Happy Turkey Day

This year's plans: like every year, eat lots of good food and give thanks to having family and friends around. Happy turkey to you all!

I'm thankful: for family moving back to Cali--chaotic, crazy, and sometimes annoying, but it's always nice having them close to home because, after all, they are family; for all my wonderful friends--whether near or far, you're all close to my heart and I'm glad we are on this journey of life together; for finally finding a job and being able to establish my financial independence (paying off that credit card debt feels great!); for realizing that I really do love science and it's the directioin I want to eventually take my career in; for having fun roomates who keep me entertained with things like their candy wars; and for all the traveling adventures I've been able to go on this past year.

Goblet of Fire

IMAX: This is the ultimate way to see, feel, and experience Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Assigned seating and no lines plus a six-story screen and surround sound that makes you feel like you are practically a part of the scenes--I was in awe of the IMAX Harry Potter experience for a good portion of the movie. This is my favorite book of the series so far, and the movie had a lot to live up to. With the limitations of a 2 1/2 hour timeframe to cover the contents of a 700+ page book, I was not disappointed with the results (unlike move #3, which disappointingly left a few key things out). As a fan, I would have preferred it to be a little longer with a few additions from the book, but am otherwise satisfied with how it turned out.

Thanks to Anitza, who organized and fronted the money for all twenty (!) of us, and for providing some fun and wonderful treats, like the Ice Mice, Bertie Botts Beans and Fizzing Whizzbies. The evening was more than worth our admission ticket!

Random coincidence, or a Sign?

Three nights ago, November 14th to be exact, I had a dream. I'm not exactly sure what it was about, but all I remembered the next morning was that an old friend from my semester in Australia, Craig, was in it. And it left this lingering feeling of wondering how he is and wanting to get in touch with him again. He and I had emailed here and there after returning to the States, but have completely lost touch since graduating college. I think about him every so often, but for some reason, this dream intensified my want to talk to him again. Nothing too odd or particularly interesting about this story so far, except for the discovery I made last night. I randomly picked up my old journal from when I was abroad, and started to read some entries from the latter part of my trip. One entry I came accross was about Craig and how funny and such an oddball character he is, and also mentioned how I had had a dream about him the night before. This was shocking (why would I have a dream about him and what was it about?--I never went into detail), but what was even more shocking was the date of my entry: November 15th. Which meant the dream was on November 14, 2001. Weird. A dream about the same person on the exact same night, four years apart. So, I pose the question: just a very odd and random coincidence? Or some sort of SIGN?

A November Evening in Southern California

The weather has been unusually beautiful the past couple of days. Well, I shouldn't say "unusually", because having nice, mild weather is one of the perks of living in Southern California (so, it's not so unusual), but I would've expected it to be, around this time of year, a tad bit colder than it is. Heck, the ski resorts were open this time last year, because I distinctly remember Meghan and I hitting the slopes with our snowboards on election day. But this week in the LBC, it has been in the warm and sunny 80s, and although I didn't get to enjoy the beautiful weather during the bulk of the day (being stuck in an office sure does suck sometimes), I did enjoy the remnants of it in the evenings. They have been no-scarf-needed evenings--I've been surprised several times, upon stepping outside and expecting the sting of cold, by a pleasant embrace of warm evening air. Today, I took advantage of this inviting weather by taking a walk, at dusk, along the beach path where Catalina Island was in PERFECT view. It was such a clear evening that Catalina, wrapped in a cloud of orange sky, seemed like a skip of a rock away. This is sometimes a rare site, with our smoggy or cloudy or foggy skies, and once again, I wish I had my camera to capture and share with you the stunning view.

P.S. 48 hours until I see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, on IMAX! I'm so excited! (I know, I'm a nerd. But don't be embarrased for me, because I fully embrace it!)

What's Wrong?

There's something wrong with my blogger--my last two posts didn't show when I went to publish. They've just totally disappeared. The half-hour of writing "Candy War" wasted, like it never existed.

Seriously, damn the man!

Are You Kidding?

Candy War: Boys will be Boys

Wicked Quote-o-the day

"Was it an accident I saw that, Fiyero wondered, looking at the manager with new eyes. Or is it just that the world unwraps itself to you, again and again, as soon as you are ready to see it anew?"

-Wicked: The Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Gregory Maguire

Wicked

"She is my world," he answered.
"Your world is too small if she is it."
"You can't criticize the size of a world. I can't help it and I can't stop it and I can't deny it."
-Wicked, Gregor Maguire

I bought this book a couple of years back and tried to read it, but didn't get very far--I just wasn't in the right mindset to absorb the concepts and language of the fantasy land of Oz. It's been sitting on my to-read shelf for quite a while, and I'm finally giving it another try, and am so glad that I have--a challenging yet enjoyable read so far.