And I'm Back

I have taken, recently, to posting several blogs at once and then just changing all of the dates and times so that it looks like I update my blog on a regular basis. I thought about doing that today, as if I haven't added a blog in two weeks, but I couldn't think of any entries to add, so you all get a brief reprieve. Next week may bring something different. The last couple of weeks have been very busy, finishing a semester at school, starting a new one, working two jobs, reading lots of Janet Evanovich books, watching Gilmore Girls with Amanda B., attending a concert wherein Nathan Haley performed, having drinks at bars with Sarah, seeing Spiderman 3, and watching season finales. Yet, I don't feel the need to write in length about all of that. Usually I do lots of television coverage on this blog, but that has probably changed almost permanently. Which is the topic of this week's blog.

Creatively, I have been branching out quite rapidly. The biggest news right now is The Good, The Bad, & The Geeky, a podcast available on iTunes or through Dribble for Kids. I cohost with my good friend Nick Arganbright. It is entertainment based, thus no need for me to write down all of that on here, as I already give my views in length in a public forum. We also read e-mails of listeners, talk movies, news, etc. We plan on doing an episode every other week or so, although we just did one yesterday and have plans to do one Saturday in a special Season Finale Spectacular two parter! If you didn't check out our previous podcast (The No Name Show), which was very irregular and unstructured, it is still available on iTunes, but this new one is drastically different.

Also, the issue I wrote for Dribble for Kids will begin appearing online in the not too distant future, An Actor's Nightmare Book 3 is still on schedule for a fall release, short stories have continued to appear on my web site (the most recent will be up within the week), and I plan to launch a series of sitcom scripts online in the fall, as if it were a real television show. Lots to keep me busy right now. Plus school, work, a possible move...

Stay tuned and I'll keep you updated!

Qop! (from The Simpsons: "24 Minutes" / 400th episode!)
(Jack Bauer) Chloe, I need those schematics now!
(Bart) Who is this?
(Jack) I'm Jack Bauer - who the hell are you?
(Bart) Me? I'm, uh, Ahmed Adoodie (pronounced "I Made a Doodie")
(Jack) Chloe, find out all you can about Ahmed Adoodie. Does anyone there know Ahmed Adoodie?
(Chloe) Ahmed Adoodie - wealthy Saudi financier. Disappeared into Afghanistan in the late '90s.
(Jack) Really?
(Chloe) No, Jack, it's a joke name. You're being set up!
(Jack) Dammit!

I've Been Busy

Yeah, yeah, I know I haven't posted. I've been busy! So sue me. So what have I been doing? Grad school, teaching, working at Champps, my social life, writing, and working on some new projects. BTW, the first five hours of 24 this season are 5 of the greatest hours of television so far.
I did watch the President's State of the Union speech. At first, it was ok, then it went downhill and only got worse. We are in a sorry state, but its no wonder that Bush's approval rating had dropped to an all time low of 28% before the speech. I haven't what it was after, but I can't imagine it was high. His education, immigration, and insurance plans are woefully inadequate. He said he wanted to cut back on our oil consumption, then vowed to increase our supply. Make up your mind! He promised to balance the budget, but plans to balloon the military. It was ugly. The only great part was the beginning, when he praised Nancy Pelosi for before the first woman Speaker. I think McCain and Guiliani can kiss their presidential aspirations away for jumping on board Bush's war plans. I'm sad to see Kerry drop out already, but there are better qualified cantidates running, so that wasn't so bad. I really think that if Bush can, he will reinstitute the draft and invade Iran. Thank goodness for the Democrat congress or we'd all be screwed.

Qop! (from Boston Legal)
(referring to imagining New Orleans)
Alan Shore (James Spader): Nobody could I suppose. Unless they were there.
Denny Crane (William Shatner): I was there. Well, I flew over it in my Gulfstream. Doesn't that count?
Alan: To some.

Denny: I like diversity. I date midgets.
Alan: And their moms.

Musings Part 1,383,292... or so it seems :)

So I've been watching Dawson's Creek (Lisa, you can read this. I won't spoil anything). The final season came out and of course I'm addicted to watching it, and of course being emotionally moved, sometimes to tears, as Dawson often does to me. But instead of getting into that, because I don't want to spoil anything for Lisa, I've been thinking about my life and intrests. When I was younger, I read constantly. I was incluenced greatly by Judy Blume, Beverly Clearly, Bruce Coville, Lynn Reid Banks, L. Frank Baum... and then later by Peter David, J.K. Rowling, Diane Carey, and many others. It was probably part of the reason I turned to writing. I wrote my first chapter book in 3rd grade. I have been writing ever since. In contrast, tv meant very little to me. A couple of years ago, however, I discovered what great storytelling can exist on tv. Yes, I still do enjoy the occasional dumb sitcom, but my fascination with tv stems from my fascination with storytelling, not because I'm a couch potato junkie. I couldn't imagine tv shows as good as books until I discovered Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek, Firefly, Felicity, Lost, 24, and a host of others. The people that create this stuff (Joss Whedon, Ira Steven Behr, J.J. Abrams, etc.) are every bit as good a writer as the authors I loved. The actors they choose bring their stories to life, and while I still love books, there's a lot to be said for television, which is now in it's renaisance. Especially the serial series. When I was writing my first published book, I was just starting to discover the tv world. I think it did influence my writing. I imagined that book as a television season, and I would be thrilled beyond measure if someday it became one. I like to tell a serial story, where the part fit together, the story goes on for years, but it's one long story. One that is complicated, with characters that grow and change. I don't think I'm awesome at it, but I'm not ashamed of my first book, and I think my stories will continue to get better. I live life through my stories since I'm not leading the life I dream of. If I'm lucky, someday I will get to. We'll see. If you haven't read my book, please do so, then if you like it tell everyone. I will follow my dream of telling stories. In the meantime, I'm back to Dawson and watching others' stories. I need to know what's going to happen to Dawson, Joey, Pacey, Jenn, Jack, Grams, Todd, Audrey, Natasha, and the rest!

Qop! (from Season Six of Dawson's Creek)
Joey: Dawson, I'm sorry I don't have the same dreams I had when I was 15 years old, and I'm sorry that I moved on faster than you did, but you know what? Maybe not everything that happens to you is my fault! And maybe just because I want more from my life than...
Dawson: More than what? More than us? You don't know, do you? You've never known. The entire time I've known you, all you've wanted to do is escape. From me, from Capeside. I mean, you say that I'm the dreamer. I'm the one who doesn't wanna live in the real world. Well, I'm doing it, Joey. Right now. I'm living in the real world. It's you who wants the fantasy

Random TV Mouthoff

Ok, so the string of shows that I try to keep up with have been frustrating me recently, so hear goes the mouthing off in no particular order. Audrey is not a villian, and they had better not kill of D.B. on 24. Can't wait for Michelle Forbes on Prison Break, and I think Mexican guy is gonna save the day on the execution. Why isn't Ted chasing after his girlfriend, or at least hooking up with Robin on How I Met Your Mother. I am sorry Lost but I am sick of your damn reruns. The West Wing has only three episodes left. I'm glad Toby is getting his focus and I hope he gets cleared even if he doesn't deserve it. Josh had better get back with Donna. Oh, and I hope they find Ainsley-Hayes in the basement. Grey's Anatomy continues to deliver consistently. Take a cue Desperate Housewives, whose place it has switched, although DW has it's moments. The Loop is good, Free Ride is ok, and Sons & Daughters is on it's last leg with me, even though it just premiered. I miss Joey. One episode back and it's gone again. Maybe it's for the best. Four Kings is back and good, Out of Practice is almost back, and where did Crumbs go? I couldn't care less about American Idol anymore. Mandisa is going to lose and there's not really anyone else great left. Sorry Paris. On Will & Grace, I am disappointed Taye ended up being such an ass. Well, Grace will get with Leo and Will will get with the policeman and Jack will be disappointed, but keep chasing. I am already showing that I watch too much tv, aren't I? If it weren't for the actors on Bones I would have stopped watching, although it is good. And Veronica Mars is going to have a thrilling end. Can't think of anything else. Thank goodness these shows aren't on every week or I'd be dead.

Qop! (24)
"Who is your informant?"
"Audrey Rains."
"No!"
"Everyone has their price."

24 Season Six

As we were watching 24 tonight, I came up with an absolutely ridiculous idea for 24's sixth (and if they did it) final season. Here is how it would go:
It has been 18 months since Season 5...
6PM-7PM Jack arrives at his hosue to find it dark. Tony is with him. They go in, sneaking through the house in suspicion. Jack pulls out his gun and shoots Edgar as the lights come up for...his bachelor party!
7PM-8PM Edgar has died, but they just party over him as he is too fat to move. Jack starts to get totally blitzed, and dances on the table. Tony, Curtis, Buchanon, Chase, Mike, Aaron, Palmer's brother, and Lynne all party with him.
8PM-9PM The stripper shows up. It's Mrs. Logan! That damn Edgar booked her. What an idiot.
9pm-10PM Jack has gotten so drunk that he sleeps with Kim anyway. She passed out and he and Tony, the only two still standing, head out on the town with only mild protests from Lynne.
10PM-11PM Jack goes to a strip club. Kim is the dancer! Oh, well. He's so drunk he sleeps with her too. Meanwhile Mrs. Logan has awoken and tracked him down. Cat fight.
11pm-12AM Mrs. Logan and Kim have both been injured and taken to CTU hopsital. Jack and Tony keep bar hopping.
12AM-1AM Audrey wakes up and begins to prepare. It takes a lot of time to make her pretty.
1AM-2AM More uproarious partying, more preparing.
2AM-3AM Jack falls down beside Michelle, Terry, Palmer, and all the other character's graves, weeping. Audrey is still primping.
3AM-4AM Some terrorist stuff begins to happen. Chloe shows up and upsets Aubrey when she tells her that she's fucking ugly.
4AM-5AM Jack discovers that Tony is a mole and tortures him.
5AM-6AM Jack discovers Tony is actually a good mole working for Palmer, who isn't really dead.
6AM-7AM Jack takes his new info to Logan, who immediately surrenders the country to France, just in case. Chloe makes a cameo because we miss her.
7AM-8AM Jack stops the terrorists. Audrey is now done with makeup, ready to start hair.
8AM-9AM Mike and Aaron wake up, assume that they were all drugged, and head off to find Mrs. Logan and ask her what happened. Chloe again insults Mrs. Logan
9AM-10AM An evil baker steals the cake. Mrs. Logan is carted off to a mental institution because her husband doesn't believe she is actually a stripper, as he hasn't slept with her in years.
10AM-11AM Jack discovers the evil baker was hired by Edgar, with the help of Chloe. He recovers the cake. Chloe covers him and shoots people.
11AM-12PM Terrorists come back and demand that Jack be handed over to China for execution.
12PM-1PM Jack fights the would-be assasian, the lesbian from every season. She escapes, but we will never see her again.
1PM-2PM Jack defeats China and gets them to surrender to Logan, who is so surprised and startled he surrenders to Ethipopia. Mrs. Logan escapes the mental ward and tries to kill Audrey to win Jack's heart.
2PM-3PM The wedding planner is late and the wedding is in chaos! Jack's friends are all off searching for him, including Tony who has finally been released. They assume he must have died.
3PM-4PM Audrey is told that Jack is dead. A whole day's beauty work is ruined. Jack goes looking for the wedding planner.
4PM-5PM Jack discovers the wedding planner is nine hours away. he makes it to her in 15 minutes.
5PM-6PM Jack's friends arrive at the wedding, Audrey realizes he's alive, Chloe ruins the wedding by opening her mouth, but they get married anyway. Then, because the series is over and the producers want to delight the fans, Chloe kills Kim for no reason.

Qop!
"This epsiode takes place between (insert hour) and (insert hours) on the Day of the California Presidential Primary." ~ 24 Season One Opening
"Beruit, I've been shot!" ~ Beige Queen, 24
"I did it for you, David." ~ Sherry Palmer, 24

Happy Birthday Timmy J!

Tomorrow would have been Timothy Jesser's birthday. I miss him. We had a little party for him on Saturday at T.G.I.Fridays. It was great. Friends, teachers, his family, fun, cake, food, pictures, and memories. I am so glad we did it. I don't know how much else to put on here about it because I've written about it before and I've said what I wanted to say, several times over. I am dedicating my first book to him, had planned on it since I first started writing, so that will be my tribute.
Then a bunch of us went to see The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I had no desire to see it because it looked scary, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was a courtroom thing with flashbacks to the exorcism and while those were a bit startling, it was very well done. And it was based on a true story. This girl named Emily died and the priest who had earlier performed an unsuccessful exorcism on her was charged for negligence for encouraging her to abandon medical treatment. It was very dramatic and cool. I won't tell you how it ends. The priest and his lawyer were great actors, and it had our favorite beige queen from last season's 24.
Continuing with season premiere critiques, American Dad's Patrick Stewart heavy premiere was great. Stan's liberal daughter begins seeing his conservative, very old, boss (Stewart). The sex jokes out of Stewart's mouth are hilarious. Family Guy was even funnier. Brian began dating Meg's black teacher, and Peter decided he would replace Brian's friendship with James Woods. There was a great scene on the bridge of the Enterprise-D with Stewart and Michael Dorn and possibly Jonathan Frakes lending their voices. That is it so far on the premieres, although I have to comment that The Flight That Fought Back on Discovery was very moving. It was about Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11

Qop! (long one, but good; from the Buffy episode "Flood")
GILES: (over his shoulder) You're a very stupid girl.
WILLOW: What? Giles...
GILES: (turns to face her) Do you have any idea what you've done? The forces you've harnessed, the lines you've crossed?
WILLOW: I thought you'd be ... impressed, or, or something.
GILES: Oh, don't worry, you've ... made a very deep impression. Of everyone here ... you were the one I trusted most to respect the forces of nature.
WILLOW: Are you saying you don't trust me?
GILES: (intensely) Think what you've done to Buffy.
WILLOW: I brought her back!
GILES: At incredible risk!
WILLOW: Risk? Of what? Making her deader?
GILES: Of killing us all. Unleashing hell on Earth, I mean, shall I go on?
WILLOW: No! (stands) Giles, I did what I had to do. I did what nobody else could do.
GILES: Oh, there are others in this world who can do what you did. You just don't want to meet them. (turns away again)
WILLOW: No, probably not, but ... well, they're the bad guys. I'm not a bad guy. (upset) I brought Buffy back into this world, a-and maybe the word you should be looking for is "congratulations."
GILES: Having Buffy back in the world makes me feel ... indescribably wonderful, but I wouldn't congratulate you if you jumped off a cliff and happened to survive.
WILLOW: That's not what I did, Giles.
GILES: (angry) You were lucky.
WILLOW: I wasn't lucky. I was amazing. And how would you know? You weren't even there.
GILES: If I had been, I'd have bloody well stopped you. The magicks you channeled are more ferocious and primal than anything you can hope to understand, (even more angry) and you are lucky to be alive, you rank, arrogant amateur!

Randomness Yet Again

Ok, so it is too much to put all my memories in one week, so I am doing one year per week. Here are a few more freshmen memories that I thought of, and then I have some fun news headline for you all!
FRESHMAN:
~Erin and Esther and Kelly lipsinking I Touch Myself as Erin and Esther danced on Nathan andI ~My Christmas party: Julie, Nora, Cindy, Brianna, Esther, Erin, Nathan, and WJ crashers
~Going to see a midnight CPC movie with Kenny starring Jolie and falling asleep
~Enterprise premiered
~Tricking Amber and K with my Wizard trick
~Staying at the Hilton at Easton for band tour

INSANE NW HEADLINES - SIGNS OF THE END TIMES??? :)
~Governor Taft was voted the least approved governor in the country by the first ever all-governor poll. He only got a 19% approval rating. The next highest had 27%. Taft sucks.
~Girl from Portsmouth found to have Lyme Disease - green braclets made to support her
~Cell phones are costing colleges tons of money in lost phone charges and having to dial long distance numbers to reach students. Boo-hoo.
~Two people who were bad at reading maps flew over DC and caused a panic that evacuated the White House and the Capital. Hahaha. The men were not charged as it was an accident.
~Another proof of gayness is genetic, not a choice. Gay men have been found to read maps like straight women - badly. They don't have spatial intelligence.
~ Jennifer Garner is pregnant and engaged to Affleck, whose ex J-Lo is in a movie opposite Garnmer's ex Michael Vartan
~ABC is remaking The Ten Commandments because they like screwing with classics. Naveen Andrews of Lost will play Menerith. They start filming May 23.
~ West Virginia is trying to start their own Hollywood Walk of Fame. Their first entry? Don Knotts
~Elf found hanging in tree

And Question Week Continues!
Tuesday - Why do they sell boxes of boxes?
Wednesday - Does anybody really know what time it is?
Thursday - Does anybody really care?

Qop!
"I didn't feel anything at all. I hope I'm not some kind of psychopath." ~ Chloe to Edgar on 24

Bonus Qops!
"We don't have time for your personality disorder." ~ said to Chloe on 24
"If you need to talk to someone, I'm here. You know, not now, later." ~ Chloe to Jack on 24

Don't Throw That In The House!

So you know how your parents never let your throw footballs in the house? Good thing this apartment isn't our parents' house! Last night Phil and I started a rousing game of keepaway from April, then Tim and Kayla joined in in guys vs. girls. It was so much. We played for over an hour. Though there were some close calls, we didn't actually break anything. Tim's mom came over, but though I asked her to, she didn't scold her son. She just laughed at us. Needless to say, the guys won. The girls pulled a view minor victories, and I can't believe April found the ball when we hid it in the refrigerator, but the men were victorious overall. We did out number the girls, but that's beside the point. It was so much fun.

TV Season Finale Updates - West Wing rocked. Of course. Desperate Housewives and Lost did recaps this week. Ugh. Seeing Enterprise on the big screen with Lisa and Michael on the Friday the 13th. 24 this week was so amazing! Chloe kicks ass!!! And Alias was equally enthralling. Elena Derevco (sp?) OMG!?!?!? Can't wait for the return of Lena Olin. That's it for this week

Qop!
"I'm the Slayer...Slay-er. Chosen one? She who hangs out a lot in cemetaries...? 'In every genera-' You know. I really don't feel like doing the routine. Ask around. Look it up: 'Slayer comma The.'"

Vegas Or Buzzzzzzzt

So I am supposed to be packing right now to go catch a flight to Vegas and get married (sorry, Jess. We did two years ago. Time for an annollment) but somebody (cough)April(cough) went to bed instead because she can't even stay awake for her own wedding. :) Ok, joking aside, work sucks. My college loans finally came through but I'm still not enrolled in this quarter. My work tried to cut my bonus for last quarter but not anyone else's (they 'accidentally forgot'), and my car is broken and needs fixed. I have the worst luck with cars. And yet I'm in a pretty good mood anyway. Ah, well.

Qop!
"You just like the alien butt sex." ~ Jenn Meister

Bonus Qop!
"I did it for you David!" ~ Michael imitating Penny Johnson Jerald a.k.a. Sherry Palmer

Arrrrgh

So life just pain sucks right now. Incredibly busy, and of course things are falling apart faster than I can fix them, as has been the case many times in my life, but I feel this is te worst. I may not even be at graduation...or in this apartment next week. I don't know. We'll see. Plus my parents have been particularly nasty as of late, having left me several angry voice mails about something I told them I would not have time to take care of until Saturday morning, but that I would do it on Saturday. So why another voice mail tonight? Because they don't listen! The worst part is, the idea of giving up has never seemed more attractive either. I was so tempted today to empty my bank account to pay rent and move into some little apartment and just not tell anyone where I was. Yes, I would still have to go to work and stuff so people would find me, and even if I didn't answer my phone people still have my number, and I really don't want to cut myself off from everyone permanently. Just for a day or two. Read Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus and you'll understand. I need my man cave. It is a very insiteful book. Anyway, the reason I didn't do all that was because as much as I fear the bad things, I fear losing the good things even more. Road trips. Throwing football in the courtyard last night. Movie nights on Sundays. Drinking with my friends. 24, Alias & Lost nights. And a girl. There is always a girl. The latest one came on rather suddenly and unexpectedly. Again, not someone I will probably ever date or even approach, but a girl is always inspirational. This one is a bit different, not because I think she would reject me, but because of awkwardness or hurt with friends because of it. So I'll drop it. Anyway, too bad it never amounts to anything. The belief that same day it will keeps me getting up in the morning. And not giving up. So in that way, thank you to all the girls I've ever crushed on, even though most of you never knew it, and I don't think any of you read this blog. :)

Qop! (very random)
"So Dawn's in trouble. It must be Tuesday."
~ Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in reference to her sister (Michelle Trachtenberg), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "Once More, With Feeling" (the musical episode)

Drunken Jesus Gaypants

Ok, so my title today my offend some people. I hope it doesn't as it is intended soley as a joke. Well, sort of. You see, my birthday this year, while on Saturday, and during spring break, falls the day before Easter Sunday. You see my dilema about a party? So I will be having it the following Friday, the Friday of Spring Quarter Week One for all your Otterbeiners, and April Fool's Day (April 1st) for everyone else. Obviously this occasion calls for something way more than normal festivities. So it is going to be a toga party. And a Last Supper-themed party. Weird enough for you yet? I am going to try to get goblets to drink our "wine" or whatever out of. Scott Henning will appear as Jesus and I will be John or Mary Magdalen. Which is it in that famous painting? We'll pose for the Last Supper, take pictures of us performing lewd acts, and get totally wasted! Sound like fun? Mark your calendars.

Also, I updated other parts of my web site! I know it's been months since I did that, but I'm up late anyway and it seemed like a good idea. Check it out.

Qop! (from my friend Michael during a recent viewing of 24, when Tony & Jack were talking:)
"Hey, remember that time we both fucked Nina?"

Season Premieres

Ok, I vow to you all to post at least 10 times a month all year (kudos to me if I post 15). So far it is the 10th and this is my 3rd post so I'm not doing too bad, even though it's been a week since my last one. I need to step it up and post every 3rd day. Just to clarify the rules it's 10 posts on 10 different days. No fair of quick posts on same day, although you never know if I might cheat with a little before midnight / after midnight thing. :) Ok, onto this post.

Nick, thank you for your somewhat long but interesting post. I could reciprocate in kind, but I am exhausted and have a hard time narrowing it down. Jersey Girl, Steel Magnolias, AI, Jerry Maguire, and American Wedding certainly all top the list. Addicted to Love and Eternal Sunshine suck though dude! :)

The real point of my post today: Season premieres! They're all in and let's take a quick look at shows just starting or coming back from hiatus:
Joey - Back to it's season with hilarious Lucy Liu. I like this show, but it does lack something. However, it won a People's Choice Award so I think it'll be ok. Most sitcoms start out slow...
Will & Grace - I love this show, but I do hope that next season is it's last. This season so could have been. Getting a little old.
The West Wing - Can I tell you how excited I am about this election? I needed a little pick-me-up after black Tuesday (REMINDER: Wear all black on inaugeration day!) With Leo's heart attack and Donna and Josh quitting, this show just keeps getting better and better. I kind of want the republican Alan Alda to win, but I think Jimmy Smits has it in the bag. Of course, dealing with gay marriage this week, all I have to say is, it's about time. And why can't we elect Jed Bartlett as our real life president?
Lost - just keeps getting better. I love Daniel Dae Kim. I want to see more of his character, and Locke. I swear they're in purgatory!
Desperate Housewives - Oh yeah! Mike is gonna go to jail! :( But can't Terry sing? Oh baby! And she's very hot! :)
Point Pleasant - Premieres next Wednesday, January 19th. Can't wait. The Antichrist. Yikes!
Alias - Great opening! My jaw lie on the floor when Sydney got fired, and I loved Marshall's arrest and "Sloane's here." They so need to bring Weiss in on it. It's gonna kick ass this season. And no matter what anyone says, Irena cannot be dead!
24 - The best opener this season. 4 brand new episodes! How crazy is that? Jack robbing the gas station was great, and I so called the tea as soon as the mother offered to make it. I miss everyone (except Chloe who I hate and wish was gone), but they'd better all come back later this season! How cool would a strike force of Jack, Palmer, Chase, Tony, Michelle, and D.B. Woodside be? I mean seriously.

Also, thanks to all my homies who I watch most of these shows with. They wouldn't be the same without conversations of ice cubes, gasoline, the 24 monarchy, and lyme disease. You all rock!

NEW FEATURE: QUOTE OF THE POST (Or Qop, because it sounds funny):
(From the Bob & Tom Show today: "Budda was too fat to hang on the cross, so they said 'Well, just let him sit quietly.'"

Should Auld Aquaintance Be Forgot...

I know it's been a very long time since I've updated but I've been swamped. In honor of New Year's, I'm going to list recent disappoinments and pleasant surprises. Not a recap of the whole year, but a brief summary of the last few weeks.

Pleasant Surprises:
Entertainment - DeLovely on DVD - I love that movie, not really a surprise, but glad it's out
Blade Trinity - Ryan Reynolds is hilarious! Still haven't seen the first two.
Modest Mouse - they rock
Ben Folds - finally enough bad memories gone to truly enjoy him
BNL Christmas - wasn't really a suprise!
24 - Amazing! Almost done with Season 3. Season 4 premieres in a week and a half.
Ocean's Twelve - all I can say is awesome!
Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical (see above comment)
*Seeing The Producers tomorrow! Will update on that!
Other stuff - Black Cherry Smirnoff - mmmm!
I can get along with two of my three brothers awesomely!
Fun New Year's especially at Kristen & Amanda's
Actually dating again
Harry Potter 6 - July 16
Lemony Snicket
getting inot better shape

Disappoinments:
Watermelon Smirnoff
Christmas With the Kranks
not doing the New Year's Eve I planned
certain alienations from friends
not getting in shape as fast as I wanted to

And the biggest thing on my mind these past few weeks... Marriage
I am currently 17 months younger than my mom was when she got married, which was the age I always planned to get married. I figured date a couple of years, be engaged a year...obviously that timeline is shot. I thought I had accepted it. Then I found out my cousin, three months my younger, is getting married on June 24, 2006. I am happy for her. Her guy is great. Still disappointing. I should be first. My parents only were together 11 months before marriage, but I don't see myself rushing into anything that fast. Although I guess you never know. Still, with my cousin getting married, it's weighing heavily on me. I'm finally dating again, but I wouldn't say anything is even close to looking at long term, which is a disappointment to me because I really want to be married now. Of course, I could only marry someone I was in love with, so that hurts things. Plus I need to know they are the one, and I honestly don't know if I've met that person yet. I have two ex's, both of whom I was in love with and considered marriage. The first is getting married soon to someone even younger than I am. I'm happy for them, but it still hurts. The second I was really really really serious about, and I still detest her, and yet I can't help but being emotionally happy that she is happy with someone else. That has been my biggest surprise, since I have so many negative feelings towards her. Yet I think those are from the positive feelings I felt and the way it was ended. I'm still in love, even if I don't like. That sucks. Now I need to find the one...don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining so much about my dating situation, since I am dating a wonderful girl. I just want to know right no who is the one for me for the rest of my life and be with them.

Long Freakin' Update

I am so sorry that I have not updated in so freakin' long. I guess I had better things to do. :) Let's see, last weekend I went to a couple of Christmas parties and directed the WJHS Alumni Band in a one hour outdoor concert. It was too freakin' cold. Then during this week I worked and finally got into 24. I am almost done with freakin' Season One. I still believe I can finish all 3 seasons before the new one premieres. We'll see. Then this past Friday night I had freakin' fun at a party playing Apples & Apples, then went and saw Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortuante Events. It was really freakin' good. It drew some stuff from the later books that happened during the first three but weren't explained until later (I think there will only be 1 movie :(), but It was good. I saw it again on Saturday. Then I directed the 3 hour WJHS Alumni Band concert at Flyer's, which was pretty freakin' fun. Then I went to Lisa & Michael's party, which was freakin' freakin' awesome!!! I got pretty drunk, but I had so much fun hanging out with all those people, including some I haven't seen in awhile. Then I sat here and added lots of freakin's to my journal entry just for fun. :)

Another Great Day

That headline doesn't refer to today, although it certainly ended well with a nearly two hour phone conversation to the girl I was out with Friday night. :) Other than that, I worked 12 hours. Yesterday, however was great. After my awesome late Friday night, I slept in until nearly noon on Saturday. Then Tim and I became Manly Men and went out and cut down a tree from a tree farm. Arrg!, as we kept saying. We cut it down, drug it back to the truck, and headed home where we preceeded to act girly again and decorate all day, including a big construction paper fireplace on our wall. So to feel more manly we made a sign with markers that showed how fierce we were with our saws and the tree cowering in fear. Manly, right? LOL. We had a ton of fun decorating until midnight. Nick even came over and made a lifesize Nick from his comic coming out of a gift wrapped box. It is totally cool. And we put lights outside to scare our neighbors. :) So, come check our place out. Bedtime soon. Got to get up. Maybe a little 24 first. I'm not moving nearly fast enough on that. Gotta get through three seasons by the end of the year.

Sorry So Long

Sorry it's been so long since I updated you. I'm sure you were all hanging on edge to find out what's going on this week in my exciting life. :) j/k So it's been hell. Week 10 is over, but I still have an exam Monday morning and a big paper due by Wednesday. Of course, I am working 8-8 next Wednesday and cooking a Thanksgiving buffet dinner for about 100-120 people, so... I have 3 turkeys, pies, and all the trimmings. Yay. Can't wait to switch my job and get out of the kitchen, possibly as soon as the end of this year! Yeah right. It'll prob be like summer, but here's hoping.

So my car died this week. The timing belt or some such thing blew and it's a very expensive repair, so I got the bank to 'refinance my car', which was almost paid off, and I'm going to have to do like an extra 4 car payments at the end. And without a co-signer! Yay! Not too bad because at least it'll get fixed. Plus I get to drive my dad's truck until it's fixed and even though I hate parking it because it's huge, it's a 4 door and a 4 door pickup is pretty cool.

TV wise I finished Boy Meet World Season One and was about to start 24 Season One, but stopped after 1 episode because Friends Season Eight came out. Don't worry, I only have 6 episodes left on it and I will be well into 24 by Thanksgiving. Of course, I need to get Smallville Season 3, and watch Lost which I've been recording since it premiered but never watched it.

Reading wise, I feel bad because I did very little pleasure reading this quarter. I just finished a John Grisham novel (he's really cool) and two Lemony Snicket books in the last couple of days. They are short but great. Read them before the movie hit theaters! My book, I just finished my first edit! I am so excited! I want to work hard and get the second edit done in the next week. It should be much quicker. I want to get the damn thing published! I'm kind of hoping it'll solve all of my money problems, but not really counting on it.

Ok, onto dinner and the Wind Ensemble concert! Adios my amigos!

What A Day

So I finished Alias Season 3 today. It freakin' rocked! I rushed through the season in less than a week, even with school and work. The ending surprise, while I did not predict it, was not so much a surprise. Despite that, I can't wait until January to see Season 4! Now I guess I need to get started on 24. Probably Thursday or Friday. I'm too tired tonight. Well, maybe just one episode....we'll see. Prob not because I want to watch the 3 seasons in 3 24 hour marathons (well, more like 18 hour).

Tonight I got hit in my driver's side door of my car. Again. This is the third time I've been hit in that spot; all 3 times I was parked and not in the car. Only 1 of those 3 times did the person leave me their insurance info so I could actually get the car fixed. It was not this time. This really pisses me off. I mean, have some common human decency! You make a mistake, own up to it! I can't afford to fix my car by the time I pay the deductible. It's going to remain badly dented unless Westerville Police can catch the bastard off of Meijer's surviellence cameras, which is doubtful. I'm too tired to rant anymore. 16 hour shift tomorrow. Night all.

Need Help!!!

I am working on a new facet of my web page. I figured we all have all these television shows we love and I want to share them with everyone. I am going to do A-B-C lists for all the great television shows I am addicted to. I have finished a draft, but some shows are easier to fill than others. I'll include what I have so far, and which ones I need. Please help me out on this! You can rearrange if a person can go under another letter (For instance Kirk could be under K or under J for James Kirk. Tara could be under T or under M for Maclay, Tara, etc.)
Angel, Buffy, Star Trek: The Original Series, The Next Generation, Voyager. Also in production, but not ready to present yet, are Enterprise, Alias, MASH, South Park, Smallville, Friends, and hopefully soon 24. Oh, and where do I put Druscilla? Anyone know her previous name or last name?

ANGEL BUFFY TOS TNG DS9 VOY
Angel Anya April Alexander Adani, Winn Astrometrics
Berkle, Fred Buffy Bones McCoy Barclay, Reg Bashir Borg
Conner Cordelia Chekov Crusher Changelings Chakotay
Darla Dawn Daystrom Data Dukat Doctor
Eve Enterprise Enterprise-D Ezri Equinox
Faith Finn, Riley Finney Flute Fontaine, Vic Fairhaven
Gunn Glorificus Guardian Guinan Garak
Holst Harmony Hikaru Sulu Hill, Dixon Hirogen
Iniative Ilia Iconian
Jasmine Jenny Calendar James Kirk Jellico Jadzia Janeway
Kendra Khan Keiko Kira Kim, Harry
Lorne Library Lester, Janice LaForge Leeta
Master, The Maclay, Tara Mudd, Harry Molly O'Brien Moogie Marquis
Number One Noonien Soong Nog Neelix
Offices, W&H Oz Orions O'Brien Odo
P'Leia (sp?) Potentials Pike Picard Prophets Paris, Tom
Qui'Tu Q Quark Q Continuum
Ring Rupert Giles Rand, Janice Riker Rom
Spike Summers, Joyce Scotty & Spock Sela Sisko(s) Seven of Nine
TPTB The Trio Tribbles Troi Terok Nor Torres & Tuvok
Uber-vamp Uhura Utopia Planitia
Viper Vampire Valeris Vash Vorta Voyager
Wesley Willow Warp Speed Worf Weyoun
Xander Xon Xandi
Yorktown Yar Yates, Kassidy
Zarabeth Zeframe Ziyal OR Zek