Film Fanatic Friday: Gone with the Wind

I don't know if many of you have heard of it but, for the past year or so, the movie theater company Cinemark has been doing this seasonal special which they've dubbed the "Classic Movie Series." The premise is that they run a series of about 5 to 7 films, all considered classics, playing a different one every week until they've gone through their selected film list. I think the best part of it all is that the films are completely remastered. Not remastered in the way Disney remastered and inadvertently ended up bastardizing it's Blu-ray version of "Sleeping Beauty" (quick sidebar: I only know it's ruined because they were playing it in the Disney store at the mall a few years ago and the voices were completely different and it just looked WAY different; Now, back to the story), but remastered in the sense that they've restored the film to the glory of from when it was first released and it's clearer and the sound is immaculate.

Doesn't make any sense? Well, for example, during the summer the series during that time included the films: A Clockwork Orange, Cabaret, North by Northwest, Citizen Kane and Cool Hand Luke -- which I'm bummed I wasn't able to make -- amongst others. Now, this isn't the same as Fathom's "One Night Only" movie classic events, but something special the theater chain has decided to do and I find it an amazing idea! To go off topic for a little bit in relation to Fathom's movie classic events: My fiancé and I went to their 70th anniversary special screening of "Casablanca" -- a film that I'd always wanted to see but would always find it halfway through on the channel TCM (Turner Classic Movies). When I saw that they were advertising this in the theaters I told my other half that we had to go and I was surprised how on board he was with the idea. I should mention that we're both big movie buff and it's his goal in life to see as many film as he can on AFI's List of "100 Greatest Movies" List. I'm not as in a rush and that's mainly due to the fact that I've seen nearly half of the films on the list, which is about 12 more films that he has -- and Casablanca happens to be #3 on that list so he wasn't about to miss the opportunity to see it. Long story, we both loved it, it was unexpectedly funny, dramatic in all the right ways and just a wonderful testament to the brilliant film making of the past. Back to the film at hand...

Seeing Casablanca in theaters this past Spring is what made me yearn to go see "Gone With the Wind" when I saw that they were going to be playing in theaters for the classic series, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to go see this film that I quite thoroughly love but at the same time I don't and that's due to the film's main character, the infamous Scarlett O'Hara, not to mention that the film has a running time of nearly FOUR hours. While fiancé ended up not going due to attending a baseball playoff game, I went with one of my best friends and we had ourselves a little date night (as we often did in college).After buying our tickets, and finding our interpretation of the best seats in the huge theater, we sat back to enjoy a timeless classic.

Four hours later, I'd seriously just had my  mind blown. Seeing the film on the big screen was such an amazing experience. Like I told my mom the next day, seeing the movie every time after that night is going to be a such letdown. I think what I enjoyed the most was the viewing experience. They didn't skimp out on making sure we got to see it the way it was intended to be viewed. The opening overture, the intermission music and at the very end more music (kinda makes you wonder if all movies had opening overtures and closing numbers back in the day). It didn't seem like we sat there in the theater for four hours watching it.

One of the main differences this time is that I didn't utterly and completely hate Scarlet O'Hara at the end of it all. This go around, I finally put my psychology degree to work on the film without trying to. I kinda had some sympathy for her during this viewing. Every other time I couldn't understand why she was so selfish and  a raving bitch, but this time I felt no such hatred for her. I came to understand that she was so driven to be the best of the best mainly for the fact that she and her family really hit rock bottom during the Civil War and she was only trying to restore them to their pre-war glory and lead the very privileged life she once lead. I know a main focal point of the film is her obsession with Ashley Wilkes, after this viewing I felt some of outcome of the film's end wasn't entirely all of Scarlett's doing. She held onto Ashley (a reminder of all the good her life was before the Civil War) and he also lead her on heavily; he went on and on about being bound to his wife, Melanie. I think after many years of nothing but neutrality towards him, I like him a little bit less now. Rhett, I think his character only gets better and better for me every time. His passion for life always shines through, and each and every time I watch the movie  I only notice more how much he loves Scarlett and only wants her to say so. I think what breaks my heart every time is that the scene where Rhett returns from Paris with Bonnie and how you see how happy Scarlett is to have the both back but since he comes off a bit indifferent she doesn't say anything. So many missed opportunities there.

In the end, this movie is definitely one of my favorites and it'll probably be another three years or so until I see again (I mean, it is a 4 hour long movie which requires a whole day off to watch it comfortably).

Here's the trailer for any of you weirdos out there who have NEVER seen it.

Updates on Life: Oral Edition

If you recall from just a little over a month ago, I went to the dentist for the first time in over 3 years. Since that fateful July morning, I feel like I haven't been anywhere else besides their office. My mouth has gone through over a major overhaul -- especially in the past two weeks!

First, there was the deep cleaning of my gums with a laser. I guess after three years bacteria starts to build up in one's teeth pockets, and that led me to have some sort of periodontal disease. I was like, okay, lets nip this thing in the bud ASAP, so I made the appointment to have the more expensive procedure done to fully clean them out. On some random Tuesday or whatever day it was, I went in and did the right half. Now, that procedure is pretty quick and rather painless except when she was up in there scraping or whatever she was doing, one of my teeth was a little sensitive and she saw me wincing in a little bit of pain. At the end of the whole prodecure she asked me if it had hurt back there, and when I said yes she told me that I had a cavity back there. WAIT, DIDN'T THE DENTIST GUY TELL ME THAT I DIDN'T HAVE ANY CAVITIES?!??!! When I explained this to her in a more calm matter along with an inclusion of "I knew it" she said oh, that's not good. So, I had to make another appointment to come in on the following Wednesday to have that checked out. Fast forward to said day, and what do you know, there's a cavity back there -- on my wisdom tooth no less. It was nice that he apologized for the fuck up, but the bad news was that they don't patch up wisdom teeth, so both of them on my right side were gonna have to go (since I figured "hey, the ones on the left are cool, let's leave them be"). When I had the bright idea to ask how that would affect my braces going on that Friday, I was told that all four of my wisdom teeth were gonna have to come out so the rest of my teeth wouldn't shift all weird during my ortho treatment. I rescheduled with the orthodontist and my wisdom teeth were scheduled to be pulled the following Tuesday.

Now, this is when hell week for my mouth started.

That Tuesday, I came in all nice and relaxed ready for this to go down. I should mention that I opted to have local anesthesia done as I saw no reason to be put under mainly due to the fact that since all four of my wisdom teeth we fully grown out, they weren't going to have to dig any of them out. So, I'm sitting in the dental chair nervous with anticipation when the oral surgeon finally came in. After asking me some med questions he started jabbing me everywhere with the novocaine needles and after 2 quick minutes of this he was all like, "Okay, be back in 10 minutes to check on you" and off he went. After about 3 minutes, my mouth started to fill with drool -- as he had said it would -- and I felt the sensation on the lower half of my face begin to fade. At one point I was pretty much trembling from my anxiousness, not because I was scared or anything, but just because I wanted to get it over with.

Before I continue, I should also mention that I've never had a tooth pulled. So, I really didnt know how the the whole process of pulling teeth went; all of my  friends who had their wisdom teeth pulled had been put under so they really couldn't tell me what I should or shouldn't expect. He comes back after the 10 minutes he said he would, although it felt like much longer and he started touching me in and around the areas that were supposed to be numb and what do you know, I couldn't feel jack shit. After giving a couple final pokes and inserting needles in some last spots that probs weren't numb enough, he FINALLY got started. Now, boys and girls, if you've never had a tooth pulled, let me be straight with you: it's pretty barbaric. They seriously go in there with some special dental pliers and yank those suckers out. NOT A FAN. Granted, I couldn't feel a thing, but the noises and sounds weren't all that pleasant. I could just hear my teeth shattering through it all. And seriously guys, they were done in like 10 minutes.Quick and painless, so I was all for it.  Overall, it wasn't that bad of an experience. I just want to add that it was awkward due to the fact that the surgeon was trying to make conversation as he was pulling my teeth but I was only able to respond in grunts. I mean it's nice and all that he was being polite, but asking me questions that require more than a "yes" or "no" grunt was kinda pointless, dontcha think? After teeth were yanked out, I spent the rest of the day at my future mother-in-law's house being nursed back to a quick and heavily medicated recovery. The next couple of days, I was pretty much starving since I couldn't really chew much of anything. If only I knew what was still to come.

Fast forward to that Friday and I'm back at the orthodontist to have my braces placed. I wasn't a harrowing ordeal to have them put on, but my teeth were in so much pain afterwards. Like it hurt to bite anything or chew. I wasn't able to eat for the next 5 days. Low and behold, I had to return two weeks later. I thought they were going just going to do the routine change of my bands and wires, but they decided to take it up a notch. They placed an expander (to widen my bite) on the roof of my mouth and ever since it's been uncomfortable trying to each some things since it gets stuck in the gap. Not only that, but my teeth hurt and I can properly bite through things; especially one of my favorite foods: sandwiches. Hopefully, as I keep getting used to having braces, things will continue to improve with my eating. On the bright side, however, I have lost 10 pounds since getting braces! Not going to complain there.

New Idea.

I think I'm going to start posting mini reviews about all the books I've been reading and have yet to read. I've been tearing through books so often lately, I think it'd be neat to share my thoughts on them and maybe convince some of you (if anyone actually reads this) to read some of them or skip them.

Not to mention, I've been buying a lot of books lately so that would motivate me keep it going. The book reading list has been piling up mainly because there's this used movie, cd, vinyl and now used BOOK store right by house, and a lot of the books I've found there that I've always wanted to read I've been buying for 99 cents so I have a lot of catching up to do.

So what do you all think? Book Review Mondays? Paperback Wednesdays? Book Club Sundays? Suggested Reading of the Day? I'll find that catchy title soon enough.

UPDATE ON 9/10/2012: I think I'm going to stretch this idea out further to include films as well. I don't plan on including mainstream films that every and their mom has seen, but more so movies I've found interesting and worth recommending to others.

Free Weekend Getaway? Don't Mind If I Do.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I got to go to South Lake Tahoe for a couple a nights and see Maroon 5 in a sold-out concert all for the low cost of $0. How is that possible you might ask? Well, let me tell you just how.

One Monday morning, the Monday before July 4th to be exact, my boyfriend and I woke up some time around 7:40; as is my habit, I grabbed my phone and made the rounds of checking my email, the morning's headlines and checked out my Facebook news reel. I'm a fan (on Facebook that is) of a local radio station here in Sacramento. I saw a post from them that said something about winning tickets to go see Maroon 5 in concert, but one had to qualify to win first; and by qualifying one would win their newly released album. All I had to do was tune in around 8 in the morning to find out how to qualify. So, what do I do? Seeing as I'm still on my phone at this point, I immediately go on their website and listen to the live stream that they have available. As soon as they said, "Be caller 103 to qualify" after announcing the contest, you can bet your balls I was dialing their  like a mad woman to  win. Several times, all I got was a busy signal; one time the phone rang and rang and I hung up because I didn't want to lose precious time trying to be the winning caller. After several more busy signals, I got through to a ring. At this point, I decided that it no one answers by the time the total call time reached 30 seconds, I was going to hang up and try again. But as luck would have it, that's not how things were going to go.

One the second to last ring before I was going to hang up, I heard the line click. On the other end I hear a man come on and say, "So, you ever wake up and find out that Adele's baby isn't your baby?" and I responded with, "That happens to me all the time." I thought someone was fucking with me but I decided to play along just in case. Eventually, he got to the  main point, "Are you a Maroon 5 fan?" and I responded with, "HUGE Maroon 5 fan." That's when he congratulated me on being caller 103 and how I'd won the CD and qualified to win the big prize: a hotel stay for 2 nights and two tickets to the sold out show. I'd find out if I'd won or not the following Friday if they called me before 8am. So, I shivered with anticipation (see what I did there?) for the rest of the week because I really wanted to win.

Come Friday morning, I was laying in bed with then boyfriend C (I say "then boyfriend" because if you've read my previous posts you know how that one ended up) and low and behold, my phone rang. It was from an unknown and private number, but I answered anyhow because it could've been an emergency for all I knew. But, wouldn't you know it, it was the radio station. After dicking around with me for a while, they told me that I'd won the whole shebang, and I've never had my heart beat so fast in all my life (if you don't count embarrassing moments). Who would've thought then that that weekend would turn out to be the best weekend of my life?

The winning tickets that came with some sweet seats.

I'M ENGAGED!!!

Well, depending on who you ask, I'm either: A) Just engaged or B) I'm FINALLY engaged -- but like I said, it all depends on who you ask. After being together for 4 years my now fiancé thought it was time to pop the question. It was so cute when he told me how nervous he'd been the entire time leading up to it. And the way he did it as well, was something that was definitely our style.

While on a weekend getaway to South Lake Tahoe, we decided we were going to go on a hike and revisit Emerald Bay -- which is a 20 minute drive or so from the California/Nevada stateline (which is where we were staying). Since there was no parking near the Vikingsholm (where was our intended destination) we had to park at the Inspiration Point vista point, just a little over a mile walk/hike away. So, before we headed up there, we stopped at the local Subway to get a couple of foot-longs for lunch. After parking and packing up my camelback and all that other fun stuff, we began our trek out to the start of the trail down to the Vikingsholm. Before we headed down there, we thought we'd find a bench or something so we could each lunch.

Boyfriend C was trying to find the "perfect" spot while I was just trying to find somewhere decent enough to sit so we could eat and sit and so I wouldn't burn my butt (it was a really warm day out). He's out on top on this rock hill saying it's perfect, while I'm walking around it saying I refuse to burn my butt; I end up finding a nice ledge, that's half in the shade, and has the perfect view as well. I tell boyfriend, and pull out the sandwiches and start tearing into one while he walks on over to me. Upon reaching me he said, "Can you put the sandwich down?" and I responded with a "WHY!?"

He just replies with a, "Can you just put it down?" and I say "Okay, fine." He then proceeds to recite the chorus of The Beatles' "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" and then gets down on one knee and simply says, "Will you marry me?" I managed to sneak in a "Are you proposing right now?" in there.

After saying no -- he knew I was kidding when I said it -- and officially saying yes, he told me the story about how he went about asking my father's permission and pretty much telling everybody and their mom that he was going to propose that weekend. After telling people the story, they all said that it was very "us" the way it happened; I'm thinking the sandwiches had something to do with it.

Me in all my excitement.

Overall, it was a nice surprise to a fun filled weekend. The day only got better when we hit up the Maroon 5 concert that I won tickets to (more on that later). The engagement is still sinking in for sure, but I'm super excited about it all! Not only that, but I'm surprised at the overwhelming response and joy that we've getting and how much people want to help me plan my future wedding. Which, by the way, is just a little over a year away now.

This one will definitely be framed seeing as this is where he proposed.

At the Dentist

As I sit here waiting for the dentist to come in and tell me if my teeth are bad or not, I'm surprised at how calm I am about it. I mean I haven't been to the dentist in over 3 years (I no longer live on the LBC, I was too poor to afford insurance, all that fun stuff) so I figured it was time to go. That and I had a mini cavity scare one late Saturday night so I balled up and bought the insurance). And, hey, it's always fun sitting in the fancy dentist chair with a bib on.

It's not weird that I like the Xrays they take when you're a new patient, is it? Hey, I like looking at my teeth in pretty, generic black and white negatives. Not to mention, this place is super fancy and everyone is super friendly -- not that the other dentist offices that I've been to in my lifetime weren't fancy without helpful staff, but they offered to get me a magazine or a GLASS OF WATER! Maybe, that's the standard these days, but I've never had that be the type of service I get at the dental office. It was nice. The end.

Here's to a good visit.

Those are some mighty fine looking teeth!

UPDATE: 

• THE GOOD NEWS: No cavities! Hooray! I'm super glad that my one worry in visiting the dentist was kinda all for nothing, but never again shall I let 3+ year gap between dentist visits happen again.
• THE BAD NEWS: My gums are in not so hot shape. I am about two years (without another dentist check up) away from gum disease. So, now I have to visit the hygienist and get that all sorted out which really comes down to whether I want my gums flushed out, cleaned and sterilized 80% of the way or a 100% of the way all at the price difference of $250 -- with the low ball end of it being $500.

UPDATE #2: It seems I may actually have to get braces. Not for cosmetic reasons but for a cross-bite; and what sucks is the price tag for those suckers. To have the ones all the kids had in middle school will cost me a whopping $4,000!!! THAT'S INSANE! I sure as hell didn't hesitate to say "Fuck that!" to the Invisaline as soon as she told me they would cost $6500 and that's without any coverage or anything. But hey, at least I get to keep my wisdom teeth!

Realizing You Really Are Grown Up.

Just a little over a month ago, at the tail end of my week vacation, I went to one of my childhood friends' wedding. I've known this kid since I was probably around 8 and our mom's also happen to be BEST friends,  so when I first heard that he was engaged it took me by surprise. I remember my mom was floored when I told her, after I saw it posted on Facebook, just because of the fact that it probably hit her as well that we're all really adults now.

One year later, it was time for his wedding -- which was very lovely actually. The bride and groom both looked just so happy and in love and ready to start a new life together which made me happy because that's the feeling I was to see radiating from the bride and groom at any wedding I happen to go to.

It was also nice to attend one of my friends' wedding because my boyfriend was finally able to see a Hispanic wedding in action. Now, just to clear things up, Hispanic wedding aren't completely different from your average, normal, everyday American wedding but there are some variations. For example, the couple had this big Mariachi band during the ceremony/mass/what-have-you that would play, and luckily, my boyfriend was blown away by it; he's now a little on board for a mariachi band at our potential wedding.

At the reception, later that evening, it was time for the dollar dance -- you know, where everyone goes up with money and pins it on either the bride or groom (one of the aforementioned customs) -- and I didn't have any cash on me, and neither did my mom or sister, but out of left field here comes the groom's mom to hand us money so we could go dance with him. And so I stood in line, waited my turn and I told him, "I guess this means we're all grown-ups now, huh?"  He said, "I know, huh?"

As always, my mother wasn't standing too far away with a camera enabled phone to snap this picture (since she's a bit technically challenged and couldn't figure my camera out).

After the dollar dance, came the tossing of the garter and bouquet. Here was another cultural variation because they men and woman (during their respective turns) run around through the tables/crowd while music plays in a snake -- everybody hold hands and runs to get tired and dizzy and eager to catch the bouquet. I was commanded to be the one to catch it by the groom's sister, which I was all for, but as soon as this girl -- which it was very evident that she wanted it -- I knew it was a lost cause. After that it was all dancing, cupcakes and candy galore.

Later that evening, of course, the "When are you getting married?" and the "I hear you're next." train started going through the wedding but, more on that later....

Pardon the Interruption...

...but a whole month late I'm finally posting about something very monumental and important in my yearly life. Last May, on the 25th, my boyfriend and I celebrated our 4-year anniversary. It wracks my brain to think about how when we first got together he was still 20 and I was 19 and now we're almost 25 and 23, respectively.

On that note, its been an amazing four years that have really flown by. Considering that this is my first serious relationship, I'm still surprised with how long it's lasted, but in a good way. In those 4 years we've gone from being long-distance to living under-the-same-roof which has been quite the ride. Can't wait to see what the future will bring for us.

He really is an amazing man and my best friend and I couldn't be happier to be able to call him my greatest love.

Cruisin' 2012, Part II

To pick up where I left off on the previous post...

On our 3rd day the ship docked in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, and this was intended to be the shopping day since there's pretty much nothing else to do in this stop but go shopping. First things first, however, boyfriend and I had to hit up every picture stop they had on our way out:

The boys all went off to go see the big famous blow hole and the girls all went shopping. I did get some great deals and haggled some of the vendors down a bit on their prices. I was almost quite scared, in a sense, to speak any Spanish because I didn't want to get bombarded with people trying to sell me all kinds of things. I did, on occasion speak in Spanish with those that I was serious about buying things from. 

I think boyfriends' and my favourite part of the day was the drinking. We made a stop at the World Famous Papas and Beers for drinks. The margaritas there were delicious but very sugary, but it was nice to stop in and check out the place. We even got a picture out of it.

After spending $28 on 4 margaritas we found this place about a block or two down that was having 2 for $6 margaritas and $1 tacos. Boyfriend and I just had to stop in after that sort of deal. We were so glad we did! the margaritas in this bar were the BEST that we've had...EVER! They were so delicious mainly for the fact that they were made from scratch. Upon having our first sip of them, we questioned our decision to ever go into Papas & Beers because those were definitely made from a mix while these had fresh lime juice that we even go to see them squeeze fresh:

Not to forget the food, the tacos here were very delicious. I had one of each (chicken, carne asada and fish) and the fish was fried fresh. Seriously it was the best tacos ever. The bartender was even nice enough to give us his recipe for margaritas and even told us what kind of triple sec/syrup to use! 

As you can see in the background, the place is decked out in one dollar bills that people decorated and were taped to the wall. Being the ever adventurous couple that we are (ha!), boyfriend and I decided that we HAD to leave one for the wall as well. The bartender, once again, kindly let us even go behind the bar so we could have a picture with our dollar bill that will forever be taped onto their wall in Ensenada (well, so long as their establishment is open)

For our last day on the cruise was the ever fun filled "day at sea". We spent most of the day just walking around, exploring, and even played a nice game of 'Settlers of Catan' with boyfriends' brother and his wife. All in all it was nice to be back on land an nice to have a whole week off.

Cruisin' 2012, Part I

Just over a month ago, I got to go on my FIRST cruise!

Not only was it exciting because I'd never been on one, but it was kind of nice because I didn't have to worry about the cost of it. I mean, I kind of felt bad in a sense because my boyfriends' dad was COMPLETELY picking up the tab, but I was very grateful because he was being so very generous with everyone.

Anyways, at the time, I'd been balancing two jobs, so I was WAY ready for a WHOLE week off. This cruise has, thus far, been the trip of a lifetime. It was to be a five-day 3 stop trip, so I was super excited.

The cruise departed from Long Beach, CA, my home town so I was HOME. The first stop after it departed from Long Beach was Catalina Island on which I made it a goal to go para-sailing while there. I'd never been, and once I saw that the cruise offered it as an "excursion" I wanted to go. My boyfriend, being the person that he is, wasn't completely on board because he doesn't like not having control of things, took a little longer to convince. As soon as I told him that we could save $30 a pop AND get pictures,by purchasing the excursion on the island instead of through the ship, he was almost completely on board. Boy, am I glad that he finally agreed to go with me. Not only, was it tandem para-sailing that this company offered (so we could go together), but the pictures that they took were of some high quality. Here's one of my favorite pictures of the experience:

Boyfriends' face says it all

After boyfriend and I got back from para-sailing, the whole clan decided to go on a golf cart tour of the island, which was lots of fun. I'd never seen most of the island, so it was cool to go through places and see a lot of its natural beauty. I got some great pictures of the view as well.

Our cruise ship on the left.

That night was also Captain's Dinner night which basically means everyone has to get all fancied up for dinner which is what we all did. The dinner was delectable that night and it was nice to get dressed up for  a change, since I very rarely break out the dress and heels combo. We even did formal portraits with one of the many photographers they had stationed throughout the ship that night. 

This pose was our idea; Originally intended to be funny but everyone thinks its "cute."

 We ended the night with watching a comedy show and heading back to our room where we literally passed out for the night.

Vacation 2012

Here are some life epiphanies I had while on vacation last week:

• Why hadn't I tried daiquiris before?
• I must go on another cruise. SOON!
• Stopping on the long drive up/down the 5 for more than 30 minutes is not ideal.
• Para-sailing should be done every 2 years or so.
• Old Fashioned's are not my drink of choice.
• Risotto is amazing (and I will have it at every Italian restaurant I go to)
• Coors Light will always taste like beer pong.
• Never spend that much money on a quarters machine AGAIN.
• Sea sickness is not an issue.
• Star Wars references are ALWAYS acceptable. 

$10 Wasted.

Last night, my boyfriend and I went out for dinner and a movie just because we thought it'd be nice to do since I had a rare day off from both of my jobs. After hitting up this amazing Mexican place Casa Ramos we headed off to the theatre that's located across the street.

We were set on watching Men in Black 3 but once the girl at the register rang us up and we saw that it was $27 dollars we realized that the showing was for 3D. So, we quickly said "eff that" and asked to The Dictator instead. What a dumb piece of crap that movie was. It had a few moments of hilarity. And when I say few I really mean a 2-3. I love Sacha Baron Cohen, when he's funny. I thought Bruno was even funnier than this movie. Point of the story is, if I'm falling asleep at the movies you know the film isn't any good, and I love going to the movie theater. Oh well, there's $10 and an hour and a half of my life I'll never get back.

 Here's the trailer for those of you who don't know what movie I'm talking about.

New Year. New Start.

Alright, so working two jobs is not very easy. The only downtime that I do get is to sleep and eat. Any internet access that I do get is through my phone for quick catch-ups during work breaks. A smartphone is no place to blog. Because I've been working like a beast and barely get on my computer, I neglected my blogs. There's so much I wanted to catch up on, but seeing as so much time has gone by, I'm just going to start a new with a new blank slate (but I'm keeping this blog because I don't like to start too many things just to abandon them - starting fresh on the old is always fun).

The Year: 2012. The Goal: Try to blog as often as possible about relevant life happening and what not. Overall goal: Make more time for things that I want to do.

Hopefully I won't forget this new goal and actually keep an up-to-date blog to make it attractive to whoever happens to stumble upon my blog and maybe make them come back for more.