doomy doom

There was ice on my windshield this morning!  It’s California! North/southern California at that!  (The north end of southern Cali.)  It’s been getting rather chilly here lately to the tune of 45F yesterday.  This morning was obviously a bit chillier.  Oof.  But, as I’m out of the garage, I don’t have to worry about the dropping temperatures so much!  Yay for a roof and insulation!   You never really realize exactly what you’re thankful for until you’re without them.

I retook my motorcycle test and passed it!    Yay, excitement.  And this morning I got my letter in the mail that has my ‘She passed her test’ certificate and such that I can take to the DMV and WHABAM, get my M1.  *squee*  My friends have been scouring the interwebs for bikes for me and being a bit overzealous about it, but it’s appreciated.  Bikes are cheaper in the winter.  It’s true.    (Mostly just because I said it is.)

School and finals are over, thank god.  I hadn’t realized just how much it affected me to be in school and how much free time I didn’t have.  I made some, but after work yesterday I was able to run errands, watch a movie, and generally just be quite low key and relax a bit.  Awesomesauce.  I watched Southland Tales, a sci-fi/dark comedy/drama.  I must say, it’s the type of movie you’ll want to watch a couple times.  Or at least I want to watch it a couple times to get a real idea of what exactly was going on.  To me, it’s a cross between Donnie Darko and the Big Lebowski.  Both great flicks.  Both kinda strange in their own right.  Who knows, I may sit and watch it all over again tonight after I get home from work!    Because I can.

I don’t remember if I had mentioned Christmas plans, but if I didn’t, that works.  There were plans, but then I could probably safely assume there aren’t anymore, so yeah.  That’s my bad.  Now, I’ll be driving down to visit with a friend in LA, then picking up my special someone from the airport, and driving back to his place to make something tasty to eat and watch old Christmas specials.  Sounds relaxing and festive, both of which I support.     I support low-key festivities.

And… *drumroll* my sister is pregnant!  Wheee… how exciting!  I’m glad to hear that people are being supportive instead of berating her for it.  Yes, I had that worry.  I was excited to hear about it a while back, and am glad for her.  She does need all the support she can get right now, mostly emotional support, because of the crazy, prego mood swings she’s dealing with.  I can only imagine what those must be like.  When I was taking injections for birth control, I got a bit nutty [read:disturbed] mentally because of the hormones.  They make your body think you’re constantly pregnant, etc. etc. and I went slightly north of crazy.   If I ever get pregnant, jeebus help my poor partner.  That person better have lots of love for me and nerves of steel.  Of course, I think given a better situation than the one I was in at the time I was on those meds, things wouldn’t be nearly as bad.  Still, nerves of steel and patience of a saint.  So, Kate’s boyfriend: You need patience of a saint and nerves of steel.  And give lots of hugs, because we need those as well.

And on that note, have a good Holiday, people.  Cuddle up and keep warm!

Things at the new job are fine.. it’s a pretzel shop.  How bad can it be?  Still, it is humbling.  I’ve never had a service job of this sort – food service.  It’s odd.  I’m torn, really.  I obviously don’t want to be working in a pretzel shop because I feel like it’s mindless, I don’t get as many hours as I’d like, and I’m supposed to transfer over to the other shop, but that won’t happen until it starts getting busier.  But as that place gets busier, so will the pretzel shop…  so I’m wondering if they will in fact move me to the other shop, or just work me more hours in the mall?  Is it a ploy, in other words?  I’m going to try to just stick it out.  I’ll get 8 hour days consistently (theoretically) come holiday season.  Right now she only works everyone in four hour shifts, which on the one hand I like because really, who wants to stand around making pretzels for eight hours?  On the other hand, I want the hours.  I want to work 8, 10, whatever hours.  I need the monies.

In that light, a friend posted a bulletin today about possibly needing someone for part time clerical work.  Yes, I know, I hate clerical work.  But it’s part time, and I could probably work that job around my other two.  Three jobs?  Yes, three jobs.  So I’m going to toss my resume at my buddy and see if that goes anywhere.

My buddy Kevin and I have been on a movie watching rampage.  Well, more like a moving watching swell.  There aren’t a huge amount, but it’s been a lot considering how often I go out to the movies.  (never.)

So, we watched Rendition – Jake Gyllenhall, Reese Witherspoon, Meryll Streep, etc etc.  Premise:  Man gets kidnapped by the states, is a suspected terrorist, and is sent somewhere in the middle east to be tortured for information.  Creeepy.  Reese, the wife, goes on a rampage about where her husband is and how to get him back.  Jake saves the day.  Meryll streep gets pissed off in Wicked Witch of the Icy North fashion.  We all leave the theater thinking – wow, I hate my govt for doing such things.  At least I did.  It was a bit more than that, but that’s the general gist.

The other movie was Gone Baby Gone – directed/partially written by Ben Affleck, starring Casey Affleck, some girl I can’t remember her name, Morgan Freeman, and some trashy tramp-stamped white chick.  Oh yeah, and Ed Harris.  Premise – White girl’s baby is taken from the house, Casey and other girl get hired to find out what happened.  There are some really dark parts of this movie.  Well, actually, the whole movie’s point is pretty dark, similar to Rendition.  Now that I think about it, they’re very similar.  Both playing with the notion of right and wrong, if there is a right and wrong.  Ends to a means and such.  GBG was surprisingly well done, Casey rocked my socks, and I give it two thumbs up.  There were moments in it where I felt like it could have ended – kinda like the latest Bond movie.. is it over yet?  No?  Oh, okay.  There just felt to me that there were numerous ways it could have ended.  I liked how they ended it, and how it ‘got done.’

I recommend both of them to my friends that have thought processes.  The kind that go beyond what pair of shoes to wear with what dress.  Yeaahh…

i went down south this last weekend and went camping at a very nice park! my friend Gary and his girl Patty invited me down to hang out and camp at this place called Olive Dell. and with a pool and jacuzzi, who can turn that down?

so i left saturday morning and cruised down in the blustery mojave wind and arrived about three hours later at my destination. (my truck doesn’t like the wind. she gives me mean looks when i make her drive in it. i swear!)

it was a pirates of the caribbean theme, so everyone there had to have some sort of piratey gear on. (i forgot my eyepatch at home.) i didn’t, so I was thrown into the dungeon! oh noes! actually, it was fine because there was a bubblemaker next to me and the wind blew all the bubbles into the cage with me. so i stood around and popped soap bubbles for a while as they flew by. but then i was let out on bail, but warned that i needed to don some piratey gear or else i’d be thrown back into the clink! arrh! so i snagged some tickets from Gary and had a bright red anchor tattooed on my shoulder.. no, it wasn’t a Real tattoo.. just the kind that washes off when one jumps in a pool, or jacuzzi. and that is precisely what i did. jumped into the pool and jacuzzi all day long. it was a great time! saturday i successfully covered myself in spf 50 so as not to burn (i’m very white), but on sunday i decided that a bit of sun couldn’t hurt, so i laid out for a bit and you can ask my knees, a bit of sun really can hurt. *mournful nod*

after a bbq and jacuzzi time in the evening, i trekked back home and returned to civilization. *sigh* it was a Very relaxing weekend though.

oh, and on Monday i saw Da Vinci Code with my mom and jeff. it was pretty good. i was surprised, but also delighted. if you haven’t read the book, i’d suggest it, although they did a commendable adaptation. it’s been a couple years since i’ve actually read the book, so i don’t remember Everything they left out, and it seemed like they hit the main points, so i’m not going to complain.

and now, i think i’m going to go take a break and eat an orange. *wipes sweat off brow* work is sooo tough.. pff. yah right.

well i got there earlier than my friends last night, so i sat and chilled listenin to music in my truck. (oh, yes i got it back and it’s fixed after much ordeal, but not too much spent, so it’s good.) david arrived with ben, a friend of his that’s living with him. and carol and jarl (her bf) showed up a couple minutes later. i didn’t know jarl was in town. that was a pleasant surprise! especially since that’s what carol an i were talking about the other night, about her wanting to see him and cuddle and watching david an i happy together making her ill.. etc. haha..

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was an amusing movie. it was cheesy in a sort of playful way, but i think that’s how the book is. no, i’ve never read the book, but now that i’ve seen the movie i just might have to. david said i’d like the book because it’s ‘cute’. hmm.. well if it’s something like the movie, i’ll probably find the book amusing too. so he’ll probably be right. he’s more into the factual/conspiracy theory/random theory type stuff. Velikovsky and the like. which isn’t bad. i sat and got about halfway through Worlds in Collision by Velikovsky, but then just didn’t have time to continue with it so i gave it back to him. perhaps when finals are over i’ll pick it back up.

but so yah, dolphins singing ‘so long and thanks for all the fish!’ as a musical number in the beginning was really bizarre. (we’re back on the movie subject) and then, they flew into space. *nods* yes, i know. weird. gave a good intro to the movie though. set the mood and all.

too bad it didn’t get out til about 1130. it’s about two hours long, but didn’t feel that long, really. some movies you sit there, checking your watch ever five minutes or less because it really feels like a movie is dragging its feet. this one, not so much. it was entertaining. it just made for another long night and a morning where i just couldn’t keep my eyes open. i ended up turning on Brian Setzer Orchestra (it’s a band – swing dancing type music as a general categorization) to get myself a bit more uppity as i got ready. sleepy girl just wants to take a nap!

but luckily i got to class on time, even about five minutes early. he passed out our practice Exam for the final next week so we can practice and study. tomorrow we’ll go over it, so tonight i’ll probably sit and try to work on it after i leave the lab. didn’t get a chance to work on my poster project last night b/c of the movie, so i’ll finish that tonight and turn it in tomorrow. *nods* oh yah, then i have to give a presentation for my final on.. thursday? eh, i have the date written down somewhere. i think i have two finals on wednesday, one on thurs and one on friday. so monday and tuesday will be spent in feverish bouts of studying and paper writing. perhaps i’ll sit down and write my paper for my western art history class tomorrow after i get off work.. *shrug* we’ll see.