By Hook or Crook

I'm astounded by how intelligent and yet how incredibly ignorant and stupid some people can be. It blows my mind.

Items needed:

Vest - blue/turquoise
faded skinny jeans
long belt - brown
daggers and scabbards - fake
gloves - gray or brown
cuffs - blue/turquoise
cravat - white
ribbon tie - blue/turquoise
sleeveless shirt - white
boots - gray or brown
white lace?
(p)leather sleeve/shoulder things (may have to dissect a long belt)
haircut

Extremely stressed out, but I've already started on the process of making it better.  Here's hoping everything works out.  Please cross your fingers for me.

...

Just got back from a trip home.  Went to one of me friend's bridal shower.  It was really nice and small scale, with AMAZING food.  Spent most of the weekend hanging out with my mom and trying not to fall asleep since I was so relaxed.

Saw most of the "The Mist".  Totally called the ending and it wasn't my cup of tea.  Put me in a weird mood.  The movie would have been much better with a different ending, but I know that's how Stephen King likes to roll.

Nearly had two different accidents on the way back to Austin.  At this four way crossing in the middle of no where this SUV that had been hauling ass in front of me decides to slow to a freaking stop right in the middle of their turn, which was also the way I was going.  If I had been going any faster, I would have hit them, so instead I laid on my horn and they eventually got their heads out of their asses.

Second one was between Fredericksburg and Johnson City, at the Wildseed Farms entrance.  I'm always super careful around there cause it's a busy and highly dangerous intersection because people are impatient and don't look before pulling out of the farm's property.  I'm on the other side of the street from the exit, in the farthest lane (there are two for each direction).  I see this truck acting like it's going to pull out so I'm watching it very carefully.  The bastard pulls out and goes across all the lanes to come all the way into mine even though the other one was completely clear.  This guy's going really slow and unexpectedly pulls in front of me so I have to slam on my brakes and hit the horn.  Luckily no one else was around me so I was able to safely swerve around the dumb ass...otherwise we would have had a serious collision.

Then I finally get home to a dirty apartment.  Yay.  I'm probably going to have to be the one to clean up the mess, otherwise it's just going to sit there for who knows how long.

Good news!  My soundtrack finally came in!!!  Look what I'm listening to bitches and revel in it.  REVEL.  It's fucking amazing and I can't wait till that movie comes out on DVD.

On the way here I started planning out a G1 Starscream costume along with my already slightly started Zidane one (as in I have a pair of boots so far).  It'll be an adventure!

What do you do with a drunken sailor?

Just found out that an older lady I knew back home died today.  The doctor's are saying her eventual coma and death was caused by bleeding in the brain caused by falling or blunt trauma.  The hospital/rest home she was recovering in from a hip surgery denies that she ever fell and hit her head while there.  Bullshit.

She was really nice and friendly.  When I worked in the grocery store we always had a conversation every time she came in and she was always interested in me and my family.  She also encouraged my art and tried to give me good criticism on some of my works when I asked for it.

I kind of want to go to her funeral, but I just know it will piss me off.



On the other hand, I found out my dad got the job down in south Texas monitoring deer populations.  He gets to spend a few months (coming home on weekends) down there sitting in deer blinds watching nature, taking pictures, and keeping count of the deer.  Pretty sweet if you ask me.

Also found out today that I'm extremely glad I didn't take a job as a receptionist.  I'm the backup at our office when the receptionist is doing other things and she's been out with strep throat.

I regret not going into marine biology like I wanted to when I was a kid.  Well, pretty much any type of zoology interests me, but I love large marine animals.

Whales, dolphins, and porpoises are amazing.

But I'm really interested in sharks and rays, especially the plankton eaters (sadly the ones we know the least about).  I really want to swim with whale sharks and manta rays someday.  We know so little about them, but they are obviously intelligent animals.  Whale sharks and manta rays have both exhibited "curious" behavior when divers swim with them and sometimes even follow/investigate boats.  Manta rays also have the largest brain to body ratio of all shark/ray species.  Plus they can get freaking HUGE and still breach the water just like whales.  I wish we had more (if any) documentary film about them, besides the ones where they make short cameos.  I've only ever read stuff about them.

I think it's hilarious that New Orleans has their SWAT team driving up and down the city's river banks at night sniping nutria to control the animal's population.  Way to use the public's tax money and our safety personnel efficiently guys.  Good job.

They'd save a shitload of money and time if they just give a group of country kids plenty of rounds of ammo and we'd take 'em out in a week.

I think it's rather rude to go out on one's balcony and "practice" your guitar with the amp turned up to full volume.  Especially when what you're playing sounds like cats dying in a blender.  That's why they have headphone jacks in amps, because no else wants to hear you suck.  Not even if you clearly want the attention.

I dislike my room mates and their significant others.  The times I do like them don't balance it out at all.

LOVE IT.  Everything my little heart desired and all my expectations were met.

I LOVED THE ENDING SCENE.  ABSOLUTELY PERFECT IN EVERY WAY.

I really hope there is a sequel, but it ended in a way I can live with.  *happy sigh*

EDIT (9/6/09):  Saw it a second time.  Still loved it.  Christopher is still too nice and forgiving for his own good though.

Defensive Driving videos are really a waste of time.  Especially when they just keep repeating themselves and use 15-20 minutes advertising/guilt tripping about donating your organs when you die in an inevitable car related incident.  Two more hours to go then I'll be done.  Then I just have to make sure all the required documents end up where they're supposed to.

Friend AR will be moving in this weekend while Friend PI will be moving out.  I'm pretty happy with how well PI and I got along considering our different family and financial backgrounds.

I've also pre-ordered a PSP that comes with Dissidia and Advent Children.  I'm sad that it cost me more money than I wanted to spend and that it won't be out until August 25th.  It was actually a pretty good deal though.  I'm also thinking of buying a X-Box 360 instead of a PS3.  I'll wait and see what comes of the PS3 price cut this fall/winter and if the new FF is PS3 exclusive.  Most of the games I want are for both consoles, so I'm not too worried.

Still frustrated with the room mate situation.  Still have to wait until May to move out.  Definitely thinking of a 1 bed/1 bath or efficiency.

I have no life and it depresses me.  I go to work, which is going really well, then come home too tired to do anything else.  I need something to motivate me.  I need to meet more exciting people that actually go out and do stuff.  I do appreciate the friends I have now, but we tend to either stay in or do the same old things which usually involve spending money to enjoy.

So I'm pretty excited about Shark Week this year.  I'm such as nerd, but no matter how scared I am of sharks my fascination with them is boundless.  I'm a bit concerned about the advertising campaign this year though.  The commercials are pretty awesome and definitely scary, but I don't know how I feel about how that will raise shark awareness and dispel the "Jaws" hysteria that still exists.  It almost seems like it's sending out the wrong message, even though some of the 'attacks' shown are referencing true events.

I don't know.  We'll see how it goes.  I'm currently watching "Sharkman" who's goal is to put a Great White into 'tonic' (a catatonic state).  It's amazing what he's already done with Lemon and Reef Sharks.  At one point he had a Reef Shark balanced on the palm of his hand like a baseball bat.

I've been depressed about how horrible human beings can be to each other since I can remember.  This just makes that piece of my soul that holds out hope that it can't be all bad, break just a little more.  This whole situation is horrifying and I don't see it getting better for anyone, even the boys who will not learn from what they've done but will just sink in our horrible justice system and become even worse criminals in the future.  I hate to think what kind of monstrous parent's gave birth and "raised" these children.

This has been one of the most stressful holidays I've ever had.  Not to mention almost having my eardrum blown out but a fucking stupid little shit cousin that doesn't listen when we tell her not to point or get close to people when you set off a loud confetti popper.  Little shit set it off right behind my right ear.  Still hurts.  Then this morning on the way back to Austin I get my very first speeding ticket by the biggest asshole cop in existence.  Gave me shit about everything he could.

I'm exhausted, stressed, frustrated, and all around upset.

I've been watching some show on the History Channel about the decay of the United States' infrastructure (levees, dams, aquaducts, roads, sewers, etc.).

Very interesting and kind of depressing how Americans tend to put this kind of important stuff at the back of the line even though we'll greatly regret it when everything's gone to shit.  I'm basically not planning on moving to the east of the Mississippi any time soon.  Old pipes + bad maitenance = DANGEROUS water.  I never realized how lucky I was growing up with extremely clean well water.  We never had to really worry about all things in this show.  Unfortunately, there are so many people that don't have those kind of clean natural resources anymore. 

It's scary how dependent we are, especially in the cities, on electricy.  It runs nearly everything, even the movement of water.  I'm glad my mom makes me keep bottled water around the house and I learned early on to always keep candles and flashlights.  I do know that if there was some kind of 'apacolypse' I definitely wouldn't be one of the first to die, (unless by accident or someone else's fault.)  I'd pack up my shit and trek home where it's safe.

Interesting results from another online personality quiz...

( How the quiz says I describe myself (some of these are eerily accurate, while others are not): )

Squenix, when did you start hiring teenage girls that read too much bad fanfiction to write your Kingdom Hearts games?  I am very unimpressed.  Why do you keep trying to make your obviously gay characters straight with crazy bitches?  It doens't work for your side of the arguement.  :[  Not at all.

Been kind of depressed and frustrated with life recently.  I strongly dislike sharing an apartment with people, and I really hope I can find my own place next year.  The job's going great, but I definitely do not want to be in this kind of environment for the rest of my professional life.  Which is difficult to get around since I have no idea what I want to do with my life.  I'd actually be okay with being a housewife if I could ever find a man of interest.  Austin sucks for that.  All the men are gay, (even when they say they aren't), or are already happily married/taken.  It's frustrating and lonely.  I feel like I'm drowning in this place.  I'm just waiting for something to happen.

On a more positive note, I started rereading the Vladimir Taltos series by Steven Brust.  Mostly because I wanted a refresher before I buy the two newest novels in the series, and also because I missed it.  It's been so long since I've read it that I was happily surprised to find that my favorite book in the series, Taltos,  is the first one in the series chronologically which is how I read it.  Brust wrote them out of chronological order on purpose, but the only one I've read out of chronological order was Dragon, which was the first book by him I read/bought.  Very confusing but definitely grabbed hold of me.

I love this series and it's definitely a pick-me-up, just for the nostalgia and Vlad's snark.  I also wanted to review some of the information to see if my really old idea for a fanfiction would work somewhat canonically.  It was crack, but I like to keep my details straight where I can.  I'd actually like to revisit it and possibly start it up again.  Just thinking about it makes me giggle in a very fangirlish fashion.

I really wish there was more fanfiction on the web for this series.  I found some a few years ago, but now the site they were on is permanently down.  :(