my reality

Writer's Block: All About My Mother

Mon, 11 May 2009 05:31:01 GMT

Who is your favorite mother (the character, not the actress) from television or the movies?

Joan Crawford, aka "Mommy Dearest". Damn that lady was a fucked up Mom.

Obligatory New Year's Post

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 22:43:54 GMT

It's once again come around to the last day of the year, and I feel it's necessary to post my New Year's Resolutions. I'm looking forward to 2009, and I think that with the way this year is ending, things are aligning to be very good indeed.

This year I will...

1. CHILL! There's no reason to stress.
2. Keep up with yoga.
3. Freestyle dance as often as possible.

2009 is going to rock ass.

Pumpkin Patches

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:36:11 GMT

Today Kris and I went out with some of our former coworkers to revel in pumpkin patches and corn mazes. Maize Mazes.

Anyway, it was really cool to get out and see the country in Washington some. There was a lot of really gorgeous scenery on the way there, plus, when we actually got to the farm, no one charged us the supposed $5 per person entry fee! There were a lot of kids wandering around, and when we walked in a high-school aged girl in an apron just watched us amble around, looking at the huge piggie that was caged right next to her.

Ugh, children. Children and porta-potties (they had the label "Honey Buckets" at this farm) are an absolutely terrible combination. Unluckily enough, when I first arrived at the farm, I really had to pee. One of our coworkers also needed to use a Honey Bucket, so we proceeded to cautiously enter the horrible little toilets.

As soon as I got in there the children attacked. They began to pound on the door screaming "Porta-potty, porta-potty!" at each other. I then heard one say "now the both of you get into one" and there were noises of a struggle between them. I rushed out as quickly as possible, opening a door to a sea of children with one disinterested looking mother saying, "now now, you don't want to play around those things".

Yick. At least it wasn't as bad as what I saw on Cheaters last night, which was what I was truly dreading. At least the children didn't actually push the porta-potty over on its side. At least I wasn't covered with...well you know. *shudder*

We carved our first pumpkin of the season up tonight! Jack looks awesome. I'll post a photo of him tomorrow.

What you should know about Sarah Palin

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:51:47 GMT

Kris found this link at work, or someone forwarded it to him. Either way, I definitely think that people should be aware of her past, and her disturbing plans for the future...

Don't let her get away with this

The Return of the Weird

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:54:41 GMT

God I love it when I see random, weird news stories on the internet.

10 Things to Scratch From Your Worry List

Because really, the news usually is all about freaking people out as much as possible.

Micah's 1st Birthday!

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:50:12 GMT

Ok, so I know that we have the most spoiled dog in the world, but today we celebrated her 1st birthday, and the spoilation was hilarious.

Most of her day has been spent playing with her new super-strong chew toy:

But we also spent some time playing with Blueberry-scented bubbles!

For most of the time though, she was pretty much acting like a

Much fun was had!

I also got her a new chicken-flavored chew twist. She's already dismantled it with her obsessive chewing. Ah, birthdays..

Review of RockyPalooza: Palooza of the Beast

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:03:08 GMT

It was beastly alright. This review applies specifically to the Friday, April 18th show. I did not attend the rest of the convention, so I would not be able to write a review of the rest of the...party.

To begin, I was really excited to be able to see the local Seattle shadowcast. Since I was in a shadowcast for so long in Dallas, I was interested in seeing what the local group here had to offer. To make it an especially interesting event, 3 of my co-workers and one of their boyfriends accompanied us for their first viewing! There was much excitment building up to this event, and these three Rocky virgins were ready to wear fishnets and copious amounts of bright makeup at midnight in an unfamiliar neighborhood, and have a few drinks to settle into the evening.

The disappointments began almost immediately upon entering the Admiral Twin Theatre. The ticket vendor assured me that the show would certainly sell out, and if I had friends who hadn't arrived I should purchase their tickets. The guy handing out playbills/brochures for the con, immediately scoffed "Nah, they're not gonna sell out on Friday night." And he was right. While we waited to go into the theater, about three to four more people trickled into the lobby, my co-worker and her boyfriend included. Then we all asked the obvious question, "Where's the bar?"

The playbill that was handed to me as I walked into the theater contained detailed information about the convention. Most of it was taken verbatim from the www.thezenroom.com site. The information within incorrectly stated that there would be a lounge with bar in the balcony of the Admiral, specifically for 21+. That's a pretty significant lie, or "mistake" to be put forth. Unfortunantly, the lies didn't stop there. As if the discomfort of sobriety while watching people prance around and rub on each other in the company of your friends from work wasn't upsetting enough, the pre-show was scheduled (according to the Playbill of Lies) to begin at 11:15pm. Instead, after watching a drunk woman with no top on dance directly in front of all of us (which built up our envy that she had some alcohol in her system) the pre-show lazily began about five minutes after midnight, at which time it was announced that if you wanted a trannie pack, you had to come up to the stage and get it...for only $3. This was contrary to the PoL, which stated that the packs were only $2, and included "rice, toast, squirt guns,..toilet paper, etc...and more" were in fact lacking toast, squirt guns, toilet paper, and a glowstick. Somehow, I felt like I was getting ripped off!

Then the ass-lancing really began. Since the preshow started so late, we were all feeling rather antsy and still wondering, "What the hell happened to the bar???" Then a spotlight appeared on the stage. A girl with a sword walked onstage. She danced with the sword on her hip, then on her head. I didn't expect that this would be part of the preshow, but it was ok. Then a bellydancer was next. She danced to song, after song, after song...on and on and on. 30 minutes after the sword dancer began, most of the shadowcast was onstage bellydancing together.

After all of this, the virgin games finally began. This was the best part of the preshow, and by far the most entertaining. I had never seen the specific games and de-virginizing activities, but it was most enjoyable.

At long last, "start the fucking movie!" was chanted ad nauseum, the lights went dark, and the familiar lips appeared on the screen. About five minutes later, as "Dammit, Janet" was coming to a close, the projector broke, and the cast serenaded us with a song praising the joys of toast. After that, it was hard to build up the momentum again, and a few of what little audience that attended got up and left, my coworker and her boyfried among them.

Overall, I was disappointed. I felt that everything that happened before the show even stared negatively affected the experience to such a degree that it couldn't recover. Some of the cast was wonderful, it was fun to hear Seattle-specific screamers, but it wasn't enough for me to want to join the cast, or see them again.

RHPS!!!

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:52:40 GMT

Yay! Tonight, Kris and myself, along with possibly as many as TEN of my co-workers are going to the Rocky Horror Picture Show with The Vicarious Theatre Company performing. It's part of RockyPalooza, so there's really a whole convention going on this weekend, but I just want to see some good ol' shadow-casting. I don't have all of my fun makeup and clothes anymore, but I've cooked up something pretty good, so i'll be sure to share pictures. Speaking of which...here's a pic of my freshly dyed hair:

It's really even brighter and more magenta-colored than the picture gives it credit for. I'm especially excited because tomorrow Kris and I are going to the DMV, so it'll be another 5-10 years of showing people a state ID of myself with bright, coloriffic hair. Ahh, goodtimes....

we made it!!

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 02:35:45 GMT

This is SUE coming at you LIVE from Seattle, Washington! We made it here safely and everything is going cool as a moose, if you're familiar with the vernacular.

The trip was great, a bit stressful, as any roadtrip will be, but Kris, Micah and I made it here safe and sound. We even looked at our first apartment yesterday, and we may even end up getting it! We'll know for sure tomorrow, but I REALLY hope it works out. It's right in Queen Anne, which is just uptown of well, downtown, but it's a great place with TONS of goodstuffs around to do and see.

We took a whole bunch of pictures and a few blog videos on our journey, and it was easier to post them on our myspace than here, so go check them out! This is our myspace so if you've got one feel free to friend us. After all, one can't plaster themselves all over the internet enough, eh? Har har.

I'm also hoping to find a job soon. There are lots of places hiring in the immediate area, which would rock because it's really hard to find a parking spot, so once we have one we pretty much want to leave the car there as long as possible.

The city is really rockin'. The people seem REALLY cool and very hip, so much that I almost feel conservative for once! After we get jobs and back on our feet we're hoping to be able to adorn ourselves with piercings and tattoos galore, not to mention the return of my fire engine red hair. ^_^

Hoping that everything is going well, see joo later!

help! a meme's got me!

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:42:57 GMT

1. Person who tagged me:
hibiki

2. Relationship with them:
friend through naritai

3. 5 impressions of Them:
1. silly
2. dedicated (to school and kat)
3. has a wealth of knowledge about transformers
4. likes to have fun
5. invisible! (when was the last time i saw you, akon 14?)

4. Most memorable thing done for me:
showed up on my doorstep with naritai to cheer me up when i was having a gloomy time.

5. Most memorable words for me:
NEE!

6. If become my lover?
we both love our significant others, so no

7. If become lover, things to improve are:
improve on? i don't like to think of people as needing to be "improved upon"

8. If become enemy:
nah, wouldn't happen

9. Reason become enemy:
i stole all of his video games

10. Most desirable thing to do for them now:
give good wishes and feelings for getting through UNT

11. Overall impression of them:
a fun guy who just wants to make the people around him happy

12. How I think people will feel about me:
a crazy, flighty lady

13. The characteristic I love about myself:
i'm crazy! i feel like i can't do anything too off the wall because i'm already so nuttters.

14. The characteristic I hate about myself:
i can be too forceful about having things "my way"

15. Most ideal person that I want to be:
Someone who lives life to the fullest. (good one, stu)

16. Say something to the people you care about:
It's official, Kris and I are moving to Seattle in January. We love you.

17. Pass on to 6 people who you want to know how they feel about you.

1. cuter_than_you
2. zimousy
3. thinlizzie
4. spooky_hobo
5. hapykhiken
6. err...hmmm. myself? the others already did this!

18. 6 relationship with you:
oh yes, she's a pretty rad bitch

19. 1 male/female:
badass female

20. Is 4 studying:
no, she's done studying for now!

21. Last time you chatted with 3:
when i visited her and my other friends in dallas

22. 5 likes what music?:
smashing pumpkins, rocky horror soundtrack...(i know, i took the easy ones)

23. Will I woo 3:
i don't think either of us would enjoy that ^_^

24. How about 1:
same as above...

25. Is 2 single:
possibly

26. Surname of 6:
it's a secret!

27. Hobby of 4:
reading manga, watching nice splatter movies with me

28. 5 & 2 get along well:
They've never met.

29. Something casual about 1:
has a badass mohawk and lipring

30. Tried developing feelings for 3:
this seems like the same question as above

31. 5 lives at:
lewisville, tx

32. What colour does 6 like:
green

33. 3 likes 1:
oh yes they're good friends

34: How I knew 2:
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL! that's so rad.

35. 5 got pets:
kitties!

36. No 1's sexiest person:
her boy? probably </lj>

ganked from marcelina

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:10:28 GMT

What Beatle are you?

John Lennon

You enjoy poetry, painting & a fine wine. A lover not a fighter.

Click Here to Take This Quiz
Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

it has been a million years since i've done one of these.

now i can die happily

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 03:20:26 GMT

because they're making a 'Child's Play' remake

oh my god they better have brad dourif as the voice of chucky or all of that joy will be dashed.

halloween madness

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 23:27:35 GMT

so i wasn't able to go to the big gay block party, but at least we're still going out on halloween night and rockin' it hardcore. i've decided to go with a simple, yet time-tested classic of halloween costumage:

ZOMBIFICATION.

this was just a trial to see how i want to do the makeup. i'll definitely be using more of my thick blue stage makeup, but since i'm running low i'm conserving for wednesday. the beauty of a zombie costume: ANYONE can become a zombie, so it's sort of like you get to be two characters in one.

so what are all of your halloween plans/costumes?

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 02:04:35 GMT

the week has definitely improved from what i had originally been anticipating.

kris and i have had a lot of time off together, and halloween is next week! ahh, halloween has always been my favorite holiday! originally i was going to be yitzach from hedwig and the angry inch, but i don't know if my friend is going to be hedwig anymore. we were going to go to the cedar springs halloween block party, but he's in a production of dracula at the theatre here. i'll be going next friday or saturday if anyone else is up for some bloody dracula goodness!

this explains so much..

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 03:40:14 GMT

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer
Fri Oct 12, 4:34 AM ET

WASHINGTON - If that craving for chocolate sometimes feels like it is coming from deep in your gut, that's because maybe it is.

A small study links the type of bacteria living in people's digestive system to a desire for chocolate. Everyone has a vast community of microbes in their guts. But people who crave daily chocolate show signs of having different colonies of bacteria than people who are immune to chocolate's allure.

That may be the case for other foods, too. The idea could eventually lead to treating some types of obesity by changing the composition of the trillions of bacteria occupying the intestines and stomach, said Sunil Kochhar, co-author of the study. It appears Friday in the peer-reviewed Journal of Proteome Research.

Kochhar is in charge of metabolism research at the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland. The food conglomerate Nestle SA paid for the study. But this isn't part of an effort to convert a few to the dark side (or even milk) side of cocoa, Kocchar said.

In fact, the study was delayed because it took a year for the researchers to find 11 men who don't eat chocolate.

Kochhar compared the blood and urine of those 11 men, who he jokingly called "weird" for their indifference to chocolate, to 11 similar men who ate chocolate daily. They were all healthy, not obese, and were fed the same food for five days.

The researchers examined the byproducts of metabolism in their blood and urine and found that a dozen substances were significantly different between the two groups. For example, the amino acid glycine was higher in chocolate lovers, while taurine (an active ingredient in energy drinks) was higher in people who didn't eat chocolate. Also chocolate lovers had lower levels of the bad cholesterol, LDL.

The levels of several of the specific substances that were different in the two groups are known to be linked to different types of bacteria, Kochhar said.

Still to be determined is if the bacteria cause the craving, or if early in life people's diets changed the bacteria, which then reinforced food choices.

How gut bacteria affect people is a hot field of scientific research.

Past studies have shown that intestinal bacteria change when people lose weight, said Dr. Sam Klein, an obesity expert and professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.

Since bacteria interact with what you eat, it is logical to think that there is a connection between those microbes and desires for certain foods, said Klein, who wasn't part of Kochhar's study.

Kochhar's research makes so much sense that people should have thought of it earlier, said J. Bruce German, professor of food chemistry at the University of California Davis. While five outside scientists thought the study was intriguing, Dr. Richard Bergman at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, had concerns about the accuracy of the initial division of the men into groups that wanted chocolate or were indifferent to it.

What matters to Kochhar is where the research could lead.

Kochhar said the relationship between food, people and what grows in their gut is important for the future: "If we understand the relationship, then we can find ways to nudge it in the right direction."

___

On the Net:

The Journal of Proteome Research:

http://pubs.acs.org/journals/jprobs/index.html

something to be paranoid about

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 03:42:15 GMT

By CHRIS KAHN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 28, 3:04 PM ET

PHOENIX - It sounds like science fiction but it's true: A killer amoeba living in lakes enters the body through the nose and attacks the brain where it feeds until you die.

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Even though encounters with the microscopic bug are extraordinarily rare, it's killed six boys and young men this year. The spike in cases has health officials concerned, and they are predicting more cases in the future.

"This is definitely something we need to track," said Michael Beach, a specialist in recreational waterborne illnesses for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This is a heat-loving amoeba. As water temperatures go up, it does better," Beach said. "In future decades, as temperatures rise, we'd expect to see more cases."

According to the CDC, the amoeba called Naegleria fowleri (nuh-GLEER-ee-uh FOWL'-erh-eye) killed 23 people in the United States, from 1995 to 2004. This year health officials noticed a spike with six cases — three in Florida, two in Texas and one in Arizona. The CDC knows of only several hundred cases worldwide since its discovery in Australia in the 1960s.

In Arizona, David Evans said nobody knew his son, Aaron, was infected with the amoeba until after the 14-year-old died on Sept. 17. At first, the teen seemed to be suffering from nothing more than a headache.

"We didn't know," Evans said. "And here I am: I come home and I'm burying him."

After doing more tests, doctors said Aaron probably picked up the amoeba a week before while swimming in the balmy shallows of Lake Havasu, a popular man-made lake on the Colorado River between Arizona and California.

Though infections tend to be found in southern states, Naegleria lives almost everywhere in lakes, hot springs, even dirty swimming pools, grazing off algae and bacteria in the sediment.

Beach said people become infected when they wade through shallow water and stir up the bottom. If someone allows water to shoot up the nose — say, by doing a somersault in chest-deep water — the amoeba can latch onto the olfactory nerve.

The amoeba destroys tissue as it makes its way up into the brain, where it continues the damage, "basically feeding on the brain cells," Beach said.

People who are infected tend to complain of a stiff neck, headaches and fevers. In the later stages, they'll show signs of brain damage such as hallucinations and behavioral changes, he said.

Once infected, most people have little chance of survival. Some drugs have stopped the amoeba in lab experiments, but people who have been attacked rarely survive, Beach said.

"Usually, from initial exposure it's fatal within two weeks," he said.

Researchers still have much to learn about Naegleria. They don't know why, for example, children are more likely to be infected, and boys are more often victims than girls.

"Boys tend to have more boisterous activities (in water), but we're not clear," Beach said.

In central Florida, authorities started an amoeba phone hot line advising people to avoid warm, standing water and areas with algae blooms. Texas health officials also have issued warnings.

People "seem to think that everything can be made safe, including any river, any creek, but that's just not the case," said Doug McBride, a spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Officials in the town of Lake Havasu City are discussing whether to take action. "Some folks think we should be putting up signs. Some people think we should close the lake," city spokesman Charlie Cassens said.

Beach cautioned that people shouldn't panic about the dangers of the brain-eating bug. Cases are still extremely rare considering the number of people swimming in lakes. The easiest way to prevent infection, Beach said, is to use nose clips when swimming or diving in fresh water.

"You'd have to have water going way up in your nose to begin with" to be infected, he said.

David Evans has tried to learn as much as possible about the amoeba over the past month. But it still doesn't make much sense to him. His family had gone to Lake Havasu countless times. Have people always been in danger? Did city officials know about the amoeba? Can they do anything to kill them off?

Evans lives within eyesight of the lake. Temperatures hover in the triple digits all summer, and like almost everyone else in this desert region, the Evanses look to the lake to cool off.

It was on David Evans' birthday Sept. 8 that he brought Aaron, his other two children, and his parents to Lake Havasu. They ate sandwiches and spent a few hours splashing around.

"For a week, everything was fine," Evans said.

Then Aaron got the headache that wouldn't go away. At the hospital, doctors first suspected meningitis. Aaron was rushed to another hospital in Las Vegas.

"He asked me at one time, 'Can I die from this?'" David Evans said. "We said, 'No, no.'"

On Sept. 17, Aaron stopped breathing as his father held him in his arms.

"He was brain dead," Evans said. Only later did doctors and the CDC determine that the boy had been infected with Naegleria.

"My kids won't ever swim on Lake Havasu again," he said.

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:24:33 GMT

this morning i woke up with a feeling of accomplishment and excitement. everything is going very well right now; better than i ever imagined! it's been wonderful in the way that i've just been along for the ride, not questioning how things could be so good.

that's probably why it's only getting better.

i have hope for the future, and joy for the present. that's a difficult level of balance to hit, but i'm definitely feeling that i have balance in my homelife with kris, school, friends, and even finding a job.

i just LOVE that feeling when everything comes together effortlessly. that's the only way for things to happen correctly i think.

the beginning of the end

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 13:35:25 GMT

tomorrow marks the first day of the last semester for me to finish my undergrad degree. WOO this is exciting! i'm so ready to be over and done with homework, group projects, and all that other bullshit that's much easier to avoid when not enrolled in college.

my goal is to take these last few months of schooling with a grain of salt and just try to cruise through the work and little annoyances that are just part of university life. i'm also lookind forward to working at a better job; either by keeping the one with caleb (which his boss doesn't actually want...) or by findig another kind of admin assist job because working in an office pays a lot better than working in a kennel.

i miss seattle already. there was something about that city that has really been holding onto my thoughts. when we were there it felt like that was the right place to be. it's just not exactly the right time yet.

it soon will be. after graduation we'll have one month before our lease expires, and then we'll be free of obligaiton to a particular city.

the work week

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 04:08:20 GMT

this week i was working temporarily with a friend doing transcriptionist work. god it's so hard to type for fun now! i got all tired out from doing it all week and now my fingers are too tired to dance on the keys effectively.

damn it was a good job. a nice office job where all of the people were very quiet and polite; not to mention the fact that my friend caleb was there to help me out if (and when) i definitely couldn't understand what the boss was dictating.

i definitely find using my laptop to be easier than a regular keypad now.

i'm ready to go back to school on monday. really it's only because i'm so ready to be finished with my undergrad. OH THE EXCITEMENT!! it's going to be an easy schedule; just one class a day either in the morning or the afternoon M-TH, but none on fridays! if there's an opportunity to keep this job i defintely will. i enjoyed working there and getting paid waaaay better than the kennel job! not to mention the fact that there's no worry of being mauled by dogs, bitten by spiders, or harassed about a pressure washer. *shudder*

i don't mean to complain though; it's been an AWESOME time since we've gotten back home. i've really started taking a better approach to small frustrations and i'm just feeling better in general after finally having some time off of both work and school. ahh, seattle.

i feel that my brain changed a bit in the way i process information and think about present and future events while i was there. before i was really feeling stressed and worried about the future. since we've been back, i've been able to focus more on the NOW and what i want to do to make me happy in the present. the future will come soon enough, there's no reason to rush it further.

i'm just feeling so much better lately, i think more positively because i'm not worried about possible events in the future. and the things i do worry about i'm managing much more effectively than i did before. i'm not totally sure how this change happened, but i'm immensely satisfied by it. i'm not even worried that i don't have a permanent job right now; working for 7 days with caleb paid almost as much i earned in about two months at the kennel. ugh, what a horrible thought. i can't believe i was so underpaid for a relatively dangerous and somewhat unpleasant job.

i do really want a dog though still. we will definitely be getting one after we move out of this apartment in january. oh thank god, just to flee this city and not be in school here anymore will be intensely gratifying.

...as i hear a drunk college student stuttering and tripping around outside my window...

kris is about to be home. there is much joy. i love the weekends.

seattle!

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 17:22:03 GMT

We just got back from Seattle and had the most AMAZING time! We did pretty much everything and got a whole bunch of pictures while doing it. I chronicled our exploits on this journey of ours, and here are some of the high points from those journal entries.

We arrived at our hotel at 10:30am, but check-in wasn't until 4pm so we walked down about 4 blocks to the pier where we stopped at Ivar's Fish for some awesome fish n' chips. Strangely enough we were actually recommended it by an anchorman from Phoenix that we met on the airplane. Not only was the food good, but we also fed the seagulls, which are reported to only eat the french fries from Ivar's and no where else, due to generations of the gulls eating only these fries. Witness my terror as one of these birds takes a fry from my nervous fingers:

After eating, we stumbled upon a pier in which a fantastic gay cruise was about to depart from. The men were singing joyfully and many were in full drag. After their performing I cheered and clapped loudly, causing many of the men to look at us curiously. Later on we saw the ship on the water and I waved vigorously to them, to which they responded by blowing the horn and playing Madonna a bit more loudly.

Later that night we went to a free Save the Whales benefit and grabbed a beer. I danced to the jazz band. A good time was had by all.

Save the Whales, have a lager!

We started off the next day with an all-organic fresh pizza. Then we walked to the Seattle Art Museum where we saw the most AMAZING and INCREDIBLE artwork we've ever seen. Works by Picasso, Andy Warhol, and lots of Asian art. I really loved a Japanese piece called The Red Eyed Tribe, but there were lots of good pieces.

We went out briefly to look at clothing that night, but everything was closing at around the time we went out. We each found a nice shirt though, so it was still a successful outing. We also found out that the restaurants all close in the city at about 5 or 6pm because everyone goes home for dinner!

The next day was our one year wedding anniversary! We celebrated by going to the Seattle Aquarium. Oh it was beautiful; there were so many tanks to touch the starfish and sea anemones and other little gooey sea-creatures. Then we got lots of pictures of the wolf-eel, jellyfish and sea otters HOLDING HANDS. Observe:
I'm also pleased to announce that we found Nemo!

Coincidentally, we also went out for sushi that afternoon. It was quite fresh.

Then we went to the famous Pike Place Market and looked at the absolute oodle of different shops and fresh market vendors. There was a wonderful shop with different print memorbillia like WWII propaganda posters. Kris got me a print of a piece of artwork by a local artist that looks a lot like work by Jhonen Vasquez. It brought me much joy!

We had to leave the next day, and we ended up getting stuck at the airport for awhile, but before we left we walked on the pier once more and watched a "real" Elvis impersonator. Our trip was incredible and we ended up not looking at a single apartment. While we enjoyed the city, there was still a stabbing that took place near us as well as an intense and violent shooting. Plus, what the hell kind of downtown shuts down at 5pm? We'll look for a place next time...outside of the city.
On a sidenote, downtown seattle was home to many different artistic renderings of the PIke Place Market pig, as opposed to the pegusai (pegasuses?) to be found in downtown dallas. hooray piggies!

300 movie review

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 21:11:25 GMT

The film "300" starring Gerard Butler as King Theonidas, and based off of Frank Miller's illustrated work of the same name is an intensely thrilling, action-packed movie that's much more than the average action flick. One of my favorite things about 300 and Sin City is that the director in each of the films has managed to bring a very graphic novel feeling to the screen. The muted color scheme in the movie is not only visually appealing, but also sets the tone for the importance of the color red. Red is a color featured in the Spartan soldier's uniform, and is also significant in the amount of bloodshed paid by the soldiers, and their willingness to do so.

I found that the amount of violence in the film to be no more than I expected from seeing the film's trailer. However, I was surprised by the amount of outrage that many people felt by this film. When "The Passion of the Christ" was released, many of these same individuals felt that the violence and torture depicted was justified by the message of the film. In this instance, I believe that the violence shown in "300" is not overly done, and in fact necessary to move along the plot of the story.

I was delighted by how easily the film moved along; it did not drag on nor was it too quick for me to savor. My favorite actor in the film was Dominic West, who portrayed Theron: a power-hungry senator who works against the King. He was also in another film I've reviewed, Hannibal Rising, as the detective. In 300 I found his misogynistic, holier-than-thou attitude both repulsive and believable. I look forward to see even more of his versatility in other films.

Overall I found the movie gripping. I enjoyed the narration of actor David Wenham (Faramir in LoTR), and I felt like cheering for the brave King Leonidas and his 300 warriors. A most enjoyable, fun film. I give it 3.5/5 stars for cinematography, acting, and general plotline. If you haven't seen it, DO IT.

in recovery

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 02:03:54 GMT

feeling much better from the horrible, plague-y illness. i needn't go into details about the pains of being seriously ill, but it does give me a new-found satisfaction with the little things in life. i really missed being able to take a shower instead of a bath, sewing, painting, being on the internet and just getting to GO OUT. i don't like being confined to home and bed, but when all you can do is sleep there are few choices of activity in your waking hours.

i still have to be careful of my spleen and avoid all contact sports for the next month or so. this means not playing with the dogs at work. damn.

the seattle trip is coming VERY soon! we'll be going for our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY. YAY!! it does NOT seem like it's already been a year. we're going to see things like the seattle art museum and the aquarium, but we've also found a $5 burlesque show to go to! even if it's bad we still get to say we went. woo! we've picked out a few apartments to look at too. there is much excitement!

expressive photography

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 22:42:45 GMT

insane day
...didn't actually try to stuff my fingers in my nose..

i have always loved...

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 21:59:03 GMT

this painting:
"La Columna Rota" (1944)

i think it's one of the most beautiful paintings that Frida Kahlo ever produced. i feel that i can understand some of the physical pain she suffered from throughout her life due to my own spinal discomfort. mmm, i would like to go to one of the art museums again soon and see a new exhibit. i am reminded and encouraged to work on my own paintings when i see her work.

my feelings...

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 03:00:10 GMT

....on my 8 page lab report, pissy little homework stuff, quiz, and exam ALL happening on monday:

oh yes, i do have my clever moments. only 5 pages to go.