Christmas time is here!

Oops, I mean Christmas time is over!

I got lots of money for Christmas, good for paying credit card bills. Credit cards will ruin your life I tell ya. But I can't do without them now.

Know what I've been doing all break? Working and sleeping. Thats what I do, I work, then I sleep, then I work. And sprinkle in some television.

I was reading the LA Times a few weeks ago, and there was this article about the FAO Schwartz on Fifth Ave. in New York City. It was about how the store was going bankrupt and having this 50% off clearance sale. The article at first was about how those elitist Fifth Avenue people thought that by having a tacky clearance sale made the store look cheap, but then it talked about how FAO had become a landmark. It was about how it had been there for so long and now that it was possibly closing that it was only another symbolic change for the modernization of a city that once had a very neighborhood-ly feel to it. This got me thinking too. A few years back, when Lucky's got bought by Albertson's my local Lucky's became an Albertson's and that was disconcerting. Then it closed and became a 99 Cents Only store.

And as crazy as it sounds, I was sad when Lucky's became Albertson's. Its just that Lucky's was the store I went to, I had memories at that store. Like I rode my bike there when I was younger but for the longest time I couldn't figure out why I was so upset. I thought I was becoming disturbed and that it was insane of me to be distraught over a store merely changing names. I mean they even had commercials showing Albertson's and Lucky's symbolically getting married. Albeit somewhat disturbing, they were comforting.

I was young then, of course, and after reading that article, I found out something about myself and about people in general. I was certainly upset over Lucky's becoming Albertson's, but that wasn't the whole thing. I realized that it was because of what Lucky's represents. The change from Lucky's to Albertson's was almost like my change from youth to teenager. (Somewhat abstract a metaphor, but you get the idea) People (myself included), for the most part, dislike change because while change is bad, its the what the change represents. It reminds people that things DO, in fact, change and that people you love will change (and unfortunately die), things you love will change and well, things can never stay the same forever, no matter how happy you are.

Incubus - Echo

Just got back from Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Wow, that was a long movie. I want to say it was totally awesome, but honestly, it wasn't. Not to say that it wasn't very very good, and certainly better than Matrix: Revolutions. Maybe its because I already knew what was going to happen. Or maybe its because I really had to pee and decided to hold it instead of missing part of the movie.

It almost feels like blasphemy to say that it wasn't one of the best movies ever. I feel wrong even saying that the movie wasn't awesome beyond my wildest beliefs because I can't imagine it being done better, short of finding tens of thousands of people, and filming them killing each other. Then finding real elves and a dwarf to help out. Then having Ian McKellen really learn magic and smoke weed and become a wizard. So I guess my expectations were just too high, unattainably high, in fact.

I can't say I was disappointed, Peter Jackson didn't leave me wanting more, but rather, wishing there were more. Hopefully rumors that he'll make the Hobbit will come true and he will. But as far as LOTR goes, its one of the best trilogies ever, right up there with episodes 4, 5 and 6, Back to the Future and Indiana Jones. Thats the triumvirate right there. And ROTK? Well it didn't have Ewoks in it. Next time I watch it (and there will definately be a next time, and a next time after that) I'll be sure to clear my bladder first so I can ensure full, uninteruppted enjoyment.

Good job Peter Jackson and crew.

Annie Lennox - Into the West

Talk about bad karma.

I'll make this short and to the point. I'm taking this Roman Republic class and I had planned to study for the midterm with some guy I met in the class. But I didn't show up that day and I didn't call either because I didn't have his phone number (although to be fair he didn't call me to see if I was running late, I'd given him my phone number). I ended up ace'ing the test we were supposed to study for and I didn't talk to that guy again, even though we see each other in class everyday. Well fast forward to this week. Our teacher had given us a term paper assignment and my other friend and I missed class the day he gave the prompt out. That same day he also handed out a study guide for the second test. Well, since he never mentioned the study guide again, we both bombed the second exam. And we didn't find out about the term paper prompt till earlier this week and by the time we got around to doing any work, its now 4AM and my paper is going to suck ass, if I can even get it done.

I figure if me or my friend, or both of us, had shown up at the first scheduled study session, bombing the second test and/or screwing up this term paper wouldn't have happened since the guy we ditched would've been another person in the class that we could've gotten anything we missed that ONE day we missed class. That was the only day of class I missed and the teacher hands out two vital things. Anyways, I'm resigned to getting a C in that class already. Boo hoo. This'll teach me not to ditch people, if that guy even showed in the first place.

Also, I've decided that grades aren't that important to me any more. Seriously, for this Roman Republic class, I went to class every day and I learned tons of stuff I consider valuable, its just I messed up on one exam (of two that he has, plus a final) and that same day he also happened to hand out the term paper prompt. I'll probably get a C in the class, but in the end I'll have learned a lot more in this class than in other classes I've gotten A's in, like US History 1945-Present.

Xena - The Ballad of Joxer The Mighty!

There are times in life when you think somebody is trying to send you a message. I was standing at the bus stop today and I saw this couple sitting together. I didn't think anything of it since it was the same couple at the bus stop every time I'm there. Suddenly a UPS truck flys by the bus stop, obviously in a hurry. Then I saw another couple, they were hugging. Then I saw this guy walking down the steps and then he tapped some girl on the shoulder and they hugged and walked off together. A sign? A coincidence? Well I was thinking the same thing to myself. But just then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted towards the other side of the street, the UPS truck going slower, probably returning from its hurried delivery just a few moments earlier. Yeah, so the moral here is probably don't hurry into things because you'll end up just coming back to where you started.

Or else its just I need to find something to do while waiting for the bus, like a book to read or something because otherwise next time I'll be coming up with some crazy scenarios about the UPS driver being Cupid and deciding that he'll simply shoot people with guns instead of a bow and arrow. See? Crazy!

This quarter is not going well for me. I don't know if its because I work every weekend or if its simply because I'm lazier. Probably the laziness catching up to me with 4 upper-division classes instead of those easy lower-divisions. I've got two essays due on Friday I haven't started on and I've got work all Thursday so we'll see how that pans out. I had planned to get some work done tonight, but here I am, having done not much of it and writing this silly crap. My bed calls to me, as does nature and I will answer both... but not in that order hopefully.

Oh, and since nobody wanted to trade me tickets, after emailing like 5 eBay ticket sellers I've decided to sell my own Acoustic Christmas tickets on eBay. I need the money anyways after that fatass rent-a-cop at Ralphs towed my car and cost me $155 bucks. Fuck him.

Yellowcard - Rough Draft