Saturday, October 31, 2009

Beware of Zombie Nazis!

So because it's Halloween, for some reason, I've been watching more scary movies than I have in my life. I hate scary movies. But for the past few days I've been around friends when they decide to watch Halloween-appropriate movies and I just end up staying. Last night, I was invited to go to a screening of the Norwegian "zombie Nazi comedy" Dead Snow. So I went. I think the combination of zombie Nazis and comedy and the fact that it was only five bucks was what sealed the deal for me. I thought it'd be.... an interesting experience. And, boy, was it.

The movie was set to start at midnight and it was put on by the city's international film festival where I'm going to school and there was a line down the street for tickets. I was going with some people from my dorm and we were surprised at how many people were there. 

So we got our tickets and found seats towards the back. The first few minutes, the movie had to be paused a few times because the sound wasn't working and people were talking and yelling out comments the whole time. While the sound was off but hadn't been paused, someone started reading off the subtitles in accents and making sound effects. It was quite funny and my friend actually turned to me and said that it was definitely worth the five bucks just for the snow mobile sounds he was making.

The sound finally came back on and the movie continued. I've never had a movie experience like that before. People continued to yell out comments throughout the movie and some people two rows in front of us were drinking and smoking and moving seats the whole time. And it was actually really funny when characters weren't getting their heads ripped in half or hanging off a cliff by zombie intestines. The humor was very tongue-in-cheek and the final battle royal between the remaining characters and the Nazi zombie horde was gory, but still made the whole theatre laugh. Overall it was a pretty entertaining way to start out my Halloween this year, despite all the gore.

Dead Snow movie poster

It doesn't get much better than zombie Nazis for Halloween, I gotta tell you.

Friday, October 30, 2009

a break in the fall

Today is the first day of Fall Break! These past few days have been full of midterms (ugh....) and adventures (to Walmart in fake mustaches(!) and to three different Jack in the Boxes on a quest for pumpkin shakes that ended up with free McFlurries from McDonalds at midnight). I've been quite busy and exhausted. But now I get to relax for a few days. Yippee!

Oh, and it snowed the other day. Although, really it was more of a "snizzle" (as someone in my history class called it) - a snow/drizzle. I almost ran in on one of my room mates changing when I saw it outside my window yesterday morning, I was so excited about it. I think it was the Southern Californian in me coming out. Despite the fact that I've seen snow and been in snow before many times in my life. Maybe it was because it was snowing in October....? Or because I'm actually living here and I'm not visiting for a few days, so it seemed newer. I don't know for sure, but I was fairly excited. When it actually snows though, I might be a bit more excited. We already decided to build a snowmen armies having an epic battle on the lawn outside my dorm in January. Casualties and all. That I'm definitely looking forward to.

Monday, October 26, 2009

and I find that my heart is my home

I love the feeling of being out in the cold all bundled up and bare-faced and then walking inside a warm building. The cold clings to your face and the warm air of the place you just entered settles slowly on top of that cold layer, surrounding your chilled face in warmth that just feels good, gently seeping into the skin on your face gradually.

I pulled an almost- all-nighter last night. Meaning I went to bed around 7:15 in the morning after working on a paper for my Honors Reading class for a long time and then woke up at 8:20 in order to make it to that same Reading class at 9:05. So I spent most of the day running on about an hour of sleep. And then I had to take a midterm in maths. A bit of a crappy day.

But I found some good points in the little things today. I got a package from my grandma in the mail today. It was a very pleasant and welcome surprise, especially after just thinking the past few days about how I miss my grandma's cookies and would love to get some in the mail. And then lo and behold when I checked my mail after a brief lunch before going to study hard-core for my midterm (I'm not sure how much good it did.... maths' not my best subject....), there's a package waiting for me that definitely had some of my grandma's delectable homemade cookies (as well as peanut butter m&ms - sooo good! - and a light up Jack-o-lantern for Halloween this weekend that changes colors - it's pretty sweet!). 

And although I didn't really get a nap today (I fell asleep at my desk in front of my computer for about half an hour.... not really comfortable....) and I do have quite a bit more work to do for classes tomorrow, I got a chai on the way back to my dorm from a viewing of "Comedian" about Jerry Seinfeld for one of my classes tomorrow. And now I feel much more calm and relaxed about the next few hectic days and everything that happened today and this weekend. Cheers.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

it's rainging, it's pouring.... (reposted)

IT RAINED TODAY!!!! 
I was really happy. So I grabbed my camera after class and dragged my room mates outside to go take pictures. I took most of them, but I made them take the ones of me because I'm constantly "narcissistically amused" (as Slavoj Zizek would say) about myself. That and I really liked my outfit today.... So I put together a collage of myself and the glories of the autumnal rain and its affects on the foliage around campus today. Hooray for rain!

(Reposted with bigger image from October 23rd)

the Joy of Fish

It's parents weekend, so my mom and dad are in town for a few days. They go home today, but we went to the Japanese gardens in town that I've been wanting to go to. Even in fall when it's a bit cold and it smells like musky deteriorating leaves and the flowers are gone, the gardens were still very beautiful. The reds and yellows brought just enough color to the simple and serene garden that it was perfect. There was actually a couple getting married in the garden while we were there. I was so glad we went.














It was a simple outfit kind of day. My purse (one of the loves-of-my-life!) is from Modcloth.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Casual Zebra Thursday

One of my favorite pieces of clothing was bought on a whim. I haven't worn it that much in the past, but I find myself wearing it a lot nowadays because it's different and unique. No one else has something like this. And the funny thing is that I bought it at a CVS drug store back home almost two years ago and it was the only one in the store and it fit me. It was fate. I was meant to own this white zebra sweatshirt. 
I normally just wear it to lounge around in while doing homework or I'll just throw it on before dinner really fast, but I needed to be really casual and comfortable while finishing that beast of a research paper this morning so I couldn't really put much thought into what I was wearing. I didn't even put makeup on before classes today. So it was this and black leggings. Isn't it great?

The zebra's name is Scooter. He's very close with my Hello Kitty slippers.

Beating that paper into semi-submission feels so good....

Ahh.... I feel so relaxed right now. I'm done with classes for the day and I finished my research paper for history after nearly dying last night and this morning trying to get it done. Now it's time to sit back and drink a Snapple and watch the episodes of Glee and Heroes that I missed this week while I freaked out about classes. And then crank out more essays that are due tomorrow morning. But now that the weight of my research paper is off my shoulders I feel so much better and more calm. Praise Jesus!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

instead of a fish....

At school we're not allowed to have pets in our dorms, not even a fish. I do not like this rule. I don't like fish really, but it'd be nice to have a dorm pet or something. And plus, I really miss my dogs back home. A fish is not a dog, but it'd help. So instead of a fish, we have plants.


This is Ted, Fred, Sed, and Jose, our "cactus" (my room mate calls it a cactus, but really it's aloe vera....). And also Humphrey, Bogart, and DeForest (named after Humphrey Bogart of course - his middle name is DeForest in case you didn't know) our mini pumpkins and gourd. They've been brightening up my gloomy days recently. The copious amounts of chocolate and hot beverages help too....


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

the little things

It's wonderful what a nap and a chai tea can do to banish some major stress. Too bad they don't solve everything.... I think I shall merrily procrastinate just a bit more and paint my nails a dark brooding color before returning dutifully to homework and research. And then I will go to bed and pray that tomorrow will be a better day.

a little magic would be nice right about now....

You know what I like? Naps. Know what I don't like? Waking up and still having so much to do.

Can someone please invent some magic thing-a-ma-jig that lets a person (namely me) take a nap and write three amazing essays for different classes in a few hours and solves all of his/her (my) problems by the time he/she (me!) wakes up well rested and rejuvenated?? Within the next five minutes, please. Where's my "Get Out of Jail Free" card? I need to cash that in for this week. I'm pretty much just waiting for it to be over so I can move on and enjoy life like usual. Next week shall be full of things that I love to make up for everything that's happened or will happen this week. I can't really think of what right now, but I need things that will make me happy and keep my mind off of how much I do not like this week.

(Please note: I'm normally not this whiny or down. I'm having some issues outside of school that are making this week royally suck for me. It's really annoying me that I'm so unhappy with what's happening right now.... Sorry.)

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Happy Birthday Herbert!

This is Herbert. He is my vacuum cleaner. I finally unearthed him today to do some more cleaning because we have a guest coming to stay with us and we wanted to seem at least semi-presentable.... And because he was already a Shark, we decided he needed a face and a name. Isn't he cute??
He is a ferocious Shark vacuum!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Let the Wild Rumpus Start!

So I had an eventful day yesterday. One of my room mates and I drew finger 'staches in our math class and had lots of fun with that. And then we spent the afternoon getting ready for our Hall Date to the movies with a whole bunch of people from our dorm. It was a lot of fun walking around the mall wearing Burger King crowns. It was a really fun day in general. I felt very much like a little kid again.

So first off: I found the prize my box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch promised me! It was at the bottom.... But I got the orange race car! Heck yes! (It made me really happy....)
Also, I went to see Where the Wild Things Are with my hall. We wore our pajamas. These were mine. I love the book. So I took a page out of it and posed like Max does in one of the pictures. The spaceship footy pajamas and Burger King crown pull the whole look together quite well, I think. :]
Rawr! I will eat you up!

"The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible teeth" - Where the Wild Things Are

Just a Little Taste

It's late and I don't feel like writing a whole thing right now. More details tomorrow in between "chores." But this is just a preview of what happened today.



Thursday, October 15, 2009

Taste of Heaven

I have been craving certain foods since I've been away from home. The cafeteria at school's been pretty good at serving decent food, but nothing can compare to some of the food back home. Like, there's this phenomenal Indian restaurant a few blocks from my house. Just thinking about their chicken ticka massala and naan and mango lassi makes my mouth water. 

And green beans. I just want some steamed green beans. My room mates hear about my desire for steamed vegetables all the time. I'm the kid who grew up with the whole "balanced plate" thing for dinner. We always had some form of protein, vegetables, and starch on our plates every night. And I was the kid who actually liked my veggies. So the fact that I'm not really getting them (aside from the salad bar offered every night - but I don't really like salad all that much....) is driving me crazy.

But what I'm mainly craving right now, is strawberry bread. It's delicious. It tastes like Heaven. And I've technically only had it once when my best friend and I made it during the summer because we felt like being chefs that day. But it's perfect. And I want to eat it right now. I would, too. I'm just an extremely poor college student with no way of making it myself since I live in a dorm and there's no bread pans in the kitchen downstairs. But this is college. We improvise all the time. I'll find a way to scrounge something together. For now, the Cinnamon Toast Crunch in my room will have to do. Cheers.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Words and Welcomes

I recently had a "friendly discussion" with someone about whether one of my all-time favorite words had positive connotations or not. I love words. Words are incredible. Then again, that might be because I'm an English major. The written language is kind of my thing....

So this discussion was centered around my comment that "whimsical" is a phenomenal word. It's one of my favorites. It sounds pretty and has this airy feel about it that makes me feel all warm and tingly. It's pretty much me in word form (if that's possible for a person to take on the form of a single word, anyway). I'd been talking about words that I love with one of my really good friends and this person had overheard us because we were eating dinner at the same table in the cafeteria. When I mentioned my love for "whimsical," he jumped in asking why I would like a word that meant flighty or flaky. Please.

Technically, yes, whimsical can mean a slight tendency to be a bit air-headed or absentminded about things. I told him that it was not a negative word. It doesn't have the sound of one. I said it meant fanciful. It was delicate and quirky and playful. My friend backed me up. And I'm right (as always....). I looked it up to prove it.

My dictionary says: "'whimsical' - playfully quaint or fanciful, esp. in an appealing or amusing way."

Whimsical is an attractive word with both a sunny side full of fun and spur of the moment decisions that can lead to adventures and a shady side of quick changes of mood and mind that can be chaotic and hectic and result in lost thoughts and slight forgetfulness.

And that's who I am. I am a person driven by whim and fancy. Adventures happen often. As do cartwheels and Hello Kitty slippers and changing nail polish color. I do many things because I can and because I think they're fun. Which certainly promises some interesting and exciting college years. So welcome to my world. It's full of books and movies and photography and music and comforting smells and steaming mugs of tea. Let's go on an Adventure, shall we?