Mundane Misadventures

Look at me getting all fancy and making gifs.  LOL.  I just added the text.  Base is from frontyardninja.

( Zachary Quinto gif. )

 

For some reason, around this time last year I started watching Oingo Boingo videos on YouTube.  I grew up in the 80's, so I of course had heard of Oingo Boingo and saw at least the "Weird Science" video on MTV.  I vaguely remembered "Hey," a song they put out during the height of grunge when I was in high school.  I also knew that Danny Elfman had done some film scores.  That was pretty much the extent of my knowledge.  Then I watched the videos.

( The beginnings of an obsession. )

A few months ago, probably around Christmastime, my mom gave me her old sewing machine.  I had it in my head that I would embark upon some sort of sewing project, but as I had nothing ready to go (and no empty desk to hold the machine), it stayed in the garage.  It survived the move and has been sitting on the floor of my closet ever since.

Last month I went to Joann's and bought the two simplest (and cheapest) shirt patterns I could find and some fabric.  Into the hall drawer they went to stew.  Meanwhile, Mom had made me spiffy curtains for my kitchen and she gave me back the extra fabric.  I decided to use the fabric to make velcro ties.  Shouldn't be too hard, right?  Sew a line, turn the tube inside out, fold over the ends, tack on some velcro, and voila. 

( Famous last words, huh? )

 </div>

Saw Angels and Demons on Friday with Marv.  It was OK.  Some of the more ridiculous elements were left out, specifically Langdon jumping out of the helicopter using only a piece of plastic window as a parachute.  Marv was bummed about that.  One of the previews was for a Katherine Heigl/Gerard Butler rom-com crapfest.  The opening shot I swear was of the Tower Bridge in Sacramento.  Kind of random.

Saturday was so busy.  I documented the day for a future A Day In My Life post.  I'll be sure and crosspost it here.

The only thing I did on Sunday was bake a cake for my mom.  All.  Day.  Seriously, I started about noon and finally put the finished cake in the fridge around 8pm.  I made the whole thing from scratch - cake, meringue, buttercream, sugar syrup, ganache, chocolate letters.  I tasted little bits throughout the day.  I can't wait to taste the whole thing!  I'll probably go straight into a diabetic coma.

( Cake-In-Progress )


I bought the audiobook of Star Trek on Saturday...just because it was read by my current obsession, Zachary Quinto.  I'm only partway through Disc 3 (of 7), but he's doing a really good job with the reading.  I listened to it while starting the cake.

For the longest time I've been trying to figure out the title of a Tool song.  All I could remember was the line, "If you choose to pull the trigger."  Last night MidBro was putting some music on iTunes and updating his iPod.  I scrolled through his music library and checked it against a website of Tool lyrics.  Nothing.  Finally I had a startling idea.

What if it wasn't a Tool song at all?  What if I was thrown off by the lead singer and it was really A Perfect Circle?

A quick search of Google and I had it.  "Outsider" by A Perfect Circle.  A similar thing happened not too long ago on Facebook.  Back in my Humboldt days I discovered a video of Pikachu that had been dubbed with a song.  Again, I only had one line in my head.  I spent the last several weeks inputting all permutations into Google that I could.  Through Facebook I asked Gabeen for help.  Within hours I had the name of the song and a link to the video.

Wow, the Oscars were a lot better than they have been in previous years. Dare I say it? That they were the best Oscars...ever? Hugh Jackman can host them anytime he wants. What a brilliant choice! There were so many things that felt right about this broadcast. I loved Ben Stiller as Joaquin Phoenix. The presentation of the acting awards was nice, but the Best Actor presentation was a little off. Heath Ledger's family accepting his award was touching. Seth Rogen and James Franco's bit was hilarious. By far my favorite part was when Kunio Kato accepted the award for Best Animated Short. "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto."



more animals

So I should be sleeping right now.  M will be picking me up in about 9 hours for our fun weekend of wine.  But what am I doing?  Wasting time on the internet and watching The Dark Knight.  Well, listening to it mostly.  I really only look up when the Joker's on.  (He's always been one of my favorite characters.)  I should have been finishing up the PowerPoint slides so I could email them to my group.  I think I have enough done right now.  Screw it.  I'll send them as is.  I can always change and add things later.  Aaagghh, my morning is going to be so rushed.  I've got to get this laptop back to the library and get back home by 10.  I've still got to pack.  Crapsticks.  but I am so excited!!

Ooh, it's almost the jailhouse interrogation scene.  Gotta go.

( Just A Random Thing )


Edit:  To add an LJ cut.  Sorry about that!

When I was younger, I often made up stories in my head as I walked home from school.  One of my favorite characters was a young woman named Tempest Storm who was very tall, very slim and had white blond hair, pale skin, and eyes that changed color.  At one time I think I diagrammed her eyes and decided that each iris should be silver, red, purple, green, and blue.  She was a thief and a good fighter and often disguised herself as a boy.  She was also skilled in magic, though it could run wild if she lost control.

I laugh when I think of this now.  What a Mary Sue!  I can almost pinpoint the exact places where I snatched her features.  The skin and hair from a story in the Joker anthology.  The cross-dressing from Tamora Pierce.  But the name...it's so ridiculous, but I thought I had created it myself by poring over a name book.  (I still have it and it's filled with scribbles and a system I created to track first names, last names, and words.  I also changed a lot of the spellings to include y's and z's.) 

Tempest Storm.  I thought she was my own.

Imagine my surprise when I find out that she's a famous burlesque star of the 50's and 60's.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempest_Storm  I guess it's proof that no aspect of a Mary Sue is truly unique or original.  LOL.

And, speaking of originality, enjoy this 100 truths (minus one) meme.

( 100 Things You May, Or May Not, Want To Know About Me. )

( The Latest LJ Meme )

FYT

Today was a grand day.  I accomplished a ton of things that needed to be done.  I have a savings account now!  Hooray for financial health!  I ate breakfast at my favorite restaurant.  I wore a bright pink shirt with a turquoise sweater and loved it.  I attended Seventh Day Adventist services for a school assignment.  I went to the library and actually did research!  I checked out a laptop from the library so now I can do homework at home!

Seriously, I think this is the best part of today.  I'm in my jammies, on the couch, listening to some classical music, watching the ferrets and cats play and I'M ON THE INTERNET!  No frustration from my broken down desktop that still runs Windows 98 and has no clue what Microsoft Office is.  I've got some ice cream and now I'm all set.  And I can do the same thing tomorrow.  Lounge and be productive.  Who knew modern life could be so great?  I may have to get one of these contraptions for my very own.

I also had dinner with MidBro.  We've been living across the street from a Mexican restaurant for two years now and tonight was the first time we went.  I had gone with coworkers for a lunch soon after I moved here and it was nothing remarkable.  We must have gotten our wires crossed, because MidBro was under the impression that I thought it was horrible.  Anyway, we went and it was wonderful.  You can always tell a good Mexican restaurant by their beans.  And they have a cocktail called Loco in the Cabeza which is the first bit of Spanish I remember learning from my grandfather.

All in all, a good day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I had a strange dream last night.  I abandoned my life here and flew with Gabeen and Scoop to Japan.  We went to a store where the items were in little bins very close to the ground like how pet stores keep their turtles and such.  The prices and labels were in English which upset me because I wanted to practice my Japanese.  (I don't speak it IRL at all.) 

The entire store, though, was very Zen.  In the bins were artfully arranged mosses and rocks upon which the goods were displayed.  One bin was home to a midsize rat that had no problem living in the store.  It was very friendly and didn't mind if someone bent down and scritched under its chin.  It also loved for you to turn on the faucet so it could shower.

Suddenly I stood straight up and realized that I had managed to get into the country without a passport.  How could I get a job?  What if someone stopped and asked me for my papers?  How was I going to get home?

Of course, at that moment the authorities realized I had no passport and started pursuing me.  Details are jumbled here, but I do recall being on a cliff near the ocean and I had to roll down the backside of it (away from the water) to escape, just like in The Princess Bride.  All in all, very bizarre.

It is nearly 4:30pm on the West Coast.  The Sharks have been playing the Bruins for not quite half an hour now.  And I am missing it.  I suppose I'll miss quite a bit more unless I try to duck out of here early.  *sigh*  There's probably no point in that. 

Oh, look.  It's 1-1 with 7 minutes to go in the 1st.  I guess I'll just have to settle for watching a snippet of the 3rd period when I get home.  What's the big deal anyway?  It's only the two best teams in the league, one of which is my favorite.

Ah, hell.  Boston scored.  The fuck?!  Twice?  OK, they took one away.  Damn near gave me a heart attack. 

Stupid work.  *picture me shuffling along a dusty road, hands deep in pockets, muttering to myself, aiming a kick at a rusty tin can*

I've been at work about three hours now and I'm still in my recover from the weekend mode.  Here, have a gander at the fruit of my labor.


( Stolen From MySpace Meme )

I've got to go with Jemaine here.  The glasses, hot damn. 



On a related note...wtf is with all this Flight of the Conchords stuff recently?  I had *heard* about them before, but just this past weekend my friend showed me a few episodes and then we listened to their CD in her car.  I immediately went out and bought it and it has been playing almost non-stop since.  Weird how stuff seems to accumulate all at once.

Howdy all!  I had a fantastic trip down to California.  I am still suffering from a lack of sleep and I've got a ton of work to do in my inbox.  I'm also trying to get all the photos up on Facebook.  Perhaps I'll write a more lengthy entry about my adventures later.  Then you will all know about the Gentleman With The Red Truck at Denio's who will sell you brand new movies and CD's for under $5, how my friends and I tried to find Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Capitol Building, my brother's speeding ticket, the crazy girl at the Foster City Mall Hot Topic, and how I got turned around in San Francisco at night and ended up near all the porn theaters.  Good times.

Mornin' all!  Nine hours of work to get through and I am free!  (Drat these especially long work days.)  Rental will be picked up and I will be looking at four whole days of freedom and mobility.  You know, I'm especially tickled about the car.  I think I'll call MidBro after I get it and ask if he wants to get some dinner or go to the store or something.  I tell ya, when you don't own a (working) car for almost two years, the idea of driving one thrills you more than you should probably be thrilled by an inanimate object. 

LilBro plans on staying up all night and sleeping on the way down.  That works out well.  I won't have to worry about sharing the radio.  We've got some overlapping tastes (System of a Down, AC/DC, etc.), but I like my crazy poppy music.  Last summer on my solo road trip I listened to my entire Oingo Boingo collection.  I'm not sure that LilBro will be up for Aqua, Mika, and Scissor Sisters.  :D

Hmm, I forgot that today is the retirement party of one of the old office ladies.  She's not leaving for good...she'll still be here every other week, probably doing an even worse job of pretending to work than I do.  At least I don't read a book at my desk.  Alas, I cannot attend her luncheon as I've got a class during the lunch hour (the one that may surprise us with photos of AIDS opportunistic infections).  I'm completely fine with that.  King Tin is not the best place to get Chinese food around here.  Too greasy and tasteless, imo.  But I'll be here for the cake and open house after.  White cake with strawberry filling and cream cheese frosting.  >:-[  I like certain fruits ok, apples, grapes, and bananas, but I am vehemently anti-produce in my food.  Yes, I am a fruit segregationist.  Do not put lemon slices in my water or lime in my beer.  And especially do not put fruit in my desserts.  Give it to me rich and decadent and chocolately...the kind where you have to have a glass of milk with it or you cannot swallow and will subsequently die.

Nearly lost myself there.  Sorry about that.  This may be my last entry until Tuesday.  LilBro's bringing his laptop and he's also got a cord that he says will work with my camera.  Maybe I'll post this weekend and add some pictures, too.  If not, have a great weekend!

In 48 hours I will be cruising into California.  Actually, I hope to be well past the border, possibly in the Shasta area by this time on Friday.  Anyway, I can just picture it now.  Sunny skies, crisp weather, LilBro passed out or engaged with the PSP, radio blasting.  Damn, I love driving. 

Plans are being formed (and firmed).  I'll pick up Mr. Scoop in the teeny burg of Red Bluff, which is about 3 hours north of Sacramento.  Hopefully we'll pull into town around 3ish, before rush hour.  This being Sacramento, however, I don't think rush hour ever really goes away on Fridays.  LilBro will get dropped at Dad's and then Scoop and I will find something to do for a few hours before Stacky gets off work.  (Or Dad will try and trap me with inane conversation.)

As excited as I am, I'm experiencing my usual second thoughts about the trip.  "Wouldn't it be best to stay home and relax?  Shouldn't you save money?  You're missing out on M's 80's party and Marv's Super Bowl Bash.  What about class on Monday?  Don't you want to study for your midterm?"  Egads, it's enough to drive a girl crazy!  Were I really listening to these thoughts, that is.  :-P