Day 244

I didn’t do much of anything today except read. My stomach’s been bothering me. I think I’ve been eating too many vegetables.

I watched something on Discovery Health Channel about a man in Mexico who weighed over 1,000 pounds. He got that way from eating all the wrong foods and when he could take care of himself because he was bed bound, his mother stuffed him with food that helped him pack on the pounds.

He lost around 400 pounds on a special diet called the Zone. His other option was to do that stomach surgery. He turned down the offer to get the surgery.

I don’t have much to blog about today. I got my final grade for the class I finished last week. I should be excited about this but I guess my grades have been so good, there’s no reason to get excited over an A. Four more classes left. I will be done in February. I can’t wait.

I’m developing a rash on my inner elbows. I noticed my skin in those to areas becoming really hot and then itchy. Now I have redness and a little pain. If it gets worse, I’ll be going to the doctor. I’ll try some tea tree oil. That helped wonders on my leg.

Day 243

I started my day off very early (after 1 am) by going to Winco’s to do some shopping for this Korean dish I’ve been craving for 3 years. I ended up having to go to several different grocery stores before I found Rice Wine, a required ingredient for Tak Kalbi. I’m assuming the alcohol content is for killing whatever bacteria grows on chicken. In Korea, the dish is cooked at your table. The raw chicken is placed on top of the veggies. You can read more about the dish and see pictures at My Korean Kitchen. (I didn’t think to take pictures of my finished product).

Anyway. The meal came out pretty good considering I never made it before and I had to substitute some of the ingredients. I don’t like the oval rice cakes because they would stick to the wok. I think next time I make the dish I will try to find some cylinder shaped rice cakes like I enjoyed in Tak Kalbi when I ate the dish in Korea. I’ll also cut the potatoes smaller and put them in first because they weren’t as soft as I would have liked.

Other than all that I’m satisfied. I will definitely try this dish again once I’m finished with school.

Well, I better get to bed.

Day 242

I have to constantly remember to save, save, save, just in case the computer decides to do something crazy. The only drawback about Apple computer they don't operate well in heat. When we got our first heat wave, my laptop went bonkers and nothing would work right until I shut it down and moved to a cooler location.

I'm having the same problem tonight. I should turn on the air condition. It's after 8 p.m.

Well, I'm off to do some late night grocery shopping. I like going places after dark because of the heat.

Day 241

I had a blast today. I went to the Bowers Museum in Orange County to see the Terra Cotta Warriors with a friend. The exhibit wasn't what I thought it was going to be but it was better than looking at the warriors in a book. I got some cool souvenirs. I got a a jigsaw book of the Eternal Army. I was going to buy a picture book but I thought the jigsaw book had better pictures and illustrations. Plus, the jigsaw book has four gorgeous jigsaw puzzles and it was $1 cheaper.

We had to listen to audio handsets to get the history behind some of the artifacts. I had the audio handset up to my ear and I was listening to the music and really getting into what the narrator on the handset was saying when I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. When I turned to look, for a second, I thought one of those terra cotta statues had come back to life and was coming to take me to the after life.

It was a man dressed as a terra cotta warrior. I had seen him when I first arrived at the museum and thought nothing of it.

Before leaving, I took a picture with a man dressed up like a terra cotta warrior.

My friend and I had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. I had a cornish hen and egg noodle soup. It was good. I thought Vietnamese food was going to be really sweet but the soup was very flavorful and very unsweet.

After lunch we spent a hour looking for a Korean supermarket. We eventually found one and I now have oval rice cakes for Tak Kalbi. I didn't get all the ingredients because I hadn't planned on grocery shopping but since we were down there anyway we checked out the grocery story. I learned one value fact about myself. I'm terrible at parking. Ha!

I'm so tired. I'm going to post some pictures but it will have to wait another day.

Day 240

I am completely stumped as to who Joe Biden is. I’ve never heard of him before and yet he is running as Obama’s VP.

I guess I’ll be doing some research. I don’t know who McCain has picked for his running mate. I’m sure I can find that answer on the Internet. However, I’m just not that interested in what’s going on with either presidential candidate.

I don’t have much time before bed. I’ve been trying to figure out how to post my blog from my iMac. I can’t figure it out. I’m still using my laptop. You’d think I’d be able to work on a file if it’s saved on at Mobile Me. I’m going to have to call tech support.

I really don’t have much to say. I’m tired and I want to go to bed. I have an exciting day tomorrow. I’m going to see the Terra Cotta Army in Orange County. I will definitely take lots of pictures.

Day 239

So, there wasn’t anything wrong with Mobile Me. It works fine. It’s some of the features in iWeb that made my blog look like crap.

Okay. I’m done talking about that.

I don’t know what I want to blog about. I actually just want to go to bed.

My mouth is a little sore from the filling I had put in. It took forever for me to get the feeling back on the left side of my face. I should have taken a picture of me smiling. It looked like I had had a stroke or something.

I did manage to find the pilot script for Pushing Daisies and a script for Grey’s Anatomy.

I really hate !E Hollywood True Story. Tonight’s episode was about Pink. Her story is classic young rebel with a goal to become famous. Dysfunctional family. Drug abuser. High-school drop out. Blah, blah, blah.

Wow. I’m absolutely speechless today. I think it’s fatigue getting to me. I’ve probably gotten around 24 hours of sleep in the past four days because I’ve been staying up late and surfing the net. Darn Internet. I should probably go see a movie tomorrow.

Day 238

So I went to the Apple store at the Glendale Galleria to see if I could get some help with my Web site. He only new the basics of iWeb but he did set me up with a 1 to 1 Concierge appointment with someone who knows a little more about using iWeb. That’s actually really good customer service. I like it when they continue to find someone with the knowledge to help be rather than shrugging their shoulders and telling me:

Sorry. You’re sh!t out of luck! Best of luck with your future endeavors!

I have a theory. My issue may have something to do with me duplicating the entry template from previous post. I’m not sure if this is the case. It shouldn’t be the case. Why have a duplicate feature if all it does is cause problems? That doesn’t make much sense to me.

Or it could have something to do with the Internet connection. My connection is so dastardly slow. Urgh!!!If I was religious, I’d pray for a faster connection. DSL is almost like dial-up only without that dial tone and the scrambling sound and screech. Did I recall that right?

Anyway, I saw one of those Smart Cars. It was a hideous red color (all red cars are hideous). I could fit two cars in just one parking spot. It is only big enough to fit to people (of course) but I thought is was so cute despite the red.

I also saw several Mustangs with stripes. I don’t know what it is about Mustangs (retro, that is) and the strips but if I had a penis I would totally get a woody every time my eyes would grace the beauty that is the Mustang (retro ones with stripes).

I missed my dental appointment. I had asked for a Monday appointment but the receptionist or whatever you call them, asked me if Wednesday would be okay. I said sure though I would prefer to get it done early in the week. But my little card thing with the appointment time and date on it said Wednesday. So, sometime between last Monday and today my appointment got moved. So I have to go in tomorrow afternoon to get stuck (with a syringe) by a hot dentist. I hope he never sees my blog.

My agenda for tomorrow is to finish up some resumes (I know I keep talking about it) and do some searching for scripts and medical mysteries.

Okay, so my internet connection is so fricken slow, I don’t think I will be able to make my daily blogging quota. Plus, I’m dang tired. I got less than 4 hours sleep before I drove to Glendale for help I didn’t really get.

Day 237

My mother loves to read books and watch television programs on slavery and Jim Crow. She even decorates her home with pictures of slaves happily picking cotton and has a print of Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad by Paul Collins. If you’re familiar with the painting, just know it’s not exactly my style when it comes to decor.

She called me an Uncle Tom because I don’t like to watch programs like the ones I mentioned. I get depressed after watching those programs. There are too many of them, in my opinion, and not enough programs focusing on black folk’s accomplishments. But I digress.

In my Voices in Cinema class during my undergraduate years at UCSB, we had to listen to this jazz song (by either Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald, I can’t remember) that was about how the woman’s lover left her. The woman’s lover was a lousy human being. He used her, he cheated on her, he lied to her. It was a pretty sad song. I wish I could remember the name of it and who actually sang it. Anyways, this British foreign exchange student said the singer of the song was “clinging to her oppression” and it was like a light bulb went off in my head.

Clinging to oppression. It’s a very accurate way to describe it. The lady’s lover was a loser and yet the woman felt like she couldn’t go on living without him! WTF??

Sort of reminds me of a conversation I had with one of my Army buddies about slavery reparations. I wouldn’t want the money; she insisted on getting it. Then she went into a tirade about how she deserved that money even though she was never a slave and how she was never going to get over it (slavery).

My mother accused me of wanting to erase history. That’s not my intent by refusing to watch such programing. Have you ever seen that movie 28 Days Later? Well, the movie opens with a bunch of chimpanzees strapped to chairs and watching countless days of television with war, violence, and death. Eventually the chimps become “infected” with rage. A bunch of animal rights activists break in to the laboratory to free the chimps and the activists become infected with rage. The “rage” infected anyone who came in physical contact with an infected person.

I personally try to limit myself on the cling-to-your-oppression programing, literature, and art for this very reason. I don’t want to “infect” myself with oppression. I refuse to hijack that period in history, forge an identity from it and use it as an excuse for all my life’s failures.

Day 236

I didn’t finish my paper as expected. I just have no motivation for getting the paper done and finished and turned in.

I’m been fiddling around with my what I am hoping to be my new website but after publishing it, it looks like sh!t. My pictures don’t show up and everything on my web pages are out of place. I don’t even wan to go into the fact that you can’t even read any of my blog’s posts. I can’t figure out what’s wrong with it so I will have to call customer support. So much for easier and faster blogging. I could be a combination of my Internet connection but I think it has more to do with .Mac and Mobile Me. My computer is supposed to update to Mobile Me but hasn’t.

Oh, well. If you want to check out my blog here’s the URL: web.me.com/shavonne77

I just wanted to get my blogging quota for today. I will blog some more tomorrow. Hopefully I will be able to finish my paper by noonish so I can spend the rest of the day trying to figure this out.

Day 235

I had a lunch today to celebrate my rebirth. I stuffed myself silly with pancakes. I’m going to have to workout for many, many hours to work off all those carbs.

The good news is, I finally got my new computer. I was supposed to pick it up at FedEx but they delivered it to the house. I was happy about that because I had no desire to carry the box to my car. I wish I had a picture to show how far I would have had to walk from the entrance to FedEx and my car but it was too far to have to carry without a dolly.

I will be spending most of my day tomorrow writing my paper for my class. I want to be done by close of business so I can relax and give my eyes a rest from all the reading I have to do for school. I plan to spend Sunday surfing the net for some scripts to read and conducting research. I completely forgot to ask a friend of a friend about his experience as an EMT. But there’s always my medical dictionary. I can flip through it and pick something at random.

I need to stop biting my nails.

Day 234

Tomorrow will be my luncheon. People I know will get to watch me stuff my face with pancakes. Or scrambled chicken embryos. I don’t know. It will all depend on how I’m feeling. I’m thinking I will need some protein.

I just finished exercising using the Wii. I unlocked another Wii Fit game (Boxing). It was fun and hard because I couldn’t remember the rhythm. When my trainer threw in the combination punches I was totally lost.

I shot some video of my mom doing the Hula Hoop aerobic exercise. It’s pretty funny. Of course, she ended up getting video of me so I’m going to have to post it soon so you can get a laugh. She has no idea of how to shoot video so it came out pretty crappy. I’m going to have to edit the video. I beat her top score and made it to first place with 838 spins. I kicked @ss!

I went to FedEx to get my new computer but the delivery guy hadn’t come back from his delivery rounds so I told the customer service rep to hold my packages so I can pick my computer up tomorrow. I won’t get to enjoy it until next week but it will be a relief to know that I have it. I got it pretty quick considering I got it custom configured and ordered it on Sunday.

I had another boring meeting at Thumb Twiddle. Very boring. I had some oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips and chocolate M&Ms. I didn’t like all the chocolate but I thought the oatmeal part was really good. One of these days I’m going to bake some of my oatmeal craisin cookies but it won’t be until around Christmas or after I finish with school.

I need to build up my savings. Did I tell you I can’t wait to get my taxes done? I’m expecting a nice fat check from Uncle Sam. Well, I better get going to bed now.

Day 233

Today is the official end of my military obligation. I am no longer a soldier. I thought I would be happier about it, but like most other days (including holidays), it's just another day.

Why does it feel like just another day? Why am I not jumping for joy? I should be. Could it be because of Thumb Twiddle? I think it is. I left one organization for greener pastures but the pasture I'm in now is no longer green. It's served its purpose. Time to move on.

I went out to eat and I had fun. The food was good. I had the Dot Sol Bi Bim Bap. It was good. I was a little disappointed they didn’t fry the egg before putting in my bowl but the bowl was hot and stayed that way the whole time I was eating and the egg cooked all the way.

I hate changing jobs. I have to get used to new people and processes. That's one of the reasons why I hated being in the Army. I hate having to get used to new people all the time. It would happen every few months but the greatest change always took place when we got a new commander.

Sometimes there would be relief if the commander managed to changed something that didn't work and sometimes in the attempt to change whatever it was that destroyed morale, the commander managed to screw other things up.

I need to do some research on medical mysteries and how they were solved. I think I will spend one day of my vacation watching discovery health channel. I want to increase my options for a spec script. My script has to be on an ABC show still in production. So far, I will try to write a spec script for Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, and Pushing Daisies. I even thought about spec scripting Samantha Who? But I just don't get Samantha Who? Though I seem to like it. There's potential for a lot of interesting scenarios when you have a woman who was a major bitch before getting hit by a car which resulted in her having amnesia. How will she pay for the beautiful condo her free-loading, exboyfriend is living in now that she's unemployed?

Anyways, I want to write about three scripts because that will give me a good pool to choose from. I just don't know a thing about medicine. If I were to write what I know, then the only thing I've been through surgically is a bunionectomy. Very painful. I would totally wish that on my worst enemy.

"Give me your ugly @ss feet so I can saw that protruding bone off b!tch!"

But my spec script won't be about war. If I write a spec script for Grey's Anatomy, it will have to be about the doctors shagging each other and becoming more screwed up (mentally) in the process. Though, I can totally imagine Callie saying that to Izzy, providing Izzy has ugly feet. Callie is a bone doc and Izzy did screw Callie's husband which resulted in Callie and George filing for divorce. So, you see, there's plenty of just cause for Callie to utter those words to Izzy. Without the profanity, of course. That was all me.

Ah, about cookies. Everyone is in a baking mood. The guy who saved me from a venomous, man-eating cricket brought in some peanut butter cookies with peanut butter morsels. Not exactly a cookie that would make a spring chicken like myself fall madly in love. It was more like a cookie that would wake me from that grand illusion of happily ever after. If he had given me one of his cookies right after saving me, I would never have felt like I owed him my life. Or a doughnut. The cookie was that bad.

Nothing compares to my Oatmeal Craisin Cookies. They are orgasmic. Better than lousy sex.

Day 232

Okay, so I was reading an article at the Writer’s Guild of America Web site about Shonda Rhimes and how she got started in writing and producing for tv. It’s very interesting.

Basically, what I got from the article is write what I know. That seems easy enough. Gosh, I totally had something interesting to write about.

Tomorrow marks the last day with the Army. My 8-year commitment will be over. Exhale. The only thing that could top this feeling is if I moved out of the AV. It will happen. It will take a little longer than expected but it will happen. I’ll need to save a lot of money to make it happen.

I’m hoping to get a really good tax return next year. I’m anxious to get my taxes done.

I will hopefully be a home owner by the end of next month. I won’t be living on the property because the house is in Michigan, but I will be able to have some extra income coming in.

Confession. Now that I know the Jonas Brothers are of legal age (at least two oldest are) I think they are so cute. It makes me pretty darn ticked to be 22ish. I think its all that dark hair. They kind of remind me of T-Bone before he cut his curly hair.

I need to go upstairs and wash my hair.

Day 231

I hurt from the boxing I did on the Wii yesterday. My mom got on it today and had an asthma attack. I don’t think she will be trying the boxing anymore. That game really makes you work! I haven’t tried any of the other sports because I just wanted to beat the crap out of something.

My mom also has some anger issues she needs to work through. She got really violent.

So much for my hatred for video games. I don’t see how anyone can’t manage to lose a little weight or at least get toned playing Wii for an hour everyday.

I don’t have anything interesting to write about today. I did go to the dentist today and got the heck scrapped out of my gums. She said I have very healthy gums but I had a line of subgingivitus beneath my gums. I experienced more fear than pain because I was afraid in all her scrapping and pulling, she would stab me in my cheeks or gums.

I have to go back next Wednesday to have a filling replaced and a cavity filled. I’ve gotten more cavities since my braces than I have before I got braces. Geez.

I better get to bed and get some much needed sleep. I have to start my final paper for this class. I’m already half-way done. Yes!

Day 230

I spent an hour and a half playing with my mom’s Wii. Very exhausting. It requires physical activity. You can’t sit down and play.

While playing the boxing game, I realized I have some anger issues I need to work out. Do you think I should call that 1-800 number the Army gave me for when I feel like smacking the mess out of someone? I beat my opponent to a pulp and knocked him out. My second opponent wasn’t so easy to beat but I won the boxing match. I had to stop playing because I was getting too sweaty. I hate to sweat! I didn’t think I would sweat while playing any of those games but I did. I don’t remember my Nintendo ever making me sweat.

So much for my hatred for video games.

I ordered my new computer today. I should get it in about 10 days. I’m hoping sooner. If I can get it while I’m taking a break from Thumb Twiddle and school, the happier I’ll be.

There wasn’t anything on tv this weekend and I had a hard time trying to find scripts. I came across a link for Quentin Tarintino’s movie Inglorious Bastards. The movie seems interesting. I enjoyed reading the script for Kill Bill Vol. 1/2 and was looking to read Inglorious Bastards. I don’t want to wait until the movies come out.

I guess I will have to wait until the movie comes out. Dang.

I was going to blog about something interesting today but the interesting stuff is too depressing. So, I’ll save all that for another day. Or maybe not. I’m getting depressed just thinking about it.

Day 229

I didn’t do much today. I watched Pride and Prejudice again. I really like that movie. I have no idea why. I guess it’s because love doesn’t equate sex. That’s my biggest pet pieve about most movies and television shows. Man and woman hops in the bed and that’s supposed to represent love. Whatever.

I’ve been bombarded with nothing but sex toy commercials as well as that penile enhancement commercial. And then there’s the valtrex commercial. “One out of every 5 people has genital herpes and they don’t even know it.” That means if there are ten people in a room, two of them will have genital herpes.

I need to go to bed. I will definitely write something more interesting tomorrow. I just wanted to get some blogging in before the end of Saturday.

Day 228

Wow. I almost forgot to blog. I was so preoccupied with my research for school. I can’t wait until my vacation in nine days. Oh, I can’t wait.

I rented three movies for the weekend. I got a recommendation for the movie Simone from someone at Thumb Twiddle. I actually liked Simone. It has been one the best movies I’ve seen in the past year. And one of the best films I’ve seen Al Pacino in in a while. That’s pretty sad. I also rented Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Penelope. I figured Elizabeth would bore me to death and Penelope as the potential to entertain.

I can’t believe how humid it is. I hate humid because it never cools off. This is the desert. We aren’t supposed to have anything but dry heat.

I need to get some shut eye. I will try to blog about something interesting tomorrow.

Day 227

I was watching the news last night and there was a very short story about how a man in Michigan bought a house for $1. Of course, all the fixtures had been removed by vandals and I think they took out the the pipes, but for a buck that house is a bargain. Purchasing all that stuff won't be a problem. He can easily make his money back if he rented the house out.

I put offers in on two houses in Michigan. I'm still waiting to hear from the banks. It would be nice to have some extra cash flow.

Something else I saw on the news made me think about how someone I know says China is just a country full of people riding around on bicycles. I caught a glimpse of season 9 (?) of America's Next Top Model, and Bianca was complaining about the traffic in Shanghai being 4 times worse than traffic in New York City. More and more people living in the cities in China own cars nowadays. Well, last night on the news, there was a group of Los Angeles residences on bicycles trying to raise awareness of cyclists and the city's need for more bicycle lanes. It would seem like Americans are reverting to lesser means of transportation while the Chinese are upgrading their bikes for autos. Of course, people are trading in their autos in masse but maybe it will catch on and people will start biking to their destinations (in their free time). Maybe we'll be able to lose our reputation for being overly plump.

Just watching a little Ugly Better before bed and Gene Simmons guest starred on the show. He has the longest tongue. A tongue that should never get flicked at any time due to the fact that a woman may think he wants to sample. I’m going to leave it at that. You get the picture. But really, I completely forgot how unattractive I thought he was until he stuck out his tongue.

I’m officially broke. I have no money until I feel like it. I have to buy myself my graduation present soon. I can’t wait to get it though I feel as if I will miss my favorite toy. There’s something about being able to

Day 226

Does it make sense to apply for a promotion? I mean, the very definition of promotion means advancement in rank or position. So, why would anyone need to apply for a promotion?

That doesn’t make sense at all.

There have been a couple of situations where there was an opportunity for a promotion and someone from outside the organization was hired. That really shows the employees what the company thinks of the available talent. I digress. Now it seems the same thing might happen again or this “applying” for promotion is really just a way for people who may be due for a promotion to get rejected.

For example, let’s say there is an opportunity for me to apply for a promotion. With the current “mind set,” the reasons for me not getting the promotion would be:

1. I just joined a new group and it cost a lot of money to brief me into the program
2. If I got promoted, I would leave the group I just joined would leave an opening in the group I just joined and this group needs someone with experience. This kinda reads like the first reason. This reason sounds ridiculous because why would you pass up somebody who has experience?

But really. Logic seems to go out the window at times.

Anyways, enough about these stupid scenarios. I can’t remember what I wanted to blog about. I have to pick up my mother’s birthday gift tomorrow. She left to go spend the weekend with her boyfriend in Atlanta won’t get to play with it until she gets back. I hope she likes it. It was really expensive.

I need to hide my Facebook profile. It sucks when people you never want to see again make contact with you. I actually need to delete my Facebook profile. I have a blog for a reason. If people really want to find me, they should just google me. I’m all over the net!

Day 225

I must be cold blooded but I think I’m right to question someone that has a history of not being available for school.

Apparently there was a death in his family and he won’t be available Saturday and Sunday. I should have bet money that he would us that excuse. And he’ll get away with it because that’s just the way things are. Some people put in the effort so that others can get credit. Life is like that.

Oh, well. No used to getting upset. I’m sure my request for an obituary or funeral program won’t fly well with him either, especially since he won’t be able to produce one. Ha!

There was something I had planned on blogging about but I can’t remember.

I killed a silverfish today. I hate those dang things. I hate 99.9% of bugs and will only tolerate them in an outdoor setting.

I wish there was something I could put in the house to keep the bugs out for good.

Day 224

I think it’s time I reveal my true age and I’m only doing this because, well, I’m going to keep this to myself for another 3 years.

But have you ever wished you were younger? I never wished I was younger, I just wish time would stand still or at least everyone around me would get older.

Enough of that.

I just got finished watching a commercial my LetCaliforniaRing.org. Very interesting. I can’t marry the person I love because he doesn’t exist. I’m not sure how I feel about gay marriage. I do know heterosexual marriage is dead or evolving into something bare recognizable.

Gosh I wish I had something to blog about.

I got an email from a friend. She’s moving to Denver. So it seems I will be making a road trip when I finish school to visit her. I’ll also be stopping to visit another old friend from my Carson days and another friend from Korea.

I don’t get Gossip Girl. People really like watching that? How could a show like Firefly not last when garbage like Gossip Girl exists. Urgh!

I have some reading to do before going to bed so I have to call it a night. I want to get a good night’s sleep because I have a long and boring day tomorrow.

Day 223

I took my mom to Yang Chow in Chinatown for her birthday. The food was good. We had Slippery Shrimp and Three Ingredients Tastes with Snow Peas. Slippery Shrimp was especially good. I wish I had the recipe or at least lived a couple of blocks away from Yang Chow. We also go to-go boxes with Sizzling Platter with Beef and Scallopes, Kung Pao Squid, Szechuan Chicken. I don’t particularly like dishes with squid because squid is usually too chewy. I got another fortune cookie. Here’s what it said:

Your senior years will be happy and fulfilling.

I have no desire to know what my senior year will be like. I still trying to cope with being 22ish. But anyway.

My mom says I drive slow. Not only that, but I have a tendency to follow behind slow vehicles. I can’t help it if I like to take in the scenery. I don’t like driving fast because my truck burns too much gas. I thought about getting a smaller car, but I don’t want another car note so I will just have to suffer until my truck falls apart.

When we got home we watched Meet the Spartans. It was a really stupid movie. I thought it was going to be funny, but I guess my sense of humor is different. I just don’t get it. They way I see it, if someone can write this movie and it paid, I can write a movie too.

We also watched Stop-Loss. I didn’t like this movie either. It was hard to watch. The acting was horrible and it couldn’t help but sense politics.

I know when I got called back into the Army, there were a few soldiers that got out of their deployments to Iraq because they had already done multiple tours. I guess I lucked out by being sent to Afghanistan despite my orders saying Operation Iraqi Freedom. Urban warfare ain’t no joke. I think a few innocent bystanders would have died if I found myself in a situation where there were people shooting at me and I couldn’t tell who was doing the shooting. Kill or be killed. Better them than me.

I don’t want to go to work tomorrow. Hopefully I will have some work to do. I can’t wait until my vacation in two weeks. It’s only 9 days but it will be a much needed break.

Day 222

I didn’t do much today except outline my paper that’s due on Monday. I plan to write it tomorrow. Hopefully I will be able to get it done. I’m really tired of school and would normally have finished it by now but there is something else I’d rather be doing. Like biting my toenails.

I was looking forward to some Japanese food but had to settle for Panda Express. Panda Express is about the best Chinese food available in the Antelope Valley. Sad really since it isn’t all that great. I don’t even like the fortune cookies. Here’s what my Panda Express fortune for today:

Executive ability is prominent in your makeup.

I have to get my blogging done for the night. I’m tired and need to get some rest. I have a lot to do tomorrow.

Day 221

I don’t have much to blog about. My day went by like all the other days in the work week. I’m hoping to finish with my paper tomorrow so I can go treat myself to Sushi and see the Temptations perform.

There is going to be a Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicle marathon this Sunday! I love that show! I can’t wait until the new season starts.

I’m watching Hellboy on tv. It seems to be a good movie. I wish I had paid more attention to the beginning because I think the movie explains how Hellboy came to be.

I’m going to get some sleep. I want to get up early (after the sun rises) to work on my paper.

Day 220

Someone commented (by email) how she could see the Bento box picture. I guess she thought I was hosting my blog using iWeb. My response to her was:

“I wasn't using iWeb for that. I just linked to a picture on Amazon. The pictures on use on shavonne.org are either from flickr (which is blocked by Edwards) or other web sites also usually blocked by Edwards(which is why you can't see them). I could upload the pictures to my server at dot5hosting but
I will still need the url of the picture on my server, which is a pain to figure out. I don't know how Sandra manages to post pictures to her blog. Maybe her web hosting is easier to use or something but I have to imagine it's an outright pain.

If I host my blog using iWeb you will be able to see all the pictures/video I upload to my site. It will be much easier for me using iWeb to create photo albums that can be viewed on my blog. The drawbacks to using iWeb are:

1. I can't turn off comments to individual posts. For example, I was thinking of turning off comments on my entire blog and then only allowing comments for when my blog has questions for readers.
2. I won't be able to edit comments. I like how I'm able to respond to individual comments with my words in hot pink. Can't do that with iWeb. The only thing I can do with comments is accept or reject them.
3. I have steller web stats with the hosting I have now. I know information about the people who visit my blog like IP address, web browser used, length of time they spent reading my blog, days/weeks/months with the most visitors, most read posts. I can block people from my site because I'll have their IP address. The only thing I get with iWeb is a hit counter. I have to decide on how important those features are. To view my web stats, I have to log into Dot5 and I rarely do that. But it's a nice option to have just in case I have an idiot troll but so far I haven't had any issues with people being unpleasant on my blog.
4. Web sites hosted using iWeb do not look good on Internet Explorer. Here is the web site of one of my acquaintances from Korea and flickr. http://davemcnally.org/web/Welcome.html (Check out his 365-Day Project. It's awesome but not as good as 2007) The site looks much better when I look at it from home on Firefox or Safari.”

My mother annoyed the hell out of me tonight. Every time she sees Melanie Brown a.k.a Scary Spice of the Spice Girls, she makes a comment about how Mel is getting work because she had Eddie Murphy’s baby. I’m almost certain there are more people around the world who know who Mel B is than Eddie Murphy. Comedy doesn’t translate well overseas because what one country considers funny isn’t to another country. Heck, I don’t even think Eddie Murphy is funny and I’m American. So, Eddie Murphy (comedian and actor in mostly comedy films) would most likely be an unknown person outside the USA. But, according to my mom, Mel B is only famous because she had Eddie Murphy’s baby.

I caught a couple of episodes of Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood, and I can understand the tension between Tori and her mom. If I wrote a book about my mother, my mother would look incredibly bad. Everyone who thinks she’s a divorcée, when in fact, she’s still a legally married woman.

Day 219

My mom’s birthday is in 6 days. I still haven’t gotten her anything. I guess I will take her out to dinner at Roma’s or something. I should call and make reservations tomorrow.

I’m so hungry but I don’t feel like cooking. There was something I wanted to blog about. I’ll keep writing until I can think of it.

I went searching for software for my computer. I can’t seem to find the right combination of software. The bundles come with programs I will never use.

I have devastating news. I burned a hole in the lid of one of the bowls that goes to my Zojirushi Mr. Bento lunch box. Holy moly! I’d post a picture of the lid with the tiny whole but that would mean getting out my camera, taking a picture and downloading it to my computer. I don’t have the patience for that tonight. I have to try to find a way to order a replacement. Gosh, when they said microwaveable, they didn’t say anything about the lids not being microwaveable. It isn’t very pretty to see the tiny hole in the lid. I just hope they will have a way for me to be able to purchase a new lid or bowl because to replace the entire box would be rather pricey. But I love my Mr. Bento lunch box. I’m able to give myself good portions, which is a good thing because I have a tendency to over eat and since it’s been a couple of hundred weeks since my 20th birthday, my metabolism has slowed down. (Yes, I can no longer brag about having a girlish figure.)

I really enjoy blogging with iWeb. For the past 10 days, I’ve been composing my posts in iWeb (instead of TextEdit) and then copying and pasting into my blog. I’ve been wanting to change the look of my blog for a while because I’m tired of it. With iWeb, changing my blog is so easy. And I can add my photography with every post rather than using my pictures as a background for my blog. It looks really cool. And adding pictures is so easy. I don’t have to link externally for my flickr account. Just drag and drop. Okay, let me stop. I’m starting to sound like an advertisement.

I really don’t feel like blogging. i just want to go to bed.

Day 218

♫Baby come back! You can blame it all on me.♫
I can’t get that Swiffer commercial song out of my head. I don’t know why because I can’t relate to it. There isn’t a man on this Earth I wish I could reestablish contact with.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, I’m supposed to be single for life. Genetics prove this. I’m not going to go into detail about this evidence. I’ll save it for another day.

I can’t wait until my time off from work. I will have 9 days to get to create three really good resumes.

Strangely, the stuff I wrote in my journal at work don’t seem adequate enough to actually post to my blog(s). Bummer. Sometimes that happens. I’ll write something at work and then totally scrap it.

For the most part, I think (Dang, I can’t remember what I was going to write).

Well, I think it’s time I go to bed. When I’m so tired I can’t remember anything, (Dang, I forgot what I was going to write).

Day 217

My mom had to take her dog, Keiko, to the vet last week. I noticed the dog has a loss of appetite (which is very unusual) and she had been panting heavily (on a not so hot day). The vet did some blood work on the dog and it turns out Keiko has elevated potassium levels, which means she could have a heart attack.

The last time I took the dogs for a walk, Keiko practically passed out before we made it home. I thought that was strange because the dog usually has a lot of energy. I guess that was sign # 1 that something was wrong with her. Then a few days ago, Keiko vomited. It stunk too

If the lab tests show that she has whatever (Addison’s disease I think). If this is indeed what the dog has, she will spend the rest of her life on medication. Poor thing. I’m hoping the medication isn’t in the form of a suppository because I have a hard time with the idea of sticking something up my own @ss, so I doubt I’ll be able to stick something up a dog’s @ss.

Well, as of today, the Army has 16 more days to call me back, otherwise it’s adios!

Day 216

The more I play with iWeb, the more I want to host my Web site using iWeb. After figuring out how to change the template to my specifications, I really dig the program. My only issue is I’ve already paid for a two-year hosting service with Dot5Hosting.

The reasons that have kept me from using iWeb and dot Mac (now MobileMe) is the price of using MobileMe ($99/year) and Web sites maintained using iWeb generally do not look good when viewed using Internet Explorer. I don’t have any qualms about Internet Explorer because I don’t use it. I prefer Firefox. I would use Safari exclusively, but many of my banking institutions do not support Safari. It’s important that I have access to my money.

I find my computer an absolute distraction. I haven’t been able to get a good start on my paper all weekend. I’m constantly logging on to the net and surfing. I plan to finish this paper today. (It’s now 4:30 p.m.)

It’s not just my computer that is distracting, it’s the darn tv. I discovered Wild China on National Geographic, and because I want to go to China, I’ve done nothing but watch the documentaries produced for China week. I completely forgot about the Olympics in China this year. Oh, if it weren’t for that Army recall, I would have gone to see the Olympics in Beijing.

I must find a new job so I can travel wherever I want.

There was some other stuff I wanted to blog about but I will save it for another day. I will probably blog about in a few weeks when I don’t have school or going to work. Well, at least I don’t have to go to school tomorrow.

I’m so disappointed about not getting my paper done on Saturday or today. Well, here’s to getting it done tomorrow morning.

Day 215

I was invited to a picnic but decided I didn’t want to go. I didn’t feel like being in the heat and fighting the flies for food I didn’t have a taste for.

It is nice to not have to cook.

Speaking of food, I came across a recipe for Naan. I can’t wait until I’m done with school I have so many recipes I want to try.

I’m really happy to learn that a friend has decided to write a novel. She’s using the NaNoWriMo method to write her book only she’s writing this month instead of November. Oh, how I wish I didn’t have school. I would love to participate. It will have to wait until next year because I don’t have the time to devote to much because of school. 27 more weeks to go.

I need to take some more pictures. I haven’t done any photography in months.

I didn’t get any writing done on my paper. I plan on knocking out the paper tomorrow morning when the major distraction goes to church. I can’t wait until it cools off so I can lock myself in my room.

Day 214

I’m going to make it an early night. Actually, my night didn’t end as early as I thought.

I went out to dinner with my mom. We decided on Chinese food. It was hard trying to find a restaurant because all the Chinese restaurants are buffets. We managed to find one restaurant but the food was terrible. Panda Express is much better and I don’t consider Panda Express the ultimate in Chinese cuisine.

Other than that, my night was so boring. There was nothing on tv so I was forced to watch the Dog Whisperer. I like the show but the format has changed a bit. I hate the psychology sessions with the owners. I like to see Cesar Milan just get right into interacting with the dogs and owners.

Well, I guess I need to get so shut eye.