Happy Halloween!

Weasley and Peepers would like to wish everyone a Happy Halloween!!!



Don't they look precious?



So cute that you want to eat them up?



Who doesn't love an animal in costume?



Please don't report me to PETA.

My New Home Pt 2 ...

Sorry, but I won’t be posting for the next week or so. I won’t have internet connection starting sometime tomorrow and will only be able to post maybe if I get a chance at work. I think I should be safe sharing my news.

I finally found myself a new home and will be closing this Monday! After my last experience of finding a new place and then losing it, I wanted to wait until everything was in the clear before I wrote about it. Seeing as it’s Friday, and I’m two days away from settlement, I hope I’m not kicking myself in the ass by writing about it.

My realtor, Wendy, was awesome and made this experience really enjoyable. As I’ve mentioned before, I was really hesitant about the whole home buying process after what happened to me, and Wendy understood my concerns and fears and really worked with me. She did an excellent job of listening to what I wanted in a home and helping me find it. I’m really glad I worked with her, and if anyone’s in need of a realtor, let me know.

I will be remaining in Rockville and moving into this cute community where I actually know a bunch of people. Its in a prime location with access to the Beltway and I-270, and I’m less than a mile from a metro stop. It’s a two-level condo with a half-bath on the main level. This community attracts a lot of people around my age and my one friend is already calling it the new Melrose Place.

It hasn’t really hit me that I’ll be closing on Monday. I don’t think I’ll really believe it until it actually happens. If everything goes according to plan, I will settle on Monday and then move on Thursday. Again my apartment is in shambles because I’m in the process of packing. I have been packing two boxes every night, and I’m still not any closer to finishing. Seriously, how much crap do I have? It’s a bit out of control.

So the next time I post, it should be from my new home! See ya then!

Dumbledore's Out

Shocking revelations were made this week when author J.K. Rowling disclosed that Albus Dumbledore is gay. Rowling felt that the time was right to finally “out” Dumbledore. I’m sure this has caused a stir among the Harry Potter fanatics.

I really haven’t had time to digest the news and if at all this affects my viewpoint on the whole series. I never really thought of Dumbledore in a sexual manner; I always considered him to be asexual. To me Dumbledore’s greatest love was Hogwarts and educating young witches and wizards about magic.

I completely missed all the hints that Rowling gave in Book 7, The Deathly Hallows. Apparently Dumbledore fell in love with his childhood friend Grindelwald, with whom later Dumbledore defeats in a duel (Grindelwald went to the dark side). I remember thinking that Dumbledore did seem obsessed with him, but I felt it was more because Dumbledore had finally met someone of his caliber, someone who was just as gifted as he was, and someone that he could relate with. Is that necessarily love? Well, according to Rowling, it was. Dumbledore was infatuated with Grindelwald.

I still am not sure how I feel about this revelation. Will this change my viewpoint going forward? Will I notice it while I am reading the series again? I haven’t yet cracked open The Chamber of Secrets so it will be interesting to see how this affects the way I read it.

Cats Playing With String

My friend Kiah is under the impression that I spend a lot of my time watching, "Cats playing with string" videos on youtube. That's a blantant lie. I have much better things to do with my time than look at cat videos. I like to sleep for one, and eat too, occasionally I'll read a book or two, sometimes I like to engage in night time festivties with my friends, of course there is tons of tv to be watched, but mainly I spend my time on websites such as stuffonmycat, and my new personal favorite omgkitty (she is so effing cute!). So with my busy schedule, I don't have time to be playing on youtube. But since Kiah believes this is what I do with my free time, here are some vidoes. Enjoy.





Man, I cannot believe how many videos you can find of this stuff. It's a sickness, I tell ya.

"This Love Has Taken its Hold on Me ..."

I heart Adam Levine and last night I got to see him in concert. Originally I had gotten a ticket through work, but they only gave me one and I heard that all the top executives would be going. Didn’t sound so much like a fun time to me. I really don’t know too many people outside of my immediate department, so the though of hanging out in a suite with all the executives was a bit daunting.

I e-mailed someone that I know who actually works at the Verizon Center to see if he could get me some tickets. This person is shady and I was expecting him to proposition me again in exchange for tickets. There were hints of a proposition and I flat out refused anything, so was pleasantly surprised when he said he had two suite tickets for me. Score!

Me and Jessie

My friend Jessie was the lucky winner who accompanied me to the Maroon 5 concert. Overall the concert was fun, but I have to admit I got bored. I love their first album Songs About Jane and can sing along to every song. Their newest album It Won’t be Soon Before Long is good, but I don’t heart it as much as the first one. Although, I will admit, Makes Me Wonder is my ring tone.



They were on stage for about an hour and a half and played a bunch of songs from the new and old album, including my favorite song Shiver. Their stage show is kinda boring, and I spent more time looking at this girl in the next box over. I couldn’t tell if she was drunk or just had no rhythm, but Maroon 5 would be playing a slow song and she would be flaying her body to her own internal beat. It was quite distracting and the guy next to me noticed as well and took a picture of her. Poor thing.

Me and Jessie again

Adam Levine is a dreamy as ever and can play decent guitar. He did a little jam session for an encore and I just wanted to throw my panties on stage. He’s got this really great metro-sexual dorky appeal that I love. I also love how obsessive and moody he can be in his songs. They strike a chord within me.

I bet if they stuck with smaller venues such as 9:30 Club, their show would be a lot better. I can’t complain though, I got to go for free.

Sick Days

Two Friday’s ago, I decided to give myself a day of rest, so naturally I called in sick. Sick days are funny; I never use them when I’m actually sick. I’d rather save them for a long weekend or a day when I wake up and I just don’t feel like going into the office.

I had been planning to take that Friday off for a while, and almost decided against it, until that Friday morning when my alarm went off for the sixth time and I said, the hell with it, I’m staying in bed. I slept in, and read in bed for the majority of the day. Not once did I even check work e-mail. It was exactly what I needed.

Of course this past Tuesday, I woke up with a sore throat, and I just thought, great, now I’m going to get sick. Wednesday I woke up with still a sore throat and the beginning of the sniffles. By Thursday, I started coughing and my nose was constantly running. I went and got some medicine, hoping to stop it.

No such luck. I didn’t want to use another sick day, so I forced myself to go to work. Once I had gotten there, I knew I should’ve just stayed home. I made it till lunchtime before I had enough and got the hell out of there. I was hacking up a lung and felt miserable and did not want to spread the germs to my coworkers.

I came home and crawled back into bed to sleep this off. Because while I have a whooping cough and a slight case of the sniffles, I’m really not that sick, I’m more under the weather. According to my Mother, you have to have a fever to be considered sick, at least sick enough to stay home from school or work. Its funny how her philosophy has stuck in my head.

I wasn’t sick by my Mother’s standard, I didn’t even feel worn down or achy. I was more annoyed by the fact that karma decided to play a joke on me. I am still coughing and waking up in the middle of the night cause I am having a coughing fit. If karma is going to pay me back, and least make me fever sick so that it’s worth it. Let me be fever sick so that my Mother will shine some sympathy on me and make me a bowl of tomato soup with some grilled cheese. Instead I had to make my own, but I didn’t burn the grilled cheese this time!

Manhunting

Manhunting by Jennifer Cruise falls between trashy romance novels and regular old chick-lit. There wasn’t enough explicit sex for it to be trashy enough. I’m not sure if you would find this book in the romance aisle at the bookstore, but Harlequin, a classic trashy romance novel publisher, published this so it’s a tough choice on how to label this one.

Kate Svenson has been engaged three times already, and longs to be in a successful, stable relationship. She works as a business developer in her father’s firm and is looking for a man who is wealthy, successful and ambitious as her. Her ultimate goal would be for her significant other and her to start their own business together.

Her best friend suggests that Kate take a trip to a fancy resort where she can meet men that fit her plan. Of course there is Jake Templeton, who works as a handy man on the resort. He is ruggedly handsome and determined to never have a real job ever again. After working in the rat race and being burnt out, he came home and helped his younger brother start up the resort. He is not looking for any responsibility and after being divorced, never wants to get married again.

Obviously these two fall for each other. And neither one is willing to sacrifice their principles for the other. So instead they become miserable until it is too much to bear and eventually both compromise to make the other happy.

I can’t decide if I would pick up another of Cruise’s books again. The entire plot was predictable along with the character’s reactions. Romance novels follow a typical format anyways, and this was pretty cookie cutter. I’m beginning to realize where I get my unrealistic ideas about love and romance. I have read way too many of these stories.

I think what really bothered me was at the end when Kate was willing to compromise everything that she ideally wanted in a husband because she fell in love with Jake. I’m sorry; I just don’t believe that love will conquer all. And we have these firm ideals of what we want for a reason. I guess that’s why the classification for this book is important to me. If this is a trashy romance novel than I can accept it for what it is, but if it’s supposed to be chick-lit, it needs to have a next level for me. Doesn’t have to be too deep, but still another level.

Ugh, ...

Why is it only Wednesday? That is all.

Oh wait, best line I just heard on TV, "Beauty is just a light switch away!"

Man, I have to use this on someone.

It's Always About a Boy

I am sitting here with a glass of red wine hoping to gain some insight about my current state of affairs. I’m hoping to find answers at the bottom of this glass. It may not be the best place to solve my problem, but it’s a start.

There is this boy whom I have known for three years or so. We have always been floating in and out of each other’s lives with nothing serious tying us together. In the beginning this arrangement suited us perfectly. When we were together we had a ton of fun and when I was apart from him, I still had fun. We have dated other people, I was in a serious relationship, and yet I always find myself running back into his arms.

He was the reason I put myself on lockdown and he is also the reason that I broke it. He gives me the highest highs but also the lowest lows. Just when I think I have finally walked away from him, he reappears and shatters whatever resistance I tried to build up against him. He is my Achilles heel, my biggest weakness, my drug I cannot get enough of. And when the high wears off and reality trickles back in, the withdrawal effects are painful and I have to wonder is it worth it.

We keep repeating this pattern and I’m trying desperately to change my behavior and not make the same mistakes. But he doesn’t make it easy for me. And I allow myself to get swept away and ignore the voice in my head that tells me to run and never look back. I know that something has to change. Either we progress and move forward or I stand firm in my decision to not let him back in. And if it becomes the latter than I cannot waver and must truly let him go. Because no one likes a broken record, and I hate being that girl.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I think I am finally all Harry Pottered out. Inconceivable you say, but its true. It has taken me over two months to finish Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The first time I read this book I finished it in less than a week. I am still going to continue to read all the books in the series but at my own leisurely pace.

This marks the first book in the series where we are introduced to the majority of the key players. On Harry’s 11th birthday he finds out that he is a wizard and that a whole other world exists. He is ecstatic to learn that he will attend the famous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he will learn to develop the skills to become a wizard. Harry also learns the truth about his parents being killed by Voldermort and that he is the only known person to survive the killing curse.

This book follows Harry’s first year at school and all the interesting people he encounters. He quickly befriends Ron Weasely and eventually they become friends with Hermione Granger. The book centers on them trying to find the Sorcerer’s Stone before it falls into the wrong hands.

Rowling sets up a lot of plot points that will eventually reveal itself in the future books. We learn that Harry’s Mother, Lily, died to protect him, which placed a protective charm over Harry. Professor Snape was a classmate of Harry’s Father, James, and Snape and James hated one another.

Most importantly we learn that Harry’s wand shares a core with Voldermort’s wand. As Mr. Ollivander states, “I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter … After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things – terrible, yes, but great.”

Book one is a good introduction to the world of Harry Potter. Seriously, if you haven’t read this series yet, now is a perfect time to start.

Books in Movie Form

I touched briefly upon this in my last post about whether or not I see a movie first and then read a book, I tend to go with my first impression, and I started to think, is that always true? Have there been instances where I’ve read the book, saw the movie and then thought the movie did a better job or vice versa? So I did a mental rundown of all the various books-turned-into-movies, where I have read and seen the movie and tried to figure out which one I enjoyed more.

Generally speaking, I believe books are far superior to their movie counterpart. When I read a book, I begin to picture the characters in my head and their lives act out in my imagination and I become a part of the story. I find that if I see a movie first, when I read the book, I’m no longer visualizing the character myself, but picturing the actor who played that character, and using the scenes from the movie as my backdrop. But there have been times for me where the movie has done an excellent job capturing the soul of a book and stimulates my imagination further.

So here’s a fun list of books vs movies:

• The Devil Wears Prada
  I read this book in anticipation for the movie, and I thought the movie did a better job than the book. I’m a huge fan of fashion (although I’ve had my “what not to wear” moments) and seeing the many gorgeous outfits on Anne Hathway was a fashionista’s orgasmic dream. I seriously wanted every article of clothing that came on screen. The actual book itself was ok and had a darker tone than the movie. But to me, the movie was all about the clothes and that won in my eyes.

• The Da Vinci Code
  This booked kicked ass and the movie was eh. I read the book first and could not put it down. I admit, the book was a bit of a far stretch, not even about the whole Christ was married factor, but just the ridiculousness of some of the scenarios that occurred. I felt like every chapter had to top the next chapter in suspense, and that to me got old. Besides that, the book goes into so much more detail and offers such a compelling story, and the movie couldn’t encompass all that in the film. And I really couldn’t picture Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. He just didn’t fit the part to me.

• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
  Ok, so I’ve only ever read 1.5 books out of this trilogy. I’m halfway through The Two Towers, and I just can’t finish it. Every time I try, I have to start from the beginning again because I can’t remember what happened, and then I get discouraged at the thought of having to start when I’m already 300 or so pages in so I just leave the book on the shelf and think, perhaps another time. For those of you who know me in real life, know my absolute love all The Lord of the Rings movies. I own the extended version for all three and am always trying to sucker people to watch the movies with me. The entire series is visual stunning and did a far better job of creating Middle Earth than I could. Peter Jackson did such a kick ass job with this and deserves his Oscar and I hope he brings The Hobbit (I read that one) to film.

• The Harry Potters
  Of course I love the books more than the movies, but I think the movies are just as good. I’m in the midst of reading the first book again, and came upon the scene where Snape confronts Quirrell and I realized that I always associated this scene with how the movie portrays it. In the movie, Harry catches them while he’s under his invisibility cloak in the hallway of the school, but in the book, Harry is putting away his broom and notices Snape sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest and follows him on his broom. That to me just proves how much of an impact the movies have.
  

• The Godfather
  I can’t remember if I’ve read the book first or saw the movie. Both the book and the movie are my all-time favorites. Mario Puzo knows how to tell a gripping story and he wrote the screenplay so the movie is very close to the book. Both the movie and book are just elegantly done. I can watch the movie and read the book over and over again. The movie is a classic and all other mafia movies pale in comparison.

I could go on and on, but those are the movies vs books that really stick out in my mind. If I think of more, I’ll continue to add to this list.