YOU DAMN COMMIE BASTARDS!

Can I just say I'm tired of the health care "debate". Not because I don't believe in debate, or because I don't have a position on the issue. I'm sick of it because why are we still talking about it? The democrats control the House, Senate and White House and they can't manage to pass anything? WTF!

And yet, somehow it seems Republicans are "winning" the debate because they somehow managed to turn the President of the United States into some scary communist who is going to kill your grandma because he's actually Hitler.

Let's get real here. Healthcare should not be a for profit industry because your life should not be determined based on profits and loss. There are some things in this world that should not be designed to make big profits for shareholders. Things like schools, healthcare, police, firefighters, etc. Capitalism is all well in good, but shouldn't be allowed to run without checks.

In addition, there is nothing wrong with coming together as a country and paying to make sure we all have an adequate healthcare. It's called community, and being a good neighbor. Plus, with all the talk of how "America is the greatest nation in the world", perhaps we should prove that we're great by saying every person in America will have healthcare.

Finally, the name calling is stupid. The President isn't some commie here to end the world. He's not going to kill old people, and he's not Hitler. People need to stop being stupid, and people spouting utter crazy-ass bullshit need to be marginalized because they're not adding to the "debate" they're just nut jobs spouting garbage which is a reminder why the founding fathers created a representative democracy because the "masses" are too easily manipulated.

Transformers: Revenge of the WHINERS!

SPOILER ALERT! I will be discussing the movie, if you have yet to see it, and don’t want to know, then stop reading until after you’ve seen it. If you don’t give a crap, then by all means, carry on.

Last week we went and saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. We didn’t go on opening night at midnight or anything, that’s totally something I can’t stand to do anymore. Instead we waited and went Thursday or Friday. Well, since we waited I got to read a lot of reviews about how terrible the movie was. Complaints about the plot, about the action scenes, about offensive characters, complaints about too much Meghan Fox in slow motion, etc.

So, going in I had hear craptacular this movie was, yet, when coming out I was confused what everyone’s problem was. I just figured that it was a difference in opinion, and perhaps a few movie critics who have it out for Michael Bay. However, then I hear someone in the cube next to me talking about how they hated it and pretty much regurgitated the movie review that I had read by CNN.

Alright, I don’t get it. What the freak is the problem with it? Let me first say: IT IS A SUMMER ACTION FLICK! Don’t go in expecting to see some Academy Award worthy movie. It’s a summer movie with explosions and special effects BASED ON A TOY! Second, I’m not sure what was so terrible about the script. So, yes they did have some unresolved issues, such as did that crap in Sam’s head ever get out? I don’t recall. However, the overall story seemed to be there: the Decepticons trying to get power and the Autobots trying to stop them. This time there was a secret power thingy hidden under the pyramids. How is that so much worse than a giant cube of power and knowledge hidden in the Hoover Dam? Third, people were complaining about not being able to follow the action scenes, or that it was confusing, etc. I didn’t have that problem. Hint: the Autobots tend to have colors.

Now, there are things I can’t defend. Yes, they did show off Meghan Fox for the boys because they all think she’s hot. I don’t think they over did it with the slow motion as one critic said, but yeah, she was there. They also had two offensive characters that are best described as the Jar Jar Binks of the Transformers movies. They were totally annoying, totally stereotypical, and that’s unfortunate.

Overall, I don’t think this movie was so terrible, and I’m kind of sick of hearing everyone complain about how bad it was. I don’t think it was really any worse than the first one, over all. I’d say I probably liked the first one better, but that doesn’t mean the second one was bad. It’s probably mostly related to the law of diminishing returns, where the first one was new and shiny. Anyhow, that’s my Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen review. On the Bacon movie scale I’d give it at least as “Matinee” however, would consider a rating of “Regular Price” through probably not “IMAX”.

Blogging FAIL!

Yes, I know, I suck at this game. I haven’t posted anything in about a hundred million years… FAIL! But, in my defense, I have been insanely busy. See, back in April we went to Disney World on vacation (YAY!), but for those of you who have stayed there, they don’t provide free internet. So, the week we got back was one week before the show started, and the start of this semester.

When scheduling classes for this semester I though, how about a class every night! Good, right? WRONG! What the heck was I thinking??? Well, I was thinking it’d be a piece of cake, and I should have been right, except for the fact that one of my classes totally SUCKS, one is more work than it should be (especially for a spring class), and the other one is ok so I’m not going to complain about that one. So, in addition to working at the school like EVERY NIGHT, I was at EMU EVERY NIGHT!

By the way, for any of you that didn’t come see Alice in Wonderland, you totally missed out! I really thought we kicked major butt last year with Macbeth, but this year was friggin awesome too! The set was awesome, and the kids did such a good job! Their characters were well done and greatly developed, and it was really just a great show!

So, now what? Well, the show is over, and the semester is done by June 15th! AND I CAN’T WAIT! I have one class in Summer, but that’s not too bad. I really will try to post more, but first I need to start running again… this schedule, I’m telling ya! I miss running… I must run…

Ok, so there you have it, the mini-May-update!

Rumors Of My Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated!

Well, I've been quite crap at updating lately, and that I haven't posted anything in like 3 weeks. So I thought I'd do a little update-ey-do here with the latest news and information.

This Just In:
Semester is over next Thursday, so that's great, except that there's a lot of crap that I have to do before next Thursday. You know what I say about that? F that S in the A! That's what I say about that. It hasn't been a hard semester, but I'm just so over it I can't even care. And I'm a real freak about grades, I'm pissed when, in the rare occurrence, I don't get a 4.0. But this semester I don't care, I just want to be done. A's are great, but I just don't want to read any more about Asian Geography, I'm done with Law in a Constitutional Democracy, I couldn't care less about Interpersonal Communication, I've had enough of Argumentation and Debate, and I have nothing more to learn about the Communications and Theatre Co-Curriculum! So, just give me my grade and let me know. I know I'm not going to get anything below a B, so I don't care, let's get this crap over with!

In Other News:
Last week we were Burdened by a visit from our friend... (it's funny because her last name is Burden... get it?) So that was fun! And with the semester coming to a close, only a week between Winter and Spring semester, and a feeling of F this S in the A... we've decided to go to Florida. That's right, the semester is over and what am I going to do next? I'm going to Disney World, bitches!

For the Editorial:
Here's the deal educators of America... You need to get it together and decide how to use freaking commas! One teacher tells me that I'm excessive with my comma use, the next tells me I don't use it enough. A third says I use it too much, then that I use it too little, and that it really doesn't matter because it's just a personal writing style. WTF! I personally feel my comma usage is appropriate, so friggin get off it, man! Plus, no changing the rules! New rules I think are stupid: Changes in comma use, some one's dumb idea to change spacing after a period, and anything that people do "stylistically" that breaks the rules. Sidebar: Please learn the following differences: There, Their, They're, You're and Your. Yes, they all sound the same. You go THERE. People like THEIR property. And if they don't know the difference THEY'RE morons. Also, your is something that belongs to you, while you're means you are. So as my friend Scott posted, if you say "I'm going to take a goofy picture, what should I take it of" and you respond "Your nuts" you're going to have a very different picture than if you had said "You're nuts!" If you didn't get any of that... FAIL!

In National News:
Apparently the governor of Texas made some comment about secession... Part of me says "What a bunch of friggin dumbasses", then part of me says "If we had just let the South go, we'd never have ended up with Bush... Either way, Texans, just because you were a country before a state doesn't mean it's a good idea to go back to a country. Plus, read your history, man! Texas wanted in the US, but we were like "Pass" for years, which is the only reason you were a country to be begin with. So WTF ever.

In World News:
I want to go to Europe next year. We'll see how that goes. I hate planes, I hate enclosed places, and it's a long flight to and from London. I think I could make it there since it'd be an overnight trip... but I don't know about the return flight. I say take a boat, but that's 6 extra days and I don't like enclosed places or the thought of drowning, so I'd need a room with a veranda, which is more expensive than flying.

Ok, that's my update. I'll try to post more often. But hey, no promises.

I Need A Young Priest, And An Old Priest!

Alright, there are a lot of things that make me go "WTF?!" However, it's not often I think "HOLY SHIT DUDE! THIS IS NUTS! F THAT S IN THE A, MAN!"

Well, the other day while eating lunch I read this article online from TIME. HOLY SHIT DUDE! THIS IS NUTS! F THAT S IN THE A, MAN!

It's an article about this guy who followed a priest through EXORCISM TRAINING! WHAT?!?!?!?! Seriously??? SERIOUSLY!? siriusly?!?! That's crazy! I think the part that was the nuttiest was:

"Most of the exorcisms that Father Gary witnesses are fairly low-key. What happens during the dramatic ones?

If an exorcist sees 100 people, there are only going to be 2 or 3 that are dramatic. And I would characterize those as being when the person actually speaks to the exorcist. Quite often they'll be burping or belching or coughing or yawning. There's moaning and screaming, too. But in the stronger cases, in almost every instance, you'll have the voice. The person will speak in a demonic voice and they'll say things like, "This person belongs to us," "You have no power over us," "You can't defeat us." They are usually very dramatic in the sense that the person will be screaming at the top of their lungs. There can also be shaking. Picture a person sitting in a chair with their arms sticking straight out, their legs sticking straight out, convulsing. That's common.

But usually, the more dramatic cases deal with people who are screaming, using their voice, shoving and punching, getting up, smacking their head against the wall, just very violent. And that voice is beyond a simple mimic of a strange voice. It's very uncanny, very unnatural. And then, of course, there's vomiting, which is common. Father Carmine saw a case where a woman vomited up a small black toad that was still alive. He went to catch it and it dissolved into saliva. I had another priest who I talked to who dealt with a woman who vomited up seven little black nails, six of which dissolved into this black liquid. Father Carmine saw a woman vomiting up buckets of human sperm."

WHAT?!?!!? Ok, first, buckets of human sperm... now that's not a demon possession, that's just a dirty ho-bag. But the nails and the live frogs dissolving into black liquid and saliva?!?!??! WTF!? FthatSintheA! That's just weird. So, I thought I'd share.

I'm Not Listening! LALALALALALALA!

Here's the deal: I'm currently taking a class on argument and debate. It's no big deal, the professor is really laid back, so there's not a lot of pressure with the speeches we have to do. The process is, we pick a topic come up with two arguments, and then do a debate. For example, my last speech was on school funding. So, the other day a girl decided to do her speech on gay marriage. She had very good arguments for allowing gay marriage, which was good. So, after a speech you have a student cross examine you, trying to poke holes in your argument, and you have to defend. So after the designated person asks their questions the whole class is open to ask questions as well. Now, we have about three ultra-conservative bible beaters in our class. And they all decided to pipe up and started asking bible based questions.

So, eventually the professor cut off the argument and decided to give his thoughts on it. He was very polite about what he thought and said that he feels that the message of the bible is love etc. So therefore a lot of hateful views held by those who proclaim themselves christians are contrary to what the bible is all about. And that in this world we need to love each other and be kind etc. Pretty much he said he feels the bible is about being nice, caring for you neighbor and not being a total asshat.

Well, apparently this was not ok with one girl. She starting snarking to her neighbor about how it's not ok for him to tell her that her beliefs are wrong. And that she's not paying to take a class to listen to his opinions. Then she got all red in the face, and stormed out of the class.

Ok, I'm not really irked by the debate. I understand that not everyone in the world agree. I also understand that issues like this get kind of heated. But here's my problem. People freaking out so much that they have to storm out because they don't want to hear what someone else has to say. I'm sorry, but you have to listen to other points of view. And you need to shut up and deal with it because you can't just storm out on someone every time they disagree with you. I've listened to a few speeches that I totally disagreed with, but we have to listen to what others have to say and then have a logical argument to oppose it when we disagree. We can not just throw a bitch-fit and act like a child. When we start to do that we end up at a point where things get really bad and nothing can get done because there's no dialogue.

Plus, the guy was being REALLY calm and nice about it. He wasn't yelling or screaming or being a total dick about it. He was just saying "looooooooooovvvvvvvvvveeeeeee" becuase he's an old hippy. So, really when you look at it, she was saying "no, love is wrong, I believe in hate and it's wrong to tell me otherwise." Dude... that's a bad argument. But hey, we all listened to you spew trash and didn't storm out on you, so perhaps you should grow up and join the big kids table and realize you're going to have to listen to other viewpoints and you can't just storm out when someone disagrees with you.

Damn, Dirty Apes!!!

Watch your ass Homo Sapiens! That's right bitches! Monkeys are on the march and they're flinging rocks at YOU! Ok, here's the deal, monkeys are slowly planning to take us out, and we've been underestimating them for YEARS! For a long time scientists have thought that animals don't really think about the future or make plans for the future. And that's how they're going to get us! They're lulling us into a false sense of security!!!

But do not fear! Because we've got a warning sign everyone! That's right!!! Those damn dirty apes have tipped their hand! So, while they may be thinking ahead, I guess they haven't learned about strategy yet!! Hmmm... or perhaps they are again lulling us into another false sense of security... but I digress!

So, the BBC reported in this article that a male chimpanzee in a Swedish zoo has planned hundreds of attacks on poor unsuspecting visitors. So, Mr. Angry McMonkeyPants has been collecting rocks and stockpiling them, then when the zoo gets busy he was all "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FIEND!!!!" What's more, Chimpy O'Pooflinger learned to find the weak areas of the concrete by going Tappy-Tappy to hear which areas were damage due to weather then hits it until nice throwable bits to fling and the stupid humans!

So, thanks to Monkey Magoo for tipping us off to the monkey's abilities to plan the overthrow of all humans! Everyone start hoarding bananas to barter with our evil monkey overlords should we fail to stop these poo and now ROCK throwing monkeys!!!

[Don't] Watchmen Review

Tonight Beckers (she loves when people call her that... try it sometime!) and I got free passes to a screening of Watchmen. This is a comic book movie that comes out this Friday for those of you who don't know. To start I have to say I'm not a huge Watchmen fanboy or anything. I have the book [graphic novel... NERDS], and I've read a bit of it and haven't finished it, not due to dislike or anything like that, just because I haven't had the time. So, there you have it, I've got the book, I've read a bit, I'm not a crazy fanboy. Now that disclaimer is out of the way...

I give this movie a rating of: Wait for the dollar theater.

This rating is pretty much equal with wait for video, but I decided to go with the dollar theater because at least then you can see some of the special effects on a big screen.

Alright, here's the deal. I found this movie boring. It was nearly 3 hours long... and you could tell. As the end drew closer I got really restless and wanted the freaking thing to end! Now, since I haven't read the whole thing I don't know, but it feels like they kept it EVERY SINGLE THING THAT HAPPENS IN THE BOOK! Now I'm sure the super-geeks out there will be spooging over the thought of that. However for the average moviegoer this really made the whole thing drag. In addition, the story was totally ADD. There were a lot of things going on, and not in a good way. Half the time I felt like it was really pointless plot that served no purpose other than to take up time. I also thought the characters were really boring and I didn't feel overly attached to any of them or care about what happened to them. I would say if you simmered down the basic plot, then you have a good plot, however it felt like the film had no focus and that the audience was being dragged along on a seemingly endless plot that when it finally arrived to an end you were left going... ok... whatever.

Overall, I wasn't impressed, and I usually like the comic book type movies. I wasn't attached to any characters, the storytelling was terrible, and it was way too long for someone who isn't a super fan of Watchmen. As my grandma says, "It was fine, if you like that sort of thing." So if you like Watchmen, then go see it, I'm sure you'd probably enjoy it. If you're not a huge fan I'd probably choose a different movie and wait for this one to hit the dollar theater.

On the upside was the laziest survey guy in the world as we left the show. He just stood there and said "Any thoughts on the movie? Didja like it?" He wasn't talking to anyone specific and I didn't feel like he really cared. I think if I had said "Eh" when he said "didja like it" he probably would have responded with "fair enough".

Down, Bessie!

As I was checking my news, I found this article on CNN that I thought was interesting. Apparently if you name a cow, and spend some time with her, you’ll get more milk! IMAGINE THAT! If you treat an animal like a living thing and not something that just produces cow juice then you’ll get better results?? I wonder if they’ve done a study on mechanical milkers…

Not really much to report, just found it interesting.

I'll Take The Number 7, With A Side Of DEATH!

Why is it so hard to not eat poison? I mean, HONESTLY! It seems like every other day there is some sort of food recall, unsafe ingredients, deadly vegetables. It’s getting re-god-damn-diculous! Recently there’s been that huge problem with peanut butter. I’ve also written about things that China was adding to milk that pretty much was terrible, and about other animal related food issues. And unfortunately again, I found an article by USA Today talking about how nearly half of all high-fructose Corn Syrup had MERCURY IN IT!

It makes me laugh because those commercials are all like “Well you know what they say about High-Fructose corn syrup…” And then the other person is all “THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT, STUPID PERSON” and then stupid person is all, “oh… well I’ve seen the error in my ways and will not bash on high-fructose corn syrup anymore….” Yeah, but they left out the part about the Mercury!

The real kicker of it is, the mercury is because of some process they do, but they can use other things. So, some of the high-fructose corn syrup is fine, but other plants still use mercury and then it leaches into the food!

You know, when I’m at home making dinner, I don’t generally put poison in the bowl before I mix up some mac and cheese! And I don’t pour plastic into my soup, or go around putting chicken in with my lettuce. So, why is it that we can’t stop putting poison in our food??? I mean, seriously! IT’S OUR FOOD! It just baffles the mind…

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some delicious cyanide tarts in the oven! MMMM tasty! I can’t wait to wash them down with a nice big cow crap milkshake! It’s the best with whip cream and lead shavings on top! YUM!

Honey! I'm Home, And The Company Wants Us To DO IT!

Apparently, according to this CNN article, there are policies in some companies in Japan to let employees go home early so they can get on the shaggin’ wagon and make some babies!!! WHAT THE HELL!? First, I don’t think I’d want to work for a company that was like, “hey, go home and bang your wife/husband!” I mean, do all people get this, or only the married employees? Or perhaps do you have to opt to do this. I mean, if that were the case then everyone would be all, “Jim’s out of the office, guess he’s getting it on with wife, EHHHHH? *Nudge, Nudge*” That’d be weird, I’m not sure I’m for state/company sanctioned Let’s-Get-It-On time. Perhaps it can work like vacation time. That’d be a fun form to fill out! Please check a box, Vacation Time, Sick Time, Baby-Makin’ Time! I’m just saying, it’s kind of weird!

Second, alright, so that’s weird, but what about the reasoning behind it? Apparently the motivation is that Japan has a low birth rate (1.34), and in order to make sure there’s not a decline in population you need a rate of 2.0. So, clearly that means that the population is going to go down. But, my problem is I see that and say, SO WHAT?! I mean, there are A LOT of people in the world, so what if there are declines in some countries?? I mean, that’s true in Europe too. In fact a lot of industrialized countries are seeing declining birth rates. It seems to me eventually the rate will equalize. And perhaps there are too many people in the world and having a bit of a decline in population would do some good. Sure there are economic concerns and tax concerns etc., etc., etc., but still seems like that’s not so bad if it’s managed.

Anyhow, it just seems funny that companies are doing this. I guess that gives new meaning to “hump day.”

Where The Hell Have You Been?

Well, it’s been a few weeks now, and I know I haven’t updated in a while. I always think, “I should write something about that!” But instead I decide to do other less important things, like sleep or eat. So, a quick update is in order! Two weeks ago the drama kids I work with went to their district level competion for MIFA. Well, I’m happy to say that they did a great job! Not only did they move on to the regional level, but they also got the highest ranking out of all the schools that were there! HOORAY!!! So, that meant that they had two weeks to polish some stuff up for regionals (which are tomorrow). Tonight are the One Act shows, so if you're around come see them at Lincoln!

Last weekend we went with them up to another theatre festival up in Bay City. It was a really good time, and it seemed that everyone had fun! It was interesting to see what other schools put together, and it was great to see our kids having so much fun! Not too much really to report on there.

Other than that school is going as scheduled, nothing really to go into, just a nice calm semester so far. The first set of exams start next week. I’m not really fussed, it should go well. Anyhow, that’s it for the update. I’ll leave you with a joke…

Two fish are in a tank, one says to the other, “Do you know how to drive this thing?”

Happy Inauguration!

Well, the day is finally here! Out with the old, in with the new. Good bye to George W. Bush… “The Decider”….”Dubbaya”…

I really wish I had gone to DC for this inauguration. I’ve been to the Fourth of July in DC which is great, and it’d be really great to go to an inauguration. Especially this one. It’s beena long eight years for some of us, so it feels good to finally start something new. Sure there are still problems that we’re bringing with us… Iraq, Afghanistan, a poor economy, etc. So, it’s not like everything is going to be different at noon today, there will not be an instant fix. But there is a lot of hope out there that things can get better.

This is really a thrilling event. So Happy Inauguration Day America!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot... wait a minute...

Well, dear readers, that's me. Yes, I'm a happy guy usually! I'm not one for stick-in-the-mud-edness, and try to make the best of what I have. As I always say... AT LEAST YOU'RE NOT DEAD!!! And sure, I have plenty of things to make me happy! This semester isn't sucking the big one like last semester. We got dinner with Momwich and Dougwich recently. Good times for the kids!!!!! For the HAPPY kids.


But I'm sad.

OH NO JASON! WHY ARE YOU SAD?!?!!? You're clearly not dead, unless you got wireless in the afterlife! You just got dinner with the -wiches, your semester is ROCKIN'! Oh, and I heard you just got an exciting e-mail from Eila "the best" Roberts who is Ethiopia! ANNNNNNND! I heard she sent cool pictures of monkeys etc.!! Why are you sad! WHY! WHHHHHHYYYY!

Well, this is why I'm sad. Snow... FREAKING SNOW!!!! It keeps snowing. And Snowing. AND SNOWING! And it's not like "Hey bitches, here's a crapload of snow for you" No, it's all, "hey.... I put just enough snow down for you to have a hassle with the roads and be a real pain, but not enough to convince people to stay home, drive carefully, or clear off their cars properly. (You know the people. Those asshats who try to melt the entire back of their car using the defrost, or only bush off a small window to see out the front and totally cut you off because they couldn't be bothered to clean off the side windows....asshats.)

I HATE YOU SNOW!

You know what your problem is? YOU'RE COLD! And you make people have to sit in their house and go crazy. And you're heavy. And you make me have to go outside and shovel the driveway. And you make Becky run red lights because you're all "fuck you buddy, no stopping for you!" Plus, you're not sandy, you're not warm, you don't come with drinks that have little umbrellas in you...

Like this...

Now, maybe you're sitting there looking at these pictures going... well I see snow, but how much snow is that. And maybe I say "hey bitches, we got 15 inches of snow," and you're like, "what the hell is 15 inches of snow, I don't comprehend you're crazy measurement system because I'm from Canada, Eh?" Or, perhaps you moved to somewhere like Georgia and were assimilated by the hillbillies and forgot what snow is. Or prehaps you're blind and just always though, "wow, my feet sure are cold and wet, wonder what that's all about." Or maybe you're just measurementally challenged. Well, for you I've devised a way to understand how much snow we got over the past few days. (Plus, I don't have a ruler, and even if I did, saying something like "we got 15 inches" is way less fun).

We got enough snow that it came halfway to my knee!

We got enough snow that it is way deeper than a can of Del Monte Fresh Cut Specialties Whole Kernel Sweet Gold & White Corn! (With Easy Recipe On Back)

We got enough snow that it is about as deep as a can of Pringles Sour Cream & Onion Potato Crisps Crujientes de papa! (That's what is says on the BOX!)

We got enough snow that it is slightly deeper than Fluffy!

We did not get enough snow to be deeper than a Tons of Fun.

Well, hey. At least you're not dead!!!

nevermind...

DISCLAIMER!
No animals were harmed in the making of this blog, though two cats found themselves really confused. A can of corn got slightly chilled, and a few pringles were devoured, though they were a little bit stale and really once you pop you CAN stop. In addition some guy totally ended up laying face down in the snow on his back deck at a little bit past midnight, so his neighbors may just think he's gone slightly insane, and/or a total freak. In addition said guy's wife was totally unsure why, at a bit past midnight, he decided to have her take pictures of him on the back porch with a strange assortment of pets and canned food products. But hey, those are the lengths that some people are willing to go to in order to entertain you, dear readers!

Shoes.

Is it so hard to ask that when I pay money for a pair of shoes that they should last longer than ohhh.... A MONTH! Here's the deal, I'm not out running marathons with them, I just wear them for every day use like going to work and school. I got new shoes in March, they were nice, but by October they were SHOT! And I don't mean they were not nice and new and wonderful, I mean they looked like I ran them over with a lawn mower. So I got new shoes, and I paid a bit more for them and though "These are good shoes and shall last me a good amount of time. And now I see the sole starting to come undone from the shoe. WHAT THE HELL! I get it, we buy cheap shit that's all made in China, but as a company you should be providing a product that will last more than a month. And really, my running shoes have probably seen more wear than my daily shoes and they're still looking pretty durn good.

Shoes are stupid.

TGIT?

Thursdays are great! That’s because I have classes till Thursday, and thus Friday I only have to work, which unfortunatly for me is like having a day off! So, the first week of the semester is over, and we’re setteling into the average work/school week. Sadly it feels like my time off is a distant memory, even though it’s only been 5 days. But this semester looks like it’s going to be so much better than the last one! I don’t HATE any of my classes at all! That’s saying a lot because after the first day of my Monday class during Fall I wanted to quit. Not quit the class, QUIT! I was like screw teaching this is BS and I hate it!

Well, I actually have enjoyed all my classes this week. I was worried about my Monday class but the guy is interesting (it’s taught by a Michigan Circuit Court Judge) and it seems like it’ll be some good information. My Thursday class I was also worried about because I had no idea what it was about, all I knew was that I had to take it and it was only offered once a year. Turns out there are only six people in the class and it’s going to be really interesting because it’s about running a Forensics department in a high school (theater/speech/debate, not Law and Order CSI). We’re going to talk about stuff that will probalby be helpful in my booster work, and I may be able to give some insight in to my experiences working in a department as a booster that the others in my class haven’t expereinced yet! So, it’s looking like the worst class of the semester is going to be my online class on the geography of Asia!

So YAY for the end of week one of the semester!!!

She Changed Me Into A Newt...igotbetter.

I was reading the news this morning during my lunch (like ya do) and I came across this story on CNN. Apparently a young girl (teens-20s) was accused of being a witch, so in full 1600s fashion they dragged her out, stripped her down, tied her to a log, and burned her. It's kind of amazaing that this kind of thing is still going on today. Apparently last year over 50 people were killed for being accused of witchcraft. Unbelieveable.

Well, i guess to lighten the mood:

I’ve Been Nancy Kerrigan-ed

Well, after my little incident Sunday, due to cahooting footwear, I thought I was fine. My knee was a little sore on Monday, but nothing too bad, just a little stiff if I moved a certain way, but I wasn’t limping around or anything, though I also wasn’t signing up for any marathons either. So I didn’t think much about it. I went to class yesterday, went to work, went about my business as normal. Well last night the true effects of the assassination attempt by my slippers was finally discovered.

Around 4:00 in the morning my knee started to really hurt, enough so that it woke me up. Now generally I could sleep through anything, a train could go through my basement and I’d be blissfully unaware. So, for this to wake me up means it had to be more than just a little discomfort. So, I tried to reposition myself to a spot where my knee was more comfortable, this tactic would work for the first 30 seconds before we were back to the pain again. So after a little bit of trying to ignore it, I decided I’d get up and get some thing for it. So I got up and went for the Bengay that usually helps my oldmanitis I get every so often. Well, to my surprise, it was missing! I still haven’t found it. I have to assume my fat cat Errol (who loves the stuff and tries to eat me every time I use it) stole the tube and ate it for lunch one day. So, instead after searching for about 10 minutes, I gave up, got some Motrin and a heating pad. This seemed to do the trick! I woke up and felt a little stiff, but about as good as I had on Monday. And by lunch I was feeling at about 100%!

Well, as I sat around reading tonight the closer it got to bed time, the more my knee started to bother me… WTF?!?! Perhaps my conspiring foot wear has a man on the inside!!! MY KNEE HAS BETRAYED ME!

Curses.

That’s it left knee… you’re on notice!! I’M WATCHING YOU!!!

Play Nice With The Kiddies…

I hate the first day of classes. Not because I hate classes, or hate school, or would rather be doing something else. No, I pretty much enjoy taking classes, enjoy learning things and doing stuff. I won’t lie, I do get tired but that’s not from school, that’s from the constant rushing due to the fact that I’m working. No, the reason that I hate the first day of class is because I don’t like all that administrative crap that always goes on the first day. Here’s your syllabus, these are the rules, expect to do this, here’s our calendar, you’ll need this book… SUCKS TO THAT MAN!

I’ve always hated the first day of class for this reason, going all the way back to high school. I just want to yell “WOULD YOU JUST GET ON WITH IT!” MOVE ON!!! It’s not like I don’t already know this stuff. Do we really need to all look over the section on academic dishonesty?? I mean, It’s not like this is new information and people who cheat are going to cheat regardless of what little paragraph in the syllabus says about it! I want to just get to the reason we’re all here. It’s not usually as bad with night classes because we only have 14 class sessions, so we can’t waste one of them on simple garbage about grading scales and due dates.

However, the thing I hate MOST about the first day is the stupid “Introduce yourself” part, or even worse… ICEBREAKERS!!! UGH! I had to do one of those today in my Comm class. Here’s the thing, I don’t recall a single person’s name from the 20 minutes we wasted doing that activity, (the activity was to find someone in the class who did certain things on a list, such as “Is and only child” or “Has a strange hobby” etc.) the only thing I remember is that no one in the class writes (or admits to writing) poetry.

Anyhow, only 2 more first class sessions left, so after that we’ll get to work and be done with the nonsense of the first day.

A Price On My Head?

I think there must be, because my slippers just tried to kill me. For any of you old readers who followed my original blog over at Live Journal, you know I hate socks. They're irritating, they're constricting, I have claustrophobic feet... I tend not to wear them. The problem is that my desk, computer and bedroom are on the lower level of a bi-level house. Incidentally if I ever meet the asshat that came up with the idea of a bi-level I'm going to kick him in the left nut so that his junk will be bi-level too...

So, one of my first entries on my old LJ was an incident where my socks tried to kill me by making me slip on the stairs and fall down a couple. Well, the slippers are in on it too, because I just fell down the stairs again. I was about four from the bottom when my piece of banana bread goes flying, my water sloshes out of my cup, I slide down three stairs and my knee goes "oh for fuck's sake...OWWW!".

Clearly footwear is out to get me. I don't know what I've done to offend. I haven't been advocating the burning of all shoes!! I'm not suggesting that socks be loaded into rockets and shot to the center of the sun. Well, for whatever reason, my slippers and socks are in cahoots! And their cahooting just left me sitting on the landing pissed off and in pain! I'm now a fan of footwear genocide!!

On a separate note, I started running again today! I haven't done that since August, so I thought I would end up totally dead after 5 minutes. Well, I keep track of how long I run (usually an hour) and how far I run in that time and found out that in fact I was only 0.28 miles off of my previous distance back when I was running quite regularly. So YAY! I also finally got to hook up my little iPod Shuffle that Becky got me for my Birthday so I could have something light to run with! I have to say it went splendidly!!! Though with my footwear enemy I will have to be careful to make sure my shoes are still loyal to me... I treat them well... surely they won't try to kill me too... they have extra grip for running! I'll just have to cross my fingers!!!

Anyhow! That's about it from me! Tomorrow's the first day of class and work since about the 19th of December... feel the joy...woo. It'll be good, I feel like I'm getting nothing done when I don't have class, I enjoy being busy, I'm just ready for a break after the semester is over! Anyhow! It's a race to April!!! GO! DFTBA!

The End Is Near!

The worst part of a vacation is the last day of it. Well, tomorrow is the last day of my vacation from work and school, and Monday morning we're back to the nonstop running of work, school, etc. I'm hoping it won't be as bad this semester as it was last semester. None of the classes I anticipate being overly hard, so that's good! I also don't expect to have two research papers either, so that's good as well! But, again I will have a day class, but this time only two days a week instead of 5. So Monday means that I'll be off to work, then I'll leave and head to class, then back to work after class, then home for about 45 minutes to eat dinner, then off to the evening class. yay. Can you feel the excitement?

So, that means today and tomorrow will be get crap done that I totally knew I had to do but have been putting off because I was so tired of doing crap that all I wanted to do was sit around, watch TV and play video games. So, today we got both of our cars fixed. Apparently when they replaced our tires there was something wrong with the valve stems, and so we had to get them replaced... mind you we've been driving on these tires for well over a year... but still, better safe than sorry I suppose! We also had to read the Spring play (Alice in Wonderland) to get some ideas for our upcoming planning for the show! YAY! That was actually fun!

We also have some social catching up to do, and so tonight the Lovely Meghan and Echrich are over to enjoy pizza, movies, and sitting around. Oh, and if you're ever wondering... one Extra Large pizza from Marcos is plenty... i'm just saying... it's huge... yeah.

Nerd Alert!

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING!?!? That's what I said when I was browsing through Williams-Sonoma's website today and found it. It's a little device that makes my little eco nerdiness get all excited. It's an indoor composter! See you throw your scraps (i.e. banana peels, apple core, old vegetables, potato peels, egg shells, etc.) into it, and a few weeks later COMPOST! That's pretty freaking cool! I haven't done a lot of reading up on it yet, but i think it's something I'm gonna have to look into, because it keeps you from throwing more stuff into land fills, and it takes that stuff and makes it useful for your garden/flowers/whatever! Now, I don't have a garden at the moment, I kind of need a house before I can start planting roses and basil, but once I get one it'd be nice to have some compost for the plants to NOM on.

Anyhow, that's my nerd alert for the week!

Let's Go To The Movies!

My family decided that it'd be a good idea to get us some movie gift cards for Christmas, which was most excellent! Well, we've already used the gift cards to see two movies! On Tuesday we went and saw Seven Pounds (the new Will Smith movie). I enjoyed it! It had a bit of mystery to it, but it wasn't something that took a lot of work to put together, at least I didn't think so. I thought Will Smith did a great job because the entire film he had this sense of being in pain, or a load of underlying emotions. There were a few things that didn't really work with the movie once you were driving home and started thinking about it, but over all I enjoyed the movie and would probably give it a Matinee rating. (My rating scale goes from best to worse as: Full Price, Matinee, Wait for Video, Wait for Cable, Wait for Network, and I'd Rather Watch Crap Dry... AKA Napoleon Dynamite or Little Man). I can't say much about what the movie is about since it'd really give too much away, but overall I enjoyed it.

The second movie we saw today, and it was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This movie stars Brad Pitt as a man who is aging backwards. Kind of like Mork and Mindy... though not so much silly. Though there was one old guy who cracked me up who always said "Did I ever tell you..." I also enjoyed this movie and would probably give it a Matinee rating as well. It was REALLY LONG! We went to the 4:40 show and it didn't get out till around 7:40, but it didn't really feel like it was a 3 hour movie to me. This movie I think had a few more flaws than Seven Pounds, and that was mostly in the format of the film. They decided to tell the story from the point of view of a woman reading the diary that Benjamin wrote, which was ok in theory, except it totally sucked. It really took away from the flow of the movie and every time the story was interrupted to go back to the diary reader it really just was irritating and unnecessary. In addition, I hate when shows have to put in unnecessary elements. In this case, the film takes place a lot in New Orleans, and the lady reading the diary is doing so as Hurricane Katrina is about to make land fall. I'm not sure why they did that. It had nothing to do with the story and was really unnecessary. Other than that, I liked the movie.

So, that's two we've seen this week, and we still have a load of gift cards, so more reviews to come.

Welcome to 2009!

Welcome to 2009 people!!! Another year has come and gone, and I'm ready for the new year!!! I've been off work since the 19th of December, so it's been great to get some time off to do NOTHING! I got to read a book, start a second and took some time to clean things up. (And let me say my desk is starting to look like a desk again rather than the piles of research books and papers it became.) My sisters were also here for the holiday, and it was kind of nice to have the entire family together, but it did get a bit cramped to have a giant tree, extra people, a puppy or a toddler in our small house for a week!

But things have calmed down, and it's been pretty quiet around here since they all left. We took down the tree and cleaned things up and got things back to normal. And as normal we had our totally awesome party at the Robertsesesese last night! This year (which i believe was our 6th year to attend the party) was Casino Royale. It's always fun to go to this party because the theme is always formal wear and it's an excuse to get dressed up.

I put a few pictures up of the party, as you can see at the top is a picture of me and Bec. The second one is me and the Lovely Meghan! I found out she made that dress herself, and I'm totally going to put her to work for the next time I have to make costumes for the plays! Perhaps I'l start my own sweatshop! The third picture is Me, Bec and Meghan's boyfriend Charlie being dorks! The party is usually a good time, there are always tons of people there, most of them we don't know, but there are some we see every year, like dancing guy who goes out on the dance floor and just goes ALL NIGHT! It's insane man! And he's really good!

This year there were a lot of new faces, that's because the lovely lady in the last picture with the bunny ears, Eila, is going to be leaving in a week for Ethiopia! She'll be studying monkeys for eight months! It's going to be sad that we're not going to get to see her for so long, but we'll have to have a great welcome home party for her when she gets back. So, it was a good New Year, a great party, and a good kickoff to 2009!