Friends/Family

So, I have a group of best friends from high school that are my family. There are six (including me) that are considered our 'group.' While there were others who mingled within, they were never considered part of the group, yet were welcomed warmly with friendship. All of us had our own unique personalities, likes, and dislikes that spanned a broad spectrum. We all were in the same grade, and all became best friends (one even became my twin, being believed by some).
First is Julie: my twin. If I were straight, we could probably be soulmates the way we mesh so well, but to think of it that way now is... well... it would be incestuous for me to even think it... blah. We have a ton in common, similar reactions to various events and similar likes led to friendship, and our small differences compliment each other well (I had a job as a beauty adviser, she as a grease monkey [mechanic]). Even when on opposite sides of the state, and without having talked to one another in a while, we both do something weird like sign up for kickboxing classes at our college during the same semester.
Second is Marie: the army girl. Smart, funny, and motivated, she was also the one I tended to vacation with when I went to random places like Palm Springs, where my sister and her friend would proceed to give her a makeover. She is tough, having joined the army out of high school (2004), being a nurse in the service, and having completed a tour in Iraq, she is someone I look up to. She handles situations well, with a capable mind. She also seems to get a lot of second-hand electronics from me... though that's not bad, since they were all in working order (^_^).
Next we have Jenny: my entertainment capital of the world. Having graduated from LMU, and being awesome as she is, this is my girl for music, movies, musicals, and anything entertainment. She has introduced me to much music and interesting movies, along with showing some of the fun things she herself wrote and directed. Talented and motivated, I know she can go far as long as she can persevere.
Fourth is April: the animal-lover. April is my animal encyclopedia, knowing much about animals, and whatever she doesn't know, she would want to learn anyways for the knowledge's sake. She is also an artist with much potential, who is constantly growing and will, in my mind, be great as long as she continues. I already called dibs on one of her paintings when she decides to sell it. :)
Last, but not least, is Caitlin: the hermit. This damn girl is impossible to reach!!! While incredibly fun and rediculously inventive, she is shy around strangers yet kooky fun with the group. She's our pirate, Galcomb Threepwood!

So, where am I going with this? Julie is down from Northern California and Marie is here from Texas, so of course a reunion is commencing. Julie is staying with me, which is always fun... Wonder Twin power, activate! The other day we hung out with Marie, who also spent the night, and today we all met at Jenny's apartment in LA and just chilled. It is great to see them again. It has been so long, and I don't have them to be with in my times of need, so I get all that I can when they're here. However, we have to resort to sneakery to lure the elusive hermit out of her habitat, so we're having one of our friends, Jiin, pull her out (by her hair, if necessary) of her place to see us. Jiin has known her practically since Caitlin was born, and so has much stronger ties to her. What a sneaky group we are! This is our master plan for the New Years, and here's to hoping that yours could be such an adventure as our lovely 'kidnapping.'

Seven Pounds

So I just watched Seven Pounds, and it was amazing! I can't tell too much without giving it away, but it starts with a scene that is a major plot point, then goes through the lead-up story to it. Snippits of information are given to you as you watch, and before it is half-way through you can pretty much guess what he is doing and why, but are so drawn to it. It is very emotional, and even I was wanting to cry at different points in the movie, be it of sadness, joy, or empathy... it was a tear-jerker. While I generally tell people that I don't suggest seeing movies in the theater unless it is for the graphics, this would be a drama well worth paying to watch! It was very moving.

Now comes the New Year

Well, the New Year is quickly approaching, and this year (for me) has gone by quick. Everyone makes their New Years resolutions, which they all break. So I'm making my New Year's resolution to not break my New Year's resolution. Oh, look, I already passed! (^_^) I just have to bide my time until the New Year is here before I can really go on interviews and find a job... :\

Who is the Bailout bailing out?

Okay, so everyone by now knows how the banks got tons of bailout money... and that they refuse to account for it! I'm sorry, if we're giving them a shitload of money they should have had anyways, the banks should definitely be held accountable. They even quoted that they weren't going to give information on how they were using the money! That immediately makes me think that the higher ups got a very nice Christmas bonus for their family, and then a measly amount went back into the bank funds to help the average American... in which we should all go there and give a hardy slap on the face... one slap for each American who can't get the funds from their bank because they claim financial hardship in this economic crisis and the risk is too high... let's all just line up and see how much skin they have left on their cheeks when we're through...

WTF?!

Okay... so... I just got laid off yesterday. No warning but the hour-and-a-half left of the job day. I understand the economy is bad, our market is suffering, and our parent company is having problems, but couldn't they have the decency to wait until AFTER Christmas?! There is no way I'll get an interview next week or the week after unless I have inside contacts. Everyone will be preparing their work load to get ahead for the holiday days off. Granted, they gave me two weeks severance pay, that still only lasts me until I can start getting interviews. I filed for unemployment, and I will start looking for work again right away. -_-
This is the way my life goes. I decide to go back to school, even register for a class, then something like this happens. ugh! Well, off I go on the job hunt.

Ally McBeal

Okay, so I always watched this show when I was younger with my mom, but I didn't really remember much about it, except I liked it and it was funny as all hell. So, I started watching it, from season 1 episode 1, and am almost complete. :) I didn't realize how BIG the show was! I mean, there's huge artists, such as Josh Groban, Mariah Carey, Sting, Barry Manilow, Barry White, Elton John, and Tine Turner! And big stars, like Lucy Liu, Robert Downey Jr., Porche de Rossi, James Marsden, etc.

So, once again, I am in love with Ally McBeal! (^_^) No reason for saying this, except to let people know. :)

The Day the Earth Stood Still

So, I'm going to be seeing The Day the Earth Stood Still tomorrow in theaters. We've already a small group built up to go watch it together. Therefore, I must do my proper research, so I am watching the original The Day the Earth Stood Still from 1951. Of course the spaceship and the alien are completely tacky compared to today's standards, but I am liking it so far. Instead of a vicious alien invasion, it is about an alien who comes in concern for the other planets, who think that if humans gain space travel, they will bring their wars and destruction to the rest of the planets and endanger them, so he comes to warn the world that they must keep their destructive ways to themselves, or else the planet will be destroyed. I so like older movies, because they actually had to rely on a good story and well-developed plot line to hold the movie up without special graphics being inserted every 5 seconds. While I'm not finished with the movie yet, I am really enjoying it and would recommend it as a must-see to film lovers. :)

Final Fantasy XI

Continuing with their excellence in the best RPG series to have ever been released (while personal opinion, it is true, so don't argue it!), Final Fantasy XI recently released the fourth expansion to their online game, Final Fantasy XI, titled Wings of the Goddess. While I am still fairly a 'newbie' in the world, at a meager lvl. 21, I have still played a decent amount of the game to be able to tell that this will be an awesome game! I am about to face my first really tough boss, of which I am excited. The game gives you the options to personalize your character with multiple races to choose from: Hume (human male or female), Elvaan (elf male or female), Tarutaru (a midget thing male or female), Galka (a large hulk that looks male, but is supposedly asexual), and Mithra (a kitty girl-only race). In addition to choosing the race, you have 8 faces within that race/gender, and also two different hair colors with each face. Then you choose to be small, medium, or large-bodied. While this is nice, it is still limited to some of the customization games where you can choose skin, eye, and hair color among changing specific features, but it's good enough. Then you get to choose one of three countries in the world to be a citizen of and a main class (starting options are Warrior, Monk, White Mage, Black Mage, Red Mage, and Thief). Afterwards, you get to level yourself up, do missions for your country, and do quests in various areas. Once you reach a certain level, you can do a quest to allow sub-jobs, which are 1/2 the level of your main job, though exp. only gains for the main job, the sub just gives extra stats and skills. Also, once you reach 30, you have the option to go on various quests to unlock much better classes. Sadly, I'm not there yet, but I am making my way. As you do missions, your rank goes up in your country of citizenship, and when you do quests, your reputation rises in the country or area that you are performing the quest, as well as influencing your reputation in other towns that are allied very slightly. It is a very fun game, lots of running around and etcetera. While I normally get very bored with online games after a certain amount of time, I haven't with this game. I had a time I was too busy to play for a while, but the fact that I can get back into it easily says a lot in my mind. And, as stated before, best RPG series ever. :)

The Fallacies of Mankind

Don't you just love it when something small gets blown out of proportion because someone is irritated at nothing in particular, but takes it out on you? -_-
Lovely life *hums a happy tune*

Horribly fascinating...

Okay, so I have read the entire The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, which I have already highly recommended... Then they made the TV show off of it, called The Legend of the Seeker. Wow... it is... um... different. They completely botched the plot up to holy hell, making me pound my feet in anger at the stupidity of how they ruined the whole first book with some of their messed up plots. The main character, Richard, looks very young and... I want to say innocent, but it's not... it's just stupid. He is STUPID!!! Richard is supposed to be smart, cunning, and able to quickly find the answers to questions, but this one doesn't go through that process. After the problem is solved, it seems an epiphany just comes to him and he learns a lesson or something. It makes me think of the old Hercules series where they just go around saving random people time after time. Of course, I'm stupid as well, as I just can't stop watching it, hahaha... It's interesting to see how far they can deviate from the plot and how much they just leave out or skip. So far they have managed to skip an entire tribe of main characters, so we'll see how it works. :)

For those who have not read the series, it might be interesting to watch, but once they read the book, they will either laugh or cry at the way it was butchered into this television show...

The Last Remnant

So, my roommate's sister came over for Thanksgiving and brought The Last Remnant with her. I have to say, I was originally turned off from the different fighting style, until I played it myself. It is a totally unique fighting style in which you don't actually select each character's actions, but you group a bunch of characters together into a union and select one of a few options, and the characters will attack, use magic (if they can), special attack arts, or heal. At first it was weird, but as I went on, I found myself enjoying the gameplay. Each union's HP and AP (for magic and arts) is aggregate of all the characters comprised of the union, therefore making a powerful entity that (usually) doesn't die unless all of the HP is depleted. The story is of a boy, Rush, trying to save his sister (well, I'm not that far into the game, so I don't know how much further it goes). Suffice it to say that this is a must-have for RPG players!