Random Musings Of A Xinher

My friend Janice and I have seen all 4 of the Underworld movies together, so naturally, we had to go see Underworld: Awakening together. Unfortunately we had to see it in IMAX 3D. I would’ve preferred just seeing it normal but it wasn’t playing at a time do-able for both of us.

Here’s the thing. I am not a big fan of the whole vampire/werewolf thing. I never got into the Anne Rice novels, I don’t get the love for Twilight, I haven’t watched more than 2 episodes of the show Being Human (UK or US versions). I’m just not interested. But for some reason, I really enjoy the Underworld series of films. I don’t know if it’s the pretty that is Kate Beckinsale or what, but I always have fun watching the movies. This fourth installment wasn’t any different. It was action packed, bloody, and thoroughly entertaining. Did I need to see it in 3D? No, but some of the effects were cool. Overall, I’d say save it for a DVD rental.

1) Do you remember your dreams?
Most of the time, yes. Some of them are pretty mundane though, like I have dreams about going to the grocery store or walking down a street. Nothing to write about, ya know?

2) Do you dream in color or black and white?
It depends on the dream. For the most part, most of my dreams are in color.

3) What is the scariest dream you have had?
I can’t recall because I tend to forget my scary dreams once I’m awake. The feeling from the dreams, though, linger.

4) What is the weirdest dream you have had?
(I had this dream way before I found out about the Afghani women being force to wear burquas. Also, this whole dream was: a) in black and white with the exception of one thing, b) in French, c) set on a foreign planet that was desert like (sort of like Egypt), and d) set in an era that’s reminiscent of the 1940s. Oh, and I wasn’t in it.)

A young girl (probably in her early 20s) gets married to an older man (probably in his mid-to-late 50s) and lives with him and his sister and brother in their mansion. The brother and sister dislike the young girl because if their brother dies without an heir, they get his money. So they scheme to get rid of her without actually killing her. Well, the young girl gets pregnant but the sister and brother convince the older man that his young wife cheated on him so he casts her out of the house. Pregnant and destitute, she wanders around the desert planet for about 6 months and then a virus starts sweeping through the city that originates with women and children. I should stop to mention that the native women of this planet wore bright blue burquas. Anyways, the men of the city get it into their minds that the best way to stop the spread of the virus is to eliminate anyone with the virus, so they put the women and children with the virus on a merry go round type contraption and then the men spin the women and children around, set them on fire and let the women and children burn alive. Well, the young pregnant girl gets the virus and the dream ends with her on the spinning wheel, being burned alive.

5) Have you ever had a dream come true?
No.

For some time, I had been debating either getting a new iPod (either the new Shuffle or the Nano) or getting an e-reader. I read about various readers online and decided against the Kindle. I hadn’t heard good things about the Kindle. Like how you could only download books from Amazon, and how Amazon censored books. I didn’t want to get the Nook either for the same reason. A few people I know had Sony e-readers so I decided that’s the route I was going to go, if I ever decided to stop hemming and hawing and buy one. A few weeks ago, I was having lunch with a friend and we were at an open air mall that had both an Apple Store and a Sony Store. We had gone into the Apple Store to look at possible laptops for my friend for his job and I came thisclose to buying a Nano but I stopped myself. But after we had eaten and then walked around some more, I was seduced by the 3D tv at the Sony store so in we went. Naturally, I wasn’t going to walk out of there with a tv (much less a 3D tv) but I saw the e-reader and it was on sale, so I knew it was fate. I bought it and a cover and was good to go. I’ve been playing around with it and have some books loaded on to it (mostly the free ones). Then I got my library card renewed so that I could start checking out library books. I don’t know why but I thought that any book the library had was available as an e-book, but that’s not actually the case. Libraries only have a limited number of e-media available so there are waiting lists for the classic books too.

Here’s what I have on my e-reader:

• The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katharine Green
• Prey by Michael Chrichton
• Mindbend by Robin Cook
• Witch & Wizard by James Patterson
• A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
• Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
• Dying For Mercy by Mary Jane Clark
• A Maiden’s Grave by Jeffery Deaver

So I bought a Sony e-reader. I haven’t really spent much time futzing with it though. Perhaps this weekend.

I’m alive! I was sick for a few days but after 3 bags of fluids pumped in via IV at Urgent Care and some antibiotics, I’m okay now.

Other than that, I’m just working and enjoying life.

I’m not sure what happened but my Christmas Eve and Day did not go according to plan. I have no idea what happened between Friday and Saturday but it wasn’t pleasant.

I went to bed Friday night, feeling fine. I woke up Saturday morning, not feeling so fine. I got sick while walking Sharky in the morning so I went right back to bed. Thus started a cycle of walking up, getting sick, and going back to sleep. Meanwhile, my stomach is hurting two different ways. Finally, I broke down and took some pain pills that my doctor prescribed the last time I was in the hospital.

That seemed to do the trick because I’m feeling WAY better today. Unfortunately, I didn’t want to push it so I told Nathan no movie for me today. And since he ended up not going to the movies either (the plan was for me to see The Darkest Hour and him to see Mission Impossible 4), we decided to go to lunch instead. So off we went to our annual Chinese food eatery, Joy Feast, for lunch. When we got there, we were the only ones there. About 15 minutes later, though, it started to get a bit more busy. I tried not to overdo it with the food. Just some soup and chicken with string beans. And some hot tea. Very soothing and my stomach doesn’t hurt much.

Right now, I’m back in my pj’s, curled up in bed with the doggie, and watching the L.A. County Holiday Celebration on PBS. Every Christmas Eve, the L.A. County [Somebodys] put on a free concert at the Disney Concert Hall (or Dorthy Chandler Pavillion; I forget exactly which one) and I always think “Aww…that’s a fun thing to do! Next year, I’m going to go.” and then every year, I forget.

Anyways, I hope you and your family have a good holiday season!!

And I am done with Week 4 of my temp job and am off for the holiday. It’s going well so far.

Not much else is going on really. Christmas is coming up so Nathan and I are going to do our normal “movie/Chinese food/Doctor Who” routine.

So I’m on Week 2 of being back in the work force. Don’t get me wrong; I like having a job. But right about now, with it being December and all, I’m sort of wishing that I could’ve waited until after the holidays to start work because I want to be able to go out to the malls and whatnot and shop during the middle of the day, even if it is just window shopping, and enjoy the holiday season.

As of yet, I have no plans for Christmas. I only have one day off (the day after) for the holiday. I’m trying to convince Nathan to have a get together for those of us who can’t make it to our loved ones but thus far, no one I’ve asked has responded. It might be that he and I will just do our usual: Chinese food for lunch and then home to watch a Doctor Who special. I’m feeling like I want to cook stuff though so maybe I can convince him to do a lunch with us cooking.

I’ll let you know how it turns out.

On Monday, I will be starting a new HR job. It’s a 4 month temporary position about a mile from my apartment.