If you could have dinner with one person from history, who would it be?

This is pretty easy for me. Frank Sinatra. And if I could get away with it I'd just say the whole Rat Pack because that would be ideal. I'd love to hang with Dean and Sammy too. (They might actually be move lovely to hang out with because they're more mellow.)
Oh how I'd love to hear Frank's theories on the world and everything. I know he had theories.
He had fairly average beginnings in life and became one of the biggest stars in the world. How does that even happen? I've read books about him and watched the movies and heard the stories and everything. I'd like to see it for myself though.
Plus, I assume we'd have Italian food.
Assuming he could come back to now and know all that's happened since he died I'd want to know- Would he now consider himself a Democrat or a Republican? What would be think of the music industry now? Did he think we'd be a little further along in equality by now? Did he think we'd have flying cars by now? What's his greatest joy & biggest regret? How did he get to be....Frank? He ran the world as if it was his. Pretty sure he thought he always could. And kinda sure he DID until he was gone. Did he think he'd always get his way? Did he know when he was being a demanding man diva or was it just his natural way with no thought put in to it? Did he like being famous? What's his favorite car? Did he cook? Did he prefer acting or singing? Who was his favorite actor/movie? What would he have done differently in life?
From what I understand he was an epic mama's boy so that might explain his attitude. He was wonderful, and probably frequently terrible, and everything in between. I think the general person who knows not so much about Frank Sinatra doesn't realize some of the things he did that might just have had a huge impact on things. (Or some things that almost made the world more interesting.)
He offered to have Woody Allen's legs broken. (Due to the whole marrying his own daughter thing...)
How much did he have to do with Kennedy getting elected? Did he have true mob ties or only superficial?
Some of Frank's shows that included Sammy Davis Jr. were played on stages that had never allowed black performers, or at least not for a "mixed" audience. Frank demanded that Sammy be allowed to perform with him, which may have been the first time some audiences had seen a non-white performer live on stage. I think that had to be a tiny important step in changing views.
I long to know what he was really like as a person and not just as an icon.

February

Well we've been homeless for 9 days. It's gone quite well so far, really.
We crammed 99% of what we own in to storage. We got out of the fire-hazard of an apartment the night we were supposed to. We moved on. So far, so good. We had an option sorted out for a place to stay for a while. Not ideal, but better than sleeping in the car. But that didn't work out so we looked for more options. We didn't have much luck but a friend of a friend asked if there was anything they could do, without really knowing anything of the situation other than a vague statement on Facebook.
I explained the situation a bit and they invited us to their home with no hesitation. Can't stay with family without guilt. Can't stay with friends without inconvenience. But people who have met us twice say "hey, you're welcome here. Come on over!" What a concept!
I'd like to think I'm that kind of a friend...though that scenario has never come up for me to help someone out that much.
The fact that we have kept large amounts of our sanity in tact is because we had somewhere to go where we didn't feel intrusive, like some kind of non-native plant that all the other plants don't trust. Why is it here? What does it want? It's not from here!
It's always a little bit of a pain to not have all YOUR stuff and YOUR conveniences when and where you are accustomed to having them. Sure, first world problems. But we simplified, got everything stuffed in to the car and carried on down highway 287.
Might I mention that we also slept heavenly on their guest bed. Neither of us generally sleep awesome when we're traveling. Back issues, temperature, foreign blankets, noises, stress, pets & sneezes, etc. But here, we slept better than we had at home! Glorious slumber. We thought it might be some kind of fancy mattress that we'd want to investigate and maybe some day save up for. But it's from Walmart. It came folded up in a box. What is this madness!? I'm so glad we left our bed behind. I think it might have been part of the issue with restless nights.
Jason even got along with the dog.
All in all, a mini miracle that made this process so much easier than it would have been. Hope to be able to return the favor one day or pay it forward. Something.
Thankful for kind people who act like people ought to act.

Now things may be looking up. Let's hope January and February was the hurdle of the year and the rest will be a joyful breeze. 

Why is Wild Kingdom playing in my head?

I dreamed about almost getting attacked by a gorilla. I was in their habitat thing at a zoo somewhere. One seemed to be kind of my friend...but the other did not approve. So grumpy gorilla was sitting there staring at me and growling/screaming at me. Like...viciously angry yelling. Just non-stop. I pretty much sat still and hoped someone with a distracting banana or something would wander by and notice my imminent death before he came over and ripped my face off my body.

Next... I was at the Wild Animal Sanctuary with my mommy. We were walking down a dirt path and a wolf thing was standing with it's feet up on the fence. I say "wolf thing" because it was dark pink and it's was about the same height as my mother. It crawled over the fence and started following us. We didn't really have anywhere to go so we just walked close to the fence. There were 2 elk or deer or some critters in front of us that it went after. It knocked them down and ripped the head off one of them with some nice sound effects...
It walked back to it's area carrying the head snack and as it went by it glared at us and said "Filthy..." as if to mock us for thinking it would actually lower itself to eat US. I have no idea why it was entirely pink. (Or why it could talk.)

Dreaming of kitties

In the dream I'm pretty sure I was in Hays. (Limestone churches, anyone?)
I was looking for a place to live...fitting. Can't even get some sleep without looking for a place to live.
I stopped at this yard and saw a screwdriver under a window. It seemed to be that someone was going to try to break in later. So I picked it up and told the family through the window that they should check their windows and stuff. They thanked me and asked if there was anything they could do for me. I said I was looking for a place to live so if they knew of anything to let me know. They said they could help and invited me inside. I walked in to a laundry room thing at first and then through a door into a kitchen. But it wasn't JUST a kitchen. It was crawling with kittens and puppies.
It sounds kind of nice other than it was a realistic kitchen full of animals, not a dream one where nobody poops. Critters EVERYWHERE. On the counter, on the stove, sitting on my feet. Food piles all over the place. Poo all over the place. But they seemed ok with it so I just didn't really move, not that I could have with animals wound around my legs.
Then I looked down and saw a short-hair tabby, and a long-hair tabby. Almost identical to my kitties!! (I don't seem to have any pictures of Thomasina on my computer but here's Stowie with Lola.)

I snuggled them and loved them and they didn't seem to mind as much as they would have really. It was nice. I don't think they found me a place to live and I don't really remember if anything else happened but I got to snuggle kitties so whatever. 

I suspect it may have stemmed from looking at these two yesterday, who are at the Humane Society. 

The kitty is Worf (AWESOME...look at his forehead stripes) and the puppy is Marco. I want them both. 

Blogging while TVing

I think it would just be called "Live Tweeting" on Twitter. But I don't really Twit so, here we are. Enjoy. Or not. I'm doing it anyway.

Scrubbing Bubbles commercial with the dirty puppy in the bathtub: I would also like to keep the puppy. But you expect me to believe someone with a bathroom the size of my living room actually cleans their own bathroom??

Don't Fear the Reaper!

I wonder if the squirrels will like not good corn bread bits.

I believe the neighbor hooligans are home. There's stomping. I don't know what they can be doing down there but there's bound to be some bouncing around when there seems to be like 6 people living in a 2 bedroom apartment.

This guy on Constantine I saw earlier on American Horror Story. But to me he'll always be Mr. Shickadance from Ace Ventura.

Complaining about bad tips on Facebook and tagging your business in it isn't a good way to get more tips...especially when you're not in a tip-heavy place. I always tip servers, housekeeping, and hair/nail people. I usually tip coffee people but it doesn't always happen. If I get something that takes less than a minute for you to do then don't expect a lot. If it's a more complex drink then I leave something. I don't tip at fast food even though they do things for me. Tipping is important but don't bitch too much because it won't do you any good.

Boy am I sleepy.

"You are the 7th son of the 7th son!"
Can you imagine Christmas? They don't even mention the daughters.

Oh...wow. I thought this "mud on my boots and jeans" commercial was either a spoof or detergent. Ford kinda lowered the bar.

Stand up for online bullying!

John Constantine is a bed hog.

So, if you're dating Tiger Woods...you have to actually say "This is my boyfriend Tiger." Like, really.

I thought these pants had pockets.

Stuff.

I dreamed that I met Bill Cosby at a bar. He was nice. There was no raping. But...still unsure about the whole real life scandal. We did not address that in the dream. Perhaps I was dreaming about who I hope Bill Cosby is?
I don't have much opinion on the matter other than I hope if he's guilty, then he'll get what he deserves and not make money off of it....and if he's not, then I hope he has a way to get this shit solved. I haven't looked in to the evidence, or lack of, so I can't say one way or another what the deal is. I know that celebrities are easy targets, but I also know that celebrities often get away with shit they shouldn't so...there's that.

I went to DQ tonight to get a treat before I picked up my honey.
Was it cold out? Yes. Did I wear my slippers? Yes. Did I crank my heater while I sat with the window open while I waited for ice cream? Sure did. This is why America is neat.

I'm trying to figure out where to have our wedding ceremony and the internet is super unhelpful. The internet is a cesspool of unhelpful crap. I remember a time when I could look things up and find FAR more information than I needed. Now I'm lucky to find one link with what I need because everything else is- CELEBRITY DIET SECRETS, GUY INVENTS THING THAT GOVERNMENT DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT, WHAT DID CELEBRITY A SAY ABOUT CELEBRITY B, WAIT TILL YOU SEE WHO FLASHED PAPARAZZI, BUY ALL THINGS FOR NO MONEY, GET FREE MONEY FROM BILLIONAIRE, and...this one I'm gonna read actually because I want to see how many people I know fall in to this totally scientific category...6 Warning Signs You're Dating a Narcissist.
*Note- It was a dumb article. It should be called Warning Signs You're Dating an Asshole.*

Boarded up windows

I dream of this one place quite often. It's usually on the outskirts of town, though the town sometimes changes. There are houses that were once grand and towering, that had been turned in to apartments, and eventually boarded up.
Am I dreaming of Detroit? I don't know. There's houses on hills at the end of streets and then a big grassy field that used to be nice but is now a gathering place for homeless folks and wanderers with nowhere else to go.
It reminds me of the photos that go around sometimes of abandoned places. You can see that they used to be full of people and everything was brand new and things had a purpose. But then they get over-grown and people trash things and then it looks spooky. But you can still see how nice it USED to be.
So in the dream last night I was talking to a woman in the grassy area behind the houses. She wasn't old but she looked older than she was because her face was dirty, her clothes were torn, and she was all disheveled. She was maybe 40, the youngest of the group she was with. She said she used to work as a tax assistant of some sort but since she was only needed at one time in the year she couldn't get steady work and that's how she became homeless. She wasn't really worried about herself because she was healthy and could get around. There was a much older lady who wasn't doing so good that she would look out for. They traveled in a group of 7, she said. That's when I realize it was sort of like family (or gang) units that formed and they traveled together but all showed up at this place because they weren't bothered there and it was closed in by houses all around them, so it was relatively safe.
I started to think about what I could get them to eat. It seemed doable to help the 7 of them.
I'm not sure why I was there with them in the first place but I think I was wandering and stumbled upon the semi-sanctuary.
We walked together somewhere in on the way we had to walk by these small fancy boutiques but I couldn't tell if they were open still or if it was just an illusion with pictures in the windows. It still seemed awkward to stomp through the pathways passing windows full of luxurious items but my new friends didn't really seem to notice, as I'm sure they'd walked by them many times.
I was going to go make them some sandwiches but I think I woke up before we got much further.

Not sure why this became a dream blog but...I have them every night so I guess they're bound to make it here. Especially lately...the brain has been working overtime. Time to put it to rest though, and go to work! 

More dreams. Because I keep having them.

To read the wedding dream part, you can go here. http://road2wedding.blogspot.com/2015/01/wedding-nightmare-3-or-4ive-lost-track.html

So the night of the purple dress I dreamed of the same color for what felt like hours.
Purple dress, purple shoes. Later I was making purple cake pops for a friend's daughter. Pretty sure she was wearing the same color of purple. I wonder why it carried on through so many dreams??

The night before I dreamed about a friend I never see and likely won't ever see. But the dreams just kept coming! It was nice though. It was kind of like the old days. It's usually nice when I dream of people I used to be close with because I'll dream of the best times. Or better times that might have never happened. I know I've woken up laughing more than once. But it's still kinda sad because it's either better than the reality or looking back on what won't return.

The most recent, last night, was a fun one. There was a little toy car that had become very collectible. It looked like it might have been out of the Friends (aka Girl) Lego sets. It was like a little white Jeep thing with pink roll bars. It was in a display at a store and I kinda wanted it because it was still the regular price even though it was now worth $98.

(Kinda like that one...)

At this store you could rent a version of the Jeep for $99 a day. I apparently decided to do that because for the rest of the dream I was riding around with someone (who I can't remember) in this awesome little car thing with the tiniest, softest, floppiest dog EVER.
Pretty sure it was just a small dog version of the Snuffalupagus I have next to my pillow. This dog just fell asleep on my chest and I petted it for ages. The sun was on us, since it was an open vehicle of some sort, and we didn't actually have to drive it for some reason. It was very comforting and peaceful.
I knew the owner of this store where we rented the car and borrowed the dog; he owned an airplane, which may or may not have been made of Legos. I know there was a Lego plane somewhere because I was able to take off the top and see that there were teeny little suitcases and stuff in the overhead compartments. It was awesome!

Soap and coffee

I got this Ayurvedic soap for my birthday like 2 years ago from Jeff & Mary.


I've been saving it for a special occasion I guess, because I have yet to use it.
With the impending move I've been trying to use up the miscellaneous bits everywhere so I decided to open it up. Today is now a special occasion. So far it's been "special" but it'll turn out alright.
I got a free chai from the good Captain of La Vita Bela, score! It came with hugs...and a bite of potato. What do you get where you go for coffee?

I dreamed of a weird cranky baby. But it moved around like a much older person. It squished it's own head at one point and I had to reshape it.
I forgot the rest of the dreams that I had last night that made restful sleep not really possible.

Dreams

Jason had a dream that we lived in Florida and he worked at a pirate store.
Sounds kinda nice!

Then there's me. I had a dream that I was shooting a bunch of people with illegal weapons.
I blame Sons of Anarchy and their KG9 storyline because that's what I was using.
It was very quiet and peaceful for a big gun.
I was in a place that looked very much like my high school. I kept opening doors to see who was in the rooms. Ya know...to see if it was someone I wanted to shoot or not.
I'd very quietly open the door to peek in. I kept coming across rooms of children sleeping. I wasn't going to shoot children, sleeping or not, so I'd close the door and move on. I found a room of teenage-ish boys and they were apparently up for grabs. I didn't shoot the 2 geeky ones because they were friends of someone else and I said "friends of so-and-so were friends of mine."
I later went outside with some other people who were similar to people I went to high school with. Suddenly a volleyball came flying at me from the air and I shot it. It made a little ~pop~ noise, which was apparently hilarious because I laaaaughed and laughed.

There was a less creepy dream on that night as well but of course I don't remember that one. The peaceful murder dreams are more memorable apparently.

I think Jason's dream plans are a better idea than mine. 

Oh Facebook...

So many of us have Facebook woven in to our lives. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. But it's interesting to think about. So many people have come and gone, for better and for worse.
I've made new friends, found old friends, and been able to keep in touch with both.
There are people I'm not friends with anymore, for many a reason--many neutral and neither good nor bad, but they'll still appear. Kind of annoying since it tends to brings up memories of things I'd just as soon keep where they were.
Without Facebook I wouldn't know where half my family was and they wouldn't know where I was and I would have lost track of all kinds of people along the way.
The good and bad is that it's hard to escape but it's hard to get lost. I lost track of my oldest friend for years until I tracked her down on Facebook. I've also got lots of "Friends" now, as many of us do. I'm ok with keeping up with the lives of people I'm not as close to as others. Nothing wrong there. It's social media. That's social.
When you have to decide who is "important" enough to invite to a wedding this Face-machine brings up all kinds of questions about who your friends are and what the boundaries are. (Like will they understand if not getting an invite is nothing personal or will that be un-friend worthy?)
Right now the bottom line I've come up with is: In 20 years will the people in my wedding photos still be in my life? Some of them will, some of them won't. And family...well most of them aren't in my life often now so I assume that'll always be the same. It's less of a worry. Family is family. They can come and go and disappear and whatever and we'll still be family. It's a lucky few who have friends that are truly like family. I've never considered that the best thing about my family is that I don't have to worry about them because we don't really question each other all that much. If we show up to something, if we don't, it doesn't matter. We're used to it and it's not relevant to anything else.
I don't know what the moral of the story is here but it's been a pain in the ass and I wanted to vent it out of me.
The End.
For now. 

Old Time Christmas

I miss Christmas. Not for the 300 days it's not exploding in front of my face, but how it used to be. The excitement was always as much about going to grandma's as it was about the presents. Back then all the kids were still kids (and didn't have any yet themselves) and the rarely seen aunts and uncles were a treat.
Grandma's gone now so the decorations are put away, the gatherings are infrequent, and the treats are fewer. With eating being second to only eating in life importance I get to "see" much of my family on the internet at any given moment. Generally, this isn't as much of a treat as when I saw them as a child... It happens. The fact that I likely can't expect to find a big Barbie Mansion in my living room in the morning also takes away some of the holiday thrill.
You know you're a grown up when a super awesome present is a box of various meats! (Thanks mom!)
I got my share of treats this year, and made some of my own, but they don't seem to have the correct ratio of love that grandma added in to them. She worked over a vat of chocolate for days.

At this point in life, I assume regular people start to make their own traditions and whatnot. Last year my honey and I kept watch over the Hunsicker homestead, watched Batman, ate pizza and mac and cheese, and drank lemon beer. It was pretty delightful. Not terribly Christmasy but it was our first go.
This year we had a fancy dinner with one of the many sides of my family. It was nice. Very mature and stuff. Our alternate plan was Chinese food & movies. Maybe that'll be next year.
I still opened my epic stocking; I don't think I've ever missed out on that one. I got a stuffed pink dragon in a tutu from my mommy! I ate too many delicious things and I wore a t-rex Christmas sweater. Pretty damn festive.

But...without grandma, the holiday spirit is a dull glow of what it once was. Maybe it's just a part of getting older--maybe next year I'll get myself a Barbie Mansion to put together and play with at an obscenely early hour Christmas morning. (More likely it'll be a Lego mansion of some sort.)

Until the spirit returns, I'll always have Solstmas. The cheer pressure is much lower when the Pagans are involved. 

I can't hear, smell, or taste.

I've been sick for days. It's exhausting having to focus to breathe. And what do I lay here worrying about? I worry about the house I'm unable to clean, the job that I'm postponing only a day (even though there's probably nothing to do), the job I'm going to struggle to finish, the money I need to put in the bank, the dog who is bored out of her mind. I'm so over this shit. With the exception of the dog, I don't care about any of it. Not one of those things is all that helpful to me other than the money I'll get to pay my bills which are usually not much use to me either. I just had a rage and then had an immediate deja vu which, to me, means I'm entirely correct in my rage. I don't want to do anything for anybody anymore. Not many people do anything for me so why would I spend my energy? I'm not actually upset, as I'm sure I sound, I'm just tired. Decisions need to be made some time. And it's not to say these things aren't good sometimes. They are helpful so I'm not homeless, or people giving me things to do to help out my finances--that's great, but right now I don't care. Coming back to life after 2 days of coma level activity is crap. I try to give my time and it doesn't work so if you want me or need me, you know where to find me. I'll be with my honey doing the shit we want to do.
Not that anyone will be looking. The people who might look, are the people who don't need to generally. If you're on my team, you probably know you are, if you aren't sure then it's likely you're not. There may be some neutrals but for now, I'm just going to ignore it all.

I've never blogged on my phone before.

Seeing as it's nearly 5am and I haven't been able to sleep for hours after waking from a dream where someone was shooting at me, it seemed like a good time as any to do some blogging. Strange things cross your mind at these times. Such as: it smells like stale hippie in here, I wonder what he's muttering about amidst snores next to me, and I wonder if I'll ever find the perfect cupcake.

I also suddenly missed my grandma & remembered, as I have many times, that the year or so before she died I saw less of her than I had in a long time. At least this is how I remember it. Nothing unusual was going on & we never talked as much as some of the rest of the family. I'm not much of a phone person in general. But I also remember being not so in the "mood" for much family time. This had not 1 thing to do with her but that was just the deal at the time. I was having enough issues with the job I hated at the time & didn't have energy for my occasionally bizarre family. I wouldn't call myself a black sheep but I will go with "sparkly sheep." I have little in common with most of them & that's ok, preferable in most ways, but sometimes it's stressful for completely pointless reasons. I love them and I'm pretty sure they love me but I used to over think things more than I do now. I care about THEM but not what they believe or the decisions they make. I have as much input there as they do in my decision making. Since this may have resulted in me seeing less of my grandma when I had the chance it's definitely something I would have changed given the chance. But maybe it didn't make anything different, who knows. The last time I saw her I got a big hug as I was leaving to go to a birthday party for someone I'm not friends with anymore. Seems pretty lame now.
I don't have a time machine & thus is life. 

Finally...amazing beans made by ME!

This is the original recipe but I had to adjust a little bit as I was not cooking for 24 people.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mexican-Beans/

So here we go:

I start with about 1/2 pound of beans. That would have been good for us for dinner and maybe some leftovers.
I don't soak my beans but I do rinse them off before I throw them in the pot.

 Put your 1/2 pound of beans in a medium sized pot with about 1 quart of water.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for 2-3 hours. (The original recipe simmers for 3 hours but it's four times as many beans as I'm using here so check after 2 hours or so and see if the beans are tender.)
After about 2 hours your beans will be fairly tender and the water will start getting a little "soupy."

I keep my beans simmering while I put on the bacon.

Cook 4 slices of bacon. When it's done take the slices out and chop them up.
I used about half an onion, half a jalapeno (I'd probably use more if it was only for me), and a small tomato. Dice these pretty small and toss it all in the bacon grease and cook for just a few minutes until your onions are tender.
You can toss the bacon back in and simmer a little longer if you need to.
Add a little bit of salt and garlic powder and anything else you might fancy.

(There's no tomato in this picture cause we didn't have any today. Add more or less of things depending on your taste.)

Dump this fabulous greasy bacon mixture in your pot of beans and cook for another 30 minutes to an hour. Check them after about 30 minutes and see if they are as tender as you like.
I then use the potato smasher to smoosh them up a bit but not to the point of being totally pureed. I like a little bit of chunky bean bits left.

Ideally I'd get some queso fresco from el mercado but I forgot so I just toss my tortilla on the skillet for a minute to warm it up and chow down.

 

Night in Morroco @ Mataam Fez

b'stella


FINALLY, after possibly years of planning, I made it to Mataam Fez in Denver with Olivia and Moody. It's a little hidden bit of Morocco sitting on Colfax. I would very much like to gut my apartment and make it look like the restaurant but I don't think my landlord would appreciate it. (Maybe he would, who knows.)
I of course love anywhere that I get to sit on the floor.
After they come rinse your hands with warm water, the first of the 5 courses of food starts coming out.

First course- lentil soup; I also got a drink called Marakesh, with rose something, red and plum wine. Pretty strong, pretty good, and just pretty.

Second course- potatoes with vinegar and other herbs and spices, spicy carrots, eggplant with garlic, spinach, tomatoes, hummus-like thing made from fava beans, and bread. Also, shredded carrots with raisins, apple and rose water. It was totally amazing.

Third course- b'stella, possibly my new favorite food. (Along with the carrots.) Flaky pastry dough filled with chicken, eggs, almonds, and spices; covered with powdered sugar and cinnamon. I could have eaten the whole thing, for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Fourth course- the main dishes; Olivia got the cous cous and vegis. Moody got his bunny in a spicy sauce. I tried it, it was pretty good. I got the honey and almond roasted cornish hen, topped with an apricot. Another one of the yummiest things I've ever eaten. Perfectly cooked and tender and the honey flavor is sweet and savory. The apricot was a nice treat.

Finally, the fifth course- After washing our hands again, and getting sprinkled with rose water, compliments of my friend Radouane, we had a plate of fresh fruit and warm mint green tea. If you've ever been you've likely seen them balance the glasses and pour in the steaming tea; Rad first balanced a cup on his arm and flipped it over without spilling, then he balanced one on his head and poured in the tea. The tea tastes surprisingly like a warm mojito...awesome.

Along with a little bellydancing and laughing it was a splendid evening, and once I've saved my pennies up again I'll definitely have to go back. My brain is full of the flavors and I'm already craving b'stella and honey hen again.

I may have just had a brilliant idea.

It only seems fitting that I should have 30 mini-events leading up to my 30th birthday on the 30th of July. I guess I should have started sooner.

I'll just have to be diligent. I think I can count mom's birthday Rockies game as one of mine. So that's 1.

Some people just bring out the Me in Me.

I know you see me as I am meant to be seen because when I am with you I feel as I am meant to feel.

"I've never been to a cave."

Well the Christmas hoopla is over. We're all a little poorer with a little more stuff.
We made the trip out to grandma's for all the food and merriment we could handle.
I got food, booze, jewelry, and Dean Martin. You can't say they don't know me.
I also ate enough peanut brittle, toffee, and cookies to really hurt myself.
Dina was accused of pushing grandma down the stairs and making her gimpy for the holidays but we suspect it could have been the boozy fudge. We may never know. But I told grandma maybe for once she'll be rested after Christmas since she was Queen of the Castle and we all got to wait on her to keep her from hobbling around.
Grandpa was a dishwashing mad man. Uncle Eddie was channeling Cousin Eddie and a flu-zombie-like Elmer Fudd but thankfully seemed to sauna himself healthy while we were there. The boys were racking up the kills on their Wii hunting games while the rest of us just goofed off and ate non-stop.
My highlight was playing Pictionary with Dina, Ben, Tanner, and Jordan. We played the girls vs the boys. One of the all play words was "intersection"...for which Jordan started to draw a football field. In his wee blonde head that word is very near "interception" and I was quite impressed that he thought he would be able to draw that. Dina had the word "count" and I wouldn't stop counting but I never got it right.
And it turns out nobody knows how to draw a pretzel. Go ahead, try it.........
See? You can't get it from your head to the paper.
My favorite one was "cave drawings" and I think I guessed that one when Dina was drawing but Jordan wasn't quite sure what they were. Ben asked him if he'd ever seen pictures of them or anything and Jordan said "I've never been to a cave."
Grandma also correctly guessed one though she wasn't looking OR playing. But I think our time had already run out anyway.
All in all a good time was had, there wasn't a snow flake in sight, and Heather welcomed a new baby in to the family in the wee hours of the day after Christmas.

Now I have preperations and tidying to do before the next party on New Year's Eve for a couple of January 1st birthdays. I've still got a post office run that didn't get accomplished before Christmas and a Johnson trip to make...I'm always stretching out the holidays. But for now, I'm gonna stay on my couch and watch some more Dean Martin before I even considering putting all this stuff away and taking a shower. I've got all day for that.

A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. ~Oscar Wilde

The inspiration and and problem. Sorta.

In addition to the growing number of yarn crafts I enjoy, I also like to paint.

I don't paint people or places or....recognizable things, generally. I do outlines or alter things that already are to something I want them to be. Some day I might get to something that looks like something I want it to without it already being something else. You know? I'm trying to figure out how to draw people. It's not going awesomely but you can tell they are people. At least I don't have a shortage of things to practice I guess.

I thought I'd share the people who do the things that crawl in to my eyes and lay eggs in my brain making me want to make stuff that as of yet I'm not able to do. They make perfection, thus MY problem of not being able to achieve perfection. That's always my problem.

Frida Kahlo-

We have plenty in common and may have been great friends. Her paintings tell stories that would not be able to be told in words. She paints conflict; seeing as that's one of my strongest motivations, you can see why I like her so much.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti-

Rossetti is very simple. 1) He paints nearly all redheads. 2) Many of them look like transvestites. 3) He paints such deep and rich colors that his work looks like a gourmet meal.

Totally amazing.

Georgia O'Keefe-

Contrary to my beloved Bill, I don't paint like Georgia; and I prefer her other paintings to the floral genitals. This one specifically takes away all the clausterphobia and filth and movement of the city and makes me feel like I can float over the hills though the crisp air.

Now for the living geniuses!

Alejandro Gomez Oropeza-

I suppose technically I've known him my whole life...but from a distance. My mother has drawings that he did for her before I was born so his art has been around me for my entire life. As luck would have it, now that I'm a grown up and can appreciate these things more, he just happens to make the most awesome art in the whole world. And with all of my favorite colors. I could attempt to recreate my own version of a Frida or Georgia painting if I was feeling really optimistic, but not in a lifetime could I make something anywhere near as amazing as Ale could paint in his sleep. He paints dreams.

http://www.gomez-oropeza.mx/

Kris Kuksi-

His drawings and paintings are flawless and amazing, but his sculptures are something to be worshiped. If Ale paints dreams, Kris sculpts nightmares. (If you know me well enough you know those are equal compliments.) His sculptures are controlled and meticulous mayhem. These I have seen in person, when I lived in Hays, and if you ever get the chance to see one GO DO IT. If you see them you'll realize how they can not be explained in words. They aren't necessarily negative, as one might think a nightmare would be, they are just unreal and in such silent frozen chaos. I literally can't even begin to think how he does these.

If you don't know who he is now, you will.

http://kuksi.com/

They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom. ~Confucius

There are some things about me that will never change.
I am a female.
I was born July 30th, I'm a Leo.
I was born in 1981 so I am a Rooster, so say the Chinese.
I am not Chinese. I AM Scotch-Irish, German, Danish, & English.
I am a Johnson; even if something else was added I would always be a Johnson. It's the nature of us.
I will always have freckles, and be at least a little bit fat.
If I could have a super power I'd like to be able to speak any language.
Sawdust is a magnificent smell.

There are some things that are pretty concrete but could fade over time given the proper circumstances, though it currently seems unlikely.
Baseball is the greatest sport of all time.
Sandy was the best dog in the world.
I live for a good big or small screen story. Or a bad one, if it entertains then it was a success.
Creatures are awesome.
Sinatra is the most iconic of icons. I aspire to rebuild a Rat Pack.
I would kill for my best friends if it came to it.
I will never be satisfied with unpurposeful mediocrity.
I'm unnecessarily hygenic, at least when in the company of other humans.
I want to go. Anywhere.
I want a Belair.
I like the wind.
Harry Potter can not be out awesomed.
Proper grammer is generally preferable but can sometimes be worked around.

Some things are in fact the opposite of what they used to be.
I used to hate baseball. It interfered with other TV watching; that part is still sometimes true.
I hated wrestling until I watched it.
When I was young I thought onions and mustard were gross. Still waiting to flip on mushrooms but I don't see it happening. Fish isn't gonna happen, I think it's a phobia.
I used to not speak to people.
I like pink.
I used to wear short to walk several blocks to school in the snow. Now I have a hoodie nearby at most times and get grumpy when the Rocky Mountain chill arrives for longer than about a week or two.
I used to collect angels and can't for the life of me figure out why.

Moral of the story: This is why I don't have any tattoos. If I were ever to get one it would probably need to be somehow related to the first category. Why get something permanent for something that could change? I can't wait to talk to some of my friends about their interesting decisions when they are old and realize how foolish they once were. I'm glad to know what is unchanging and accept that things that I THINK will never change could absolutely change at any moment.

Just take a look at an old yearbook and see who you drew hearts around and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

Holiday Music and Gift Alternatives

Take note of the date. Everybody knew it was coming.
Christmas is in 32 days and, in case anyone forgets, it is in fact a one day holiday. (I will allow the inclusion of Christmas Eve, if we must. So, 2 day holiday.)
I heard Christmas music in a store, likely Walmart, weeks ago.
Why do the stores do this absurd musical practice in early November? Because it makes you buy things. I think we all get a little caught up in things and November becomes a very sneaky month. But then you're in Walmart...and what's that....Santa Claus is Coming to Town? Is he?? Already? But it's still 75 degrees outside! Must. Buy. Presents. Now.
It has nothing to do with holiday spirit of any sort so don't you dare let them fool you in to believing in that nonsense.

Of course there are all the other issues that come along with this:
-Christmas is a commercial holiday that makes many a Scrooge filthy stinking rich.
-People spend beyond their means out of a sense of obligation.
-Those that are not Christian technically aren't celebrating "CHRISTmas." Keep the Christ in Christmas...I agree. Santa is related to him how? Cousins? I don't know. If you are a Christian please read up and see if you can't celebrate the holiday as it should be celebrated, in honor of that guy you like. I'm not anti-Christmas, I just don't celebrate that particular holiday. Send me any wish you like, just don't assume you'll necessarily get the same wish back.

Don't buy your 9 year old an Xbox, please. Instead, why not take them shopping for a food basket for families who are not able to provide as well for themselves in this time of distress.
Show them that once a year maybe it's ok to use a pencil and paper to write their grandparents a letter, what more would they ever ask for?
Find a book about how other people in the world celebrate their equally important and relevant holidays.
If it's possible to disgust your so-called Lord and Savior, I'm pretty sure Christmas is the way to do so.
I like presents as well as the next chick; I do give gifts to celebrate solstice because I enjoy finding things for my friends and family and it's a convenient time to do so, but I don't need the calendar to know when I want to give someone something. I actually had to go look up what day Christmas is on. I can never remember.
-Do you know of a time of year where people are more stressed out for a longer period of time for completely avoidable reasons? Neither do I.

However...
It sometimes reminds people that there's more love in the world than there seems. Even with all the greed, commercialization, violence, poverty, distrust, dishonesty, politics, hatefulness, and everything else that's wrong with this country and this world, there are great acts of kindness that appear around Christmas.

****I strongly encourage you to encourage your family to adopt this version of holiday gift giving.
***Find an organization which you feel is important (and preferably reputable) and, instead of buying a THING from China to give to your loved ones, give a much needed donation in their name.
***Find a local organization, Humane Society, shelter, etc. They often have a wishlist on their website of things they are constantly in need of. Fill a box and drop it off.
***Every year I adopt a soldier (from A Soldier's Wish List organization) and instead of buying presents for the majority of my family I go out and fill a Flat-rate box to a dangerously full level and send it off, usually to Iraq. They give you suggestions of things to send the the soldier you are assigned usually has a short list of things they'd like.
***Check out Heifer and Oxfam. If you donate a goat, get a little goat toy to send along with your donation card.
***Gift+donation, buy jewelry and crafts from organizations that are teaching (usually) women a skill.
***For the little ones it's harder not to get "real" presents (I still give gifts to my cousins) but perhaps in addition to a gift take them to choose a card off of the tree in the mall of wherever yours may be and have them help pick out a toy for the kids who might not get anything else. Kids usually like shopping for toys even if they are giving them away. I recieved gifts because of that when I was a kid. I remember getting a Sebastian toy...the lobster from the Little Mermaid.

Yes I will still give gifts to certain friends and my mommy and a handful of people who I really like buying stuff for and this season simply gives me an excuse, but please consider alternatives when going out to spend your hard earned money. If nothing else, take the logical approach...would you rather use your money on something that will become trash or something that will make a difference to someone. Seems easy to figure out. Gift giving is about being thoughtful, and though some people give much needed, desired, and cherished gifts, people will also appreciate you putting some thought in to what might be important to them and donating to it. And if they aren't, well, they don't really deserve your time and presents anyway do they?

My original intention was to explain why I, the heathonish non-Christmasy person that I am, love Christmas music. (Generally the classics, and sometimes a nice pop rendition of something.) I've been known to listen to Christmas music for weeks in August.
I just figured it out today...
It's because I know all the words.

Life is a Pie

I thought of this while watching the clock not move at my desk of doom in the building of death...

Life is a pie. Here is why...(Maybe I should have made all of this rhyme.)

In your life you have a pan. A pan is solid, holds everything else together, and can withstand the heat. The pan is your family (whether biological or chosen), your values, your beliefs, your base, life's structure. Right and wrong, dark and light, left and right. The pan is more absolute than the other elements of the pie might be.

In your life you have crust. Crust is crumbly, flakey, sometimes your favorite part, sometimes not even necessary, it surrounds you but without the pan it doesn't hold anything together. It could be warm, it could be cold, it could be graham cracker, it could be pastry, it could have those little ridges and criss-crossy bits, or none at all.
The crust is your fun times, your party friends who come and go, your misadventures, your youthful foolishness, your flings and fails. These things maybe you shouldn't have done in the first place and would definitely do again.

In your life you have filling. Filling is what MAKES the pie. You choose what kind you want and you dump it in there. The filling is what you find to make life the best it can be, with flavor. It's your soulmates, your joys, your talents, your gleeful obsessions, your memories, your friends and loves.

Some of the things you'd find in the KJ pie of life would be...snuggling my dog (yes she's dead, but the past is still relevant to the filling), baseball, scary movies, chats with my cousins about why I'm not married and why grammar is important, playing with kittens, living with my roommates, being able to see the sky, my favorite books, all the nonsensical quotes in my head, artists I admire, my birthday parties, my sisterly chats with Katie, my brilliant idea chats with Lindsay, stuffing my face with my favorite treats, shopping for crap no one needs, shopping for crap for people I don't know, songs that will always be stuck in my head, foreigners, projects I never think are good enough, finishing my dishes, watching Letterman while grandpa Harold sleeps through it, peanut butter toast that tastes magical only if made in grandma Doris's kitchen, convertible rides with grandma Jessie, telling jokes with grandpa Tom, singing and dancing to Animal House with Taush, wearing feathers for any reason, shopping with mom, and large sections of Frank Sinatra...just to give you a small sample of the filling I have in the pie so far.

There's a lot of room left. Don't grab a fork just yet.

First birthday present of the season!

Yay! Ok so it was a bit early but I got it on solstice so it worked nicely.
From my Kansas McGyver Mum I received my starter Survival Kit to go along with the book I got for Winter Solstice (aka "Christmas") called Apocalypse How: Turn the End Times into the Best of Times.
It's brilliant stuff. Here's an example of what it provides:
In the pages of this book, you will learn so much about how to prepare for, survive, and adapt after any worldwide calamity, you will actually start to look forward to it. Your attitude will shift from "Oh God, we're screwed!" to "Bring it on, Jesus/Terrorists/Telekenetic Snail People from Alpha Cantauri/Belgium!"

You have two options:
A- Get mired in negativity.
Oh Boo hoo hoo. I can't find my family, or my left arm.
Or
B- Choose to live by this simple but powerful credo.
When life gives you radioactive lemons, use a lead-shielded catapult to launch them at the foreigners attacking your compound.

Here is what my survival kit contains.



*55 Yards of silver Duck Tape- The 5th Force. Vital for Survival
*20 Yards of Purple Duck Tape- Just because it's the apocalypse doesn't mean you can't make a fashion statement.
*Bar of Vanilla Cream Prairie Sister Soap- For getting rid of Zombie Cooties.
*Survival Anklet- This can be quickly undone to give you ~8 ft. of line.
*All-Purpose Krazy Glue- For mending just about anything, including ax gashes.
*Pliers- A must have for life!
*Fancier Pliers type thing- These will make emergency door/window handles as well as hold parts on to the car.
*Emergency Blanket- Also works well as a shade to keep heat at bay.

Now I think I'll read through my handbook again and I'll feel quite prepared for the Belgians or whatever might bring about the end of times.

Happy Birthday to me!
Thanks mum!

My apartment is too cool for me to have to deal with such morons!

But apparently the morons don't know that. Perhaps I should post a flyer or something.

There's a noisy neighbor. There's always a noisy neighbor. Occasionally people freak out completely (usually for good reason) and then create way more noise than noisy neighbor was making in the first place. It might make you feel better you silly wanker but it still wakes the rest of us up. I don't know why I can't just like by nice normal people or Mexicans that like to cook outdoors but whatever. Here's what I'm dealing with.

The 8-
There's me. I'm on the end. I have the best apartment other than the one on the end right across from me. He's on the neighborhood side and I'm on the 9th St. side so I get a little more traffic noise. But I like the traffic noise.

Crazy guy- Talks to his cat. Loud enough that I can hear it from my apartment. He looks like he's about 13 months pregnant (guy, not cat) and when it gets nice he's kind enough to show off his goods. He picks grass up with his ass and falling down pants aimed right at my big front windows and IF I'm lucky, he'll be doing some shirtless toe touches in the morning sun. With the cat. He seems....off. Like if he was a little twitchy I'd assume I was going to be shot in the night. But I think he's all smoked out of his mind so he's alright. He also has a spitting habit, which he'll display out in our common area so I can hear all the snot. I think he might be a painter of some sort because he has art all over his walls. He seems interesting enough, as do his giant-knife wielding pals, that I'm sure there's some sort of story there. I hope so at least. Otherwise he's just a freak.

Next to him is the Douchebag- About my age, seemingly no normal job, highschool students in and out all day every day. Parties every bloody night. Has no concept of "don't hang up posters at 2 in the morning or crazy guy will come punch you in the face." That happened. It was one of the more amusing yelling fights I've ever witnessed. No idea what this guy's deal is. He's not a total drugged out freak as far as you can tell by looking at him but what the hell is he doing??? Is he a drug dealer? Does he live off his parents? If so, why not live off them somewhere else? I don't think he's a student cause he just doesn't seem the type. I have no idea. I know he's a douchebag, that's all. There's a vampire theory as well but I've seen him out in daylight now a few times.

Next to Douchbag is Jeff- Jeff smokes and has messy hair. This is all I know.

On the end is some chick and possibly her boyfriend. They don't open the door, they don't open their windows, I see them park the car sometimes. No more is ever seen or heard of them.

On the end of my building is the older lady. She grills in the summer. She might be a groomer or something. There's a sign on her van but I can't remember what it says. She seems ok but I don't see much of her either.

The "nice" neighbors- The only ones I've ever spoken too past a single hello. Interesting folks, nice enough, socially strange perhaps but there's nothing wrong with that. They have a new cat. At least one is a geek and/or a nerd, I'm not sure about the chick though. She seems a little more hippy maybe. Hard to tell. Mr. Nice was the latest one to flip out at the Douchebag. I kinda thought he'd break down the door, which would have been bad but more interesting.

Between me and the Nices is mystery girl. I do prefer her to skinny bitch (wouldn't even attempt to say hello, closed her blinds at the slightest hint of social activity, and looked overall unpleasant) and the stomping children that woke me up every morning just before she moved away. I've never seen this new person. Not once. I see a car so I know someone is there. She's another one that never opens the door or the windows or anything. Do these people not need light or air or what?? So freakin creepy.

Anyway....I don't know why they all must be there not adding anything to my existence but they are. Cool apartments should come with cool people but this seems not to be the case.
I invited all the ones who were living there when I moved in to come to my housewarming party and no one came. So eff you all. The nice ones said they would have come but already had plans. Thus the reason they are the nice ones.

I hope everyone else has better luck with their neighbors but I know that's not really the case. I think my landlord screens people kinda like my bosses: Hmm...you don't have a shotgun in hand, a needle in your arm, or any color in your skin so you are welcome here.

Um...nothing really...

My yummy salad for dinner was pretty satisfactory but I can smell people grilling and it's becoming a little less awesome. Oh well. Tomorrow I will stuff myself with IHOP and then I will be quite content. As most people know, anything IHOP makes me happy. Christina will be joining in on the fun and she's excited so that makes me more excited. It's nice to share the joy with new people who I find worthy.
I'm thinking I might go Belgian and get a waffle. We shall see. Some weeks I really put a lot of thought in to my Thursday outing. It's the highlight of my week. I might as well make the best of it right? But really....as long as the magnificent bringer of the food is there I don't care what else happens. He is why we can't go anywhere else. <3
I don't particularly have anything else terribly interesting to report because I'm all focused on my Thursday. But if something comes up then I'll report. Unless of course it's really good...then I won't. :) I'll update those who NEED to know.
Time for kettle corn and Demolition Man. I've seen it on TV in bits and pieces a dozen times but never seen it all. I love it.
Oh...I invented a new word- Technotasking. It's like multitasking but with technology. I can multitask with technology but I've taken it to a new level here.
I am currently watching an instant movie on Netflix on my computer and I'm blogging and Facebooking on mom's. I could have something else going on on another screen I'm sure but I don't have another one. If there was a baseball game on I could be doing that too. This is all I need right now I think. Whatever gets me to tomorrow.

I hope it thunders!

(Oops...technotasking gone awry!! My laptop just turned itself off. Like it does. Dammit! Am I not meant to watch Sly or what??)

My buddy

Sometimes a cat's gotta do what a cat's gotta do.
Our good pal Malcolm has decided to venture off on his own...I suspect in search of Katie.
There was some waiting and some searching, and he might always come back to his nip supply in warmer days, but for now I believe Momgyver has accepted that he's found his way somewhere else. We just hope it's somewhere nice.
He was a good buddy. Things just won't be the same without the man of the house around.

The Wolfman, 2010 style...kinda.

“Even a man who is pure of heart,
and says his prayers by night,
may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms,
and the autumn moon is bright.”





No, Abbot and Costello were not in this one.
Just Benecio del Toro, Hugo Weaving, Anthony Hopkins, and Emilt Blunt.
Considering such a superb cast I think they could have done a little bit better but nonetheless it was still a fantastic film.

First of all I never would have picked Benecio out of thin air for the role of The Wolfman. Yet it was an excellent choice. He has a surprisingly similar presence to Lon Cheney Jr. that I never would have known. It's not so much that they look or sound the same; it's that they have the same sad eyes. This is essential for The Wolfman. It's not essential for a werewolf in general but it is for The Wolfman specifically.
The movie was very classic. The cinematography and art direction was superb. It really felt like it was created when it took place. They didn't over modernize. I think a modernized version would be neat as well but that's a whole different monster, literally.
If I may quote my own paper-- "Film werewolves are represented in three ways: the classic wolf man, the genuine wolf, and most cinematically friendly—the monster werewolf."
Examples of these are: The Wolfman (1941)as the classic, The Wolf (1994)as the genuine, and American Werewolf in London as the monster.
This new Benecio werewolf is the first incarnation I've seen of a combination classic and monster werewolf. It was a really brilliant way to keep it looking classic and believable (as far as monsters go) while making it more appealing and less ridiculous to the 2010 audience as opposed to the 1941 audience.
Yes, it's slow as some of the reviews have said but that's part of the charm. There is essentially nothing thrilling about Mr. Talbot....except when there's a full moon. That is the essence of what makes the story of The Wolfman a classic.
Any one of us can keep a monster within us, no matter how pure at heart we are.

Life is "strange and offputting." Like Dracula says...

Nobody will know what that means but nobody reads this anyway so not a problem.

My house is messy. And it's so full of stuff. Why do I have all this stuff? I must do something about it. Of course if I trade in my little orange couch for my friend's giant cushy couch then it'll be even more packed full in here. But cushy. Another round of purging is on my mental to do list. I still miss my shack.

Fact is, I will always miss my shack. I try to keep the thought, that life will never be like it was, contained in a little box in my brain. But my brain makes a crappy box and it doesn't work at all.
One of my thoughtful friends recently was concerned about me getting hurt in just your average life stuff. I explained that nothing I get myself in to will ever be as bad as the horrible torture of being parted from those whom you love more than life itself. Loving things more than life itself comes with quite a disadvantage when you're not with them. As I said to Lindsay, one of my most beloved, we are a broken family and we always will be. But, life goes on even if there's not much of a point to it. With that in mind at all times I attempt normalcy...for ME anyway.
KJ normal is not regular normal but that's the only thing I have available that I can willingly embrace and enjoy. In the meantime I just find things that amuse me. Friends, movies, boys, booze, whatever. Not really good enough but...good enough.

I also wait for summer. Sun. Warm.
I've never had such a hatred for the cold yuckyness. I don't know what is different about this year but I'm about ready to pack up and get out. (I'm almost always ready for that but this is more specific.)

Strange and interesting complications give me a reason to keep tuning in for my next episode. Unfortunately they are a bit too interesting to be blogged about but feel free to find me for a private chat. :)

If I do something that seems questionable, that means it's worth the risk. This is something that SO many people have yet to learn of me. Soak it up. Please.

Junk and Stuff

I told Sheena that I couldn't remember what I was going to blog about and "junk and stuff" was her suggestion so that works for me.

Here's a list of things that I've thought about writing about and haven't gotten to yet:

~I wrote about my first dream of 2010 but I was going to write about my first scary/apocalyptic dream of 2010. The end of the world apparently happens at my place of employment. Based on my feelings about that place it's not all that surprising. There was bodies hanging from the ceiling and chunks of ice flying over the horizon on to the building. It was pretty wicked crazy. I only wish I could film it.

~Things we liked better "Before":
Tiger Woods before the trashy women.
PeeWee before the wanking.
Michael Jackson before the...whiteness and strange relationships with children.
Olsen Twins before puberty.
Arnold before the politics.
Britney before K-Fed and the mental breakdown.
Lindsay Lohan before the trashy phase, when she still had freckles.
Christian Bale before the tantrum.
Television before Reality.
I'm sure there's more but that's all I have on the list so far.

~As a follow up to things we liked before is things we didn't like UNTIL:
Bob Saget until his disturbing appearance in The Aristocrats.
Chuck Norris until...what? Chin jokes? I don't know what happened there but I'm glad it went away.
Mickey Roark until The Wrestler. I liked Mickey but he wasn't getting the respect he deserved until then.
Charlie Sheen until Two and a Half Men. *See Mickey Roark explanation.
Hugh Grant until the prostitute? Should this go in the other catagory? I'm thinking not.
I didn't have as much time to develop this list but feel free to add to it.

~With the assistance of Ed I will hopefully come up with a list of words that should have opposites:
disgruntled vs gruntled: "My job makes me feel fulfilled and gruntled."
disturbed vs turbed: "I'm totally relaxed and turbed."
disgusting/disgusted vs gusting/gusted: "That was a gusting meal you prepared Yvonne."
Get it?

I had a nice day on Friday. I met a geek. All is somewhat more normal in the world.

That's about all I've got for now.

First dream of 2010

I don't really remember what was going on before this happened....something equally weird.
I was wandering around this lovely little town with a friend who OH YEAH was randomly killing people. (I did not even watch Dexter last night, this was just lingering serial killer stuff in my head I guess.)
Somewhere in there he lined up a whole group of dudes because he did not want them around anymore I guess. There are three I remember in the group: Keanu Reeves, Hal Sparks, and David Spade. I didn't notice Hal at first I was just freaking out because of David Spade. I was talking to him and I said "He can't kill you! Tommy Boy is way better than Speed! You can have Keanu but you can't have Spade!!" Then I grabbed David Spade and wouldn't let go of him, which is when I saw Hal. I was like COME ON killer friend! This is not cool! Then he had them all lined up and I was still spazzing out and there were pictures of the necklaces they all happened to be wearing. They all had some sort of lightning bolt thing on in the picture. David wasn't wearing his anymore and Hal apparently was wearing a different one. Mr. Killer guy said that those two could go because their jewelry meant trust and friendship instead of whatever gang sign the other thing was. I squeezed my buddies and we went away from the killing line to a hardware store where my mother was buying some sugary cereal. David and Hal gave me their phone numbers so we could keep in touch (Spader apparently lives in Colorado in my head because he gave me a 303 number. I asked him how he could like in Colorado and I didn't know.)

And I am remembering now that the dream before that I was shopping for something at the John Elway car place on I-25. Wasn't a car though. No idea.

I don't know what the moral of the story is but I guess I have no loyalties to Keanu and I really love David Spade more than I thought I did. I kept hugging him saying that they couldn't kill him if I was attached... Hmm...He's in Vegas at the Venetian tonight. Just another sign that I should be there instead of here.
I'm just gonna take this as a good omen, watch Emperor's New Groove, and see what 2010 is going to do to me.

The End is Nigh.

I’ve just decided that in the event of a zombie/vampire plague outbreak thing I should like to go live in Coors Field. It seems like a very reasonable place to go if such a thing happens. It is very fort like if you think about it.
There are big gates to keep the creatures out. Even if they do get past the gates I imagine they would have trouble with the turnstiles. Even high functioning people have problems with those. There are lots of places to hide underground. Assuming this happens during baseball season you’d be set for life with nachos and beer. If you can keep a generator running you’d never run out of Rockie Dogs. I’m thinking I’d put up some sort of “I’m not undead” flag or something at the top. Just in case someone flew over and didn’t know I was lounging out in centerfield.
There would be plenty of room for any other not undead people if anyone remembers that that’s where I’ll be.

I’m currently watching the original Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price. I love him. Last night I watched the original House on Haunted Hill, also with Vincent Price. He’s just one of the coolest people ever to live. House on Haunted Hill was interesting in comparison with the new one. It was actually much creepier than I thought it would be but much less gross than the new one. No surprise there. There’s one giant difference between the two which I thought was interesting but I don’t want to ruin it for people that haven’t seen them.
I’m making my way through my birthday present from Katie, the Collector’s Edition Horror Movie Classics in the screaming box. It’s an awesome collection. We’ve got Horror Hotel with Christopher Lee—I’ve seen it before, House on Haunted Hill, The Last Man on Earth, Night of the Living Dead, Dementia 13—I actually had this one on a different DVD and watched it the other day, crappy quality but not too bad. I’m glad I have this one though, it’s probably less fuzzy, Nightmare Castle, The Terror—this one I had on another DVD also, but again the quality sucked. It stars Boris Karloff and a very young Jack Nicholson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which I saw my last semester at Ft. Hays, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari—this one is a silent film that I saw a few years ago. It’s surprisingly interesting. Last but not least is Nosferatu. I’ve been meaning to see Nosferatu for years now since it’s one of the earliest vampire movies.

For the moment, I move on to Night of the Living Dead. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it. I’d enjoy it more if it was gloomy but the stupid sun is shining right in my big windows so oh well. At least my mood is already gloomy if that helps at all.

Another one for Audra.

What is your current obsession? Getting rid of all of my belongings and getting to another country.

What do you hate the most that everybody else seems to love? Macs. They are devil machines and will kill us all.

What are you wearing today? Since I FINALLY took a shower...a white skirt and a turquoise shirt.

What's for dinner? I'm going to go get something fried even if it does kill me.

What would you eat for your last meal? Hotdogs. I really think it would be hotdogs.

What's the last thing you bought? Spiffy new couch.

What are you listening to right now? The traffic on 9th.

What do you think of the person that tagged you? You know... she's my chair cushion.

If you could have a house, fully paid for, and totally furnished anywhere in the world, where would it be? I have no idea. Maybe on a non-hurricaney beach somewhere.

What is one of your hobbies? Movies. Watching. Discussing. Critiquing.

What are 3 things that annoy you most? 1.ignorance 2. intolerance 3. people with no sense of humor

What is your favorite color? Lime green has been making more of an appearance lately. Always like the magenta pinkys and anything else super bright.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your wardrobe? my newish green, white, and black splatter shirt. It's so cool.

What is your dream job? Getting paid to watch movies or talk to people.

Describe your personal style. I do not have a personal style. That would require consistency.

What are you going to do after this? Think I'm gonna brush my teeth and go to Sonic.

What is your favorite "happy hour" at Sonic? Not a clue. But...what a coincidence eh?

What inspires you? Stories. And hating my job.

Who was the last person you kissed? Javier

What are you currently reading? Just finished "Mother Tongue" and I think I might start Huckleberry Finn.

What delighted you most today? Watching Bride and Prejudice and dancing around to Lata when it was over.

By what criteria do you judge a person? By how they interact with strangers. That's how you see what they want others to see.

The rules: 1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own.

I don't like the Sonic question but....wait I have one...

If you could suddenly be the best at any given talent, what would it be?
You know, I didn't expect my own answer but I think it would be writing. If I was the best writer ever I could do just about anything. And then write about it.