Another Lunch break post

Gah! I can't believe I forgot to BEDA yesterday... That really sucks. I also can't believe that April, and BEDA, is almost over. In a way it's a relief that I won't stress out about finding a half hour block to post, on the other hand, it was nice spending the day thinking about what to blog. Although I suppose now if I just blog every few days I can find more time to write it all out and not let it have that rushed feel that some of mine* had.

In some other news I went on a run yesterday, well a jog, but it was about 2 miles total. My legs are killing me today, and they scheduled me as a food runner, which means I just spend my entire shift walking from the kitchen to the tables loaded with heavy and hot plates of food. Don't get me wrong, I love food running shifts. I spend the entire time fetching things for other people and I love work like that, I'm good at it**.

Actually funny story about work. I was scheduled today at 4 like I always am, but usually I'm scheduled to be the Host, coordinating where people and reservations are sat. The hosts also have a slightly different dress code that is, especially for the females, usually nicer clothes. So I was in my black slacks and a nice short sleeve shirt. As a foodrunner I would be in my black dickies and a long sleeve button down shirt... Um oops. Thankfully none of the managers were too pissed about it, or pissed at all really, which is great cause normally they'd send me home to change. I'm still in my nice pants but I had a long sleeve shirt that wasn't button down. But on break (now actually) I went to get my headphones outta my car and I was looking in my trunk for a jacket but nstead found a brand-new black button down shirt. I bought it months ago bt since the material was subpar I was gonna return it and never got around to it. Total blessing in disguise, right?

Breaks almost over sadly, but on the plus side I'm not closing tonight! And tomorrow I'm taking the younger cousins to USC for the LA Times Festival of Books! Which is basically I giant book fair! Last year John Green was signing his latest book. This year I'm hoping to meet Jonathan Stroud, who wrote the Bartemaeus Trilogy which I adore!

Till Tomorrow,

DFTBA!

*ok most. Or, you know, all of them...
**I don't know what that says about me...

Old bosses' New Bosses'...

It's way too hot to spend on a computer blogging. Or even on a phone. I wish I didn't work tonight or I would totally be at the beach and in the water... As it is I spent today running errands and driving around. Sadly not with the top down, since the top can't come down, but windows down for sure!!

Days like these make me want to go and do outdoorsy things like hiking, which is insane, cause if I hike in this heat I'm liable to get dehydrated and unable to move in the middle of nowhere. Been there, done that, not fun. But I'm gonna have to end up at the beach and soon, otherwise, I'll go mad.

So at work, two managers left to different BJ's. Sadly they were 2 of the sane ones, and one of those was my absolute favorite Eugene* who was fun to flirt with... We're apparently getting this new girl who's worked every position and has moved up to become a manager. From what I heard she's fantastic, but the only thing I want to know is if she'll like me. All the other managers do which means they're usually willing to give me my days off when I ask for them. If she doesn't like me she can completely ruin a good thing... Not that I can, like, get away with murder, if I mess up or don't do a good job they're not afraid to let me know** but since I do a good job and they can trust me it's easy for me to say: "hey can I get more hours?" or: "can I get next Friday off? It's my birthday" In any case, apparently I'm gonna be able to meet her today as it's her first day... I'll keep y'all posted.

DFTBA!

*like the penguin Muppet :)
**sometimes in loud voices

Tonight I'm going to need you all with me.

"I've been running. 

Faster then I've ever run, 

and I've been running my whole life. 

Now its time for me to stop."

-The Doctor

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS TO THE FIRST EPISODE OF THE NEW SEASON OF DOCTOR WHO. DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE EPISODE.







Basically, I just rewatched the episode and took notes on what was happening. Sorry if its lengthy, theres's just a lot I wanted to mention. So this blog reads as part play by play commentary and my theories thrown in from time to time.

 First thing I want to point out is that we find out that 2 months ago that the Doctor left Rory and Amy behind telling them he'd be in touch. I'm so used to 10 needing to be with people that this strikes me as incredibly odd. Was the Doctor just giving Amy and Rory time to be newly weds or did he actually want to be alone. And why?

Also when River first comes into the scene and she and the Doctor sync their diaries I was a little pissed off that they had adventures that we didn't get to see. I mean, I know why that is now, but still I was a bit pissed...

And as for the Doctor's "running" quote, 10 has said the same too- he's been running ever since he was 8 years old and looked into time, eternity, whatever that was. So is his need to stop something to do with that? With Gallefrey and his past, or is this something new that's made the doctor see how much running he's done his life and now wants to stop. But what does that mean for the Doctor? What does "stop running" mean? No more adventures, no more TARDIS, a normal life? The one Adventure he can never have?

And then they move to their picnic near a lake. Which, I'm sorry, looks like no where on earth I've ever seen... seriously, that place looks more like a different planet then anything here. The water is too still and the moon too bright...

Then we find out that the Doctor is 1103 years old and mentions that Amy has put on a few pounds... Does he know what Amy will reveal to his past self? If he does then he's just following the timeline and wants to change something at a later point in time, but if he doesn't know then wouldn't that mean that he's completely changing everything in the past? I also can't tell if the Doctor knows that Amy has seen the alien or if he just thinks theres something weird that just happend. The expression on his face is way too subtle for me to figure out.

And I can't help but notice that River is surprisingly quiet throughout this scene. From what we later learn we know that she and the Doctor are travelling at opposite ends so right now River knows almost everything about the Doctor, while he knows so very little. Does she know that there is something wrong with what he's saying? That this is the calm before the storm?

And then that Astronaut shows up, and the Doctor sounds so sad when he tells them that they can't interfere no matter what, and of course to the Astronaut he says: "It's OK, I know it's you." And here's my theory that it might be River Song who kills him, as she of course, kills the best man she ever knew, and who could that be but the Doctor? We have so little info and the time doesn't seem to add up but this has been a theory ever since 5th season, one a friend of mine mentioned and made the most sense to me...
And then as the Doctor and the Astronaut are talking it looks as though the Doctor may be scolding the Astronaut with the pointing and the gesturing. And then he drops his head, like a kid in trouble. and again, he looks so sad.

And I know that Matt Smith was signed on for the whole season, and I've heard he was contracted for 3 total, but I still freaked out when he got shot and started to regenerate, and of course he got shot again and then River said he didn't get a chance to move to the next version and I almost began crying...

And then we find out he's not dead. And River's line: "This is cold. Even by your standards, this is cold." I would have slapped him more then once.

Poor River, trying to hold on to her Doctor and seeing their shared memories forgotten. It's The Silence in the Library all over again.

Later on the TARDIS when everyone leaves the Doctor cause they're cross with him, I think he looks a little scared. With Rory and Amy, and even River they wouldn't have much idea of what's going on, but this is the Doctor, and he's so very clever. He can put the universe together with just a few fragmented pieces. What does he think is going on, and why does he look scared, instead of confused about how everyone's acting or even a little distrusting of the whole situation. Why does he look scared? What has he figured out just by watching?

Did he spend those 200 years alone, only to contact them at the end? Or did they have this adventure with him already and he's just changing things to tweak the outcome? And what is the outcome? If it's not the Doctor's style to be avenged or saved then what is? The only thing I can think of is fixing something or saving the world. We saw the Doctor get killed, but that didn't destroy the world. Is it the Aliens and the "Revolution" mentioned in the trailer. Is he fixing History by getting rid of those aliens? Is that what needs to happen?

"He's interacted with his own past. He could rip a hole in the universe."
"He's done it before."
"And, in fairness, the universe did blow up."
Good ol' Rory :)
Why is he interacting with his past when he knows its so dangerous. It's like his whole "Time Lord Victorious" moment from before and we all know that didn't end too well. Does he still think that as the last Time Lord he's now above the rules, or has he just learned, through trial and error, how close to line he can get without screwing everything up?

Then we get that scene where the Doctor isn't going to 1969 because of some mysterious summons and River tries to get him to trust her but he won't. He flirts with her and jokes with her, but still doesn't trust her, and while I love River and really think she's one of the good guys. He's smart to want to know the answers. But if the writers turn around and have her be some enemy I'll have to hunt them down... But this scene. With what he says, with all his bitterness coming to light, and he is really bitter, he just hides it by being ridiculous, add Murray Gold's fantastic music and how the Doctor's voice gets all quiet... This scene gives me chills... I love it.

Of course followed up by one of the funniest moments in this episode with the Doctor trying to be all impressive about the TARDIS and River quietly fixing his mistakes :)

And a quick jump ahead since we've heard the phone call. The Space man the girl is scared of, its not the person in the spacesuit cause apparently thats her, so I think the Space man is either the Doctor, who's been called that before, or maybe the alien things. Its more likely to be the Doctor though, unless somehow that little girl is able to remember the Aliens even when they're not around, although that can be possible since that girl can't be what she seems to be. There's just too much weird around her.

"They're American!"
"Don't Shoot, dont shoot!"
yeah we're just crazy gun shooting cowboys, aren't we ;)

And then Amy sees the Alien again and forgets again, and shouldn't she be protected by that sort of thing since she's a time traveler?

And when she sees it in the restroom again and it kills Joy. That was way creepy, and did that security guard not hear Amy scream? What good is he then?

And then we get to Florida and Cantor is finding out more and more about the Doctor and the TARDIS, "Like your wheels." He's just so calm and cool about it, i love it!

"I'm quite the Screamer. Now there's a spoiler for you!" I LOVE RIVER SONG

Even though Rory didn't want to go in the tunnel, he seems a lot less useless then he used to be. Despite not having the big moments (and how could he with Amy and River there?) I really liked him in this episode. Before I kinda got the feeling that he was there because Amy is. He was just tagging along like Mickey did without being the tin dog. But then that scene with him and River and he's talking to her, it fleshes him out more, like he isn't just there, but wants to be and can be friends with the Doctor and River. Not just Amy's husband.

Of course talking to River, we get that heartbreaking line:

"The day is coming when I'll look into that man's eyes, my Doctor, and he won't have the faintest clue who I am.

"And I think it's going to kill me."

And then we get that lightening show and we have no clue if Rory's been hurt, and he better not have been. Although truth be told I don't think he has been, cause they already killed him last season, are they really going to do that again?

Meanwhile, with seconds left in the episode, Amy gives her grand reveal: She's Pregnant! And I freaked out again. In the very back of my mind, when Future Doctor mentioned that Amy gained some weight I thought "Maybe she's pregnant" But I didn't actually think that was true!!!

But here's something. Amy is pregnant. She's been feeling a little ill from time to time, but the first time it happened was after the alien. But the second time she's ill it wasn't from just seeing the Alien. So maybe those ill feelings were baby by nature and not the alien. Plus if it was from the alien wouldn't it make sense for their heads to be affected since its their brains that are getting tampered with? Plus wouldn't everyone be feeling ill? Joy didn't, but then she died really quickly. Rory didn't feel ill either. The only other person who had a sick to their stomach feeling was River. If the illness isn't because of the aliens, River might be pregnant too. Mind you this might be reaching, as clearly it wasn't the Doctor and since they're "together" I don't see River shacking up with whoever, plus she's been in jail... But still, imagine if she was?

Finally at the very end, we see the space suit and Amy reaches for the gun and in my head I'm going "Don't do it!!!" But its too late, we see the child in the suit and Amy doesn't stop herself in time and both she and the Doctor scream.... and that's it. Episode one is done.

There's still so many questions going on, and I can't believe that they're starting this season off with a 2 parter, jerks.

And next weekend I'll be at the LA Times Festival of Books at USC so I'll have to wait till like Monday to watch the episode... Oi.

Time for Blogging

The problem is that I have all these ideas for what I want to blog about, but then I never give myself enough time to blog, so then I'm stuck speed blogging when, like tonight, I've just gotten home from work, or days when I blog during my half-hour breaks at work.

Of course, I'm operating on the assumption that if I gave myself loads of time to write the blog I would actually use it to, you know, write the blog, and not kill al my time surfing online and checking twitter "for inspiration" Le Sigh.

I have this app on my computer called Freedom that I downloaded for NaNoWriMo that basically kills your internet for the amount of time you want it to up to 10 hours. So basically you can type away for say half an hour or even longer and no chance to go online and browse facebook. If I ever get more then 30 minutes to post I think I will try it out...


DFTBA

aww crap...

I did forget to BEDA yesterday. I couldn't remember at all whether I did or not... So FREAKING close to actually blogging once a day for a whole month! that sucks.

In other news, I apparently take Lists waaay too seriously. I wanted to post a quick top 5 movies list but I only got to 1 and 2... maybe 3... after then I keep changing my mind and forgetting movies I've seen and wondering about the movies I haven't..

I know that Shawshank Redemption gets top billing, and Lion King probably comes right after*, but then I don't know if Casablanca is 3rd and I draw a complete blank after that... What do you think... whats in your top five and whats missing from mine?

Of course Doctor Who season 6 began yesterday! I've seen the episode twice now and I have no clue what to make of it. I know it's got me looking forward to next saturday, but there's so much I want to know. But I think I will wait till tomorrow to post for fear of spoiling those who do not watch.

I know, I know, we all wanna talk DW but think if you accidentally got spoiled on such a brilliant show, how sucky would that be? Although I will say this, I don't think I noticed it in S5 but does it seem that 11 has the same bitterness that 10 noted in 9? After losing Rose***, losing Donna, after his hold "Time Lord Victorious" moment of insanity, after regenerating when he didn't want to... I think he's bitter again... I only hope that River is somehow to fix that, like Rose first did... I am one of the millions who have decided that River and The Doctor are definitely married at some point...

Well In any case, Its Easter Sunday**** so I'm off, plus I'm a bit tired.

Ta!


DFTBA

* Don't laugh. Its an amazing film with wonderful art, intense drama**, and a fantastic score.

**yes drama. Don't tell me you don't get a little weepy when Mufasa dies...

***TWICE :(

**** HAPPY EASTER!!!!!

Dream that's the thing to do

There's this letter forming in my head that I can't wait to blog about... But it's not finished. I need to do just a small bit of research and also have time to sit down and write it properly. Basically it's an open letter to the doctor. And I really want to tell you about it but I'm afraid I'll give away too much and my letter will suck. But I will write it...

In other news, I have a complaint. A huge one. People this week have had dreams of LeakyCon, of Doctor Who, Harry Potter, movies they've seen, and booms they've read. I hardly ever remember my dreams, except for last night. And it wasn't some cool "oh it's leakycon and there's Alex carpenter" dream... Oh no. I dreamed that my cat ran away and I spent the rest of the dream trying to find him. And I did find him in the end but he kept fighting to get away, not exactly a happy ending. So thank you, Universe. Thank you for not giving me awesome dreams like everyone else. Thanks for making me cry in my dream. I enjoyed that a lot...

The glories of nature. What are men compared to rocks and mountains?

In which work gets in the way again, and I offer another excuse

I had the short shift at work so I thought I'd have enough time to post Monday's blog today, but the host who was scheduled to come in at 4, and also close the restaurant decided to not show up and also never called a manager to let them know they weren't going to show so instead I got asked to close. So she's on the list now*.

So hopefully tomorrow I will post Monday's blog. I really really wanna share it with you too! Spoiler: it's in the form of pictures :)

I'm halfway thru The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and I went ahead and picked up another one of his books The Prince of Mist which is a children's book and was written first. I'm very curious to see how different his style is when writing for a different audience.

Thankfully tomorrow I have the day off but I do have Mass so I'll try to get my blog post out before then.

Till then,

DFTBA!

*I didn't know I had a list

Somethings are worth getting your heart broken for

Sarah Jane Smith: No. The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it's a world, or a relationship... Everything has its time. And everything ends.

So I had a great day yesterday and was all excited about blogging about it... And then I came home. And then I got to pissed to blog so I decided to opt out. My plan today was to post yesterday's blog today but I'm not going to. I'll probably get to it tomorrow.

I found out today that Elisabeth Sladen passed away. She's known to most people as Sarah Jane Smith, a companion to the 3rd and 4th doctor. I know her from when the 10th doctor met up with her again. And the new Whovians loved her so much she not only got a spinoff (that both 10 and 11 guest starred in) but she also made a reappearance on Doctor who in season 4 and as the Doctor was getting his reward before he regenerated.

When I first found out, I was shocked, of course, and a little sad. Sarah Jane Smith was a great character and Elisabeth Sladen a fantastic actress. But then it sunk in and "a little sad" turned into almost crying in the middle of the street. The stupid things people think about when confronted by death started to pop up:

"what's the doctor gonna say when he finds out?"
"who's gonna look after k-9 now?"

Even in the brief moments I knew her, Elisabeth Sladen WAS Sarah Jane Smith. And I'm sad that the Doctor and she will never meet up again.

A friend on Facebook noted that she only knew of SJS through the new DW series. She hasn't watched classic Who or the spinoff but she was still really sad and couldn't quite understand why. I myself am in the same boat so I wondered too.

I commented: she was connected to the Doctor's past. She was special to him, so she became special to us.

Sarah Jane Smith. Elisabeth Sladen you will be missed. So much. Goodbye.

ugh

no blog today. too pissed.

Mysteries and magic; Visions fantastic

Another lovely day in LA today. But this time I am heading to Disneyland. My friend Jen and I are going there to Watch Fantasmic tonight. We both really love this show. And as great as World of Color is, it's no match for Fantasmic for me. I've loved Fantasmic ever since I was a kid and dad or mom would my sis and I to Disneyland once every few years, usually for a birthday or when we had family from out of state visiting. Fantasmic was one of the things we would do. And it was always so cool to see Mickey defeat all the villains, especially Maleficant when she turned into a dragon.

Fast forward to when eventually we didn't go to Disneyland all that much, I think it was like a ten year gap when we finally went back. I remember they were still building what would be known as Disney's California Adventure.

And then fast forward once more to when I was working at Barnes and Noble. and a bunch of them planned to go to Disneyland and I was invited too. I remember asking if we can make time for Fantasmic, a little worried that they would say "nah..." cause it's not that good. But to my surprise and delight they readily agreed. That day passed in a whirl of amazing as I rode a rollar coaster for the first time*, got to get to know the Noble Crew as my friend Kevin dubbed us, a lot better then I had before, and generally just had a blast! Finally that night we all gathered on some steps on the Rivers of America to view Fantasmic. I remember being a little worried that it would not be as amazing as I thought it was when I was 8. And then the familair female voice announcing that we would see if Mickey was strong enough to stop the forces of evil that invade Mickey's dreams and that high pitch note that starts oh so quietly and slowly gets louder till the lights come out of the stage all bright and blinding and Finally, all the lights on our side go out at once with the music... And rewatching the show I had enjoyed as a child. Tearing up when the princesses appeared dancing with their princes, watching the dragon threaten Mickey and seeing Mickey beating the Dragon, to say nothing of his oh so adorable dancing when the show started...

Rewatching Fantasmic was the best Disney memory I have- because the show I loved as a child was not dated or lame. It was, well, fantastic. And no matter what new shows Disney puts out, no matter how much I love watching them, they will never hold a candle to Fantasmic!

*Screamin'

Hot Fun in the Summer TIme, We can do What we Want to

So yesterday. After I got back from my break, the manager thought that it was dying down enough to just send the remaining 3 hosts home as they hit their 5th hours instead of breaking them for lunch. Problem was that I still had a quote time and a wait for people coming in when, at 11 o'clock, the last host had to go home. The manager ended up having to help me seat parties, but since he couldn't stay the whole time, since he had manager stuff to do, like run the restaurant, I ended up having to deal with the whole greeting people as they walk in, paging people when a table was being cleaned, and seating them. Thankfully with some sporatic help from the manager and one of the servers, who's totally on my Hero list, I survived long enough for me to seat everyone on the waitlist by 11:45- 15 minutes before the restaurant closed. The best part of the crazy days when I have to bring my absolute best to the table, and sometimes even better then my best, is that at the end of the night the manager mentions to me that I was a huge part of the reason the night was a success!

It's really the only upside to having to close Friday nights, wake up 4.5 hrs later and go to work for 8 hrs...

After work today I almost went to Disneyland, but 1. I always go there, and 2. how could i not go to the beach when its perfect beach weather???

Plus Dland is still on Spring Break crowds so it would have been packed. So I changed out of my uniform and into some capris, a muscle tee, and my toms and I was off.

Despite the fact that at 5pm the weather was cooling down and the winds were a bit chillier the crowds were still going strong in Manhattan Beach, probably helped by the fact that there was a sidewalk sale going on, to say nothing of the incredible heat that the south bay had going on. Seriously, I stepped out of the restaurant at like 9:30 in the morning and it felt like the middle of July!

So there I was at the beach. Gorgeous of course. All the shops were busy, the restaurants were full, and the beach was full of people- the college students playing vollyball, young kids checking out the aquarium at the end of the pier, people on bogie boards and surfboards waiting for that perfect wave, families and old men fishing, couples holding hands, friend shrieking as they kicked water at their friends, everyone enjoying this seemingly perfect day. And it was perfect.

To me, when people say LA or SoCal I don't think of the Hollywood sign, or movie stars, shopping on rodeo drive. It has nothing to do with movie premieres and the oscars, or club hopping and the night life. LA is going to a dodger game in the middle of summer, hiking PV, driving up to Malibu in search of watering holes, but most important: LA is the beach. It's this:

Ahhhhhh!!!

I have nine minutes before I need to clock back in and since I don't get off the clock till midnight that means I have less then 10 minutes to post a Blog!!!!!!!

*head explodes*

Much like is been threatening to do all night. I only had one patio to use for reservations and 3 over large parties. Since our restaurant is small that means most of my table were being saved for the reservations instead of sat with parties waiting, which means we had to give people high quote times, which mean most parties don't stay cause who wants to wait an hour to be sat, which means we have less people buying food, which means we have less sales, which means less money to spend on employees, which mean less hours to give out, which means my paycheck is smaller... OMG!!!!

I have a headache...

DFTBA

It's the time of the season

It was such a nice day, but it so sucks that no matter how warm it is during the day its always so cold at night. I'm just looking forward to when i could put my heavy blanket away, sleep with a thin sheet and still need to open a window. And I swear if our Summeris anything like last years I will cry. It was so pathetic!!! It makes me want to rip my hair out anytime I think of it. It hardly ever got past the mid 70s and for me, summer is mid 80 to 90s. I still had a jacket cause even though it was in the 70s the ocean breeze made it feel colder :-/

Ooh! My room is clean! Just one load of laundry left and I'm done! just in time for Spring Break... to end... ah well. I still have tomorrow, well till work at 4... working 6 days is great for my paycheck, not so much for being in my 20s and supposed to live life like its a party...

I don't know why but I'm not feeling the blog tonight. Seriously, I've deleted and rewritten this post 3 times. First time thats happened to me. Usually if i push myself I tend to get a groove going. But tonight? Nothing...

ah well,

night all

DFTBA

I got a lot to say, I got a lot to say, I got a lot to say. I can't remember now, I can't remember now, I can't remember now

I wonder what would happen if Dr House from House MD met Dr Lightman from Lie To Me...

Anyways. Even though Thursdays are my usual (and only) day off I'm going in tomorrow to do the bookeeping. I usually do that on weekends, but the girl who takes care of it Mon-Fri needs a day off since she's been getting sick*. Its not too bad though, its a slightly higher pay and it's only 4 hours and the best part? I don't deal with guests :) They asked me to also cover take-out but honestly I couldn't... I still need to clean my room** and honestly I was waay looking forward to getting to wear some color instead of all black...

So these days anytime I see a plane, all I can think is "Come July, that'll be me..." I'm still surprised I'm gonna get to go. I'm mentally thinking of what I need to pack, how to avoid too much luggage, how much it'll cost to ship things home... just a lot of little things. squee. really, just, squee!

The only thing I'm worried about is my cat. He hates it when I leave. And apparently he meows all night when I'm not home, he still sleeps in my room even when I'm not there. And of course when I get back he'll avoid me for like 3 days until he forgives me. The cat, Eros, started out as being my sister's. But for some reason Eros chose me, and really doesn't like anyone else except maybe my mom.

There's not much going on, I might hit the beach tomorrow, and I might catch some Doctor Who with Robin since we've still only seen the Christmas episode of Season 2...

Since I gotta be up all hella early I'm turning in now. Catch you all later!

DFTBA

*as prescribed by her Doctor, lucky duck...
** There's a very good chance my room will never be clean again. I've accepted that, mom, however, sure hasn't.