Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" (or you can just ask for the meme, I won't mind) and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you.

Meme from marsdejahthoris

Power Rangers
- I can see that, as MMPR was what started our friendship on its current course. I started watching it my senior year, and taping it since you didn't have cable or satellite yet. We stuck through MMPR, Zeo, Turbo, Space, Lost Galaxy, Lightspeed Rescue, Time Force (where we started the short-lived tradition of getting together for the premieres), Wild Force, Ninja Storm, DinoThunder (featuring the return of Tommy Oliver!)....and then tapered off, as they started to just really lose cohesion.
PR reminds me of long nights at sleepovers, running through scenarios and rp sessions that would become part of our universe fanon, yet never be written down. Notebooks being swapped at homeroom, lunch, gym class and chorus. And of course, the immortal conversation ender, re: why Jason was the leader: "Because he has the biggest Zord."

Writing
-Heavily tied into the above. Yet, the first "story" I wrote was back in Limestone, when I was in Girl Scouts. It was about a troop with my friend Kelli Schoonover, going to a makeup shop. All the other Scouts in the story bought green makeup (to match their uniforms) while Kelli bought different colors.
I wrote fanfiction before I knew it had a name. I remember jotting down an opening to a sequel to Tad William's Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series in the blank spaces around the church bulletin. Those were always favorite scribbling spots. Yet, I managed to quickly write a poem that my mother gave to the minister, to see if he wanted to perhaps put it in the church newsletter. We didn't stay for the service that day, so you can imagine my shock the next week when I found out that Gary read it, and decided it fit the sermon he was giving that day. And he read it aloud, during his sermon. That's something I kind of wish I could go back and hear, to see what was said about it.
I miss writing cohesive fiction. I haven't written anything complete in ages.

Bicycles
-Really? I haven't ridden one since high school; Jeff appropriated mine to use with his friends. Then again, seeing as I ran over one of his my senior year (he had two)... My high school boyfriend was obsessed with bicycles, wanting to be the next Greg LeMond (I think Lance Armstrong beat him to it). Although, I was thinking about that yesterday morning. My clock radio is set to the classical station, and the announcer was talking about the movie Breaking Away, and the Italian Symphony that was used in it. The movie inspired Dana to shave his legs...too bad he chickened out after only shaving one. And then wore shorts to school.

Sailor Moon
-Ahhh, the anime gateway drug. I recently sold my DVDs of the movies, and if I can get in touch with Scarlet Otter, I'd send him the rest of my 6" and 12" dolls for his Vixen-Alpha series. But, because of Sailor Moon, I have my username (also related to Power Rangers), even if it did make the guys at MWD think I was in the Navy. :-P Without Sailor Moon, I never would have found Fushigi Yuugi, Revolutionary Girl Utena, or even really ventured into the anime sections at Blockbuster, Movie World, Hollywood Video, or Netflix.

Usenet
-Just the other day, I was thinking about Usenet: afs-m, rssif, The Sandbox.... Otaku Wars; finding both The Strong & the Sequined and On the Edge at rssif, which inspired me to write/post Designs of Greatness; how continually asking about female action figures at The Sandbox led to an invite to Men With Dolls. If YSU's news server had carried afp-r, I'd have been around there, too. I sort of miss Usenet; it seems to have been replaced by message boards and blogs.

Is it odd that for a brief moment, I thought $8 for 5 pieces of chocolate was a good deal?

I signed up for Godiva's rewards program, because of the free piece of chocolate every month. So now I get their e-mails. July's e-mail is talking about their limited-edition ice cream flavored truffles. Their special deal for Rewards members is a 5-piece sampler for $8. Considering that this is normally $11, not a bad deal.

But then I thought about it more. That's over a dollar per piece of chocolate. That's over a dollar and a half per piece of chocolate. That's...not really a deal. I can get a full-size Snickers bar for 50 cents. For $8, I can get 16 Snickers bars.

"But this is GODIVA chocolate," will come the argument. "This isn't some mass-produced candy bar available at every convenience store."

True. It's Godiva, and Godiva is a luxury brand. This is why Starbucks can charge as much for a cup of coffee as I pay for a whole bag of coffee beans. Perception. Now, I'll agree, Godiva is good. I thoroughly enjoyed the free piece I had last month. It was the Open Oyster, hazelnut praline between 2 milk chocolate shells. But when asked to describe it, well... "A nugget of Nutella between chocolate shells."

If the five-piece sampler price ($11) is a guideline, that makes one piece $2.20. Going by Google, I can get 2 13-ounce jars of Nutella for $7. Throw in a chocolate bar from Fresh N Easy ($0.50), and I can get a similar experience, in a larger quantity.

So while compared to its original price, the sampler deal is a good one, compared to alternatives, not so much.

I will admit, though, that if I had the $8 to spend frivolously, I'd probably get it.

I was sitting at the workstation, preparing to redo a mailing project, when I noticed something.  Now, to set the stage, one must know that my bangs are long.  Long as in, I should have trimmed them last week.  They hang about half an inch over the upper edge of my glasses, so yes, they are most definitely in my field of vision.  So.  As I was working on the computer, I noticed something odd, something clumpy-looking, in my bangs.  I took a moment, focused, then swept my fingers through that section of my bangs.  I expected to see a clump of thread or some other fabric-based bit of fuzz fall to the desk.  Instead, I had to take a few moments to process what, exactly, fell.  It was not a bit of fuzz. 

It was an ant.  A small, black ant.  While my brain tried to rumble into gear and figure out just how I ended up with an ant in my hair, my right hand moved of its own accord and squooshed it.

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At the grocery store after work, I noticed the display of Swedish Fish.  Just a dollar for an eight-ounce bag.  I like Swedish Fish; I haven't had Swedish Fish in a long time.

"Fish are good for you," I told my husband as I added the bag to the basket.  "They're brain food."

From tvtropes.org's "INSPACE" page:

Stories are often recycled from other shows, with the setting changed with just enough of a gimmick to make it look different. The characters will have the same character types, sometimes even the same voice actors. Sometimes these will be direct spinoffs, with the same characters with one major time or setting change. Later varieties included "AS KIDS!"

The majority of these are seen as nonsensical updates according to whatever else was popular at the time. Putting the series into space, though, is the big one.

And an individual entry, regarding the original 1970's Battlestar Galactica series:

The entire series was heavily inspired by series creator Glen Larson's Mormon faith, making it effectively The Book of Mormon IN SPACE!

...and finding that was triggered by Matt's comment, regarding yesterday's Sci-Fi Channel programming, "Did you know they made a Leprechaun 4? Leprechaun 4: IN SPACE."

Personally, I wasn't aware of more than 2, and that's just by skimming over the boxes in the video store waaaay back when.

It's five-forty am. Matt and I've been up since 4. We're getting ready to head out to the grocery stores. The alarm, set for six, won't go off for another 20 minutes.

I don't know why we woke up at 4. We just did. Well, no, amend that. Patch was rattling the bedroom door something fierce to try to get in, so that woke us up, but after that, we were just awake. So, we're going to get a head start on the day. We went through the grocery ads last night, making lists and marking out our route. Seven stores in all, most likely. I don't like price matching. I hated it as a cashier, so I try not to do it as a customer.

I don't think the sun's quite up yet. For some reason, this feels like folly, this early-morning foray into the world. But it must be done.

I am amazed. Okay, to start, my hours got cut starting last week. I now work 9=4:30 instead of 8-4:30. Everyone's hours are getting cut, so only losing one hour a day is acceptable, given that it could be a heck of a lot more.

But, I'm still making myself get up at 6, like I did when I worked at 8. That means I have an extra hour around the house. Last week, it still seemed like things were being cut close. Today, however, I got up, took a shower, got dressed, browned the pierogies in butter for my lunch, packed the rest of it (grapes, string cheese, yogurt and an apple), warmed up breakfast (leftover pancakes with butter and honey), ate breakfast, and still had forty-five minutes of computer time. I'm just stunned that I managed that.

We went to Lee Lee Oriental Supermarket yesterday. I bought a package of metal chopsticks, and boy oh boy, did the package have a great example of Engrish, retyped here for your reading confusion.

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Products Specification

Lian Rong tableware series is the high in quality catering products of modern household chosen. The products adopts import original materials, Science administration, quaint manufacture, health reliable, grinding-resistant high-temperature-resistant, enduring durable, unique design with contour. It is very easy to control with human body handle.

-The products has been cleaning with high temperature ultrasonic wave before installing. For the prevents to be polluted by transporting selling, Please use detergent to deterge before use.

-The products is according with entry to the sterilized cupboard for tableware of the high temperature or wltrasonic (sic) ware.

-The products doesn't use soap or steel-wire-ball to clean violently in order to keep smooth finish.

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From now on, I'm going to refer to my "human body handles" and my "sterilized cupboard for tableware of the high temperature." :-D

I was really hoping for Arizona to go the distance, but overall, they didn't do too shabby for a team that's been the butt of football jokes for years. I did make the comment to Matt that most other years, I'd be rooting for Pittsburgh. But since we live just down the road from the AZ Cardinals stadium, I have to root for them. Plus, Wendys was going to give out free junior Frostys if the Cards won. Oh well, no free frozen dairy dessert here.

Well, Matt's still unemployed. I don't get paid again for another week and a half. We've switched to prepaid power, and we only have enough for about 4 days, if we're VERY conservative. The rent check hasn't cleared yet, and the checking account has $7 less than we need to cover it.

Right now, I'm totally feeling the hit of the economy, and I do not like it one bit.

On my day off, I tend to clean the kitchen, work in the kitchen, bake in the kitchen, basically, be in the kitchen. And while doing that, I tend to turn to the Music Choice section of the cable box, specifically, "Today's Country." Usually, that works better than the radio for me. I can listen for hours without hearing a repeat, and I get to hear things they don't play on the radio here, things I haven't heard in years.

But today... Today, I've heard at least 2 songs repeat (Alan Jackson, "Country Boy," and Sugarland, "Already Gone"), and what really irritates me, it's been infected with Christmas music. They have at least 2 stations dedicated to "Sounds of the Season" and other holiday music; they don't need to infect the regular stations with it. This is why I tend to listen to cds from Thanksgiving to New Years. Even when I celebrated Christmas, I was usually sick of Christmas music by November 30th, especially when I worked retail, and had to listen to it ALL FREAKING DAY LONG at work. The last December I was in North Carolina was especially heinous, as we were all working 13 hour shifts because of the massive calendar jobs we had. Our manager, who started out the month exuberantly singing along with the songs, got so annoyed with "the remix of the remix of the remix of the remix of Little Drummer Boy," as he called the multiple variations of certain songs, that he grabbed a broom and used the handle to turn the volume off on the speaker in ImPress. I still don't see how retail corporations think non-stop Christmas music from Thanksgiving to New Years is a good idea. I'm just going to keep thanking my lucky stars that I no longer work retail, and therefore, can listen to my own music if I want (or no music at all, if I want).

Now to figure out how to keep a certain co-worker from randomly singing/humming/playing the theme to the Smurfs....

Okay, so, being Jehovah's Witnesses, my husband and I don't vote, therefore, we rarely pay attention to props and whatnot coming up on the ballot. But apparently, Arizona has a few hot-button ones this year, and one is getting a lot of attention. Prop 102 is a marriage proposition.

Now, what really bugs me about it are the pro-102 radio ads. They start off well enough, with a happy (sappy) reminiscing about marriage days, or proposals, or advice a man gave his sons about marriage, but here's where it bugs me: "Marriage is a husband, a wife, a _family._"

So...does that mean that couples who can't or won't have children aren't living up to the definition of marriage?

This is something that's bugged me for a while. In fact, one of the sisters, a good friend of mine, had even made the comment, "Well, if you don't plan on ever having children, why get married?"

To which my response should have been 1 Corinthians 7:8,9 -- Now I say to the unmarried persons and the widows, it is well for them that they remain even as I am. But if they do not have self-control, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to be inflamed [with passion].

See? Paul mentions nothing about kids, just keeping passions within marriage bonds. So that's our reasoning. :-P

blogofstench had a link to thrifthorror recently.

I followed it.

I spent over 8 hours yesterday looking at pictures of bad ceramics and reading the snarky commentary.

I then went to bed.

I DREAMT about bad ceramics and snarky commentary!!

And now I seriously have the desire to get a small, unobtrusive keychain digicam and spend a day trawling the Goodwills, Savers, and Value Villages around here, looking for my own thrift horrors. :-)

Oh, and I got this icon there, too.

In other thrift news, I found another glass/silver piece for my collection. A large pedestal bowl, and it was half-off. Looking at it when I got it home, I started wondering if it didn't start life that way, but someone decided to drill a hole in the bottom and add the pedestal. But, hey, another piece for the collection, even though I still want to sell off the entire lot.

I wonder...

Would the Rosefen still have been all "OMG Doctor+Rose=OTP4EVAH!!!!1111" if the Doctor was still played by Christopher Eccleston and not David Tennant?

Also, tvtropes.org is way too addictive.

When a cotton string mop gets dirty, don't run it through the washer.

One ends up with a cotton gordian knot.

Yesterday at the store, Matt and I saw one of those wooden puzzles for kids, you know, the kind that's more a "match the shape to the hole" than "make a pretty picture," with the little red knob-handles on the pieces. The theme was vehicles....and it MADE NOISE. I looked at it for a long time, wishing the store'd had one on display, so I could hear how loud it was. I mean, it had police cars and fire trucks!

Not knowing the volume level, I didn't get the puzzle. I mean, I can only buy noisy toys for my nephew on the other side of the country if they're sufficiently loud enough to annoy his daddy (my younger brother).

Then again, knowing my brother, the "loud, noisy toy from Aunt Jen" would get left at Grandma's house, to annoy my mother to no end.

One of my best friends from college, sapphirerose24, got married this past weekend. Because of plane fare, hotel fare, car fare and gas costs, I couldn't afford to go back to Ohio to see her get married. She posted pictures, and later sent me a small rant.

You see, she didn't just get married. She had A Wedding. Yes, A Wedding, capitalized. Venue, caterer, dress, photographer, the whole nine yards. Except for a wedding coordinator. She did all the arrangements herself.

Now, here's where her rant comes in. Because she shouldered all the responsibility for The Wedding, she also had all The Stress. Apparently, people kept telling her, "It'll all be worth it when you walk down the aisle and see your groom's face when he sees you for the first time." So she was seriously looking forward to that. She wanted The Moment That Would Make It Worth It.

She didn't get it. She's somewhat short, so when her aunt and the groom's father were, from what I understand, basically blocking the aisle trying to take pictures of her, she couldn't see her groom until she was practically right next to him. And for her, because she didn't get The Moment, she didn't enjoy The Wedding.

-------------------------------------------

Okay. Now, for my thoughts.

I didn't have A Wedding. I Got Married. I didn't get "The Moment" she was looking forward to, because for one, there was no aisle. Matt and I got married at a restaurant, where we and the eight people attending had lunch afterwards before Matt and I left for our one-night honeymoon. No catering; we all ordered off the menu. The cake was a simple sheet cake ordered at the grocery store the night before. Since college, I always said I wasn't going to have A Wedding, because of The Stress and The Cost. Because truthfully? While A Wedding might be a nice memory, pretty pictures, and fulfill a deeply-ingrained female need to be a princess for a day, The Wedding isn't what's important. What IS important?

The Marriage.

The years and decades that come AFTER The Wedding. The dress will sit in the back of the closet, most likely never to be worn again. The pictures will fade, the food will be forgotten, but day in, day out, you have your spouse, the tangible evidence of what truly lasts. You have The Marriage.

99% of the time, I don't regret not having A Wedding. When I worked at OfficeMax, and stressed-out brides, grooms, parents of the brides, etc, would come in, freaking out about invitations, announcements, programs, favors, I would look at them, and feel a renewed sense of thankfulness that Matt and I just Got Married. No worrying about colors, finicky paper sizes, ribbons, drilling, all that jazz. My invites were a grand total of two phone calls. I found my dress in a consignment store three days before the ceremony for $30. We paid the judge $50. Matt bought a tuxedo at Value City for $70 (and yes, he's worn it again, on the cruise we took last year).

You want to know the only thing I regret about not having A Wedding? I didn't get the chance to create a registry or have a "real" bridal shower. We got engaged in July 2004 and married in September 2004. Not long after I told my mother I was getting married, she organized a "card shower." So, almost all of our wedding "gifts" were money and gift cards. It turned out to be beneficial, keeping us fed the two months we were out of work in NC, but still, it would have been nice to play with the scan gun and create a list of things we truly wanted or needed. I didn't have any close female friends in Youngstown to throw me a "real" shower. Maybe that sounds a little...I can't get the word, capitalistic isn't really the one I want. But it's more than "I wanted stuff, dangit!" It's more, "I wanted the time and thought put into a gift," rather than "Here's fifty bucks on a WalMart card." And I feel guilty for wanting that, because as I mentioned, those WalMart gift cards kept us in groceries the two months it took for us to find work.

Bees. I like what they do for us, pollinating fruits and vegetables, creating honey. I don't like them around my house or myself.

That said, I found out this morning that I'm still not allergic to bees. Nothing like getting stung on the arm at 4:30 in the morning. :-P

Dodge has an all-electric concept car called....Zeo.

I want.

Okay, so....back when I worked at OMax, the CompUSA in the same plaza closed, and I picked up City of Heroes for about $5.  Almost a year ago, I think.  I've yet to install it.

Today, Matt picked up City of Villans at Big Lots for $10 (deluxe version with cards and figures and other miscellaneous stuff).  

We'd been looking for another MMO we could play together, but...we're down to one computer.  We'd been playing Voyage Century Online, since it's free, but the lag's been painful, and well, it was a lot a lot a lot of grinding.  I mean, I would set my character to mining, come back in ten minutes, move her to another ore stack, and start over.  And hope there were no "locusts," ie, swarms of guild alts all doing the same thing, exhausing the resources in no time flat.  Kind of took all the fun out of the game.

But, he wants another RPG.  He even reinstalled Once Upon a Knight, because he's always enjoyed it, and has yet to reach the level where you can catapult cows.  

So, some questions, directed primarily at <lj user="alessar">.  Are they completely separate games, or do they intermingle (ie, can a Villans chara meet up with a Heroes chara)?  Actually, that's the only question he had.  :-P

I'm going to go watch a movie now.

 

I always have a rough time sleeping Sunday nights. I don't know why, maybe it's because the weekend's over and I go back to work on Monday, maybe it's because Matt doesn't work Mondays, so he's up all night, and my schedule is thrown off. Tuesday through Friday, my schedule is up at 4 am, ride into work with Matt, then sleep in the back of the car for a few more hours until my shift starts at 8 am. Mondays, though, since he doesn't work, I'm reliant on my alarm at 5:50. Maybe it goes back to being afraid the durn thing won't go off and I'll end up seriously late. I don't know. All I know is I woke up at 1:30 when Matt came to bed. Then I started noticing things, like, "I gotta pee." "I kinda have heartburn." "My whole right arm assembly is aching." So I get up, use the bathroom, take a Pepcid Complete and a few ibuprofin, go back to bed. Toss, turn, toss, turn, can't get back to sleep. Give up, come out to the computer, check the Monday morning webcomic updates, check the e-mail, LJ, etc. It's now 2:30, and I'm a little tired again, so maybe I can get back to sleep. Three hours until the alarm goes off.