8 of 10

**Warning! Do not read if you don't like hearing about needles, or medical stuff in general**

Yesterday I had my eighth acupuncture/acupressure appointment. I've gotten used to paying more attention to my body in between sessions, so that when Dr. Zhou asks how my neck, shoulders, and headache are doing, I can tell him honestly. After all, I'm really the one who decides what he's going to do. After the wretched migraines last weekend, I told him about my sinus infection (which I swear I had done at the first appointment), and he started putting the needles into my nose and forehead. I don't like it. But, I have been feeling better! At least, I don't get those headaches anymore.

Anyway, yesterday, he put two needles in the skin next to my nose and one in my forehead (where my third eye would likely be) for the sinus infection; and for the neck and shoulder issues he put one in the top of my head, two in my temples, two in the base of my skull, and two in my hands. Then he connected them all to the battery and started the current. One thing I really like about the acupuncture is that it really encourages me to fully relax... because if I don't, the muscles hurt where the needle is. Apparently, contracting muscles don't like the needles, but relaxed muscles don't mind. Then I can just let my thoughts wander or fall asleep. It's really cool.

I realized I still didn't really know a whole lot about what Dr. Zhou was doing. I have this habit of learning as little as possible about medical procedures before they're done to me, because if I know what's going to happen, then I think about it too much (like the laser eye surgery -- I think knowing exactly what was going to happen made it all the more stressful. I really hated thinking that I could screw up my eye just by rubbing it too much. Did I mention I'm a worrywart?). Generally, if someone I trust has already done the research and still recommends it, that's enough for me.

I realize this is stupid, because usually when I do learn about the procedure it makes me feel more confident about it. For example, I used to be really worried about childbirth. I know zillions of women have survived the process multiple times, but geez! There's this line in Look Who's Talking (sic) where Kirstie Alley says something like "Try squeezing something the size of a watermellon out of an opening the size of a lemon and see how you feel!" Yeah, it pretty much sounds like the worst thing ever. And then, in college, I took a human development class, and we watched a video that showed four different women giving birth (one natural childbirth first-time mom, one epidural first-time mom, one natural childbirth third-time mom, and a c-section), and I saw it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd imagined. The human body is apparently waaaaay more stretchy and adaptable than I'd given it credit for. The more I learn the less I worry, though it in no way looks easy or fun. But I am far less afraid of giving birth to my children. Raising them will likely be the really scary part.

But I digress. After Dr. Zhou inserted the needles into my hands, I lifted up my right hand and took a look. Huh. Sure enough there was a needle sticking out. The doc asked what I was doing, and I said, "I haven't really looked before." He was surprised and said I was "a strong woman". He is a very nice, older, Chinese man, and the language is a bit of a barrier. He went into some sort of compliment about how when he cuts up cadavers at the school where he teaches some of his students faint, but I didn't understand part of what he was saying. I got the feeling he was impressed that I hadn't freaked out from the needle. (I must say though, that cutting into a cadaver and practicing on a live person are very different things in my mind. I didn't mind dissecting dead frogs, sharks and worms in Zoology, but I'm not interested in working on live animals, even if they are sedated.)

After he was done and started taking the needles out, I asked him to show me one and how much of it he actually inserted into my body. The needle he stuck into my hand was, of course, longer than the ones he put in my nose and top of the head. I was a bit surprised at how much of each needle went in, though I took it in stride. I told the doc I have a lot of faith that he knew what he was doing. He seemed pleased. All I know is this stuff makes my body feel much, much better! If only I could feel so good all the time.

Only two appointments left!

I Should Be More Strange!

Laren and I saw Romeo and Juliet at Pioneer Theatre Company on Friday night. It was wonderful! I am always a fan of Shakespeare, and it is always delightful to see different versions of such a familiar piece. It was also delightful to share the experience with Laren, who appreciated the play as much as I did, and who I could talk about it with.

We agreed that the young couple playing the title characters were absolutely marvelous. I thought it brilliant that they acted like a 13 year-old girl, and a 17 year-old boy! The balcony scene was hilarious and adorable, as Juliet babbled on about her inexperience and concluding with "should I be more strange? I should be more strange!" (A.K.A. "I should be more shy!") And there was Romeo, listening to her in joyful silence with the emptiest, most adoring expression on his face -- SO. CUTE. They were completely believable as an infatuated, rash couple.

It was also interesting that the director apparently wanted all of the characters to be unlikeable except for Romeo, Juliet, the Nurse, and Friar Lawrence. Everyone knows how the play ends, and still I hoped that it might be happy. That Tybalt might believe that Romeo didn't want to fight any more, that Capulet would be sensitive to his daughter's wishes, that Friar John might reach Romeo in time... but alas. The play came to its heartbreaking conclusion and I wept as all of the other horrible characters realized that their selfishness had caused a tragedy that could have been avoided if just one person had thought to give someone they didn't trust the benefit of the doubt.

Thank you, Laren, for accompanying me to see the brilliant play, and for recommending Tucanos for dinner! I had a great evening!

Let Me Count the Ways

These boots are the first shoe purchase I've made in over a year, and I love them! Yes, I'm a girl and I love my shoes. I love them for so many reasons! I don't care if it's silly!

1. I love them because they were 50% off.
2. I love that they go with skirts, dresses, and pants.
3. I love that they make a "clop"-ping sound when I walk, just like my fancy shoes do.
4. I love that they can be casual or a little bit more dressy.
5. I love that they're flat, and therefore comfortable enough for a lazy girl like me to wear to work.
6. I love that I feel stylish when I wear them.
7. I love that they make me think of action/fantasy movies, like Star Wars, the Princess Bride, Serenity, or Indiana Jones.
8. I love that I feel confident and important because of the way I move when I wear them. Few of my shoes give me that purposeful stride.
9. I love the treads on the bottom that keep me from slipping and sliding around in the rain and snow.
10. I love that they're new, they're practical, and they're MINE!

I have worn them so many times I'm already starting to wear out the bottom. Oh, and I ran over one of the toes with a shopping cart -- eek! It just feels so good to have new clothes that don't care if I gain or lose weight. They'll look good on me regardless. Hooray! Hooray for the beautiful flat boots!

An Animated Movie

...is NOT inherently kid-friendly. Neither is a 3-D movie. I can understand the mistake, since both genres have been primarily family-oriented for years, but I would like to know exactly what about the advertisements for Coraline convinced the parents of the 200+ kids in the movie theatre this afternoon that it would be child-appropriate.

I saw Coraline today with my mother and grandmother and it was a gorgeous, brilliant movie. I absolutely loved it, and would recommend it to any of my friends. The animation was gorgeous, the story clever, the characters fun and believable, and the 3-D added a lot to it. My mom, gram, and I all agreed we might need to see it again just to catch all of the subtle nuances thrown in there. I teased my mom that the villain uses sewing skills to accomplish the villainy. Truly a foe worthy of recognition!

But I was distracted by the perhaps 8 year-old girl sitting next to me. All through the opening credits she kept saying "This is so weird" (she said it enough that I considered asking her parents when they were going to "shush" her -- they never did). It was quite disturbing in some parts (I can't imagine kids weren't horrified by the opening credits), and some downright naughty (a busty, elderly lady in a thong and pasties... and no, not a fleeting image). That I could tell, my mother and I were the only people who laughed at all during the intelligent film. This is because there weren't many of the pratfalls and hi jinks family-films generally employ to keep the kids entertained.

I am glad that it was at least rated PG. I suppose I wouldn't say it merited a PG-13 rating, but, in my humble opinion no kid under 10 should have been in that theatre, and there were a LOT of little kids there. Even I woke up in the middle of the night, worried that the people with button eyes were going to find me. I can't imagine the impression it had on the children.

Most of the G and PG movies I've seen lately are ones I've thought too scary for many little kids. This experience just reinforces my resolve to screen movies for my kids until they're probably about 10 years old. It really bothers me that not only are adult movies becoming more and more edgy and graphic, but family movies are too.

Harry Potter Valentines Story

This story won first place in a Valentines Day Harry Potter short fanfiction contest. Oh, and I wrote it. Enjoy, and Happy Valentines Day to all of the people I love!

The Right Moment

“I couldn’t believe it! Here I am working hard and she just sits and picks up The Quibbler? Did she really have time for that? I realize we were just administering Skele-gro, but… James? Are you listening?”

“What? Erm, I mean, of course I am.” James smiled guiltily. “So what did you do?”

The redhead sighed. “Nothing. I know I should have said something, but it’s easier to just get the work done than to pick a fight…”

While Lily vented, her boyfriend nervously fingered the ring in his pocket, trying vainly to pay attention to the lovely witch’s words. It was difficult. All he wanted was to get it over with, but it wasn’t the right time. Of course, it would certainly catch her off-guard to ask now.

Plus, he and the others went to so much work getting the surprise ready. Sirius and Peter should be setting up the last of the preparations at this very moment. Remus especially would be disappointed if James changed the plan for no good reason. Is an emminent heart attack a good reason? He’d have to wait. But it was killing him. And he felt really guilty that he wasn’t listening to Lily very well.

Rats, she’s stopped talking and is now looking at me unhappily. Rotten boyfriend I am. The messy-haired boy took his hand out of his pocket and ran it through his hair. He was glad he was wearing robes –- they hid his shaking knees. “Maybe you should talk with Campbell. Go over her head. Otherwise, she’ll never learn; she’ll just keep letting you do all the work.”

“The only thing she’ll learn is that I run to the Head Healer when I have a problem. I think that would just make her mad and even more dangerous.”

James shrugged, just relieved he’d said something that made sense. “If you say so. You understand girls more than I do. If it were me and some bloke, I’d have it out with him and be done with it.”

Lily sighed. “Sometimes I wish women were like that. She just gets so defensive and catty, and she’s worked with Campbell for ages. It’s not that she does a bad job, she’s just lazy unless someone’s watching her, and I am tired of feeling like I’m baby-sitting, but I’m the youngest one, and whenever I say anything…”

Almost there now, James’s mind started wandering again. He never thought the time during the eight blocks to the park would seem to last so long! It had seemed a good idea when he and his friends were discussing it. He wanted the proposal to be special, but he didn’t have a lot money and he’d already spent so much on the ring.

Maybe it’s better this way – she’s not thinking about marriage or relationships at this moment. After all, the proposal itself won’t be a surprise. We’ve been talking about this for months. I know she’ll say “Yes.” At least, I think I do. Oh criminy, what if she doesn’t? But this proposal business…

It’ll be over soon. The hazel-eyed boy clasped his hands together in an effort to keep them away from that accursed pocket again.

“Sorry James. I know I complain about work a lot. I’ll stop. What about you? How was your day?”

“Not bad. Erm… yeah. It was good.”

Lily gave James an odd look.

“Here we are! The park!” It was a little too enthusiastic and James knew it. Calm down, he told himself. Make it less obvious. “Mind if we take a little stroll?”

“I thought that’s what we were doing.”

“Oh, erm… right.” This seemed to be going downhill fast. He needed to save it. “Erm, Remus found a job today.”

“He did? Why didn’t you tell me! We should all be out celebrating! What is the job? Teaching?”

Good, she’s distracted again.

James scratched his left leg. It was starting to ache – he needed to relax or his whole body would clench up. On the one hand, Lily is a Healer, so she could help me. On the other, I want the proposal to be the memorable moment – not my passing out. “It’s just a janitorial job, working nights at the Owl Emporium. The pay is lousy, but he’s glad to have something.”

Lily shook her head. “I still don’t understand how he lost the job at the Primer school. Remus is really smart; he’s dependable and caring. Why is he having such a hard time and why would he settle for something like that?”

“Must be a reason,” James said a little absently.

“It’s ridiculous. I know it’s been almost a year since he worked, but he deserves much better than…” Lily stopped dead in her tracks. “What in the world?”

She had just spied “the target” as James’s friends had started calling it. It was by necessity a different lake, but there was the same checkered blanket, picnic basket with cold chicken, chips and biscuits, and floating candles. The finishing touch was the spilled butterbeer. He had been so upset when he had found the mess waiting for them on their first date, but Lily had been so good about it. It was her favorite memory of that day – she claimed she had met the “real” James at that moment: strong and determined.

Just has he had on their first date, the first thing the messy-haired young man did was march right over to the spilled liquid, point his wand and said “Scourgify!” Then he turned and motioned Lily to join him on the blanket.

Lily laughed. “It’s perfect! Thank you, James. It’s just what I needed.”

The nervous boy smiled and replied, “Least I could do after the day you’ve had.”

“You are so good to me. I don’t deserve it.” Lily leaned over, kissed her boyfriend on the cheek, and squeezed his hand. “Aren’t you worried about the Muggles catching us, though? We are in a public park.”

“Oh no. Sirius spent all day putting wards up so that they wouldn’t be problem.” Speaking of which, there’s probably a dog and a rat in the trees somewhere watching this. Of all the times to have an audience…

She tilted her head. “‘All day?’” The girl’s green eyes sparkled. “This isn’t just today, is it?”

Oh no, this is it. This is the moment. Don’t faint. Don’t die, James commanded himself. “No, Lily. It’s not just today. It’s everyday. Every day you’re in my thoughts and every night you are in my dreams.”

The beautiful girl blushed.

“Every day when I am at work, I can’t wait to see you, and then when I see you, I can’t remember what my day was like before I saw you. It seems a far-off fantasy because you are my reality. I just want to be with you all the time.”

“Oh, James…”

The visibly trembling boy slowly shifted until he was kneeling next to the girl he loved. He took a shuddering breath and swallowed hard.

“Lily Evans.” Please say yes, please say yes. “I love you.” I’m going to pass out. “Will you do me the extreme honor,” Why isn’t she smiling? “of marrying—”

“YES!” the redhead screamed before the last word was even out. “Yes, yes, YES!” She threw herself into James’s arms and started laughing. “A thousand times yes!”

Tears streamed down the relieved and surprised man’s face. Did she really say “yes?” I can’t believe it! I am too bloody lucky. He could never have believed that he could be so happy. This feeling was better than flying! Lily was smiling now. She gave him a number of short pecks on the lips, and then he held her close for one long, slow kiss.

When they parted, both were breathless. The two just looked at each other for a moment in wonder. How is it that such a perfect woman could possibly love me? James asked himself in gratitude. They relaxed and sat back, just drinking in the complete contentment of the moment. There were so many questions, so many things to settle surrounding the wedding and setting up a life together, but there would be plenty of time for that later. Right now, they loved each other. That was all that was important.

Then James shifted slightly and realized he had forgotten something. I knew I would mess this up! he silently berrated himself. He smiled sheepishly as he pulled the ring out of his pocket. Lily blushed again and giggled. “You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”

He didn’t trust himself to speak anymore. He simply slipped the ring on his fiancée’s finger and kissed her again.

Twin Girls!

My sister-in-law is pregnant with twin girls, and I can't even begin to describe how excited I am! I get to buy the Pretty Pretty Princesses game, and play dress-up and Barbies, and play with their hair, and buy frilly dresses, and hopefully Lindsey will dress them in those tights with lace on the fanny. I love it! I am fully aware that they are not my daughters, but being an aunt is the next best thing! And since I'm a girl maybe -- just MAYbe I can be a worthy opponent with my brothers for their affections. Although, I'm the first to admit, I think my brother will be an adorable little girl daddy, and seeing the way my sister-in-law deals with her son I have no doubt she won't let those two little girls get away with too much. They are such good parents!

I am excited enough about these little girls that I feel a little guilty about my nephew. I don't love him any less, I just don't know him very well. I am excited though to see him play soccer, or t-ball, or have him audition for a play with me, or be involved in whatever he wants to do in the future that doesn't involve video games or legos... I feel guilty enough that I compiled a list of 10 things I love about G.

Top 10 reasons I love the G-unit:
10. His dimples. They give his already gorgeous face a dynamic that perfectly compliments his personality.
9. He's happy. This little boy is the most cheerful kid you'll meet in your life. He smiles and laughs all the time, and it is completely infectious!
8. He's entertaining. Whether he's pinching our toes under the table at Sunday dinner, or patiently explaining how to play the Lego Indiana Jones game, his energy level is always at a 10.
7. His opinions. My family is always surprised at G's thoughts on whatever is going on at the moment. Once, he answered a phone call from my brother Aaron in Washington D.C. The G-unit was aware Aaron's birthday was coming up, and asked what presents Aaron wanted. Aaron said he just wanted my parents to pay for Aaron to come home for Christmas. G replied, "Oh Aaron... that's not a good gift." The best part was his pittying tone! He sounded very much like Aaron had a lot to learn.
6. He is a fan of Star Wars. Truely his father's son, and it's something I have in common with him! This is not to say he's seen any of the movies in their entirety, since they are somewhat violent, but apparently Adam has told him and shown him all G needs to know. I love to watch him fight lightsaber duels. Since we have four (one red, blue, green, and purple) they can get pretty intense. For awhile, one of his favorite activities was to have David play "The Imperial March" (the Darth Vader theme) on the piano, while the rest of us marched around. Heaven help up -- we indulged him!
5. His lower lip. When G is upset or hurt, his lower lip sticks out when he cries. I know it's mean of me, but I always laugh (empathetically, of course). It's so cute!
4. The G-unit loves a villain. For some reason, his favorite character when Adam describes movies like Star Wars is the bad guy. Whenever he playacts, he's always the bad guy. This kid already recognizes that the bad guy in a story has the most fun, and that if the villain isn't believable the story is lame. Smart kid!
3. His excitement. I felt very lucky to accompany G (and the rest of our family) on his first trip to Disneyland. You never saw a kid so thrilled -- and yet shy -- when he finally met Mickey Mouse and Woody from Toy Story.
2. His compassion. G truely cares about the people he loves. Mom told me about a conversation she had with him, where G asked who lived with Aaron and I. Aaron and I both have our own apartments, so Mom told him we live alone. G was horrified. No kids? No husband or wife? No Mommy or Daddy? He was very, very worried about us being lonely, which I think is about the most adorable thing ever. Thank you for your love, Buddy!
1. He has brought out the best in his parents, grandparents, aunt, and uncles.
The G-unit is really the best first grandkid my family could have asked for. He has been the center of all of our lives for the last almost-five years, and we have had a LOT of fun. It's been great to see how we all interact with him. We all like to play with him, learn who he saw and what he did on any given day, and watch whatever he's going to do next.

It's definitely going to be a big change for the family when the twins come. Fortunately, they'll be small at first, and G is usually okay with playing with one person at a time at Grammy's house, so hopefully it won't change too much too fast. It's exciting! We'll have girls! Thank you, Adam and Lindsey, for evening the odds a little bit!

I don't know how they do it

I don't know how to be sick for an extended period of time.

Let me back up. I have worked 9 out of the last 13 days, two of them from home, and been to the doctor twice. Since we just finished the big release at work we have a little "down time" to work on other projects, my boss had no qualms about sending me home early to take care of my health. She'd wanted me to take a vacation anyway, and though I would prefer to take a FUN vacation, I appreciate her support. Even so, I HATE calling in sick to work, and have never taken off so many days in such a short period of time. Not only did I get bored, but I felt extremely guilty for not being at work, and worried about what everyone else was doing without me, though, oddly enough, I wasn't worried about losing my job. I just don't like knowing that everyone is working hard but me!

My doctor who I love is leaving her practice, so I have to find a new one. Curses! In the meantime, I went to the same InstaCare "doc in a box" (Candice, my mom totally laughed when I called her that) that I saw last summer, and she said that I had yet another sinus infection. Since it was my third since June, she gave me stronger antibiotics.

A few days later, those symptoms seemed to be clearing, but I was getting massive headaches! Sheesh. I tried to go back to work anyway, but Beth sent me home again. I didn't want to see the doc in a box again, so I called my doctor for a referral, and saw a new doctor. I don't like her, yet. She just stared at me when I described my symptoms, and I started to worry she thought I was lying or wasn't sick enough, so then I started talking really fast and saying everything in my head. I am sure I came off as a total ditz, as opposed to my normal partially ditzy state. I think the headaches may be related to the huge, painful knots in my shoulders.

Annoyed with Western medicene, I decided I was time to call up the acupuncturist I had recommended to me a few months ago. I called this morning and made an appointment for this afternoon. The Dr. reviewed my symptoms, and then opened up his book (which was all written in Chinese) and pointed to two words he had handwritten into the book: Cervical spondylosis. Apparently, the shoulder and neck pain is a result of a pinched nerve in the top of my spine, and it has caused my backbone to go a bit out of wack. The Dr. was really surprised that a person as young as I was in such bad shape. The headache may or may not be related. He started doing chiropractic cracking, and then had me lay facedown on the table and he put needles in my neck, head, and hands. I'm not gonna lie -- the ones on the top of my head REALLY hurt! And the ones in the back of my head were painful if I tried to lift my head. But, it was about what I'd expected. What I didn't expect was for the Dr. to start an electric current through all the needles! So, I felt this warm buzzing pulse go through my body. I lay there for 15 minutes. It actually wasn't so bad for the first 14 minutes. If I didn't have such a good feel for the passage of time I might have freaked out. Fortunately, just as I was really starting to panic the timer went off, the current stopped, and the Dr. took all the needles out. It was weird! Then he gave me an awesome massage, cracked some more parts of my spine, and I was done... with the first session. So, I'll go every other day for nine more sessions, and then my spine should be right as rain.

Like I said, I don't know how to be sick. I don't know that I was particularly grumpy, but I sure did feel sorry for myself, in a spoiled, priviliged way. Then I started thinking about people who can't take time off for financial reasons, or who in the turn of the 20th century would loose their jobs if they didn't show up for any reason and still had to work 12 hour shifts, or slaves. I am so blessed I can stay home when I'm sick, but how horrible if I didn't have that option? No wonder people died when they couldn't take time to rest and worked with other sick people sharing their diseases in close quarters and unsanitary conditions. It's horrible! I am so lucky I live now and that my boss and coworkers are so good to me!

Likewise, I don't know how people who are sick for months or years do it! Sitting in bed, feeling crappy, having doctors who may or may not be able to diagnose you, treating you with medicenes that may or may not have the desired effect. I can't imagine how frustrating and lonely that would be. I know several people who are dealing with major illnesses right now. I am grateful that their friends and families are taking such good care of them, and for the miracles of modern medicene. I am praying for you!

25 Random Things About Me

I've been tagged! Thanks Carly! I needed an excuse to blog.

1. If given more than 1 crisp, newish dollar bill at a time, I smell them. New money smells good!
2. I like crunchy stuff in my food, such as banana bread with walnuts, chinese chicken salad with water chesnuts, or a subway sandwich with raw green peppers.
3. I was only able to stand straightening my hair for 18 consecutive days.
4. I have been to Disneyland twice in the last three years, and both times it was during the holidays.
5. I originally got contacts because I wanted to be able to see people on the other side of the stage. And because I wanted to feel pretty when I got married. This is now moot, since I had LASIK last year.
6. When taking tests in the testing center at BYU, I sat in the music room as much as possible.
7. I bought brown, flat boots last month -- it was the first footwear purchase I've made in a year. They were half off and soo cute!
8. I used to draw princesses a lot, usually in the inside covers of my coloring books.
9. If I'm really bummed, I lay down on the floor.
10. One of my favorite lines from the t.v. show Friends is "Remember when your mom used to drop you off with a jar of jam and a spoon?" Hee hee! Gets me every time!
11. When I was 13, I thought it would be cool to have three ear piercings, so I could wear a fork, a spoon, and a knife earring.
12. I didn't buy a BYU sweatshirt until three years after I'd graduated.
13. The second best pick-up line I ever heard was when Michelle and I were walking down the street. A guy driving past shouted "Hey, are you LDS?" Michelle shouted back "Yes!" and the guy said, "Me too! Get in the car!" We didn't, but I thought it was hilarious.
14. I have never broken a bone in my body... or anyone elses.
15. I own two copies of the Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style." One is a paperback I bought for an editing class, and the other is a hardbound version with gorgeous illustrations I bought at Anthropologie.
16. I had my CTR ring for almost exactly 10 years before I lost it. That's my personal best!
17. I am lousy at eye make-up. I pretty much have to have someone teach me to do it for every show I'm in.
18. I firmly believe that any food can be improved by either garlic or chocolate (probably not both, though).
19. I still make wishes on the first evening star.
20. I have a habit of immediately locking the car door when I get in. This stems from my living downtown and being afraid that random people would open the door and get in at traffic lights...
21. I considered buying one of those big metal pencil sharpeners we had in elementary school for my apartment.
22. I don't like sleeping with socks on.
23. In 7th grade, a girl in my gym class decided she hated me -- I don't know why. One day she and her big, mean friends threatened to beat me up. I told her I didn't want to fight her, but to go ahead and punch me. She mocked me, but didn't hit me. After that we were friends. Go figure!
24. I like cinnamon-flavored gum, but not cinnamon bears.
25. For some reason, I sometimes have difficulty cutting meat. I've been known to catapult it across the room accidently...

I now tag Stephanie Maag, Mandee Lue, Laren, and Sarah Rogers. Have fun!

Too much TV!

Okay, so, I think it's become apparent that I love television. Well, "love" is a strong word. But, I do very much enjoy many programs on the television. And in the last few months, since I've had my very own DVR I don't have to share with my parents and brother, my recording and watch has gotten more or less out of control. Each day, I check the guide for the shows I might want to watch two weeks from tomorrow (the furthest amount of time ahead that DVR tells me what's going to be on). It's too the point that there are some days I have, like, 14 hours of programming anticipated for any one day... and since I have the cheapest DVR package available, that means I can MAYBE go 3 days before I have to start deleting things, because, as Laren and I discovered, if my DVR gets full, it simply WON'T record anymore, no matter how many times I tell it to record over the old stuff in those instances. (I'm sorry again, Laren!) It doesn't help that many of my favorite t.v. shows are on ABC, who insist on starting their shows 4 minutes before the hour, forcing me to record the show before the one I actually want so I don't miss the beginning. It's so ANNOYING!!

Anyhow, I have recognized that I have a problem. And I've decided that I don't necessarily need to see all the old Doris Day movies on AMC, or reruns of Desperate Housewives. I don't want to spend all of my evenings and Saturdays trying to catch up and delete frivolity such as those. No, no, must save my time for original episodes, and seeing my friends, and getting my condo ready for company, and sorting through bills, and going on dates, and actually doing some fun reading, and sleeping, and so forth.

So, I went through and removed anything that wasn't a new episode... except the Friends reruns. I feel so free! I know that getting rid of the television altogether would give me MUCH more time, and a couple extra dollars, but I'm afraid I'm not quite ready to do that yet...

Meanwhile, is anyone else watching LOST?!!! It's so good!! I am thrilled that it's back for a new season! I missed Sawyer and Desmond and Sun and Said and Juliet and Ben and Kate and Locke (who is finally awesome again)... I shouted "Yaaaaaaaaaay!" multiple times during tonight's episode!