sneaky_minx, posts by tag: things made of awesome - LiveJournal

Easy one, mirandafox. Holla! Incidentally, this is why she's been honored(?) as being listed as one of my interests. Word.

(Though, that's really saying something, because I've known many of you others for quite some time, as well. Especially my blog crew peeps. Holla! Man, what was I, Ginny Weasley? I know reformbaby was Sirius Black. I can try and guess the rest of you, but I might get it wrong! Lol!)

So, for those of you beginning to read this post, you're probably like, "Wait, is this another one in which she's all like 'Sorry been away. Catching up as best I can'?" Yes. It is. So, the short story of what's kept me busy:

1.Unnecessary, but nevertheless extremely distressing, roommate drama (since resolved)
2.An ailment that can only be described as a bouncing back between a sinus infection and upper respiratory infection. Complete with random aches and pains all over my face, PLUS daily nosebleeds.
3.Traveling back home for Spring Break.
4.Still recovering from said infection(s) and watching nosebleeds become much milder (thankfully!)

We all good? Alrighty then.

So, I actually missed a couple classes in the interest of my well-being. *gasp* Baby steps, you guys. Finally. During my last semester. I also had a relatively uneventful air travel, minor delays. And I successfully surprised my mother for her 50th birthday. (Her jaw seriously dropped. She later said, "You know, I never would have guessed you would have walked through that door today, a day early." To which I replied, "That's why it's a surprise." And then we all went to lunch the next day at this entertaining Japanese restaurant.)

I later went to the bookstore with my sister and her husband. I haven't read the Southern Vampire (Sookie Stackhouse) series myself, but I've seen True Blood and from what I've read about the series, it seemed right up my sister's alley, so I rec'ed it to her. She bought the first two books and is really enjoying them. So, go me! (By the way, I also recommended Wicked. I then bought it for her for Christmas - a cute little paperback version with the page ends colored green. Did I figure that she'd definitely be through by the time I got back for Spring Break so I could snag it and read it myself? Maybe. Maybe so. You can't prove anything!) I also sat there debating which Neil Gaiman book to buy for whenever I finished Good Omens. I picked American Gods, and I'll get Neverwhere later. My sister was like, "You want that? Okay, I'll buy it for you!" And she did. So score! Now I've got Wicked and American Gods to read.

Speaking of Gaiman, for those unfortunate souls subjected to my twitter feeds, you will have noticed my excitement since last week after stumbling upon the fact that Neil would be on The Colbert Report tonight. Have I spent the whole weekend in utter excitement? Yes. Yes, I have. So much so that when my friend Cassie called me during the interview, I knew what it was for. I picked the phone up, and ever-so-politely said, "I know. I'm watching Neil Gaiman on The Colbert Report, and you should be, too. Leave me alone!" Naturally, I called her back and we squeed post-interview. I had been reading the end of Good Omens during which Neil and Terry discuss each other. For anyone who's read it, specifically Terry's commentary on Neil's wardrobe, I imagine Neil's appearance in a tuxesque-suit gave you as many giggles as it gave me. (Also, in case you're wondering, The Graveyard Book really is delightfully good. I'd lend any curious souls my copy, but my friend Cassie's got dibs. Sorry.)

I've also spent time with my nieces and nephews. They're cute and rascally, as always. But if I start describing one thing they did, I'd have to describe everything. And no one wants that. Trust me. I will say that I found the following things oddly flattering: 1.being fought over by a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old 2.an 8-year-old's not thinking he's too big to give me a hug and hold my hand in when meeting at a restaurant.

So, I was pretty emotionally detached from this election due to past heartache. But, he did it. And I couldn't help but excited with each swing state he won. I just couldn't help it. When they called Virginia, I was pretty happy. It was practically a sure thing, since the west coast was all going to go to him, and that's a ton of votes. But, you know, caution plus, it wasn't really real then. But as soon as they called Florida, I was floored. And they all officially called it. And it was real. I ran out to tell my flatmate, quote, "He got Florida. He got FUCKING Florida!" And as we celebrated his win, I stood there and started shaking. I had chills. Tears started to drop down my face. I haven't experienced this much emotional reaction to joy in a while. You forget how good it feels.

It's real. He did it. He fucking did it!

So, I've been feverishly catching up with Supernatural, while cursing myself for not getting into it sooner. So, so good. (I <3 Dean so much, he makes me use the <3 thing.) While I'm grateful for all the pimpage the show's gotten on my f-list (speaking of which, btw, I love you all for not spoiling season 4 for me. I will say, though, I'm afraid to tread into the comments on some of your posts for spoilers. I'm becoming quite conservative around spoilers in my old age).

However, I gotta ask. Why did no one tell me there was a Ghostbusters-heavy episode? I mean, if there's one thing that puts me on the ground running towards something, it's Ghostbusters. Seriously? When the two "ghost hunters" said their last names were Spengler and Zeddimore, my jaw dropped. And nearly fell off. Exaggerating, yes, but there's actually a risk of that happening. FYI: one side of my jaw bone is not curved like it's supposed to be, so I'm actually at risk for it coming unhinged if I'm not careful. So, you know, if you guys care about my mouth staying together, you won't let something like this happen again.

I say this, of course, in jest. I do love my f-list, and you guys have been great. But I mean, I need the heads up on this kind of stuff. GB is one of my longest fandoms.

As for my current Supernatural status, I'm almost to the middle of the second season. With how my schedule goes sometimes, I probably won't even be able to be caught up by next week's new episode. (Of course, I'm now thinking about 'putting' a lot of eps on my laptop tonight, then hauling the thing with me to work tomorrow...) But, I will probably finish the ep I started earlier. I do need to do something productive tonight. Not necessarily homework productive, but creative productive at the least. Maybe icon, play around in GIMP -- something. Of course, just because I should do something, doesn't mean I will.

P.S. Back to Supernatural and its awesomeness: I didn't think it was possible for the use of Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" to be funny for a reason other than the cowbell. Alas, SN, you proved me wrong. Well-played. Well-played.

P.P.S. I still <3 Dean Winchester.

Okay, I lied. Sorry you guys. I don't have cake for you. I have a half-eaten cookie cake on my storage freezer, but I have no idea how I'd get it to you all. Sorry. :\

Still, you know, cinematic ramblings! So, that's good, right? *crickets...snoring*

Ah, well, anyway.

I finally got to watch some Aaron Eckhart movies today: In the Company of Men and Conversations with Other Women. Aaron was as brilliant as everyone has said he was in In the Company of Men. However, he was brilliant in an okay movie. Worth watching for his performance, though no more than once. Conversations with Other Women was absolutely wonderful. I thought it would be good, but I ended up really enjoying it. Aaron was brilliant, naturally, as was Helena Bonham-Carter. Those two together = amazingness. See, I had to make up a word for it! No scrabble points for me.

Some TDK rambling behind the cut, part further comments on the film and part recap of the conversation I had with my sister on the way home.

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So, that's enough for me now. Should probably try and get some sleep.

But, while I'm on the topic of sleep (again), I have to quote Mitch Hedberg as I'm listening to one of his CDs right now. (Love him, one of the many gone too damn soon.): "I haven't slept for 10 days. I think that's a ridiculously long time to sleep."

Houston yesterday was good. Cassius made excellent driving and travel time. We were only there a few hours, but we got a lot done. We stopped by a little restaurant called "The Hobbit Cafe." It's LOTR-themed. Only the sandwiches and smoothies have clever names, though. We thought it was a total missed opportunity they didn't do something with the onion rings. Jimmy suggested "The One Onion Ring" and I suggested "The One-ion Ring." Maybe they passed it up because it was just too easy. Ah, well. The decor was basically LOTR memorabilia, which was very nice to look at. Unfortunately, none of the waiters were dressed up. Boo. Another missed opportunity. Of course, they weren't in uniforms either. Must be very casual. The food was good. So, that wasn't a missed opportunity.

We then made our way over to a nearby tea shop we didn't get to hit up the last time we were in Houston. It was very nice, and you can find their website here: Path of Tea. The people who run it were there and very helpful. We weren't n00bs, though, so we didn't need the whole introductory schpeel, but it was still nice. I ended up walking away with some WuLong to try, and a Holiday Blend that has the delightfully strong scent of cinnamon. Mmmm. Can't wait to try it. I managed to not get an Earl Grey like I usually do. Old habits die hard, though. So very hard.

We also popped into this independent book store, Brazos. Very lovely shop. Good selection for a small bookstore. Of course I couldn't not buy anything. Gotta support the cause and such. I ended up supporting the cause through this intriguing thing called The Little Philosophy Book - millenia of thought in a nice care package. Gotta love it. Of course. The lady working the shift was absolutely charming and nice. I always have to go to the kids section to see what it's like. Oh, it was wonderful! A cozy little spot that I'd totally love to sit in, though my presence would probably send off creepy vibes. Boo adulthood.

Our last stop was in IKEA to get Cassius some new furniture for her new apartment. It was productive. We managed to get back home around 5PM. See, told you we made great timing. And we didn't even rush!

I'm a wee late on the excursion recap as I've been busy. My sister and her whole crew were over for a while yesterday evening, and today my other sister stopped by for a while. And, I won't lie, what online time I've had has been spent coding and such. I swear, I think I have bipolar productivity. There's no discernible pattern to what I do and don't finish. Sometimes I just completely slack off on something and never ever finish it. And others I can't rest until it's done. Once I get started, I have to finish.

Okay, so this post was seriously longer than it should have been. Tomorrow, hopefully I'll have a pic spam of the nieces and nephews from yesterday to share. For those allergic to children, I'll probably have a different offering to make up for it.

This time: The How Are You So Awesome? Edition

So, many of you have probably heard of the glitch in Netflix's shipping system for a few days this week. Netflix has been nothing but awesome, so I pretty much shrugged it off. Stuff happens, you know. Then, while listening to Morning Edition the other day, they were talking to someone from Netflix and he said that the people would be reimbursed with something for their troubles. So, the company just got even more awesome on my list! I was on the site and went ahead and looked to see what they were doing, and they're going to credit people affected 15% on their next bill. Considering how cheap their plans are to begin with, that's a great deal.

I was listening to this week's On the Media, and their subject this week was investigative journalism. I thought that was great, and slightly weird since mirandafox and I were discussing State of Play just the other day. In the middle of the show, they did a segment with the journalist who broke the Abu Gharib scandal. I had never thought twice about where the pictures at the center of the story came from, but he explained it. Apparently, he broke the story and then got a call from the mother of one of the soldiers involved. The solider was traumatized, not surprisingly. She invited him over to her house and gave him the computer the soldier brought home. It had the more infamous pictures on it. He commented that the mom could have easily sold that a big network for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but she chose to just hand it over. I won't lie, I got chills when he said that.

Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me was brilliant, as always this weekend. Lewis Black was the Not My Job guest. Lewis Black on an episode in which Mo Rocca was one of the panelists? Daily Show reunion! The two opening segments were hands down the best, though. I'd go into gushing details, but this post is getting long enough already.

I lost most of the day yesterday babysitting. Though, my niece did say something funny yesterday. I asked her what the boys were doing in the back, and she said "They're playing, " then shaking her head, she said, "Them drive me crazy."

Tomorrow I will probably be in Houston all day, so may be doing some Twittering, but limited LJ time.

You were all spared from endless rambling due to my limited time, consider yourselves lucky.

Eep! Look at me, getting all f-list spammy! I regret nothing!

So, it's a wee late for my day to be made. But alas, it has happened. (Or maybe it's okay that it's late. I don't know how these things work.)

Wake up, Neo!: Peter Sagal referencing Lolcats and the Bat Signal in the same segment = pinnacle of awesome. (Note: the transcript's there, too, for those who can't listen to the original audio.)

So, TDK frenzy is still in the air. Cutting for TDK spoilers (and the aforementioned frenzy!)

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Other things contributing to the best week declaration:

New f-list member: thisbe! Welcome! I'm personally surprised to see that more people are willing to put up with my insanity.

Whee! Dell sent my replacement laptop, XP and all! I also didn't have to pay for any shipping and fees. Booyah! Well-played, Dell. Well-played.

My comm aaron_daily is buzzing with new members. *snoopy dances*

My friend's and my Young Horrible fan video gained mad popularity this week. And we just uploaded the second ep.

Simon Pegg was on The Soup Friday night promoting the region 1 release of Spaced. I was embarassingly giddy when he popped on screen. (And then popped back on again a couple times!) I've been wanting to see Spaced for a while, and now I have no excuse that it's available in Region 1. Of course, after I added it to my Netflix queue it said "Very Long Wait" in terms of availability. So...there will be waiting. But I still have all those fun PBS/History channel docs to watch in the meantime.

Best week ever five! /The Todd

(Still cutting The Dark Knight stuff out of courtesy)

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