It Started with a Journal

I'm trying something new, y'all: sugarless coffee. Not sugar substitutes, which my taste buds abhor, but lack of sugar, period. It's embarrassing how much sugar I need to put into my coffee. I'm like Umbridge with her tea.

I figure it's a matter of adjusting my taste buds. If I drink sugarless coffee more regularly, then I'll get used to how bitter it's supposed to be, and less sugar will be required to make it taste sweet, when I feel like putting sugar into it. Fewer calories, too!

I don't think I can stop adding milk/cream to my coffee, though. That's where I draw the line.

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I started watching Dr. Who! I'm on disc 4 of S1. ( Random spoilery commentary. )

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My library system needs to get with the program and start offering a hold-on-holds function. It's really annoying to put different seasons of a TV show in the queue, then have them come up out of order (alternatively, I could put a later season in my queue after viewing an earlier season, but then that means I might have to wait a realllly long time), or have a dozen things become ready at one time, etc. The King County library system has it, it shouldn't be that hard to implement this functionality!

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Had a lovely time yesterday with the D/G gals (minus poor sick Elle). We tried doing a potluck for the first time, and while it totally worked out, I think next time we do it we'll have to be a little less blase about who is bringing what. LOL.

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OMG, speaking of the D/G gals, I was showing them my little garden and bemoaned how it's the end of the season and haven't gotten any zucchini, haven't even seen any female flowers, period, they've all been males so far and they've all died off w/o having a female to fertilize...

Well, I went out in the garden this morning and saw that two flowers were open, and one of them was a female!!!!! Yippee!!!! So I plucked the male one and used its little pollen wand to fertilize the heck out of the female. I hope it was enough. There's a teeny tiny zucchini there, and I want it to grow!

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I got a new haircut! It was looooong overdue. That's when I tend to get my haircuts, btw. When it's way, way, WAY past time for me to get one. I had what I call "tabula rasa hair" in that it was so long and had long outgrown any style that you could do just about anything to it. Anyway, I guess it's just one of those things that I feel like it's a big waste of money unless there's some obvious change or something. And paying $75 for a proper salon cut is even more wasteful to me.

Enter Tippr. I purchased a voucher a few months ago for a haircut at the Gilt Edge Society, a salon in Belltown (right near Tom Douglas's restaurants, actually). I really liked Cadance, the gal who cut/styled my hair. She was way hipper than me with her multitudes of tattoos and bleached pageboy cut, but she was super cool about my more conservative preferences in terms of my hair, while being very helpful about what might look good on me and a style that required very little maintenance (I don't have the time/patience in the morning to spend on my hair). She did ask me to use some serum on my hair in order to protect it from the heat of the hair dryer, but she didn't push any products on me. I told her I had serum at home from the last time a stylist convinced me to buy product (that I never used), and she just showed me how and when to use it.

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More car stuff...

AAA. I've never needed or wanted AAA, but now that I have the clunker it's probably a good investment, just because of the towing alone. I kept putting off getting it, though, and it's a good thing, because the other day Allstate Roadside Assistance cold called me and wanted me to try their service for $1.99/2 months, which has basically everything AAA has, except for the maps (which I don't need/use) and the discounts (again, don't need/use). So I'm covered for the next 2 months, woot. And after that I can cancel and join AAA if I want.

When I bought my Lexus I was told that I would have a little certificate waiting for me as a gift from the dealership. Family members and I have purchased a number of new cars over the years, and that's never happened. A car dealership, give something back after milking you for all you're worth? Hah! So I had pretty low expectations. At one end I was thinking, maybe a $25 gift card to Starbucks. At the higher end, a $100 gift certificate to a restaurant. They called me the other day to say that it was ready, so I picked it up at the same time I got my new plates. A $150 Visa gift card, so I can use it anywhere. :O How unexpectedly awesome. I have to say, I am pretty impressed with this dealership.

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TV Show Meme, Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale.

I'm going to go with the season 1 finale of Alias. I don't want to get into details and spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched, but I will just say that it was awesome (much like Alias S1 itself).

Latest entry on my food blog is about donut peaches and bacon, mmm. Includes a gratuitous shot of frying pork. And behind the following cut is a picture of a lone donut peach that I wanted to include, but couldn't find room for. So I'm making it a star here! ( Donut peach porn! )

Why isn't my Wii here yeeeeeetttt?? (I'm so patient.)

I'm rewatching Alias S1. I remember it being better than this. Maybe it's because I keep wanting Irina to show up.

Oh by the way? I have a bug bite on my FACE. Right on my left cheek. It looks slightly better now, but for awhile it was this giant swollen purple thing. ON MY FACE. Seriously, worst place I've ever had a bug bite.

This weekend I went to see Tropic Thunder and have sushi with corianderstem. The movie was entertaining, though not quite as hilarious as I had been expecting from the trailer (with the exception of the opening "previews" -- that was pure gold), and the sushi was fresh and delicious. I ordered the "chef's selection" sashimi plate, which made up for its lack of variety by giving me a lot of hamachi, my favorite fish (see avatar!). Probably my fault, as I had asked the server beforehand to make sure the plate included some hamachi (for if it hadn't, I would have been very put out).

Thursday pick: Lissanne (silverbookworm)
Fandom: Harry Potter

( Read more about Liss. )

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FEDEX RULES.

My new video card did arrive yesterday (though I wasn't home to pick it up, so actually had to go to the FedEx facility to get it), and I have now played WoW! Finally!

Me, akscully, jade_okelani, and sumdumgai and his friend played for hours last night. It was so fun! I'm a Night Elf Hunter on Silvermoon -- called, predictably, Sarea -- if anyone wants to join us. :D

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Dare I hpoe that Alias is becoming a good show again? Indications from last night seem to affirm in the positive.

( Spoilers for Alias: The Index )

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By one vote, we think Draco will likely fade away into obscurity, having achieved nothing but annoying Harry. Them's the breaks. Now what?

[Poll #452128]

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I am super annoyed right now. Want to know why I'm super annoyed? It's because of a teacher. Not teachers in general, but one specific teacher.

( >.< )

( Academy Awards Poll Winners :D )

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Confession: In the last three weeks, I have consumed three pies. By myself. I'm even considering getting another one. The blame rests solely on Marie Callender's, which has pies for $5.99 in the month of February. Luckily, the ordeal is almost over. (If I were a cat, and cat food were pie, this would be me.)

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Speaking of ordeals, my new computer may be working at last. *weeps* Let me tell you, if this had been my experience last time, I don't think I would have been so enthused about it this time. As for the next time, well, I can't even think about it right now. I mean, partially because of what I went through, and partially because I can't fathom that I'll ever need more than 160GB of space or need to go faster than 2.19GHz.

I'm not caught up on LJ, but I wanted to say thank you so, so much to everyone who left a reply about either the story or the icons in my last two posts. I honestly meant to reply to everyone, but my weekend (and life force) was sucked away by computer issues.

( Herein lies my long tale of woe. )

Now that everything is working, I am really excited to finally implement multiple-screen technology. :D Windows has had this capability since Windows 98 or something -- it automatically detects if you have two video cards, and going into Control Panel --> Display --> Settings allows you to set it up so that you can use both monitors. It is really cool and convenient, because now I can have two things open at the same time (say, a browser and Photoshop), on two different monitors. I also like to move download windows to the other monitor, so I can kept track of progress without needing to click on it from my taskbar all the time. It's also cool because it allows me to use that extra monitor lying around, as well as my video card from two computers ago. You can learn more about doing this here.

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If you haven't yet seen Arrested Development, YOU MUST. It is absolutely brilliant. I rented the S1 discs from Blockbuster, and the pilot was just amazing. Jade tells me that it's the episode they submitted for the Emmys (and shows never submit pilots), and THEY WON. Very deserved, too. It's completely wrong, and so damn funny.

I used to love Jason Bateman as a teen, but that faded along with my crushes on Kirk Cameron, Ricky Schroeder, Brice Beckham, and the like. The Jason love is back. He's just fantastic. I had no idea! (The last time I saw him was in The Sweetest Thing, and he was great, but his role was really small, so I thought it was a fluke.)

So, yeah. Highly recommend AD.

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As if this entry weren't long enough, here's my ( Alias: Echoes commentary )

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Oh, and I keep meaning to say this but always forget: If there is anyone left on this planet who does not have a Gmail account but wants one, let me know.

I was at Nordstrom's today. It was a harrowing experience for my wallet. I now have another handbag, a matching wallet, and two pairs of shoes that I didn't have before. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME??? I'm turning into that stupid bitch from the Shopaholic books. Someone needs to do an intervention with me and my credit cards like they did for Rachel in Friends. This is getting ridiculous. I have a sickness. The handbag/wallet were totally my fault, but I'm putting the blame for the shoes on Julie. She spent far too long at the Clinique counter, which left me to wander and get into dangerous situations.

We also went and saw Coach Carter. We both must have cried about six different times. Coming out of the theater, we looked it, too. It wasn't the most unique sports movie I've ever seen, but was well done for all the predictability. Plus Samuel L. Jackson rocks. And it doesn't hurt that there were so many cute boys running around on screen. <g>

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What I thought about last week's Alias: ( Détente spoilers )

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You have one week left to vote in the Oscars poll. There are the movies/people I think should win, the movies/people I want to win, and the movies/people I think will win. My final votes reflect all of them, and that's probably why I never win stuff like this. :D

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Gacked from various peeps on my friends list...

Baby stable after second head removed: 10-month-old girl suffered from 'parasitic' twin birth defect -- That is so sad.

The most amusing meme I've seen in awhile: You name three people. I have to pick one to push off a cliff, one to marry, and one to shag.

Do your worst!

( Commentary on Alias: The Awful Truth. Spoilers abound. )

Well, I have picked out the parts for my new computer. It's tres exciting. I've ordered most everything except for my mainboard and the graphics card; will likely do that later tonight. The specs and my notes about each: ( Herein lies computer pr0n. )

I'll have the opportunity to look at a Best Buy 35 min. from me, because it was the ONLY place that isn't completely sold out of World of Warcraft (Jade and I actually saw one at a Target in LA, but it was kind of beat up and we stupidly put it back), which is one of the games I want to play on my new machine, as well as Sims 2. <g>

So anyway, because I don't abuse the polls feature enough, here's one! I've laid out all the specs on my new system above, and it cost a pretty penny. How much, exactly? (Counting the asterisked items, the mainboard, and the video card, but NOT the monitor.)

[Poll #418088]

I have Gmail account invites (guess Google went nuts today :D), and I'd like to give a few away. Well, maybe "barter" is a more accurate term. <g>

If you don't know what the heck Gmail is, read all about it here. Essentially it's Google's new email service, which is currently in beta. You can only get an account by invitation. My favorite things about it: 1) the 1GB of storage, which means I can do far less deleting (their motto is "Never delete another email message!" but I don't think they quite understand my email volume); 2) it groups conversation threads; 3) it checks for new mail automatically.

Anyway, the first three people to respond to this post with ONE of the following things will receive an invite:

1. Fan art.


1. Pairing: Draco/Ginny. Doesn't have to be for a fic of mine or anything, but D/G t00biness in general would be fine. :D


2. Fic.
   
   1. One of the following pairings:
   
   
   1. Draco/Ginny (HP)
   
   
   2. Ginny/Zacharias (HP)
   
   
   3. Draco/Cho (HP)
   
   
   4. Sydney/Sark (Alias)
   
   
   5. Lex/Lana (Smallville)
   2. Minimum word count: 1,500
   
   

EDIT: All submissions must be new and your own creation.

I was going to make the word count requirement on the fic fewer, but then I figured it wouldn't be fair to artists. :-S

Schmooches to all of you! :D

Keeping Track of Invitees:

1) mynuet, who rocks hardcore. Read her awesome D/G ficcage here and shower her with love!!! 1,631 words. *in awe*

2) obtabius, who has now joined us in the Bad Place and wrote fanfic for the first time. Gotta love Sarkney from Weiss POV! :D Link here.

I never know what to get my mother for Mother's Day. This year, the dilemma has been taken out of my hands. Just spoke to my mom. Our conversation went like this:

Mom: So what have you gotten me?
Me: Nothing yet. What do you want?
Mom: Wellllll ... I've already purchased your Mother's Day gift for me.
Me: I see.
Mom: It's a Dooney & Bourke purse.
Me: How nice of me!
Mom: Isn't it? I figured this would be better than flowers or something.
Me: Nice to know what you think of my flowers.
Mom: You can pay me back when I see you.
Me: Fine.

Is nothing sacred anymore?!

I worked almost all weekend. It sucked. But I did see I Capture the Castle -- ( here's what I thought of it )

( Alias 'Legacy' spoilers )

Oh, and for those of you who are interested, I've posted the answers to the lyrics meme. (Read the edit to see how to view.)

So yesterday I called my cable company, intending to cancel service, because I watch two and a half hours of TV a week, all on regular channels, and just can't justify the expense (particularly since next season I'll be watching Alias and that's about it). ( more on this )

Have any of you guys seen Equilibrium??? It's awesome. I love a great action sequence, and this one has many. ( more starry-eyed remarks )

Okay, and now here's two hours of the TV I've watched this week:

( Alias 'Unveiled' spoilers )

( Angel 'Origin' spoilers )

Edit: In honor of 'Origin,' I wish to direct you to this truly fabulous Connor character study by Yahtzee, On the Education of a Young Man, set in the summer after AtS S3.

And while I'm editing, let me just say how embarrassingly long it took me to pass the third grade.