine drama, it's interesting to see that all America has done is to stand on the side and shake its head occasionally, clucking with disapproval.
What about the blatant double-standards that America plys all over the world? The American government is using the supposition that Iraq MIGHT have nuclear weapons (ignoring the fact that they have barely enough money for basic living needs, much less a highly expensive nuclear program, because of unreasonable economic sanctions--which makes America even more unpopular in the eyes of the world).
Well, if we are justified in seeking war because of what Iraq MIGHT have, what about all the other countries in the world that we know DO have nuclear weapons? What about North Korea? In history they're just as significant as Iraq has ever been, and I think presents about the same threat (a regime we don't like, and extremely poor economic and governmental conditions). The difference? North Korea was smart enough and had good enough timing to start kissing America's ass when the shit in the Middle East hit the fan, like Pakistan. What about India? What about Israel? What about Pakistan? All three are bigger threats than Iraq right now--we KNOW they have nuclear weapons, and all three are currently involved in conflicts that are escalating. What is Bush thinking? Is he blinded by "well, Saddam tried to kill my daddy..."?
Too bad every other country (except Germany) in the world with any clout to stand up to America and tell Bush that he's being ridiculous was sufficiently scared into silence or compliance by Operation Destroy Afghanistan.
*sigh* If we go to war, I wonder, did anyone in the goverment consider that this would only escalate resentment towards America in the international community, and probably cause even more 'terror' attacks? Authorizing wire taps and giving vague newly made government departments the power to keep track of everyone with even the remotest Muslim connections is not the way to go. Suppose we do go out and clobber Iraq just cuz we don't like Saddam, and then what? Go out and destroy every other regime in the world we don't like?
History books may claim that we have gotten over the 'Manifest Destiny' philosophy, but I'm not so sure.
There are other issues right now that need attention, not Iraq. Iraq was doing okay by itself until Bush decided to finish what daddy started. We need to focus on America's dismal economy, an economy that is showing no signs of recovery. We are in the deepest slump since the Great Depression. Does the government care? The woes of 9/11 came at a very convenient time for the government, didn't it, just as the ripples of the stock market crash and the economic downturn began to be felt. We need to focus on resolving the problems in the Middle East, between Israel and Palestine, and Pakistan and India. We need to worry about the epidemic of AIDS in India and China, the curtailing of which is hampered by obstinate governments, social stigma, and just plain lack of education. And speaking of lack of education, what about the plight of public schools in America? I was helping Minh's little brother who's in 3rd grade with his homework the other month and he didn't even know that Spain was a country. The other brother, in 1st grade, is reading at a remedial kindergarten level.
That fucking scares me. I went to Catholic private school all my life, and private schools are not regulated much at all--teachers don't even need to be certified, and aside from very basic subject requirements (and good dose of religion classes) things were pretty laid back. I didn't attend a rich-kid's private school, either-- I went to ones run by priests and nuns working for FREE with the occasional teacher included. How is it, then, that I got a better education than a person from a highly funded public school? In my English classes, I know/knew people who came from the rich side of town, attended the richest public schools, had the best of everything, and still don't know how to write a basic 5 paragraph essay. They don't even know how to extrapolate a thesis, and like as not, depend on Microsoft Word to make sure they spell things correctly. (Too bad Word doesn't know the difference between 'break' and 'brake' and 'to', 'too', and 'two'.) The sad thing is that this dearth of quality of education then spreads to college, where PhD professors have to waste time in class teaching the rudimentaries of the subjects the students should have learned in high school! What the hell is happening?
And all the government (especially the stupid-ass crook, Davis) can do is to force teachers to do more testing, stressing out students and teachers alike and forcing teachers to waste time testing their students instead of spending it actually teaching.
To rip off a cliche, America is going to hell in a handbasket, and the American government just wants to add another handful of shit to the basket we're in by picking a fight with Iraq.
*sigh* I have a headache now. Sorry about the long rant--it's been a long time in coming. The most frustrating thing is that most people are too stupid to SEE what's happening. Believe in 'freedom' and 'patriotism', fine, but realize that there are different definitions for those empty words. The government uses those words selectively to imply that if one doesn't agree with the government and its policies, then the person is not patriotic or does not love 'freedom'. That's a bunch of crap.
I'm going to sleep.
Tuesday, November 19, 2002
08:39 p.m.
My world has crumbled around me. The people I'd thought were least likely to sell out to greedy American capitalism has... sold out.
The Shaolin monks, who I thought spend their entire lives in a monastery, studying the Shaolin ways...are performing in Reno's the Nugget casino.
*sigh*
A letter from Kumog to Kuku.
Sunday, November 17, 2002
01:43 p.m.
Kupo! Kupopopopo! Kup? Kupop? Kupo kukupop kupopopo, kupo kupopopopo. Kup? Kupop. Kupo, kukupop kupopopoKup? Kupop? Kupo kukupop kupopopoKup, kupop... Kupo kukupop kupopopoKup. Kupop? Kupo kukupop kupopopoKup? Kupop? Kupo kukupop kupopopoKup. Kupop! Kupo kukupop kupopopo kupo kupo.
I think I messed up and pitas archived the rest of my entries...And I don't know how to un-archive them. *sigh*
Well, in the meantime, click here to see the older entries.