It Started with a Journal

First things first, here's a Living Social deal for 2 Fandango tickets for $9. Considering one matinee ticket these days is $8 (or if you live in LA, $10), two for $9 is an excellent deal. Enjoy!

Sold my two first-gen Nooks on eBay, though one has yet to make payment so we'll see. My second-gen Nook arrived yesterday, and I'm still trying to adjust to it. The software seems a bit buggy at times, though the full touch screen is pretty cool. I guess I didn't set up Calibre correctly with it or something, because I couldn't get the books on there right -- they're all in individual folders, which is weird, and none of the epub files are working (I get an error that says it's a format the Nook doesn't support), which is even weirder, because isn't that the Nook's main format? O.o

Also, if you have a Nook, let me know if you want to be Nook friends so we can share libraries and lend books to one another. :D (We have to connect through the email address that's registered with BN.com, though.) I tried it out with akscully and it seems to work. She has lent me a romance novel and the Holy Bible. That's how she rolls.

Almost done with Lost S6. I'm watching the special before the finale, and I finally have stuff to say that isn't just mainly "WTF?" ( Spoilers. )

To Kindle or not to Kindle? Anyone have one and care to offer an opinion? I think it's really neat and all, but I don't know if I can let go of my traditionalist ways that say a book should be held in one's hands. I'm slowly getting used to the idea of letting that go (so much harder than letting go of CDs), but even if I get past that, I don't know if I can get past the idea of having to buy all my books, rather than borrowing from the library or something. I mean, the books I REALLY love, I'll still want a physical copy, which is also true of cookbooks, so is the Kindle (and its ilk) just not for me yet?

I'm back from my loooooooooong vacation. I've had better. I was sick for the first two weeks (and I think I've gotten sick AGAIN since coming back!). The weather in SoCal was horrible for much of it. Torrential rain pour that caused flooding. WTF? If I wanted that sort of thing I would have stayed in Seattle. And then there was SNOW where my parents live. Again, WTF. The best part of the trip was when jade_okelani, ropo and I got mani/pedis and later Jade and I went to this $20 massage parlor that was AWESOME. (Robbie couldn't go because she has stitches near her boob.) I've been to an inexpensive massage parlor before and it was OK. But this one was fantastic. Jade, who's been to many more of them than me, said that it was way beyond the next best she'd been to. Foot soak, foot rub, and full-body massage (clothes on) for 60 minutes, $20 plus tip. If I had that place near me I would go every week. It was better than some $60+ massages I've had! Jade has found me a place to try in Kirkland (it's $25), but I don't know how good it will be. This other place set the bar too high.

The big, huge, enormous news is that I have bought my parents a house. I've been talking about it for a long, long time and it finally came to fruition. We closed escrow before the end of the year after a nightmare of a process (the seller's representative had the absolute WORST communication skills -- I don't know how SHE has a job when so many intelligent and literate people do not; my lender afterward was like, "that woman was driving me crazy"). It was just one problem/issue after another. I was stressed out about it every day. So that was not pleasant. Hopefully that's over now and no further problems will arise. GIANT SIGH. However with this new mortgage I'm going to be living off instant noodles. Seriously, I went to H-Mart last night and bought like a month's worth of ramen. It'll be like being a college student all over again!

Went to Vegas to check out my aunt's 'condo' (it's more like a small suite) at the MGM for the first time. She bought it for some astronomical amount during the housing market boom and it's plummeted in value -- but anyway, I made the mistake of accompanying my mom to the slots, where I lost the money I brought to gamble with (not a lot). I don't know why I always do this, maybe because the slots are so brainless and require minimal effort, but I NEVER win at them. Others in my family seem to be able to win at them all the time; not me. I should always stick to table games. Last time I was in Vegas I won money playing blackjack (with Jade's help), and this time I won back most of my slot losses playing roulette (with my cousin B.'s help). If we'd stayed longer I might have done better than essentially break even, as long as I stayed away from the slots. :P

For Christmas I got pajamas (which I always love and believe we should wear at all times during the day and night), a bunch of clothes I returned (both because I didn't want to take it back to Seattle when all I brought was a backpack, and because most were so Not Me), video games (from my brother), various gift cards, and the always-welcome gift of cash. I also got this calendar from Robbie, which I wanted because I'm a giant nerd. She also got me a Snuggie, teehee. What's funny is that my aunt got Talis a doggie Snuggie, and there's a photo of the two of us in our Snuggies. Hilarious. Well, to me, anyway.

Misfits is the best show ever. If you haven't seen it yet, do. There are two seasons, S1 has 6 eps, S2 has 7 eps.

Oh and to feed my It Started with a Kiss obsession, I've borrowed Itazura Na Kiss, the original manga finally translated into English, from the library. :D