Coincidence

Just got Trainspotting from Netflix and was planning on watching it & Slumdog Millionaire tonight before bed. I just realized they're both directed by Danny Boyle. He hasn't even directed many movies. I've never seen a movie of his before so I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm hoping for the best.

Magic

I love whimsical, magical, fantastical things. Not in a nerd way, but in a little kid way. I went to see Coraline in 3D last night and I loved it an unbelievable amount. Definitely spend the extra bucks for the 3D experience because I feel it definitely added to the film. There were so many extra touches that made me break out into a wide grin. I was squeezing A's arm every time anything extra cute happened. Go see it!

To build on whimsy, I posted before about Pushing Daisies. I just got Season 1: Disc 1 from Netflix today and watched all the episodes right in a row! It is so cute, so fanciful, so colorful, so.... everything I love in a movie or TV show! There were many times I teared up. The actress who plays Chuck has a birthday the day after mine, so maybe that's how I can identify with that character so well? Anyway, I wish this show hadn't have been cancelled so it could go on forever and ever. I wish I lived in Couer d'Couers. I want to be enveloped in that world - much like how Coraline was enraptured with alternate reality! I don't think my life would be in imminent danger if I stayed there, though.

I really want to make an apple pie with Gruyere baked right into the crust after watching that last episode.

In Existence Just For Me

Precious Tongues: Bunnies

Dream Weaver

I have been having the most lucid, crazy dreams lately. This morning, I woke up absolutely terrified from a dream I was having.

In this dream, I was at "home" (it didn't look anything like my house) and there were prisoners being brought into my living room for interrogation in front of a small crowd. There was this one prisoner that had to be beaten to a complete pulp to get him to settle down enough for the guards to walk him to the chair in the middle of the room and chain him down since he was trying to bite and kick everyone. As they were chaining him to the chair, I saw a giant missile coming towards my house out of nowhere. It landed right next to the window I was standing by, just tearing up earth, but thankfully not exploding. For some reason, these missiles seemed to be only for the purpose of destroying things with their sheer size and mass. Everyone in the room noticed that dozens more were coming at us and we all scrambled to run for cover.

Despite the previously mentioned prisoner's disposition, I immediately took his arm and dragged him with me to hide behind a couch. All previous notions of each other (his loathing of me, my fear of him) were left behind as we made each others' lives our priority. I took out my cell phone to text A and let him know that I loved him because I didn't know if I would ever see him again, but I realized in my dream that he was in jail and didn't have a cell phone! I started absolutely bawling because there was no way for me to give him a final message to let him know I cared if something bad happened to either him or myself. (I often have this fear when riding in a plane or having a daydream that the bus I'm on will lose control on the Washington Ave. bridge and plunge into the Mississippi below where I will die quickly from hypothermia and because I can't hold my breath underwater for shit.)

Suddenly, a giant, gold force field came out of nowhere to protect the entire planet from this alien attack. (It had just dawned upon me out of nowhere that the missiles were coming from outer space.) My mom and I realized that it was someone from the future coming back in time to protect us all. We chanted a cheer that I've forgotten in waking hours and danced around hugging each other. I called a friend in Boston (I have no friends in Boston) who had not been disturbed by anything of the sort and realized that the attack had only happened in a few places and very few people in the world knew that this had just happened and doom had been prevented by a prophet from the future.

That is when I woke up and thanked my lucky stars that hadn't really happened. Trust me, this dream is only as crazy as numerous others I've had lately. Is something in the water or am I just being driven crazy by ungodly amounts of thinking needed for classes, homework, and work?

Story of my life.

Gaga for GaGa

Lady GaGa fascinates me. She's like Karen O with the fashion, but crazier because she never wears pants... ever. At least she's got the hot body to do it. I have a little crush on "Just Dance" but I just downloaded The Fame out of curiosity and it suxxx. Oh well. She does have proven talent, though. She's been writing songs for pop stars for ages. She was also one of the youngest people ever to be accepted into NYU's Tisch School of Arts back in the day. Unfortunately, her Oompa Loompa tan ruins most of that credibility.

Netflix...

To get or not to get, that is the question.

I feel like I would never do anything if I had Netflix. I kind of want just the super, super basic one at a time deal, so I can still watch unlimited stuff online. I did cancel my phone insurance so I'm saving $6.50 a month... $8.99 gets me one DVD at a time unlimited plus unlimited online stuff. Hmmm... decisions, decisions.

Florida Update

+ SuperTarget in Kissimmee had cupcakes from TickleBelly in Denver. I
got vanilla/vanilla. Full review can be expected when I can get some
internet access on my laptop (This is an email from my phone.)
+ Grandparents are feeding me a constant feast. Rice pasta with ground
turkey spaghetti sauce tonight, scallops last night, chinese before
that, and on and on!
+ I haven't spent a dime except for a Ron Jon fleece for my dad that
he'll pay me back for when I get home. All I plan on buying is a Waffle
House breakfast, a Baskin Robbins cone, and a 7-11 Slurpee.
+Cocoa Beach yesterday, in 85 degree heat. I'm as white as a Cullen
compared to the regulars.
+ My grandparents let me sleep as late as I want, aka until noon or one,
and they stay up as late as I do!
+ I've been addicted to TV, watching everything ever. It was my first
time since who knows when that I got to watch Gossip Girl on cable.
- Cold front came through today. We had a high of 70-ish and it will be
in the mid-70s for the rest of my stay. Boo hoo, right?
+ Got a swim in at the condo's pool before it got cold
+ It's nice to have no agenda while I'm here. I can take a walk or take
a nap whenever I please, and change plans if the weather changes or I
want to finish a chapter in my book.
+ I've felt a renewal while here. I want to come back and cook and bake
more and just be more involved with my closes friends.

This is exactly my kind of vacation, although I wish it was warmer now!

To Do In Chicago:

Art Institute


Brunch at the Bongo Room


Cupcakes from Sweet Mandy B's


Finish Christmas Shopping?

Which would you rather have?

Minneapolis:


Chicago:


It's not much better, but I'm taking the latter.

My Kind of Nightmare

Last night I dreamed that I was taking a Third World Literature final and didn't know anything because it was all about maps and distances! I was freaking out and telling my TA that I was really having a hard time, but she just said, "But you're one of the best students in the class!" It made me feel terrible and I woke up in a panic.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a dream that I made a table full of baked goods that I was oh-so-proud of and displayed it for people to taste. My roommates came through and commented on every kind of treat, saying things like, "This isn't as good as my mom's," or "Blech, this is only so-so." I was mortified. I woke up in a terror, with tears in my eyes.

These are the kinds of dreams that wake me in the middle of the night.

Homebody

Maybe it's all the running around, maybe it's the weather, but I can't remember the last time I went out! I have just been so content to stay at home watching Anthony Bourdain on the Travel Channel or researching tasty recipes on AllRecipes.com. I don't feel the urge to go out and blow off some steam. I just like napping, sleeping in late, and baking - a true hibernator.

I don't mind if people come visit me, but I'm definitely content enough on my own that I forget to reach out to the rest of the world. No one's good at that these days, though.

I'm Not Ready

Despite the snow on my deck & on the ground and the finger, toe & nose-chilling temps, I really don't feel like it's the Christmas season. I even went shopping on Black Friday. I'm not ready for this! Finals start next week and then it's no class for a month. Where did this whole fall go? It disappeared into doctor's appointments and money troubles and coping with newly found stomach issues. I hope I don't lose this whole school year to the same.

On the positive side, maybe the bitter months of December, January, and February will fly by and turn into spring before I know it.

Speaking Of Magic...

I just had to read The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie for my Third World Literature Class. I didn't think I would like it because I haven't liked anything we've read so far. This novel completely whisked me away, however. I couldn't stop reading! I think I'll be doing my final paper on the book, actually. It was a bit confusing to read because of the constant name changes, but enjoyable nonetheless. It's about the emperor of the Ottoman empire (I think...he was Indian), Akbar, around the time of Elizabeth I. There are too many subplots and stories within stories to really give a synopsis, so I apologize.

Currently Watching:

....and falling in love. I know it just got cancelled; what a shame. I love how magical and colorful and fantastic it is. Looks like I'll have something to watch over Winter Break!

Plus, the main character is a pie maker!

Let The Right One In

Saw this last night; it was pretty good! Some of the people I went with had already seen in & Aaron had already given me a highlight reel, so a lot of the suspense was ruined/made worse for me. It was much too scary and bloody for me. I wanted it to be a 4-star movie from all the reviews I've read and people I've heard from, but I went away disappointed. Maybe I'll like it more sitting on my own couch and snuggling with a trusted friend.

Still, go see it and tell me what you think!

"Late to bed and late to wake will keep you long on money and short on mistakes."
- Aaron McGruder

Life motto, as I post this at 7:45 a.m.

Savings?

My mom gave me some of my treasury bonds that my grandparents have been giving me since I was 3 years old. Now, these things used to mature in 7 years. None of my bonds will be mature until 2025 or later. 2025, and I was given them in the mid-90's. I'm going to cash them at their current value just because 17 years is too long to get $8 more out of each. I also thought about putting some money in a CD, but even those interest rates aren't worth locking up a grand for a year. My savings account isn't there to gain interest; it's there to make a physical barrier between cash I should spend and cash I shouldn't.

No wonder no one in the country saves money. It's not worth it! There's no reward for not spending anymore since interest rates are so paltry. Maybe if that was fixed, the entire world wouldn't be entering a recession.

How Badly Do I Want This?

By Andrew Hickey

After covering the launch of the T-Mobile G1 when it was first announced last month at a gala event in New York City, I decided I would plunk down the dough and pick one up this morning when they were released nationwide to the public.

The gadget geek in me couldn't resist the first ever device based on the open source Linux Google Android platform. Plus, it was about time I got rid of my BlackBerry Pearl -- it was too small and typing with SureType was getting frustrating.

As an existing T-Mobile customer, I was more than willing to drop the $179.99 on the device and the few extra bucks it would add to my monthly service plan -- a small price to pay for unlimited text and data. I opted for the $35 unlimited plan, which is about $15 more than my BlackBerry data plan, which didn't include unlimited text messaging. What I didn't expect was the final tally to hit $234.13. I knew I'd have to extend my T-Mobile contract for another two years, that's fine. What I didn't realize was that I'd get slapped with an $18 upgrade fee. Not sure why, considering it's been so long since I've bought a new device that I should've been eligible for an upgrade credit.

The kicker was the $25 I was forced to pay for a car charger. I put up a fight, but the T-Mobile employee in full G1 regalia said it was bundled in. There was no other option. I was stuck, so I lamented.

So what did my $234.13 get me?

Everything.

I'm typically pretty critical when it comes to devices. The G1 is a little bulky and heavy, but it's worth the extra heft for the physical QWERTY keyboard that slides out from under the crisp touch screen as smooth as silk. It's a little odd that T-Mobile didn't also include a virtual keyboard for the touch screen, meaning whenever you type the screen has to be slid up revealing the keyboard, which also switches the view from portrait to landscape mode.

So far, the Web browser has been great, nearly as good as the Apple iPhone's. I've viewed a few sites, ran a few quick Google searches and posted some comments on some popular message boards all at lightening speeds, likely due to T-Mobile's high-speed 3G network. With the touch or slide of a finger you can scroll through Web pages and zoom in or out. Once in the browser, the menu button brings up screens to enter a URL, launch a search, create a bookmark or open a new browser window.

I activated my Gmail account and have been seamlessly sending and receiving emails for the better part of the day. Now if I can only get some of my friends to start using my Gmail I'd be all set. The G1 also works with other POP3 and IMAP email accounts, but lacks integration with Microsoft Exchange mail. So far, I can't get my antiquated Hotmail account to work, but I'm sure someone will fix that soon.

I've yet to try the instant messaging features, but the G1 supports all of the IM big boys: AIM, Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger.

It was a little tricky getting my contacts off of my SIM card, requiring several clicks and a few extra steps, but once I found the trick, that too went well.

As yet, I haven't done much with the Android Market, the application market place. I've downloaded Bank Of America's mobile banking app and ShopSavvy's barcode reader app that automatically brings up pricing and availability of a certain product with a quick scan of the barcode. Both seem to work as advertised. I was a little disappointed at the lack of applications, which appears to be around 40 for now, compared to iPhone's AppStore which has hundreds, but I'm sure third-party developers will add more in short order.

The 3.2 megapixel camera is crisp and clear, but I'm a little put off by the lack of zoom and video capabilities. I also haven't noticed if there's a flash.

As for voice, it's clear as day, sounds like a landline.

The touch display is also excellent, with three different home screens: one that just displays wallpaper, one that has a clock and selected app shortcuts and the third a Google search screen. At the bottom of the screen is an arrow that lets you slide open the full list of applications. The same arrow is also used to slide the application list closed.

When I bought the device, I was warned about the lack of battery power and told that it drains quickly, requiring two or three charges a day. So far, it's held up. Granted, I haven't been continually running Wi-Fi, GPS or Bluetooth, which can be a drain. Though I've dabbled with each of those functions and they seem to work quite well. The GPS enabled maps are exceeding my expectations, pinpointing my location in less than a second.

The YouTube video playback is solid and the audio clear, though the G1 lacks a head phone jack for private listening. The lack of the headphone jack has kept me from playing around too much with the Amazon MP3 store, though a few quick searches revealed a wide selection of popular and some not-so-popular artists.

Overall, the G1 is going to take a little getting used to, but so far I'm enjoying the experience and looking forward to more capabilities as applications get added and folks take advantage of the open source nature of the operating system.
via CRN


So do I want this? I don't like how there's no headphone jack, but I doubt I would really use it anyway. I certainly don't on my sidekick, but my sidekick can't watch YouTube videos. A $35 unlimited data & text package is a little steep, but I'll have to see what the phone part of the plan costs & see if I can keep my bill close to what I'm currently paying. I guess I'll just venture out to a store soon and check out the pros and cons for myself!