Mac Mini Mania

I am a PC.
(Scratch that.)
I was a PC.

Back in the day, I was strictly PC. What was this new apple thing people were always talkin' about? I liked my comfortable Dell and all its familiar things like toolbars and start buttons.

But as a student graphic designer, I began to go to the school computer labs a lot and was forced to work with Macs. I was a little frustrated. Where's the start button?! What's Garage Band?! What the hells is up with this dashboard crap?! But as I got to sophomore year, I got used to it. I got used to the speed. Used to the amazing applications that come with it for free. Used to the built in antivirus that actually works.

I was getting tired of my stupid Dell laptop. But Macs are so expensivo!!(I meant to put that "o" there because I like to pretend I know other languages) My boss told me if I wanted to get a Mac so badly, I should just get a Mac Mini on Craiglist for like $300.

It was like the word of God.

So I got one! I went to this creepy doctor's house and bought his Mac Mini for $340! It has a dual processor, 2 gb of ram, and already has a built in DVD burner! What a deal! I mean it's not the most impressive piece of machinery, but for $340 that's great. It was worth the possibility of bloody doctor murder!

My boss has tons of Mac Minis, because they're fairly cheap (half the price of a Mac laptop) and they can do whatever you want. He uses one to watch movies on, one to control the music in his office, one as a server, and one just to design on.

As you can see in the picture above, you really can use it for anything!

I was playing with mine all day today. There's all these awesome widgets you can download for free online. You can have a widget that's just a monster dancing. That's it. C'mon! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!

PS. That picture's a joke. Just in case any weirdos out there thought it was real. Hehe.

May the Fourth Be With You, Followers!

You Make Me Blush

We got two...yes, TWO "Life Is Good" Awards.  Our awesome readers, Ashley from Miss Mayhem and Malou from Toasters and Kangaroos, granted us these honors.  They are both sweethearts.  =)  According to the rules, I have to answer some questions.  What is this?  An interrogation?

Ashley asked:

1. How old are you? I plead the fifth.  Haha.  I'm 31 (Cry!)
2. Do you have any tattoos, if so, how many and where? I have one tattoo on the left side of my lower back.  It is my last name in Chinese.
3. Jensen Ackles or Jared Padalecki? Who are these people??  See answer to No. 1.  Haha.
4. Spiders or snakes?  None of the above please.
5. Sneakers or heels?  Heels...although they kill my feet!
6. How long have you been blogging?  Oh, gosh, it's been one year and three months!  I still don't know what the heck I'm doing.
7. If you were stranded on an island, and could bring three things, what would you bring?  Can I bring people?  I would bring Tina, Laura and Huz.  =)  Although Tina and Laura would hate me for getting them stranded on an island.
8. "Live well", "laugh often", or "love much"?  Laugh often. 
9. Survivor or Supernatural? (the shows)  Sorry, don't watch either.  I tried watching Supernatural when it first came out.  But it was too scary for me.
10. Ghosts or aliens? Do you think either are real?  Do you think I'm a weirdo if I say both?  Because yeah, I totally believe in ghosts and think there has to be aliens out there.

Malou asked:
1. If you could go back in time, where would you go?  England in the 19th Century.  Life seemed so grand then.  It's the damn romance novels I read.
2. What's in your pockets right now?  Nothing.  I never keep anything in my pockets because it'll look bulky and ruin my whole look.  =p
3. Who is your favorite person in the whole entire world?  Are you trying to get me killed?  Certain people will be very unhappy if I don't say them.  And you know who they are.  I share this blog with them.  Hint, hint. 
4. If you could be any age for a week, what age would you choose?  I'd be 17.  That's when I met Huz.  And we were both young, carefree and in love.
5. What's your favorite magazine?  Any girly magazine.  But I always go straight for Cosmo.
6. Are you superstitious?  No, not really. I leave my umbrella open in my house when it's wet.  I walked under a ladder without realizing it the other day.  But I do knock on wood.
7. Favorite color and why?  My answer is boring.  Gray.  It matches everything.  =)
8. Favorite time of year?  Summer is the best!  The beach, swimming, ice cream, flip flops...awesome!
9. What's one adjective you could use to describe you?  Weird.
10. What fruit do you most resemble?  Cherries.

Our Little Igloo

Unlike Tara, who was having a nightmare of a time during the blizzard weekend, my girls and I were enjoying our snow day. Carmen had an idea to make an igloo. Well, with my help, we made a double room snow house with a connecting tunnel. Carmen actually did the one section and I continued on even after both my girls lost interest. Hehe. Adults should get to have fun too. Afterward, I made both of them crawl through the tunnel in between. Hey, I worked so hard they better at least try it. I think I should get a real estate agent to list this snow house for me.

Listing: Beautiful snow house in prime location. Newly built and move-in condition; ready for home buyers. Two bedrooms, no bathrooms, outhouse available upon request. Open house: February 10th, during snowstorm. Property won't last so hurry!

Kreativ Award

We would like to thank Miss Mayhem and Malou for the Kreativ Blogger Award! We will now list 7 facts about the 3 Sisters that our readers do not know:

1. The 3 Sisters have inside jokes dating back to the stone age.

2. Tara has an unhealthy obsession with making sweet kettle corn and Simon Pegg.

3. Tina has an unhealthy obsession with Edward Cullen and the game Mastermind.

4. Laura has an unhealthy obsession with scarves and all things Spiderman.

5. The 3 Sisters are twi-hards but will never admit it unless forced with a gun or some other lethal device.

6. The 3 Sisters are sometimes able to communicate with each other with just a look.

7. When the 3 Sisters get together, they tend to giggle incessantly about silly, immature things like young school girls.

That's What She Said

A simple one line-joke that keeps on giving.

You can be talking about something completely innocuous, and a strategically inserted "That's what she said" makes it hilarious. Yes, I am very mature. I still chuckle every time Michael Scott says it on The Office. It never gets old.

Although I appreciate a good one, I don't pay enough attention or my mind just isn't dirty enough to remember to say the damn line at just the right moment. But I have to say Huz is really good at it. (And so is his cuz.) He never misses a chance when I say, "it's hard." Yeah, that's a giveaway. But sometimes he gets some good ones.

Like recently one was beyond epic!

While I was away on vacation, my mother-in-law came over to give Huz food. She made this cold beef dish for him. When I came back, Huz kept trying to get me to eat it. For a couple days at every meal time, he would insist I eat some. Finally, I yelled, "Why are you shoving that meat down my throat?!?"

The next second, I heard "That's what she said!" Then I saw Huz with the biggest smile on his face. That bastard was so proud of himself. But I had to give it to him. I couldn't stop laughing. Haha! That was awesome!

I'm a Poet, and I Know It.

When I was in high school, I liked creative writing, particular writing poems. Ya know the kind where I poured out my heart and soul. And it was gut wrenching. And everything was dramatic. And I just wanted to die. Yeah, the awesome kind! Well, I don't write poems like I used to. Yes, it is sad. But I still have them to enjoy! Because I wrote them down and saved them, baby. I pulled out my old poetry journal recently. Man, are they painful to read. Meaning they are baaadddd...so much so that they are hilarious!

Here are a few gems just for you.

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Sorrow

Love to me saddens my heart and mind.
It expresses to me of what is not kind.
Love around me is love that is for another.
They don't love me; they love some other.
People who I once loved has turned away.
They left me there with nothing to say.
My soul aches and yearns for a caring hard.
I just want someone who will understand.
I need love like any human being.
I wish I can go blind and stop seeing.
The cruel world has done me great sorrow.
I lay in bed hoping there will be no tomorrow.
I look into tomorrow like a dead end.
It will trap me into becoming his friend.
Then it will turn away, and my heart will ache.
It will leave and go on and care for no one's sake.
I suffered greatly, and it will never be repaid.
I had love and happiness, and I knew it would fade.
What can I do to change they way I think and feel.
If there's such a thing as true love; is it real?
The sorrow is buried deep within my soul.
It won't break free. It won't let go.
Love is like a tree because it will eventually die.
I wish I could only say hello and not say good-bye.

Comment: Wow! I am depressing. I read this to Laura today, and she felt bad for me. Haha! Poor poor teenage Tara...no one loved her apparently.

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Who Are You?

Who are you to me?
You were once an insignificant nobody in my life,
a passerby, a stranger...
You watched as I wondered alone,
searching and seeking for something,
something to complete my life.
You were not easy to find.
I looked everywhere, and
I failed many times,
retrieving to my domain to weep away.
I did not even know when
I found you...
thinking you were just another
little something in my life.
My eyes were blocked by the
blazing sun of despair.
I realized it was you when
I gave up.
How ironic!
You were right here in front of me...
giving me the gift of love.
Who are you to me now?
Everything, the world, and life itself.
Your smile brightens my day.
Your touch leaves me weak with joy.
I never knew love
until I knew you.
I will cherish your gift forever,
holding it close to my heart
and never ever letting go.
Now I finally know who you are.

Comment: This poem was written on June 23, 1997. And it was about Huz! Haha! I wonder if this will embarrass him. Oh, well. My favorite part of this poem is "the blazing sun of despair." I try to say that any chance I get now...no matter the conversation.

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1995

A new year, a new feeling, a new hope. Everything is the same yet there is something that is different. Something that has changed. Breathe in the new air, the fresh clean new air. Look around you. Not only look but experience, feel, smell, taste, hear it. 1995! Sigh! Wow, so many memories yet there is a big future ahead. A future full of hopes, dreams, disappointments, love, hate, and a new...everything. What is there? What is out there for me, you, everyone? Can I live it now? Can I see into it and smile or laugh or frown? 1995 has brought me many new thoughts of the past, present, and future. 1995 will always be cherished like the many other years that changed me and made me what I am today.

Comment: OMG! I wrote that 15 friggin' years ago. That is crazy. I've come a long way...or at least I'd like to think so. I thought this poem was apt since today is New Year's Eve. I'll look into 2010 and smile...or maybe laugh...or maybe frown. I haven't decided yet. Haha.

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR, PEEPS!

Avatar Is the Shiznit

Hope everyone had a pleasant holiday. I have been busy spending time with family, cooking, and eating a lot...like non-stop. But I guess that is what the holidays are all about. ;) However, in between bites of food, I went out to watch Avatar with Huz, cuz, and lil bro. It was the highlight of my week. Haha. Jk. (Not really.)

I had been really excited to watch Avatar and was not disappointed. I watched it in 3D, which probably wasn't necessary. I absolutely loved the movie though. The best part was the world created by writer/director James Cameron called Pandora and the blue people that cohabited it called the Na'vi. Everything about the world was...magical from the bizarre plants to the glowing trees to the larger than life animals. The CGI and effects were awesome and just made it feel and look so real.

In the movie, a human, Jake Sully, attempts to infiltrate one tribe on Pandora by using an avatar created with human and Na'vi DNA. He basically gets into a machine, and his mind is somehow connected to his avatar. On his first trip into the forest of Pandora, he gets separated from his crew. The Na'vi knows of these avatars and treats them as hostiles. However, Neytiri comes upon him and believes that he is somehow special. As such, her people allows him to stay with their tribe and learn the ways of the Na'vi. Soon Jake is conflicted about his mission because he has fallen in love with the world and with his teacher, Neytiri.

It is such a beautiful love story. However, freakin' teenagers in the theater ruined parts of the movie for me. They were snickering and making a commotion during the more sentimental parts. Ugh. They were so annoying. I tried to ignore it as best I could.

Anyway, despite all the good stuff in the movie, it did have its tired cliches. The humans were motivated by greed...of course. Pandora is rich with a mineral called unobtainium that sells for millions of dollars an ounce.Then there's the annoying military guy who just wants to destroy Pandora for no apparent reason than to just be the bad guy of the piece. His character was exaggerated almost to the point of the ridiculous.

But honestly, I don't care. The story was simple and probably didn't have much substance. I loved it anyway.

The movie reminded me of FernGully. Do you remember that cartoon movie from way back when? Huz had no idea what I was talking about.

Team Jacob

I need to clarify. I'm Team Jacob with short hair, not with the long wig thingee.

I know I am late with my review of New Moon, but I just watched it yesterday. I don't like being the first to watch a movie. I like being the last, okay? =p

Here is my review in three words. I. Heart. Jacob. Laura even admitted that she's Team Jacob, but only when it comes to the Twilight movies. She despises Robert Pattinson. Otherwise, she is Team Edward through and through.

All three of us went to watch New Moon last night. It was definitely fun watching it with both Tina and Laura because we are all huge fans of the books. And it's just fun when we are together. Laura and I were laughing at Bella's bad acting and Jasper's pained look. Tina yelled at us a lot, saying "You are ruining this for me!" I got all giddy when half-naked Jacob came on screen, and Laura laughed at my goofy expressions. Tina asked "Where's Edward?" a lot and "Is Jacob going to be naked in the whole movie?" I had to remind her that was part of the book. Garsh. So all in all, it was a great movie watching experience.

I wouldn't say New Moon is the best movie in the world. But I really loved it. It followed the book fairly closely. Taylor Lautner is awesome as Jacob Black. I am Team Jacob all the way, baby.

[Spoilers!]

Here are my top ten likes:
10. The effects are so much better this time around.
9. Aro and Jane
8. Bella and Jacob's banter about whom is older (It was in the book. So cute!)
7. Jacob climbing up to Bella's window (Hotness!)
6. The scene where Bella first saw Jacob turn into a werewolf (Awesome!)
5. Mike and Jacob with their palm up in the theater (Haha!)
4. Bella looks really pretty in this movie!
3. Werewolf Jacob
2. Almost-kisses between Bella and Jacob (Sigh.)
1. Half-naked Jacob (for obvious reasons)

Here are my top ten dislikes:
10. Half-naked Jacob (Makes me feel like a dirty dirty old woman.)
9. Bella and Jacob carrying on a normal conversation immediately after Bella friggin' jumped off a cliff! I'd be like "What the hell were you doing, you stupid stupid girl!?"
8. Mike and Jessica (for obvious reasons)
7. Bella telling Jacob that he's buff (Totally forced.)
6. Edward floating in the water next to Bella (Just weird.)
5. Bella and Edward kissing (Horny Bella. Nuff' said.)
4. "Pain." - said by Jane (Why?!)
3. Bella acting the same in every situation - a lot of huffing and puffing. I don't get it.
2. Bella's orgasmic reactions whenever she sees visions of Edward (Get a room!)
1. Bella screaming into her pillow in her sleep - she did it like five times! (Horrible acting.)

Should Leggings Stay in the 1990s?

There is not much originality in fashion these days. There is just reinvented fashion. Because I've lived for three decades now, I've seen quite a bit of fashion comebacks. I think most things should stay dead. They went out of fashion for a reason. Some have, so far at least, like shoulder pads, scrunchies, the stick-up bangs and overalls. Others unfortunately have not, like mom jeans, neon, and high heel sneakers. Fortunately these haven't really caught on. Admittedly I sported all of these fashions back in the day. Okay, I didn't really do the stick-up bangs but would have if I just knew how. I thought they were the coolest. Can you name any more disastrous fashion trends that have somehow sneaked its way back into relevance?

I noticed that a few fashion trends have been rejuvenated of late. They are trends to which I thought I said good-bye forever. I swore I'll never wear or care for them again. For example, flannel is back in full force. Although I admit they are updated and look pretty cool. Also, vests are back. Tina and I used to wear them in high school. Now I see Laura wearing them all the time. I haven't bought any flannel shirts or vests yet and probably won't. I don't know. Maybe.

Now come leggings, which is what I really want to talk about. I wore leggings back in 1992! Last year, all of a sudden they became trendy again. I refused to wear them and completely wrote them off. It reminded me of 13-year-old Tara who I rather put behind me. I didn't think leggings were me anymore. Like flannel shirts and vests, I associate leggings with me in the 90s. I was pretty dorky and clueless then. So last year for the entire year, I avoided them. There was just no way I was going to wear leggings...or so I thought.

Now I've succumb to its allure and love them. They are comfortable and cute with just about anything, including sweaters, cardigans, and dresses. Also, I like to wear loose tops that only look flattering with skinny jeans or leggings. They are great with boots too. You don't get that scrunching effect at the knee that you get with jeans. Ugh! Hate that. Plus I don leggings for my hip hop class. I look awesome while strutting my stuff and popping my hips! Bam bam! Haha.

Leggings, I welcome you to 2009.