And yes, I want opinions!!!
Side note: The person referenced (Mr. Personality) was a probelm student this semester. He was one of those blurting-out, disrespectful, just plain annoying people. He claimed Dr. Jaffe taught with a liberal agenda and this displeased him - - any more questions? He was finally removed from the class a month ago and now Dr. Jaffe remarks about him as Mr. Personality or Mr. Godzilla or other names like that. It's actually quite funny. So there's some back story.
The paper is a "What If?" paper. We have to retell history as if it happened a different way. Fun stuff. You'll be able to tell what I wrote about. . . So, without further ado:
10. . . . 9. . . . 8. . . .
It was December 31, 1999 and everyone in Times Square was metaphorically sitting on pins and needles. There were those who were partying, as usual, but a vast majority of the people in New York City’s famed city block were nervously awaiting the finale of the waning seconds of the past calendar year.
7. . . . 6. . . .
Down the Atlantic Coast, in Washington D.C., President Bill Clinton sat anxiously at his desk in the Oval Office. He also was greatly concerned with how the next few seconds would play out. He had yet to hear from his political leader friends across the globe about how the Y2K problem had affected them. He wasn’t sure if that was because they were partying or because they were panicking. He had heard that news broadcasts of other countries ringing in the New Year had been suspended for fear of glitches. There was no way to know what would happen. Monica Lewinsky walked into the Oval Office wearing only those “2000” glasses and a tiara. Not even that could calm this powerful man down.
5. . . . 4. . . . 3. . . .
In Los Angeles, millions watched their televisions closely, hoping to still see Dick Clark after the clock struck midnight. The famed ball was dropping in Times Square and was getting ever-closer to the bottom. “Will it explode?” some asked, quite frightened about the near future. Hollywood’s heartthrobs were pacing back and forth in their respective million dollar mansions. Their concern was that all of their grinning and crying (depending on the role) would end up being meaningless when the calendar switched over.
2. . . . 1. . . .
The moment had finally come. There was nothing more that could be done to prepare for the fallout that could occur. Basements holding hundreds of gallons of water and hundreds of boxes of Top Ramen were also occupied by worried families. Life, as they knew it, would soon be changing. “The end of the world,” some suggested, “is upon us”. They really had no idea.
HAPPY NEW. . . Zap! Welcome to Y2K.
As the clocks hit 12:00 on that fateful night, chaos ensued over the entire country. As each time zone crossed over into the New Year, more problems occurred than could have ever been anticipated. In New York, the ball-dropping in Times Square was concluded with a giant explosion. These were not fireworks, though. The ball blew up when it finished its descent, sending glass and shrapnel across the crowd. Famed commentator Dick Clark was struck with some of the glass, later causing his plastic surgeons to add even more Botox to his already near-fake face. The explosion was later discovered to be the work of a suicide bomber looking to cause widespread panic and not a technical glitch. This man’s plan worked as planned, as Times Square turned into Terror Square. Panic swept the city blocks and many were killed in the stampede out of the small area.
The United States of America was completely changed after the calendar read 2000. The infamous Y2K bug had quite an effect on computers. Bank accounts across the country were compromised. For some, so they would find out later, it was actually beneficial. What occurred was not a complete wipeout of funds, but a transfer effect, later referred to as “The Great Switch”. Some members of the rich community became poor in a matter of seconds. The interesting thing, however, was that no one knew of this problem until much later, as the accounts were inaccessible for weeks. By that time, there was no way for bank associates to figure out where individual’s funds went. For many people, their multiple years of work were now for nothing.
One such story that actually was heartwarming was that of a History professor at a small community college in California (Editor’s Note: In no way is the following account an attempt at great accolades or recognition. I just find the story redeeming in so many ways). One Matthew Lee Jaffe, a hard-working, scarcely-sleeping professor of Antelope Valley College, received just over two million dollars after the Y2K disaster. The funds of another man, only referenced throughout history as Mr. Personality, were completely transferred to the account of Dr. Jaffe. When the famed conspiracy theorist (Mr. Personality) discovered he had lost his inheritance money, (he had in no way earned the ridiculous amount of money) he pleaded his case before not only the courts, but the Dean of Admissions at Antelope Valley College. He lost both cases (this was not a nice individual) and was also removed from Dr. Jaffe’s class. Justice, in this case, was served.
On a grand scale, the country had to deal with more than just computer glitches and account transfers; however most of the problems that arose were because of the trouble with computers. Convenience was all of a sudden something that was near impossible to have. Companies could no longer just fill out work schedules, timecards, and earnings reports on a computer. Everything had to be done by hand. Confusion abounded at most restaurants that normally relied on computer stations to ring in food orders. Handheld calculators quickly became a hot item for fast food drive thru attendants and grocery store clerks as their computers were all down for several months. Needless to say, pen and paper companies saw a boost in their sales over the two-month-long period at the beginning of 2000.
A careful reader would notice the mentioning of a “several month long period” during which the computers were down or the chaos ensued. This must mean that everything was resolved. You, careful reader, are correct. President Clinton hired millionaires (although only two were still such – Gates had lost most of his money, which was later discovered to have been distributed equally to the entire population of Topeka, Kansas) Steve Forbes, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs to discover what could be done to fix all of the nation’s problems. Forbes, a Presidential hopeful for the election of 2000, ran the campaign against chaos, which was entitled “Operation Oops-Fixer” by Clinton. Gates and Jobs, presidents of the computer companies Microsoft and Apple respectively, assisted Forbes in what ended up being a very successful operation. Forbes discovered that the only possible solution was to recreate the computer. With the help of Gates and Jobs, and the funding from the United States government, (which had lost only about 1/128 of its funds in the crisis; investigators believe that Florida residents received the bulk of this fraction of the government’s surplus) Forbes created the new computer, which would be in every American household by 2002. Not only did this kick-start the economy back to a beneficial place, it made Steve Forbes a national hero. Running in the Republican primary, Forbes outlasted Texas Governor George W. Bush and defeated former Vice President Al Gore to gain the Presidency in November 2000. A business-first President, Forbes, along with Vice President Alan Keyes, created a brand new United States. Within the first two years of his Presidency, Forbes created the United States’ largest surplus in the nation’s history. Always enjoying an almost unanimous approval rating, Forbes ended up cruising to re-election in 2004.
The Y2K problem certainly caused some issues in the few months following the calendar-turning event. The chaos, which was most certainly aided by the media’s efforts prior to the event, was widespread and the panic was the first of its kind since the Great Depression in the 1930s. It was only by the efforts of the nation’s smartest, most capable minds (entrepreneurs have always been critical to the country’s success; read: Rockefeller, Carnegie) of the time that the United States was able to pull through and regain its spot as the only world superpower.
Lord only knows what is going to happen when Y3K comes around. . .
SO......
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Sunday, April 16, 2006
The Spring Break Grab-Bag
Alright, what I can promise you (yes, promise) is that once school is done (May 4th is my last day!) I will be blogging much more frequently. What I can also promise is that until then, blogs will be scarce. I have so much work to catch up on and complete over the next three weeks. As it was, I spent a majority of my Spring Break doing homework. But you'll see that. . .
- So I entered the week with a total of five papers due by the end of the semester. I had a plan of finishing three of them over the Break. I got two done (I consider that a semi-accomplishment). Tomorrow the third one will be finished, so that kinda means I did a good job. School's almost done! I can't wait for the summer!
- I bought THE DA VINCI CODE in paperback. I wanted to see what all the hubbub is about. Let me put it this way: I'm already almost 200 pages in! That's how quick of a read it is! It's really entertaining and it is one of those "can't-put-it-down" books. Good stuff.
- Heather was able to come home a couple of days this week which was absolutely awesome! We took Chary out to dinner at FAMOUS DAVE'S on Monday for her birthday (which was Sunday). That was fun. Heather and I got to hang out, watch movies, play Darts, and just have a great time in the moments that we got to spend together over the week. I'm so grateful for my wonderful Heather!
- I've been working the usual amount at JOHNNY CARINO'S. If you remember, I told you that I'm now only a TT. My schedule appears to be (I say appears to be because it has been the same the last two weeks, and I'm anticipating it staying the same) Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. This is good for me. It will give me 25 hours a week and a nice bit of tips each week. I certainly can't complain. Also, there is an opening of a new JC in Downey in June and both Chelsea and I have inquired about being apart of it. During the opening, you work like 12 hour days for 6 days a week, but you get major bank! Here's hoping. . .
- I guess this brings me to the highlight of my Spring Break. Today, Easter Sunday, my dad and I went to the Staples Center to watch our PHOENIX SUNS take on the LOS ANGELES LAKERS. What's better than that? Our seats! We were two (count them) two rows behind the SUNS bench!!! Besides the excitement of the game, our seats, and the atmosphere, we also saw quite a few famous people. Here is the list of people I saw either really close or from a little distance: Paris Hilton (she got booed when put up on the Jumbotron!), Phil Ivey (professional Poker player), J.A. Adande (L.A. Times sportswriter and frequent contestant on ESPN'S Around the Horn), Penny Marshall (director of A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN), the commentators at the game (including Hubie Brown, Peter Vecsey, and former Chicago Bulls center Will Perdue, who I yelled his name and he looked at me and smiled cuz I recognizd him!), and of course, Jack Nicholson. Jack sat in his usual courtside seats, which were literally less than fifteen feet from ours. When he entered, he was less than three feet from us at one point. No joke! I'll post pictures of all this later on this week. I haven't quite gotten them up on my computer just yet. The game was a bit of a disappointment, even though it was SO EXCITING just being there. Our SUNS, who played without injured Steve Nash (who, during one time-out, noticed me in my Nash jersey and acknowledged me with a smile - I kinda shrugged and put my hands out questioningly (he is resting a thigh injury) and he kinda did the same thing - awesome three and a half seconds!) and Raja Bell, played pretty bad and lost 109-89. We got to watch Kobe play, though, and as much as I hate him, he certainly can put the ball in the hole. We really had a great time! Thanks Mr. Brooks!!!
So, yeah, I'll post those pictures in a couple days. And that, my friends, I promise!
Thanks for catching up with me - it's been fun!
- - - "You don't get better with age! You're not a Merlot!"
- - - Obnoxious Laker fan yelling at the injured players on the SUNS bench. Idiot.
Later,
SUNS FAN #1 - - JUSTIN
- So I entered the week with a total of five papers due by the end of the semester. I had a plan of finishing three of them over the Break. I got two done (I consider that a semi-accomplishment). Tomorrow the third one will be finished, so that kinda means I did a good job. School's almost done! I can't wait for the summer!
- I bought THE DA VINCI CODE in paperback. I wanted to see what all the hubbub is about. Let me put it this way: I'm already almost 200 pages in! That's how quick of a read it is! It's really entertaining and it is one of those "can't-put-it-down" books. Good stuff.
- Heather was able to come home a couple of days this week which was absolutely awesome! We took Chary out to dinner at FAMOUS DAVE'S on Monday for her birthday (which was Sunday). That was fun. Heather and I got to hang out, watch movies, play Darts, and just have a great time in the moments that we got to spend together over the week. I'm so grateful for my wonderful Heather!
- I've been working the usual amount at JOHNNY CARINO'S. If you remember, I told you that I'm now only a TT. My schedule appears to be (I say appears to be because it has been the same the last two weeks, and I'm anticipating it staying the same) Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. This is good for me. It will give me 25 hours a week and a nice bit of tips each week. I certainly can't complain. Also, there is an opening of a new JC in Downey in June and both Chelsea and I have inquired about being apart of it. During the opening, you work like 12 hour days for 6 days a week, but you get major bank! Here's hoping. . .
- I guess this brings me to the highlight of my Spring Break. Today, Easter Sunday, my dad and I went to the Staples Center to watch our PHOENIX SUNS take on the LOS ANGELES LAKERS. What's better than that? Our seats! We were two (count them) two rows behind the SUNS bench!!! Besides the excitement of the game, our seats, and the atmosphere, we also saw quite a few famous people. Here is the list of people I saw either really close or from a little distance: Paris Hilton (she got booed when put up on the Jumbotron!), Phil Ivey (professional Poker player), J.A. Adande (L.A. Times sportswriter and frequent contestant on ESPN'S Around the Horn), Penny Marshall (director of A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN), the commentators at the game (including Hubie Brown, Peter Vecsey, and former Chicago Bulls center Will Perdue, who I yelled his name and he looked at me and smiled cuz I recognizd him!), and of course, Jack Nicholson. Jack sat in his usual courtside seats, which were literally less than fifteen feet from ours. When he entered, he was less than three feet from us at one point. No joke! I'll post pictures of all this later on this week. I haven't quite gotten them up on my computer just yet. The game was a bit of a disappointment, even though it was SO EXCITING just being there. Our SUNS, who played without injured Steve Nash (who, during one time-out, noticed me in my Nash jersey and acknowledged me with a smile - I kinda shrugged and put my hands out questioningly (he is resting a thigh injury) and he kinda did the same thing - awesome three and a half seconds!) and Raja Bell, played pretty bad and lost 109-89. We got to watch Kobe play, though, and as much as I hate him, he certainly can put the ball in the hole. We really had a great time! Thanks Mr. Brooks!!!
So, yeah, I'll post those pictures in a couple days. And that, my friends, I promise!
Thanks for catching up with me - it's been fun!
- - - "You don't get better with age! You're not a Merlot!"
- - - Obnoxious Laker fan yelling at the injured players on the SUNS bench. Idiot.
Later,
SUNS FAN #1 - - JUSTIN
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
This Is True, However. .
Alright, so some would say (and I would partially agree) that I'm just a bad blogger.
However. .
My excuses (yes, excuses) are bountiful, though. It's been a week and a half since my last real blog, and just about a week (8 days) since my last post. I'm sorry. Last week I worked 35 hours at JOHNNY CARINO'S, including an all-day (not all-fun) affair on Saturday (April Fools Day). Here's a quick (very very quick) recap of my recent past (there's no order, no paragraphs, no reason to this except to catch up with out actually catching up):
- I'm a certified HOST Trainer now at JC, however. .
- My schedule next week has only TT days on it (nice!)
- Seeing Heather every Monday is spectacular, however. .
- It's not nearly enough time and saying goodbye sucks
- I finished and turned in my ASTRONOMY paper this week, however. .
- I have a paper of some sort due for every one of my classes (two in HISTORY) before the semester ends
- I've seen several movies over the past couple weeks - INSIDE MAN (Grade: C+), MILLIONS (Grade: B-). I've also purchased a few DVD's as well (KING KONG, MR. AND MRS. SMITH, WAR OF THE WORLDS), however. .
- I still haven't seen THANK YOU FOR SMOKING (and I really really want to!!!)
- The Desert Christian High School Drama performance of BYE BYE BIRDIE was good, however. .
- It wasn't quite as good as TWELFTH NIGHT or MY FAIR LADY (those were done a few years back, if you know what I mean!)
- Amare Stoudemire returned for three games for my beloved PHOENIX SUNS, however. .
- He over-compensated on his good knee and is now done for the year!
- I'm looking forward to a week off of school next week, however. .
- I'd be just as happy if I got out a week earlier without a Spring Break (woohoo! - FRIENDS allusion, by the by)
- I miss spending time with my family, however. .
- I think they miss me more
- I don't see my good friends nearly enough, however. .
- This time apart makes me appreciate our hang-out nights all the more
- I haven't played Poker in too long, however. .
- I could still beat you!
- The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament was one of the most exciting events of the year (maybe one of the most exciting tournaments I've ever seen), however. .
- My four year win streak is over
- This weather in the Antelope Valley the last few weeks has just been crazy, however. .
- Nope that's it. The weather's crazy!!!
- I would really like to continue this here blog, however. .
- It's 0100 and I have class in the morning
Thanks folks for sticking with me. You will probably have a cardiac arrest when you see a new post, so I hope that you can finish reading it before the ambulance gets to you! . . That's ok to say, right???
Either way, I'm going to bed. Goodnight everyone!!!
JUSTIN
However. .
My excuses (yes, excuses) are bountiful, though. It's been a week and a half since my last real blog, and just about a week (8 days) since my last post. I'm sorry. Last week I worked 35 hours at JOHNNY CARINO'S, including an all-day (not all-fun) affair on Saturday (April Fools Day). Here's a quick (very very quick) recap of my recent past (there's no order, no paragraphs, no reason to this except to catch up with out actually catching up):
- I'm a certified HOST Trainer now at JC, however. .
- My schedule next week has only TT days on it (nice!)
- Seeing Heather every Monday is spectacular, however. .
- It's not nearly enough time and saying goodbye sucks
- I finished and turned in my ASTRONOMY paper this week, however. .
- I have a paper of some sort due for every one of my classes (two in HISTORY) before the semester ends
- I've seen several movies over the past couple weeks - INSIDE MAN (Grade: C+), MILLIONS (Grade: B-). I've also purchased a few DVD's as well (KING KONG, MR. AND MRS. SMITH, WAR OF THE WORLDS), however. .
- I still haven't seen THANK YOU FOR SMOKING (and I really really want to!!!)
- The Desert Christian High School Drama performance of BYE BYE BIRDIE was good, however. .
- It wasn't quite as good as TWELFTH NIGHT or MY FAIR LADY (those were done a few years back, if you know what I mean!)
- Amare Stoudemire returned for three games for my beloved PHOENIX SUNS, however. .
- He over-compensated on his good knee and is now done for the year!
- I'm looking forward to a week off of school next week, however. .
- I'd be just as happy if I got out a week earlier without a Spring Break (woohoo! - FRIENDS allusion, by the by)
- I miss spending time with my family, however. .
- I think they miss me more
- I don't see my good friends nearly enough, however. .
- This time apart makes me appreciate our hang-out nights all the more
- I haven't played Poker in too long, however. .
- I could still beat you!
- The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament was one of the most exciting events of the year (maybe one of the most exciting tournaments I've ever seen), however. .
- My four year win streak is over
- This weather in the Antelope Valley the last few weeks has just been crazy, however. .
- Nope that's it. The weather's crazy!!!
- I would really like to continue this here blog, however. .
- It's 0100 and I have class in the morning
Thanks folks for sticking with me. You will probably have a cardiac arrest when you see a new post, so I hope that you can finish reading it before the ambulance gets to you! . . That's ok to say, right???
Either way, I'm going to bed. Goodnight everyone!!!
JUSTIN
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Another Paper Just For You
Ok, it's not my best work, but I'm happy with how it turned out, seeing that I started it at 0130 and finished around 0300. It's a philosophical paper (or at least it's supposed to be ha ha). The requirement was simply to define marriage in an attempt to later write a longer paper about the legalization of gay marriage (and whether we agreed with it or not). I liked the idea because an argument is very weak without a proper definition. I tried as hard as I could for the time that I wrote it. If I could write it again, it would probably look much different, and who knows if it'd be any good. Either way, read it carefully, because the end might lead you to an incorrect conclusion about yours truly (a classmate of mine accused me of being anti-marriage - please!!!). Enjoy - - and comments are greatly appreciated (I'm pretty much requesting comments - I like my writing to be critiqued :D ) . . .
PAPER 2
A mutable concept, marriage is presently the universal term for the union, both legally and economically, of a man and a woman. The main foundation of the social institution of family since the beginning of time has always been marriage. A legally-bonding agreement, marriage usually indicates a desire to carry on a family name through procreation, not that reproduction is impossible without marriage. Marriage does not have to lead to a family with the stereotypical two-and-a-half kids, however. Often times, career-oriented individuals will marry simply to make a public statement of a private relationship, another reason for the wedding process. A public declaration of love and dedication, a wedding can show family and friends of the couple what the couple intends to do through the marriage. Disregarding the role of children, a marriage can simply be the union of two people who care about each other enough to publicly and legally call each other their own.
Throughout history, marriage has provided an opportunity for individuals to dedicate completely to another in an honest, monogamous fashion. Intended to be for life (“Until death do us part”) it also mandates quite a long-term commitment from both participating parties. Providing the opportunity for an honest sexual relationship, the intimacy between the two individuals is such that it becomes unlike any other relationship. Marriage remains a chance for two people to enter into the closest of bonds, and gives them the benefits of being completely reliable on another individual.
Presently, marriage is one of the most violated contracts. The sanctity of the institution of marriage has declined in the minds of people because of this factor. Marriage is not presently regarded with the same respect and honor as it once garnered from the citizens of the world. The destruction that can come from divorce is reason enough to not take part in the activity. It seems that marriage has evolved into an easily established (marriage licenses are known to be given to highly intoxicated people in Las Vegas) and frequently discarded combination of two people’s estates. A vow-driven practice, marriage is slowly losing its importance and role in society. If marriages begin to last longer (how about for life?) and seem to mean more to those participating, then it may regain its role as the highly-esteemed institution that it actually is. Until then, marriage will remain a joke, a game, and ostensibly an undesirable way to spend the quickly-moving years of one’s life.
. . . .
Here's a brief, "what-could-have-been addition" to the paper: I was just trying to say that because of the way that so many people of my age and older are handling relationships (living together prior to marriage, premarital sex) that the actualy act of marriage is tarnished. It's not the same. Plus, what is added to the couple when they get married? All that changes is a little piece of paper, a wide range of gifts from long-lost relatives, and joint bank accounts. There's not that much of a difference, thus the act of "marriage" does not hold the same oomph, if you will.
. . . .
A Very PRO-Marriage Justin (Heather, I can't wait!!)
PAPER 2
A mutable concept, marriage is presently the universal term for the union, both legally and economically, of a man and a woman. The main foundation of the social institution of family since the beginning of time has always been marriage. A legally-bonding agreement, marriage usually indicates a desire to carry on a family name through procreation, not that reproduction is impossible without marriage. Marriage does not have to lead to a family with the stereotypical two-and-a-half kids, however. Often times, career-oriented individuals will marry simply to make a public statement of a private relationship, another reason for the wedding process. A public declaration of love and dedication, a wedding can show family and friends of the couple what the couple intends to do through the marriage. Disregarding the role of children, a marriage can simply be the union of two people who care about each other enough to publicly and legally call each other their own.
Throughout history, marriage has provided an opportunity for individuals to dedicate completely to another in an honest, monogamous fashion. Intended to be for life (“Until death do us part”) it also mandates quite a long-term commitment from both participating parties. Providing the opportunity for an honest sexual relationship, the intimacy between the two individuals is such that it becomes unlike any other relationship. Marriage remains a chance for two people to enter into the closest of bonds, and gives them the benefits of being completely reliable on another individual.
Presently, marriage is one of the most violated contracts. The sanctity of the institution of marriage has declined in the minds of people because of this factor. Marriage is not presently regarded with the same respect and honor as it once garnered from the citizens of the world. The destruction that can come from divorce is reason enough to not take part in the activity. It seems that marriage has evolved into an easily established (marriage licenses are known to be given to highly intoxicated people in Las Vegas) and frequently discarded combination of two people’s estates. A vow-driven practice, marriage is slowly losing its importance and role in society. If marriages begin to last longer (how about for life?) and seem to mean more to those participating, then it may regain its role as the highly-esteemed institution that it actually is. Until then, marriage will remain a joke, a game, and ostensibly an undesirable way to spend the quickly-moving years of one’s life.
. . . .
Here's a brief, "what-could-have-been addition" to the paper: I was just trying to say that because of the way that so many people of my age and older are handling relationships (living together prior to marriage, premarital sex) that the actualy act of marriage is tarnished. It's not the same. Plus, what is added to the couple when they get married? All that changes is a little piece of paper, a wide range of gifts from long-lost relatives, and joint bank accounts. There's not that much of a difference, thus the act of "marriage" does not hold the same oomph, if you will.
. . . .
A Very PRO-Marriage Justin (Heather, I can't wait!!)
Saturday, March 25, 2006
The Week Grab-Bag: The V for Very eVentful and Vivacious Version
Wow! What a week! I would apologize for not blogging but I was really busy so, in a way, I'm not sorry. It's now 0120 on Sunday morning and I just got home from work a little less than an hour ago. I'm tired and I'm sore (TTing can do that to you) and I want to go to bed. But. . . I'm gonna blog. Why? Well, for one, because I haven't done so since Sunday. That's bad blogging habits right there. My bad. And another, well, because I just desire to go through my week in my head and relive the excitement, the fun, and the sweat that described me these last five or six days. So, my internet readers, enjoy my week (and for once, it IS chronological!). I know I did. . .
- MONDAY (numero uno!): This was the best day of the week. I left Lancaster around 1015 for THE LB and got down to Heather's apartment around noonish. We went to IN-N-OUT for lunch and then headed back to her place. She unfortunately had to go back to class soon thereafter, but it was ok. I stayed at her apartment and worked on homework (and took a little nap!) until she got back from school later in the afternoon. From there, we went to BUBBA GUMP, a restaurant we have been to (but not recently - the last time was together in September) and really like. I got the fried chicken meal so that Heather could have my leftovers for lunch the next day. I like going down there and making sure she eats well. We left the restaurant (located across from the AQUARIUM) and headed back to her apartment. When we got back, we watched FLIGHTPLAN, starring Jodie Foster. I had made fun of this particular film quite a bit when its trailer hit theatres, but it really surprised me. It was much better than I had anticipated and was not, as I had originally called it, THE FORGOTTEN 2: THE AIRPLANE (in reference to the overhyped Julianne Moore film of a year or so ago). It shocked me, let's put it that way. Grade: (B-) . . . Heather preceded to get ready for bed and I studied for my HISTORY test that was on Tuesday. After she finished getting ready for bed we played Egyptian War like always - it's our game - and then snuggled and chatted until it was time for me to leave. This is always the worst part of any visit, needless to say. Either way, it has to happen, so I headed out and prepared myself for the long journey home. I got home around 0115 or so and went to bed around 0200.
- TUESDAY (day of surprises): I woke up for school around 0830 and got there on time. School is school. I was not confident with my HISTORY test. I told Jaffe that this was my first B on one of his tests and he told me not to say that quite yet :D . . PHILOSOPHY was filled with good, meaningful conversation. COMMUNICATIONS brought the first half (2/3 actually) of GARDEN STATE, the fantastic film starring/written by/directed by Zach Braff (J.D. on SCRUBS). I love this movie! ASTRONOMY is easily forgotten, which may be why I'm struggling in that class. I worked at 1700 as a Host. I saw a new Hostess at the front when I came in and wondered aloud who she was. Apparently she was there to observe/be trained. I saw none other than my name on the TRAINER log saying that I was to train the girl. I decided I would pretty much tell Charlie to shove it, because I was not, in fact, a trainer. Well, when I asked him who would be training Christina, he pointed at me. I reminded him I was not a trainer and he continued to tell me that he needed to send me (probably on April 1) to the certification thing. Cool. The night went by fast and I got outta there around 2130 or so. I left there and headed to SUPER WAL-MART where I bought CHICKEN LITTLE for Caleb and I bought a 2-pack of CAPOTE and IN COLD BLOOD (a 1960's movie about the book that Capote wrote). The reason I bought the 2-pack was that it was the same price as CAPOTE alone. This was a no-brainer. I love good deals! I headed home, greatly anticipating giving Caleb the movie in the morning. I ate some food while I watched last week's THE OFFICE with my dad and then proceeded to bed shortly thereafter. Another fast-moving day.
- WEDNESDAY (V for Vanpool!): I had to do ONE thing all day (Write a short essay for PHILOSOPHY due Thursday) and yet I didn't complete it until 0245 on Thursday morning. Why? Ah, I will now divulge. I woke up at my usual off-day time and puttered around as always. Once I showered and got dressed and stuff, I ended up procrastinating in so many interesting ways, it wasn't even funny. I picked up my taxes. I ran by CINGULAR to ask a technical question (my caller ID has not been working the last couple weeks - I do not approve!). I ate some food. Finally, it came time to meet my guys (Justin and Cy) to head down to ARCLIGHT. We bought tickets (well, I did, but they paid me back) a week or so ago to the 1900 showing of V FOR VENDETTA in the DOME at ARCLIGHT. This is the same theater that Heather and I frequent when we're in L.A. So, we got down there at 1830, leaving us just enough time to scarf down some BAJA FRESH and find our seats before the trailers started. Seated in the front row of the balcony section, we had the best seats in the house (literally!). The movie, in my mind, had great anticipation behind it, so it plenty of room to fall flat on its Guy Fawkes-face. YET, it did not! The movie was fantastic, by far the best film of 2006 thus far. I know it's only March, but this movie will appear on my TOP 10 from 2006 I can guarantee you that (a complete sidenote. . My Top 10 from 2005 was: CRASH – (A+); BATMAN BEGINS – (A+); HUSTLE AND FLOW – (A); BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (A); WALK THE LINE – (A); CINDERELLA MAN – (A); THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN – (A); WEDDING CRASHERS – (A); THE WEATHER MAN – (A-); CAPOTE (A-) with KING KONG, JARHEAD, SIN CITY, and THE MATADOR beating down the door with Honorable Mentions). We all enjoyed it and found it quite thought-provoking and very entertaining. Grade: (A-) . . From there we walked next door to AMOEBA MUSIC, the temple of used music. We spent almost an hour in there, all leaving with more than what we came with (the same can't be said for our wallets). Personally, I spent $45 on FIVE (!) cd's and one movie. That's about $7 apiece. That's really good!!! We left there and went to Emily's since her apartment is just about 15 minutes from Hollywood and Vine. We hung out there til about 2330 and then started on our voyage home. After stopping at a CARL'S JR for nourishment, we made it home pretty quickly. I actually pulled into my driveway (or on the street) around 0145. And no, I hadn't forgotten about my essay. I began it then, finishing it around 0300. It turned out pretty good considering the conditions. We'll see what grade I get. . . I can tell you now, my pillow never had looked so welcoming!
- THURSDAY (not enough sleep): I hate school. My phone woke me up around 0800 and I slowly got ready and was at school on time again. We got out tests back in HISTORY and I was correct in my pre-grading assessment: I got a B. This'll be the dropped one probably. I'll see what I can work out. PHILOSOPHY had more fun conversations and we turned in our papers. COMMUNICATIONS saw the end of GARDEN STATE (funny, I liked it more because of the ignornant people trying to figure out the ins and outs of the film - great great film!) and a discussion. ASTRONOMY had to be skipped, because I had to get to work at 1530 to train Christina. She ended up not getting there until 1600 because that's when she thought she was on. Either way, we did classroom stuff until 1715 when it began to get busy. We discovered that the other Hosts had called in, so it would just be us! I ran the board of course and the night went on without incident. I got outta there at 2200 and pretty much went right to sleep.
- FRIDAY: (Two more days to recap!) Yesterday was pretty blah. I woke up late and then did very little until I had to be at work at 1600 (TTing). A usual Friday night saw me getting out of there at 2200, a six-hour shift under my belt. From there, I went to IN-N-OUT to get some food (a 3x3 meal with an extra-large COKE - I was hungry!) and then Cy (also just off work) and I headed to Justin's to hang out. We played an old school wrestling game on PLAYSTATION for a good half hour and then put on a horror film that the two of them had been greatly anticipating: HIGH TENSION (or in its native France - HAUTE TENSION). I had previously stated that it would be terrible and that it would be a waste of time. I was proven o so correct. It was awful, however, we had fun mocking it throughout the entire 90 minutes of teeth-grating horribleness. From there, us Lancaster boys headed home and I hit the hay immediately.
- SATURDAY (today!): I slept in again. I've discovered it's hard not to do so when you get home at really late hours and are exhausted from work and play. Either way, I did my online homework and then watched the first half of the LSU-TEXAS game (Elite Eight already in the Tourney - don't ask my current position!). After that, Aimee and I watched 2 TIVO'd episodes of THE O.C. to catch up. DRAMA!!! An O.C. note: I like Sadie with Ryan. She's way more normal than silly anorexic Marissa. Just an opinion. I got to work at 1700 and a long night ensued. I had a break at 2200 and went to WENDY'S for 3 JR. Cheesburger Deluxes and a Biggie Fry. Good stuff. It was gone very fast. I left work at 0015 and got home about ten minutes later. After checking the usual sites, it was on to blogging while watching FRIENDS and then listening to the GARDEN STATE soundtrack as well as one of my newly purchased cd's: SNOW PATROL (good band). I then went to sleep after typing this sentence and the following few around 0230.
That's my week friends. Going to bed now. I'll try and do better next week, but I'm not sure, as I only have Monday off from work. Business shall ensue. . .
Hope everyone out there is well - - Heather, I miss you!
- - - "Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."
- - - Awkward-looking but awesome-sounding monologue by V (Hugo Weaving) when we first meet him in V FOR VENDETTA (alliteration rocks!!!)
Night folks,
JUSTIN
- MONDAY (numero uno!): This was the best day of the week. I left Lancaster around 1015 for THE LB and got down to Heather's apartment around noonish. We went to IN-N-OUT for lunch and then headed back to her place. She unfortunately had to go back to class soon thereafter, but it was ok. I stayed at her apartment and worked on homework (and took a little nap!) until she got back from school later in the afternoon. From there, we went to BUBBA GUMP, a restaurant we have been to (but not recently - the last time was together in September) and really like. I got the fried chicken meal so that Heather could have my leftovers for lunch the next day. I like going down there and making sure she eats well. We left the restaurant (located across from the AQUARIUM) and headed back to her apartment. When we got back, we watched FLIGHTPLAN, starring Jodie Foster. I had made fun of this particular film quite a bit when its trailer hit theatres, but it really surprised me. It was much better than I had anticipated and was not, as I had originally called it, THE FORGOTTEN 2: THE AIRPLANE (in reference to the overhyped Julianne Moore film of a year or so ago). It shocked me, let's put it that way. Grade: (B-) . . . Heather preceded to get ready for bed and I studied for my HISTORY test that was on Tuesday. After she finished getting ready for bed we played Egyptian War like always - it's our game - and then snuggled and chatted until it was time for me to leave. This is always the worst part of any visit, needless to say. Either way, it has to happen, so I headed out and prepared myself for the long journey home. I got home around 0115 or so and went to bed around 0200.
- TUESDAY (day of surprises): I woke up for school around 0830 and got there on time. School is school. I was not confident with my HISTORY test. I told Jaffe that this was my first B on one of his tests and he told me not to say that quite yet :D . . PHILOSOPHY was filled with good, meaningful conversation. COMMUNICATIONS brought the first half (2/3 actually) of GARDEN STATE, the fantastic film starring/written by/directed by Zach Braff (J.D. on SCRUBS). I love this movie! ASTRONOMY is easily forgotten, which may be why I'm struggling in that class. I worked at 1700 as a Host. I saw a new Hostess at the front when I came in and wondered aloud who she was. Apparently she was there to observe/be trained. I saw none other than my name on the TRAINER log saying that I was to train the girl. I decided I would pretty much tell Charlie to shove it, because I was not, in fact, a trainer. Well, when I asked him who would be training Christina, he pointed at me. I reminded him I was not a trainer and he continued to tell me that he needed to send me (probably on April 1) to the certification thing. Cool. The night went by fast and I got outta there around 2130 or so. I left there and headed to SUPER WAL-MART where I bought CHICKEN LITTLE for Caleb and I bought a 2-pack of CAPOTE and IN COLD BLOOD (a 1960's movie about the book that Capote wrote). The reason I bought the 2-pack was that it was the same price as CAPOTE alone. This was a no-brainer. I love good deals! I headed home, greatly anticipating giving Caleb the movie in the morning. I ate some food while I watched last week's THE OFFICE with my dad and then proceeded to bed shortly thereafter. Another fast-moving day.
- WEDNESDAY (V for Vanpool!): I had to do ONE thing all day (Write a short essay for PHILOSOPHY due Thursday) and yet I didn't complete it until 0245 on Thursday morning. Why? Ah, I will now divulge. I woke up at my usual off-day time and puttered around as always. Once I showered and got dressed and stuff, I ended up procrastinating in so many interesting ways, it wasn't even funny. I picked up my taxes. I ran by CINGULAR to ask a technical question (my caller ID has not been working the last couple weeks - I do not approve!). I ate some food. Finally, it came time to meet my guys (Justin and Cy) to head down to ARCLIGHT. We bought tickets (well, I did, but they paid me back) a week or so ago to the 1900 showing of V FOR VENDETTA in the DOME at ARCLIGHT. This is the same theater that Heather and I frequent when we're in L.A. So, we got down there at 1830, leaving us just enough time to scarf down some BAJA FRESH and find our seats before the trailers started. Seated in the front row of the balcony section, we had the best seats in the house (literally!). The movie, in my mind, had great anticipation behind it, so it plenty of room to fall flat on its Guy Fawkes-face. YET, it did not! The movie was fantastic, by far the best film of 2006 thus far. I know it's only March, but this movie will appear on my TOP 10 from 2006 I can guarantee you that (a complete sidenote. . My Top 10 from 2005 was: CRASH – (A+); BATMAN BEGINS – (A+); HUSTLE AND FLOW – (A); BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (A); WALK THE LINE – (A); CINDERELLA MAN – (A); THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN – (A); WEDDING CRASHERS – (A); THE WEATHER MAN – (A-); CAPOTE (A-) with KING KONG, JARHEAD, SIN CITY, and THE MATADOR beating down the door with Honorable Mentions). We all enjoyed it and found it quite thought-provoking and very entertaining. Grade: (A-) . . From there we walked next door to AMOEBA MUSIC, the temple of used music. We spent almost an hour in there, all leaving with more than what we came with (the same can't be said for our wallets). Personally, I spent $45 on FIVE (!) cd's and one movie. That's about $7 apiece. That's really good!!! We left there and went to Emily's since her apartment is just about 15 minutes from Hollywood and Vine. We hung out there til about 2330 and then started on our voyage home. After stopping at a CARL'S JR for nourishment, we made it home pretty quickly. I actually pulled into my driveway (or on the street) around 0145. And no, I hadn't forgotten about my essay. I began it then, finishing it around 0300. It turned out pretty good considering the conditions. We'll see what grade I get. . . I can tell you now, my pillow never had looked so welcoming!
- THURSDAY (not enough sleep): I hate school. My phone woke me up around 0800 and I slowly got ready and was at school on time again. We got out tests back in HISTORY and I was correct in my pre-grading assessment: I got a B. This'll be the dropped one probably. I'll see what I can work out. PHILOSOPHY had more fun conversations and we turned in our papers. COMMUNICATIONS saw the end of GARDEN STATE (funny, I liked it more because of the ignornant people trying to figure out the ins and outs of the film - great great film!) and a discussion. ASTRONOMY had to be skipped, because I had to get to work at 1530 to train Christina. She ended up not getting there until 1600 because that's when she thought she was on. Either way, we did classroom stuff until 1715 when it began to get busy. We discovered that the other Hosts had called in, so it would just be us! I ran the board of course and the night went on without incident. I got outta there at 2200 and pretty much went right to sleep.
- FRIDAY: (Two more days to recap!) Yesterday was pretty blah. I woke up late and then did very little until I had to be at work at 1600 (TTing). A usual Friday night saw me getting out of there at 2200, a six-hour shift under my belt. From there, I went to IN-N-OUT to get some food (a 3x3 meal with an extra-large COKE - I was hungry!) and then Cy (also just off work) and I headed to Justin's to hang out. We played an old school wrestling game on PLAYSTATION for a good half hour and then put on a horror film that the two of them had been greatly anticipating: HIGH TENSION (or in its native France - HAUTE TENSION). I had previously stated that it would be terrible and that it would be a waste of time. I was proven o so correct. It was awful, however, we had fun mocking it throughout the entire 90 minutes of teeth-grating horribleness. From there, us Lancaster boys headed home and I hit the hay immediately.
- SATURDAY (today!): I slept in again. I've discovered it's hard not to do so when you get home at really late hours and are exhausted from work and play. Either way, I did my online homework and then watched the first half of the LSU-TEXAS game (Elite Eight already in the Tourney - don't ask my current position!). After that, Aimee and I watched 2 TIVO'd episodes of THE O.C. to catch up. DRAMA!!! An O.C. note: I like Sadie with Ryan. She's way more normal than silly anorexic Marissa. Just an opinion. I got to work at 1700 and a long night ensued. I had a break at 2200 and went to WENDY'S for 3 JR. Cheesburger Deluxes and a Biggie Fry. Good stuff. It was gone very fast. I left work at 0015 and got home about ten minutes later. After checking the usual sites, it was on to blogging while watching FRIENDS and then listening to the GARDEN STATE soundtrack as well as one of my newly purchased cd's: SNOW PATROL (good band). I then went to sleep after typing this sentence and the following few around 0230.
That's my week friends. Going to bed now. I'll try and do better next week, but I'm not sure, as I only have Monday off from work. Business shall ensue. . .
Hope everyone out there is well - - Heather, I miss you!
- - - "Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."
- - - Awkward-looking but awesome-sounding monologue by V (Hugo Weaving) when we first meet him in V FOR VENDETTA (alliteration rocks!!!)
Night folks,
JUSTIN
Sunday, March 19, 2006
The Week Grab-Bag: The Afternoon Showers Version
Other possible titles for this here post include:
- The What-a-coot Version (In honor of my playing of CRASH BANDICOOT)
- The "Peaches Got It" Version (In honor of my victory tonight at MARIO KART against a few guys - I'm always Peach, the name given to the Princess. That is her victory quote!)
- The Sweet Sixteen Version (In honor of the greatest weekend in the sports calendar)
- The Everything's A Jelly Bean Version (In honor of Sweet Tart and Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans)
These were all ideas. But why did I pick the one I did? There are several reasons. 1) I took several showers this week after the noon hour, either because I slept in or I had little reason to actually shower and get ready to do anything; 2) It rained some this week, especially after the clock struck 12; 3) It was my first idea.
There you have it: The construction of a Blog title. Enjoy that. Now on to my week (I apologize as always - I'm very busy!). I'll divy it up into subjects again I spose. Meh. We'll see (if anything, folks, just remember it won't be in any way chronological :D) . . .
- I went to school on Tuesday and Thursday. 10 weeks done. I can't wait to be out of this semester. As I was telling my Aunt Jeanne on the phone today, there's just no excitement this semester. Last semester, it was my "First College Semester!" and now it's just "Ok, so it's college". I need new classes. Mine are boring. O, I got a D on that ASTRONOMY test. That's exciting. I guess that will be the one he drops (my teacher said he would drop our lowest test score - I hope that's my lowest grade!) so no worries. On a high note, next week in my COMMUNICATIONS class, we will be watching GARDEN STATE, one of my most favorite movies!!! I don't really care why we're watching it. I'm just stoked that we are!
- Hey, just for kicks and giggles, here are some thoughts I had while I was sitting in HISTORY this week: 1) Didn't the world kinda set itself up for World War II by naming World War I that instead of just The World War. I always learned there wasn't a I without a II. See, so it wasn't Hitler's fault. . . (just kidding folks, I don't want anti-semetic claims against me); 2) Longtime NBA veteran and present Los Angeles Clipper Sam Cassell looks like E.T. Take a look for yourself (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=1295); 3) I heard a report that said that ESPN received 2.5 million brackets for their TOURNEY CHALLENGE. That's incredible! That number is so ridiculously high, that I just can't imagine! This time of year really takes the world by storm. Names of schools (Bradley, Wichita State, George Mason) become cooler talk and players become household names (think Kevin Pittsnoggle, Adam Morrison, or the ever-hated J.J. Redick). I love it. MARCH MADNESS!!! O and speaking of, despite one of my Final Four teams being knocked out in the first round (again Kansas!!!) I remain tied with my opponent, Miss Zietlow through this weekend. We're both one game up of Justin. It will be an interesting next couple of weeks.
- I worked 20 hours this week. I Hosted on Tuesday and Thursday night and TTed on Friday and Saturday. I made my usual $100 from TT this weekend so that can be spent tomorrow (you'll see why) and I'll feel ok since I still have last weekend's tips in my wallet too. Our new manager is one crazy cat. His name is Louie and he makes my mind go kablooie! (See, I'm a poet. And now you know it!) Saturday night had him doing his frantic scampering around the restaurant like he always does. Very "Chicken With Its Head Cut Off". There's several stories here, but I am not really sure you'll either understand or care. Well you are reading this in the first place. Meh. They're not that great. Either way, he's crazy and no one really likes him. It's sad, because he's nice when he wants to be (or if you're complaining that your food is cold) but he seems to want to make everyone else look bad in his amazing shadow. Bummer.
- None of my buddies (yes, all 12 of them) are ever on AOL Instant Messenger. Whenever I sign on, there is no one near to be found. Dangit!!!
- Friends are really cool. I have several really great ones and that's it, but I'm really ok with that. Wednesday night was loads of fun! After watching most of the SUNS' destruction of the Clippers with my family, I headed to Justin's house to hang out with him and Emily. Cy made his way over there eventually (Cy is officially the "Late One" of the group - it was a unanimous decision). We played Poker (I won!!!) and were done with that around 2330 or so (I don't really remember). Either way, we ended up chatting until 0230! Our topics ranged from THE O.C. to Desert Christian; Upcoming movies to lesbians; drunkenness to comic books. It was great. And I left $15 richer (actually $10 - Cy is also the guy who can never pay up :D ). Tonight was a lot of fun too. Cy, Justin, George, and Tom (home from Biola) came over and we all played MARIO KART (I was most victorious on this night!) and GOLDENEYE (Tom got revenge on us here) for several hours. Who knew N64 could be so much fun?!?! Cy commented that he plays more video games now then he ever did as a kid. I disagree, but we certainly do play a lot! It's loads of fun, though. I'm looking for the classic N64 game SUPER SMASH BROTHERS so if you have it, I will buy it from you! I also got CRASH BANDICOOT 2: CORTEX'S REVENGE in the mail (I won it on EBAY for less than $5!) this weekend and proceeded to stay up Saturday night playing it. I actually already beat it!!! I used to play it all the time with my old buddy across the street many years ago, so it brought back great memories. Fun times. All in all, it's all good (lots of all in that sentence!).
- I get to see my wonderful Heather tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm taking a trip to THE L.B. tomorrow. That's where I'll be. If you wanna get a hold of me. . . don't!
- Saturday morning was the MEN'S MARCH MADNESS BREAKFAST at my church. Ok, some backstory: The women have a Christmas Tea every December. They decorate tables all pretty and have a giant tea party. Well, in rebuttal, the guys have a breakfast (consisting of pancakes, eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, etc) in March and it ends in watching a tournament game on the projection screens. Justin's dad got a table and invited my dad and me to go. We went, knowing it would be a good time (me and him had gone several years ago). WELL, not only was it fun, but we didn't leave empty-handed. Because of my answer to a trivia question (What was the last MLB team to get swept out of the World Series? . . . Houston Astros - last year) every member of our table got a t-shirt. That was cool. However, this was not the coolest thing. I took part in the 3-Point Competition. They set up a hoop indoors and then set up a 3-point line. After probably over 100 guys shot, only 14 of us remained (yes, us - I made it). They moved the line back, but we all missed 2 straight shots (I was on line with my shots - they were just a bit short). They proceeded to move the line back to the original spot and 5 of us made this again (again, us - I'm still in). On the last go-around (realize that I was first in each of the last 2 rounds) I was the only one to hit the 3. I won!!! Besides winning another (!) t-shirt (which I declined) I won a $25 gift certificate to CAMILLE'S, a sandwich place in town and a trophy that's pretty freakin' cool. They are actually gonna plaque my name on it and then have me give it back at the end of the year to give to next year's champion. I'll have to go and defend my title!!! It was great fun and I'm glad we went.
- Going to ARCLIGHT on Wednesday with Justin and Cy to see V FOR VENDETTA. Can't wait! I already purchased the tickets (reserved seating) and we have the best seats period. Coolness shall ensue. With that trip comes a visit to AMOEBA MUSIC. Money will be spent!
- Did I mention I'm going to THE L.B. tomorrow?? O I did. Well, I dont' care. I'm SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think that's all for tonight my favorite readers. Don't forget to comment if you found something interesting - - I like it when I strike some sort of chord (whether it be good or bad!). Let me know!
- - - "No I get it. Make sure everyone else sinks. I swim. Got it."
- - - My response to Louie on Saturday night after he told me to only focus only on TTing and nothing else. This is bogus managerial advice. . . Don't get me started, actually - -
Hit you up later,
The Rambler
- The What-a-coot Version (In honor of my playing of CRASH BANDICOOT)
- The "Peaches Got It" Version (In honor of my victory tonight at MARIO KART against a few guys - I'm always Peach, the name given to the Princess. That is her victory quote!)
- The Sweet Sixteen Version (In honor of the greatest weekend in the sports calendar)
- The Everything's A Jelly Bean Version (In honor of Sweet Tart and Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans)
These were all ideas. But why did I pick the one I did? There are several reasons. 1) I took several showers this week after the noon hour, either because I slept in or I had little reason to actually shower and get ready to do anything; 2) It rained some this week, especially after the clock struck 12; 3) It was my first idea.
There you have it: The construction of a Blog title. Enjoy that. Now on to my week (I apologize as always - I'm very busy!). I'll divy it up into subjects again I spose. Meh. We'll see (if anything, folks, just remember it won't be in any way chronological :D) . . .
- I went to school on Tuesday and Thursday. 10 weeks done. I can't wait to be out of this semester. As I was telling my Aunt Jeanne on the phone today, there's just no excitement this semester. Last semester, it was my "First College Semester!" and now it's just "Ok, so it's college". I need new classes. Mine are boring. O, I got a D on that ASTRONOMY test. That's exciting. I guess that will be the one he drops (my teacher said he would drop our lowest test score - I hope that's my lowest grade!) so no worries. On a high note, next week in my COMMUNICATIONS class, we will be watching GARDEN STATE, one of my most favorite movies!!! I don't really care why we're watching it. I'm just stoked that we are!
- Hey, just for kicks and giggles, here are some thoughts I had while I was sitting in HISTORY this week: 1) Didn't the world kinda set itself up for World War II by naming World War I that instead of just The World War. I always learned there wasn't a I without a II. See, so it wasn't Hitler's fault. . . (just kidding folks, I don't want anti-semetic claims against me); 2) Longtime NBA veteran and present Los Angeles Clipper Sam Cassell looks like E.T. Take a look for yourself (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=1295); 3) I heard a report that said that ESPN received 2.5 million brackets for their TOURNEY CHALLENGE. That's incredible! That number is so ridiculously high, that I just can't imagine! This time of year really takes the world by storm. Names of schools (Bradley, Wichita State, George Mason) become cooler talk and players become household names (think Kevin Pittsnoggle, Adam Morrison, or the ever-hated J.J. Redick). I love it. MARCH MADNESS!!! O and speaking of, despite one of my Final Four teams being knocked out in the first round (again Kansas!!!) I remain tied with my opponent, Miss Zietlow through this weekend. We're both one game up of Justin. It will be an interesting next couple of weeks.
- I worked 20 hours this week. I Hosted on Tuesday and Thursday night and TTed on Friday and Saturday. I made my usual $100 from TT this weekend so that can be spent tomorrow (you'll see why) and I'll feel ok since I still have last weekend's tips in my wallet too. Our new manager is one crazy cat. His name is Louie and he makes my mind go kablooie! (See, I'm a poet. And now you know it!) Saturday night had him doing his frantic scampering around the restaurant like he always does. Very "Chicken With Its Head Cut Off". There's several stories here, but I am not really sure you'll either understand or care. Well you are reading this in the first place. Meh. They're not that great. Either way, he's crazy and no one really likes him. It's sad, because he's nice when he wants to be (or if you're complaining that your food is cold) but he seems to want to make everyone else look bad in his amazing shadow. Bummer.
- None of my buddies (yes, all 12 of them) are ever on AOL Instant Messenger. Whenever I sign on, there is no one near to be found. Dangit!!!
- Friends are really cool. I have several really great ones and that's it, but I'm really ok with that. Wednesday night was loads of fun! After watching most of the SUNS' destruction of the Clippers with my family, I headed to Justin's house to hang out with him and Emily. Cy made his way over there eventually (Cy is officially the "Late One" of the group - it was a unanimous decision). We played Poker (I won!!!) and were done with that around 2330 or so (I don't really remember). Either way, we ended up chatting until 0230! Our topics ranged from THE O.C. to Desert Christian; Upcoming movies to lesbians; drunkenness to comic books. It was great. And I left $15 richer (actually $10 - Cy is also the guy who can never pay up :D ). Tonight was a lot of fun too. Cy, Justin, George, and Tom (home from Biola) came over and we all played MARIO KART (I was most victorious on this night!) and GOLDENEYE (Tom got revenge on us here) for several hours. Who knew N64 could be so much fun?!?! Cy commented that he plays more video games now then he ever did as a kid. I disagree, but we certainly do play a lot! It's loads of fun, though. I'm looking for the classic N64 game SUPER SMASH BROTHERS so if you have it, I will buy it from you! I also got CRASH BANDICOOT 2: CORTEX'S REVENGE in the mail (I won it on EBAY for less than $5!) this weekend and proceeded to stay up Saturday night playing it. I actually already beat it!!! I used to play it all the time with my old buddy across the street many years ago, so it brought back great memories. Fun times. All in all, it's all good (lots of all in that sentence!).
- I get to see my wonderful Heather tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm taking a trip to THE L.B. tomorrow. That's where I'll be. If you wanna get a hold of me. . . don't!
- Saturday morning was the MEN'S MARCH MADNESS BREAKFAST at my church. Ok, some backstory: The women have a Christmas Tea every December. They decorate tables all pretty and have a giant tea party. Well, in rebuttal, the guys have a breakfast (consisting of pancakes, eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, etc) in March and it ends in watching a tournament game on the projection screens. Justin's dad got a table and invited my dad and me to go. We went, knowing it would be a good time (me and him had gone several years ago). WELL, not only was it fun, but we didn't leave empty-handed. Because of my answer to a trivia question (What was the last MLB team to get swept out of the World Series? . . . Houston Astros - last year) every member of our table got a t-shirt. That was cool. However, this was not the coolest thing. I took part in the 3-Point Competition. They set up a hoop indoors and then set up a 3-point line. After probably over 100 guys shot, only 14 of us remained (yes, us - I made it). They moved the line back, but we all missed 2 straight shots (I was on line with my shots - they were just a bit short). They proceeded to move the line back to the original spot and 5 of us made this again (again, us - I'm still in). On the last go-around (realize that I was first in each of the last 2 rounds) I was the only one to hit the 3. I won!!! Besides winning another (!) t-shirt (which I declined) I won a $25 gift certificate to CAMILLE'S, a sandwich place in town and a trophy that's pretty freakin' cool. They are actually gonna plaque my name on it and then have me give it back at the end of the year to give to next year's champion. I'll have to go and defend my title!!! It was great fun and I'm glad we went.
- Going to ARCLIGHT on Wednesday with Justin and Cy to see V FOR VENDETTA. Can't wait! I already purchased the tickets (reserved seating) and we have the best seats period. Coolness shall ensue. With that trip comes a visit to AMOEBA MUSIC. Money will be spent!
- Did I mention I'm going to THE L.B. tomorrow?? O I did. Well, I dont' care. I'm SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think that's all for tonight my favorite readers. Don't forget to comment if you found something interesting - - I like it when I strike some sort of chord (whether it be good or bad!). Let me know!
- - - "No I get it. Make sure everyone else sinks. I swim. Got it."
- - - My response to Louie on Saturday night after he told me to only focus only on TTing and nothing else. This is bogus managerial advice. . . Don't get me started, actually - -
Hit you up later,
The Rambler
Monday, March 13, 2006
Apocalypse. . uh. . .Maybe Later
So today was like any other Monday. Slow. Methodical. Homework-filled. Not bad actually. . .
I didn't get out of bed til 1100 or so. Maybe it was earlier. I can't really remember. I started some errands (Credit Union, SQUIRTY'S, Lunch) and was home around 1300. That's when I began APOCALYPSE NOW, the 1979 classic directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It was a long film (2.5 hours) but one that didn't drag on. It was haunting and bordered on brilliant. It wasn't awe-inspiring, but it certainly was a great movie. Since I finished the film, I have been working on my paper (a 5-paragraph essay) about the film's historical importance. I won't share with you my entire paper, but I will give you the introduction to it, which is rumored to be quite good:
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a soul-wrenching novel that peers through the reader directly into his heart. Francis Ford Coppola, the famed producer, screenwriter, and director of The Godfather series, took this haunting classic and moved the events to the Vietnam War in his epic film Apocalypse Now. The film he created is long, chaotic, and altogether horrifying, much like the War represented within it. A life-altering experience for Coppola - he is rumored to have lost over 100 pounds through the sixteen months of filming – resulted in a film that is considered by renowned movie critic Roger Ebert to be one of the greatest films ever made. Coppola’s film is distinguished because of, but not limited to, the performances by the actors, the use of classic literature as a foundation, and the lasting images of its anti-violence stance.
So, yeah. I also talked on the phone with George tonight for about 40 minutes which was pretty cool. We caught up, talked about his FILM class (the same one I took last semester) and also about the NBA and the upcoming playoffs. I also talked to Heather for the same amount of time. No offense, George, but this was a better conversation :D
So now I go to sleep because school begins at 0930. Week 10 begins about. . . now.
- - - "I love the smell of napalm in the morning. . .It smells like. . . Victory."
- - - Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) in APOCALYPSE NOW
Until later,
J-GOTT
I didn't get out of bed til 1100 or so. Maybe it was earlier. I can't really remember. I started some errands (Credit Union, SQUIRTY'S, Lunch) and was home around 1300. That's when I began APOCALYPSE NOW, the 1979 classic directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It was a long film (2.5 hours) but one that didn't drag on. It was haunting and bordered on brilliant. It wasn't awe-inspiring, but it certainly was a great movie. Since I finished the film, I have been working on my paper (a 5-paragraph essay) about the film's historical importance. I won't share with you my entire paper, but I will give you the introduction to it, which is rumored to be quite good:
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a soul-wrenching novel that peers through the reader directly into his heart. Francis Ford Coppola, the famed producer, screenwriter, and director of The Godfather series, took this haunting classic and moved the events to the Vietnam War in his epic film Apocalypse Now. The film he created is long, chaotic, and altogether horrifying, much like the War represented within it. A life-altering experience for Coppola - he is rumored to have lost over 100 pounds through the sixteen months of filming – resulted in a film that is considered by renowned movie critic Roger Ebert to be one of the greatest films ever made. Coppola’s film is distinguished because of, but not limited to, the performances by the actors, the use of classic literature as a foundation, and the lasting images of its anti-violence stance.
So, yeah. I also talked on the phone with George tonight for about 40 minutes which was pretty cool. We caught up, talked about his FILM class (the same one I took last semester) and also about the NBA and the upcoming playoffs. I also talked to Heather for the same amount of time. No offense, George, but this was a better conversation :D
So now I go to sleep because school begins at 0930. Week 10 begins about. . . now.
- - - "I love the smell of napalm in the morning. . .It smells like. . . Victory."
- - - Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) in APOCALYPSE NOW
Until later,
J-GOTT
Sunday, March 12, 2006
The Week Grab-Bag: The March Madness Version
Hola mi amigos! I hope that everyone is doing just hunky-dory and that life is peachy for everyone - - 50's enough for you???
So as the PROLOGUE stated yesterday, this is gonna be a bit of everything from the past week in my life. I have been quite busy (read: lazy) recently, so it's been hard to sit down and blog. But here I am blogging away, ready to tell all 4 of you who read this what I've been up to. O, and if you would please read past this post (once you finish it of course) and read the fun essay that I wrote for one of my classes, that would be great. Comments are always appreciated! Now, on to the fun fun fun:
- I actually haven't been working that much. I only worked a little over 15 hours at JOHNNY CARINO'S this week (Tuesday, Friday, Saturday). I've only been getting scheduled 4 days and then I keep not being able to work Thursdays (you'll see why) so my hours are getting fewer and farther between. The only way to get more hours would be to cover Host shifts, and that's about the last thing that I want to do. We have a new movie theatre going up next to the Mall and I figure it will be open maybe by the time the summer rolls around, in which case I might try to get a second job doing something there. I already have customer service background, so I might be able to jump ahead of some other people. Who knows? We'll just have to see! Chelsea and I, along with Rachel, a Curbside girl, went to FAMOUS DAVE'S, the new BBQ place that opened up next to us a couple weeks ago, after work on Tuesday night. We wanted to see how it was, and it was pretty freakin' awesome. I got ribs and it came with cornbread, corn-on-the-cob, and 2 sides (I picked cinnamon apples and mashed potatoes - o so good). They've been crazy busy every night so our 5 minute wait at 2115 was quite exciting.
- I went to school like a good student on both Tuesday and Thursday. The kicker was that I had to get picked up both mornings by Chelsea (thanks again sis) because my car was at SQUIRTY'S all week. Both of us begin our school days at 0930 so that worked out quite well. HISTORY was regular this week. There is this one kid, however, in the class that is quite off-the-wall. He appears to be one of those loud-mouthed (I stress that word) conspiracy theorists/conservatives/anti-everything-not-republican kind of guys. He's not tolerant at all. Any time Jaffe says anything about any President who this guy disagrees with, this guy pulls some random historical fact out of his ass about how he was in cahoots with some communist, or how so-and-so had an affair as well, or how evil the present Democrats are, just to be spiteful. Well Jaffe makes an effort to tell him he is being completely irrelevant in his discussions, but the kid keeps coming on. Well on Thursday, Jaffe finally put the pedal to the metal. He told the class that they could complain to the Dean if they wanted to and even provided us with the Dean's phone number and e-mail address and all that jazz. Because this kid thinks that Jaffe teaches with an agenda (and whether he does or not is lost to me) he made an issue out of it. Stupid kid. After Jaffe's remarks, however, I think he'll be rather quiet. PHILOSOPHY had a test on Tuesday (I think I did ok, I guess) and not much on Thursday. COMMUNICATIONS was boring as usual on Tuesday, but I did get my midterm back (I got an A!). Thursday was spent working on the group project you can read about in the post below this one (don't skip down, unless you intend on reading the remainder of this here post :D ). ASTRONOMY only saw me once this week. Tuesday was a review day and I had to work at 1600. I didn't want to be rushed, so I had my dad pick me up early. Thursday was a test day and I think I did just marginal again. Last time I thought that I pulled off a B though. So again, who knows?
- I bought JARHEAD on Saturday and watched the first half last night and then finished it tonight. Good movie. Rough, but good. Rewatchability is quite high as well.
- All of the NCAA Basketball Conference Tournaments have been going on this past week. I've watched quite a bit of college basketball because of all of the implications. All of the great games culminated in Selection Sunday (today) where the entire 65-team bracket is revealed for the NCAA Tournament, which is probably my favorite sporting event out there. I have participated in some sort of Pool every year since my freshman year of high school and I have yet to lose (no joke - I rock at the Tourney) so look out! I'll give you my tentative Final Four picks for this year: DUKE, CONNECTICUT, BOSTON COLLEGE, and KANSAS (upsets aplenty of course) - - stay tuned for updates!
- Wednesday night was fun, but Thursday night was funner (yes, I'm aware that's not a word). Cy and Justin came over on Wednesday night and after an hour of "Meh" we ended up playing MARIO KART for over an hour! It was way fun, even though Cy pretty well dominated the two of us. He did not kill us, as he continues to claim, but he did handily beat us. Thursday night was spent with my wonderful Heather because she came home for the night! She got off work a little after 1400 and then got here around 1700. We went to go to FAMOUS DAVE'S because Heather wanted to try it out (and I wanted it again!) but their wait was over an hour already. Thus, our second option was JOHNNY CARINO'S. Walking in was a bit weird. I've eaten there before on my days off, but it was a bit weirder this time around, and it was probably because I was on a date (or because people saw out-of-my-league my girlfriend is :D ). Well, because Tim was working, we got 50% off our bill (o and Chelsea was our server!) so it was quite affordable as well! From there, we went back to my house and went on to watch WALK THE LINE (my second visit to this film during the week) with my family. It ended close to midnight (everyone liked it a lot) and then everyone else went to bed. Heather and I watched a TIVO'd episode of HOUSE before hitting the hay as well. It was just a great, fun, outstanding, and quite fulfilling night through and through.
- Ok, now realize this is not a typo: It snowed! The weather has been odder than odd the last few days. Friday night was just ridiculous! Cy took me to work (thanks bud for that adventure ha ha) and it was like a daggone blizzard while we drove to Palmdale. It ended as quickly as it had begun though. Saturday night around 1800 saw the beginning of a full night of snow, hail, slush, ice, and just plain cold! When I went out to my car, (which I picked up Friday night - that story in just a bit) I had a pile of snow on both the windshield and the back window, as well as the hood. There was also a smiley face drawn on the trunk's snowpatch (no idea who did that!). I was able to get most of it off and then I headed home to the warmth of my house. I just can't get over snow in March (yes, Tom, it's wild!)!!!!
- Car Story (as short as possible - my apologies in advance for fragments): My vehicular was supposed to be completed by Friday. Friday I call and it is gonna be done at 1700. I have to work at 1600. You see my predicament. I pay via phone (thanks new-fangled credit card) so they can leave it outside their place and I can pick it up whenever. I get off early (2100) on Friday and get a ride to SQUIRTY'S, where my mom meets me with the spare key. She tells me that she had just gone by there at 1800 to see if it was done, and it was outside, apparently completed and ready. She went up to it and my key was in the driver's seat, just sitting there! I thought they'd at least put it in the glove compartment or something! Then she just tried to open it up and the front door opened! It was unlocked with the key sitting there! If she hadn't come by, it's a good bet (better than saying I'm gonna beat Emily again at March Madness again ha ha) that it would have been stolen. Either way, I get in my car and try to turn it on. I emphasize try. My car does not start. My battery is dead. I begin to guess what's wrong when I look up at my visor. A couple weeks prior to taking it in, I had noticed that my visor shield (you know, the thing that flips open to reveal a makeup-assisting mirror) had broken off. Well, a little light would not turn off because the shield was not locked into place. I tried, but the only thing that would get it to stay off was putting the shield in place and then putting a box of ORBIT gum in between the shield and the ceiling of my car. It worked! Well, in the process of fixing my car, the SQUIRTY guys must have let the shield fall off because I found it in a compartment of my car. The light was on for who-knows-how-long. So we call the ol' TRIPLE A (AAA) to get us a jump. He ends up being really quick and gets there within 15 minutes. I'm home in 10 minutes after that. End of story. The JETTA is back!
- I saw THE HILLS HAVE EYES today with Justin and his family. On the horror movie ladder, it lands above CABIN FEVER, but below THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Nowhere near SAW. Got it? Grade: (C+)
- Are you tired of listening to me yet???? Well, if you are, then be happy because this is the end of this post. What a long one at that!!! I'll try to do better this week. Only time will tell though.
- - - "It's March Madness, baby!"
- - - The eternal Dick Vitale, famous College Basketball broadcaster
Night for now, (and don't forget to scroll down a bit further. . .)
HUSTEEN
So as the PROLOGUE stated yesterday, this is gonna be a bit of everything from the past week in my life. I have been quite busy (read: lazy) recently, so it's been hard to sit down and blog. But here I am blogging away, ready to tell all 4 of you who read this what I've been up to. O, and if you would please read past this post (once you finish it of course) and read the fun essay that I wrote for one of my classes, that would be great. Comments are always appreciated! Now, on to the fun fun fun:
- I actually haven't been working that much. I only worked a little over 15 hours at JOHNNY CARINO'S this week (Tuesday, Friday, Saturday). I've only been getting scheduled 4 days and then I keep not being able to work Thursdays (you'll see why) so my hours are getting fewer and farther between. The only way to get more hours would be to cover Host shifts, and that's about the last thing that I want to do. We have a new movie theatre going up next to the Mall and I figure it will be open maybe by the time the summer rolls around, in which case I might try to get a second job doing something there. I already have customer service background, so I might be able to jump ahead of some other people. Who knows? We'll just have to see! Chelsea and I, along with Rachel, a Curbside girl, went to FAMOUS DAVE'S, the new BBQ place that opened up next to us a couple weeks ago, after work on Tuesday night. We wanted to see how it was, and it was pretty freakin' awesome. I got ribs and it came with cornbread, corn-on-the-cob, and 2 sides (I picked cinnamon apples and mashed potatoes - o so good). They've been crazy busy every night so our 5 minute wait at 2115 was quite exciting.
- I went to school like a good student on both Tuesday and Thursday. The kicker was that I had to get picked up both mornings by Chelsea (thanks again sis) because my car was at SQUIRTY'S all week. Both of us begin our school days at 0930 so that worked out quite well. HISTORY was regular this week. There is this one kid, however, in the class that is quite off-the-wall. He appears to be one of those loud-mouthed (I stress that word) conspiracy theorists/conservatives/anti-everything-not-republican kind of guys. He's not tolerant at all. Any time Jaffe says anything about any President who this guy disagrees with, this guy pulls some random historical fact out of his ass about how he was in cahoots with some communist, or how so-and-so had an affair as well, or how evil the present Democrats are, just to be spiteful. Well Jaffe makes an effort to tell him he is being completely irrelevant in his discussions, but the kid keeps coming on. Well on Thursday, Jaffe finally put the pedal to the metal. He told the class that they could complain to the Dean if they wanted to and even provided us with the Dean's phone number and e-mail address and all that jazz. Because this kid thinks that Jaffe teaches with an agenda (and whether he does or not is lost to me) he made an issue out of it. Stupid kid. After Jaffe's remarks, however, I think he'll be rather quiet. PHILOSOPHY had a test on Tuesday (I think I did ok, I guess) and not much on Thursday. COMMUNICATIONS was boring as usual on Tuesday, but I did get my midterm back (I got an A!). Thursday was spent working on the group project you can read about in the post below this one (don't skip down, unless you intend on reading the remainder of this here post :D ). ASTRONOMY only saw me once this week. Tuesday was a review day and I had to work at 1600. I didn't want to be rushed, so I had my dad pick me up early. Thursday was a test day and I think I did just marginal again. Last time I thought that I pulled off a B though. So again, who knows?
- I bought JARHEAD on Saturday and watched the first half last night and then finished it tonight. Good movie. Rough, but good. Rewatchability is quite high as well.
- All of the NCAA Basketball Conference Tournaments have been going on this past week. I've watched quite a bit of college basketball because of all of the implications. All of the great games culminated in Selection Sunday (today) where the entire 65-team bracket is revealed for the NCAA Tournament, which is probably my favorite sporting event out there. I have participated in some sort of Pool every year since my freshman year of high school and I have yet to lose (no joke - I rock at the Tourney) so look out! I'll give you my tentative Final Four picks for this year: DUKE, CONNECTICUT, BOSTON COLLEGE, and KANSAS (upsets aplenty of course) - - stay tuned for updates!
- Wednesday night was fun, but Thursday night was funner (yes, I'm aware that's not a word). Cy and Justin came over on Wednesday night and after an hour of "Meh" we ended up playing MARIO KART for over an hour! It was way fun, even though Cy pretty well dominated the two of us. He did not kill us, as he continues to claim, but he did handily beat us. Thursday night was spent with my wonderful Heather because she came home for the night! She got off work a little after 1400 and then got here around 1700. We went to go to FAMOUS DAVE'S because Heather wanted to try it out (and I wanted it again!) but their wait was over an hour already. Thus, our second option was JOHNNY CARINO'S. Walking in was a bit weird. I've eaten there before on my days off, but it was a bit weirder this time around, and it was probably because I was on a date (or because people saw out-of-my-league my girlfriend is :D ). Well, because Tim was working, we got 50% off our bill (o and Chelsea was our server!) so it was quite affordable as well! From there, we went back to my house and went on to watch WALK THE LINE (my second visit to this film during the week) with my family. It ended close to midnight (everyone liked it a lot) and then everyone else went to bed. Heather and I watched a TIVO'd episode of HOUSE before hitting the hay as well. It was just a great, fun, outstanding, and quite fulfilling night through and through.
- Ok, now realize this is not a typo: It snowed! The weather has been odder than odd the last few days. Friday night was just ridiculous! Cy took me to work (thanks bud for that adventure ha ha) and it was like a daggone blizzard while we drove to Palmdale. It ended as quickly as it had begun though. Saturday night around 1800 saw the beginning of a full night of snow, hail, slush, ice, and just plain cold! When I went out to my car, (which I picked up Friday night - that story in just a bit) I had a pile of snow on both the windshield and the back window, as well as the hood. There was also a smiley face drawn on the trunk's snowpatch (no idea who did that!). I was able to get most of it off and then I headed home to the warmth of my house. I just can't get over snow in March (yes, Tom, it's wild!)!!!!
- Car Story (as short as possible - my apologies in advance for fragments): My vehicular was supposed to be completed by Friday. Friday I call and it is gonna be done at 1700. I have to work at 1600. You see my predicament. I pay via phone (thanks new-fangled credit card) so they can leave it outside their place and I can pick it up whenever. I get off early (2100) on Friday and get a ride to SQUIRTY'S, where my mom meets me with the spare key. She tells me that she had just gone by there at 1800 to see if it was done, and it was outside, apparently completed and ready. She went up to it and my key was in the driver's seat, just sitting there! I thought they'd at least put it in the glove compartment or something! Then she just tried to open it up and the front door opened! It was unlocked with the key sitting there! If she hadn't come by, it's a good bet (better than saying I'm gonna beat Emily again at March Madness again ha ha) that it would have been stolen. Either way, I get in my car and try to turn it on. I emphasize try. My car does not start. My battery is dead. I begin to guess what's wrong when I look up at my visor. A couple weeks prior to taking it in, I had noticed that my visor shield (you know, the thing that flips open to reveal a makeup-assisting mirror) had broken off. Well, a little light would not turn off because the shield was not locked into place. I tried, but the only thing that would get it to stay off was putting the shield in place and then putting a box of ORBIT gum in between the shield and the ceiling of my car. It worked! Well, in the process of fixing my car, the SQUIRTY guys must have let the shield fall off because I found it in a compartment of my car. The light was on for who-knows-how-long. So we call the ol' TRIPLE A (AAA) to get us a jump. He ends up being really quick and gets there within 15 minutes. I'm home in 10 minutes after that. End of story. The JETTA is back!
- I saw THE HILLS HAVE EYES today with Justin and his family. On the horror movie ladder, it lands above CABIN FEVER, but below THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Nowhere near SAW. Got it? Grade: (C+)
- Are you tired of listening to me yet???? Well, if you are, then be happy because this is the end of this post. What a long one at that!!! I'll try to do better this week. Only time will tell though.
- - - "It's March Madness, baby!"
- - - The eternal Dick Vitale, famous College Basketball broadcaster
Night for now, (and don't forget to scroll down a bit further. . .)
HUSTEEN
The Benevolent Captain Hook
This is a story we had to write in Communications class in little groups. We had to come up with a villain and write a narrative-type thing from their point of view (ex: The Big Bad Wolf who actually had a cold and just wanted some medicine). My group consisted of a rather odd girl who seems to be a bit of a recluse (she claims to already be a published writer) and a slacker guy who says he plays a lot of basketball. Well we got some done with my idea here, but I offered to take it home and tweak it before it's due date (Tuesday). Here's what I ended up with (Tell me what you think):
CAPTAIN HOOK
Once upon a time there was a tall, dark, and handsome pirate named Harold. He was the benevolent captain of his own ship and crew, of whom he only desired their hard work and respect. In return for their services, Harold provided them with bunks and food to keep them content. Captain Harold was as fun-loving as the next pirate. However, there was one particular nuisance that kept him on the edge of anger.
Once upon a time there was a tall, dark, and handsome pirate named Harold. He was the benevolent captain of his own ship and crew, of whom he only desired their hard work and respect. In return for their services, Harold provided them with bunks and food to keep them content. Captain Harold was as fun-loving as the next pirate. However, there was one particular nuisance that kept him on the edge of anger.
A young, able-to-fly boy named Peter was a fan of the practical joke. The consistency with which this irresponsible punk acted upon his impulses made Harold angry at the boy’s immaturity. One such incident had Peter flying around Harold’s ship cutting his beautiful, tall white sails. Harold climbed a ladder to try to convince the boy to stop this particular joke, but while he climbed, Peter sliced through a sail and his sword went right through Harold’s wrist. It was then that he required bandaging, and then decided on a different type of prosthetic than is usual. The end of Harold’s right arm now had a curved metal piece attached, thus changing the appearance of the benevolent captain and caused him to be renamed by everyone across Neverland.
Captain Hook could not stand Peter Pan. The boy was the constant source of headaches due to an annoying rooster cry that echoed every time the boy flew near. Because of Hook’s persistent attempts at stopping Peter’s “fun”, he was given the nickname of “Codfish” and this only built up the anger he held inside of him. Peter’s gang of misfits, The Lost Boys, caused more trouble still when they would steal Captain Hook’s provisions and graffiti the sides of his beautiful watercraft.
The one thing that kept Captain Hook sane (except for grooming his one-of-a-kind handlebar mustache) was his hard-working crew, especially his right-hand man Smee, a man always there to help clean up Peter and his gang’s mess. Since Smee was a bumbling fool a majority of the time, he occasionally caused problems himself. However, Hook saw the potential in him when no one else could. Smee was a great listener, he was Hook’s confidant, and thus was always there for Hook when he needed to vent about his personal issues. He was the best first mate Hook could have asked for. Hook was only hard on the poor chap because he saw the potential in him to become a better man and wanted him to have a successful future as a possible successor.
There was one occasion where Smee was extremely helpful to Captain Hook. They were attempting to convince Tinker Bell, a stubborn fairy with a slight temper, to leave Peter’s gang and join theirs. Hook had stood previously in awe at the fairy, both in part to her size and her luminosity. He hoped she might bring this added light, as a metaphor, to his ship as a morale booster. Peter did not appear to treat the beauty very well and Hook knew that he could do better. For a small amount of time, Ms. Bell did cooperate with Hook, but then Peter found her and conned her into rejoining him. Silly fairy.
There was also a crocodile that followed him around non-stop. This certain animal was very annoying because it was essentially stalking the poor pirate. Hook had nursed the reptile back to health many years ago when he had found it wounded on the shore. Once he set it free, it would not leave him alone. There was one time that the crocodile awoke Hook in the middle of the night and so he took his alarm clock to try to show the animal what time it was and how wrong it was to cause commotion at such an awful hour. Well, could you believe that the crocodile leapt out of the water and grabbed the alarm clock! It swallowed it whole! From that moment on, the crocodile followed closely behind the ship and everyone who had ears could attest to that.
There came a point in Hook’s life when he felt like he could no longer take Peter’s constant annoying habits. Hook tried to negotiate with the young boy, but he would just not listen to anything Hook had to say. He would barely give Hook any time to explain his issues. So, Hook decided that he needed a career change. He graciously offered Peter his ship, the flagship of a potentially great naval fleet, and decided he would try his hook at something a little different. His options included becoming a marine biologist (of course) or a fisherman. He wasn’t completely sure what he would pursue, but he knew that he would be successful at whatever he tried. Hook was just that confident. Plus, if he could run his own ship and crew, how hard could anything else be? His only hope was that there would be no flying boys anywhere near where he was going. And those, so he had heard, were quite an anomaly.
So. . . . . .
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Prologue
SO. . .
I haven't posted in quite awhile. My bad. I've been busy. Kinda. Lazy, is more like it.
So tomorrow night you will be blessed with a full week's worth of Rambling from yours truly. Here's what to expect:
- Car stories (it's all better now)
- Not so much Johnny Carinoing for moi.
- School sucks (but it's getting closer to the end)
- A great Thursday night (great really doesn't cover it actually)
- Snow in the Antelope Valley (no joke - it's been crazy weather!)
So, yeah, I'll bring you all up to date tomorrow. But it's late now and I just got home from working a six hour TT shift. Good stuff.
Night all - - -
HUSTEEN
I haven't posted in quite awhile. My bad. I've been busy. Kinda. Lazy, is more like it.
So tomorrow night you will be blessed with a full week's worth of Rambling from yours truly. Here's what to expect:
- Car stories (it's all better now)
- Not so much Johnny Carinoing for moi.
- School sucks (but it's getting closer to the end)
- A great Thursday night (great really doesn't cover it actually)
- Snow in the Antelope Valley (no joke - it's been crazy weather!)
So, yeah, I'll bring you all up to date tomorrow. But it's late now and I just got home from working a six hour TT shift. Good stuff.
Night all - - -
HUSTEEN
Monday, March 06, 2006
Party "CRASH"-ers (And other assorted puns)
So it's a Monday night and it's been a couple days since my last update post. Sure, I gave my OSCAR predictions (7 out of 8 in the major categories, 17 out of 24 overall!) yesterday, but what have I been up to??? Honestly, not much. (And more on the OSCARS later) - - -
I worked about 10 hours on Friday (all TT hours) and about 7.5 hours on Saturday. I made pretty good cash, but it all is leaving quickly via my automobile. If you recall from a month or so ago, I rear-ended a NISSAN Armada, leaving that SUV with no memories of the incident and the front of my Jetta with all sorts of problems. Although driveable, it has maintained it's look as a piece of "boat" - - -
I worked about 10 hours on Friday (all TT hours) and about 7.5 hours on Saturday. I made pretty good cash, but it all is leaving quickly via my automobile. If you recall from a month or so ago, I rear-ended a NISSAN Armada, leaving that SUV with no memories of the incident and the front of my Jetta with all sorts of problems. Although driveable, it has maintained it's look as a piece of "boat" - - -
Well this morning I took the ol' girl to SQUIRTY'S COLLISION CENTER with the promise of a much better looking version returning to me by the end of the week. If only I hadn't CRASHed. . .
Sunday I went to church with my dad (Mom, Aimee, and Caleb were in San Diego for another dance competition of Aimee's) and then ate at CASITA like usual. Then we headed home. I watched my SUNS come from behind and beat the Dallas Mavericks for their 10th straight win and then pretty much puttered around all afternoon until 1700, when the 78th Annual Academy Awards began (I gave wrong information in my last blog - I thought it started at 1900). I had already started getting ready for my Poker/Oscar party and was just waiting for everyone to show up. I watched the first couple of hours and then everyone started showing up around 1900. Cy, George, Bill, Bill's wife Carolina, and Randy all showed up to play some Poker with yours truly. It was a fun time. Cy got off to an early lead and then expanded that lead when he knocked out both Randy and George on the same hand. Carolina was the next victim of Mr. Serrano and then it was down to the 3 guys. I was short-stacked and went All-In on the first hand of the "Final 3" showdown. Cy called my A-10 Suited with his A-J offsuit, making him the huge favorite. I got 2 spades on the flop, but missed on the turn. I needed a 10 or a spade on the river to stay alive, and I got a beautiful spade that saved everything. From there, I ended up calling a bluff by Cy and knocking him out. Five minutes into the Heads-Up competition between me and Bill, we agreed to split the winnings, and we both left with $30. We had a really good time and I look forward to the renewal of our weekly games.
Now, the OSCARS. Three things in particular that I have to say about the telecast: 1) Jon Stewart (do you think that there are men out there named John Stuart? Just a thought.) did a great job and should be the Host of the show whenever he pleases. He avoided being too political (Chris Rock's failure) and kept us all on our toes with his wit and his improv. I was quite happy that he got rave reviews from actors and critics alike and for that, his performance was a successful one; 2) We were ecstatic when Jack Nicholson (I quote The Sports Guy about Jack: "By the way, is Nicholson ever NOT the coolest guy in the room? Even when he's coming back from the bathroom at Lakers games, the whole place pretty much stops until he goes back to his seat. If you judge somebody's popularity by the number of people who would yelp, "Oh no!" if they found out Celebrity X died, I think Nicholson wins. He gets the most "Oh no!" yelps. I'm convinced.") called out CRASH as the Best Picture. You may recall that I was crossing fingers and toes for the upset and it surely helped and I'm positive that I had an influence :D The film truly deserved to win and I'm proud to have been a supporter of it since way back when it first came out. Congratulations to all the cast, producers, but especially Paul Haggis, the man behind the entire beautiful film; 3) Congratulations also to Three Six Mafia, the guys behind the Oscar-winning song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from HUSTLE AND FLOW. They were beyond excited when they won and really added a shot of adrenaline into the crowd. Now the second hip-hop/rap winner for Best Song, (Eminem's "Lose Yourself" was the first) don't be surprised to see more of this in the future.
I'll do the Entertainment Preview for March later in the week. I'm all played out - -
Thanks y'all (I just finished watching WALK THE LINE again, sorry)
- - - "I think it just got easier out here for a pimp"
- - - Jon Stewart after Three Six Mafia won for Best Song.
Goodnight, and well, good luck:
JUSTIN
Sunday, March 05, 2006
The Oscar Show with Jon Stewart
It's the OSCARS baby! Tonight at 1900, Hollywood's Super Bowl will air on ABC. And I can't wait. I'm gonna have the poker guys over, and we're gonna play while it's on. Good stuff. . .
But, here are the predictions (and who I think should win!) that you have all been waiting for:
BEST PICTURE
What will win: I think BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is gonna win. And not unfortunately. I have seen all of the Best Picture nominees and I believe that this is the second best. It can win. I'm ok with that.
What should win (nominated): CRASH (without a doubt)
What should win (universally): CRASH (best movie of the year - just ask Roger Ebert)
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Who will win: Philip Seymour Hoffman, CAPOTE
Who should win (nominated): I have also seen all of these performances. ALL of them are top notch and could all be frontrunners in any other year. My personal vote is split between Terrence Howard (HUSTLE AND FLOW) and Joaquin Phoenix (WALK THE LINE). The edge goes to Howard in my mind because . . . well, just because!
Who should win (universally): Technically, all of them should win. They are all fantastic. Too bad they couldn't have 7 nominees - Russell Crowe could have been nominated for CINDERELLA MAN and Pierce Brosnan also for THE MATADOR.
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Who will win: Reese Witherspoon, WALK THE LINE
Who should win (nominated): Reese Witherspoon
Who should win (universally): Yep, Reese. Go see WALK THE LINE. Now.
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Who will win: George Clooney, SYRIANA
Who should win (nominated): Either Matt Dillon (CRASH) or the ever-over-looked Paul Giamatti (CINDERELLA MAN). The edge goes to Dillon in my mind cuz there are just so many facets to that performance. Wow!
Who should win (universally): I think that Terrence Howard in CRASH was quite excellent and that Michael Caine should have been at least nominated for THE WEATHER MAN, but the overlooked Peter Sarsgaard performed quite amazingly in JARHEAD. I'm definitely buying that on Tuesday.
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Who will win: Rachel Weisz, THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Who should win (nominated): Amy Adams, JUNEBUG
Who should win (universally): Although I loved CRASH, and I think that both Thandie Newton and Sandra Bullock could have been nominated, (and I wish the little girl could be nominated - she was tear-inducingly incredible!) Amy Adams' performance was just beyond comprehension. She's kooky. I can't describe it any other way. Either way, she's amazing!
BEST DIRECTOR
Who will win: Ang Lee, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Who should win (nominated): Steven Spielberg, MUNICH. Although I didn't give the film the highest grade, (B+) Spielberg showed us why he is the new "master of suspense" (Sorry Hitchcock)
Who should win (universally): I think that Spielberg was numero uno. Paul Haggis did a great job with CRASH, but I was more effected by its editing, which it better win for.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
What will win: CRASH; Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco
What should win (nominated): CRASH, Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco
What should win (universally): If CRASH does not win here, there should be riots at the Kodak Theatre. But that's just my opinion. THE WEATHER MAN should have been nominated.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
What will win: BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN; Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana
What should win (nominated): BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN; Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana
What should win (universally): BROKEBACK - Have you seen how short the short stoy is?!?! It's incredible how they got such an incredible piece of written work out of that little amount of writing. Powerful dialogue, although very limited.
There you have it folks - The big awards for the night! It will definitely happen the way I said it would :D - - - Maybe not, but I would certainly be okay with being wrong if CRASH upset BROKEBACK for Best Picture. Fingers (and toes) crossed!
- - - "I'll be good."
- - - Jon Stewart, host of this year's ACADEMY AWARDS, this week in an interview. We hope so Jon. And I'm pulling for ya!
Thanking everyone who has made this possible,
JUSTIN
But, here are the predictions (and who I think should win!) that you have all been waiting for:
BEST PICTURE
What will win: I think BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is gonna win. And not unfortunately. I have seen all of the Best Picture nominees and I believe that this is the second best. It can win. I'm ok with that.
What should win (nominated): CRASH (without a doubt)
What should win (universally): CRASH (best movie of the year - just ask Roger Ebert)
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Who will win: Philip Seymour Hoffman, CAPOTE
Who should win (nominated): I have also seen all of these performances. ALL of them are top notch and could all be frontrunners in any other year. My personal vote is split between Terrence Howard (HUSTLE AND FLOW) and Joaquin Phoenix (WALK THE LINE). The edge goes to Howard in my mind because . . . well, just because!
Who should win (universally): Technically, all of them should win. They are all fantastic. Too bad they couldn't have 7 nominees - Russell Crowe could have been nominated for CINDERELLA MAN and Pierce Brosnan also for THE MATADOR.
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Who will win: Reese Witherspoon, WALK THE LINE
Who should win (nominated): Reese Witherspoon
Who should win (universally): Yep, Reese. Go see WALK THE LINE. Now.
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Who will win: George Clooney, SYRIANA
Who should win (nominated): Either Matt Dillon (CRASH) or the ever-over-looked Paul Giamatti (CINDERELLA MAN). The edge goes to Dillon in my mind cuz there are just so many facets to that performance. Wow!
Who should win (universally): I think that Terrence Howard in CRASH was quite excellent and that Michael Caine should have been at least nominated for THE WEATHER MAN, but the overlooked Peter Sarsgaard performed quite amazingly in JARHEAD. I'm definitely buying that on Tuesday.
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Who will win: Rachel Weisz, THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Who should win (nominated): Amy Adams, JUNEBUG
Who should win (universally): Although I loved CRASH, and I think that both Thandie Newton and Sandra Bullock could have been nominated, (and I wish the little girl could be nominated - she was tear-inducingly incredible!) Amy Adams' performance was just beyond comprehension. She's kooky. I can't describe it any other way. Either way, she's amazing!
BEST DIRECTOR
Who will win: Ang Lee, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Who should win (nominated): Steven Spielberg, MUNICH. Although I didn't give the film the highest grade, (B+) Spielberg showed us why he is the new "master of suspense" (Sorry Hitchcock)
Who should win (universally): I think that Spielberg was numero uno. Paul Haggis did a great job with CRASH, but I was more effected by its editing, which it better win for.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
What will win: CRASH; Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco
What should win (nominated): CRASH, Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco
What should win (universally): If CRASH does not win here, there should be riots at the Kodak Theatre. But that's just my opinion. THE WEATHER MAN should have been nominated.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
What will win: BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN; Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana
What should win (nominated): BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN; Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana
What should win (universally): BROKEBACK - Have you seen how short the short stoy is?!?! It's incredible how they got such an incredible piece of written work out of that little amount of writing. Powerful dialogue, although very limited.
There you have it folks - The big awards for the night! It will definitely happen the way I said it would :D - - - Maybe not, but I would certainly be okay with being wrong if CRASH upset BROKEBACK for Best Picture. Fingers (and toes) crossed!
- - - "I'll be good."
- - - Jon Stewart, host of this year's ACADEMY AWARDS, this week in an interview. We hope so Jon. And I'm pulling for ya!
Thanking everyone who has made this possible,
JUSTIN
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Time Flies When You're Busy as Hell
Is Hell in fact busy? Also something I need to know. . . (and yes that's me mocking my own use of profanity - - I have to stay consistent)
I apologize deeply and soul-wrenchingly for not blogging since Saturday. However, (and this is a huge however) I have noticed a severe lack of commenting, making me believe that no one is even reading this here blog. I shall complain some more. . . It's not hard folks. Just give me a "What's up" or a "Hey you're funny sometimes" or even a "I'm commenting to get you to stop complaining about not getting comments". All you do is go to the bottom of the blog (and if you read it, you're already there when you finish!) and click on "0 Comments" (cuz that's what it will probably say). You will view the lack of comments on the left and on the right, you will see a box to post your comment. Comment away and then decide how you will be catergorized (by name or anonymous - if anonymous, please put your name :D ) and then type in the password Ticketmaster-style. Thanks in advance for the overwhelming response to this. I appreciate it greatly :D . . .
So, in light of the great absence from the blogging, I will give you recaps from the last 5 days and 6 nights (Saturday night is included) in 3 areas: SCHOOL, WORK, and PLAY. Got it? Good. . .
SCHOOL:
- I had school on Tuesday and today this week, and I was busy with schoolwork throughout the week. In History, I had a test on Tuesday and got a 97 on it, despite not studying a whole lot again. I am glad that I'm a good test-taker. Plus, Jaffe's tests are arranged well and I have taken to his tests like, well, someone who gets an "A" on every test. If only every class was like this one. . . Philosophy is fun during class, but I realize more and more that I'm not completely sure what is going on and what is going to be expected of us. Dr. Zhu assigned us our big research paper (due April 27) so I am actually gonna start that early - no, seriously, stop laughing - and try to do well on it. I can't tell what else is gonna be graded in that class so that paper as a good grade is imperative for my success in that class. Communications (live, not online) is evil. I got a 74 on my group project because my group members said I was only partially participating, when in fact, we all did the same amount of work. Our midterm was today (I did pretty well I think, considering I didn't study - -) and a Journal containing eight 2-3 page entries was due today as well. I got it done about a half hour before class began. That's how close I was cutting it today. Astronomy is ok. It's really boring, but that should be expected. Come on, we're talking about stars! I got a high "B" on the last test and we have another one next Thursday. My online class is getting rolling pretty well. I'm doing the Discussion Boards fully and I'm doing well on the quizzes. We have a Film Critique (much like the one I wrote on JAWS for my Film class last semester) and I have chosen Francis Ford Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW, based on Joseph Conrad's book Heart of Darkness, which I have (sort of) read. I own it, so I may pick it back up and skim it to add to the paper. Good stuff all around. Today marked the halfway point of the semester! Two more months! 16 more school days! And no, I'm not counting down. . .
WORK:
- I have only worked 3 shifts since I spoke to you last. I worked til midnight on Saturday night, (I made $100 though!) til 2230 on Sunday ($60) and then I hosted til close on Tuesday night. I really really really (did I mention really?) didn't wanna work tonight so I had someone cover my host shift. Tonight I got a call from one of my fellow TTs, asking me to pick up his morning shift tomorrow. I agreed before remembering that I TT tomorrow night. I called Tim and he told me that it would be no problem. I'll go in at 1000, clock out around 1500, and then come back at 1600 for my night shift. There will just be no TT during that hour. JC is dead during that time anyway, so it'll be ok. I won't be far if they need me, even if it got busy. Some way cool news from work came to me on Saturday night. I was talking to Tim and he told me a bunch of his stories from his past occupations. He said that he began (yes, began) Greenhouse Cafe and invented the Cajun Chicken Salad that they offer. He has done consulting work for Macaroni Grill, Baja Fresh, and more places like that. He has owned restaurants, received awards, and taken buildings from nothing and turned them into almost-million-dollar-buildings. He also mentioned that he has been getting the itch to begin another restaurant. I told him that it would suck if he left, seeing that I really like him as a manager. He said that people could surely follow him. . . so I asked him if he would be staying local. When he answered affirmatively, I told him I was in, as long as he liked me working for him, which he also affirmed. We'll see if (or when) that happens and how it all goes down. Sounds good to me though. . . I'm working a double shift tomorrow of TT (1000-1500? and then 1600-2200) so I'll be muy busy. Fun shtuff all around!
PLAY:
- Monday and Wednesday were my Playdays. I left for THE LB on Monday around 1500 as Heather's last class ended at 1700. I figured that would give me plenty of time. I thought wrong. This was the day that God decided to ring out all of his wet towels up there. It rained a ridiculous amount, I swear I was ready to get the supplies for a freakin' ark! So with the insane amount of rain (hey that rhymed!) and an orgy of cars driving the 405, it took me (brace yourself) 3.5 hours to get to her apartment! My left knee was throbbing from all of the shifting back and forth. So, I picked her up (still raining) and took her to our favorite California Pizza Kitchen and got our Margherita Pizza to share. After that (still raining) we got a Hot Fudge Sundae that was pretty kick-donkey and then drove back to her apartment (yep, still raining). She had to get up at 0430 (yes, you read that right) to be at PETCO so she jumped in the shower so she wouldn't have to take one in the morning. While she did that, I studied for the above History test (this was my studying time). After she was all done getting ready for bed, we watched (still raining) BEDAZZLED, a movie that is fun to watch from time to time. After the movie was my favorite part of the night: the cuddling :) I absolutely love sitting next to her and just talking about nothing in particular. It's truly straight out of the movies. I've even done the "Hey, your hands fit perfectly in mine" thing. It's true. Love, my friends, is cool. Catch it before it's gone! . . I then had to head home because she needed to get to sleep. An almost-two-hour trip home (still raining) got me home around 0145 and I was in bed (and way asleep) by 0200. I spent more time on the road than I did with Heather. Was it worth it, one might ask? I would say, and very quickly, "Every Second".
- Wednesday was almost busier than a school/work day and it was my OFF DAY. I went to lunch at JC (because I just don't spend enough time there) with my dad, Caleb, and my grandparents. My grandma had been with my dad and I this past weekend because my mom and Aimee were in Anaheim for some dance competition of Aimee's. When my dad and I both went to work, no one would be here to watch Caleb. Thus, Mom-Mom. It was great for her to come over and the small amount of time that I spent around her was a lot of fun. Pop-Pop (or just Pop for short) came over on Tuesday night to pick up Mom-mom and take her home on Wednesday. First, we went to lunch (like I said) and then they left for Arizona. After that, my dad, Caleb, and I went to BEST BUY so that I could buy WALK THE LINE (the incredible Johnny Cash biopic starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon) and the Original Soundtrack to the film (which features the songs by Phoenix and Witherspoon, not the Cashes). We headed home and I played MARIO KART with Caleb for a bit before I began my homework. I called Cy to see what he was doing at night and if he wanted to hang out with me and Justin. He said he couldn't (church thing) but asked if I could do him a favor and follow him to Palmdale. He had to take his Saturn Vue to the Saturn dealer, and needed a ride back. Well, it turned out that we needed to stay in Palmdale for 1.5 hours while the car was detailed or whatever. We hung out at the Mall and ate some snack-type food at RED ROBIN (Bottomless Fries!). After that, I headed to the CINGULAR store, where I met my mom. It was time to upgrade my prehistoric cell phone (finally!) and we also had to transition our plan from AT& T to CINGULAR. This whole process took over an hour, as the cashier girl was going a bit nutty, the place got really busy, and it was destined for that to happen. Either way, it took A LONG TIME! But we left with new phones for me and my dad. We got him the 2006 version of the phone we used to have (for less confusion) and I bought myself the ever-trendy Motorola Razor phone. I am having fun learning the ins and outs of this new toy of mine. Justin did come over and we chatted and stuff and watched some of AN EVENING WITH KEVIN SMITH on my TIVO. He left around 0015 and then I had to do homework. It was a long day, but a fun day. And of course, good stuff all around!
I do believe that is plenty. I'm tired and I need to head to bed because of that double shift awaiting me tomorrow. This weekend is the OSCARS and, as promised, there will be a prediction blog coming before the OSCARS go on the air.
Hope all is well with all y'all - -
- - - "What, do you think I was born 56?"
- - - Dr. Jaffe, in class today, after our laughter to his comment that "Teenagers liked automobiles because they could get away from their parents and go in the backseat and do stuff."; Highlight of the semester thus far!
Goodnight folks everywheres,
THE RAMBLER
I apologize deeply and soul-wrenchingly for not blogging since Saturday. However, (and this is a huge however) I have noticed a severe lack of commenting, making me believe that no one is even reading this here blog. I shall complain some more. . . It's not hard folks. Just give me a "What's up" or a "Hey you're funny sometimes" or even a "I'm commenting to get you to stop complaining about not getting comments". All you do is go to the bottom of the blog (and if you read it, you're already there when you finish!) and click on "0 Comments" (cuz that's what it will probably say). You will view the lack of comments on the left and on the right, you will see a box to post your comment. Comment away and then decide how you will be catergorized (by name or anonymous - if anonymous, please put your name :D ) and then type in the password Ticketmaster-style. Thanks in advance for the overwhelming response to this. I appreciate it greatly :D . . .
So, in light of the great absence from the blogging, I will give you recaps from the last 5 days and 6 nights (Saturday night is included) in 3 areas: SCHOOL, WORK, and PLAY. Got it? Good. . .
SCHOOL:
- I had school on Tuesday and today this week, and I was busy with schoolwork throughout the week. In History, I had a test on Tuesday and got a 97 on it, despite not studying a whole lot again. I am glad that I'm a good test-taker. Plus, Jaffe's tests are arranged well and I have taken to his tests like, well, someone who gets an "A" on every test. If only every class was like this one. . . Philosophy is fun during class, but I realize more and more that I'm not completely sure what is going on and what is going to be expected of us. Dr. Zhu assigned us our big research paper (due April 27) so I am actually gonna start that early - no, seriously, stop laughing - and try to do well on it. I can't tell what else is gonna be graded in that class so that paper as a good grade is imperative for my success in that class. Communications (live, not online) is evil. I got a 74 on my group project because my group members said I was only partially participating, when in fact, we all did the same amount of work. Our midterm was today (I did pretty well I think, considering I didn't study - -) and a Journal containing eight 2-3 page entries was due today as well. I got it done about a half hour before class began. That's how close I was cutting it today. Astronomy is ok. It's really boring, but that should be expected. Come on, we're talking about stars! I got a high "B" on the last test and we have another one next Thursday. My online class is getting rolling pretty well. I'm doing the Discussion Boards fully and I'm doing well on the quizzes. We have a Film Critique (much like the one I wrote on JAWS for my Film class last semester) and I have chosen Francis Ford Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW, based on Joseph Conrad's book Heart of Darkness, which I have (sort of) read. I own it, so I may pick it back up and skim it to add to the paper. Good stuff all around. Today marked the halfway point of the semester! Two more months! 16 more school days! And no, I'm not counting down. . .
WORK:
- I have only worked 3 shifts since I spoke to you last. I worked til midnight on Saturday night, (I made $100 though!) til 2230 on Sunday ($60) and then I hosted til close on Tuesday night. I really really really (did I mention really?) didn't wanna work tonight so I had someone cover my host shift. Tonight I got a call from one of my fellow TTs, asking me to pick up his morning shift tomorrow. I agreed before remembering that I TT tomorrow night. I called Tim and he told me that it would be no problem. I'll go in at 1000, clock out around 1500, and then come back at 1600 for my night shift. There will just be no TT during that hour. JC is dead during that time anyway, so it'll be ok. I won't be far if they need me, even if it got busy. Some way cool news from work came to me on Saturday night. I was talking to Tim and he told me a bunch of his stories from his past occupations. He said that he began (yes, began) Greenhouse Cafe and invented the Cajun Chicken Salad that they offer. He has done consulting work for Macaroni Grill, Baja Fresh, and more places like that. He has owned restaurants, received awards, and taken buildings from nothing and turned them into almost-million-dollar-buildings. He also mentioned that he has been getting the itch to begin another restaurant. I told him that it would suck if he left, seeing that I really like him as a manager. He said that people could surely follow him. . . so I asked him if he would be staying local. When he answered affirmatively, I told him I was in, as long as he liked me working for him, which he also affirmed. We'll see if (or when) that happens and how it all goes down. Sounds good to me though. . . I'm working a double shift tomorrow of TT (1000-1500? and then 1600-2200) so I'll be muy busy. Fun shtuff all around!
PLAY:
- Monday and Wednesday were my Playdays. I left for THE LB on Monday around 1500 as Heather's last class ended at 1700. I figured that would give me plenty of time. I thought wrong. This was the day that God decided to ring out all of his wet towels up there. It rained a ridiculous amount, I swear I was ready to get the supplies for a freakin' ark! So with the insane amount of rain (hey that rhymed!) and an orgy of cars driving the 405, it took me (brace yourself) 3.5 hours to get to her apartment! My left knee was throbbing from all of the shifting back and forth. So, I picked her up (still raining) and took her to our favorite California Pizza Kitchen and got our Margherita Pizza to share. After that (still raining) we got a Hot Fudge Sundae that was pretty kick-donkey and then drove back to her apartment (yep, still raining). She had to get up at 0430 (yes, you read that right) to be at PETCO so she jumped in the shower so she wouldn't have to take one in the morning. While she did that, I studied for the above History test (this was my studying time). After she was all done getting ready for bed, we watched (still raining) BEDAZZLED, a movie that is fun to watch from time to time. After the movie was my favorite part of the night: the cuddling :) I absolutely love sitting next to her and just talking about nothing in particular. It's truly straight out of the movies. I've even done the "Hey, your hands fit perfectly in mine" thing. It's true. Love, my friends, is cool. Catch it before it's gone! . . I then had to head home because she needed to get to sleep. An almost-two-hour trip home (still raining) got me home around 0145 and I was in bed (and way asleep) by 0200. I spent more time on the road than I did with Heather. Was it worth it, one might ask? I would say, and very quickly, "Every Second".
- Wednesday was almost busier than a school/work day and it was my OFF DAY. I went to lunch at JC (because I just don't spend enough time there) with my dad, Caleb, and my grandparents. My grandma had been with my dad and I this past weekend because my mom and Aimee were in Anaheim for some dance competition of Aimee's. When my dad and I both went to work, no one would be here to watch Caleb. Thus, Mom-Mom. It was great for her to come over and the small amount of time that I spent around her was a lot of fun. Pop-Pop (or just Pop for short) came over on Tuesday night to pick up Mom-mom and take her home on Wednesday. First, we went to lunch (like I said) and then they left for Arizona. After that, my dad, Caleb, and I went to BEST BUY so that I could buy WALK THE LINE (the incredible Johnny Cash biopic starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon) and the Original Soundtrack to the film (which features the songs by Phoenix and Witherspoon, not the Cashes). We headed home and I played MARIO KART with Caleb for a bit before I began my homework. I called Cy to see what he was doing at night and if he wanted to hang out with me and Justin. He said he couldn't (church thing) but asked if I could do him a favor and follow him to Palmdale. He had to take his Saturn Vue to the Saturn dealer, and needed a ride back. Well, it turned out that we needed to stay in Palmdale for 1.5 hours while the car was detailed or whatever. We hung out at the Mall and ate some snack-type food at RED ROBIN (Bottomless Fries!). After that, I headed to the CINGULAR store, where I met my mom. It was time to upgrade my prehistoric cell phone (finally!) and we also had to transition our plan from AT& T to CINGULAR. This whole process took over an hour, as the cashier girl was going a bit nutty, the place got really busy, and it was destined for that to happen. Either way, it took A LONG TIME! But we left with new phones for me and my dad. We got him the 2006 version of the phone we used to have (for less confusion) and I bought myself the ever-trendy Motorola Razor phone. I am having fun learning the ins and outs of this new toy of mine. Justin did come over and we chatted and stuff and watched some of AN EVENING WITH KEVIN SMITH on my TIVO. He left around 0015 and then I had to do homework. It was a long day, but a fun day. And of course, good stuff all around!
I do believe that is plenty. I'm tired and I need to head to bed because of that double shift awaiting me tomorrow. This weekend is the OSCARS and, as promised, there will be a prediction blog coming before the OSCARS go on the air.
Hope all is well with all y'all - -
- - - "What, do you think I was born 56?"
- - - Dr. Jaffe, in class today, after our laughter to his comment that "Teenagers liked automobiles because they could get away from their parents and go in the backseat and do stuff."; Highlight of the semester thus far!
Goodnight folks everywheres,
THE RAMBLER
Saturday, February 25, 2006
The Saturday Morning Catcher-Upper
What up ev'rybody?!?! It's a Saturday morning post! This is the first of its kind. I can hardly believe it's true! So, I spose that I'll make like the SAVED BY THE BELL kids and get crackin. . .
First off, I'll completely negate Thursday from my posting, if that's ok. I went to school, (skipped ASTRONOMY) got my ears lowered, and went to work, where I TT and stayed til 2300. Busy day. But not that exciting. . .
So Wednesday. I spent most of the morning/afternoon passing time and just kinda waiting for the events that would transpire that night. It is now that I can reveal my GIGANTIC secret, as the contents are now also on this world wide web. My good buddy, (I do, in fact, call him my "best guy friend" - Heather is my best friend) CYRIL SERRANO surprised us all by arriving home six weeks early from the Philippines. So here's out it went down: Monday night, Heather and I were kicking it, watching TIVO'd AMERICAN IDOL stuff when Mrs. Serrano calls me. She says she is home (his parents were due back in town on Sunday night) and that she has something for me from Cy. Well I say that it's totally cool and to come right on over. She knocks on the door (not right then, but a good 5 minutes or so later. .) and my mom answered it. After they hug and laugh for a second, I head over to greet her. I was eating some dinner (It was a little after 2200 - I had worked that night) and set the plate down on our organ bench. As I was doing so, I heard my mom scream! I look up and I see my buddy round the corner and walk into my house! It was pretty cool how they planned that out. So we gabbed for almost a half hour and then they left, but not before Cy and I began plotting how we would get Justin. And boy, did we get him good too!
Back to Wednesday. Justin came over here for our usual movie-fest around 1730 (he had worked the morning shift at IN-N-OUT) and I suggested that we get some dinner. We headed to PRIMO CAFE (a shout out to a former hostess of PRIMO: Hey Beckybelle!) and sat down and ordered and just caught up on stuff. Our food came and we began to eat. Not too much later, in walks Cy, and he sits down at a big, round table next to the booth that we inhabited. So far, so good. A couple of minutes go by and then he finally leans over, saying, "Do you guys know what's good here?" and I swear that I could have fit a ruler in Justin's mouth (and I mean longways!). I think he was just plain shocked! We laughed, and it was a really great moment. He was almost more surprised that I wasn't going crazy, so I told him my Monday story and why we had to surprise him too. Well we finished our dinners, and then headed to CINEMARK 22 to see, yep you guessed it, FINAL DESTINATION 3. This is the movie that Cy and I have been planning in our own heads since the first sequel came out three years ago. Well we headed in and truly enjoyed ourselves, if that's possible during a teen-killing movie. If you don't know, the story is pretty simple. Basically, some terrible event happens in which a whole bunch of teenagers die (the first movie was an airplane explosion, the second a freeway pileup) in really awful ways. Then you see that it was just a premonition of one central character but that the early events leading up to the disaster happen as they did in the premonition. The character then freaks out, leading others to join them away from the place where the tragedy would occur. Then it happens anyway, but without the few people that removed themselves. Well, as in the movies, Death gets pissed off, and goes after those who "cheated" him (is Death a him? This is stuff I need to know). Chaos and death ensues. So we watched the film and decided that it wasn't the best of the series (that would be FD1) but it would certainly pass. The overall grade is biased a bit, because I'm such a fan of the series, but either way. . Grade: B
After the movie, we went back to Cy's and hung out til midnight or so. Just like old times. Good stuff. . . I had a very similar day yesterday. The only difference was that I was waiting for work, not fun. I went into work at 1600 and was again the only TT until 1700. For a Friday night, we weren't busy. Thus, at 1900, Charlie asked for a volunteer from the TTs to go home. There were three of us, so it seemed rather hasty. But, I decided if someone was going home, it might as well be me. I went to BEST BUY and bought THE WEATHER MAN (Great Nic Cage film) and the debut album from PANIC! AT THE DISCO, a band very similar to one of my favorites, THE ACADEMY IS. . . From there, I headed home, changed, and then headed back to Palmdale to Justin's house. Cy and Kevin joined us a little later and then, by my suggestion, we went to JOHNNY CARINO'S, yes that JOHNNY CARINO'S, for dessert. We each got our own (Justin - Canoli, Cy - Tiramisu, Me - Spamoni, Kevin - Spamoni; reluctantly) and we all enjoyed our dessert and conversation. We left there at 2300 (didn't wanna stay after closing ha ha) and headed back to Justin's til about midnight and then rolled out.
Right now, I figured that I hadn't done this lately and decided I'd do a little pre-WEEKEND GRAB-BAG thingymajig. Well I'm done. And that's that.
Gotta work at 1700 tonight. Gotta make the mula (moolah?). Take care. See ya Sunday. . . Maybe - - -
- - - "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
- - - Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson, of course) in THE SHINING
Later gators,
JUSTIN
First off, I'll completely negate Thursday from my posting, if that's ok. I went to school, (skipped ASTRONOMY) got my ears lowered, and went to work, where I TT and stayed til 2300. Busy day. But not that exciting. . .
So Wednesday. I spent most of the morning/afternoon passing time and just kinda waiting for the events that would transpire that night. It is now that I can reveal my GIGANTIC secret, as the contents are now also on this world wide web. My good buddy, (I do, in fact, call him my "best guy friend" - Heather is my best friend) CYRIL SERRANO surprised us all by arriving home six weeks early from the Philippines. So here's out it went down: Monday night, Heather and I were kicking it, watching TIVO'd AMERICAN IDOL stuff when Mrs. Serrano calls me. She says she is home (his parents were due back in town on Sunday night) and that she has something for me from Cy. Well I say that it's totally cool and to come right on over. She knocks on the door (not right then, but a good 5 minutes or so later. .) and my mom answered it. After they hug and laugh for a second, I head over to greet her. I was eating some dinner (It was a little after 2200 - I had worked that night) and set the plate down on our organ bench. As I was doing so, I heard my mom scream! I look up and I see my buddy round the corner and walk into my house! It was pretty cool how they planned that out. So we gabbed for almost a half hour and then they left, but not before Cy and I began plotting how we would get Justin. And boy, did we get him good too!
Back to Wednesday. Justin came over here for our usual movie-fest around 1730 (he had worked the morning shift at IN-N-OUT) and I suggested that we get some dinner. We headed to PRIMO CAFE (a shout out to a former hostess of PRIMO: Hey Beckybelle!) and sat down and ordered and just caught up on stuff. Our food came and we began to eat. Not too much later, in walks Cy, and he sits down at a big, round table next to the booth that we inhabited. So far, so good. A couple of minutes go by and then he finally leans over, saying, "Do you guys know what's good here?" and I swear that I could have fit a ruler in Justin's mouth (and I mean longways!). I think he was just plain shocked! We laughed, and it was a really great moment. He was almost more surprised that I wasn't going crazy, so I told him my Monday story and why we had to surprise him too. Well we finished our dinners, and then headed to CINEMARK 22 to see, yep you guessed it, FINAL DESTINATION 3. This is the movie that Cy and I have been planning in our own heads since the first sequel came out three years ago. Well we headed in and truly enjoyed ourselves, if that's possible during a teen-killing movie. If you don't know, the story is pretty simple. Basically, some terrible event happens in which a whole bunch of teenagers die (the first movie was an airplane explosion, the second a freeway pileup) in really awful ways. Then you see that it was just a premonition of one central character but that the early events leading up to the disaster happen as they did in the premonition. The character then freaks out, leading others to join them away from the place where the tragedy would occur. Then it happens anyway, but without the few people that removed themselves. Well, as in the movies, Death gets pissed off, and goes after those who "cheated" him (is Death a him? This is stuff I need to know). Chaos and death ensues. So we watched the film and decided that it wasn't the best of the series (that would be FD1) but it would certainly pass. The overall grade is biased a bit, because I'm such a fan of the series, but either way. . Grade: B
After the movie, we went back to Cy's and hung out til midnight or so. Just like old times. Good stuff. . . I had a very similar day yesterday. The only difference was that I was waiting for work, not fun. I went into work at 1600 and was again the only TT until 1700. For a Friday night, we weren't busy. Thus, at 1900, Charlie asked for a volunteer from the TTs to go home. There were three of us, so it seemed rather hasty. But, I decided if someone was going home, it might as well be me. I went to BEST BUY and bought THE WEATHER MAN (Great Nic Cage film) and the debut album from PANIC! AT THE DISCO, a band very similar to one of my favorites, THE ACADEMY IS. . . From there, I headed home, changed, and then headed back to Palmdale to Justin's house. Cy and Kevin joined us a little later and then, by my suggestion, we went to JOHNNY CARINO'S, yes that JOHNNY CARINO'S, for dessert. We each got our own (Justin - Canoli, Cy - Tiramisu, Me - Spamoni, Kevin - Spamoni; reluctantly) and we all enjoyed our dessert and conversation. We left there at 2300 (didn't wanna stay after closing ha ha) and headed back to Justin's til about midnight and then rolled out.
Right now, I figured that I hadn't done this lately and decided I'd do a little pre-WEEKEND GRAB-BAG thingymajig. Well I'm done. And that's that.
Gotta work at 1700 tonight. Gotta make the mula (moolah?). Take care. See ya Sunday. . . Maybe - - -
- - - "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
- - - Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson, of course) in THE SHINING
Later gators,
JUSTIN
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
The Weekend Grab-Bag: The Utah! Shuffle Edition
A couple (or a few) initial thoughts about the title and such: ONE - So I saw this license plate while I was driving around with Heather that was from the formerly-mentioned, mostly Mormon state. As I looked closer, I noticed that at the end of the name (Utah) there was an exclamation point! Much like that one there. So I yelled, excitedly, (as if I was reading it off the license plate) "Utah!" and I scared my wonderful girl, although it did inspire strong laughter. I couldn't not use this in the title. SECOND - I am presently listening to all of my music on a SHUFFLE setting, thus, the title. Blog titles are harder to come up with than you think. . SO, yes, I realize that it's Tuesday, and that this is officially 2 days late. Well, it's as good as I could do. Amidst the busy weekend, where I worked somewhere around 20 hours, (I'll divulge more) hung out with my beautiful girl, and learned the true meaning of President's Day, (ok, so I made that last part up) there was nary a moment to fulfill my internet readers' (that's you!) needs. I just couldn't. Consequently, here is the present edition of THE WEEKEND GRAB-BAG; Enjoy! . .
- Upon further review of my time card printout, I worked 21.5 hours over the 4-day weekend. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were TT days, while both yesterday and today (not factored in the 4-day cumulation) were Host shifts. From those TT shifts (which were tough, busy, and without incident!) I garnered over $200!!! I think I could get used to that extra dough every weekend. I put over half of that in the bank, however, as I am still trying to maintain a responsible status. At this point, I pretty much hate Hosting. It's SO not worth the extra $0.50 an hour that we get on our paycheck. Not only is it mentally-challenging, but the citizens of the Antelope Valley officially suck as a whole (if you look really quickly, that looks bad. . .). I have never met a bigger bunch of needy, whiny, just plain unfortunate-acting people. "Can we have a booth", "This table?", and "An hour!?!" are things that I truly never want to hear again, but just know that I'll be hearing it again on Thursday (my next shift). At least I have a weekend of TT in front of me, waiting for me like a loving grandma wanting to spoil her little grandchild. I now look forward to working long, difficult hours, because I know the spoils that I receive in return. It's just a much better deal.
- Heather came home on Sunday night, and because her house is in shambles (they're recarpeting pretty much the entire house; retiling, actually) she stayed at my house both that night and last night. My couch buddy and I caught up on AMERICAN IDOL and HOUSE (almost) by staying up pretty late both nights. On Monday, we got to spend the entire morning and most of the afternoon (until 1600, when I had to work) together, which was just about the best time spent possible. We went to an early matinee of DATE MOVIE, the recently released spoof movie from "2 of the 6 writers of SCARY MOVIE". I really was let down, as it was not nearly as funny as I had hoped. Only a couple of funny moments ("Be-yotch", Little HITCH, and the too brief NAPOLEON DYNAMITE spoof) made me laugh at any level. A big disappointment through and through; Grade: D+ . . From there, we went to the MALL to get some FAMOUS DAVE'S, as it was opening day. The BBQ place is owned by the same guy that signs my checks, and I wanted to try to eat there to see the inside and such. Well, it was quite busy, because when anything new opens up in the Antelope Valley, everyone has to check it out. We decided on having a GREAT STEAK for lunch instead, and that was a wise decision indeed. We trotted around the MALL, finally ending up at the Clearance rack at ANCHOR BLUE, where I found 2 CY Shirts and 2 sweaters (plain, don't worry - they're not COSBY-type) for the minimal price of $45. It would have been over $100 had they not been on sale. I love CLEARANCE!!! My girl is so good to me - she shops with me so well (although I shop with her too. . .). Time well spent.
- Anybody watching the WINTER OLYMPICS? Yeah, me neither.
- When I got home from work on Saturday, I watched all of the NBA All-Star stuff that I'd TIVO'd. I love All-Star Weekend! The NBA is my one true sports love, and I will follow it as long as I draw breaths. I enjoyed the Dunk Contest, which has lately been quite disappointing. I actually jumped off of the couch after two of the dunks, both of which you can view here ( http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/allstar2006/news/story?id=2335818 - 1: the Iguodala "off the back of the backboard" dunk and 2: the Robinson "over Spud" dunk). Great stuff.
- I did have school today (unfortunately) and it was kind of a lame day all around. HISTORY was the usual note-taking class. No PHILOSOPHY today, as Dr. Zhu cancelled class. So, I went to my car and worked on homework until COMMUNICATIONS which was b-o-r-i-n-g!!!! My ASTRONOMY test was great, up until the multiple choice section. The math in that class is very basic (plug-in and solve, essentially) but the MC just kicks me in the butt. We'll see how the curve helps me on this one. I was outta there by 1500 today and then it was to work at 1700 tonight.
- I have a GINORMOUS secret, but I cannot reveal it until I am given permission. Let's just say that I'm stoked and that I'm more content with my present situation now.
- O I also used my Debit card for the first time today! It was pretty exciting (although it would have been cooler had no money come out of my checking accout) as I pulled into SHELL and didn't have to go in and hand the checker lady my cash. This was exciting! Let me celebrate. .
And that's about all I can go with at this moment in time. I'm tired. I do have a free day tomorrow (my only day off this week, plus no school) so that is nice. I hope everyone has a great Wednesday and if everything goes as planned, I won't blog until Thursday night. You'll be okay, trust me. . .
- - - "You can think I'm wrong, but that's no reason to quit thinking."
- - - Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) on an episode of HOUSE; He's my new hero. . .
Goodnight folkages,
The Rambler
- Upon further review of my time card printout, I worked 21.5 hours over the 4-day weekend. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were TT days, while both yesterday and today (not factored in the 4-day cumulation) were Host shifts. From those TT shifts (which were tough, busy, and without incident!) I garnered over $200!!! I think I could get used to that extra dough every weekend. I put over half of that in the bank, however, as I am still trying to maintain a responsible status. At this point, I pretty much hate Hosting. It's SO not worth the extra $0.50 an hour that we get on our paycheck. Not only is it mentally-challenging, but the citizens of the Antelope Valley officially suck as a whole (if you look really quickly, that looks bad. . .). I have never met a bigger bunch of needy, whiny, just plain unfortunate-acting people. "Can we have a booth", "This table?", and "An hour!?!" are things that I truly never want to hear again, but just know that I'll be hearing it again on Thursday (my next shift). At least I have a weekend of TT in front of me, waiting for me like a loving grandma wanting to spoil her little grandchild. I now look forward to working long, difficult hours, because I know the spoils that I receive in return. It's just a much better deal.
- Heather came home on Sunday night, and because her house is in shambles (they're recarpeting pretty much the entire house; retiling, actually) she stayed at my house both that night and last night. My couch buddy and I caught up on AMERICAN IDOL and HOUSE (almost) by staying up pretty late both nights. On Monday, we got to spend the entire morning and most of the afternoon (until 1600, when I had to work) together, which was just about the best time spent possible. We went to an early matinee of DATE MOVIE, the recently released spoof movie from "2 of the 6 writers of SCARY MOVIE". I really was let down, as it was not nearly as funny as I had hoped. Only a couple of funny moments ("Be-yotch", Little HITCH, and the too brief NAPOLEON DYNAMITE spoof) made me laugh at any level. A big disappointment through and through; Grade: D+ . . From there, we went to the MALL to get some FAMOUS DAVE'S, as it was opening day. The BBQ place is owned by the same guy that signs my checks, and I wanted to try to eat there to see the inside and such. Well, it was quite busy, because when anything new opens up in the Antelope Valley, everyone has to check it out. We decided on having a GREAT STEAK for lunch instead, and that was a wise decision indeed. We trotted around the MALL, finally ending up at the Clearance rack at ANCHOR BLUE, where I found 2 CY Shirts and 2 sweaters (plain, don't worry - they're not COSBY-type) for the minimal price of $45. It would have been over $100 had they not been on sale. I love CLEARANCE!!! My girl is so good to me - she shops with me so well (although I shop with her too. . .). Time well spent.
- Anybody watching the WINTER OLYMPICS? Yeah, me neither.
- When I got home from work on Saturday, I watched all of the NBA All-Star stuff that I'd TIVO'd. I love All-Star Weekend! The NBA is my one true sports love, and I will follow it as long as I draw breaths. I enjoyed the Dunk Contest, which has lately been quite disappointing. I actually jumped off of the couch after two of the dunks, both of which you can view here ( http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/allstar2006/news/story?id=2335818 - 1: the Iguodala "off the back of the backboard" dunk and 2: the Robinson "over Spud" dunk). Great stuff.
- I did have school today (unfortunately) and it was kind of a lame day all around. HISTORY was the usual note-taking class. No PHILOSOPHY today, as Dr. Zhu cancelled class. So, I went to my car and worked on homework until COMMUNICATIONS which was b-o-r-i-n-g!!!! My ASTRONOMY test was great, up until the multiple choice section. The math in that class is very basic (plug-in and solve, essentially) but the MC just kicks me in the butt. We'll see how the curve helps me on this one. I was outta there by 1500 today and then it was to work at 1700 tonight.
- I have a GINORMOUS secret, but I cannot reveal it until I am given permission. Let's just say that I'm stoked and that I'm more content with my present situation now.
- O I also used my Debit card for the first time today! It was pretty exciting (although it would have been cooler had no money come out of my checking accout) as I pulled into SHELL and didn't have to go in and hand the checker lady my cash. This was exciting! Let me celebrate. .
And that's about all I can go with at this moment in time. I'm tired. I do have a free day tomorrow (my only day off this week, plus no school) so that is nice. I hope everyone has a great Wednesday and if everything goes as planned, I won't blog until Thursday night. You'll be okay, trust me. . .
- - - "You can think I'm wrong, but that's no reason to quit thinking."
- - - Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) on an episode of HOUSE; He's my new hero. . .
Goodnight folkages,
The Rambler
Friday, February 17, 2006
Curious Capote and An Early Evening
Isn't alliteration fun?
Happy Friday (Saturday is in 10 minutes) little kiddies! I hope that the first day of a 4-day-weekend (for some) was a great one for everybody. I've had a rather eventful 2 days, and I know that you're just dying to hear about it in the crazy, rambling way that I tell it. Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint you. . .
I had school yesterday. History went by as usual. Philosophy was kinda interesting. This one kid was hardcore arguing (albeit respectfully) with Dr. Zhu about what sentence was the conclusion and all that kind of jazz. It was funny to listen to, because he was so adament that his answer was correct. Too bad the teacher disagreed. Communications was not interesting at all. It was actually kinda funny because we were talking about the process of listening and even discussed the ineffective ways of listening. I'm not completely sure what she said though (I was hearing, not listening ha ha). Astronomy was easy and brief, as it was a review day for our test on Tuesday. I was out of there a little after 1500 and on my way home.
I got home and didn't do all that much (a little NBA LIVE action) until 1645. Then I took Caleb to DCHS and waited for my mom and Aimee to get out of their little meeting they had. You see, I was helping my dad out. My mom and he had planned to go out to dinner for a late Valentine's dinner last night. Well, little did she know that he had planned to make her dinner and have a nice little night together. I was willing to help cuz I thought it was a great idea and I found it to be quite romantic. Hints of me. . . Anyway, I got Aimee and the 3 Gott kids headed to CINEMARK 22 to see CURIOUS GEORGE. This was the only film that Caleb could see. It was a cute family movie (geared towards the little ones) that had some funny moments thanks mostly to David Cross. The monkey was cute (Heather, you'll love him!) and the story was innocent and kick-back. Nothing special, but not a complete waste of time. The role of Jack Johnson as the "background music" upgrades this film a single letter grade, thus - Grade: B- . . . After the movie (which Caleb loved) we went to IN-N-OUT for dinner. I wasn't sure what to do then because it was only 1915 and I told my dad I'd come back between 2000 and 2030. I needed another hour. Well, by the suggestion of my wonderful Heather, we attempted CHUCK-E-CHEESE'S. We spent around 45 minutes playing arcade games and the time flew by. Once we were done there, I took them through the AVC parking lot and showed Caleb my "new school". After that it was home again home again. My parents had a great dinner (salmon, which apparently was quite good) and were playing MARIO KART when we returned. Fun stuff.
After all of the hubbub of telling them of our evening, I wandered upstairs to play some more NBA LIVE. It was then that I decided to see the 2135 showing of CAPOTE right back at CINEMARK 22. This is the last of the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture for me to see. This was also the last showing of it in Lancaster, for as of today, it is no longer at a local theatre. So, I got my lazy butt up and went and saw the critically-acclaimed film. For me, it was a pretty good film, but not one that rocked my world. What did rock my world was Philip Seymour Hoffman's amazing performance. He was just plain incredible at playing the lispy, dark, and brilliant Truman Capote. The night before the OSCARS air in March, I will give my predictions and hopeful picks, and you can expect Hoffman to be named somewhere in there! About the film though, it kept me interested for the full 2 hours and really kept the tension well. But it's all about the Hoffman performance. Grade: B+
I got home around 2330 and went to bad soon thereafter. I woke up this morning around 1000 and puttered around til 1230 or so. I did some homework for my online class and played a little more NBA LIVE (I beat the Lakers - I'm the SUNS of course - 119-112 in overtime!) before I had to get ready for work. I left around 1525 and made a stop at the Mall. I found BORDERS and went in and bought IN COLD BLOOD, the "non-fiction novel" that is the subject of the aforementioned CAPOTE film. I thought that I would read it because it sounded really good based on the film. I look forward to beginning a book that I can read for fun!
Happy Friday (Saturday is in 10 minutes) little kiddies! I hope that the first day of a 4-day-weekend (for some) was a great one for everybody. I've had a rather eventful 2 days, and I know that you're just dying to hear about it in the crazy, rambling way that I tell it. Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint you. . .
I had school yesterday. History went by as usual. Philosophy was kinda interesting. This one kid was hardcore arguing (albeit respectfully) with Dr. Zhu about what sentence was the conclusion and all that kind of jazz. It was funny to listen to, because he was so adament that his answer was correct. Too bad the teacher disagreed. Communications was not interesting at all. It was actually kinda funny because we were talking about the process of listening and even discussed the ineffective ways of listening. I'm not completely sure what she said though (I was hearing, not listening ha ha). Astronomy was easy and brief, as it was a review day for our test on Tuesday. I was out of there a little after 1500 and on my way home.
I got home and didn't do all that much (a little NBA LIVE action) until 1645. Then I took Caleb to DCHS and waited for my mom and Aimee to get out of their little meeting they had. You see, I was helping my dad out. My mom and he had planned to go out to dinner for a late Valentine's dinner last night. Well, little did she know that he had planned to make her dinner and have a nice little night together. I was willing to help cuz I thought it was a great idea and I found it to be quite romantic. Hints of me. . . Anyway, I got Aimee and the 3 Gott kids headed to CINEMARK 22 to see CURIOUS GEORGE. This was the only film that Caleb could see. It was a cute family movie (geared towards the little ones) that had some funny moments thanks mostly to David Cross. The monkey was cute (Heather, you'll love him!) and the story was innocent and kick-back. Nothing special, but not a complete waste of time. The role of Jack Johnson as the "background music" upgrades this film a single letter grade, thus - Grade: B- . . . After the movie (which Caleb loved) we went to IN-N-OUT for dinner. I wasn't sure what to do then because it was only 1915 and I told my dad I'd come back between 2000 and 2030. I needed another hour. Well, by the suggestion of my wonderful Heather, we attempted CHUCK-E-CHEESE'S. We spent around 45 minutes playing arcade games and the time flew by. Once we were done there, I took them through the AVC parking lot and showed Caleb my "new school". After that it was home again home again. My parents had a great dinner (salmon, which apparently was quite good) and were playing MARIO KART when we returned. Fun stuff.
After all of the hubbub of telling them of our evening, I wandered upstairs to play some more NBA LIVE. It was then that I decided to see the 2135 showing of CAPOTE right back at CINEMARK 22. This is the last of the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture for me to see. This was also the last showing of it in Lancaster, for as of today, it is no longer at a local theatre. So, I got my lazy butt up and went and saw the critically-acclaimed film. For me, it was a pretty good film, but not one that rocked my world. What did rock my world was Philip Seymour Hoffman's amazing performance. He was just plain incredible at playing the lispy, dark, and brilliant Truman Capote. The night before the OSCARS air in March, I will give my predictions and hopeful picks, and you can expect Hoffman to be named somewhere in there! About the film though, it kept me interested for the full 2 hours and really kept the tension well. But it's all about the Hoffman performance. Grade: B+
I got home around 2330 and went to bad soon thereafter. I woke up this morning around 1000 and puttered around til 1230 or so. I did some homework for my online class and played a little more NBA LIVE (I beat the Lakers - I'm the SUNS of course - 119-112 in overtime!) before I had to get ready for work. I left around 1525 and made a stop at the Mall. I found BORDERS and went in and bought IN COLD BLOOD, the "non-fiction novel" that is the subject of the aforementioned CAPOTE film. I thought that I would read it because it sounded really good based on the film. I look forward to beginning a book that I can read for fun!
It was then time for work. I was there at 1600 and TTed until 2100, when I was prematurely cut. I was completely fine with it, though, as I didn't feel like working tonight. We were not busy at all for a Friday night. I may have made $40. But hey, that's $40 that I didn't have before tonight. Some fellow graduates of DCHS (Class of 2005 as well) came in tonight so that was kinda cool. My good buddy Tom was among them, and it was really nice to see him (You still need a haircut pal). We might grab lunch tomorrow. That'll be fun.
Well as much as I'd like to share some more anecdotes and such, it's after 0100 and my wonderful Heather is on the phone. I miss her so much and I really wanna chat with her as I fall asleep. Hope everyone's Saturday and Sunday is great and I'll see in the next edition of THE WEEKEND GRAB-BAG.
Goodnight - -
- - - "Ever since I was a child, folks have thought they had me pegged, because of the way I am, the way I talk. And they're always wrong." - - - Truman Capote
The Rambler
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