Reason #3 why I love my new room

I have an excellent computer setup. My iMac has a 1Tb drive, plus I have several external drives connected to it. Over the last year or so I have collected about a hundred movies and another hundred television episodes. In addition, I have been copying some of my favorite movies do my computer. The whole point here is so I can watch fun stuff without leaving my room.

My housemate is slowly getting the message that I have no desire to spend ANY time with him. He wanted to watch a movie tonight and asked me if the movie appealed to me. I encouraged him to go ahead and watch it if he wanted to. I then returned to my attic room. Tonight's entertainment was the first two episodes of season two of "Warehouse 13". He likes the series too. Since we have canceled the SFYC the only way to watch the show is online. Maybe he'll look into viewing the episodes via hulu. Maybe not. Good luck!

Failing again

OK. Apparently, I am incapable of posting to my blog every day. I was hoping that committing to doing so would help distract me from the turmoil of my home life. Turns out that almost nothing is distracting enough for that at this point.

What does distract me, at least briefly? Organizing my new room. I've moved into the attic bedroom that my son used to occupy. He moved into the newly finished basement.

I try to do a little something every evening after work. In addition to generally organizing the room, I'm creating and organizing a significant collection of media files so that I can be easily entertained up her in my dark tower. Between things I've grabbed via TiVo and DVD's that I've ripped to my iMac I have around a hundred movies and a hundred episodes of television programs that I like. On top of that I have access to streaming via Netflix and Hulu. I'm also amassing a bit of a video library via Amazon.

While this may seem like a small thing, I really like zoning out to video entertainment. And, right now, I could use all the relaxing I can grab.

Bad to good

Today's prompt from NaBloPoMo: What's a bad thing that happened to you that ended up turning into something good?

I used to think that the end of one relationship, which led to the beginning of another, was a good thing. These days, I'm not so sure.

Overall, I try to look on the bright side of minor inconveniences these days. You might as well. Wallowing in the negative aspects of a situation doesn't do anyone any good. Sometimes it is unavoidable to get caught up in the negative aspects of a situation. Crap just happens. It's not the universe out to get you. Figure out if there was anything you could have done differently. Make a mental note to adjust your behavior in the future. And then, MOVE ON!

I'm living in the middle of a really bad situation right now. It would be so easy to just curl up in a ball and moan about how miserable the situation is. However, that won't change a darn thing. It's better to try to make the best out of the situation and to focus on the future. Some day, this too shall pass.

Would you change your appearance?

Today's prompt from NaBloPoMo: "If you could change one thing about your appearance, what would it be? Or would you change anything at all?"

Sadly, I am one of the many that would gladly change things about my appearance if I could. I don't know how this fantasy request would theoretically work. I mean, could I say that I wish that I was magically 35% lighter than I am now? That would be my first request.

If we had to go with something that wasn't just a general weight loss, I would probably want my thighs liposuctioned. I mean, even if I lost all the weight on my own (I have dropped it before), I would be unhappy with the cellulite in my thighs.

On the other hand, I do have these bags on my eyelids. My mom had them too. Maybe I would be thrilled to get an eyelid tuck.

Nah, the thighs must go!

Skill envy

Today's NaBloPoMo prompt: "What's one skill you wish you had? What's keeping you from learning it?"

I wish I was fluent in at least one foreign language. While it sounds lame, I think the biggest impediment has been time. Learning a foreign language is not easy. It takes dedication and practice. Then you have to use the skill periodically or it fades somewhat.

I also wouldn't mind knowing basic auto mechanics. It would be really satisfying to understand how my car works and to be able to figure out what's wrong with it when it ails. Again, I'm going to pull out the "time" reason.

There are lots of things that I'd love to learn to do or just to have knowledge of. The need to earn a living does get in the way. So, as soon as I hit that lottery jack pot I'm going on a learning bender!

A famous movie you've never seen

Today's NaBloPoMo prompt is: Name one famous movie you've never seen. Why not?

There are actually a couple that I am embarrassed that I've not made the time to see:

• Citizen Kane


• Easy Rider


• The Wild Bunch


• Midnight Cowboy


• Rebel Without a Cause


• Giant


• The Women


• China Town

The reason is the same for all of them: Because I simply have not gotten around to it. I actually love movies. I love watching them. I love discussing them. Sometimes I love watching them multiple times. There just aren't enough hours in the day really.

Maybe now that I've listed those films, I'll remember them when I'm looking for something to rent and watch.

What is the one thing you spend money on?

From today's NaBloPoMo prompt: "What's one thing you think it's worth spending money on? What's one thing you always cheap out on?"

While it may sound trivial, the one thing that we don't compromise in our house on is toilet paper. We insist on really soft stuff here.

In a similar vein, I will definitely 'cheap out' on other paper products like napkins, paper towels, ziploc baggies, aluminum foil, and the like. Most times it just doesn't matter what 'quality' those products are.

However, we must be good to our bottoms in our house!

What's your favorite color?

Last year, a good friend sold me a beautiful quilt she had made for less than half the price she had offered it on her store: Shadow Manor. The wonderful quilt inspired me to decorate my new attic refuge around it. The quilt is black, gray, lavender, and white. The primary colors of my room are lavender and gray walls, with (primarily) black wooden furniture. I tossed in a little orange here and there for a little extra Halloween theme.

When I was a kid, I thought my favorite color was red. In high school I had a yellow room, but then switched to pink and purple. If asked from that point onward, I would say that my favorite color was blue. Now, I'm torn.

I love purples and pinks. However, I love black and orange as well. And, most of my dress up clothes end up being brown, for some reason. I'm also planning on decorating another room in red and orange to mimic the colors of sunset.

So, if you ask me what my favorite color is, the answer you get will probably depend on the time of the day, day of the week, and in what context I'm considering the choice to apply to.

I can say this, however. My days of preferring muted colors for clothing and interior design are pretty much done. I'm almost fifty years old, and I like color, color that has something to say. Color shouldn't be a background or an afterthought. Use color with a purpose. You can wear earth tones that speak (they don't have to be demur and boring). You can design a room in pastels, but still have a message for the eye.

Don't be afraid of color. Don't be driven by what other people might think or like. Use color to please yourself, from the color of your hair, to the color of your socks, to the color of your car (I truly covet a obnoxiously lime green car I see in the work parking lot sometimes.) Life is too short not to enjoy yourself in a relatively harmless but creatively fun way.

Live the rainbow!

Sparkling vampires aside

Does that make up for missing yesterday?

Went to see "Twilight: Eclipse" tonight. No surprises for me since I have read the books. However, I have to say that it'd be pretty easy to be on Team Jacob. My favorite Taylor Lautner line happens 85% of the way through the movie. Bella, Jacob, and Edward are camped out on top of a mountain trying to hide Bella from a vampire army. Bella is about to freeze to death when Edward decides to let Jacob climb in the sleeping bag with Bella to keep her from dying. After Jake climbs in with her, he lays there with his very sculpted chest partially exposed and grinning. He looks at Edward and says something like, "What can I say? I'm hot." Nice double entendre there. While the shape shifters do run pretty hot, Taylor Lautner is VERY HOT looking.

The Twilight series is so totally geared towards young women. The vampires annoy traditional vampire fans because they break a lot of the standards. However, I enjoy the series despite the "vampire" aspect of it. It's a bit shallow and hormonal, but still fun.

Definitely looking forward to Bella's transformation in Breaking Dawn.

Feeling virtuous, but not green

I am in the process of tossing a lot of stuff from my house. Some of the stuff is still quite usable (bookcases, lumber). The 'green' thing to do would be to put ads on Freecycle or Craigslist. Instead, I am having a junk removal service come and take it to the dump.

I do feel guilty about this. However, I did already Freecycle a lot of stuff in the last six months. I just can't mentally manage the process any longer right now. I need to declutter my house, particularly the attic room I'm moving into.

I hope Mother Earth can forgive me. I plan on lessening my impact on the Earth significantly in this next year or so. I am on a very tight budget, so I won't be buying frivolous things or wasting the utilities absently. I know that I'll be the happier for both as well.

There is much I can do to amuse myself that costs very little once my new room situation is completely settled.

Trying again for July

I'm going to try again for posting every day this month per NaBloPoMo. Today's prompt: "What is your favorite movie?"

Just one? That is so UNFAIR. There are about a dozen movies that I will watch virtually any time that they are on, particularly late at night when I'm flipping channels because I can't sleep. Most of those are in my profile. I think I can narrow it down to the ones that I know the most lines from:

• Clerks
  
• Aliens
  
• Office Space
  
• Willow
  
• Princess Pride
  
• Snatch
  
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  
• Better Off Dead