What am I writing about?

I was looking at the map and looking through all the cities that I may possibly want to live in someday. (continuation of the daydream from yesterday) And I realized something: all the places I want to live are in blue states (DC, Chicago, SF & SD), and all the places I'd hate to live (Nebraska/Mississippi anybody?) are in red states. Coincidence? I think not.

One thing for sure is that I'm never living in Texas. NEVER. It's not just because of Bush, as I did prefer Papa Bush over Bill. For some odd reason, all the people with whom I've had negative relationships -- evil boyfriends from hell, devious members of the extended family, among other people. I don't know why, but all either have lived in Texas (not temporarily, either -- most have spent at least a decade living in Texas) or currently reside in Texas. I think it's just that the damned state is hot as HELL, and therefore producing people with a hellish nature.

One dude I knew way back was from Texas. He was an okay person, but he was a druggie. He lied, he stood me up, he disappeared, he came back, then disappeared again, and then showed up again later, and lied some more and disappeared again. Drugs are evil people. Just say no.

Another guy I was introduced to by a mutual friend, ended up dumping me to marry another woman. YAY. Currently resides in Dallas with his lovely wife. He literally got married less than half a year of dumping yours truly.

Then I have some evil family members (I cannot believe I am related to them) who gives less shit than my cat poos in a day about me. So TEXAS, you'll never have me.

There are other vile people living in Texas of whom I am painfully aware, but I won't talk about them now. Sometimes I kid and say that I banish all my foes to the state of Texas. Come on -- highest rate of capital punishment execution? It's the perfect state to banish people.

I can't even remember what the point I was trying to make today. Maybe I'll feel more sane later.

Found this image on OutOutBlogSpot (see left for link):

And remember that subway image I showed y'all? Well, this one seems to be the original image -- a bit clearer to see:

Show Me the Money

Show me the Money. Or at least, someone give me some money. I just took a look at the list of textbooks required for nursing students -- just this winter alone I'll be spending several hundreds on books. Granted, most of these books will be used throughout the program and probably provide invaluable information for me for many years, the cost is still overwhelming. Thank goodness for credit cards. Just when I was crawling out of debt, I gotta jump back in that quicksand.

I just wish so badly that I could start in the Spring, versus the Fall, but I'm afraid of vocalizing my wish -- I think out of nowhere, somebody will jump out and chide me, "you should be thankful you got in at all!"

Again, I am beginning to plan things. Is it weird that I just love to make plans and lists? I'm obsessed, but it makes me happy. It is a good thing that I get planning right away, because when I finish nursing school, I'll only have an AS degree and I'll need to work on transferring to a 4-yr university to get my bachelors. I think it would be best that I go straight away and get my bachelors, rather than skip school for a few years. Also, I've been in school for sooooooo damn long that it's frightening to think that I'd be away from school for so long, even if just a year.

I've been looking at employment searchings for various areas of the country -- and schools also. If I do succeed (which really isn't a matter of if -- it took me this long to get in, and I'm not going to squander away this chance by failing!) I will have a priceless license in hand -- a RN license, which can get me a job virtually anywhere in the planet (everywhere except the Phillipines, South Africa, who produce more nurses than they need, and developing countries). I've picked some places I want to live. I have a feeling that I'd be in SoCal forever and ever, but it's nice to think that I have options.

My first choice would be Washington DC. I was browsing on-line and came across a blog that had the image left as a main image. Immediately I became SO nostalgic for DC! Can you get so nostalgic for a city you've only spent a few days in? It's hard to see what it is, but you can click on it to see a larger version. It's the train station. Or is it subway? It is underground, and it's kind of eerie, lit dimly with fluorsecent lights. It is kind of a barrel vault archway, but it has rectangular depressions all over the surface of the ceiling, and it's an enormous space. It has been years since I took public transportation, and more than a decade since I took a subway, and it was pretty exciting. I was so enchanted by the whole area of the station, and I completely forgot to take photos of it. But I loved the city. It's beautiful! I would love to live there for a few years. And I've got my cousin there too.

Second choice would be San Francisco/Bay area. It's a lovely area. What more can I say? And it's got a bunch of good nursing schools where I can complete advanced nursing degrees if I choose to. It's still California, and the weather's probably as nice as it is down here.

Third would be Chicago, IL. Snow. What else can I say? I also have family in Schaumberg, so I won't be too lonely. And I can always watch horror movies with Zarina (if she's still in the area when I finish nursing school, which seems EONS away)! =) And there's a giant lake, if you haven't heard. And ponds all over the place -- even Schaumberg, where my auntie and uncle lives, has a pond per block! I'm sure that makes for a humid summer, but I don't plan to live there forever -- I can deal. And THERE'S SNOW! Did I say that already? After 14 years of sunny Christmas (vs White Christmas), I think I deserve a white one.

The fourth is a tie between San Diego and Seattle. They both seem like lovely cities with much views to offer. I don't know too much about the cities to decide.

Ok. That was enough fantasizing for now. Whew! It made me pass a good hour dreaming about living in other wonderful places. For the remaining of the workday, I will ponder about backpacking through Europe -- visiting Paris and London, etc. I think I'll love Paris. I speak an extremely miniscule amount of French, and the few phrases I can say are not only useless, I butcher them to unrecognizable pieces. I'll have an exciting time in France indeed. Maybe I'll practice by visiting French-speaking portions of Canada. The Congo came to mind, but I really don't want to get shot anytime soon, so ... Well, it's dream time for me. Bye for now.

Are You There God?

I seem to have proven something. If god exists, then he is a benevolent one, although quite mischievous.

I have good news. I got a letter from the nursing department at my school (already -- I thought it would be next week!). It says,

"Unfortunately, your name did not place very high on the list of students from the enrollment process. However, I would like to offer an alternative option to you. At the start of each term we admit several students as alternates. These students register for and complete Winter Session nursing classes ... IF the alternate is successful with these classes and IF, due to attrition of regularly admitted students, there are seats available, the alternate is able to progress as a regular student into Spring Session classes [...] IF the alternate is successful, but there are no seats available at the time, he or she is guaranteed admission with the next class (Fall 2005)."

Well, I think that explains it all. It isn't the best thing that could have happened (I could have gotten in straight without the mess of being an alternate) but I am guaranteed a spot for the Fall semester, so with almost 100% certainty, I will graduate in either two years or two and half years maximum. Of course I've already pondered all the possible bad things that can happen. Actually, at this point, there aren't too many, but if my visa application is rejected/denied, then I can possibly face deportation and all that good stuff. Good times, I tell you. Talk about worrying. But among factors that I have some control over, there isn't much. I am almost as happy as I was when I first got that CSULA (humph!) letter, but I'm trying to keep the excitement down. I did hug my mom about three times.

So yay. Yay. YAY. YAY. YAY!!

I am going to be a nurse, and I'm going to apply for a green card and get a well-paying job, and I'll probably be able to vote in the 2016 presidential election (I will be 36 years old then, but I'll lie about my age and pretend that I'm 26 or something) and I'll become a citizen and be able to visit my motherland (Korea) and see my dad for the first time in a decade and maybe even accomplish that long lost dream of back-packing through Europe, and get my bachelor's degree and go on to graduate school before my hair starts graying, and I'll get to buy the pretty house in the suburbs/country that I always wanted to buy for my mother and get a car that I actually like (not something that was defaulted onto me) and become famous and be really well-educated and perhaps be the first member of my family on either side to go to graduate school and never ever have to worry about immigration ever again and never ever ever ever EVER EVER work in a cell phone store again and be eternally happy forever and ever (redundant?) and ever after. Talk about rambling.

....yay!

Where can a girl get a drink at 10 AM?

I hate to start talking about politics again, but I have to. I saw parts of the concession speech as well as the Bush speech in class this morning. Kerry's speech was eloquent as usual -- flawlessly executed, and obviously well-rehearsed. Bush, obviously hadn't memorized the thing and was stuttering in parts as usual. Geez. There was also some sort of blooper thing on MSNBC where funny bits from each campaigns were shown. Politicians are funny.

I'm glad we get so much exposure to politics in class, but the instructor is so clearly biased, it's not funny at all. He's an obvious liberal, and constantly "teaches" things that have an obvious liberal twist. Now, I'm no fan of Bush, but I want a good well-rounded education -- not an instructor who's going to teach us of his political view point and pass it off as being neutral. I am so angered everytime he makes such a comment -- he goes out of his way to disprove that there is a liberal bias in the media, and that Ann Coulter is wrong. I just roll my eyes and pray that the hour passes quickly and painlessly.

In other personal news: I can't write a novel. It's just too hard, and I'm not meant to write a novel, and I can't even write a crappy one. I sat there for about half an hour for some inspiration to strike, and NOTHING. I'm trying to write about things that are familiar to me -- being woman, being a twenty-something, being a student, etc. But obviously I really don't know anything about being me. Fourth day into the month, and I have 400 words. Wow. 46000 words more to go! I don't think I'll ever have a novel -- a short story at best, and even that won't be any good. I'm beginning to feel that I was not meant to write fiction. Either that, or I've been spending too much living inside a box that I can't think outside of that box.

Living life in the real world is like living in a cube. (I thought of this while watching the Simpsons last night, when Homer goes 3D in one of their Treehouse of Horror episodes.) You have to meet all the corners and stay within bounds to survive. You have to conform. Do the 9-5 or 10-7 (in my case) and get a degree. You have to make money and write checks to pay the bills, and never spend over your budget. You have to eat a certain amount and physically move a certain amount and watch some TV and etc. You have to live like you're programmed! And I've been doing that for so long, all creativity is drained out from me. When was the last time I drew something? Last time I painted (I am the most horrible painter, by the way)? When was the last time I danced in my room half-naked and freaked out my cat? I've cast out creativity from my life and I'll never write my crappy novel. November isn't really an inspiring month. It seems like a bad idea to procrastinate writing 50000 words -- it's not like I can write that many words over ThanksGiving! Quitting promptly might be the most gracious way to exit. I don't know. I mean, I've got a great working title (secret for now) and a great opening.

Of course I'm not feeling creative. How can one feel creative when a statistic exam looms next week, as well as a political science exam, and the nursing department's letter next week? I've got too much on my plate. I can't take 15 units of school and work 35 hours a week and write a novel. It's just not possible. One classmate asked (when I told her I work nearly full time and take 15 units), "so when do you sleep?" And I thought about it, and it was weird. I'm sleepy almost all the time, and yawning throughout the day. Sure I spend a good chunk of hours sleeping, but am I ever rested? I'm always so tense.

I've got this knot in my shoulders that I've had for years now. They just don't go away. I'm always standing on my toes, because I have to be on standby. It's like... like I'm juggling, and every so often, someone throws in another ball for me to juggle, and if I miss a beat, I'll drop everything. I guess you could say that I began juggling when I turned 18, and each year I get another ball added in to my juggling act. There's one ball I've managed to drop and let go (for the sake of preserving all else in my life) and that's probably dating. When was the last time I had a boyfriend? It's a shame that I can keep a blog longer than I can keep any man. Not that this fact says anything about me, just that it's not a time for romance. Romance needs time. I don't have much time. I'M BUSY.

I'll admit it. I'm busy. How much time are you supposed to devote to "fun/leisure" activities? I have no time for fun/leisure, so I make school my "fun/leisure" activity. That's how bad the situation is. And the little time I have left, I spend watching DVD's on my couch, and perhaps that is my only time "off."

This morning, I gave myself the dreaded pep talk. It's a heightened level of pep talk, kind of like a drill sargent's speech, actually. I woke up late -- hence I was late for class. While sitting in the car, I yelled at myself that if I can't manage to make it on time to an 8:30 AM class (which isn't even that early!) then I can't do crap in life. I've already accepted the fact that my life is full of adversaries and rough terrains. The secondary steps to follow is that if I understand the turmoils of my life and accept it, and if I still want to overcome all of it to achieve greatness, I'm going to have to do more work and work harder. And I haven't quite gotten to that step yet, I guess.

I need to get up earlier. I need to exercise more (I've got a poochie belly and I'm exercising about once every two months and it's taking a toll on my health) and read more. I mean, some people get up at 5 AM, run two, three miles, read the paper and have breakfast and still make it to work on time. Me? I roll off my bed much later than 5AM (I wake up late -- at an hour almost embarrassing to reveal) and barely wipe off the eye-crusties and brush my teeth before heading out the door to work. I read the paper at the end of the day, and that's something I was taught to be useless. By the end of the day, so much has already happened and yesterday's news are totally worthless. That's my father's view, anyway, and I've come to accept it. There's reason why the paper comes so early in the morning and not at 3 in the afternoon through the post man.

So I yelled at myself. Either expect to work harder and be tougher (i.e. not give into pressing that snooze button) or be content with the current status quo of my life (i.e. the status of being absolutely nothing). I'm not about to opt for the latter. So "work harder" it is.

After that pep talk, I'm going to need a drink. I don't care if it's before noon. Man, I can't believe I have to step into statistics class in 10 minutes. You don't suppose that the school has a full-service bar, do you? I could really go for a bloody mary, with an extra dash of Tobasco and an extra shot of vodka. (Homer Simpson impersonation) Mmmmmm~~~ numbing myself with alcohol~~~~ Mmmmm~~~

Moving On...

I signed up for Blogexplosion.com. It's simple -- it gives you more blogs to look at, and it exposes your blog to a bigger audience. And I must have gone through about 30-40 or so blogs today. (You have to spend a minimum of 30 seconds per blog.) And most of them, and I mean most of them (approximately 70-80%) had posts about the election. Bush this, Kerry that. And I've decided that I don't want to be blogging about the same thing that everyone else is blogging already. So I'm moving on.

There's a whole slew of movies I'm eager to see. The upcoming holiday season (oh jolly, it's the holidays again ((note: sarcasm -- I hate the holidays))) has plenty of movies to offer for movie-watchers. There's Alexander -- the great Macedonian King. Colin Farrel (Or feral, which suits him) plays Alex, and Angelina Jolie his mother, and it just sounds like a good movie that could actually be totally botched. Oh wait. I'm supposed to be talking about good movies that I want to see. Ok. Point noted. Moving on.

The Incredibles. Whenever I see a commercial for this film, I always read to myself in a rather stout voice, "Los increh-EE-blehs!" as if it were Spanish for some reason. It sounds much better than the incredibles. But I love all of Pixar's stuff, and I'm so sad that they're splitting with Disney -- it just seemed like a magical combination, but we'll see.

Alfie. I honestly haven't heard too much about the film, but I love Jude Law. Isn't he a doll? So gorgeous. Excuse me while I wipe my saliva off my keyboard! But you could just stare at him and drool for hours. His facial structure must have been chiseled in by some marvelous sculptor. He's beautiful. It's men like Jude Law that makes me feel like a teenager again, as I clasp my hands toward my heart and fall into bed whimpering, "oh my god I love him so!" I am quite level headed most of the time, but sometimes I just let my conscience go. I think it keeps me sane to go berserk once in a while.

What woman doesn't like Bridget Jones? I love most that Bridget weighs a good healthy 20 lbs more than the meagre figure of Renee. She's the woman who vocalized granny-pants -- I mean, women have granny undergarments for a reason! Many reasons, in fact: for one thing, they're awfully comfortable; secondly, they hold everything in so well; and they're definitely warmer in winter -- beats wearing thongs! I think until Bridget Jones' Diary, women were afraid of admitting that they had granny underwear. Women out there! Boldly declare your undergarments! I don't know about all you skinny bitches out there (am I allowed to say that?) but no skimpy lacy thing from Victoria's Secret is going to hold up everything in place impeccably -- at least not on my "fat" day. The gal formerly known as my best friend didn't own any pair of underwear that wasn't fashionable. But she was my height 5'6" and less than 120 lbs (in the vicinity of 115) so there wasn't much to hold in place. Perhaps this is just womenspeak, but thongs are not the greatest 100% of the time. One word -- wedgie. Yowzah.

And who doesn't like Tom Hanks. I love Tom Hanks. If I was willing to marry, it would be to marry him. Or at least someone like him. He's such a .... everyday man, but has extraordinary charisma. And he seems like a sweetie pie. Or at least his roles make us believe it. I loved him since "Bosom Buddies." Anyone remember that? The only film I didn't like with Hanks is "Saving Private Ryan." I remember that film. I watched with a boy -- a boy I had the biggest crush on when I was 18. He loved the film and a lot of other people did too, but I just didn't get what the whole deal was. I spent 3 hours watching a single man get rescued..? War makes no sense to me at all. And it didn't help that the boy dumped me even before we got to know each other well. Is that possible at all? To dump someone before even knowing them? Basically, as we got closer and hung out more often and spent night after night talking on AIM, he laid down the law. He said that he wanted to date someone who shared his same beliefs, namely God. That wouldn't be the first time God came in the way of my budding relationships, but I didn't know it then. Even my friends couldn't break it to me. He liked me (or he didn't dislike me, whichever) but he liked god more, obviously. Pity. I was depressed for eons. He went on to law school and dated some gal in Stockton and he drove back and forth to see her, and my heart was broken into smithereens and let's get back to movies because I'm obviously blabbering on and on and digressing big time. I just can't seem to focus on anything these days.

I definitely want to see "The Grudge." No photos -- I think everyone saw enough of that little boy anyway. Since I saw the Japanese version, I would like to see the US version and give a nice compare and contrast entry for my blog. But yanno, you just can't go see that kind of movie by yourself. When I realized that I'd hate men forever be single for a very long time, I told myself that I must be independent. That is, of course, not to say that I leeched off of men, but simply that I must learn how to entertain myself. Not have to wait for a man to take me to the movies to watch a movie. And a few times, I've actually seen some movies, all by my lonesome in theatres. It's a horribly courageous thing to do, I think. But a horror movie, I definitely have to see it with someone, man or woman. It's a horror movie. You're supposed to enjoy the thrill and the horror. Not literally get scared senseless and walk out alone from the theatre and run to the car in fear. Well, I digress again, but under current circumstances, I may have to resort to waiting it to come out on DVD.

I also saw the commercial for "Saw." I don't know what it is, but it seems alright. Came out on Halloween, and featured screaming people. Nice. Again, this may have to wait until it comes out on DVD.

You know what? I just realized that I am utterly, utterly lonely! It's gotten worse and worse since my bestfriend went MIA/AWOL/disappeared into thin air. Most of my friends have paired up and are awfully busy with husbands and boyfriends and girlfriends and babies and businesses. Maybe I'll make like Geppetto and carve a figure out of wood and... oh never mind.

Bush Wins

Re-entered on Blogger due to technical difficulties:

I know I just posted about three minutes ago, but I just got this in! Very close, and exciting, all the way to the finish line. ---------------------------- Originally blogged at 8:30 AM November 3, 2004

It's Not Over Until the Fat Lady Sings

"The legal equivalent of the Bat Signal has just gone up from Cleveland," writes Keith Olbermann. "The Kerry Campaign isn't going to concede until the last lawyer is spent in Ohio."

Well, it seems like Bush has all but declared victory. I've actually gotten up early and retrieved the paper (before neighbor gets a swipe at it) and scanned it. Frontpage in large letters, "Ohio Up for Grabs; Bush Has Slim Lead" and below it in slightly smaller letters, "In heavy turnout, California OKs stem cell initiative." I suppose we all win some and then lose some.

The voters who voted in California yesterday know, that if all they followed were the presidential campaign, they were not qualified to cast a vote on the plethora of other propositions and measures slammed in their face on the ballot. Proposition 66 (the repealing of The Three Strikes Law) did not pass; Three Strikes still hold. Stem Cell research, as stated in the LA Times, did pass in California. And in 11 other states, gay marriage is now banned! So election time is not only to vote for the guys in office, but also some of the actual laws that affect the citizens and the residents and the aliens (let's not forget the aliens, hmmm?).

Blogger is currently doing something weird -- the sign-in page seems to have been altered/re-designed, and as everytime they do this, the pages are not loading, so I am attempting to e-mail this post in, and who knows how long that takes/if it gets posted at all. So let me give the actual time of blogging: Currently 8:23 AM on November 3, 2004.

Insert Jeopardy Theme Song Here

Oh my. Ohio may decide the outcome of election 2004. Wow. Is this really true democracy at work here? It is so darn close, and the day is almost over (the day is already over in most of the country!). It looks like the GOP is a majority in the Senate again. Bush is likely to win, but Ohio seems to be the iffy case.

I barely got through class because I was so anxious to see who'd win, although I knew that no answer would be available anytime soon. Most of my classmates ran out during break and got updates with the numbers hot off the press (so to speak). I have a gut feeling that Bush will win but again with a small margin -- I don't think we'll have the same fiasco as we did in 2000. But if Ohio is the new Florida, I honestly don't know. But it is a shame that we have to put on another charade for the world to laugh at. The good thing is, I think a lot of people learned a lesson from 2000 -- a definitely higher voter turnout and record number of new registrants. How I wish I were one. This is what the election looks like now (from Yahoo!):

If you count the electoral votes from each swing state that's still swingin' you'd realize that Ohio becomes a crucial state -- it has the highest number of electoral votes among the states that are left in election limbo.

The election comes to me at a time that I am studying Shakespearean history plays, namley, Richard III and Henry V. I have a research paper regarding Shakespeare's Richard III, in which I have to compare him to another person in history with comparable merits and vile cruelty. So far, I've got Brutus (you know, et tu Brute), and Nero, and possibly Bloody Mary. It doesn't have to be a King/Queen/Emperor/Empress, but any sort of person who gained a position of power by doing evil deeds (like Richard III who killed his brothers and nephews to get to the throne). If anyone has a suggestion, I'd appreciate it! But it's also important to note that history repeats itself, and while Shakespeare has dramatized Richard III in his play for obvious reasons, characters like Richard III are abundant in history. Hitler, is an obvious one, as well as Stalin, and Hussein. (I am trying to stay away from the too obvious/popular choices in my own paper.)

Anyone who knows me also knows that I am a sucker for the Romans and Greeks. Their art, their architectures, their gods, their mythology, their history, their generals and wars and empires -- I just love it. Of course, it isn't something I've been studying all my life. It seems as though there's always something new to learn. Last semester, I had the opportunity to take art history and learn all about prehistoric to middle ages art, which included a large chunk of Greek and Roman art. I loved the stuff so much, it felt weird to get a grade for it! I needed no other reward than the actual learning.

I am also learning, with great fascination, English history. I've had the opportunity to learn so much about the monarchs -- I'm almost down to learning who each were and who are children of whom and what family and what order and so on. English courses I've concentrated on so far only go up to the Restoration period, so after that point I am a bit hazy, but I'm pretty well-learned from William the Conqueror to about Charles II. And the history of the English crown is so juicy, you wouldn't believe it. It's better than reading the tabloids (and guilt-free too!). What I really don't like in history are wars and battles. I recall learning the Civil War (US) battle sites in my history classes, and who won which battle, and that was just a bore! Clearly, wars are of no interest to me.

My English professor tonight went waaaaaay off on a tangent from discussing Henry V, and talked on and on about other things. One of them was the story of how he met his wife. My English professor is 62 years of age, and is both a US citizen and a English royal subject. He spent his childhood and youth, it seems, in England and went to college in the states. He met his wife in Paris during the intermission of an opera when he was 18, and she, 17. He told us the lovely and romantic story of how they met and married, and it was just the sweetest story I've heard (in real life)! It would do no justice to yap on and on about it on my blog -- I'd have to take more care to re-tell that story, but it just isn't something you see these days. Maybe I'll incorporate it into the novel. Ha. Some people are living proofs that romance exists. For me, romance, much like the Holy Grail, is something I constantly seek after, but never find. So it seems. I read in The Da Vinci Code that you don't find the Holy Grail; the Holy Grail finds you. Perhaps the same goes for romance. (It better find me soon, cuz I'm losin' my patience here.)

Welcome Back, Computer

Welcome back computer. How I have missed thee. I am blogging from my very own computer, now fully functional! (Hopefully, at least for the time being anyways...)

It's the Most Wonderful Time...

Ok. The title's meant as sarcasm. But isn't it kind of exciting to be faced with the possibility that we may have a new guy in the White House, albeit still a "guy" and still a Yalie? In the 2000 election, I actually liked Bush more than Gore -- I didn't like Gore at all. He didn't seem quite intelligent, and while it's hard to say whose Southern twang made them sound more intelligent, or less stupid (not to offend anyone with a Southern drawl -- they're quite lovely, but these two dudes just sounded redneck), when push came to shove, I would have chosen Bush.

And I was even more split and confused in 1992 -- I didn't like Clinton. He was definitely a redneck -- I mean, literally, his neck was red! And there was something about him that I just didn't like -- I liked his wife, but I just didn't like Bill. And I was right for disliking him. I know everyone talks about the reducing of the national debt and what not when they speak of Bill Clinton's presidency, but all I recall is that his presidency was one of scandals -- scandals that out-scandalled any scandal Tinseltown could ever concoct. I do believe that he had a rather tough time with the whole Lewinsky thing, and that it was a matter of privacy that shouldn't have been opened to the whole world, but he did what he did. He also knew what he was doing, and he did at the most important time of his life, when he was the top guy, leading a nation. That's just undermining the people, if you ask me. But I'm digressing.

This year, I am really, really, liking Kerry, more so than I usually like politicians anyway. I've grown to actually like politicians, not all, but a few -- perhaps I am growing more optimistic. It used to be that I thought all politicians were evil and the devil incarnate and whatnot. But so far, I found that I like Feinstein and Boxer (not so much as politicians, but as women leaders), I even like Ah-nold a little bit (it's not to say that I agree with the things he do, but just pleasantly surprised that he's actually doing a governor's job -- whether it is a better job than Davis or his predecessors, I don't know yet), and I like Kerry. I like Edwards too. Oh wait. Am I forgetting that I can't vote?

Yes, well, even if I can't vote, I can still watch the election coverage as it unravels before the nation's eyes. Let's see: CBS has "Election 2004" all evening, NBC has "Decision 2004: Election Night" and ABC's got "Vote 2004" and Fox has "You Decide 2004" and KCAL has "KCAL News" scheduled all evening, which I can only guess that it would be election coverage. Wow. The WB is resolute in their programming -- they are still showing "Gilmore Girls" and "One Tree Hill" and the rest of their regularly scheduled programming.

I've got class tonight, and since this class was cancelled last week, I doubt we'll be released early. Perhaps by the time I get out of class, the world would know. Or perhaps, in another couple of days -- give or take a month. (That's my sense of humor for y'all)

In other news -- more personal news -- the fan has arrived. What fan, you ask? Well, it's highly unlikely that I'd buy a fan (just as November starts!). The fan on my computer was not spinning, and it was causing my computer to over-heat. That's the culprit behind the funky smell coming from my room whenever my computer was on. My brother says that there could possibly be damage to the computer itself because of the over-heating (i.e. physical melt-down) but we're replacing the fan first and seeing how it goes. I hope my computer hasn't melted. Goodness, I hope not. But the fan is here and soon as it is installed, I'll know if I can have my old computer back. And I'll take better care of it -- and dust it once in a while. You wouldn't believe the amount of dust there was inside!

And the laser printer I ordered is coming today. UPS delivery. Yay!

I had to skip a lot of classes lately -- once I took a personal day (if schools allow their students personal days...) and took some time recuperating from the mess that shall forever be known as CSULA. Then I missed two more classes when I had to go to the nursing program's information session (by the way, they'll be sending out acceptance/rejection letters this Friday -- a girl can hope, can't she?) and stuff like that. So I've got a lot of absenses totalling up this month -- I better stay focused. I really don't think I can manage a 4.0 this semester -- the stress is a bit heavier, and I'm taking un-fun classes! I'm hoping for about a 3.5 or so. Sounds reasonable to me anyway.

But the important thing is that the letters from my current school's nursing program will be in my mailbox sometime next week. Perhaps that's even more exciting than who wins tonight's election! I mean, it influences my life like nothing else!

As you can see on the left, I have taken up the challenge of writing 50,000 words in one month. I just wish it could be non-fiction, because then I can go on and on, and I can probably write 50,000 a month! Fiction somehow seems harder. I had a start yesterday, and wrote about 300 words, and went blank. NOT a good sign. I should be averaging about 1667 words a day! Even if I only make it half way, or a third of the way, I'm going to be optimistic; it is indeed a challenge, and it is a good way to exercise my brain and writing skills in attempting to do something I've never done before. Some people go bungy jumping; I'll write a novel (even if it's a crappy one) in a month.

Will We Know Tomorrow?

Will We Know Tomorrow?

Hear it from the Expert

Yahoo's Really Scary Movie Guide which features 25 of their selected horror films, is absolutely flawed. It's compiled by people who just doesn't get it! Well, in the spirit of Halloween, I have come up with a few additions on my own -- actually, let's go for the whole list of 25.

I can't believe some movies didn't make the cut! There are a few that deserve to be on the list, but then there are some, like "The Evil Dead" that are just ridiculous excuses for a horror movie.

Here, in no particular order (for me to rank each film based on my rating would take ages -- I'd have to re-watch all of'em and do serious research! So in no particular order it is) are my personal list of 25 horror/scary movies, recommended, not for the faint of heart.

These are the ones that were already on Yahoo!'s list: The Silence of the Lambs Psycho (the original, not the one with Anne Heche, and not to be confused with "The American Psychos" part one or two) Halloween The Texas Chain Massacre (both the old and the new versions are excellent screamers) Misery(Ugh, I am just the biggest number one fan!) The Shining The Ring (or Ringu, the Japanese version -- no offense to Naomi Watts, but the US version just doesn't cut it. The Korean version is not bad either) Poultergeist Nightmare on Elm Street (this film just goes to show that you are never safe, not even in your dreams The Exorcist (this has got to be one of the best films ever) Rosemary's Baby (Love Mia Farrow) The Omen (like The Exorcist, this one is an absolute classic, but it is too bad that the sequels don't quite add up) Carrie The Blair Witch Project (This one's kind of iffy -- I left the theatre with a massive headache, and there was really only one or two moments where I felt terrorized -- magnitude of fear wasn't too great) The Thing The Jaws Series (to this day I can't swim in the deep end of the pool) Hellraiser The Birds

So that's 18 from the list that I actually like. Here's seven of my own pickin's (you'll see that I tend to stick with a series of film that just seem to work):

All the Halloween series, not just the first one: You just can't go wrong with a classic that just works and works. Except for Halloween 3 which actually has nothing to do with the rest of the series, they're all brilliant. Each movie ends with a notion that Michael Myers is dead, only to show in the next scene that he's just not quite ready to go. And let's not forget that eerie music. (My current ringtone, by the way) Just LOVE John Carpenter.

Friday the 13th: Jason Voorhee is very much like Michael Myers. You can stab him, shoot him, scratch him, but he just keeps coming back. His weapon of choice is a rather blunt, but polished machete, but he gets by pretty well with axes and knives and stuff like that. He differs from Mike in that he wears a hockey mask, while Mike just likes white foundation/makeup. I wonder how Mike manages to keep his make up so shine free during his slashings.

Of course, along with these, I'd have to add the Nightmare on Elm Street series. These three are probably the big three godfathers of the horror film world. Michael, Jason, and Freddy. Probably sounds like your neighborhood gang of tykes, but no. Ruthless killing machines makes for great entertainment.

Pet Semetary. A Pet Lover's ultimate horror movie. Stephen King wrote it -- what else can one say? It is actually one of the few King novels I've read. And loved. The sequel, not so good, though.

Child's Play: All movies in the Child's Play series are excellent. Chuckie made me fear my stuffed animals. Chuckie made me look under my bed. I can't believe this didn't make it in the top 25 as catagorized by Yahoo. They must be high, not to realize that this closely follows the aforementioned godfathers of the horror film world.

Leprechauns. I know a lot of people don't really like this film, but this is my blog and I LIKE this film. I mean, who would've thunk it? Evil Leprechauns? I love the little guys.

Ju-On. The US version was just released in theatres earlier this month, titled as "The Grudge." I'm judging from the US adaptation of "The Ring" -- I don't think it would do justice to the original. But I'll hold further criticism until I actually see it. But I'm not too excited to see it -- I saw the original and recognized its serene artful-ness in its execution -- I don't know if a US version can live up to the expectations. But the Japanese version is just splendid.

Well, that just about sums it up. I have not included other films currently considered to be classics, like the Evil Dead (1 & 2) and Night of the Living Dead, because they're really really sad movies. I saw the Evil Dead part one just last month, and was laughing so hard that I nearly snorted up the beverage I had been drinking. I mean, the guy (human guy!) just attaches a chain saw onto his newly amputated arm! How is that even possible? And they're just so funny. Dancing trees? Come on. It's a B, or perhaps even a C movie at best. They're in a genre all on their own, just not a horror/scary movie genre. It's not to say that they're not worth seeing -- I think every scary movie fan should watch it, as a measure of humility, to be thankful for the fabulous set of great horror movies we have access to today.

Have a happy Halloween -- but above all, everyone be safe! The ending of Day Light Savings means darkness will fall earlier -- be home early. And don't eat candy with torn/open wrappers. And run if some neighbor drops a bunch of syringes into your trick-of-treat bag. In some states, like VA, people with a record of rape, sexual assault, child molestation, and etc. are required to leave their porch lights off and not to answer the door to trick or treaters. So don't go there! The article didn't say anything about mass murders or devil worshippers though...