emily ca.

A silly poll from zentariana ( here )

From rivendellrose:

( Behind the cut )

Good christ, Blogger software got updated and republished a bunch of entries...including to the "chiasmusfeed" user on LJ. Fucking awesome. Sorry, guys!

posting here because i don't feel like posting stuff about dreams on my regular blog, no matter how relevant to my actual mindset they may be.

( a weird dream, pasted from irc )

( lists of four )

( yarr--stupid quiz result ahead! )

( Which IMDb Top 100 Movies have you seen? )

( Cult TV shows )

( The ABC meme )


( And, for the love of god, here's a bunch of fucking answers to questions )

Apologies to Jana.

9 Layers

A meme to peel aways the layers of you.

LAYER ONE:
-- Name: Emily
-- Birth date: Dec. 11, 1981
-- Birthplace: Portland, Oregon
-- Current Location: Milpitas, California

-- Eye Color: Hazel
-- Hair Color: Brown
-- Height: 5'4"
-- Righty or Lefty: The usual righty
-- Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

LAYER TWO:
-- Your heritage: 1/4 Irish, 1/4 French, and the rest is somehow split between Scottish, German, and Norwegian
-- The shoes you wore today: Black suede vintage-styled Sketchers ($6 from Value Village)
-- Your weakness: Coffee and chocolate, laziness, the Charging Rhinos card in Apples to Apples
-- Your fears: Being stuck in a boring place and turning into something I hate
-- Your perfect pizza: Whole wheat crust, loaded with veggies (spinach, broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, artichoke hearts, zucchini, etc.) and some good cheese, sprinkled with red pepper flakes, fresh parsley, and pecan slivers
-- Goal you'd like to achieve: Making a name for myself in a field I'm excited about

LAYER THREE:
-- Your most overused phrase on AIM: "Heh!"
-- Your first waking thoughts: "Oh, fuck." (Usually in reaction to whatever horrible thing is happening that the news just told me about)
-- Your best physical feature: I think I have a pretty face. I also have big breasts, which are nowhere near as useful as some people would like to think
-- Your most missed memory: Christmas with my family

LAYER FOUR:
-- Pepsi or Coke: I hate cola
-- McDonald's or Burger King: I hate fast food and meat
-- Single or group dates: I'm better one-on-one, I think
-- Adidas or Nike: Two of the three pairs of shoes I wear most often are Danskos; I don't own either of these brands
-- Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Honest Tea
-- Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate in most cases, but vanilla has its place (barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen)
-- Cappuccino or coffee: Black coffee, though the occasional cappuccino is delicious

LAYER FIVE:
-- Smoke: Nyet
-- Cuss: Uh, constantly
-- Sing: In the car
-- Take a shower everyday: Yes
-- Do you think you've been in love: I know I've been in love
-- Want to go to college: Again?
-- Liked high school: Could've been worse
-- Want to get married: The idea is vaguely appealing, though the wedding ceremony itself is terrifying
-- Believe in yourself: Sometimes
-- Get motion sickness: Nope
-- Think you're attractive: Eh
-- Think you're a health freak: With food, yes, a little
-- Get along with your parent(s): Very much so
-- Like thunderstorms: LOVE them
-- Play an instrument: I took three years of piano as a kid and I know some guitar chords

LAYER SIX: In the past month...
-- Drank alcohol: A little. My sister made me try a variety of things she thought I'd like, but actually tasted like cough syrup, just to drive home my conviction that alcohol tastes yucky (to me)
-- Smoked: No
-- Done a drug: MOUNTAINS AND MOUNTAINS OF COCAI-- I mean, I took some ibuprofen and stuff
-- Made Out: Not nearly as much as I'd like
-- Gone on a date: I live with my boyfriend. Our whole life is like one giant date. That is to say, no
-- Gone to the mall?: That was how I killed last Saturday
-- Eaten an entire box of Oreos?: No, but given the opportunity, I'm sure I could
-- Eaten sushi: Yeah, delicious by ridiculously expensive veggie sushi
-- Been on stage: God no
-- Been dumped: Almost
-- Gone skating: Ugh, no
-- Made homemade cookies: I made dough just so I could eat it. Does that count?
-- Gone skinny dipping: Uh, no
-- Dyed your hair: It's been awhile
-- Stolen Anything: Only ideas

LAYER SEVEN: Ever...
-- Played a game that required removal of clothing: Like the "Whooo, it's hot here in the office!" game? No
-- Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Nope
-- Been caught "doing something": Red-handed
-- Been called a tease: No
-- Gotten beaten up: Repeatedly! Bruises are pretty!
-- Shoplifted: I lifted a shell from a tourist shop when I was six or something
-- Changed who you were to fit in: It is the way of the world

LAYER EIGHT:
-- Age you hope to be married: I don't think of things that way
-- Numbers and Names of Children: Kids are fucking terrifying
-- Describe your Dream Wedding: Small and classy and simple and not a big fucking deal
-- How do you want to die: By living on the EDGE, man
-- Where you want to go to college: Again?
-- What do you want to be when you grow up: Happy
-- What country would you most like to visit: Pretty much all of them

LAYER NINE:
-- Number of drugs taken illegally: I don't think any
-- Number of people I could trust with my life: That's weird...I'd trust a lot of random strangers with my life. Emergency workers, doctors, the like. I don't know how to answer this, exactly
-- Number of CDs that I own: Eleventy-twelve
-- Number of piercings: 2 (both ears; I used to have two holes each, though)
-- Number of tattoos: 0
-- Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper?: At least 4 that I know of--name listed in the paper for my high school graduating class; I've had three stories published in community papers that had a byline
-- Number of scars on my body: I only know of two right now
-- Number of things in my past that I regret: Plenty

From here: some traits supposedly associated with your birth month. Strikeout the ones that don't apply.

DECEMBER:
Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egoistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.

(Some I've left unstruck, but you can be the judge.)

Because the power of Jess compells me.

1) Total number of films I own on DVD/video:

The collection is surprisingly small.

DVD:
The Notorious C.H.O.
Scratch
Mr. Show Seasons 1 & 2
Mr. Show Season 3
Mr. Show Season 4
Space Ghost Coast to Coast Season 1 (Chris, do you still have this? I don't.)
Kids in the Hall: Tour of Duty (saw this live, too!)
Donnie Darko (original, not director's cut)
Once Upon a Time in China
Fantasia

Kevin has a bigger collection, but I won't include it since it isn't mine. And some of it is crap.

VHS:
Citizen Kane
Rear Window
Volcano
Mallrats
High Fidelity
The Big Lebowski
Harold & Maude
Dr. Strangelove
This Is Spinal Tap
The Addams Family
Heavenly Creatures (missing)

2) The last film I bought:

Uhhh, probably it was technically Apocalypse Now Redux, but I returned it because it was a R2 disc and I was stupid and didn't read that on the sticker. And that was a long time ago. I rent more than I buy.

Oh, I bought A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More as Christmas presents for my brother.

3) The last film I watched:

Silence of the Lambs on TV. Last actual DVD? Netflix sez... The Yes Men. Good stuff. In the theater? Damn, I don't think I've been since The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was at the Cinesaver.

4) Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me:

1. The Big Lebowski. It's like the insane friend you call up when you're bored and need to be entertained, but not totally turn off your brain. It always poses a good, strange question.
2. Mallrats. That dumb book you read over and over again just to pass the time and because, okay, admit it, you enjoy it, despite its lack of intelligence.
3. Harold & Maude. One of the first (and only?) films my mom recommended I watch that I truly love. It's beautiful and full of Cat Stevens and dark, dark humor.
4. The Godfather I & II. Because my brother and I made the effort to watch these together.
5. Scratch. It made me want to become a DJ and collect vinyl. I got a pair of turntables and bought some records, but I was never really good at the DJ thing. It's still rad, though. And it shows, in an admittedly superficial way, the power of documentary and of music to really affect a person's life.

Okay, Jess, I lied. Who, me, hurry?

Many thanks to Jess, my blog feed is being syndicated here. So you can add chiasmusfeed to your Friends and see my blog on your Friends page when it's updated. In theory. I am still testing to see if it actually works. Hah.

Swiped from Liz and posted in this deserted wasteland of a LJ.

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Emily
2. Em
3. My mom calls me Meems sometimes, but no one else may.

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. tonsai
2. mikazaru11
3. uhh...I've had that last one for about 7 years, I think.

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. My eyes
2. My collarbone
3. My hair, generally

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. Hello, pudge
2. My breasts are too large
3. My fingernails are stupid

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. French
2. Irish
3. Norwegian

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. Zombies!
2. The suburbs
3. Pregnancy

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. Communication
2. Delicious, healthy food
3. Amusement

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. Black tank top from an outlet store in Malaysia
2. Black track pants
3. Black oiled Dansko clogs

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS:
Lately? Okay, a few from the Ms...
1. The Mountain Goats
2. Massive Attack
3. The Magnetic Fields

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE PREFERRED SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. Lips
2. Eyes
3. Hands (life's simple pleasures, huh?)

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. Snarkin'
2. Cooking
3. Watching movies/TV

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Cuddle
2. Sleep
3. Not be so distracted that I can't read

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING/YOU'VE CONSIDERED:
1. Editing
2. Writing
3. When I was 8, I wanted to be a veterinarian.

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. Japan
2. All the Mediterranean countries
3. India/Nepal

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A BOY:
1. I don't wear makeup.
2. I hate chick flicks.
3. I appreciate geeky pursuits.

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A CHICK:
1. I watch girly TV shows like Gilmore Girls, America's Next Top Model, and Veronica Mars
2. Stupid things make me cry sometimes.
3. I menstruate. This makes me crabby and crampy.

THREE CELEB CRUSHES:
Not too fond of the "crush" title, but I will say who I think is hottt.
1. Johnny Depp
2. Kate Winslet
3. Those would be my top choices.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around and look for the coolest book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.

"Did he say anything?"

From a book I'm giving to someone who might actually see this...

Blogger, while it doesn't love me like it once did, has grudgingly forgiven whatever I'd done to wrong it. So, goodbye, cruel LiveJournal.

Catch you on the flipside.

A woman came by today and left a flier for a write-in candidate for mayor. She didn't say much, but Kevin and I have reviewed his platform. You know, I'm sure the man really has something to give to the community, but he needs to hire a better proofreader.

Here's his platform. Emphases are mine.
---

DMV Branch

Social Services Branch

Additional security street lightings

Subsidized Home for the Aged

Subsidized Day Care

Free legal counsel for battered spouses

Subsidized hospitalization and medication for disabled children and adults.

Create a job placement department

More Secured Bicycle Lanes

Invite back YMCA

Review and eliminate unnecessary expensive projects (We especially liked this one after he listed so many expensive projects above that most would consider unnecessary services for the city to provide...)

Invite investors/businesses into Milpitas to create more jobs

Improved drainage and flood control system so that we may eliminate homeowners flood insurance. And eradicate rat increasing population.

Eliminate juvenile problems on:
A) Drugs
B) Child abuse
C) Out of school youth
D) And, othersimilar problems

Create Youth Program such as tutoring

Create commissions that focus on diversified problems. And, we will open The Milpitas government to constituents


---

Normally, I'm all about supporting socialist-tending local politicians, seeing as I'm sort of a socialist myself, but... weird. And funny.

We're gonna go play minigolf now.

I just hurt my hand. I was stirring some polenta on the back burner, a bubble burst, and the heat from the boiling polenta spit hit my hand, triggering the reflex to pull away. Of course, by pulling away (and so darn fast; thanks, body!) I managed to whack my big knuckle smack on the corner of the cupboard just above the burner. OW.

Speaking of random injuries, I must've gotten kicked in my sleep or something, because the cheek just above my right jaw feels bruised. The jaw itself doesn't hurt and I don't see a bruise (yet), but it is very sore to the touch. Weird.

Also, I have a damn zit on my upper lip, smack in the middle between my nose and the actual lip. It hurts. And it isn't premenstrual (TMI! I get zitty just before bleeding! In addition to being cranky and getting sick! Bet you didn't know that!). So, what the crap.

Anyway, I'm trying my hand at Kenyan food today. I've never had Kenyan food, but I was looking for a recipe for Ethiopian-style collard greens and ran across one for Kenyan-style greens. Linked from that was one for a black-eyed peas dish to be served with, basically, white grits, but I only have yellow. It will have to do.

Kevin's at work--yes, on a Saturday--so I'm killing more time. Fabulous. I am too poor and cheap to, you know, leave the house for anything but a walk, which I actually should do, so I've been doing random, housewife-y stuff. I did dishes, laundry, cooked a bunch of food, raked the yard, swept the porch... really exciting shit. Saturday TV sucks a lot of ass.

My Washington absentee ballot showed up at the Seattle house. It needs to end up here. So I can vote. For Kerry. And Patty Murray. And, umm... other people I like, because I don't know anything about California yet. After this election, I will re-register down here, but my November ballot is all about Washington, laaaand that I love.

Is it weird to feel old because this is my second Presidential election?

That's what I have to say about today: Pbbbt.

I made tom yum, but it seems too lemony. I shouldn't be so stingy with the lime, or I should buy more limes.

The gazpacho is okay, but I wouldn't put cilantro in it next time. Also, it did not puree enough. It sort of tastes like a weird salsa, but in a good way. The fennel is unfortunately overpowered by stronger flavors.

Still no word from employers. Still no explanation for the blogger problem. I had a nice exchange with my host's support guy, who rocks, about potential fixes, but to no avail. And it's not the host: they're not blocking Blogger IPs, my FTP info is correct, etc. And now I just have to wait another five days or whatever for Blogger support to get back to me.

I am trying to drink cranberry juice for whatever benefits it's supposed to have, I forget. It's just sort of a random, "Oh, that sounds healthy" thing I'm doing, which I do all the stupid time. Last week I got a cranberry-white grape blend, which I got used to by the week's end, but this time I decided to try a cranberry-hibiscus tea blend, which is sort of hard to like so far. It helps to water it down a bit, though. It's not as bizarro as the pomegranate-blueberry mixture I had one week. That required a 50/50 mix with mineral water to be potable.

Do I talk about food too much? Sorry. I don't care. I like food. Today I also made vegan peanut butter cookies, which I didn't sweeten enough and are very dry, but they're sort of like the crunchy peanut butter Clif bars but crispy on the outside, so I like them all right.

Yes. This has made its descent into Most Boring Prattle Ever. Topics of entries include TV commercials, what channels I don't get that I wish I did, what's wrong with that other journal I would rather be writing in, and boring vegetarian food. Hooray.

Now, why doesn't anyone leave comments? *sniffle*

Whole Foods had organic keffir lime leaves this week. I don't know if they were there last week and I just didn't see them--I mean, I must've stared RIGHT AT THEM and not seen them if that were the case--or they were out, but they had a buttload of 'em this week. Damn them!

But I got stuff to make a twisted gazpacho* that I felt more like making than a curry today, so maybe tomorrow. I still have a wad of Thai chilies as well as a few serranos left, so it should be a spicy paste, at least.

* I hate celery, which is apparently a common ingredient in gazpacho, but I saw an episode of Recipe TV yesterday where an Aussie chef working in Santa Monica made a gazpacho with fennel. Well, he had celery, too, but I hate celery and fennel is cool. Maybe this isn't technically so much a gazpacho as it is Puree Of Vegetables Plus Seasoning (salt, pepper, lime juice, cilantro, green onion) That Sounded Good To Me. Only time will tell if sounding good translates to tasting good. And I will detail what, exactly, that was if it's good.

Other, completely banal, empty-headed things: I have been watching reruns of Cagney and Lacey in the afternoons, which is surprisingly fantastic. I never saw that show before, but I am really enjoying it, for some reason. Then I get pissed off because NBC doesn't come in clearly hardly ever, and half the time there is no sound, so I can't really watch Ellen. (Or, guilty pleasure warning: Starting Over.)

The debates are on tonight, and I'll watch. I think they should be over before America's Next Top Model comes on, anyway. Hah.

Congratulations. You're still in the running to become America's Next Most Self-Indulgent Online Journaler.

Now, I appreciate a good deal.

But I don't appreciate yelling. In an office setting. On my TV.

And normally, my good deals don't come from a chain store known for its cheap clothing. They come from thrift stores, outlets, or sale racks. Because I am seriously cheap. Stuff that costs more than $10, say, doesn't scream "good deal" to me, just on principle.

So the Old Navy commercial with the girl in the office shrieking about how great air is and how much she enjoys breathing? Should stop breahting now for being such a dipshit. I feel no empathy for this character; how could her vapidness encourage me to buy cheap, trendy clothes?

It doesn't. Stupid commercials.

But I totally found my dream job. I hope they call me.

And not like that ESL book thing was my dream job -- that would've been totally sweet, and I cried when I didn't get it, but I have found something a little more up my alley.

There's a damn assistant lifestyles editor gig for some papers near Gilroy. The requirements are pretty much exactly what I can (and sort of have) done. The location isn't too far away. There is layout required which is so precisely what I want to do. You know how long I've been obsessed with layout. It's dorktastic fun.

And I've applied for others. I have an interview for this very part-time deal in San Jose, if I want it. My qualm is that it's eight fucking hours a week, way less income than I need, and I don't know if it's worth being tied down, even for so little time, to jump at the chance. But then, I don't know how picky I can be, either. Ugh. not very, I'm sure.

Manohman. I hope these people call me. I want a cool job.