Right now, the TV is on playing something dumb I'm trying to ignore, my brother is standing behind me practicing on his bass guitar plugged into amplifier, my sister in law is in front of me at the desktop computer reading ads out loud and attempting to converse with my brother and mom, and I'm sitting here with my laptop trying to write, and I can barely hear myself think. There's too much going on, too many people, too much noise, and it's driving me crazy. And if I have the audacity to go off to another room where it's quiet, everyone acts like I'm being selfish or inconsiderate or antisocial.

Nuts. I was browsing TF news on Siebertron.com today, and they posted a link to a 3-page preview of the new upcoming Transformers comic series. Super mega spoilers. They warned me, but I just can't resist. I've been so jazzed about the upcoming series I just had to look. I couldn't wait until the 18th when it's released. Nooooooooo.

( !!!SUPER MEGA SPOILERS! SRSLY!!! )

Guh. Need to go to bed now. >_O

As of today, it has officially been a year since daddy passed away. An entire year. It seems so daunting to go that long without him, but day by day I seem to have managed. I do miss him, though, and I still cry almost every time I think about him. I feel like I should do something to commemorate him, but I'm not sure exactly what. I kind of want to surround myself with things that remind me of him, or do something that we used to do together. I don't know. I'll think of something, but right now I need to stop crying like a stupid little girl and go to bed so I can get up for work in the morning.

First year ever that I didn't carve a jack-o-lantern. u_u I was all jazzed to try out my rotary tool, too. Halloween may be over, but maybe I'll do as Holly suggested and get a cheap pumpkin and carve it anyway! XP

We went for a road trip to Cincinnati for Halloween this year. There was a toy show Nov 1st, so we drove to Cincinnati on Halloween and stayed the night in a hotel, then returned today after the toy show. We arrived in the early evening on Halloween, so Jess and I put on our costumes and went for a stroll around the mall and grabbed dinner. Then went back to the hotel for the night, so we could get up early to hit the toy show. We wore our costumes to the toy show, too. No one seemed to really understand what the heck we were dressed as. I got a few new toys, though. I got vintage Starscream, Red Alert, Blurr, and Beachcomber (the guy gave me Beachcomber for free, 'cause I buy stuff from him at pretty much every toy convention). Also, I got two awesome Martian Manhunter figures at a comic shop the day we arrived.

My costume looked completely stupid, but I worked really hard on it. I stenciled and painted/colored the hoodie and shoes, and the stupid skirt took me practically 3 days of meticulous hand sewing because the sewing machine is broken. (It was originally a pair of shorts which were about 4 sizes too big, but I took them in, turned them into a skirt, hemmed it, made cargo pockets out of the scrap fabric, and added some awesome grey reflective stuff I found at the fabric store. It turned out pretty good. Too bad it didn't really have anything to do with the character.)

( Jess and I in costume )

Pretty sure absolutely no one understood our costumes. Someone wolf-whistled at us, though, which made me uncomfortable until Jess made me laugh by saying "They must think robots are sexy." A couple people saw the Autobot and Decepticon logos and were like "Transformers! I get it! You're a good guy and she's a bad guy!" but I don't think anyone actually got that we were trying to represent actual characters. Whatever. We don't have a lot of serious Transformers fans around here. I did however have an Italian guy at the mall recognize the logo on my left shoe and be like "Alitalla! I used to work for that airline! You make those? You are amazing girl!" but then he started trying to sell us hair styling appliances and we had to get out of there. Bleh. Whatever. We're home now.

Pretty sure I have a concussion. I was dumb and clumsy on Wednesday when I was over at Autumn's working out, and I dumped myself backwards off of an exercise ball and bashed the shit outta' my head on a chair on the way down and when I sat back up, clear liquid gushed out of my nose (but that seems to happen every time I take a blow to the back of the head). Shortly after that I finished working out and fell asleep on her couch 'cause I just couldn't stay awake. X_x The next day I had a training course for work and I had a really hard time focusing and paying attention to the class, and all day I kept getting dizzy every time I stood up. Then Friday I went back to work, and I had a mild headache and just couldn't seem to focus on my work. I kept getting distracted and just felt slightly dazed all day. Today I seem to be able to focus a little better, but I've had a mild headache all day, and it feels like there's a slight pressure in my head. That could be sinus pressure, though. I can't really tell. I suppose technically I should see a doctor to make sure I'm alright, but I have no insurance, and I really can't afford to rack up thousands of dollars in medical tests just so a doctor can tell me "yes, it looks like you have a concussion. So go home, get some rest, drink lots of fluids, and take mild painkillers until you feel better." WTF ever. I'mma' go put an icepack on the knot on my head and take a nap.

I went to bed pretty early last night, planning to get up early so I could work on my Halloween costume and get some stuff done before I had to go to work. My alarm went off a little before 7:00, and I woke up to hit the snooze, but it was so cold and it was raining really hard outside, so I curled back up under my covers to get warm again and ended up falling back asleep. I didn't wake up again until almost 11:00!! DX I slept away my entire morning! Laaaaaame!

I did however have an ( interesting dream )

Snagged from GreenAngel.

1. If you're on my friends list, I want to know 35 things about you. I don't care if we never talk, or if we already know everything about each other. Short and sweet is fine.

2. Comment here with your answers and repost the questionnaire on your own journal.

01) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
02) What was your dream growing up?
03) What talent do you wish you had?
04) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
05) Favorite vegetable?
06) What was the last book you read?
07) What zodiac sign are you?
08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
09) Worst Habit?
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
11) What is your favorite sport?
12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude?
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
16) Do you have any pets?
17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
18) What was your first impression of me?
19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
22) What color eyes do you have?
23) Ever been arrested?
24) Bottle or can soda?
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
26) What's your favorite place to hang out at?
27) Do you believe in ghosts?
28) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
29) Do you swear a lot?
30) Biggest pet peeve?
31) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
32) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
33) Favorite and least favorite food?
34) Do you believe in God?
35) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

My answers...

My brother is trying to SABOTAGE me! DX He bought a pizza last night, and he left LEFTOVERS in the fridge! Cold leftover pizza is pretty much my ALL TIME FAVORITE FOOD IN THE WORLD! O_O And I'd hardly eaten anything today, so I was STARVING, and the pizza looked SO EFFING GOOD! My stomach was growling and aching, and I almost grabbed that damed pizza and scarfed it without a second thought!

...But I had an apple instead.

http://bash.org/?151227

I now adopt the potato as my favorite token of affection.

Me: *Returning from the basement with sodas for everyone* *hands soda to Mom* Here.
Mom: Oh, thank you.
Me: You want some booze in that?
Mom: Mm... No. Fine like this... *gruff voice* Fine like this.
Me: *Hysterical laughter*

Okay let me just say that if you are ever going to be cutting up jalapenos or any other hot peppers WEAR GLOVES!! WEARGLOVESWEARGLOVESWEARGLOVES FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WEAR GLOVES!!!! It hurts ithurtsithurtsithurts omfgitwon'tstopBURNING!! T_T Holy crap! How long is this gonna' last!? Nnnnnghhhhh owwwwiiiiiiieeeeeeee fuuuuuuuuuckkkk!!! T_T

Work is going pretty well. I've mostly been doing a lot of filing and validation stuff. It's all a bunch of lack-luster grunt work, but I seem to be pretty efficient at it. They're gradually teaching me more and more stuff, but right now they're so far behind on filing and validation that they're just letting me do that for now. I've been bringing ELI (my mp3 player) to work with me, so I can listen to a little music while I'm pouring over mountains of paperwork. No complaints, really. Sure, it's dull, but I have plenty of crap to do, so I don't have time to get bored, and I don't have do deal with customers or sell crap. And I get a bit of exercise walking to and from work every day (it's about a 2 2/3 mile round trip).

ALSO! As I mentioned before, I HAVE MY OWN DESK! And I did indeed bring some crap from home to personalize my little space. X3

( My desk! )

So, my 15-year-old little sister saw Inglourious Basterds with her 18-year-old boyfriend, and said she loved it.

And yet she didn't like Watchmen, because it was too violent.

Lolwhut?

Bleh, spamming today. I keep forgetting to post these, though! So I'd better do it while I'm thinking about it.

Autumn showed me this, and I couldn't stop laughing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PwpcUawjK0


And here are a couple new ones from ItsJustSomeRandomGuy's "I'm a Marvel and I'm a DC"

I love all of the Watchmen ones, but this one is my favorite!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1R5PhReY5k&feature=channel_page

Star Trek 2009 trailer parody: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wus6Hp664XI&feature=channel_page

Talking about Transformers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siGtn_SxKbs&feature=channel_page

Trailer parodies for Drag me to Hell, Up, and The Hangover: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxINN1o0FaA&feature=channel_page

Trailer parodies for Inglourious Basterds and District 9: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjvsogIMj1A&feature=channel_page

Talking about Green Lantern: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xcMxnNzp2I&feature=channel_page


Aaaaand one that isn't a video. A short crack!fic in which the Watchmen characters go to Hollywood and star in a staged-blooper TV show:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=13574

SOMEONE STOLE MY CAR!! ... Okay, not really. I just had a dream that someone stole him. I dreamed that I went outside and my car was gone! I was extremely upset, obviously. Then Jess and I went out walking and I SAW him! Some guy was driving him, and he was all beat-up looking. His paint was all scuffed up and dull, and his rear-view mirror was broken off, and it looked like someone had pried his spoiler off with a crowbar! T_T The driver stopped and he had the window down, so I ran at him screaming "THAT'S MY CAR, YOU SON OF A BITCH! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" and he tried to drive away, but I jumped on the back, holding on to the remaining vestiges of the spoiler, and cursed and screamed until I woke up. Thaaat was weird.

The next night I had a dream that Grandma came over and told me that she'd bought me another car. O_o It was still at the car lot, so I had to drive Jack to the car lot to see the new car. It was a brand new mustang, the same color as Jack. It was supposedly a 2011 model, and it had a different body style that looked more like a 2000 mustang (which I'm not terribly fond of. I think they look too much like a 2-door version of a taurus.) So I didn't know what to make of it. I wasn't all hot to trade Jack in, even for a newer and fancier car, but particularly not for one that doesn't even look as cool as him. Grandma insisted that I take the new car for a drive, though. So, feeling like a traitor, I got in the fancy new mustang and took it for a drive. It had all the fun options (remote starter, keyless entry, fancy stereo, etc.) and it was a hard-top convertible, which is exciting because I generally don't like convertibles because the rag-tops aren't secure even when they're up. Anyway, I drove the new car around for a while, and I was incredibly conflicted. The new car was very swanky but I didn't like the body style, where as I love the way Jackie looks and I'm incredibly attached to him. So I still couldn't decide what to do by the time I woke up.

I just thought it was odd that I had two dreams about my car in a row. o_O I do love my car. I'm just relieved that neither of those dreams actually happened. I'd hate to lose Jack, whether it be due to him being stolen, or because I was lured into trading him for some stupid new model. XP

Okay. I think that's enough rambling about my car. o_o;

So yeah. I got a job finally. I had many interviews and many rejections, but the university Registrar's Office offered me a part-time hourly position as a records assistant. It's only 20 hours a week, but my wage is an entire $1.50 an hour more than I was making at the bank. AND I have a freaking DESK! MY DESK! And I get to SIT! OMFG! And it's only about a mile away, so I can walk there and not have to worry about trying to park downtown. So YAY! I just started yesterday, and so far it's not so bad. A lot of sorting/alphabetizing/filing paperwork, but once I'm in the computer system properly, I'll be doing data entry and stuff. Weee. At least I have an income now. I can continue saving up money so I can MOVE.

Jess is getting fed up with the living arrangements, so she's determined that we move in April regardless of whether or not we have enough saved up to move to California. So, I guess we'll have our own place somewhere around April or May. Still going to save up to move to California, though. If it starts looking like it's going to take longer than a year, I'll just vacation there again in the mean time. Stupid month without work really set me back. XP Anyway, I have a job again, and I'm back on track. Soon as I start receiving paychecks again. That'll be a few weeks. Bleh. Maybe now I can stop stressing out during my down-time and do something fun or creative when I'm not at work. That'll be nice. ^_^

Me: I need to go pee, but I'm clearly too beautiful to do that at the moment. o.o
everybodies_buddy_holly: LOL WHUT
Me: That's code for "I'm waiting for my nails to dry."
everybodies_buddy_holly: oh lmao

I had a fun day today. Mom requested Thursday and Friday off this week for wedding preparations, so she was home all day today. She decided that, since we really can't start on the cakes until tomorrow, we would put our wedding outfits together today. I'll be wearing my white and black dress with my black suit jacket and my fedora, but I didn't really have any shoes to wear with the outfit. So we went out shoe shopping, which I generally hate with a passion. I have all kinds of foot issues (bunions, dropped metatarsals, and one fallen arch) which make it extremely difficult to find shoes that aren't freaking excruciating. Not to mention that my feet are freaking huge, so it's usually an issue just to find something in my size. Anyway, we went looking around and I was completely shocked that we were able to find not just one, but several awesome looking pairs of shoes that fit me and ranged from only-slightly-painful to I-can-barely-tell-I'm-wearing-shoes-at-all! Mom is a little bit of a freak about buying shoes in the first place, and she was so excited to find shoes that I didn't absolutely hate and weren't sneakers that she ended up buying me 4 pairs of shoes today! X_x; She was also excited that the pair I plan to wear to Rachel's wedding are HEELS!! I don't ever wear heels! Mostly because they're painful as hell, but also because I'm already taller than most of the people I know and it just seems excessive. ^_^;; But I found a pair that aren't too painful! So I'm gonna' wear 'em! XD

Also we went out shopping for jewelry and accessories, 'cause mom said that since my outfit is entirely black and white I should have brightly colored accessories to accent it. So after much deliberation and browsing jewelry, I've decided my accent color will be teal. I got a necklace, earrings, and nail polish in teal to wear to the wedding. I also got some lovely nail decals. I just did my nails a few minutes ago. Hence the "clearly too beautiful."

( My nails )

Much as I hate to say it, not having a job has been great for my nails. I've always broken them off all the time at work. I've never had my fingernails grown out so nicely in my entire life. I can't bring myself to cover them up with a solid color polish, since they're almost looking like french tips just in their natural state. o_o

Alright. Off to bed with me. I have a job interview in the morning, and then I get to ICE CAKES ALL DAY! WEEEEE!!

I'm gradually chipping away at my paralyzing shyness and social awkwardness. My time at the bank actually helped a lot. My boss gave me a lot of coaching and encouragement, and I got better at conversing with the customers (though obviously not enough to keep my job). I'm still incredibly uncomfortable approaching or talking to strangers, but I've gotten to the point where I can manage pretty well if someone approaches me and starts a conversation.

Looking back at how I used to be, I've actually made quite a bit of progress. I used to be so uncomfortable with talking to people I don't know that I would go into a store to get something, but then put it back and leave without it because I didn't want/need it badly enough to make myself approach the cashier to buy it. I've gotten over that for the most part now. Though I still prefer a self-check-out if one is available, I'm not afraid to approach a cashier anymore.

I still have a long way to go, though. I still avoid talking to people I don't know whenever possible, even on the internet. I'll scour an entire department store myself looking for something rather than asking one of the sales people for help. I lurk in forums and LJ communities and what-not, following conversation, reading fics, appreciating art, but I essentially freeze-up when I go to comment or join in on the conversation. I go to post when I stall, thinking "these people don't know me, and I have nothing of value to contribute. Who am I to just bust in here and start commenting and chatting as though I belong here? Why the hell would anyone want to hear anything you have to say anyway?" Clearly I still have a lot to work through. XP

Holly! I talked to talked to the frozen foods guy at the grocery today! I asked him where the frozen spinach was! Are you proud of me!? XD