Avatar - The Movie

Official Avatar Movie

This is what I have to say about Avatar: If you had any ideas that imperialism wasn't such a bad thing, Avatar will convince you otherwise. It was a futuristic look at the savagery that imperialistic countries have done to indigenous peoples all over the world. The movie makes you rethink your views on the things that are done in the name of progress.

James Cameron wanted to make this movie in the 90s after Titanic. But I think that it was good to that we didn't get it until now. I think that watching this movie given the current war really puts things in perspective.

I will make this one caution. This movie isn't a children's movie. There was profanity and considerable sci-fi violence.

The Wii

December 23rd is a bad day to decide that you want a game console :(

I did not get my Wii.

The last time we had snow like this...

The last time we had snow like this was back in February 2003. This is what I was doing that weekend. I wrote this 6.5 years ago:

Seeing Anna (Patty Duke) in "Oklahoma!" 2003

I made my way to NYC this weekend to see Anna in Oklahoma and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed Anna's performance. Keep in mind, I had never seen Oklahoma before and so when the curtain went up and then she didn't utter sound for like five minutes, I was a might concerned. But when she did start, in my mind, I was like, “I can't believe that I'm actually here watching Anna perform." I really enjoying the show, despite fact that I had only had about 2 hours sleep since Thursday night... (It’s a long, long story).

Now, would be a good time to mention that I left Maryland for NYC on Friday night and arrived at hotel at 7:30 am on Saturday because of a series of stops. My friends and I knew of the upcoming snow in Maryland, but hoped for the best. By 7:30 am Saturday, my mom called me and said that they had 2 inches of snow on the ground in Maryland and that more was predicted to come. Carrie also told me that they were predicting snow for NY, so we decided not to stay too in NY too long.

Back to my story...

We stayed in a hotel in Long Island, Hicksville, specifically. The hotel guy told us that I could take the train into the city to see the play. So like a brave girl, I took the Long Island Railroad to Penn Station. I met to nice older women who told me about the train system and they filled me in on the fact that Penn Station had a fire on Friday, but not to worry because everything should be ok. I took the train in and it took about 45 minutes to get into the city. Well, because I'm not always the most intelligent person, when I forgot the address to the Gershwin theatre and to make matters worse, the play was scheduled to start in 45 minutes. I was on 34th street and had to get to 51st street. Common sense would tell a thinking person to catch cab at this point. But not this gal...I gotta do things the hard way. Not only was I going to walk in 20 degree wind, but I was also on the look out for a camera and a gift for Anna. Foolish, I know...

Well, I didn't get Anna a present, (Billy don't be ashamed of me, but I could see myself walking 17 blocks in that wind with flowers). I got to the theater with about 10 minutes to spare and by this time I was starving to absolute death. To prove the point, I actually purchased a $3 bag of M&Ms and was perfectly ok with the exorbitant pricing structure of the theatre. I found my seat, which was in the rear mezzanine, which is really high up. I was on the aisle, but it was ok. To make my day even more interesting, I discovered that a trip to the ladies room might have been a good idea before the play started, but being the fool that I am, I just sat there thinking dry thoughts until the intermission.

Now nothing terrible interesting happened to me personally during the second act except that I got to watch Anna some more. Once the play was over, I went to the stage door to wait for Anna. Everyone and their sister came out of the door and for about 10 - 15 minutes I waited out in the cold for Anna. With the wind chill, it felt like it was 0 degrees out; my fingers, toes and face hurt from the cold. But I waited. Now there was a girl who was not from this country out there with me. She wanted everyone's autograph and she wanted me to take her picture with everyone. Now because I was raised to be nice to people in general, I didn't mind at first. However, when it became obvious that I might miss Anna, then I got irratated. Eventually Anna came out and these burling men swarmed over to her and asked for autographs on what seemed like thousands of photos. They also inundated her with facts about her life and with seemingly inane questions; at least, they seemed that way because they were questions that I could've answered myself. The only thing that was useful out of their conversation was Anna's announcement that she will be appearing on the series finale of Touched by an Angel this spring. She's really excited about this and who wouldn't be really.

Then the ultimate thing happened. The two guys departed and then the foreign girl turned to me and said, pointing to Anna, "what is her name again?” I could've slapped her right then and there, but I didn't want Anna to think I was a nut, especially since I was going to tell her that I was friends with Carrie. The girl got Anna to sign her playbill.

Anna said, "well I've got to go now and get dinner so we can be back in time.”

Julie: "Ok, I'll be the last one. My name is Julie and I'm friends with Carrie and Bill. They told me to come say hi to you"

Anna: "Oh really? Isn't that nice. Did you want me to sign the program too?"

Julie: "No, the playbill is enough?"

I said no because the program has Andrea Martin in it and if I'd known that, I wouldn't have bought it.

Anna: "Well, it was nice meeting you, we really have to go."

Julie: "Ok, thanks."

Here comes the foreign girl...

FG: "Can you take my picture please?"

Julie: "Well actually, I wanted a picture but ok.”

Then Anna left... I got no picture, but she did sign my playbill.

I called Carrie, my new NYC travel agent, got directions back to Penn Station and went back to the hotel. Now, had it not been extremely cold, I would've just waited for Anna to come back to talk to her, but again, it felt like 0 degrees. I made it back to Long Island safely and nestled in for a cold winter's night.

My mother called at 7:30 this morning and said, "Come home now. There's a foot of snow on the ground they just said that it's not going to stop snowing until tomorrow night. We may get up to 2 feet of snow." Well, we started out at 7:30 am and what is normally a four hour trip took us 10 1/2 hours in the snow. I took lots of pictures of cars stuck in the snow, including one of a tow truck. As soon as the Governor lifts the ban on driving, I'll get the pictures developed. Right now, you can get fined $1000 for being on the road.
So that's my story. Even though it was only for a minute, I'm really glad that I got to meet Anna. Hopefully, in a warmer season, I'll get to meet her again.

Ricardo - The glazed mask

Ricardo LaMascara

This is the latest ceramics project

Ricardo LaMascara

Work with me, people

I just want a day when everything goes right... things go as discussed... and no one questions the decisions I make. Understand... I don't know everything and I will never claim that I do. But when it comes to the things I do know, all I want is a little trust and faith that I'll do the right thing.

I want to apologize to my Melissa and Sam who had to see me lose it today... Yes, Sam, that was me losing it. It wasn't quite a Jillian moment... but it was me at a very raw moment. I promise to do better.

Ceramics Project #2

This is my ceramics project

And this is the other side

Daylight Savings Time

from http://nergon.com/2006/10/

Click the image for a larger view. It's funny and oh-so-true.

Teaching for Dummies

I dare someone to buy me this book:

It can be purchased online at Amazon.com

They got me working, working day and night.

I've been working since October 5th... I mean, I haven't had a day off since October 4th. I can't wait until Sunday. I'm going to sleep late and have nice pot of homemade coffee.
Now, I might work on my ceramics project that day. But not at school. I have some secret ceramics clay at home... Don't tell anyone.

LOST Season 6 Poster

Look what I found today:

7 days to pay day

This is what it has come to...

*sigh*

Prime Time

Every day at work, I hear people talking about the TV shows they watch. More often than not, I haven't heard of the shows they're talking about. The other day I mentioned to a friend that I've found myself watching re-runs of old tvs shows more than current tv shows. It seems like a day doesn't go by without at least one episode of the Golden Girls, Good Times, and occasionally Touched By an Angel. I have never seen an episode of Mad Men, House, Heroes, and I don't have a clue what True Blood is all about. After telling her this, she suggested that I watch some shows from the current season.

So tonight was a night of firsts for me. I could've punked out and watched Touched by an Angel on the hallmark channel. But I decided to give Prime Time a shot. At 8PM, I watched FlashForward (in my best tv announcer voice) from the people who brought us LOST. After watching it, I'm not sure how I feel about it. The premise is interesting; every person on the face of the earth blacks out for exactly 2 minutes, 17 seconds at exactly the same time. Each person then sees flash forwards of their future... 6 months into the future. The crazy thing is that they all see their life on April 29, 2010 at 11pm. For some people the is good, but most it's bad. I"m not sure how long the writers can drag out this story before it jumps the shark.



The second first was Grey's Anatomy. OMG was that episode sad. I had no idea Katharine Heigl was on Grey's or else I would've been watching it before now. Since I know that some of my friends DVR various shows, I won't say what happened. But I will say that after two hours of Grey's, I was in tears. Thanks alot Janelle... I wouldn't have watched Grey's if you hadn't mentioned it today.

Random musings

These are some random things that have crossed my mind lately...

1. I'm finding it hard not to judge Lindsay Lohan... she is a hot mess.
2. People who have a sense of entitlement bug me... mostly when they need something from people who they deem unworthy of respect.
3. I am proud and amazed that I have made it to my one year anniversary in my new job.
4. Project Runway has started and I'm curious to see what drama ensues this season.
5. My dog is a mama's boy.
6. I love the Hallmark Channel.
7. People have been talking about aging a lot lately. I think that getting older is only as traumatic as you make it.
8. I want to write more often because I still have things to say.
9. I've been thinking about the all the careers I wanted to have when I was in high school. It's no wonder I ended up in the arts.
10. There are a number of instruments that I want to learn to play: guitar, piano, drums, and trumpet.
11. I think Dave Matthews is a musical genius. His music is more complex than any music you hear today.
12. Facebook feels like a burden on my soul most days of the week. But I can't stop checking it.
13. There is so much I say and much more I don't...

Finishing up and saying goodbye.

The last few days have been interesting...crazy. On Monday, my singular goal was to do all the paperwork that I've been trying to get through. I didn't finish it all and partly because I really havent' been able to come up with a consistent way to do my weekly reports. I'm still struggling with a format that makes sense and is sustainable. I think I'm getting closer, but I'm not there yet.

Then I got the news that a co-worker had passed away. We weren't really close, but she always made me smile. Alice always had a kind word for everyone. There are people that you meet in life, who in small ways, brighten your day without ever knowing it. Alice was one of those people. Yesterday, I found myself wondering if I gave Alice a hug the last time I saw her. I hope I did.

84 Things

My friend Sue tagged me on a note with 84 things about her. She was tagged by someone else and she decided to try it for herself. So I'm doing the same thing. I've tried to include things that many people may not know about me. If I've tagged you, give it a try and tag some of your friends. I guarantee that you'll learn something new about your friend... or better yet, about yourself.

Here goes:

1. On May 16, 2009, I received my Bachelor’s degree from UMUC, 18 years after graduating from high school. It one of the happiest days of my life.
2. Even though I’m a techie, I am shockingly low-tech when it comes to cellphones and photocopy machines.
3. I still love Disney movies…My favorite is Beauty and the Beast.
4. I loved high school, but I have very few memories from that time. Call it selective amnesia.
5. I have very few friends. I am particularly careful about who is assigned that term.
6. I have met many of my favorite celebrities: Boyz II Men, Patty Duke, Reba McEntire, and Carol Burnett.
7. My five favorite TV shows are The Carol Burnett Show, Reba, Gilmore Girls, Lost, and Star Trek: Voyager.
8. I used to love watching the Orioles, but I haven’t watched them in years.
9. Music has always been a huge part of my life.
10. When I was in high school, I wanted to be a music producer, a screenwriter, a studio musician, and a cinematographer.
11. I hated 7th Heaven, but I couldn’t stop watching it.
12. I have had two great loves in my life.
13. Because I am an extremely private person and endured entirely too much trauma in middle school, I don’t think most people knew what to make of me in high school.
14. I was inspired quit two jobs because of songs…one by Reba McEntire, the other by Beyonce.
15. I went to summer camp as a child; The Center for Mathematics and Technology at Western Maryland College (a.k.a. Nerd Camp).
16. During the seventh grade, I was tormented by a group of kids at school. To this day, I don’t know why they chose me.
17. My only real friend in middle school was my second crush. We remained friends through high school, but I never told him how I felt. We are no longer friends.
18. I had never seen field hockey before I joined the team in ninth grade. My gym made me do it to keep me out of trouble. She made me play sports year round to keep me “off the streets”. I wish we had kept in touch after high school.
19. I hated my 8th/11th grade gym teach Mrs. Wright. Then she became my mentor when she became my coach. I’ll always remember her good advice.
20. I can never watch “Back to the Future” too many times.
21. I have not used profanity since my early teens.
22. I was suspended once in middle school for threatening a girl.
23. I would love to play the role of Willie Loman’s wife on stage.
24. I want a bike again.
25. I almost got married once.
26. I love LOST, but I gave up trying to figure it out definitively.
27. Madonna’s song “This Used To Be My Playground” always makes me cry.
28. I am a huge fan of Carol Burnett. I wrote to her when I was 15 and she wrote back. 20 years later, I met her.
29. There are very things that I wish I had done better. But I do wish I had been a better friend to at least two people.
30. In the universal debate, Kirk vs. Picard, I always pick Picard.
31. I love Italy and would go there again, if I can get enough money together.
32. I want to retire in Mexico.
33. I don’t drink often but only because I’m cautious about losing control
34. I love Hallmark Channel movies.
35. I love pajamas a.k.a night-night clothes.
36. I have recurring nightmares about being in the Twin Towers on September 11th. I have that dream at least once or twice a year.
37. I love scented candles.
38. I’ve had the same cell phone number of about 10 years.
39. I just took a Jazz history class and have a better appreciation for Miles Davis.
40. I hate folding laundry.
41. I’m one of those people who wants to be marry, but appreciates being single.
42. I am allergic to nuts and cow’s milk.
43. My mother took me off sugar as a child as an alternative to ADD medication.
44. I don’t drink soda because my face will break out.
45. I loved Mad About You. The writing was smart and Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt are geniuses.
46. I learned ColdFusion web programming out of necessity.
47. Even now, I would go see New Edition in concert.
48. I would love to spend a day in the studio with Deborah Gibson.
49. My dog bites me every now and again.
50. I never learned how to put on makeup.
51. I hate folding laundry.
52. I lose my glasses often.
53. I have over 5500 songs on my iPod.
54. I have lots of opinions about a variety of topics. However, I don’t always share them in order to maintain the peace.
55. I hate when people burn bridges.
56. I don’t really know many people outside of my immediate family and I’m ok with that.
57. I almost didn’t go to commencement at UMUC.
58. When I was in high school, I taught myself to play a few songs on the keyboard (Van Halen and Sade in particular).
59. I’m learning to let things go, especially things that are of little consequence.
60. I do not like to ride in a car for longer than about 45 minutes.
61. I am intensely private, which make writing 84 things hard.
62. I want to take up music lessons again.
63. I miss Bernie Mac.
64. I want to visit the Pasadena Playhouse in LA. It is also known as the Carrie Hamilton Theatre.
65. I started writing a screen play in high school, but I never finished.
66. I feel sad for people who can’t see outside themselves.
67. It makes me sad that so much information is coming out about Michael Jackson that we never knew before. Maybe he wasn’t so weird after all.
68. I can’t wait for Season 6 of LOST to begin.
69. I don’t understand people who need drama in their lives in order to be happy.
70. I sometimes wonder if social activism is becoming a new religion unto itself.
71. There is so much that I want to do – some much that I want to accomplish.
72. I have no intentions of getting my Master’s Degree.
73. I wish I could play softball every now and again.
74. I have lived in Columbia for 16 years. But in some ways, I still feel like an outsider.
75. I want my dog to be able to play in a back yard.
76. There are specific sign post events in my life that were punctuated by specific songs. These songs make up the soundtrack of my life.
77. The first two albums I bought were Lionel Richie’s All Night Long and Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
78. I enjoy the arts.
79. I need to drink more water.
80. I would love to meet Carol Burnett again and have an actual conversation with her.
81. I accidentally call my dog Scottie sometimes because he acts just like my brother sometimes.
82. If I ever get a house with a backyard, I want to have a vegetable garden.
83. Even though I get those “Ghetto Prom”, “Ghetto Wedding” emails, I do feel sorry for the people in the pictures.
84. I never imagined that writing 84 things would take me almost two weeks to finish.

Musiq and Lyrics...

I'd hate to walk away from you as if this never existed
Cause when we kissed the moment after I looked at you different
Lately I gotta watch what I say
Cause you take things personal nowadays
You used to laugh now you get mad
 I just want my friend back

And my mind's gone half crazy cause I can't leave you alone (oh can't get you out of my system)
And I'm wondering if it's worth me holding on (holding on)
Said my mind's gone half crazy cause I can't leave you alone (can't get you out of my system)
And I'm wondering if it's worth me holding on

oh oh oh oh oh yeah
What happened to the one I used to know (oh yeah yeah)
The one I used to laugh and joke with
The one I used to tell all my secrets
We used to chill and be down for whatever whenever together yeah

- Halfcrazy by Musiq Soulchild

Getting things off my chest

It's been a while since I've written something of substance in my blog. I've been a bit busy going to school, working, improving my ministry. I've had so much on my mind, so much I've wanted to say. But I haven't been able put my feelings into words. I'm finding writing in ambiguous terms is harder than it used to be. Since my blog is imported into Facebook, I'm more cautious about what I say, so as not to offend. So my alternative is not writing often or at all.

I have been going over in my head all the the things I've been through in the last six months. My last semester of college was by far the most difficult. I had the most difficult class of my college career and no where to turn for help. See when you take classes online, your options are severely limited in terms of getting help. Towards the end, I wasn't sure if I'd even pass the class. But I decided to take my final and walk at commencement regardless. I've waited 18 years to graduate from college and after all these years, I deserved to walk. I found out that I aced my last to projects and final exam and passed my class.

In terms of work, well, things have been challenging. My first three months on the job was hard - really hard. I seriously wondered if I had made the right decision about leaving IT. I had to learn a whole new job. It was a hard transition, but I made it through. These last six months, though, have been a whole different kind of challenging. Developing new procedures and preparing for the new projects put a strain on me. There were nights when my mind when couldn't wind down from work after work. My saving grace was homework and studying for my Christian meetings.

In addition, I found that the people in my inner circle began to change. Some relationships that were previously strong have waned while some people who were previously acquaintances have become close friends. I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel about that. I feel joy for the new friends I've made. I have new people in my life that I can talk to about my bad days and they offer me really practical advice that works. But I also feel anger about the relationships that have changed. I'll get through it...don't worry.

I'm looking forward to the summer. It is starting off well. I'm getting a head start on many of my projects, which will be a great help when the Horowitz Center fall season starts.

****** Later that day******

I started this blog on June 25, 2009, before I heard that Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died... I feel sad for both of their families. Part of me feels like the things that am feeling aren't important because I still have my mother and father. There are three kids who have lost their father and a young man that has lost his mother. The worst part is that none of them can grieve privately.

Is on day two...

ExerciseTV Trainer Videos

Summer Reading List

I am currently reading...

	The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.
	Keep Yourselves in God's Love
	When the Emperor was Divine

Bath Time Pictures

Everybody has had an embarrassing bath time picture taken of them.... Petey is no exception.

Free time for coffee

Now that I have a little free time, I am going to blog more. Hopefully, I'll have more time to construct my thoughts into a form that is worth reading.

Today, I bought a coffee table. I've been thinking about getting one for a while now. I have a small apartment and I never really thought that I would need a coffee table. But lately, it's been a pain not having something to put my drink on or something to put a magazine on. So I headed off to my friendly neighborhood Walmart and bought this:

The book and cup of coffee were not included...

The post-graduation blog

So this is it... my post-graduation blog. I graduated on May 16th from UMUC and it was a great moment in my life. Being at the ceremony with 1000 other graduates and listening to their stories made me feel something that I hadn't felt in my four years at UMUC. I felt a sense of community. We didn't share memories of homecoming games, or dorm adventures. But all of us, mostly adult learners, shared a common story of perseverance, patience, and dedication. It seemed as though all of us had to balance school, work, and family life, not to mention the unforeseen occurrences that befall us all.

That Saturday, my family had a special dinner. It was awesome because we had flank steak and two kinds of potatoes and salads. I was really happy. One of my friends asked me a couple of days later if I cried when i got my diploma. I didn't. I was in shock. I almost didn't believe that I had done it. But by Tuesday, I had a couple of good cries. I cried about my parents not being able to make it because of circumstances completely out of their control. I cried because I wasn't able to invite people that I wanted to invite because we didn't find receive our tickets until the last minute. And I cried because I worked 13 days in a row and was totally exhausted.

So here's the thing... I graduated 12 days ago and although I should be happy about it, I have been feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Yesterday, I was at work and felt like I was going to lose my marbles. I have had a number of projects and requests and I guess that since I haven't had homework to redirect my focus, my mind has been drifting to work issues in the evenings, leaving me feeling completely exhausted. I have even dreamt about work issues. So yesterday, while at work my mind began to race. It was disturbing and unnerving. I talked to my coworker about all the emotions I was feelings, but that still didn't make me feel better.

A little bit later... oh man... I sent a very short, to the point email to my supervisor... "Can you talk?" It was the beginning of a conversation that effectively got me down off the ledge. I was feeling a loss of control and profound sadness, the kind of sadness that makes you have one of two thoughts; run and don't stop running or curl up in a corner and rock back and forth. I didn't have either option, so I choose to talk it through and it was really helpful.

First of all, post-graduation depression is a real thing. I was feeling depressed and a sense of loss. The space that use to be filled with homework wasn't being filled. So my mind was refocusing that energy on work, so much so that I was constantly thinking about work, even dreaming about it. Not good...

But I will say this, though talking it though, J gave me some practically suggestions to help combat my stress. I gave some of the suggestions a try today and even though I didn't get everything done today, I have a concrete idea of what I did get done.

So what's the point? Sometimes even a great moment in your life, a moment that should bring happiness, even those moments can bring stress and even a period of grieving. The key is to come up with a constructive way to deal with it.

Christopher Plummer

I think I love Captain VonTrapp - He's so dreamy!

Goals and Temptations

I have been wanting to put into words the things I've been feeling for the past few weeks. I've had such a wide range of emotions, that I found myself confused and unsure of myself and really, really unfocused. The crazy thing is that I have had to be extremely focused in the past three weeks. I've had three weeks of paradoxical emotions.

As the co-chair of the diversity committee, I had to be on hand to help prepare for Diversity Week. My role, primarily was to see to the contracts and rosters. I wanted to have to have it done early because I knew that Diversity Week fell on the same week as the opening of Rep Stage's show, God's Ear. As the supervisor of the house managers, I had to prepare all the contracts and co-ordinate all the schedules. It was a lot to think do. I didn't know how I was going to make it through the week. 

I survived the weeks leading up to spring break which was good because I had big plans for spring break. I planned to spend my spring break working in the ministry. I usually only get to go out in the ministry on Saturdays, but I made plans to go out everyday. So far everything is going well. 

However...

I notice that whenever I make plans to devote more time to spiritual things, it never fails - the devil swoops in to throw an obstacle to keep me from reaching my goals. I have already faced a challenge that almost caused me to take a false step. Temptation was set before me, but because I put the matter in God's hands, I was able to resist. I often think about the scripture at Romans 7:21-23 that says, "I find, then, this law in my case: that when I wish to do what is right, what is bad is present with me. 22 I really delight in the law of God according to the man I am within, 23 but I behold in my members another law warring against the law of my mind and leading me captive to sin’s law that is in my members.”

When I think of this scripture, I know that the struggles I face to are to be expected. When I want to do better spiritually, challenges will arise. The devil doesn't want me to get closer to Jehovah God. So he custom builds challenges that are meant to deter me from that goal. Sometimes the challenge comes and I don't fare so well and sometimes, the challenges come and I breeze right through. This time around, I didn't breeze right through, but I didn't give in. So I'm proud of that.

So I keep praying that I resist all the temptations that come my way.  

25 iPod Guilty Pleasures

This is my list of iPod guilty pleasures. These are songs that I only listen to when no one is around. After you read mine, make your own list so we can all have a good laugh.

This is in no particular order:

1. Cher - Strong Enough
2. Bee Gees - Staylin' Alive
3. Chicago - You're the Inspiration
4. Wham - Everything She Wants
5. Leann Rimes - Big Deal
6. Joey McIntyre - Stay the Same
7. Kanye West - Heartless
8. Kanye West - Love Lockdown
9. Debbie Gibson - Losin' Myself
10. Barbra Steisand - Tell Him
11. Blind Melon - No Rain
12. Eddie Murphy - I Meant You No Harm
13. Bette Midler - He's a Tramp
14. Richard Marx - Right Here Waiting
15. Guns and Roses - Sweet Child of Mine
16. Tatyana Ali - He Loves Me
17. Katey Sagal - September Rain
18. TLC - No Scrubs
19. Weird Al Yankovic - White and Nerdy
20. NSYNC - Gone
21. Wayne Newton - Danke Schoen
22. Lauryn Hill & Tanya Blout - His Eyes are on the Sparrow
23. Hugh Grant - Pop Goes My Heart
24. Whitesnake - Is this Love
25. Van Halen - Right Now
    

Stay in the Fight

I wrote this blog in August 2007...but I think it bears repeating...

I heard some thing inspirational the other day. Fran Drescher was talking about a technique she used to get thought her cancer treatments. She kept two rubber bands on her wrist. Any time she started having negative thoughts like "I can't do this" or "This is too hard", she would snap one of the rubber bands. It was like a quick snap back to reality and a deterrent to allowing the negative thoughts that she would inevitably have from taking over and consuming her.

I got to thinking that her technique could be applied in just about any situation. We all face challenges in our lives and negative thoughts are more than abundant inside our heads and hearts. We have goals that we want to reach, but there is something holding us back. Taking that step is scary. But you know what, not taking that step can be even worse.

Are you stuck in a job you hate? Why not quit and do the thing that really fulfills your real passion? Do you want to lose weight? Who doesn't ? I know I do. Taking that step, making the step to take my life back was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make. I was stuck in a vicious of negative thoughts and bad habits.

There are always reasons why you can't do something. But the truth is that it's not that you can't, it's that you won't. Everything is hard when your attitude is led by the negative thoughts in your head. It's time to break out of the cycle of negativity and surround yourself with positive thoughts, from within yourself and from the people closest to you.

So go grab two rubber bands and stay in the fight!

It happened again

Ok... Last night I saw "He's Just Not Into You" and it was basically good. It would've been better if it had fewer "S" words. Jennifer Aniston's character, Beth, was dating Ben Affleck for seven year and she was frustrated that he didn't want to get married. This story line was juxtaposed to three other stories of women who also had man troubles. It was definitely a chick flick.

Now, you're probably wondering what "it happened again" means? Jennifer Aniston showed up in my dream again. This time, my brother, Scott, my sister, Tiffany and I saw Jennifer in Broadway show. The stage kind of buckled and Jennifer lost her place in the script. Since Tiffany was stage managing, Tiffany told her the next line and everyone had a good laugh. Then it started to rain in the theatre. People started to panic and Jennifer was trying to make sure that people weren't getting hurt. Scott had an ipod and she told him to put it in his pocket before something happened to it and then we left the theatre. I was sure Jennifer was right behind us. But as we made our way through the backstage corridors, I realized that she was gone.

When we got outside, I realized that I had Jennifer's glasses and this man came up behind me and stole them. Eventually, we caught up with Jennifer and asked her where she went. Then I woke up.

Strange Dreams

I stayed home from work today because I wasn't feeling well. I took some Tylenol Cold which immediately put me to sleep. So, of course, I had a crazy dream.

I was on a reality TV show like the Amazing Race and my partner was Jennifer Aniston. We had a bunch of challenges, including finding great fitting jeans. We went from place to place around the country doing different challenges. It was really fun and it seemed like we would win.

Then I woke up.

Jung Typology Test

Your Type is INFJ

Strength of the preferences %
Introverted - 78
Intuitive - 38
Feeling - 12
Judging - 100

Qualitative analysis of your type formula

You are:

• very expressed introvert
• moderately expressed intuitive personality
• slightly expressed feeling personality
• very expressed judging personality

My spring schedule

WRTG 388: Advanced Grammar and Style (3)
02/14/09 - 05/15/09 WEB
An examination of the basic units of grammatical description, the nature of grammatical categories and structures and the reasons for creating and using them, and the application of grammatical concepts to written style.

MUSC 436: Jazz: Then and Now (3)
01/28/09 - 05/06/09 W 07:00 PM - 10:00 PM
An examination of jazz in America during the past 75 years--its major styles and influential artists. Students may receive credit for only one of the following courses: HUMN 436 or MUSC 436.

"Sober"

***I love this song so much - Say what you want, but Kelly Clarkson is awesome!***

And I don't know
This could break my heart or save me
Nothing's real
Until you let go completely
So here I go with all my thoughts I've been saving
So here I go with all my fears weighing on me

Three months and I'm still sober
Picked all my weeds but kept the flowers
But I know it's never really over

And I don't know
I could crash and burn but maybe
At the end of this road I might catch a glimpse of me
So I won't worry about my timing, I want to get it right
No comparing, second guessing, no not this time

Three months and I'm still breathing
Been a long road since those hands I left my tears in but I know
It's never really over, no

Wake up

Three months and I'm still standing here
Three months and I'm getting better yeah
Three months and I still am

Three months and it's still harder now
Three months I've been living here without you now
Three months yeah, three months

Three months and I'm still breathing
Three months and I still remember it
Three months and I wake up

Three months and I'm still sober
Picked all my weeds but kept the flowers