It's the last day of 2012

... and I'm spending it on the couch, with my cat, listening to Pearl Jam Radio on SiriusXM. I am such a party animal! Rawr.

I think sitting on the couch listening to Pearl Jam Radio is a great way to end the year/ring in the new year, don't you think? Well, I think it is. I might watch a movie later, but I'm not sure... we're going to have pizza for dinner, so that's my main focus right now. Pearl Jam and pizza. Ha! 

I usually watch the ball drop and all that jazz, but this year, I don't think I am. That hasn't excited me in years. I'd rather be watching John Cusack... or a John Hughes movie at the stroke of midnight. That's much more exciting!

I don't know what I'll be doing tonight, but I can tell you one thing: I won't be getting drunk. I don't see the point in that... or the fun in that... and I never have. Drinking yourself sick? No thanks. Having your head in the toilet for most of the night/early morning, puking your guts out? No thanks.

But if that's your thing, please be responsible. If you know you're going to drink, don't drive. Get a designated driver... or if you're partying/drinking at a friend's house, crash at your friend's house for the night. Have fun, but please be safe... and don't be stupid.

I see this on Facebook every year around this time:

AAA is offering "Tipsy Tow."

You don't have to be a AAA member. From 6pm-6am New Year's Eve/Day, they will take your car and your drunk ass home at no cost!

Save this number 1-800-222-4357!

Take advantage of this FREE service!

  

I believe it's nationwide, so no excuses! 

For some, 2012 was a great year... but for others, 2012 was a shitty year. For me, 2012 was an interesting year... a stupid year... a great year... a bad year... all wrapped into one. In brief, 2012 had it's moments. haha! I hope 2013 will be better.

Here's hoping that 2013 will be a great year for everyone!!!

Have a safe and happy new year!!!

P.S.- If Pearl Jam tours the U.S. in 2013, I WILL go see them, dammit!! Even if I have to sell everything in my possession to do so, I will. It's gonna happen.

 

Doomsday? Not so much...

... it was an epic day!

I started off the day with Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas"... I watched it last night, too. Actually, I've watched it three times this week... yeah, I'm only a little obsessed. 

The day only got better from there.

Pearl Jam... chocolate fudge... and a River Phoenix movie. Ohhhh, yes! In that order, too. Well, actually, I ate the chocolate while I was watching the movie. And no, the movie wasn't "Stand by Me"... it was the 1990 dark comedy, "I Love You To Death." I absolutely adore that movie... it's so stupid... and hilarious! 

Haven't seen it? 

Here's a little summary: Joey (Kevin Kline) owns a pizza parlor and has a wife named Rosalie (Tracey Ullman). They have been married for a loooong time and have two children. Rosalie knows her husband flirts with other women and that he finds other women attractive, but she is absolutely clueless about his womanizing behavior. Devo (River Phoenix) works at the pizza parlor and is a friend of the family (he's in love with Rosalie). He knows of Joey's manwhorish behavior and he constantly tells Rosalie to watch out, because he doesn't want to see her get hurt. She completely ignores Devo and completely writes it all off... until she catches her scumbag of a husband in action; he was getting frisky with some chick in the library. (One of three women he's banged since the start of the movie, by the way.) Rosalie is completely mortified and hurt to find that Joey is a womanizer and has been cheating on her for a very long time. After bawling her eyes out on a park bench, she is determined to get even. She refuses to divorce him, because he could then have any every woman that he wanted, and she did not want him to have that satisfaction. Instead, she wants him dead. She does not want to hurt him, she just wants him dead. She then goes into cahoots with her mother (who lives with the family) and her mother tries to get the job done (twice) but both attempts failed. Rosalie then attempts to poison his spaghetti... and that doesn't work. She then gets Devo to join the party... which is absolutely hilarious. The plan was to shoot Joey but Rosalie did not want to hurt him, so that job went to Devo. Devo was nervously scared because he had never shot anybody before... the gun went off, but he wasn't sure if he had actually shot him or not because he turned his head when he pulled the trigger. He got him (barely), but it wasn't enough to kill him. He woke up from his sleep... he was responsive... and only complained of a stomach ache and a headache. They realize that they need more help, so they Devo enlists two drugged-up idiots that he knows, Harlan (William Hurt) and Marlon (Keanu Reeves) to get the job done. Those two guys are complete messes, which adds to the hilariousness of it all. Eventually, Harlan shoots Joey... and the bullet goes straight through him... but yet again, Joey survives the attack. He walks (barely) into the room and everyone is absolutely stunned and a bit freaked out.

The look on Devo's face/his reaction is absolutely priceless!!

At this point, they realize that it's pretty much impossible to kill this guy. Some dude tells the police about Harlan and Marlon getting paid to kill Joey, so they go over to the house. Despite multiple attempts to poison, shoot, and bludgeon him, Joey remains blissfully unaware that he is being targeted. However, the police clearly know what is going on... and off to the big house they go! Fully equipped with mugshots and questioning. I repeat, absolutely hilarious! Joey is finally told of what went on... and he isn't even mad. He realizes that he is a massive douchebag and has an epiphany moment, in which he realizes that he needs to be a better husband and must stop his womanizing ways. He does not press charges on anyone who helped try and kill him, because he did not want Rosalie to go to jail.

Now that I've spoiled 95% of the movie, I will not give away the ending. Ha! I will say this, though... I ABSOLUTELY HATE THE ENDING!!!!!!!!! Hate, hate, hate. It's just stupid... and makes everything before it seem like a complete waste of a viewing. It's not a complete waste of a viewing, though (It's a River Phoenix movie!)... just the ending is a giant, sucky, waste. 
The movie was inspired by an actual event (different names, of course)... in real life, the lady was sentenced to four years in jail... I still think that would have been a better ending. That, or having Joey and Rosalie jump off a cliff together.

Also, why go to great lengths to kill your cheating, manwhorish, asshole of a husband... when you could have just shot him in the balls once or twice? I'm sure that would end any man's manwhorish ways? No? If not, then leave the asshat. Find a better man.
Yeah, as you can see, I don't care too much for womanizers... or manwhores/manskanks... or the cheating kind. They disgust me. Messing with their minds is kinda fun, though. It serves their asses right.

So... um... back to more chocolate fudge?! Yeah, I had more chocolate fudge. Ha! I also re-customized my blog template! I guess blogger finally fixed the issues... well, somewhat. I had to delete/re-customize it four times, because it wouldn't let me customize it more than twice in one sitting. It was somewhat comical... and a few f-bombs were said, but at least my blog is pretty again! In fact, I think it's prettier than it was the first time! :)

Last day of the semester

   I'm freeeee!!!! Well, until January.

  We handed in our final paper today. It was a minimum of 5 pages... but mine was a full 9 pages and a paragraph on the 10th. Hey, the criteria for the paper called for a novel, it was impossible to meet the minimum page requirement.
  Anyway, I saw everyone I wanted to see this morning; my friend and the two cute boys. heehee! *cough gymnast cough* Normally, when you only go to hand in a paper and leave, you hardly see anyone, because everyone slips in and out at different times. So I was lucky. A good chunk of people came right at 10-10:05am... we managed to dodge the idiots. ha! Buuuut we won't be able to dodge them next semester; a few of them are going to be in 48B with us. Lovely. 

  The cute boys. Ah, yes. Sir Cuteness held the hallway door open for us... but then disappeared? Oh well, he still looked cute this morning. Aaaaand we also saw adorable #2... who, um... yeah, we couldn't help but giggle/crack up. We were outside of class, talking to my Mum (who finally got to see adorable #2, btw!) and here he comes, smiling and giving that coy look. He asked if we turned our paper in already... and we told him, "Yeah." Off to the classroom he went. 

Then this happened.

(I'm watching "Stand By Me" right now, btw!)

  
  It wasn't a bad laugh. I swear. It's just... adorable #2 will never be the same. We are always going to picture a certain thing whenever we see him or speak of him. Again, it isn't a bad thing, it's a rather adorably funny thing.

  I'd say it was a great way to end the semester. I liked the semester. American Lit started off a little rocky... and we totally skipped over a few of the major poets/authors of the 19th Century (our instructor let certain things drag on)... and there were a few f*cktards in our class, but overall, I enjoyed it.  

 

I passed my math test!!

96%

 Liz 4 Math 0. Ha!

I've been stressing about this test all week. Which is funny, because out of the all the tests so far, I think this one was the easiest? My highest score yet! I finished it in about 20 minutes... it only took 3 1/2 Led Zeppelin songs... haha! Yeah, Zeppelin was the choice soundtrack this time. I think I made a good choice!

Now it's on to the next math course... next semester. That will be lovely. Absolutely lovely. Hopefully I'll have an instructor who's similar to the one I had this semester. Here's hoping...

I haven't started that behemoth of an English paper yet... I have zero motivation. I know I have to get it done... it's our final (due Monday), but it's just too much. Too much thinking, too much writing... my brain doesn't want to deal with that right now. I'll start it tomorrow. Ha!

Also, this absolutely made my entire day ♥  

A "Freaks and Geeks" reunion photo!!! It's for Vanity Fair... I need this issue. I also need for them to make a TV reunion special... or some kind of reunion TV movie. Something!!!

Photo taken by Mark Seliger

Rock the Casbah

I knew that waking up to The Cure and The Clash on Vh1 Classic, would lead to me having a good morning/day. A good morning I had, indeed. 

Well, other than the fact that my American Lit class was canceled. We didn't get to finish discussing Poe :( We were supposed to discuss "The Cask of Amontillado" today... not cool. Anyway, no email was sent saying that class was going to be canceled, and nothing on blackboard. However, our instructor apparently texted someone in our class saying it was canceled. Again I say, lame. There was a lovely cancellation notice on the door for the rest of us, along with a message for Friday. Yeah, my classmates and I weren't too happy. 1) We wanted to finish Poe. 2) A lot of us could've slept in a bit longer. 3) A few people only had this class today. My friend sent me a text at 9:48am saying class was canceled (she got to campus before I did) but I didn't have my phone, and I was already on my way. It's okay, though... I still had a productive morning. ;)

I conversed with the cute boy. Ha! But no, in all seriousness, Ben (a dude in my Lit class) and I were out in the hall, and we served as the messengers for telling our fellow classmates that class was canceled. Cute boy happened to walk by, and I spoke to him for a few minutes. I repeat from the last post: biggest smile ever, brightest pair of lit-up eyes I have ever seen. So.Damn.Adorable.

Going back to Ben. I've never really talked to Ben before. Maybe a few words before or during class, but that's about it. Nice guy, likes to talk a lot. Goofy, but not in a bad way. I don't know why, (I do know why, he likes people) but he randomly walked out of the English hallway and started talking to me. Great way to kill an hour, I guess (math starts at 11am)? But still. It wasn't so bad... I'm not good at speaking with people I don't really know, but I think I did well. He's a fellow English Major, so it works. He gets it. We spoke one-on-one for about 10 minutes or so, until the short boy walked up.

He's semi-adorable. Haha! We both told him class was canceled and instead of venturing off somewhere else, he joined the party. Like, whoa. Yeah, I sat there and conversed with a cute boy for almost an hour. Adorable. And brainy. The three of us talked about a lot of things... English-related stuff, mostly. A lot of laughing occurred. I like random, interesting conversations. Time went by rather slowly, too. But yeah, I had a good morning. 

Math... was pretty much a waste, but I was given a Pepsi and was shown a few humorous videos. Therefore, 'twas a good time. We went over the practice test... which I've already finished, and really didn't need any help with. Our last test is tomorrow... hopefully I'll pass it on the first try, so I won't have to go back on Friday! 

I also need to start that behemoth of an English paper...  

Prisms, Cylinders, and Spiders...

I swear that's what the math board said this morning. I swear. What did it really say? "Prisms, Cylinders, and Spheres." Ha! My head was clearly in the game. Clearly. Where was my mind? I'm not sure you'd want to know... but here it goes.

I started off my day with some BBMak, The Beatles, and "Dogfight" (I watched it on my iPod before American Lit started). Apparently, that's the key to having a good day. Make a note of that. The more you know!

We discussed Poe in class... we went over "The Tell-Tale Heart" and some background info about Mr. Poe himself. It was an interesting discussion, for the most part. Until "Bettman" decided he wanted to join in. He's one of the reasons why I don't talk in class. The other reason? I just don't want to. Ha! Anyway, like I said, for the most part, the discussion was good. I enjoyed hearing other people's take on Poe and Poe's work. "Bettman" kinda ruined the fun. Okay, he totally ruined the fun. He is a killer of all things fun. Mhm. He totally rained on the parade. The stuff that runs through his mind and comes out of his mouth is absolutely disturbing. Terrifying. I really think he needs some professional help. I'm not being a bitch, either. There is something seriously wrong with that guy. It takes a lot to creep me out. A lot. And this dude... well, he f*cking creeps me out. A lot. To the point where I don't even want to be in the same room with him. Yeah. Today was the final straw. He gave an example of something that was absolutely atrocious... just something absolutely truly morbid, that no NORMAL person would even think of thinking. What he said turned some heads, caused some gasps, and created looks of shock/horror. I get it, we were talking about Poe... and Poe wasn't exactly normal. I get it. But not even Poe would think about something like that. I'm pretty sure of it. I'm not going to repeat what he said, because that statement is never, and I repeat never going to escape my lips. Ever. But yeah, f*ck that guy. And to make matters worse... much worse, apparently my friend, I mean, "cousin" (heehee!) and I are going to have him in another class next semester. Lovely. Absolutely lovely. But yeah, other than that, good class today. Great class... especially after I walked out of the classroom door. Heeeheee! ;) I have never seen a more bigger smile or a pair of eyes light up that much. It was freaking cute. Also, I love corduroys.

So yeah, when I got to math, my mind was gone. Hence the "prisms, cylinders, and spiders" thing. Haha! I'm glad our test wasn't today, because I probably would have failed it. 

We finally went Christmas tree hunting today, because it finally quit raining. Finally. But I'm hearing that it's supposed to rain again, soon? Meh. Hopefully it doesn't. We have a frickin' fabulous tree. My Mother instantly fell head over heels for the tree... 

That's all I've got. I shall now focus my FULL attention to "High Fidelity" ♥

Blame it on the rain...

Yes, I just quoted Milli Vanilli.

For the love of Pete, can it please stop raining?? Please??? I'm tired of it. It has pretty much rained the entire week. It's off and on... but I'd rather have it stay off than stay on. Don't get me wrong, I like rain. I do. But not constant rain... and I don't like to be in the rain. At least today, it decided to rain after my classes were over, so I didn't have to walk around in all of the damn puddles again. Today has just been blah. Actually, the entire week has been a bit blah, but today has probably been the worst (in terms of blahness). It's 2pm and it feels like 5pm... or later. Meh. 

So we finished watching "The Raven" this morning. Three things: 1) I'm wearing one of my Clash shirts ("London Calling") today... the Cusack fangirl in me told me too. It's just something that had to be done. 2) I hated the ending. Hated. It. 3) I was right about the killer. It was soooo painfully obvious that ____ was the killer. Also, I don't think Poe would've been that clueless. I mean, you have this dude who is way obsessed with your work, and he's hidden your love woman somewhere... hmmm... Poe's most talked about piece of work is "The Tell-Tale Heart"... I'm surprised he didn't think to look under the floor boards sooner. Come on, now! 

I like "The Raven"... but I probably wouldn't watch it again, unless there was absolutely nothing else on. I love Poe and Cusack... but I would give it 3... maybe even 3 1/2 stars out of 5. Again, it could have been better. A lot better.

Again, chivalry is not dead. Two dudes held doors open for me today. This is rare... at least in my world it is. Yeah, dude #1 was Sir Cuteness. I still refuse to answer any questions about that, btw. Dude #2 was in the math building... I think I went to high school with him? Yeah, I'm pretty sure... I thought he was cute then, and damn is he cute now. Damn! Especially when he smiles really big. 
I talked to the cute math boy before math class started for like 10-15 minutes? English class ended early today, so I had some time to kill. I was sitting out in front of the math building, and here comes the cute guy. He walked over and started talking to me. Who else was he going to talk to? The place was a wet ghost town! But anyway, it was 10-15 minutes of random chit-chat and laughing. So see, I can talk to cute guys... kinda. I think I'm getting better. Yeah.

My beloved "Farm Kings" ended last night. From the way they've been talking on Facebook and Twitter, it sounds like it's the END. I'm hoping it's the just the end of the first season... if it's the end, END... that sucks. They can't just give me 10 episodes and then take it away. They can't! That's ass. Such a tease...

"Only this and nothing more..."

Day 2 of watching "The Raven" in class this morning... we should be finished with it on Friday. I like the movie so far... I do... but I thought it would be much better. I don't know why I thought it'd be better... but yeah, they could've done better. I think they could've been a little more creative. And for the most part, the acting is terrible. Terrible. I love John Cusack (I've pretty much covered that)... but I think he acted more like Robert Downey, Jr. rather than Edgar Allan Poe. Although, I have no clue how Edgar Allan Poe would've acted? I mean, I think Cusack is absolutely brilliant in this... but I don't know... something's lacking in the performance. But overall, so far, Cusack makes this movie. I even wrote that in my notes. Yeah, our instructor told us to take notes of things that 'stand out' or catches our eye. I took some good notes on Monday... but today? Not so much. Nothing stood out to me, other than I know who the killer is. Already. I also wrote the following in my notes: "John Cusack is a beast.", "John Cusack is too hot for his own good.", and "Without John Cusack, this movie would suck." I kid you not. My heart didn't beat rapidly after the stop button was pressed. The only thing my heart had to say was, "WTF?" I got up and left almost immediately.

But back to the killer. I had my suspicions early on in the movie. I'm good at solving these types of things. I pay attention to everything. Every little detail. It's the perks of being an English Major: critical thinking and critical analysis. Haha! I'm not going to spoil it for those who haven't seen it (yet). I hate when people spoil stuff... but I really want to state my reasons for coming to this conclusion. I'll try without spoiling it too much. There is a certain character who you think should be an "extra" at first. There is no real significance to him throughout the majority of the movie. However, they give this "extra" (okay, minor character) a name. Once they gave him a name, I knew there had to be a reason for that. (There's more on the name, but I won't go into that.) Also, there was a moment (a good couple of seconds) where the camera focused on his hair and his eyes. They wanted the viewers to pay close attention to his hair and his eyes for a reason. All of this is intentional. What turned my suspicions into an actual conclusion were these 3 things: 1) When Emily's trapped in the box, there's a semi-wide slit between the boards (on the top)... you can see one of the killer's eyes. Going back to the previous statement about the hair and eyes... the eye looked familiar. 2) When it was discussed that Poe's column should be cut out of the paper, a certain individual instantly became butt-hurt and almost flipped his lid (I can't quote his actual statement, because that will spoil it). The killer is obviously a huge fan... or an obsessed fan of Poe's work... and this certain individual (who I still won't name) is pretty much the only person in the movie who gives a damn about Poe's work, enough to have that type of reaction. 3) When Emily finally breaks out of the box (oops, spoiler... but a predictable one), the killer holds her up, and you can see his hair. Again, I remembered the hair. I would tell you how many letters are in his name, but that would clearly give it away. And can I just say that I have a slight attraction to "Detective Fields" ? Because yeah, I kinda do. Only a slight one, though. 

It's still all about Cusack.

There's never a dull moment...

... never. What might seem like the dullest moments of my life aren't even dull. If anything, they're comical. Absolutely comical. Laugh it off... it's all you can do.

I started off my morning by watching a movie! I watched "Running on Empty" on my iPod, as I waited for my American Lit class to start. I didn't finish it, though. I have about 25 minutes or so left; I might finish it before "The Voice" comes on later... or maybe after.

Today we FINALLY started watching "The Raven"... POE!!!! ♥ CUSACK!!!! ♥ Apparently, we'll be reading some of Poe's works after we watch the movie... and have a class discussion about it. Lovely. I love those (not really). But it's Poe... so I'll most likely have something interesting to contribute to the discussion. Ha! I was giddy before the movie even started. Once he pressed the play button, it was over. I'm an idiot... but no shame. I just really, really, really, really love John Cusack. I do. And him playing Edgar Allan Poe? Done. So done. I know I had a stupid, love-struck smile on my face the entire time. Except for the more grosser scenes... those scenes were watched by my "what the fuck?!" face. A few people looked away from the screen and down at their phones... I almost followed suit... but I was too engrossed to look away. I am such a freaking fangirl... and it's gross. Absolutely disgusting. Haha! I had to sit in my chair for like 2 minutes after he stopped the film (class ended)... my heart was pounding. Heavily. Thump, thump, thump... John Cusack, thump. Ha! Again, no shame! So yeah, this is going to be a good week for English class. I just can't believe the semester is almost over... where did the time go?! This semester went by hella fast.

Also, chivalry is not dead. A dude held not one, but two doors open for me this morning. Unfortunately, I think I'm caught in the middle of a hipster love flirtation triangle... haha! So not my fault. Well, it's not entirely my fault. Don't even ask... I'm not explaining this one. My life should seriously be a sitcom.

Those little JCPenney holiday buttons are like crack (I've never tried crack, btw). And they're free; no purchase necessary. Free crack. Lovely. I went with Mom today to get her some more buttons... well, a lady gave me a handful... and I just couldn't stop. I needed more. They are so damn cute. It wasn't until we came to the lady who let us pick out our own 2 buttons. Yeah, I was hooked. Highly amusing. I have a little collection for myself now... haha! It's the little things...

Also, I've already won two $10 gift certificates through the code redeeming process! Rock & roll.

I survived Thanksgiving...

... and I am absolutely shocked. I didn't think I was going to.

We did not do the norm this year. Instead of having lasagna at our house, we went to Hometown Buffet. We (me, my mother, and my brother) did the whole Thanksgiving thing with a few people from my mom's side of the clan. My mother's mother (I won't call her that other name, as she's lost that privilege... maybe I will again, someday) invited us to spend it with her, her boyfriend Anthony, mom's uncle Robert, and mom's uncle Eddie and his wife. Apparently, my mother's brother (I will NEVER call him my uncle) and his daughter (I will NEVER call her my cousin) invited themselves without really asking first. My mother's mother wasn't too thrilled with that, but she'd never tell them not to come. One lives in Arizona and the other lives way down south, btw. THAT was the deal breaker. No way in hell were we going if they were going. We've had many Thanksgivings and Christmas' ruined by my father's side of the family... no more ruined holidays. We're better off staying at home and doing things our way. It's peaceful and drama-free.

Well, after being asked like 5 times, we decided to go. Just because you are among idiots, it doesn't mean you have to associate with them. They're just there in the background. Even though we decided to go, we were still apprehensive, and were expecting massive idiocy. Not only were Beavis and Butt-head going to be there, my mother's brother's son (I will NEVER call him my cousin) was supposed to show up too. Friggin' lovely. Those three individuals barely get along as it is... I don't know why they'd want to show up and publicly embarrass themselves? I got a text this morning saying that Beavis and Butt-head were not coming. ha! I so called that... but I figured they'd cancel yesterday, instead of canceling a few hours before the lunch/dinner. Assholes. Yeah, they're massive flakes, and everyone knows it. Even after making a big stink over the time of the lunch/dinner and lying to get their way to have it changed (a fight in which they lost, btw), they flaked. I was overjoyed. Massively, massively, overjoyed. I wrote a Facebook status this morning, and it started off with "Hallelujah! Praise Jesus!" Yeah. Those people are NOT family. They're relatives. Actually, they're "relatives"... because I don't even classify them as being relatives. They are just people whom I unfortunately share a bloodline with. That's it. Nothing more. I feel the same way about most of the people I share a bloodline with. Harsh, but true. Moving on.

Things went surprisingly well. I am still shocked. No yelling, no fighting. Just people eating a meal and talking. Although I mostly just talked to my brother (and my mother)... it was civil. And we liked it. My mother's mother's relationship with her boyfriend is fairly new. Well, they've been dating for like two years, but only recently started getting "serious"... I guess you could say? And we've just recently started talking to her again... since September, I think? So yeah, it was a little awkward. We've met the boyfriend once? The first meeting was unintentional and was extremely awkward. This time was better. Much, much, better. He is nothing like any man she has ever dated. I'm shocked. Again, I've only met him twice, but I think I might approve. haha! 

Anyway, we got there, and Hometown Buffet was playing Travis Tritt. "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde"... heck yes! Much like the Roxy Music video on Vh1 Classic this morning, I was convinced that this was a good sign! They had some country music playlist going... songs from about 10 or so years ago? The stuff that I know! But no Keith Urban, Emerson Drive, or Jimmy Wayne :( Everyone was on-time. Smiling. And full of hugs. Apparently, I look like I'm 17? ha. I get that a lot. 17-21, normally. Way off. But I'll take it! A lot of laughing went on too. Who's family is this? They looked like the same people I've seen before... but who are these people? haha! It was just nice. A little awkward, but nice. And I attempted to eat turkey. Yuck! Too chewy. Even the mashed potatoes were a bit of a fail. They were mashed, but still a little lumpy. Man! Praise Jesus for the rolls!! And the corn. And 3 glasses of Dr. Pepper! For the second round of food, I obtained some french fries! French fries on Thanksgiving... going against the grain! Hey, my brother had pizza, french fries, and popcorn shrimp. He walks on the wild side, that boy! ha!

My mother's mother (I know you're loving this!) originally had planned to take the female non-cousin's daughter to the park for her to play and feed the ducks. Well, that went south when they flaked. But she still wanted to go to the park and feed the ducks. Everyone was game except for my brother, and uncle Robert. So we met up about 30 minutes later and fed the ducks. I fed them about 3 pieces of bread, and my ass gave up and ran across the street and stood next to the car. THOSE DUCKS WERE TRYING TO EAT ME!!!! OMG. I think I'm still traumatized from the duck incident that happened when I was like 3? But yeah, those things were chasing me, man. I was screaming like an idiot. "QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! *Let's eat Liz* QUACK!" After the duck nonsense, Anthony said he had a present for all of us. Lottery scratchers... haha! We all got one, with one left over. The first person to win got the one left over. I was the first one to win... 2 whole dollars! Hey, that's $2 I didn't have a minute before I scratched it! On the 2nd scratcher, I almost won $100. I needed 3 matches, and I only had 2 matches. Can't win 'em all. Quack.

Then came the fun part! (I wish there was sarcasm font.) Apparently, they had also intended for us to go for a walk... around the entire park. I wish they would have told us that upfront: I was still wearing my boots. My new boots. I could have changed into some sneakers! Quaaaack! So yeah, my boots will probably fall apart at any minute. Also, I wasn't wearing a hoodie, because I didn't think we'd be there that long, and it wasn't that bad outside when we got to the park. I was wearing a sweater. Maaaaaaan did it get cold. COLD!!! Like, shivering cold. Runny nose cold. Hands/nose turning red, practically bone-chilling cold. It also started to become really foggy. I was given a jacket to wear, but that didn't really help much. I better not get sick... we're FINALLY starting on Poe next week in American Lit. I'm not missing Poe. I'm not. I'd go to class on my death bed. It's serious. I also attempted to slide down a slide... but it was all wet and muddy. Bah! Regardless of everything I just mentioned, I enjoyed the walk. It was peaceful and the scenery was pretty. A lot of the trees had the autumn colors... and the sky was pretty. Blue mixed with rainbow sherbet! But yeah, I think I needed that walk. It was good for the mind and good for the soul.

Since it's "Thanksgiving"... I guess I'll shall list what I am thankful for... this post is long enough, so I'll just list a few things.

• My family (immediate and my pets, because pets are family!)
• My friends (old and new!)
• Life (even though it likes to throw me curve balls all the time... but a simple life would probably be boring.)
• My health (I seem to be in good health?!)
• My favorite bands'/artists' music. (Normally, I'd just say 'music'... but I am not thankful for crap like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, or the Black Eyed Peas etc) And also, all of of my fave musicians/songwriters.
• The house I live in (no matter how much I dislike it. At least I have a house.)
• Our car.
• The people who inspire me.
• Technology (even if I hate it at times.)
• My education (a lot of people around the world are not able to go on to higher education).
• The things that make me smile... even if it's little things.
• "Farm Kings" (wait, what? ha!) 
• My blog readers (for both blogs!) 
• Cute boys in Beatles shirts and plaid shirts? (okay, I'm starting to get silly, I think it's time to stop...)

I know I'm missing some things... but the things I've mentioned above are good enough for now :)

I shall now go back to the "ALF" marathon on The Hub... and jamming to INXS! I might also have a River Phoenix movie fest later... if not tonight, then definitely tomorrow night!

Cause we all have wings...

I'm wearing my INXS shirt today. It's November 21st here in America, but it's November 22nd in Australia. Michael Hutchence died sometime in the A.M. (somewhere between 7am and 11:50am) on November 22nd, 1997 (Australian time)... which still would've been November 21st our time. Make sense? Yes? No? Kinda? Well, we're in the same boat... because sometimes, this confuses me too. I start the honoring/remembering (whatever you prefer to call it) on the 21st... and it lasts for two days. This year, Thanksgiving "turkey day" lands on November 22nd, so I have to write this blog (and the other one for my music blog) today instead, and do all of the core festivities today. I'll try to do as much as I can tomorrow... but we'll see how that goes.

I'm not a big fan of Nov 21-22. Not at all. I dread this every year. It feels like I've been kicked in the stomach. For the entire two days.

It's the same tradition every year: wear an INXS shirt, listen to INXS for the majority of the two days, watch their DVD of videos, and watch their "Live Baby Live" concert. Yeah, I take this very seriously. As much as I hate this day and the 22nd, it's all about keeping Hutch's memory and spirit alive, as well as his legacy. Just because he's gone, he shouldn't be forgotten. Now, I do all of this stuff year around, but on these dates, it is a must.

I rarely ever talk about any of this publicly. If I do talk about this, it's either in the privacy of my own house or to fellow INXS fans. Very few people I know understand the admiration or the fascination I have for Michael Hutchence. Other people just don't get it. They might share the same love/fascination, but it's for some other figure. People ask me, "why do you care so much? Why him?" Answer? I just do. I don't even think I can fully articulate it. At least not in the way I'd like to. So, to sum it all up, I just do. I didn't know him, I never met the guy, and I've never seen him perform live in the flesh, but he is of great significance to me. And will always be. 
He was just special. Unique. His voice... his songwriting (the Andrew Farriss/Michael Hutchence songwriting duo is my 2nd favorite btw, right behind Lennon/McCartney), his personality... the adorably mysterious thing he had going... the sexy yet sweet charm... his sensuality, and the way he moved. Just, everything. He was truly one of a kind. There was a constant comparison to Jim Morrison and Mick Jagger... and I can see that. But any comparison is a minor one... he wasn't either of them, he was just Hutch. 
And he was an Aquarius. I'm an Aquarius... and it just so happens that the majority of the famous people I like are Aquarians. Purely coincidental. I swear. I don't know if it has anything to do with relating to their quirky personalities or attitudes... but I find myself saying "I so totally do that." Or "That is so me!" I found myself saying or muttering that a lot after reading the INXS Autogbiography "Story to Story" a few years back. He's my Aquarian brother! 

I don't know, but I just love him. He's gone, but he will always fascinate me. He was just so cool. Too cool.  

He died in the most shitty way. That is not the way to go out. I don't even want to talk about how he died... if you're reading this and don't know how he died, you'll have to google it. The hours leading up to his death are almost heartbreaking. I know his death was ruled as a suicide... but I don't believe he had the intention of killing himself. He might have; he could've done it without any proper thought. A spur of the moment type of thing (the only one who will ever know that is Michael). Bob Geldof did drive him over the edge... but Michael loved his daughter, Tiger Lily. He loved that little girl... so, so, much... she was his world. To want to leave her permanently just makes no sense. Yes, I'm one of the kooks who still believe he died from autoerotic asphyxiation... that just makes more sense...

Enough of that, though. Let's jam and honor his greatness.

  
Rest In Peace, Hutch ♥

Surrender, surrender...

... but don't give yourself away.

I only gave my blog away.

Blogspot has won the battle... or at least for now. I had to reset the settings and go back to one of their non-customized, generic, blog templates. Bleh. Customized template save settings are still not working. I'm not even sure if they're trying to fix this problem anymore? Anyway, this blog looks ugly. But at least you can now see the posting dates for the stuff that I post! 

On a much lighter note, all of my faves on "The Voice" have made it to the top 10!!! Yes, I read the spoilers... I didn't want to wait. The suspense was killing me. I'm still going to watch, though... Adam Levine is a hot piece of ass and Rascal Flatts are performing on the show tonight! Also, I like watching the reactions of the contestants who are "safe". :) 

Cute boys in Beatles shirts...

... make me smile. That makes me smile a big smile. Great way to start off the week; happy Monday! hee hee!

Actually, waking up to "Empire Records" was a fantastic way to start off the day/week! I am absolutely obsessed with that movie... but that is a whole 'nother blog post. Actually, that will be a future blog post, I'm 100% sure of it! Encore Love plays that movie a lot... I have watched it twice since about 9:30pm last night. It will be on again in about 40 minutes... buuuuut I just remembered that I have a hot date with something that is on, instead: "INXS: Live Baby Live". Yeah, INXS wins. I will probably weep like a little bitch, but I am still watching it anyway. It always makes me tear up, but I will probably weep twice as much, seeing how it is pretty close to November 22nd. I absolutely hate that day. I dread that day. Every year. And it just so happens that Thanksgiving "turkey day" falls on the 22nd this year. Please make this week end already. Please? For those of you who don't know, Michael Hutchence (original lead singer for INXS) died on that day, back in 1997. I just absolutely can't with that day (or that week). I can't. I do a lot of Michael Hutchence/INXS celebrating on that day (even though it's hella sad). He died during the A.M. in Australia on the 22nd, which was still the 21st in America, so it's always a two day ordeal. I'll probably blog about all of this... assuming I survive "turkey day"... we will be among a bunch of idiots...

My instructor "picked on" me again this morning... I had to read the last stanza of a poem and tell the class my interpretation of it/what it meant to me. Out of the nine stanzas, I think he gave me the easiest one. I like when that happens! I don't remember who said it, but a dude in class said "It's like an ashes to ashes... dust to dust sort of thing"... from then on, I had David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes" stuck in my head. David Bowie is a beast. 

Today was a good day...

... well, except for the Taco Bell incident. But I'll get to that later.

I had a good morning, and I am so not a morning person. The cute boy was adorably cute this morning. I saw him as I was walking to class... he turned and saw me, and flashed that adorable smile. Ugh... it makes me sick. haha! He's adorably strange in class, though. He's just as confusing as I am... that's why it could never work. ha! And no, I will never mention any names. Ever. (And no, Ashley, it isn't "Bettman".) Also, I will not answer any "yes or no" questions. A girl's gotta have a few secrets! Anyway, a good chunk of the people in my American Lit class didn't come today, but what else is new? I tend to like it that way. I'm not a big fan of people... so the smaller the class size, the better. We discussed Emerson's "Merlin"... I actually liked that reading. That doesn't happen very often. I also liked the discussion we had in class... which also doesn't happen very often. I liked what everyone had to say. Well, except for "Bettman". I never like what he has to say. But whenever my instructor says "Emerson", it always makes me think of Emerson Drive. That makes me smile. Every.Single.Time. But the smile only lasts for a few minutes, maybe even a few seconds... then I get kinda bummed out. But anyway, I got "picked on" today, which means I got called on. I actually didn't mind, because it was a question I could actually answer. It was a question about myself and writing... yeah, I think I can answer that. Towards the end of class, a guy (I forgot his name... I'm not sure I ever knew his name?) made a comment about "Merlin"... something along the lines of 'people thinking things are trivial but they really aren't'. I sooooo wanted to blurt out "Nothing is trivial." A reference to "The Crow." The scene where Brandon Lee ("Eric Draven") is inside the police officer's house having a heart-to-heart (if you want to call it that). That scene makes me crumble every time I watch that movie. But today, thinking about it made me smile. Yeah, I think I randomly smile way too much in that class... my instructor probably thinks I'm a smiling idiot or something? It's the little things in life, man... the little things. 

Moving from American Lit to math. I had a test this morning... no pressure. Nope. Normally it takes me the entire class period to finish one of those things... but today, it took me about 25 minutes. BAM! I was like the 5th person done? I finished early, so I was able to get my test results almost immediately. I PASSED! 89%. Again, I say... BAM! Only one more test to go... I think I've got this. Yeah. Oh, and I totally have INXS to thank. Well, not entirely, but they totally made a contribution. We're allowed to listen to music while we take tests... I almost chose my Cure/Simple Minds playlist... but at the last minute, I heard INXS in my head. I had to go with my fave Aussie boys :) And it didn't hurt that I took the practice test 3 times last night... ha! Since I passed on the 1st attempt, I don't have to go to class on Wednesday! Woot woot!

We were supposed to go out with Dad tomorrow, but we decided to go today, instead. We wanted to beat the rain. (Watch it not rain tomorrow!) Anyway, I FINALLY found a pair of shoes. My feet are a stupid size. 9 1/2... yeah, I have big feet. I'm special. Well, actually, they're anywhere from 9-9 1/2, depending on the shoe/boot. We've been looking for 2 weeks for a damn pair of shoes... shoes that I liked. I wanted Vans... but they don't make them like they used to anymore. Vans were no longer an option. DC shoes... 9s are too small and they don't make a lot of 9 1/2 shoes. Welcome to my life. 9 1/2s are few and far between... but the one(s) I wanted aren't made in 9 1/2. Again, welcome to my life. Buuuut all of that bullsh*t ended today. Somebody finally told us that DC shoes were made a half size bigger than your foot. So the 10s that I thought were too big, were actually the right size. I tried on some random 9 1/2 shoe and that shit was too small. HA! Of course. I could've gotten the first size 10 shoe that I wanted on the first try, 2 weeks ago. Derp. So yeah, back to the mall we went. Shoes were purchased. Hallelujah.

Having Taco Bell for dinner should have been a good thing. Well, maybe not for our bodies or our insides... but for the taste buds (which I just got back, btw?) it should have been heavenly. It was, kinda... but it was absolutely buzz-killed. I'm not even sure what went down? All I know, is that there was a lady outside that may or may not have been with a family that was sitting inside... well, she pretty much collapsed outside. She got out of the car (we think?)... one of the family members inside walked outside... all of a sudden she's pounding on the window screaming for someone to all 911. We all looked outside and saw a lady (who was NOT looking well, AT ALL) squished up against a parking pole (not sure if she was having a seizure? heart attack? stroke? No clue). All of a sudden she fainted/collapsed and started shaking on the concrete sidewalk. She smacked her face/nose on the pole and there was blood all over the side of her face. Yeah, it was f*cking scary. I should probably mention that the family members (?) were screaming/crying like she was dying... we had no clue what the frack was going on... but it didn't look good nor did it sound good. All of a sudden all of the screaming stopped. One of two things: 1) Is she okay? 2) Did she die? WHAT THE F*CK, MAN??? About 5 minutes or so later, the ambulance came, CPR was given to her and they carried her away on the stretcher. She looked like she was responsive... but she still didn't look well. No clue? But I hope she's okay. That was absolutely horrifying. I was scarred for a while. I wasn't really hungry after that.

Ball Of Confusion...

I'm currently listening to Love and Rockets... hence the naming of this post. Sirius XM's "1st Wave" is a super fabulous station, by the way! Yeah, I think it has surpassed "Hair Nation" for being my favorite Sirius station. Anyway...

 I tried to pull my first ditch of the semester this morning... yeah, I know, I'm a little late, seeing how there's only about 3 weeks left. Ha! Normally I'd have about 4 absences or so by now? But yeah, I've been a perfect little angel this semester. I was going to ditch English, but not math. I could never ditch math. You miss one class and you'll get behind... we learn something new each day, and the instructor I have this semester doesn't go back and re-teach stuff... unless it's the day before the test. I hate math and math hates me, so I would never dare to miss a day. Anyway, I get a message from my friend at 9:57am saying "No English class!" Class was canceled. Epic fail. Yeah, I'm psychic or something? I picked a superb day to ditch, eh? Our class is already behind... now we're even more behind. Just give me Poe already!! At the rate we're going, we'll never get to Poe. We don't have much time left...

Speaking of math, why do I even need to take it? I'm an English Major. I think the stuff I learned from elementary-high school is good enough. As long as you know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide... I think you're good. Maybe learn some decimals, some fractions... maybe some percents. Anything past that is one big ball of confusion. It's absolutely useless and is a complete waste of time. Unless you're a math or accounting Major. I wish our college system was like Canada's: take your major classes and get the hell out. Just like that. I understand that's how these institutions make their money, but come on. It's a waste of time and money. Buuuuut I'm gettin' down to the nitty gritty... I only have a few classes left, and I'll FINALLY be done with college. It only took fifty years... okay, not really fifty, but it friggin' feels like it.