A Cartoonish Life

So Kevin and I went to Six Flags Great America yesterday. And if you haven't been there yet this summer, you might want to go soon. First of all, they're running the American Eagle backwards until September 17th in honor of the coaster's 35th anniversary (30th or 35th, something like that. Or it may be the park's. I can't remember.).

SECOND of all, they're shutting down the Iron Wolf September 5th and getting rid of it. Which you know what that means. POTENTIAL NEW ROLLERCOASTER!!! *squeeee!* In all seriousness, though, Six Flags Great America needs a new rollercoaster reeeeeally badly. That Dark Knight coaster really wasn't worth the hype, and the Little Dipper is just a transplant kids' rollercoaster from when Kiddieland was shut down. The last big rollercoaster SFGA got was Superman: The Ride.

My suggestions for the rides? They really need to get some groundskeepers on the job and do a better job of upkeeping the ride atmospheres. They could get rid of quite a bit of the plants by the Demon AND repaint the rocks AND get rid of all the gum people like to stick on the "stalactites." (That was just gross.) They could also try to spruce up the queuing area around there because it looks kind of run-down. Also, they REALLY need to think about revamping the queuing area around Batman: The Ride because all of the Tim Burton-style Batman stuff just makes it look outdated. Just re-theme it after the Nolan-verse Batman films (ESPECIALLY since The Dark Knight Returns will probably be out by next summer).

As for a replacement coaster for Iron Wolf? I would die if they got a rollercoaster that was on the same playing field with the X2 out at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Or the new Green Lantern coaster, which looks INSANE:



( As for the rest of the trip? Wellll.... )

Other than that, it was a fun day. My feet are sore today, and I don't have much of a voice left, but it was a fun day.

A few days ago, Mom was semi-fretting about how we didn't have a Christmas present for my "Aunt" Diane (I use the term loosely because the word "divorce" keeps getting thrown around between her and Uncle Troy) and my stepcousin Sandy. (You know, the one who graduated from IU this year.) So I told Mom not to sweat getting either one of them anything. For one thing, Diane NEVER shows up for Christmas with our side of the family, but we go out of our way to make sure we include Sandy and give her a little something. For another thing....I'm sorry, but when Sandy comes, she......ARGH, she's just the constant irritation for me every Christmas that she's everything I'm not. She's tall, skinny, blonde, tan, got to be a cheerleader popular girl in high school, got to go away to college and be a sorority girl wearing Abercrombie and Fitch crap. And when she comes for Christmas with Troy and TJ, here's what she does: she pigs out on the spinach-artichoke dip and shrimp cocktail, collects her little present, spends the majority of the time texting on her new cell phone and barely engages in conversation with us. Then two hours later, it's off to her other grandparents' on her mom's side of the family to collect more presents. I can't STAND it. To me, she just comes off as spoiled. And Mom agrees. I think it bothers Mom more because Diane does NOT come with them to Gramma Julie's, and it's like she sends Sandy with so she can collect whatever they're supposed to get.

I told Mom not to sweat getting Diane or Sandy anything for these reasons alone, and how we bitch about it every Christmas, and if it really bothers us, then this should be the year that all Sandy gets is a Christmas card because she is an ADULT now. She's a big girl. She graduated from college and is living in either Chicago or Indianapolis now. And it's not like she ever brings us Christmas presents. And especially if Diane never bothers to include herself in our annual family gathering....you know?! And Mom thanked me for putting it all in perspective for her because she knew I was right, and we gripe about this EVERY YEAR at Christmas.

Here's the point I'm trying to get at. We've had a very lean year as a family. Dad's been unemployed for the majority of the year. We barely had much of a Christmas this year for us. I bought for Mom, Dad, Hunter, Gramma Julie, Kevin, his mom, his grandma, and his Aunt Mary (his Aunt Mary always gives me a little unexpected something, so yeah). My Christmas budget was kind of tight this year, and in return, I don't really expect much and it doesn't really bother me. This may very well be a part of growing up...I don't know.

Christmas should not be about giving or getting, to be completely honest. It should be about having a day with your family and being grateful for what you have. Heck, I'm grateful that I get the day off of work today. And I'm really sick and tired of Sandy just showing up to eat, text and run off after two hours. And I'm even more sick and tired of Diane never showing up.

So today I hear that Sandy is coming to Christmas this year with us after all. With her new boyfriend. Great. Can't wait to see how stereotypically hunky he is and what kind of great career he has. I won't be doing anything with Kevin until he's done celebrating Christmas with his family at his cousin's out in Hobart. Which I was invited to, and he was invited to Christmas with us (he knows he's always welcome). But dammit all to hell with Sandy and HER PERFECT LIFE. I almost don't want to go to Gramma Julie's now because of her. AAAARGH.


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Sorry about the ranting to bring down the Christmas cheer. I just really needed to get that off of my chest. Can't stand Sandy.

On the good side...work wasn't so bad yesterday. It was a madhouse, of course, but you know what? I really wasn't sweating it. I just paced myself and handled it pretty well. I had some jerk older customer at the beginning of my shift give me attitude about IDing him for booze, but oh well. Get over it, older dude. Maybe that law will get repealed and you won't be so inconvenienced anymore. And I only worked five hours, which wasn't that bad. The time FLEW.

Made a crapload of Christmas cookies last night. Lots of chocolate chip and snickerdoodles. Was going to make sugar cookies, too, but I got tired. I got Family Guy and Philosophy from Hunter (yeah!), and I'll be getting new snow boots from Mom and Dad, but they're still on backorder. They'll probably come in this week. I also got two Weezer albums from Dan and Becky, of all people. Didn't expect that, and they really didn't have to get me anything. (Hurley and Death to False Metal, for anyone who's interested.)

Anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

So people are bitching and moaning about it on ohnotheydidnt (amongst other things...) and on their own LJs. Apparently, there's now something that allows your LJ posts to show up on your freaking Facebook account.

And I ask.......................WHY?!!!!

For one thing, I'm concerned enough about my privacy in the first place. For another thing, why would I want to link up my LJ with my Facebook? I post about enough shit on here that I don't want all the co-workers who I've added as a friend on goddamned Facebook that I don't particularly want reading.

You know, sometimes you need a place to go online where you can be somewhat anonymous and blog about stupid petty shit that you don't want everyone you know IRL to read. I don't really feel the need to sync this blog up with my Facebook account...which I touch maybe once in a week anyway.


And there you have it. My two cents about the subject. Facebook is stupid.

*edited* Because cosmosmariner put it the best:

First of all....."Tangled"?! WTF?!

I'm really not happy about this. I was annoyed when I heard--after all that squabbling--Disney was going to go the CG-route with this project. (THERE'S NO NEED! Goddammit, you don't need to do an animated movie in CG just because Shrek was as great as it was!) I was annoyed when I heard Kristen Chenowith was let go and they recast the lead role of Rapunzel with Mandy Moore doing the voice. (UGH, Mandy Moore. Can't stand how she sounds when she sings.) But the fact that they're renaming it Tangled pisses me off the most.

The Powers That Be at Disney claim that boys don't want to go see a movie with "princess" in the title. Well, how do you account for movies like Beauty and the Beast then? The Princess and the Frog did pretty decently at the box office...but maybe not as well as they would've liked. But there were a ton of issues going into that movie from the get-go, especially the race issue. Just.....urgh. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Rapunzel/Tangled/ whatever it's called is probably going to be the Sleeping Beauty of our generation, meaning it'll probably be the end-all of Disney animation.


Next on RAGE RAGE RAGE...you've gotta be freaking kidding me, Lindsay Lohan.

Newsflash, Lindsay: THE WORLD DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND YOU!!!!! You honestly think the "milkaholic" in this commercial was modeled after you?! Are you really that self-absorbed? Were you drunk/high when you watched this commercial? Or are you really that desperate for attention and money? I mean, you're pretty much a liability on movie sets and are uninsurable at this point. When was the last time you had a decent movie role? I mean, Ungaro fired her from doing her little fashion thing with them.

Hey, remember this rant?

So what is up with this?!



This came out last week. A 2-disc DVD set without the Blu-Ray disc. Which was what I originally wanted when they put it out last month!



Yeah, Kevin ended up getting me a Blu-Ray player because of this problem, and I'm not complaining. But wow. What a kick in the ass, you know?

So...The Fame Monster. Freaking AMAZING! But I don't know if it's because I got my copy at Target, or if it's just because I got the regular version and not the deluxe (I figured I already have the original version of The Fame, so I'd just get the regular version and save some money), but my CD is clearly a censored version. The dirty words are edited. Anyone else get The Fame Monster and have the same problem?

I don't even know if I have a favorite song because I love 'em all. I'm partial to "Bad Romance" and "Dance in the Dark," though.

*semi-tangent* I didn't get to see the AMAs; I totally forgot to set my VCR and went to go see WWE Survivor Series instead. But I heard about Gaga's performance with the flaming piano and Adam Lambert's man-on-man French kissing. So I have to get my two cents in on that.

Why are people making such a big deal about this and hating on it? Everyone already knows Adam Lambert is gay, so what's the big deal? A gay kiss, whootie-damn-doo. It's not like we haven't already seen such shocking stuff on TV before. It's okay when Britney Spears and Madonna kiss for the cameras, but when a really flamboyant gay guy goes it, everyone gets their panties in a bunch.

*tangent* Work is kicking my ass. I don't get a day off until Thanksgiving (as I'm sure I've mentioned). Today really wasn't so bad, but the whole second part of my shift was at register six. No real problems with enfrcing "15 items or less," but I don't understand why I can't get a bagger at the freaking EXPRESS lane when I need it. Whoever works register six during a busy holiday rush should not be expected to bag all of that stuff. Especially when customers think they can squeeze their way through with a shitload of stuff.

Oh, and this kills me: "Wow, it's busy today! Is it normally this busy on Tuesday?" No, it's not. There's nothing special going on Thursday that requires turkey, pie, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce.




Now back to "Dancing With the Stars." (GO DONNY!)

I've been away from the Internet for a good couple of weeks (maybe a few?). I don't really have much of an excuse. I just got tired and bored of getting online and doing the same old stuff and going to the same old websites (and reading a lot of the same old snarky stuff on ohnotheydidnt). That, and there's been some stuff I've had to do around the house that didn't require me being online as much as I usually am, like the humongous project of cleaning up/out the basement. Besides, my life shouldn't be dictated by what I do online.

But yeah. I spent a good healthy chunk of time offline. I spent time playing with Bo. I'm teaching myself how to speak French. (Not an easy task.) I've been working (ugh). Work just really manages to piss me off anymore. I get tired of dealing with the same customers all the time, and their little smart-assy comments about how expensive groceries are, and them trying to get all chit-chatty and chummy with me when I just don't give a crap. And they keep putting me on self-check more often, which I really loathe. Why do I loathe self-check? Because all the stupid customers come down to use them, and they are just clueless about operating them, even when I guide them through. ( Read more... )

I HATE KNOW-IT-ALLS WHO OFFER THEIR UNSOLICITED OPINONS WHO DON'T HAVE THE NERVE TO CALL ME A "STUPID LIBERAL" TO MY FACE. And dare I say it, all of the people who are opposed to health care reform and a public health insurance option are just rich, disgruntled Republicans who are still pissed off that Barack Obama was elected president. And I'm not getting into any more arguments about this with anyone who comments because I'm tired of being called a "stupid liberal" because I have an opinion. ASSHOLES.

(And in case you haven't been able to tell, my anger levels have been raising in the last few weeks. Expect a lot more ranting in future posts.


GOD, I don't want to go to work today.

Kate came out swinging on "Today" this morning, slamming Jon for clearing $230,000 out of the couple's joint bank account: "You've left your children and their mother unable to pay for the roof over their head. It's unacceptable."

As for Jon's claim the children don't want to do the show anymore, Kate says there was "wailing and sobbing" when she broke the news to 'em that filming has halted.

As TMZ previously reported, Kate's lawyers are going to court today to demand the return of the cash and a contempt citation against Jon. Stay tuned ...

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Kate Gosselin just doesn't get it. If you don't have a real job of your own and you can't provide for your kids (let's be honest; being a single mother and having eight children doesn't leave you enough time to search for and hold down a full-time job) and the baby-daddy is a douchebag and won't hold down his end of the deal, you don't air your dirty laundry out on TV and exploit the kids' cuteness-factor on TV. You collect welfare and go on food stamps! That's the American way!

Shit, single parents on welfare/food stamps is a reality show in its own merit. MTV should do a "True Life" episode on it.

And I hate to say it, but does anyone know how Nadya Suleman's holding up these days with her fourteen chillins?

Still fighting the good fight against Green Anti-Virus. I've pinpointed the problem, but when I try to delete the folder, it's not allowing me to. I don't know what to do from there.

*semi-tangent* Which kind of explains why I haven't been online for the last few days.( Rants about tight work schedules, Halloween costumes, DIY ruby slippers, and good coffee! )

*tangent* "Dancing With the Stars" this season rocks. My money's on either Mya, Aaron Carter or Donny Osmond. But I really, really, really hope Donny wins. :D

*tangent* Actually really looking forward to the new season of "The Girls Next Door" with the new girlfriends! It'll be interesting to see how the dynamic works with a new number one GF who hasn't been around as long as Holly was. (Speaking of, Holly Madison has finally gotten her own spinoff gig called "Planet Holly." Holly has no real personality of her own, so it'll probably tank. I'd rather see Bridget with her own reality spin-off; I don't consider her Travel Channel show an actual spinoff.)

Because of this shit. But you know what? That's fine. I wasn't really feeling compelled to recap and snark on it anymore. The whole vibe of the show never sat well with me in the first place.

*sigh* I really don't know what to say. People are complaining that VH1 and 51 Minds should've done more thorough background checks, but how can you do a background check on something that hasn't already happened yet? And I feel bad for Megan because...you know, what if this creep had won? (I heard he had made it down to the final four in the competition before he was eliminated, and he even went on to be on "I Love Money 3.") This was the same guy who told Megan that he was looking to get married so he could get his green card, and that he wouldn't make her sign a pre-nup.

Here's the thing. None of these dating reality shows (especially on VH1) are about love. Flava Flav wasn't looking for love; he was looking for easy money. Bret Michaels wasn't looking for love; he was looking for an opportunity to plug his solo career. All of their subsequent spinoffs aren't really looking for love, either. New York, Real and Chance, Daisy De La Hoya, Megan...they all just wanted their own shows and their fifteen minutes. And you don't know what sort of people you'll be getting when you have an open casting for these shows.

Frankly, I think VH1 should do away with all of their reality dating shows and competitions. It's overkill, and this turn of events with one of Megan's former suitors isn't going to make VH1 look good. They need to go back to showing music-oriented shows like "Pop-Up Video" and "Behind the Music." (Although I hear that "Behind the Music" is coming back next month...)