Ten on Tuesday! Volume...um...18? Something like that.

1. Pretend it’s Monday morning–take us through a day in the life of you.
8:08; 8:21; 8:28; 8:30: alarm rings, promptly hit snooze
8:36: grumble and get up. Commence morning routine (in order: pee, brush hair, brush teeth, wash face, prepare lunch, eat breakfast, change out of pjs, moisturize/make-up face, pack bag to go, make bed)
9:15: drive to work. Usually arrive 15-20 minutes early. Sit in car like a loser.
10-5: work. Lots of spreadsheets, lots of accounts, lots of breaks to play with the resident office doggies.
5:01: drive back home
5:36: walk through front door; promptly announce how tired I am.
5:37-7:30: make nuisance of self, probably annoy family/friends as I recount the work day
7:30-8: Jeopardy!
8-11:30pm: dinner, TV and/or read
11:30: consider sleeping. Convince self I should, go to room and pop in movie "to fall asleep to."
11:37: "Damn this movie just got interesting!"
1:15am: "Shit where did time go?! I should be sleeping!"
1:16am: Commence night routine (in order: brush teeth, wash face, change into pjs, put on night moisturizer, braid hair, pee)
1:23am: Get into bed.
1:23:05am: Grab iPod to quickly check emails
2:15am: Dammit. Turn off iPod, go to sleep.

2. What’s your favorite reality tv show?
So You Think You Can Dance or The Biggest Loser. I don't really watch any aside from those.

3. What motto do you live by?
Um...Shit happens. No, just kidding (though that's not bad)...I guess I don't really have a motto? I don't think about it. Know who you are, know what you are, and know that above all, it's ok that you'll never fully know. That pretty much covers it.

4. If you knew you could you try anything and not fail, what dream would you attempt?
I feel as though I should be noble and say "find a cure for all cancers!" or the like--and while that would be lovely, I think it's much more fitting for me to say I'd be an editor for a magazine or be on Broadway.  Any of those will work for me.

5. What was your first job?
Real paying job? American Eagle Sales Associate and Aerie Lead (MOST MISERABLE JOB IN THE WORLD).  Not-really-job-but-gave-me-more-happiness-and-fulfillment-than-"real"-job? When I was 6-9 I used to help my mom at the library desk, checking out books and making recommendations to customers (yep, in all my 7 year old glory I declared Sweet Valley Twins to be like, the best evAR).

6. What is your current job?
Office Assistant at a Financial Analysis company.  More or less.

7. What would you call yourself if you could choose your own name (and you cannot pick the one you already have)?
I've always loved the name Zoe.  Ever since I was really little I wished it would be my name (even though I don't really feel as though it's my personality).  But that is why when I wrote under a pen name, it was Zoe.

8. What musical instruments can you play?
If we use the term "play" extremely loosely, I can say the piano and guitar.

9. Is it easier to forgive or forget?
I'm not sure either of those are really easy at all. I rarely forgive; I mostly accept. And I rarely forget; I choose to prioritize.  The easier is determined by the situation.

10. What is one food you’d never want to taste again?
Mushrooms, pickles, peas, pine nuts. Any of those.

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I usually think I'm an easy-going, accepting person, but these are the Non-Negotiables.

 (Meant in the romantic, "sorry, I won't date you if you do this" sense; not the investment banking, business sense)

• No Smoking.  I get that I don't exactly treat my body as a temple, but smoking is something I simply don't understand. It's disgusting and there are far more negatives than positives. With so much evidence to the contrary, why would one continue?! I get the nicotine addiction, but there are other less-destructive ways to get the edge off.  And aside from this debate...smoke actually makes me gag and feel like vomiting. So...Future Man In My Life (FMIML) will not be a smoker.  Ever.
• Support Gay Marriage. Ok, maybe not support, but FMIML cannot be against it. He doesn't have to want it, and I'll even accept indifference. The main point is: he can't outspokenly protest gay marriage. There are few things in this world I will fight for and speak up about, but this is one of them. I believe the right to marriage is one that belongs to humanity as a whole, not to heterosexuality, and I find no solid, legitimate evidence that the LGBT community shouldn't be allowed this. Of course I have other reasons, but that's enough for a Non-Negotiable List.  No H8 or no love from me.
• Interest in travel. Because I am going everywhere I can whenever I can, and I'd like him to come with me sometimes, too.
• Accept my non-religious life. I've always maintained that someone who does have strong religious convictions probably won't want me in the first place so this is a moot point, but I'll list it because it is important. I haven't figured out my beliefs, and I suspect that I never really will. I'm open for discussion, for debate, for the thought and exploration--but I do not stand for someone who punishes me for a difference in belief and/or pushes their faith on me.
• Interest in sports (or will at least fake it on my behalf).  I wouldn't classify myself as athletic and I definitely struggle holding up a conversation that includes sports trivia and current standings, but I love me some football, I like me some baseball, I adore me some Olympics and I play me some tennis.  He doesn't have to talk to me about it, he doesn't have to keep up in it, but I'd appreciate at least accompanying me to some games and not being rude about it. I will make the effort for his interests, so I'd appreciate it back. (And yes, I do know men who have zero interest in sports.  This bullet point is necessary.)

The rest, I suppose, is open for discussion.  What are your non-negotiables?

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[via]

I often wonder what I did to him. What his side of the story was.

I know my side. I relive it often, much more than I want to admit.

But I wonder what I put him through.

Did I make him doubt their relationship? Did I plant a seed of doubt in his head? Her head?

Did it make him feel guilty? Was I an unwanted thought? Am I the person he always tried to get out of his head? Was I the bad dream that haunted him at night?

I wonder what he did with that birthday card I sent him. I wonder how he felt when he received it: was he happy? Did it make him sad? Smile? Was it another weight added to his heart? Did he read it often? Or did he throw it away, no reason to hold onto deadweight? Did he tell his girlfriend about it?

Was I just some silly girl to him, clinging to a person he never was? Was I temptation? Was I another lifeline?  Was I a passing thought?

Late at night, sleeping in the barracks, in the tent, as he and his unit moved from one camp to another...did he think of me?

Did he ever think of me?

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This Fill-in-the-Blank Friday was meant to be.

After yesterday's post about not judging me for my TV preferences (you're not, right?!), fate has collided in the form of Fill-in-the-Blank Friday: it's entirely TV-centric! Hurrah for the telly!

1.  My favorite current TV show is The Choir. I can't help it; the love of music with the love of students and teaching and education. It's heartwarming, with lovely music too!

2.  The TV character I can relate to most is Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel in Glee).  Not because I've given up a baby or adopted or anything...actually, we have pretty much nothing in common. But her line where she says like she feels her life is a "broken promise" when she didn't make it big on broadway resonated with me. I understand I haven't lived enough life to really have a promise broken, but I definitely feel like I'm not living up to expectations and potential these days.

3.  My life is like (fill in with TV show and why).... Friends. Because it's me and the ones I love living life, searching for love and career and meaning with a lot of funny happenings at the same time.

4.  My all time favorite TV show is Friends. I know, I'm so typical. But I have an undying devotion.

5.  A TV show that is ridiculously stupid, but I continue to watch is Jonas. I KNOW.

6.  My favorite TV couple is Barney Stinson & Robin Scherbatsky.  I know they're not a couple anymore, but I loved them together.  And Temperance Brennan & Seely Booth from Bones--even though they're not technically a couple, either.  Wow, I sure know how to pick 'em!

7.  One TV episode I could watch over and over again is "Theatricality" from Glee; "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis" from Big Bang Theory (the Christmas episode with the Sheldon/Penny hug!); and several Friends episodes, though most notably PIVOT! and "He's her lobster!"

Happy Weekend, everyone!

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Judge Me Not for the TV I Watch

Unlike my musical tastes, I've never really been one to hide my TV preferences. It's generally acknowledged what is and is not shite TV, and like a good disaster, none of us can look away. Yes, TV is subjective, but there's an odd way in that one can have shame about a show while simultaneously being proud to watch said shameful show.  I don't get it, I don't really want to get it.

A few shows I wear proudly as a viewer: It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. How I Met Your Mother. The Big Bang Theory. Modern Family. 30 Rock. Glee. Top Chef. Bones. and so on and so forth. (I watch a lot of TV...)  Others...not so proudly: Design Star. The Next Iron Chef. Project Runway post-Lifetime move.  But I'll still at least admit to it.

And then there are the few that I have no business watching, but always will. Because some are so bad I can't not watch, others because they're surprisingly funny and good to me.  I'll always admit to it, but it will usually follow with some embarrassed brush off or attempt at sarcastic humor to lessen how much I really, really watch it.  And have all future episodes set to record on my DVR.  It's time to come clean, my friends.

• The Rachel Zoe Project. Unlike most of my friends, I have zero real interest in fashion. I like it for the stories, the inspiration, the visual appeal (of a collection, not on an individual); not so much the actual clothing.  But The Rachel Zoe Project sucks me in and I can't turn away!  I'm fairly certain it's because Brad is the cutest patooty on the block and I just want to be BFFs with him and his fab bowties. But I tell you, it is weird when all of a sudden I'm stressed out because OHEMGEE Taylor stole samples! or the Versace gown has been taken by a random messenger! or when I'm laughing along with them about the diamond rings being so blasé for a gown.  But I've not called anything "major" or "bananas" so there's hope for me yet!
• American Pickers. I have literally never watched the History Channel before I got sucked into this show (want to know what led me there? I saw a program about the history of hamburger components. That's real, y'all), but the idea of digging through people's old stuff got to me (unlimited access to a person's life? YES PLEASE). All of a sudden I'm seeing huge porcelain signs and gasping at their luck or being like, "WOW an old rusted hood ornament!"  The show actually tugs at my moral lining a bit (the idea of paying a family $20 for an item while knowing it is actually valued at $200 doesn't sit well) but the history and how unique some items are pull me back.
• iCarly. I get a toooon of shit for watching this show, but this is one where I AM DAMN PROUD. Because hell, it is funny. I get that the webshow part (the "real" iCarly? Hmm) is super annoying and in reality I would never watch it--but the rest of the show is comedy gold, my friends. The expressions and timing and situations are absurd. It's childish and occasionally slapstick and I love it.

• The Choir (on BBCA). It was advertised as a real life Glee--how would I not watch this show?! And when the first school visited was in Northolt, literally 2 metro stops away from where I was born, I had to stick around. From there, I was hooked. I am completely enamored with these hilarious and endearing students. I have a deep love for choir and chorale music, and blending it with British accents, British humor and heartwarming stories...hello, Ashley's life.
• Glee. This is an odd one on the list because I am an up front Gleek, as is the rest of the world (so it seems)-which is why I listed it as a show I'm proud of. But I still get a lot of shit for this, and sometimes I simply don't want to get into the debate of how they ruin classic music, have shitty writing, can't act, etc. I've never said Glee was quality TV, and I'll be the first to say duh, Journey's original of Don't Stop Believin' is obviously better than the Glee cast one. But it's fun and dramatic and the Dawson's Creek of this generation, just minus the uncomfortable horrible sexual tension and adding music. That's a win in my book.
• Jonas. I debated long and hard about putting this on the list, because I am that ashamed of this. I can't justify this. I know. I deserve all the judgment you want to dish out. But fact is, I've got 2 eps on my DVR, the Sunday one set, and I want to freakin' know what Macy does about Frankie Jonas (the worst of them all, and that says something) having a little schoolboy crush on her even though she's with Nick. YES, I AM CRYING TEARS OF SHAME RIGHT NOW.  You are free to shun me.

(I bet you thought Jersey Shore would be up in this bitch. NOPE.  Even though I met Ronnie, that can't even convince me to hop on that bandwagon.)

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This Week Will Be Done Entirely In Bullet Points

• Why, you may ask? Because I don't care to do any more at the moment.
• Brother has been sick this entire weekend, which is odd. As much as I get sick (6 times this year and hopefully not counting), he doesn't get sick. And on the rare fluke of nature he does, he never sits and rests; he goes about his entire days like nothing is wrong, just with a noticeable use of Kleenex and Tylenol.  But Saturday he was feeling so sick that he basically slept or laid on the couch the entire time. Odd, and hopefully a speedy recovery for him.
• Last week I didn't turn on my computer for 3 days. It was exhilirating. It was inspiring. It was stressful.
• I have not opened my Google Reader in approximately 5 days. I am terrified.
• Finally finished the documentary series called The Up Series, and it is all sorts of amazing. Really makes me think about the trajectory of my life and how...unsteady it can be. And, ultimately, how that's ok.
• Job search still on. Spirits waning, but...it's not like I can give up.
• Friday night found me watching a movie with my mom while knitting. 23 going on...80?
• Yes, I can knit. I can also crochet, sew, hem, use a sewing machine, clean very well, bake like a pro and cook adequately. Slap me in an apron and send me the 1950s, I'm ready.
• Finally sat down to sort my photos into photo boxes and albums. It was...not easy. In the emotional, physical or organizational sense.
• Anyone else think Derek Smeath from Confessions of a Shopaholic (movie) is Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin) in 30 years? Distracting.
• On a related note, I adore me some Hugh Dancy (see photo). Really adore. But aside from the visual appeal, I'm really annoyed by his character in Confessions.
• Can we tell what was on TV while writing this post? Yep.
• Saturday night was lovely because I went to one of my best friend's apartment in La Jolla and we had a nice, relaxing evening of making food (homemade chicken enchiladas! Yummy) and watching a movie. It was perfect.
• One of my old best friends whom I haven't seen since 2005 will be visiting next month. I'm excited to see her again, but incredibly nervous, too. We've both changed so much since the end of high school. I trust we'll be fine, it's just nervewracking.
• This week brings about almost no plans. Aside from tennis twice this week and a small run on Wednesday, I got nothing.  Thank goodness.

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Filling in some birthday blanks!

Alongside the busy life, I've managed to once again aggravate my wrist problems (this time from tennis--must remember to wear the wrist brace!) which has put a major dent in the blog overhaul plans. This is getting annoying, but...what can ya do? I'm content to just read blogs and adore everyone's writing and inspiration.

Fill-in-the-Blank Friday is all about birthdays since Lauren (the lovely hostess) recently celebrated hers! Make sure you go over and wish her a fabulous belated birthday, even if you don't play along.  And even though we know I'm not too keen on my own birthday, I adore celebrating others'!  Happy Birthday, Lauren!

1.  Birthdays are fun. But only when they're not mine. I'm a bit of a downer and find my own birthday stressful and disappointing. But when it's friends' birthdays, party on!

2.  My favorite birthday memory was Downtown Disney my first year of college. It was kind of a weird time in life, and the dinner itself was pretty disastrous (waiters clearing the tables early, overpriced for underyummy food, a lot of drama, people coming late, etc), but the fact that I had 40 people come out for me was really special. I felt loved.

3.  A birthday tradition I (or my family) has/have is dinner at the restaurant picked by the birthday girl/guy. It's kind of typical and not that exciting, but as we grow older it's nice to have all 4 of us together for dinner since it's becoming fewer and farther between.

4.  If I had to choose one birthday meal to eat for the rest of my birthdays hence forward, I would choose pizza. Plain cheese or bacon & onion (unusual but delicious!) or margherita.  Homemade, store bought, ordered (not from Round Table though), doesn't really matter. It's simple and tasty and satisfactory for everyone!

5.  My birthday is on March 19. I am every bit a Pisces--which I view as a good thing, but others have alluded to otherwise. Someone once told me I'm a Pisces with an Aries temper (since I'm a day away from the split)...I didn't know how to take that.

6.  If I could take a birthday trip I would go to St. Tropez. It's getting old that I keep choosing there, but I love it so much. It's beautiful and peaceful and I have such good memories of it.

7.  The best gift I've ever received for my birthday was a trip to San Francisco with my best friends to go visit another best friend. It was our first big trip together by ourselves, and it was a fabulous time.

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30 Day Journal Challenge, days 5-8

Prompt 5: We are all obviously bloggers right, or else you wouldn't be here :) Even if you don't have a blog, I know that you read them. This page is dedicated to your favorite blogs!! What are they? Are there any blogs that you can't go a day without checking?

I'm such a terrible artist, it's almost entertaining haha.
Also, I can already think of people I've forgotten, but it's too late to fix it!

Prompt 6: It's time... It's definitely time to do something. It may be a new season for you in your life, or a time to make some goals, or it may just be time to relax. Draw something that represents the word time and then make a list of things that you need to do at this time in your life, or day, or week :)

Prompt 7: Today is an easy one... How are you feeling today? Sometimes it's really good to reflect on your feelings and try to figure out why you are feeling a certain way.

I'm kind of proud of these drawings.
For the spelling nazis, I KNOW! I AM ASHAMED. Please refer to this tweet.

Prompt 8: Today, I want you to illustrate an "inside joke." I want this to be a page that only you and a few other people would get.

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Light posting & the 30 Day Journal Challenge!

I think this week's and next week's posts are going to be minimal, guys. There's a lot of stuff going on with my house/life (mostly good, so don't fret, lovelies) and I should probably focus on that rather than my computer screen. I'll still be here, but don't mind the lack of real talk.

Which reminds me, I think the next month or two may bring about some serious posts. I don't often get too serious on this here bloggy o' mine, but the past month has been incredibly introspective and reflective and all those other -ectives. Basically, if I plan on moving on in life and making something of myself, I need to reconcile who I've been and what's happened. Some of you may know some of the stuff, others may be sick of hearing my talk about a certain part of life, but...you know, I have to sort this out for me. And if it has to happen again and again in order for me to get there, so be it. You can hit your fancy "Mark As Read;" I swear I won't be offended (much).

But that won't be today, at least! Over at Run With Scissors, she did a 30 Day Journal Challenge last month. I wanted to participate but knew I wouldn't have the time to do it, so I decided to save the prompts and do them later. I used to journal all the time, but with the internetz' and the fact that I type a lot faster than I can scribble, the computer has taken over. So, I took this in the hopes of rekindling that journal love.  Plus, I had a random Moleskin journal lying around that was just begging to be filled. Periodically, I shall bestow upon you all the images of the journal! Be aware that I am no artist and my handwriting changes on the time of day and the pen I'm using.  Also, most of these are done around 3am when I'm arguably delirious from exhaustion...which just makes this more fun!

Prompt 1: Create a full page design introducing yourself :) Highlight your name many times in the midst of your design. Have fun, be creative, don't stress, just jump right in!

I couldn't really think of designs to represent me, so I went with lyrics.
For those that figure out what song it is, yeah, I went there!

Prompt 2: What is the BEST part of your day? Is it working out? Is it "quitting time" at work? Is it dinner with the fam? What is it? You can write about it, draw it, sketch it, doodle it, anything you like!

My sheets are red stripes.

Prompt 3: It's always nice to share with someone why you love them.Today, I want you to draw a picture, doodle, sketch, of a person who you love, or admire.Then, write that person a letter telling them why they mean so much to you!

Prompt 4: What does your heart look like? It can be literal, it can be symbolic, it can be broken and need fixing...anything! [Author's note: sorry the picture is blurry! I was going fast.]

I know, this is kind of sad (and way girly). But it's the truth, I suppose.
Also, this is probably the first and only time I'll write my brother's name! (Eric)

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Food-centric blanks and weekend plans!

Because I like to keep with themes and today's Fill-in-the-Blank from Lauren is about all things yummy, let's tell the weekend plans by way of...food!  Saturday I think I may try to hit up the Fanfest for the San Diego Chargers, which inevitably means stadium/game food! Fries, a hot dog, possibly a frozen lemonade (odd how I don't like lemonade, but love frozen lemonade...). No beer for me though!  Sunday I am hoping to head down to Imperial Beach to see the Sandcastle Competition.  Because it's the beach, in San Diego that means one thing: mexican food! You can't say no to a good California burrito or carne asada fries or street tacos after a fun day ocean-side.  At night I'm planning to see Toy Story 3 with my mom, and since we don't eat theatre popcorn, we tend to sneak in our own snacks of crackers and M&Ms.

Oh dear...after all this food talk, I'm hungry now! Thank goodness I've got several days of tennis-playing and walking/running planned to offset it all.  Happy weekend, everyone!

1.  Today for breakfast I ate cocoa krispies cereal. Normally it's Honey Bunches of Oats (the Honey Roasted kind), but I ran out yesterday and forgot to pick up more. And I also ran out of raspberry vanilla granola to mix with my yogurt, so I had to resort to the backup of the backup breakfast haha.

2.  My go to/never fail recipe is a simple pasta with a simple red sauce. You can't go wrong.

3.  Something I eat that other people think is weird is frozen mocha drinks with brown (honey) boba. (For those who don't know, boba are little tapioca balls that typically go in milk-based tea drinks. There can be different flavors, but I think the most common is brown.)  People get grossed out at the idea of coffee+boba, but...I dunno, I like it.

4.  My worst cooking disaster ever was...actually, I don't think I've had one. I sadly don't cook too often, so disasters have been kept to a minimum. Unless you count that time my roommate dropped a part of her napkin down into the burner and neglected to remove it or tell me. That was a terrifying surprise when it caught on fire while I was boiling a pot of water--and of course, I was turned away so I didn't even notice it until the flames had reached all the way up to the microwave above it.

5.  If I could only eat one flavor of ice cream the rest of my life it would be coconut macadamia nut (from Lappert's).  It's yummy and gorgeous and unique and so sweet that I wouldn't have it all too often and it would remain a fancy treat.

6.  One food I hate and avoid at all costs is pickles and mushrooms. I don't eat a lot of foods (really, I don't), but mushrooms and pickles are the worst. I literally want to vomit every time I smell a pickle, and the sight of mushrooms makes me gag.

7.  What is your favorite meal?  Breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Proooobably dinner. Well...I probably love breakfast foods the most, but I enjoy dinner time since it's so variable. It can be early, normal, late; be a business dinner, family dinner, catching up with friends and it lasts for hours dinner; super quick bite to eat while sitting in the living room, at the table after we're all home from work, super fancy, black tie...it's just so versatile!

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Will I be pretty?

Simply amazing.
(Due to one curse word towards the end, may be slightly NSFW)

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I don't know what to title this. So...uh...Life Right Now.

The cliffs at Solana Beach, in a semi-remote spot we found. So beautiful, so peaceful.

It feels like years since I've done a normal post. Not a specialized event post, no memes, just plain "this is what life is."  So...this is what life is at the moment:

• I'm incredibly psyched for football season to start up. I think I'm going to head out to one of the open Chargers practices this week or next. Anyone in the area want to meet up there, I'm down!
• Not so psyched on the lack of job. Discouraged a bit, but...working on it. As much as I don't want to do it, I think I may apply for an editorial internship (unpaid). Money is nice, but experience needs to count, too.
• Unfortunately, one of my Lolos suffered a heart attack and had to undergo emergency quadruple bypass surgery. But the good news is that he responded well and by the second day out of surgery was already up and walking around the hospital! He's always been spry for his age (which is only the early 70s anyway), so it's nice to know he's getting back to his old self. Hopes and good thoughts his way are appreciated!
• I started playing tennis about 2 months ago and am proud to say that, in the words of my brother, I "do not suck"!  Hurrah!  The family used to play a lot back in Belgium, and I did it for my PhysEd requirement in 10th grade, but it has definitely been awhile since picking up a racket. I forgot how much I enjoy it, and I like that I did not die yesterday while playing 1-on-2 against two of my guy friends. I actually held my own relatively well!
• I think I may actually have time to do the redesign I've been talking about for months now--so if in the next few weeks you find my blog to be a bit...um..rough around the edges, pardon the construction dust!
• I got up to grab lunch in the middle of writing this post and accidentally dropped the pizza slice. Of course it landed face down. Boooooo.
• Not too much going on aside from prepping for my dad to be leaving for the Philippines next month. He's returning to Cebu (where his family is from) to deal with the property we own there and will be gone for over half the month. We haven't had an extended absence from dad since before he retired from the Navy over 8 years ago.
• It's getting harder and harder to ignore this travel bug. Even something small, like going to San Francisco, would help me. Ideally, I'd head to Denver to visit my Uncles, New York City to visit a few of my aunts and cousins (and Vivian soon!), or Louisiana to visit bestest...est Brit who I haven't seen in 11 years.
• One of my best friends was recently hurt by a friend. Pretty badly.  Not physically, I mean emotionally (which is arguably worse). She' sad, and I really wish there was something I could do. I suppose it'll have to do having her know that I'm here for whatever she needs, if ever she needs...but I still hate seeing her hurting.
• I've only been to the beach once this summer.  How pathetic! But the one day I did go was absolutely beautiful.

Life doesn't seem too exciting based on that, does it? But I'm kind of glad it's low-key right now because the last month feels like it was full-speed ahead. I'm finally breathing.

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Ashley & the Adventures at Comic-Con (Part Last)

And we have finally come to the end. This gets to be a hodgepodge of crap about Comic-con thrown together, so advanced apologies for the length!

[adult swim] ice cream truck! You can see Dave of ATHF in the window.

Seth Green signed the van! And did some fun drawings.

Dana of ATHF asking my brother what ice cream he wants.
And yeeep, that's my big bro.

Prooobably one of the best things about this entire event was: FREE ICE CREAM! And not shitty stuff, free Ben & Jerry's!  [adult swim] partnered with a dessert truck from SD and they drove all around San Diego to hand out free ice cream. They'd tweet their location for the next few hours and you had to find them.  A lot of the time they'd have [adult swim] personalities handing them out, like Seth Green or Dana&Dave from Aqua Teen Hunger Force (who can kind of be glimpsed in one of the pictures).

Gotta love San Diego's commitment to the Con: they put up the Trolley signs in Klingon!

You also see weird things like this driving around SD.  And no worries, kids, that's a cutout.

But weird is also good, because these costumes are awesomeeee.  The Ambiguously Gay Duo was my favourite of the entire four days.

The biggest push this year was definitely the movie Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. In addition to this massive sign on the Hilton hotel, there were panels and signings and secret screenings and a free garlic bread truck (that will make sense if you've seen a specific trailor or when you see the movie) and an entire three-day event called The Scott Pilgrim Experience where one could go in, screen print t-shirts, get flipbooks made, experience a whole slew of Scott Pilgrim-related things.  I unfortunately never made it in, but I heard it was pretty cool. The entire cast of the show (minus Chris Evans) was there for the duration of the Con, and they plus the Scott Pilgrim creator (Bryan Lee O'Malley) and the director (Edgar Wright) would often be seen around and be signing everywhere.

Scott Pilgrim swag. I was technically only supposed to get one pin,
but uh...I may have taken an entire bag.  Which was roughly 15 pins.  Oops?

The third day of the Con, I didn't have a pass to get in--but I'd heard about the last of the secret screenings for Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World going on downtown and set out with my friend to hunt it down and gain entrance.  They'd had two secret screenings the days before (one of which I tried valiantly to get into but did not find the special entrance pin in time) and I had heard such good things about the movie I knew I had to go.

Thanks to Twitter, Sarah for giving me details since she'd gone to both screenings the days before, and my friend Kathy for being patient with me, I was able to secure a wristband to gain entrance to the screening.  It was relatively unnecessary to wait in line around 3:45pm when the movie was at 6:30 since the theatre had 1300 seats, but we decided not to chance it and, thus, had some pretty sweet seats.  Edgar Wright knows how to do it, because everyone got free soda and free popcorn upon entrance.  Free movie, free drink, free popcorn, secret screening...life can't get much sweeter than that!

I'll type up a full review of the movie later in the week, but I thought it was fucking phenomenal.  There's pretty much something for everyone. Granted, I did see it in the Comic-con setting and state-of-mind, but I am definitely seeing it the day it comes out.  Before the movie started, they brought out the main cast: Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Ramona Flowers), Kieran Culkin (Wallace Wells, Scott's roommate--and the best in the movie, in my opinion), Anna Kendrick (Scott's sister), Ellen Wong (Knives Chau, Scott's ex-girlfriend) and all the actors who play the 7 Evil Exes (minus Chris Evans, since he'd been away filming Captain America).  At the end of the movie, they all came out again, and Edgar Wright ends up saying there are a few more surprises ready to come out: out pops Chris Evans, who had flown in ASAP from his shoot, another actor from the movie who I'm not going to say, and then BILL HADER AHHHHH!  I love Bill Hader, and it's safe to say I had a minor freakout when he runs out, complete with jumping up and down and perhaps the shaking of poor Kathy standing next to me.  I get that some people don't find it awesome when actors come out since, yes, they are regular people--but I'm not one of those people, and this made me excited.

Some of the celebrities I walked by or saw on the third day of The Con. Kiiinda weird.

After we got out of the screening, we started walking around downtown trying to see what kind of trouble we could get ourselves into. I passed both Jerry O'Connell and Scott Adsit (Pete from 30 Rock) on the street.  Then somehow we stumbled upon the red carpet arrivals to the SyFy/Entertainment Weekly hosted after-party, which we were right at the gates for.  It's kind of odd to see all these celebrities right in front of you; I mean, Ron Perlman (Hellboy and Sons of Anarchy) is WAY shorter than you would think.  Paul Wesley (Vampire Diaries) is much thinner than he appears. Ian Somerhalder is WAY hotter than on TV (which means something, because I think he is smokin' on screen). Felicia Day is seriously adorable. It's just fascinating how Larger Than Life people sometimes really...aren't.

Sons of Anarchy panel. Sorry for the weird angle, the screen was almost on top of us.

It's Always Sunny cast! Dennis, Charlie and Dee
(Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olsen)

More Sunny cast! Waitress, Frank, Mac
(Mary Elizabeth Ellis Day, Danny DeVito, Rob McElhenney)

The last day of Comic-con was the most stressful because of all the families and children running around (Sundays are always kid's days).  Plus, since it's the last day, everyone is so frantic to see and buy.  Everything is so...tense. But I still had a good time--ESPECIALLY because I got into the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia panel!  I fucking love It's Always Sunny.  I was increeeedibly jealous because the day before my brother and his friends ran into the Sunny cast at their hotel!  Pictures and talking ensued! If I hadn't been waiting for the movie, I'd have been there with them...but oh well, the panel was good for me. They're some funny people, man.  It was preceded by the Sons of Anarchy panel, which is a show I do not watch, but it was fun to watch Katey Sagal and constantly refer to her as Mrs. Bundy.  We also spent a good amount of time debating if the guy second from the left was indeed the hottie with the footballers body in Green Street Hooligans (in case you're wondering, it is. It's Charlie Hunnam).

So that was basically the 4-day extravaganza. All these posts are disconnected and rambling and chaotic--which is actually a pretty decent metaphor for The Con itself. I get that I'm a bit of a celebrity stalker and I'm one of the downfalls to what Comic-con originally stood for; but it's enjoyable and fun and fast-paced and I really love it. And maybe I'm not there for the Magic the Gathering tournament or to find the original first issue of Superman or what have you, but I respect those that are and try my best not to disturb them. I like that there are all different types of people and interests gathered.

I leave you with three of my favourite things from The Con: The free Big Bang Theory bag, Toy Story Lego displays and the Peanuts booth!

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Ashley & the Adventures at Comic-Con (Part the Second)

Since the first day was entirely spent in panels and celebrity watching, I dedicated the rest of the days to the Exhibit Hall to check out all the goodies from artists, web comics (Cyanide & Happiness!), TV stations and production companies.  Most of the stuff they give away is junk: pins that say "I <3 Zombies", tons of movie poster (we currently have 5 posters for "The Other Guys"), fliers, adverts, temporary tattoos, lanyards, odd postcards...yeah.  I usually end up trashing the stuff, but it's fun at the time!

I've also realized that makes me sound as though I walk around simply to get free shit, which isn't true.  I really love going around the booths, especially the web comics and independent artists (not Artist's Alley though, that place kind of gives me the willies).  I mean, things like the Pirate Bears by Travis Hanson (so adorable!), and the fantastic illustrations by Matt Forsythe (I love this illustration he did for Drawn & Quarterly; wouldn't it look stunning on the front of a journal?!), and the discovery of a Montreal-based publisher that focuses on "literary and avant-garde comics" called Drawn&Quarterly that has some ridiculously talented artists, and the cutest webcomic called Tiny Kitten Teeth done by duo Becky and Frank. One day I'll scan the comic Tiny Kitten Teeth had on their advert/business card because it seriously made my day.  What also made my day is that while we visited the booth, one of them (I assume Frank since it was a man, but I can't be sure) drew my friend a comic and it was the most adorable thing I'd ever seen--let's just say it involved an owl, a penguin and a cat.  ADORABLE.

Cyanide & Happiness booth!

Anyhow. So uh...the reason we stumbled upon Tiny Kitten Teeth was because we were in high search for Cyanide & Happiness! A crude, hilarious web comic that I have been reading for what feels like an eternity, I love going to their booth because they draw stuff for you (I feel the need to mention that I find the one on the left to be incredibly attractive. BUT YOU KNOW.), and it's so much fun to watch them create something you love.  I don't have the second drawing that was done for me because it was left in a friend's bag, but the first sketch that was done (by the guy on the right)...wellllllll...let's just say it is the most inappropriate, dirty drawings I've ever come across.  Hilarious, but so wrong. I can't actually post it here because it is so NSFW it's crazy.  BUT, if you would like to see it, please click on the following black box and it shall redirect you to it.

While searching out the C+H booth, I happened to also run into...

Wil Wheaton!

Most famously known for his role as Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation (I can tell you right now he was one of the reasons I watched it with my mom), he's currently on Eureka and has a semi-recurring role as Evil Wil Wheaton on The Big Bang Theory (aka, Greatest Show On Earth).  I was trying to get a photo with him, but he was talking with a few of the web comic personas and was super fanboying it --note his C+H plushie in his hand that he had just bought--so I figured it best not to try and bother him too much.  Surprisingly, there wasn't really a crowd or too many people noticing him.

I should mention that amidst all this fun-having...I was actually probably making my friend's lives miserable.  Because the entire reason I'd even decided to go to Comic-con this year was to go to Friday's Big Bang Theory panel, because holy shit I love that show and Wil Wheaton was moderating and all the stars and producers were there and then the fucking Barenaked Ladies made a surprise appearance to have a singalong to the show's theme song...this is the stuff my dreams are made of, kids. And through a series of poor choices, chronic lateness, and general mayhem...I did not make it to the panel. I had not a chance in hell.  So for all of Friday, I was very honestly upset and may or may not have taken it out on my poor friends.

This post is way longer than planned, so uh...more pictures!

Levar Burton (left) was doing a signing, and it was pretty cool to see LaForge in real life (Star Trek reference).  I was half-hoping my brother would call me while I was standing next to LB because my bro's ringtone is Reading Rainbow, but alas, it did not happen. Truth be told, he was kind of a douche about pictures...but who knows why he had the rules he did, so I won't entirely hold it against him. As soon as I walked into the Exhibit hall I saw Rob Dyrdek (right photo, guy on left) from Rob&Big and Fantasy Factory signing, which was pretty cool. I didn't actually go to talk to him, but he was smiling and seeming to enjoy talking to fans, so that's cool.

For those who recognize him, it's Brian Posehn! Comedian, actor, the mail guy from Just Shoot Me. My brother apparently had to pee next to him in the bathroom (somehow my bro urinates next to famous people often--once it was next to Slash at Disneyland). He was just walking around pretty non-descript, but it happened that when we started going up to him, others started recognizing him and it began to draw a crowd. So, I didn't want to interrupt him more and decided simply to stalkerazzi snap a photo instead--I'm so nice, I know.

And the last of today's bunch: James Marsters, aka "Spike" from Buffy!  I saw him a lottttt during the Con, he had a bunch of signings and is involved with several shows so he was around. Walking through the exhibits, behind booths, doing interviews...yeah. Spike's a big deal here!  I also saw him when I ended up gateside to red carpet arrivals, but that story will be for the next and last part. He was always incredibly nice and affable every time, which makes me happy.

The end is nigh, my dear, no worries! Last part will be up soon.

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