Now are you sure you want a piece of me?

So I've had a couple weird dreams lately.

I want to start blogging again more regularly, especially what dreams I can remember.

I had a sex dream last night> I don't have many dreams where I'm having sex. There wasn't anything strange or terribly notable about that dream other than that, though - I think it was Faith Nelson that I was having sex with. Good stuff.

Another dream I had recently saw me as a police officer for San Marcos. We were in front of Domino's, and a monster was attacking, it was a lot like Cloverfield. We were running to our car, which was on the other side of the parking lot. We got in our car as a huge tentacle hit the parking lot behind us, and a lot of little monsters disgorged. One jumped through the car window next to me; it looked kind of like an armadillo. Very weird.

Those are the only two that I can really remember recently.

Britney Spears -- Piece of Me

Don't you have somewhere to go?

So I know it's clichè, but what with time being an arbitrary concept and all, New Year's provides just as good a time to reflect as anything. A good time to look back at the last year, see where I am, where I'm going, what's coming up.

Let's start with what happened recently. I worked New Year's Eve, which isn't a big deal. I usually do - last year, the year before that, the year before that, but the year before that, I think I was with Suzie in Galveston. I remember three New Year's ago, when I got off from Sonic, was driving home, Mom called me from All Niter, her and Jerry were there, we sat on the patio and had breakfast. Lilie drove by. Good times. So anyway.

I spent this New Year's making pizzas. Luckily, I wasn't taking an order or anything when the ball dropped (which is my way of saying "Midnight struck"). Just kind of standing there. I was very aware of when it was. Bill and Chris were my closing drivers, but they were both out on runs. They were pretty much running nonstop 'til the end of the night. I got a few calls around midnight - Danielle called, that was awesome. Hadn't really talked to her or anything in quite a while. Danielle and Jenni both called, that was fun. Had a few drunks order some pizza in person, that's always fun. I think part of my aversion to drinking is how very, very much I hate talking to drunk people. I hear it's not so bad when you're also drunk. Whatever.

I went to Wal-Mart after work, picked up some juice and stuff. Of course, Rebecca was my cashier. Good times. She was smiling a lot. I'm not naive enough to think she was smiling because of me, but it was definitely at, and I'll take my victories where I can get them.

[Sidenote: I'm watching "Blonde Ambition" while typing this. Atrocious movie. Jessica Simpson's character is a country bumpkin stuck in the big city. She doesn't know how to ride a bike. I'll let that sink in a for a moment. At least Rachael Leigh Cook is in it. She's awesome. Also, apparently, she did the voice of Tifa Lockhart in most of the Final Fantasy adaptations, post-VII. Good stuff.]

Anyway, it really helped dispel all the bad vibes I got from her on Christmas Eve with Jenni. Moving on. I had to give Rose a ride home the next night, she needed to go to Wal-Mart that night. We spent about fifteen minutes in the hair care aisle, she needed some conditioner without certain chemicals in it. Or something, I don't know. I keep my head shaved. Whatever. We had to go through sporting goods for a thermos or something. For whatever reason, I picked up a baseball bat. I started carrying that around for a while. It's a guy thing. Whatever.

So we took the corner towards electronics, and she's standing there right next to the Guitar Hero demo. Long story short, she's watching electronics during lunch, and the other girl, the one playing very badly in training mode, was on lunch. I felt kind of weird holding on to the bat, but I went with it. Rose kind of took off, went to finish her shopping. The girl playing finished the song, realized the game probably wasn't for her. Rebecca and I talked a little while the other girl (she needs a name if I'm going to bring her up very many more times in this story; 'other girl' and 'that girl' is starting to get a little repetitive). She said something about her brother who 'has like, every video game system ever' and apparently doesn't like girls that much because they talk to much and prevent him from playing his games. Good times. She thinks he might be gay. Or something. She didn't want to play, because her eyes don't focus fast enough. She said something about the doctor telling her she needs to exercise her eyes more, and she's annoyed, because the last thing she wants is another doctor telling her she needs to exercise more. Or something.

[How the F did they get Rachael Leigh Cook for this piece of crap? It's awesomely tragic. Oh, crap, Willie Nelson. He must really like Jessica Simpson, or something.]

So she - that other girl - finishes, and asks Rebecca if she wants to play, so she turns to me and asks me if I want to. I hesitantly accepted. I went with 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot', because I know the song really well. I did 98%-ish. It was great, because my hands were sweaty. I'm a big, big guy, and I like to think I do some physically demanding things - I play racquetball, I play DDR. I sweat a lot during those times, but my hands stay dry. They don't sweat at all. Ever.

But they were sweating the whole time I played the song. I guess that means I was really, really nervous. Which I was. Which means I actually like her.

Crazy.

Moving on.

So I finished the song, put down the guitar, said something to the effect of "That's not really fair, 'cause I play this all the time.", picked up the baseball bat I set down by the demo unit, and walked off. I had no idea what was going on. I found Rose, and we went about our shopping. She asked me where the latex gloves were, so I went and asked Rebecca. We talked a bit.

Oh, I was still holding the baseball bat. It wouldn't be right without it.

We talked a little bit; she told me a story about her boyfriend. I'm still debating the point of the story. It could go any number of ways - maybe she was just making small talk (it was a funny story, after all), or just sharing about her New Year's Eve / life stuff, or, quite possibly,

[Major plot hole. This is what I don't get. If they want Jessica Simpson's character to be that idiot's secretary so they can manipulate her, why are they constantly sabotaging her plans? Wouldn't they want to help her and have her do well, so she would gain his trust and thus be a more valuable asset in their plan? I guess that's what I get for trying to actually follow the plot of a movie that makes fun of Norwegians for no real reason. It's not so much making fun of them, as it is randomly having them do karaoke - 'Baby Got Back', no less - in the most horrendous accents I've ever heard.]

[Oh gosh. Here comes the montage where the small-town girl grows accustomed to her big-city job, but turns her back on her small-town roots. I'm already looking forward to the moment of truth where she decides, momentously, to re-embrace her values.]

or, quite possibly, as a way to remind me that she has a boyfriend. (Of course, best-case is that she was reminding herself, because she was afraid she was forgetting. Probably not, but it's fun to dream.)

Moving on.

We got the gloves, we went home.

So yeah, that was fun.

Now, about reminiscing and stuff.

Let's start with work.

I started the New Year working at Wal-Mart. Literally - as usual, I was working that night. Worked there until early April, when Javi called me and asked me if I wanted to come back to Sonic. Ashley Hopkins lent a lot of credence to that argument, and I walked out. That was fun. What was really, really fun about that was that Ambra had started working there by that point, she was also working that night. Lots of freight, understaffed, all the greatest hits we know and love from working at Wal-Mart.

I started at Sonic a week later. It was, well, interesting. Ashley ended up quitting, so did Javi. I ended up working around seventy hours a week. I didn't mind the hours - one week, I had about ninety hours, that was a nice paycheck. Overall, it was a good turning point - allowed me to build a decent reserve really fast (I moved back home around the same time, worked out well). The problem I had at Sonic? Well, it was two-fold. First, as it often the case with crappy service jobs, everyone there hated working it. Now, the thing about these jobs is that the co-workers often make it bearable. That wasn't the case - they had really, really bad attitudes. I can name a few off the top of my head, but it's really not worth it. The second issue was Bubba. He was cool at first, until I got to know him. Not hiring people, not taking an active hand in his store, underordering, argh. I got sick of it.

Luckily, Sergio called from Domino's and asked me if I wanted to come be an assistant for him, as he had just gotten the store. I thought about it, but I was afraid. I hate big decisions; I seem to always mess them up. Of course, I felt pretty good about that one. I put in my two weeks at Sonic, walked out a week later. I've been working at Domino's ever since. Of course, my work history now goes Sonic - Domino's - Wal-Mart - Sonic - Domino's. Good stuff. There was a two day stint at CRI, which isn't really even worth mentioning (well, except for that).

So, yeah. Been working 40-50 (more like 45, not so much 50 anymore) hours a week there, 5-C five times a week.

There's work.

Living Situation.

Not much to talk about here. I was living at Les Chateaux, but I moved home. It does make me feel kind of a loser and all, being twenty-five, working at Domino's, being completely single, morbidly obese, good times. Of course, I'm working on all of those things. I'm twenty-five and don't have a degree, but I am back in school. I'm funding that with Domino's, and I'm working on my weight. Good stuff. Oh, and I pay rent.

[Holy crap, this movie sucks.]

Social:

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Not much to say here. Thankfully, Lilie is no longer a part of my life in any way. Passed her on Thanksgiving, didn't answer when she called. I still think about her occasionally, during depression spirals,

[This scene is actually humorous.]

but that's not really specific to her - that's more about her being the last person I was that close to, and her being such a major part of my life for so long. Comparatively speaking, of course.

So yeah, single and probably going to stay that way for a while. No real prospects or anything. I mean, I kind of have a thing for Rebecca,

[Extreme Sports Bonanza? I miss Rachael Leigh Cook pretending to be part of the marina group.]

Moving on.

but I'm not going to delude myself into thinking that anything's going to happen there.

[Now the running to find his true love and prevent a misunderstanding from becoming a tragedy. Gyp and Buddy could have written a more imaginative, if more cheese-oriented, screenplay.]

So what's in store for this year? School. Work. Getting in shape. Taking control of my life, maybe growing up a little (not too much, don't worry).

So, resolutions? Not sure. I'm cutting dairy almost entirely out of my diet, but that's not a resolution so much as it is a 'I don't want to feel like crap, I'm lactose intolerant' kind of thing. I'm going to be back in school, but that's too much of a thing that's like, interwoven into your life to be a New Year's Resolution. The same goes for health things. I'll get back to you on that one.

Ashlee Simpson -- Boyfriend

I knew you wouldn't understand

One more to add to the baby watch - Carrie. Yup, Carrie. We were talking today just randomly, since we were both on and all, and she just kind of dropped that bombshell. Now, Lilie was saying that that's what people do, it's natural, it happens, blah blah blah. I agree. However, it's something old people do. These people - Carrie, Terri, Montana, Kristina, they're my age, my peers, my friends. It's really weird for me to think about those people getting pregnant, having babies of their own. Lilie suggested that it makes me feel old. No, it makes me feel young. Way too young. That's part of being an adult, being grown up, and it's something I don't want for a good long while yet. Hmm.

Also, the second D&D movie doesn't suck. That much. It's just like playing D&D with Jarrod and Mat and Luke... right down to the bad accents, random encounters with bandits, and overdone fantasy clichès.

Colette -- Didn't Mean to Turn You On

Now I know what I've missed

So yeah, had last Friday off. Didn't ask for it or anything, just got a Friday off. It was pretty nice. Took Rose to see V for Vendetta, realized that we don't hang out nearly enough, especially with her moving to Austin and everything. Of course, they're moving to a place off of Wickersham, which means they're more or less on the way to going to play DDR, so I could theoretically stop by and say hi, either coming or going. The main difficulty there is that I'm not entirely over Lilie, but I don't anticipate that preventing me from saying hi to Rose. But yeah, V for Vendetta. Really, really awesome movie. Especially this time, staying awake through the whole thing and what-not, it really enhances the viewing experience. Cleared up a few plot points I was really confused about, but raised additional questions. First and foremost - why the hell isn't there more buzz about this movie? I mean, seriously, it's FUCKING AWESOME. Easily one of the best movies I've seen in a long, long time. It's *almost* good enough to redeem the Wachowski brothers for the extreme pieces of crap that were Matrix: Reloaded and Matrix: Revolutions. Almost.

But yeah, we had a great time watching the movie. Got kind of a late start, but still managed to get her there in time for the awesome alliterative monologue he does at the very beginning, which I intend to memorize here shortly, starting tomorrow when Ambra and I go see it. So yeah, after that, hung around in MC for the Garr fight, then Cullen and I headed up to Austin to play some DDR. But first, I stopped by Domino's to get my water and bought the quarter roll that had been hanging out in the till for a while. Thus equipped, we went to play DDR. We went to Blazer Tag at Ben White and Manchaca first. That's kind of like my origin - the first place I played DDR and all that, so I like to stop by and play there from time to time. That, and there's usually a lot of people hanging around that aren't DDR players, so me being the attention whore that I am, can usually attract a few spectators, which is kind of cool. We got there... and they had In The Groove. It ended up being really cool - a *ton* of mods available, all new songs, good stuff. It's really, really easy to see why Konami sued over it. Closed Saturday and Sunday, had Monday off. I'll get to Monday later.

Sue -- Bliss

Every time I see you, I try to hide away

So I was feeling really crappy, and Jess said she'd stay and close for me. That sweetheart. She's also going to Seguin instead of me. I didn't really want to; the only reason that I was willing to without putting up any sort of fuss was that it was to help out Ambra. It's much more convenient for Jess, though, since she lives right there and won't have to drive half an hour to work anymore. From what I hear, she's going to be there for two months, and then there'll re-evaluate the situation. Gina was saying something like if things don't get better by that time, she'll go out there with Jess, and Ambra and I will run San Marcos in the interem. That kind of scares me, but I don't think it'll happen. Had some new drivers come on board, they're doing okay so far, which is good, because I'm about to smack Wes. We're about to get mandatory random drug testing, which will probably cost us a few people. Most of the people I know we'll lose, I'm not sorry to see go one bit, but I don't know the full extent that we'll face. Supposedly, we're getting a 16" pizza here shortly, which is going to suck hardcore. Really, really hardcore. Have (had) 6 closing shifts this week, Tue - Sun (well, except for tonight, since Jess closed for me). Probably have about the same next week, because although we're getting Joe and Jenn back, we're losing Jess for a while. So things are going to be interesting. I'll be eligible for a week of paid vacation here in about three months, which will be cool - an entire week off, and pay for 40 hour that week. There's a chance I might end up spending it with Carrie, which would rock hardcore. There are a few other things I might end up doing during that week, but Carrie remains my number one choice.

So yeah, that's work. Let's see, what else...? Well, WoW's going okay. Up to rank 7 on Gnometastic, making a strong push for rank 8 this week. That'll get me the PvP Tier 1 robes and legs, and replace the last two auction house greens I have (Update: Just got the Dreadmist Leggings on a Baron run, bringing me up to 6/8 Dreadmist (2 of which I actually wear, until Tuesday, when I drop the leggings in favor of the PvP ones)). I'm debating whether or not I'm going to make a serious effort to get rank 10 and complete the Tier 1 set. I'd really like to - the helmet would be a definite upgrade, though I'd do better with the Crown of the Ogre King. The shoulders would be a good upgrade too... but mainly, I think both pieces look frickin' AWESOME. The whole set does, really, though slightly less than the mage set, which I think looks EVEN MORE AWESOME. There's no chance of me getting the PvP Tier 2 set, and I don't care about the epic mount, since I just have to do DM West with another lock that has the mats to get my epic mount, so after 8 or 10, I'll just be grinding rep with the BGs for gear. I'd like to hit Exalted with WSG for their Tabard, but nothing else - seriously, their rewards suck. I wouldn't be surprised to see Blizzard revamp their rewards a little soon. The Ironbark Staff, at Exalted with Arathi Basin, is definitely my most attainable staff upgrade, since I'm not likely to get a MC or BWL staff until the expansion. Speaking of which, went back to MC with Grief tonight on the freak 'having-Friday-night-off thing', which was nice. Didn't get anything (naturally), but if I'm able to attend a few raids, I think the chance of me getting stuff is decent. By stuff, I mean pieces of Felheart. Ihatebrooms is coming along nicely, 46 now. She's still shadow, but I'll be going disc/holy after 1.10 hits. I haven't touched Ereneda in a while now, since the renewed interest in Gnometastic and her starting to advance again. She's basically just a farming character - skinning, herbalism, and AoE'ing (which I absolutely *love*, btw).

After those two categories... not sure what else there is, really. And yeah, that's really sad. Our lease is up May 31st, at which point we'll be parting ways. David wants to live on his own, which is cool, and not very surprising. It might eliminate the joy that is playing WoW with someone right next to you, but we don't get to do that very often anyway, what with our current schedules and what-not. I'll be moving in with Ambra during that one month period between her roommate moving out (early May) and my lease ending (end of May). We'll another two-ish months 'til her lease is up to see if we can stand living together, and if we can, then we'll find a place. I think it'll be okay. I'm not terribly worried about anything developing between us, which would make things kind of awkward anyway, but yeah. I'm looking foward to living much closer to campus and being able to go play DDR every day, which will be really cool, even if it's during the summer.

Haven't seen any movies recently, so I can't really comment on that. We were going to see Ultraviolet, but Ambra was completely exhausted and fell asleep fairly soon after getting here. (Remarked David, "Did she come over here just to crash on our couch?")

So, what else, what else? Hmm... still ardently single. Ardently? That's not the right word. Stringently? Nope. Hopelessly? Eh... not quite right. Unflinchingly? Now I'm just being silly. Something along these lines, though. I don't think I'm co-dependant or anything - I certainly don't feel I *have* to be in a relationship, that I *have* to have someone with me to be complete.

It'd be nice, though.

Mysterio -- Fading Like a Flower

I'll be your dream, you can be my fantasy

So I saw Serenity Saturday evening with David. It was awesome, to the point that it makes me want to see Firefly, the short-lived series it was based on. I'm probably going to see it again with Lilie, hopefully on Sunday. That would be uber-neat. My favorite part was WARNING: THE FOLLOWING BOX CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS.

When the hot 17 year-old psychic ninja chick beat the fucking crap out of a bunch of crazed space cannibals. In fact, I think that part was strong enough to stand on its own. Imagine: "Serenity 2: Hot 17 year-old psychic ninja chick beats the crap out of a bunch of crazed space cannibals for an hour and a half. I'm estimating 1.5 billion box office, minimum.

Going to a cuddle party tomorrow with Rose. That's going to be... well, weird. But also fun, I hope. There's another one Sunday, if we like this one enough. Coincidentally, I have both days off, so that (might) work(s) out well. Hell, going to a cuddle party, then Serenity with Lilie? That'd be *crazy*.

Having fun playing WoW. Got Rose hooked. She'll probably be picking up her own copy, once she gets a job. Still doesn't have one, though she has been looking. Rolled horde on Emerald Dream, one of the new PvPRP servers, along with most of Obsidian Moon from Feathermoon. Got a 28 orc warrior - running neck and neck with Valgorez, 'bout 4-6 levels behind Lilie. Seeing that I started off almost 15, I'm not feeling too bad about that. I'll probably slow down once I catch up to her. Which reminds me, time for another UI Mod roundup.

• AllBagsOpen
  Just opens all of your bags when you visit a merchant, a mailbox, the auction house, open a trade window, etc, and closes them all when you close that window. I like it.
  
• Atlas
  Provides in game maps of all instance, along with named mobs and a few points of interest.
  
• AutoMount
  Automatically dismounts you when you open a flight master's flight path window.
  
• AutoRepair
  Automatically prompts you to repair all items, with the cost, both equipped and in your inventory (two seperate prompts) whenver you speak to a merchant with that capability.
  
• bc_ActionBarDrag
  Provides a key binding to disable/enable action bar icon dragging.
  
• bc_TrackingMenu
  Changes the tracking icon to a clickable drop-down list with all of your tracking abilities. Great for hunters.
  
• CCL
  Couldn't Care Less. Automatically filters out all messages in the chat log about people getting drunk, dueling, and group money looting.
  
• ChatKeys
  Provides keybindings to automatically open the chat prompt in General, Trade, LookingforGroup, LocalDefense, WorldDefense, Guild, Party, Raid, Say, and Yell.
  
• ClassBuffHelper
  Whenever you cast a crowd control spell - Sap, Disorient, Polymorph, Frost Nova, etc., a bar pops up with the maximum duration and starts going down - kind of like a reverse casting bar, and when it's empty, that's the maximum time the spell will last. If it breaks prematurely, the bar dissapears. Great for knowing how much longer your cc spells can possibly last.
  
• CT Mod
  A true UI makeover pack. Includes a variety of options, from 4 extra bars, to breaking apart the bottom bar, to adding quest levels, hp/mp numbers on your and your party's bar, etc.
  
• fond
  Flippance on Demand. You define catergories, like "Fire" or whatever, then list phrases under each one. You can then set up macros to call a random phrase from a catergory. Good times.
  
• FriendsFacts
  Stores the level, class, and what zone your friends were in the last time you were both online.
  
• FriendsShare
  Creates per-server global friends lists, so your alts automatically have your entire friends list.
  
• Inspector
  Allows inspecting at great range, shows the honor stats on the same window, and lets you inspect members of the opposite faction.
  
• Lootlink
  Creates a browsable in-game database of items you've seen.
  
• MoveAnything
  Allows you to move and hide most of the default UI frames.
  
• nodni
  Removes the Day/Night indicator from the minimap.
  
• PlayerLinkMenu
  Lets you click on player names in chat with a drop down list, with items including 'Invite', 'Who', 'Ignore', etc.
  
• Possessions
  Tracks each of your characters stuff (per server), including where it is. Also shows aggregate totals.
  
• Reputation
  Shows numerical values over the reputation bars and for reputation gains.
  
• SCT
  Scrolling Combat Text. Shows numbers above your head as you take damage and are headled, FF Style.
  
• Self-Cast
  Allows you to hold a button down as you cast a spell to automatically target yourself.
  
• StatusBars
  Creates highly customizable bars to track your own, your target's, and your pet's health/mana/power.
  
• Titan
  Gives you a bar at the top to track various information.
  
• TitanMadReagent
  A plug-in for Titan that allows you to track amounts of items in your inventory.
  
• TitanXPStatus
  A better XP plug-in, includes rest tracking.
  
• Trinketmenu
  Creates a two slot action bar that shows you what trinkets you have equipped, allows you to easily use and change them.
  
• Tweaks
  A smattering of random tweaks - show your target's target, and your target's target's target; play an audio alert when your target targets you, auto-release/resurrect in battlegrounds, etc.
  
  I've removed my Player and Target frames completely and replaced them with Status Bars; I've also removed most of the bottom area - Bags, Mini-buttons (Character, Quests, Spellbook, etc.), and the XP bar, and moved the CT buttons there, so I have two rows of buttons running the full length of the bottom of my screen, with one up each side. Good times.

The stars are all my friends

The stars are all my friends
'Til the night time ends

So I know I'm not alone
When I'm here
On my own

Isn't that a wonder?
You're not alone
When you're alone

Not really

Alone

Fanboys are wetting their pants

Microsoft hawking Halo script for $10m - Xbox News at GameSpot

My favorite part is the 'messengers dressed as Master Chief' bit.

You move around like you're unbreakable, and time after time you prove that you're unshakable

This is going to be a very quick, short post. I have to leave for work very soon. After the first weekend at the new pad... things are going pretty good. Got the living room basically set up - still need to do little things, like mount the huge dry erase board, and set up the secondary gaming station. Both of our pcs are up, running, and talking to each other; we (David) set up the media server last night and watched "Josie and the Pussycats", as well as bits of "Hero", an episode of MST3K, and some Red vs Blue. So it looks like that whole thing is definitely set up and ready to go.

I've got my room... somewhat set up. Got my bed set up and made, and it's pretty comfortable. Lilie says it's not as comfortable as my bed back home, but there weren't any sheets or pillows or anything when she said that. The next time she comes over, and it has its full compliment of stuff, we'll see what she says. Of course, she's leaving for New York on Friday. I still have to make a post about her. Or five. Something along those lines.

My characters on WoW have been getting some nice equipment upgrades; Kat's 24 now.

Work sucks. Tracy and I almost went at it last night right before she left. I can't stand either Josh, though one may be out of there before too long, since he keeps trying to call in and doesn't want to be there. The other one, though, is about to start running shifts. That's going to be fun. I'm just glad I won't have to deal with him then. I've got like 51 hours this week - working every day - and I might stretch that out to 60, especially this weekend. I don't know how much I want to be lounging around the house, just chillin' this weekend. Yeah.

So living with David is interesting - need to make a post about that too.

But I have to leave for work, so this will all have to wait for later.

Oh, and Carrie might be coming down to visit as well. That would rock. Hardcore.

Lost, but not forgotten

Been almost a week since my last post. For good reason - I've been hella busy. This will most likely be the last night I spend in my mom's house for a while. And even if I spend the night here later, it won't be as my permanent place of residence. My next post(s) - I have a *ton* to write about the past week - will be written from my new apartment. Craziness! And pictures. And Star Wars. And Lilie. And stuff.

Rock, you rock!

Troy rocks.

Seriously.

I'm a sucker for huge, historical war-type epics. Huge ensemble casts, beautiful costumes, tremendous sets, battles... love 'em. I mean, not unconditionally - Alexander was atrocious, no redeeming factors. In terms of movies, it's down there with The Hulk. Troy, on the other hand, was fantastic. I don't have an opinion either way on Brad Pitt; I tend to evaluate him in each role he plays; but I've not seen many of his movies.

Oh, moving in on Monday. That's exciting. Been packing like crazy, got about four boxes of stuff ready to go. It's just so overwhelming. Started going through one of two massive boxes in the garage; one of them held a cache of pictures - a *massive* stack. Going through them was quite an adventure. Even found a few pictures of Mindy - thought I had gotten rid of them all.

Despite your nets and tuna fleets, we thought that most of you were sweet

So I heard from David earlier - we might be moving out as early this weekend. Which would be awesome. I'm anxious to do so. School's finally done with for now, so my schedule just opened way up. Means the nights will be longer, and harder to deal with.

Man, that means I need to hurry up and get some sheets, then. I have the bed already - ended up buying a new queen from Cen-Tex. Went and saw Kingdom of Heaven. It's... alright. A lot like Braveheart (which I'm watching right now), but with far fewer fights, and Orlando Bloom instead of Mel Gibson.

Work's been going okay. The roster finally seems to be stabalizing - Natalie, Betsy, Lala, Sam, Brenda, Brandi, Staci, Roxanne, and Melanie all seem to be catching on to everything and getting things done. Out of the new bunch, the first three and the last are definitely my favorites. Not that I have those, as a manager. I just mean those I relate to best on a personal level. Or something like that. Anyway.

Kass has taken to calling me a freak lately, which is fine. I am. I mean, the general group I tend to fit in with, I really don't. I've never found a group of more than three people that I'm comfortable with. I think I missed some socialization somewhere. It's hard to explain, but I just don't understand a lot of things that seem to be second nature to people in general. I don't really know if anybody really realizes just how bizarre I am, down to the core. Maybe Terri. Or Mindy. Probably Jarrod. Those are the only people I can think of that have known me for long enough to really understand. Or maybe not. Probably not. I'm just kind of rambling at this point anyway.

Bunnicula

It was Bunnicula.

Wait.

That post never got published, so this one will come out before the one in which I express confusion over the title of a series of children's books featuring an ambiguously vampiric rabbit. Regardless, when I do rewrite the post, I'll be sure to mention in the preview of that movie that it was the one that reminded me of something I couldn't quite remember the name to; however, I do now.

It's Bunnicula.

I think.

New Feature

Not much to update at the moment. On a bit of a downswing, which sucks. Saw HHGttG again on Sunday with Megan (Chris was right, and had this happened much earlier, I wouldn't have lost that bet). Dave really, really pissed me off Sunday night, and I'm now officially looking for a new job. I might stay there as well, just depending on how things go. Chelsea's in the shop right now, which is fun. Hopefully, it won't be anything too major or time-consuming. Have a lead on some furniture, including a king-size bed, but it's in Round Rock.

Oh, and now, the little quote thing at the top of the page, below 'Enter the Jackalope', changes. It's drawn randomly from a bank of 10 (right now, though that will probably grow). Most are from B5 right now, the other one being the old standby, the last part of Ulysses by Tennyson.

Belgium!

So I went and saw Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy yesterday. Twice - once with David, once with Lilie, and I'm going to see it again on Sunday with Megan.

I can't believe I didn't think to bring a towel.

I could slap myself.

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Official Trailer

Holy crap. Wow. Just... wow.

It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

Forgot to mention - Rat Race is FUCKING HILARIOUS.

It has a great ensemble cast - Jon Lovitz, Whoopi Goldberg, Seth Green, Amy Smart, Cuba Gooding Jr., Brecken Meyer, John Cleese, Rowin Atkinson (Mr. Bean), Harold Grisham (Grace Under Fire), Wayne Knight, Paul Rodriguez, Kathy Bates, and Kathy Najimy. Kathy Najimy is the stupid one in Hocus Pocus. And, weird though it may sound, despite the fact that she's, um, about to turn 48, is quite attractive.

Anyway.

It's just a hilarious movie that didn't get enough press when it came out. The premise is simple (well, not really): Cleese plays an eccentric casino owner who is entertaining a bunch of high-rollers bored with normal gambling. So, he puts 2 million dollars in a train station locker 550 miles away, gives 6 random people keys to the locker, and lets the race play out. I *love* giant ensemble cast movies, especially comedies (except for Ocean's Eleven.) I really hate the ending, because I despise Smash Mouth and all that they stand for, but that's really my only complaint with the movie. The situations that the characters find themselves in are quite histerical, and watching John Cleese play an eccentric billionaire is just... right.

So yeah, I definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for some laughs.

We're opera-mad in Camelot; we sing from the diaphragm a lot

Heh. I just feel like writing a lot at the moment. Well, maybe it's more that I don't feel like sleeping. Not that I ever do, but I don't really want to just lie down and close my eyes. That's when it's hardest to control your thoughts, and that's something I've always had problems with. These are the kinds of times when I really hate having such a strong stream-of-consciousness. Here's a fun one that just hit me: She had one in Houston, because of Sean... did I cause this one in any way? Contribute to it? Yeah. That one's gonna haunt me for a while.

So anyway.

Took Janelle to Blockbuster, felt like getting my mind off of things. Decided to get Rat Race, which I actually saw in theaters, and have wanted to see again ever since. Also got The Third Age, which I've wanted to play for a while. Wait, is that even it's name? Yeah, Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. Or something like that. Anyway. I also wanted to get Almost Heroes, but of course, they didn't have it. Of course, they had the box, and two cases behind it, but neither of them was it. It really pissed me off. Also got some Reeses Pieces, which is the best candy ever. Except for the large candy thing bite things. Yeah.

Terri was online for a while, and we got to talking. Turns out she's not going to marry that guy; she's back in NC. I'm not sure if they're still together in NM, or what... I feel really bad, 'cause I kind of snapped at her, and said some fairly mean things. Of course, given the course and history of our relationship, I don't think that one thing will be the single item that breaks our friendship, but I still feel bad about it. Other than that, had a nice chat with her about breakfast cereals. The really funny thing is that Suzie emailed me while I was talking to Terri. I made a comment that if Mindy calls, I'm leaving. Of course, Suzie just sent me a chain letter - she even admitted it was a stupid thing to do IN THE EMAIL ITSELF.

So yeah, I'm feeling... I don't know. Stunned? Tired? Hurt? Something like that. I don't want to go to work in two hours. I don't want to face the world. I want to curl back up in my blanket, with my two bears, and sleep. Two years or so.

She's like a rainbow (again)

The post after this one is not my post. When I went to publish my post, some sort of error occurred. However, I'm used to this happening, so I always copy my post before publishing, just in case. I'm not going to delete the post after this one, because it's so wonderfully random - I can only assume my post got crossed with two other posts to create the work of beauty you see below. Now, here is my actual post:

Anyway, Christmas Eve.

Mom, Bam, Janelle and Greg went to church, then back to Bam's for dinner. Mom's finally accepted that I'm an atheist, so she didn't bother inviting me to church with them, but she did ask me to come to dinner. I initially wasn't going to - my mood had reached a valley, and I really didn't feel up to an evening around family; Janelle called later and convinced me to come, though. Tried calling Lilie twice (once before, once after) to see if I could drop off her present, but to no avail.

Bam made homemade ziti; it was really, really good. I didn't hang around much later, though. Came home, and started playing some Diablo 2 (more on this later). I ended up staying awake until... oh, 3 or 4 am. Finally just passed out, but not for very long. I had this bizarre dream that I was supposed to open that morning (I'm really starting to hate having dreams about work. They're really, really annoying.) Anyway, I woke up at like 6:00, when I usually leave to open, and started quickly getting dressed. I had my pants on and was buttoning my shirt when I realized it was Christmas morning and not only did I not have to open, I wouldn't have to go in at all. Of course, I couldn't go back to sleep (despite getting only two hours of sleep), so I played some more Diablo 2 until I heard Janelle and Mom wake up and start moving around. We eventually all moved into the living room for presents and stuff. Went back to my room and napped after that, until Bam and Greg got there. More presents and stuff, followed by more napping. Eventually, we broke through that harsh regimine and moved onto Christmas dinner.

Oddly enough, it's only recently that we've started having a Christmas dinner. In past years, especially when I was in high school, we used to just all lounge around in our pajamas all day. There'd be various snack trays set out, and we'd have people stopping in throughout the day. I miss that, and in rememberance, I wore my new pajama pants all day. In fact, I'm wearing them right now as well. But no one stopped by this year; we just had an intimate family gathering. Don't get me wrong, though - it was very nice, and thoroughly enjoyed by all. Christmas dinner was fantastic - smoked turkey, honey-glazed ham, roast, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus (mentioned only for completeness), stuffing, brocili and cheese, corn, rolls, and some smoked salmon, but that was mainly for Mom. Everyone liked dinner. We also had homemade cheesecake and tort, but I didn't hang around for that. As we were sitting around after dinner, I heard my message alert on my phone go off. I had missed a call from Lilie and had a subsequent voicemail.

I called her back, and headed over. Gave her her present, which she seemed to like, and came home. More Diablo 2, and then I crashed. Had to open Sunday morning, at 9:30 or so. Nothing terribly exciting there; Adam came in at 10, and I gave him my 5 - C shift, so when I got off at 1-ish, having worked a grand total of 3 1/2 hours, I was off for the rest of the day. Janelle and I, after showers, dishes, and cleaning rooms, went shopping. I had gift certificates to Best Buy and Dragon's Lair; she had ones to Blockbuster and Best Buy. Went to Dragon's Lair first. They had transformer decals, one of which now adorns my car; also picked up a new set of dice and Empire by AEG. I would have preferred Toolbox, but they didn't have that one. Darn. Anyway, on the drive there, Janelle started talking about wanting to get a job for this semester; that evolved into her wanting to be a carhop at Sonic. She *can* skate, which is a plus, and she's really, really smart. I let her know that I didn't think it was a good idea - Sonic is a terrible work environment, but she persisted. So we picked up an application for her. I now face a terrible, terrible decision - help my sister get a job at Sonic or not. More on that later.

Afterwards, we went to Blockbuster. I bought her gift card from her, because even though I don't rent movies or anything, I'm slightly more likely to find a use for it than her. Except I couldn't. Their used games were a joke (even more so than most used games), and NOTHING there was worth looking at. I eventually went with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King extended super-duper platinum 32 DVD edition, just to use it. Went to Best Buy after that, to see if Janelle was going to use her gift certificate, or I would buy that one from her too - after all, there's no limit to the amount of Best Buy gift certificates I can use. That's when I saw it. The same Lord of the Rings thing, for almost fifteen dollars less. Now, I normally don't care about different prices - if I see something a few dollars less than what I spent for it, I chalk it up to experience and move on. But as frustrating as it was in the first place to find something at Blockbuster worth buying, I wasn't going to if they had it RIGHT DOWN THE STREET for SIGNIFICANTELY LESS. So I marched back to Blockbuster to get a refund. Of course, they gave it to me... on a gift card. I'm not kidding. So I still have this completely worthless piece of plastic that entitles me to twenty-five dollars worth of goods and services from Blockbuster (assuming they offer services), none of which are even half-way decent.

So that was fun.

Went back to Best Buy and wondered around for another hour or so, after which, Janelle and I decided to go get some Subway, then go see Blade: Trinity (I will keep inserting the colon in there, despite the fact that there isn't actually one in the movie's title. I just like it.) using the two movie passes she had left. Came home, crashed, and that's where we are now. Fun times. More to follow.

Never ever have I ever felt so low; when you gonna take me out of this black hole?

Wow. I'm approaching my old record - well, not really. I just haven't really posted in over a week.

It's just, well, a couple things. First, with school out, I've gone back to working at least 40 hours a week, so I'm more tired at night when I would normally be posting. I've also been spending a lot (both too much and not enough) time with Lilie and over there. And finally, in the last week or so, I really haven't felt up to it. I mean, I've been in this major funk. I've spent a lot of time lying in bed, not really doing anything. I hate it when I get like this - I know it's not really tied to any time of year, nor any event. It just happens. So we'll see how long it takes to get over that. But anyway...

Sunday evening, I went over to Lilie's. Details are fuzzy, but I do recall one very odd occurrence. We were standing outside - I don't know if she came out to meet me, or we were headed back in or something (actually, now that I think about it, it might have been Tuesday night, but anyway...) she started asking me about why I feel so insecure about us, and how I shouldn't. It's kind of odd, having her being able to know what I'm thinking, especially about her. Well, to be fair, it's my fault - I'm the one posting it here, where she can read it. I could always post it on some secret, third blog. Or something like that. It's the same thing with Shelley. I'm just not used to having people read this regularly, much less someone I interact with.

So we both had to work Monday morning at 10 am. Well, at least, that's what I thought. I had only taken a cursory glance at my schedule, then listened to her mentioning that she had to be in at 10. We left, and I got there, only to discover that I wasn't supposed to be in there until 11:30. Had it been 11, it wouldn't have been worth it to drive home, but since I had an hour and a half, I went for it. Came home, started Moulin Rouge burning, set up X-2 with some new dresspheres to power up, then went back to work. It was okay, although things have been getting on my nerves a lot more.

I don't really remember Monday evening. Heh.

I opened Tuesday morning, as usual, and that evening, Lilie and I had an actual date. We went to Italian Garden for dinner. It was pretty nice - I had, um, something, I'm sure. She had the manacotti. It's always weird when you go out to eat with someone who waits, or has waited, tables. I ran into this a lot with Rose - they usually end up striking a conversation with the server. I always feel really awkward when that happens. It's really just an instance of my general discomfort with service people. Like when you go into Best Buy, and that guy greets you - they've started doing that at Hastings as well. It really bothers me. I understand why they're doing it - making sure the customer feels welcome, and giving them an immediate chance to ask any questions or seek some assistance. But I'm never quite sure how to respond. Do I greet them back? I feel really stupid doing that; on the other hand, ignoring them seems kind of rude. I really wish they'd just ignore me as I walked in. For that matter, I feel the same way about employees (or sales associates, whatever) asking me if I need help when I'm browsing. If I needed help, I'd go ask for it. Or when the server, waitress, or carhop, tries to strike up a conversation. It's not that I'm being rude or I think I'm better or something, I just feel uncomfortable talking to random people like that.

So yeah. After Italian Garden, we drove around for a bit, then went to Showplace to watch Team America: World Police. She still hadn't seen it, though I think it would have been my... third, or fourth time. Something like that. So we watched it. We had to move once or twice, 'cause she doesn't like having (other) people sitting near us. Eventually, though, we got settled in and started watching it.

And we both fell asleep at one point or another. We enjoyed it, but managed to fall asleep. We were both just really tired. Oh!! I forgot. I even dressed up a little bit - I was wearing my green pants, as can be expected, and put on my black over-shirt with the really bright flowers on it. Shelley made some disparaging remarks about it, but that's to be expected.

So yeah, a good time was had by all. I'm fairly certain I crashed there that night. Yes, I remember it now. She had to leave before me, 'cause she had to go to work, whereas I didn't have to work until that evening. I think. Either that, or I was off. Yeah, I think I was off, since I opened Thursday. No, wait, that's not right. She did have to go to work later (I think), but I was up early, and couldn't lie still, so I went into the living room and played a little Twisted Metal: Black, and was going to take Shelley to work at 10. After that, I didn't feel like going home just yet, so I went over to Best Buy and looked at their RAM and video cards. I've been thinking about doing it for a while, and it seemed like a good time (don't ask my why). Anyway, while I was browsing, Lilie called. She was curious as to why I didn't say bye before I left. (I didn't want to wake her up.) It just made me feel really good, knowing that she cared.

So I bought a video card and some RAM. Of course, it was the wrong kind of RAM. My comp wouldn't boot with it at all. The video card, however, went right in and worked perfectly. I took the RAM back and had the guy find the right kind - it was in the back. I put it in by itself to make sure it worked, and the motherboard, as soon as power hit it, went "Beep. Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep." And the computer wouldn't boot. Turns out that that's the "Hey, your RAM is in backwards" alert. Silly me. Put it in right, it booted. Recognized it and everything. Turned it back off and put my original one in as well, and everything was good to go. The improvement in performance has been immense. I could even contemplate playing either CoH or WoW (not both).

Didn't do much else on Wednesday, though I did go up to Austin and play some DDR later. Stopped by Rose's to pick her up, since she wanted a ride home. Played a little, but not too much - I slammed my ankle on the bar at one point, and it's been hurting sporadically ever since. We stopped by IHOP on the way home, which was unpleasently reminiscent of the old days. If she does move back down here (which is now in question, apparently), I won't always be able to just jump up at 3 in the morning and give her a ride home whenever. Things have changed a bit. And even if I do, I won't just sit there for half an hour. It was really weird when she called me the other day at 2 in the morning - something perfectly resonable in the old days, but I was crashing over at Lilie's, and she had long since fallen asleep. I felt really bad having to disturb her, however slightly, to go get my phone (it rings really, really loudly, so ignoring it wasn't really an option).

So anyway. Opened Thursday. Somehow, Rose thought I had agreed to take her back to Austin. I swear I don't remember doing that, but I did. Take her back, I mean. Came back and took Shelley Christmas-shopping for Lilie. Since she doesn't have her own car, her options for doing so are limited, and I was happy to help. We went to Hastings, then stopped at Sonic for some dinner (the current joke is that I'm dating both Lilie and Shelley; it started the Sunday she waited in my truck for a good 10 - 20 minutes for a ride home).

Oh, haha. Just re-read my earlier posts, and I'm getting all these days mixed up. I did my video card and RAM on Friday, which means that I crashed at Lilie's on Thursday (probably Tuesday night too. This is one of the reasons I hate going so long between updates). I don't really rememeber Friday or Saturday either, which is kind of scary.

I do remember Sunday, though. Shelley and I opened. It was *really* slow. I mean, our first customer was... 8:30? We had like 10 orders from then 'til 9:30. We had a bit of a rush 'til 10:05 or so, when Adam got in and helped. At one point, labor was at over 700%, which was really, really cool. I was sent home about 11:30, since it was just unbelievably slow. Shelley insisted I head over to their place, so I did. I ended up crashing in Lilie's bed and taking a four hour nap. Lilie woke me up when she came in to hug and kiss me good-bye as she left for work. I left fairly soon after that.

As I got home, I realized I had forgotten my blue button-up shirt. I called their place and told Shelley that when she answered the phone... except it was Lilie. Apparently, there was a sign at Katy Station that said "Closed @ 2 - Kitchen Repairs" or something along those lines. I headed over about 9 to get my shirt, since I had to work Monday night. Lilie was still dressed up, and she looked very nice. We hugged like we hadn't since before we started going out, which felt really good. We kissed a little too, and I left. I talked to Shelley later (online?) and she asked me why I left.

Worked Monday 5 - C, fountain. Dennis was there 5 - 9, and he was really getting on my nerves. It ended up taking me over an hour to close fountain, since Dennis didn't do *anything*, and Rick didn't help me in the fountain at all either. I don't mind, though - with the mood I was in, I was in no hurry to leave. It's the mood I've been in pretty much all week. Just a major funk. I alternate between upset for no reason and sad for no reason. I've been lying in my room all day today, sometimes playing games, but often just lying there. Felt like crying a few times, but of course, that won't happen - I can't seem to cry except at seemingly random times, and the most bizarre catalysts (Hearing Lemon Tree by Peter, Paul and Mary is the best example I have at the moment). Just been lounging around today, though I did manage to get about three quarters of my chores for this week done, and can finish my room tonight and the rest tomorrow. I still haven't done any Christmas shopping, though, so I'll have to squeeze that in tomorrow and Thursday before work at 5.

So. That's my week. Time for humorous anecdotes and other things I left out.

Janelle and three of her friends went to a movie, then came back here to build a gingerbread house. Things went well, until the end. It stood for... four seconds? They dragged me out to take their picture, which I did. But even then, the chimney, constructed of Hershey's chocolate bars, was falling. Not long after that, they realized the door was caving in. Immediately after that, the back wall started collapsing as well. Within a minute, the whole thing was in a heap. We ate some, but it is *incredibly* sweet. Michael and Kushal are still here, but they'll be leaving soon.

I was thinking about going to Austin tonight to play some DDR, but I just didn't have the energy. I don't mean physically, but mentally. Just an extension of the lethargic, depressed mood I've been in lately.

Bug did a major patch on gEngine, changing the look again. It was bad enough to (coupled with the complete lack of B5 players lately) to uninstall gEngine, delete the cache completely, clear my registry of it, and remove the forums from my favorites.

Picked Final Fantasy: Origins back up. Final Fantasy I is *hard*. Started playing Diablo II: Lord of Destruction as well, for some reason (although it is really sweet with the upgrades.) Been playing a Druid with a lot of pets.

The office sent back a list of errors in paperwork this week - there were a lot. And none of them were mine. Every other manager had at least one, and everyone except Dora had a few.

I think the Christmas party was this Sunday. I mean, the Sunday evening of the post before this one. It was... okay. Shelley did end up going, but didn't bowl. It's always nice to hang out with the crew outside of work. It wasn't as fun as last year, and the prizes sucked. Overall, though, it was okay.

That's it for now. I hope to resume normal updates now. Writing these long ones takes a while - this one took four hours, though that certainly wasn't contiguous.