MILES to GO || before I sleep

1. The Cinnamon Toast Crunch blog girl
While blogging about just about everything these days is popular, I don't know about a video blog (vlog) on a cereal. Parodying the idea would be one thing, except it's a stupid parody: the girl is a stereotypical geek and a klutz, too. (Maybe that's why it bothers me?!)

2. The Target "Hat" girl
A typical commercial that's way too blatant with its underlying message: "Buy our products and get the life you want!" Except it's ridiculous to fantasize about a HAT causing you to find a hot boyfriend, have a beautiful property with an orchard, and have perfect, well-behaved children. There's a fine line with the idea of a product enhancing your life in some way, and this commercial just crosses it and shoots off into outer space somewhere. This doesn't have even the tiniest idea that it could be a parody of commercials that do this more subtly (like car commercials), so I don't know wtf Target's ad agency was thinking.

3. Capital One with the actor who played George Costanza's father on Seinfeld
Capital One has funny commercials, especially their latest spate with the Vikings. Of course, my sense of humor is known to be very different from others, so who knows? But the idea of some old guy yelling at me about my credit card choice isn't very appetizing. He's not even very funny while employing the whole "loud old man with big opinions" schtick

Anyone have any commercials they just can't stand? I really wish I had DVR so I could just skip them, but I tend to watch a lot of shows randomly, too, and you can't really fast-forward through THOSE commercials, can you? It's too bad the quality that people strive for during the Super Bowl isn't something ad agencies attempt all year round.

So I just joined caperland and am now officially a member of Team Burned! What's all this about?

Well...


apply for a team | about caperland

If you know about whedonland, it's virtually the same premise, although instead of Whedon-shows, it's caper shows: White Collar, Leverage, and Burn Notice. You can know one, two, or all of the fandoms, and you can participate by joining a "team" and racking up points for said team by participating in challenges.

If you're like me and you like all three shows, even if you're on a specific team, you can still make icons/banners, write fics, etc. for whichever of the shows strikes your fancy--you'll still get points for YOUR team.

So far there has been a graphic challenge, a game (a "spot the difference" with pictures), an icon challenge, a 6-word fic challenge (harder than it sounds), and I'm sure there's more cool stuff to come.

Enjoy caper shows? Then come join us!

I've been having weird dreams the past few nights. Not "weird" like really disturbing weird, just... an odd conglomeration of things. I wake up and wonder what the heck is going on in my brain at night. A few nights ago, I had a dream where all my teeth crumbled/fell out of my mouth. I've had that dream before, and like to think of it as a mental warning to take better care of my teeth. I had another dream last night... er, yesterday morning, and I think it was another recurring or slightly-weird dream, but now I can't remember it. Always write down your dreams as soon as you wake up!

( It might be kind of cool if it happened. )

YAY, I finished with my last final! I stayed up till about 2 am chugging through those last two essays, and even though I'm prepared to accept a grade "ding" on account of them not being on time, plus not having been peer/tutor-edited, I think I did a pretty okay job with them. What surprised me was that not only did some people fail to show up for our final (which was just a series of reflective questions-- not even anything specific about what we read this semester), and that I wasn't the only one that hadn't done all the essays!

But I really liked the class, especially the service learning component where I went to Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda every Thursday, to help 10th grade Honors students with their English portfolios. It was really great, and I'd like to do something like that again, if I have the time.

It's not completely over, though-- my last day of work is tomorrow (I have no work today), and I also have to turn in the take-home part of my ENGL 313/Pop Culture final, which is a "letter" type essay regarding pop culture and power relations. Check out the class blog and the final exam prompt here. I also plan on picking up my fandom essay from Prof. Hatfield when I drop off my take-home final, just to see how I did... hopefully well. :P

Anyway, I was on my way home (stupidly not wearing sunscreen, not having water or other mode of hydration, and also lacking money with which to buy either, or even house keys to get into the house) when I saw something odd: a bunny in a cage, sitting in front of a house. Next to it was a tub with two bags of rabbit food and oat hay, but there was nothing to indicate that there was anyone nearby that had just left it outside as they ran elsewhere to get something, or that the bunny was "free" or "for sale" or anything. I was shocked. BTW, it's currently around 96 degrees outside, so this poor bunny (who had no water in his bottle, btw) was licking itself just to stay cool. And I think something was wrong with its food, because rather than eat it, it ate the newspaper lining its cage (of course, I don't know anything about rabbits, so maybe that's normal?).

I rang the doorbell of the house it was in front of, but no one answered. No one who walked by stopped and said anything, and the car the cage was in front of had no one in it, either. I'd been talking to my mom when I found the bunny, and she suggested I call animal control. I had to contact 411 to get the number, and when I finally did, it was busy. So I called Baba and Grandpa again (they'd been out getting groceries) and since Baba couldn't easily find the number for Animal Control, Grandpa came by and we just took the bunny to the nearest animal shelter. They had me write down my name and address, and where I'd found the bunny-- and surprisingly, they acted like this was totally routine (which makes me sad). There were other caged animals that had apparently been found and dropped off just like the bunny I found had-- including a hamster, a gerbil, and other small cuties. It really baffles me how stupid people are, to just LEAVE an animal outside like they would a piece of furniture with a sign taped to it saying "TAKE ME!" Hello, it's no cost, no penalty to take an unwanted animal to the shelter. At least there, there's some hope that it'll be taken care of and maybe adopted. I feel better knowing the bunny's in better hands now.

After that, Grandpa and I headed to In-N-Out (mmm, I've been craving cheeseburger all week!), and Baba read from the TV Guide that Gary Dourdan (Warrick Brown) is leaving CSI!?!?!??!

( Not again! )

Finally got my financial aid check today, and it looks like the Chase Loan hasn't been applied, so I don't have to worry about that-- yet. But nonetheless, I went shopping with what I did get-- I bought the EyeTV 2 Hybrid TV Tuner for my Mac (a nifty USB stick with a coaxial tuner end, and a tiny sort of USB end that I can use for the Composite red, white, and yellow cables, plus... some mysterious other cord that might be for HDMI) and some books, including Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne 4, which I'd been missing. I'm glad I waited to get that before reading KKJ #5! The plot THICKENS! Oh, it's so tragic...! I mean, I cried a lot when reading and watching Full Moon o Sagashite, but KKJ is certainly power-packed with emotional turmoil! Ahh...

I kind of want to read I.O.N. too, but I don't think it's been translated yet... has it? I really like Arina Tanemura's work. But I've been avoiding Gentleman's Alliance+ because I've run out of space on my bookshelf... and I heard it has some shonen-ai in it, and that just... hm, doesn't appeal to me. I'm a sappy shoujo fan at heart. :)

Anywho, I managed to get something MAGNANIMOUS done as soon as I got back to the house with my EyeTV... I connected the composite cable from my PS2 to the female ones on the EyeTV add-on, and I got Star Ocean 3 on my Mac screen! Huzzah! So now I can record videos AND take screenshots of gameplay! Hip-hip-hurrah! I haven't actually TRIED to take said screenshots yet, though...

I also managed to get TV via the coaxial cable. Now here's the tricky part... the TV I've been fiddling with is the one in the rec room, which gets cable channels, but nothing above channel 100. Technically, nothing above channel 98, which is QVC. :P That's okay, all the good stuff is on lower channels anyway (Spike TV = 48 FTW!!!) . But here's the weird bit, and I hope someone experienced with these kind of electronics/home appliances might be able to help me out...

The rec room has always had cable TV, but not always anything else (e.g. a VCR or DVD player). Now, my PS2 acts as the DVD player, but Scott had to give me a VCR. :P Well, yay VCR for all my old-school tapes (like Ranma, the Sailor Moon movies, and Clue!) What's weird is how the wiring works. The TV is old, but not ancient-- there's something on the back that SAYS S-video, but I don't see an actual S-video port. It seems to be covered up by some sort of panel, but said panel can't be taken off too easily... there are two holes on the right and left sides that look like they have some sort of pinching prongs in the middle (as in, pinch the prongs and the plate might pop off... problem is the prongs are INTERNAL and I tried using tweezers and they didn't pinch anything), and on the bottom, some sliding things... with no room to slide!

So the coaxial cable coming from the wall (and routed through the cabinets) connects to the VCR, because there's no apparent way to connect said cable to the TV. There's another cable that connects the VCR to the TV and it looks SIMILAR to a coaxial cable, but there's no "twisting" screw-on part; it just sort of plugs in (but it has the single needle in the center like the coaxial cable does). I'd tried that second cable first with the EyeTV, but no luck; it was only with the coaxial that I actually picked up any channels.

What I want to know is... is there a way to have the TV plugged in at the same time as my computer? Is there a way to find out if that back panel of my TV can be taken off to see if there's an S-video port? Because that way, I could plug in the S-video cable to the EyeTV add-on, and still have the TV routed to the VCR via the coaxial cable... I think. I tried a similar hookup using the composite cable (e.g. the non-PS2 variety; I used the ones plugged into the TV going to the VCR, but routed the VCR end to the EyeTV)... it didn't work.

Also, do you suppose there's a way to use this EyeTV TV tuner wirelessly, somehow? Like, I don't HAVE to have it plugged in to watch TV? Or would such a set-up only work with digital (ATSC/HD TV)? Or can it, even with HD TV? We have the other TV that's HD, but we don't have an HD set-top box from Time-Warner (even though it's free)...

But we're getting one tomorrow! Now if only we had an HDTV for the rec room... because then I wouldn't have to worry about a heavy-@$$ TV with all sorts of weird blocked panels and switches and not enough ports for the cables... but then, "if it ain't broke, why fix it?" which is why I want to figure out the mystery of the labels on the back of the existing TV to see if there's some way to accommodate two things at once. After all, it's a bit of a pain to have to keep changing things around like that... Of course, nothing'll ever compare to the wired mess at my mom's house, but at least her situation is made easier by the fact that she never watches TV out there anymore (even though it's got killer surround sound) because the TV infrared is busted. :P

In short:
Help? Even if it's just with recommendations for small HDTVs (smaller than 36", the space I have in the bookcase in the rec room) or what cables to buy or something...

ALSO! I want to change my cassette tapes into digital files. Anyone know how to do that? There's a Macworld article on it, but it's not very descriptive...

Greetings from FREEZING Seattle, WA... er, technically, Bellevue, I guess. Getting here wasn't so bad, but the schmucks at Alaska Airlines somehow managed to not put my checked bag (only the one, not even that big or heavy) on my flight, so I had to wait until about a half hour ago for it to be delivered to Sally's house.

Right now, we're (meaning me, my dad & Kathleen, and a few of the other cousins and aunts/uncles) are staying at a friend of Sally's house; I guess her family's out elsewhere for the holidays. It's a bit awkward to be in the home of someone I don't even know, but they did say it's okay...

And frankly, even if Sam (cousin) did say that it's "shady," at least THEY have free Wi-Fi. Seriously, I'm not the first person to point out to Sally and the boys that NOT having Wi-Fi at their house is equivalent to living in the Stone Age. (For those of you with Dial-Up, you're prehistoric.)

The Thanksgiving dinner was DELICIOUS, even though I got a stomachache after the fact-- actually though, based on the human digestive system, there's no way anything I ate at Thanksgiving could have made me sick, even if it was something I'm mysteriously allergic to. I think it was that muffin I picked up at Sea-Tac while waiting for Dan and my bag (which never came while I was there). It was one of those Costco muffins-- delicious, humongous, and bad for you, but you eat it anyway.

Pre and slightly-post dinner, I managed to work on the DIVs for "Ace of Hearts," the Sailor V x Kaitou Ace fanlisting I just started. It's about due, and I'm glad Michael (aka Honus, aka cousin-in-law, husband of Brooke) helped me out with it. Now I understand better how DIVs and CSS can work in tandem! So far it looks great, but I need to write the About, Rules, and Extras pages, make some Codes, and then, of course, Join! And promote... kinda like I am now. Pre-promoting, anyway.

I also managed to watch CSI-- I'm glad Sara got mentioned at least a little. The way the previews made it sound, the game was overtaking the lab and no one thought twice about Sara, which would have infuriated me. I liked how the lesser-seen lab techs got more time in the limelight in this episode (and Hodges had HIMSELF killed in a scenario? Wow, talk about his ego finally having been knocked down a few pegs).

I've also made headway on my portfolio for Journalism; I need access to a printer to print everything out, though. An aesthetic question of sorts: if I have these newspaper articles mounted on papers inside a 3-ring binder, what arrangement is easiest to read; with the headline closest to the rings (and you read the columns going AWAY from the binder) or the headlines closest to the edge of the page, and you read TOWARD the rings?

Had to buy a new phone, too-- just another RAZR. The 3G phone I bought for Japan finally died. The past few days, it was getting hard to open, and then on Wednesday, the screen started to flicker until it finally died and I couldn't turn it back on, even when I adjusted the battery. While I don't consider myself a hardcore phone user, I do USE it everyday for at least one phone call... but still, a little over a year strikes me as a pretty pathetic life not just for a battery, but for a phone's casing and everything in general..

The new phone is a bit different-- mine, while still a RAZR, was a different model (the V3x, from Europe). It takes some getting used to, but because syncing is so easy on the Mac, I've already got all my old contacts back, along with my calendar. I've also set the first four of my "Fave Five," though to be honest, I have no idea who #5 should be. The rest are Mom, Dad, Jill, and Baba & Grandpa. In any case, I hope by having a branded phone now, things'll be easier for me-- I can now access T-Zones, and there's no worries about incompatible phones on the website, weird text messages, etc. (Of course, I stopped getting those mysterious text messages on my old RAZR ages ago, when they finally updated their support-- I think.) I hope it also helps bring my bill down, since I was paying extra for minutes I didn't use and unlimited text messages WITHOUT myFaves. I still have the T-Mobile Hot Spot access though, which means I can go to any Starbucks or Borders and just type my heart out. That might be a nice way to spend the afternoon, especially since I won't really be able to do any "Black Friday" shopping-- unless someone else buys for me. I have to pay for my WII deposit (though it turns out I have 10 more days, since the forms I've been stressing over filling out were the digital copies, but they just sent the paper copies today).

I didn't get to announce about being accepted into the Washington Internship Institute at dinner, like I hoped-- Dad must have heard about it from Baba & Grandpa, and then it filtered through the family grapevine. When I told Dad about the costs, he started to think it wasn't legit-- and for a minute, he really had ME worried, too. Sometimes I wonder how gullible I really am; when something really sounds great to (or for) me, I probably don't stop to consider the consequences or other possibilities out there.

But it does look legit-- I mean, it's a sponsored program from Golden Key, one of my honor societies. But what I think is a good idea is trying to contact some people who supposedly were interns in the program before and find out what they thought.

What else? I'm exhausted and still have a stomachache-- so even though I'm on a couch in a room with curtains that won't close, I think I'll go to bed. This isn't really a vacation, after all...

Today I finally got the time to go to the mall and pick up a few things. First stop was Macy*s, for my Clinique order. Now, the reason why I shop at Clinique is three-fold:

(1) Dad bought me Clinique makeup as presents, because he has a Macy*s card. I liked the gifts, so when I ran out or wanted another color, I went back there.

(2) When I wanted to do something about my rather haphazard acne-defense plan, I went to the Clinique counter just to see what they would offer. One person helped me completely, let me explain my situation, and let me dictate what I wanted (read: what I could afford). From there, I got started on the 3-step system. My face has never been clearer, which proves their products work. They're also affordable.

(3) The service. As mentioned in (2), I got to speak one-on-one with someone, who explained to me everything, from ingredients to pricing. Some cosmeticians and counter salespeople seem driven by an invisible commission (afaik they're not commissioned at Macy*s), and I hate thinking they're talking down to me. That's NEVER been an issue at my Macy*s, and as a result, I know several girls by name: Summer, Rachel, and Lauren, and all have helped me out immensely, been honest, and made me look and feel beautiful and wanted at their counter.

That's an example of a GREAT shopping experience.

Okay, now let's go to JCPenney. I need some new flats, because the American Eagle ones I picked up at Payless Shoes Source a while back are falling apart. The right shoe's strap lining has come undone, and the left shoe's button is loose. The toes on both are peeling upward, but that's a bad habit of mine when I sit (with my toes on the floor, rather than my feet FLAT on the floor). In any case, they were cheap, so I don't mind getting a new pair. JCPenney's selection is mediocre at best, but I have a 15% off coupon I'm determined to use. I finally find a small wall with Arizona Jeans flats, including a single pair in my size. No straps, but they still fit better than anything else
I've tried on (and I did go to LoveD and check out Macy*s sections first). So I get them.

The girl at the counter is obviously distracted, talking to someone behind her while she's ringing me up. She leaves the coupon on the counter after she's bagged my shoes, and I wonder if I just take it back, would I be able to use it again in another department? I decide not to (even though I could probably print up the same coupon again if I wanted) because I'm the honest sort, and also because JCPenney has never offered me a) clothes in a size that fit for me... leastwise, they haven't for a while; and b) because I don't like the "experience" so much. Instead of fun, it feels like a chore.

So, while I did get what I wanted for a reasonable price, it wasn't something I enjoyed doing. I guess that was an "OKAY" shopping experience.

Next item on the list: new boots. I'm super-picky about my boots. Point in fact, if I'm wearing it on any part of me, I deserve to be picky. It's not just the image I project to others, it's the image that helps me feel a certain way about MYSELF. I'm petite, have medium-sized breasts and a bubble butt, and if I wear the wrong clothes, I look like a lumpy dwarf. Obviously, the clothes I wear should make me feel confident, sexy, and hot-- not like I'm a lost cousin of Snow White's Seven Dwarves.

So I go to One Thousand Steps, a newer shop in the mall with a rather interesting architecture. Like I do at most stores, I start by wandering around. I'm not exactly Miss Gold Card, but I do always appreciate when someone comes up to me and asks if I need any assistance. What I tell them is supposed to send a message about just how much "help" I need. When I walked into this store, I looked at the boots-- nothing that really caught my eye, so I headed to the back. A salesgirl almost appearing to block the way asked if I needed anything, so I threw her a line: yes, I wanted to find boots, but I guessed they were all up front. Okay, yes. So she showed me several boots, and based on those, I let her know what I wanted: about knee-high, black, not patent leather, and preferably without any fancy designs, rouching, etc. She had a few good suggestions, but she didn't seem to understand when I didn't like something and wanted to move on, or look on my own. She also committed what I consider a heinous salesgirl crime: comparing me to another customer. YOU DO NOT DO THAT. I am not some other woman. I do not have her looks, her height, her money. For all I know, that other woman could have been 4'10" or 6'1", fat or skinny, rich or poor. It doesn't matter. But I'm not her, and I shouldn't be treated as such. What one woman buys to look good with her dresses will NOT look good with me and my tailored pants.

I left that store not just out of the want to find boots I really DID like (because this store didn't have them), but also to get away from the pushy salesgirl. That was an example of a BAD shopping experience. (I've had worse, but the fact that I'm classing it with the other "BADs" is saying something.)

In the end, I got my flats, placed my order for the Clinique event starting Oct. 2nd (I support Breast Cancer research with my makeup purchases. Do you?), and got 5 more manga at Borders, along with a few special orders placed (and a few that weren't available... read on). I didn't find my boots, though I went to practically every shoe store in the mall. I didn't go to DSW, but the last time I was there, nothing had grabbed me. Fact is, sometimes you have to spend a lot to get exactly what you want, so I might end up going back to Macy*s and spending $169 on a pair of boots that I thought looked perfect.

As for the books, I placed Antique Gift Shop #3, xxxHolic #8, and Full Metal Panic #4 on special order, but Borders' distributor didn't have:
* Lois & Clark Season 4 boxed set
* Forbidden Dance vol. 1
* Full Metal Panic vol. 2
* I.N.V.U vol. 3
* Antique Gift Shop vol. 5
in stock. If anyone has any of those volumes (or the L&C!), I am willing to trade! Let me know what you're looking for and I'll see if I can supply you. Likewise, if you just want to sell them to get them off your hands, I'll buy them. :)

All of this has me thinking of a previous idea for a novel that I never pursued, mainly because I believe in having a certain amount of real life experience in SOMETHING (whether it's love, sex, or murder) before writing about it. Either that, or do a bunch of research and talk to a lot of people who DO know what they're talking about. I hope that someday I can do one of those two... but I can't reveal the "novel" idea just yet. :D

I do wish I could write a good mystery/crime/suspense/thriller, but that feeling may have just been brought on by the marathon of CSI I watched. I think I've gotten into the show enough where I want to see the upcoming season premiere. Does anyone else have any shows I ought to get into? I haven't watched TV in a while (unless Extreme Makeover: Home Edition counts).

That said, I better get to sleep-- I have early class and work who-knows-when.

Okay, so I actually have woken up at a relatively reasonable hour, all things considered. I woke up from a weird dream, but at least I know where all the weirdness came from...
1 - Evamquence (no, not Evanescence) was the name of this horror television series (or movie) in my dream. I'm guessing my brain just butchered the spelling of Evanescence.

2 - scary white monsters with the ability to regenerate in under 4 minutes (when the previous record was 8!) -- probably a mix of the whole "Silent Hill" parody of littlekuriboh's that I saw, plus memories of the BBC series "Hex." I hated the way they ended Hex and stopped watching it-- the memories of "Hex" came from seeing someone do an LJ layout for the series. Maybe the monsters were "Evamquence"?

So even though I woke up completely aware of me having dreamt something, and even knowing where the stimuli for said dream came from, I still feel unsettled.

Worse, I'm still kind of tired, even though I know I got "enough" sleep. When it's cold, you want to snuggle into some blankets and be warm. When it's hot, all you want to do is be lethargic, because moving around in heat just makes you pass out anyway. There's no winning.

I think I'm going to try making French Toast.

Edit: I thought I was actually downloading the Death Note movie (part 1), in preparation for going to see part 2, which comes out Friday (yay for days off)! But no, the super-clear DivX-encoded 1 hr 55 minute feature was... porn. Japanese school girl porn. Yuck. I'm sorry to all you guys who get off on that sort of thing, but I have nothing but pure loathing for those girls, especially when I wanted to see an actual MOVIE with some SENSE behind it. GRR!

Also, heard back from BBapply about my credit card mysteriously being rejected by Softbank... try again! Will do, and then pay at convenience stores if that doesn't work. Still haven't heard from a few other places yet (Adobe, PPP), and I still need to return the BBTV box. ;_; I keep getting the Paper View (yes, that's what it's called) guide to BBTV, and it makes me want to watch! Alas, no video input for Mer. *sniff*