Life Under Construction

Archive for 2009

This video is - without a doubt – the greatest video I have seen in all of 2009.

I love you, Maxie, but it even trumps Blogger Face.  When you see it, you will be forced to agree.

Woman with lollipop for absolutely no reason?  Check.
Majorly fake religious bling?  Check.
NIV with a ribbon bookmark?  CHECK.
Seriously awesome lyrics?  Double.Effing.Check.
–>   Seriously… ‘wienie’ and ‘Amen’ in the same verse?  CHECK!!!!

And I just bought it on iTunes.  Don’t judge me.

Happy New Years Eve, everybodies!  I’m going to karaoke tonight at the Cove if anyone wants to meet me there!

What did you think of this video?
Isn’t it ten thousand different kinds of awesome?
Are you as excited as I am???

It’s an arid 19°F outside today here in southern Rhode Island, but I’m not going to let that get me down (even though I have to go out in it later when it will surely be colder).  Yesterday was such a crummy, stressful day, that today I just want everything to be relaxed and happy.

My nephew is being so incredibly good this morning, and I keep telling him how proud he makes me.  We’re taking a break from playing trains and watching Thomas so that he can play Super Mario Bros on Sarah’s new Wii.  If I walk out into the living room, this is what I see:

And if he catches me watching him, it’s all over.  All he wants to do is watch me play.  He doesn’t want to play himself.  And he shouts things at me.

“Jump there, Auntie Jammy!  Watch out that bad guy!  Wait!  Go down there!  Look at that lights are on!”

and:

“Get the pennies!”

and my personal favorite, one that rises in crescendo and pitch with each word:

“Auntie. Jammy.  You. Are. Really. Cool. This. Game!”

I only just got away for a few minutes, just now.

What a weird kid I have for a nephew.  I remember playing the original Super Mario Bros at his age.  When I was 6, I didn’t like watching anyone else play Mario.  I wanted to play all the time.  Me! Me! ME!  I didn’t even like two player mode because I had to wait my turn.  I hated it so much that I learned to beat the game in one guy, so that I never had to wait my turn.

I still don’t like to share.  lolz.

Ask anyone I know, they’ll tell you it’s always ‘Jaime Jaime Jaime’.  It is perhaps my biggest personality flaw, how selfish I am.

(I swear the people down the street can probably hear his squeals of excitement when he jumps over a hole, or when a mushroom gets too close to him.  It is so cute!)

So I guess that’s it for today.  I’m being summoned rather loudly from the living room, where my beloved Super Mario Bros game has been transformed from this:

…into this:

And then I will go to the store to pick up the necessary ingredients for the steak dinner I am cooking for my sister and my dad.

Happy Wednesday, everyone.

What was the first game you ever played on a game system?
Do you share well?  Are you a ’sharer’?
What are you having for dinner?

The sun is disappearing over the horizon that is 2009.

I’m so deep, I know.

Four days until the start of the new year.  I feel rather reluctant to leave 2009 behind, so I suppose it’s a good thing that time doesn’t consult me before moving ahead.  I’m sure that if it did I’d still be 6 years old, living in The Gray House, spending my days climbing giant mounds of dirt and hanging out at The Old Oak Tree.

But alas, each day is ending and bringing me closer to 2010.

It’s scary, not knowing what is coming.  I like plans.  I like when things are set in stone, and when there are no surprises.  My skin is cold with anxiety just thinking about it.

At the same time, I know that in approximately three months my best friend is coming home.  We will no longer have to live via telephone wires and internet waves.  We’ll have this whole new life, and I’m excited for it.

But at the same time?  I’m sad.  I’m always sad when things are over.  Even things that weren’t so good to begin with, like old relationships or crummy vacations.  I hate when things end because I don’t know what is coming.

It is for this reason why I hate to finish reading an incredible book.  I know that when I pick it up again, it won’t feel the same.  Will I ever be able to recapture that feeling?  The one where I loved what I found between the pages?  Or right now, nearing the end of the holiday season…  will I ever feel as surrounded by family and tradition as I did this year (when this year I didn’t feel it as much as I have in the past)?  I feel like this every year.  I’m looking forward to the new things to come, and yet I’m sad to leave behind the things I’ve experienced.

Let’s be honest, we all know my memory is crap sometimes.

The new year is coming, and it’s bringing changes with it.  Big, bright, shining changes.  I’m ready for them, but it’s a bittersweet kind of anticipation that I’m feeling.  Kind of like watching the sun go down: you know it happens every night and that the sun comes up every morning, but there’s an ache in your heart as you watch something so beautiful disappear.

I LOVE… Christmas.  It is the only good thing about the winter season.

I LOVE…  green.  It is my favorite color.

I LOVE…  my hot new video camera from Walter.  I seriously love it.  I take it everywhere with me now, even if I’m not using it.

What??!!!

I LOVE…  taking pictures and video of everything.  I remember things better if I have a visual.  I recorded 80% of today’s Christmassy festivities with my new video camera and I’m very excited about it.

I LOVE…  my awesome new Nintendo DS from Sarah!!!1  She even gave me a cute little carrying case for it.  I can’t wait to find a game I like!

I LOVE…  my family… my parents, my grandparents, my brother and sisters, my husband’s mother and brothers… I’m so lucky to have such an amazing and loving family.  I really am thankful for them all!

I LOVE…  that Pham took time out of his day on Wednesday to help me figure out what was wrong with my non-video.  On a related note, I simply hate (HATE!) Windows Media Player. French The Llama.

I LOVE…  the video I made that was supposed to be a vlog on Wednesday, even though it ended up not being saved.

I LOVE… Harry Potter.  Oh wait, did I already say that this week?  Santa *cough*I*cough* got me Books 4-7.

I LOVE…  watching people open the gifts I got them, and getting gifts I really like (I have always been more of a ‘getter’ than a ‘giver’ at Christmas).

I LOVE… prime rib and au jus.

I LOVE… that I can out eat just about anyone I know.  Seriously.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

What do YOU love today?!!

I had this cute vlog all recorded and edited, but due to the epic retardedness of Windows Movie Maker (I have no other video editing software) I can’t upload it because I can’t save the project file.

I’m sorry.  I know your holiday is ruined now.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a special Christmas edition of I LOVE…Fridays! so enjoy your Christmas eve.

I still love you.

When I admit to you in passing that I love Harry Potter, I don’t mean it in that ‘I’ll watch it if it’s on’ or ‘I read the books and thought they were terrific’ kind of way.  I’m serious that I Love.Harry.Potter.  I might just say it in passing, but inside I’m all excited just at the mention of it.  My mind goes into HP overdrive and I try to discern if you love Harry Potter or if you just like it.

I’m most likely wondering silently what house you would be in (LET’S GO GRYFFINDOR!)…

…if you’ve decided what kind of wand you would have if you went to Hogwarts, what your Patronus would be…

I randomly slip into the conversation (any conversation) that I listen to Wizard Rock, that’s Harry Potter music, and from your expression I will glean whether or not your are repulsed by my slightly obsessive behavior (usually people think I’m nuts, but don’t say it out loud and I can totally tell by their facial expression after I admit this little gem).  Of COURSE I listen to Wizard Rock (thank you Pham!), because it rocks.  Literally.   Ministry Of Magic?  The Parselmouths?  HECK YES!

I wanna be in a Wizard Rock band!  I can sing!

I think about the wizarding world in relation to the real world all the time, comparing and contrasting, wondering What would be the secret use of this thing here? or How cool would it be if that guy over there that’s dressed all weird-like was really a wizard trying to blend in with the muggles?  At least he’d have an excuse for wearing that, if he didn’t know any better.

I want Gryffindor robes… really good quality ones, not cheap Halloween costume material.

I cast spells at people and things inside my head.  Stupefy!  Riddikulus!  Expecto Patronum (just for funsies)!  (Accio would be wicked useful for getting the phaser when I didn’t want to get up to change the channel!)

Yesterday I wrapped the last four HP books and labeled them To: Jaime, From: Santa to put under the tree.  Boy, Santa really does know what I like!  And you know what?  I’m going to be excited when I open them!  That means I can read them again!  I bought them on Black Friday and hid them from myself so I could give them to myself on Christmas.  With my GPS.

I would talk about Harry Potter with a complete stranger if one walked up to me on the street.  Wanna know how to kidnap me without having to use force?  Ask me questions about Harry Potter and seem genuinely interested.  I’ll probably go anywhere with you just to have someone to talk about HP with.

(And just in case you’re wondering… my husband thinks he knows how weird I am weird and married me anyway.  Joke is on him!)

I’m feeling out of sorts today, so here’s a random blog from my old Myspace page that most of you (if not all of you) haven’t read.

********************

ALRIGHT!

My shitty mood over the last few days was solved this morning. SOLVED. I chased it away!

Good riddance, shitty mood! I bet you all want to know how I did such a thing. Even if you don’t, I’m still going to tell you!

One of the few things I take a severe sort of joy in is being organized. Organized out the ears. Not only do I pride myself on my attention to detail, but I also seriously love reorganizing things and making them work better. I always notice when something is out of place, especially if it’s mine. And this applies to everything in life, not just my movies or my closet… it applies to my relationships with the people close to me and the things in their lives as well.

I know. I’m a freak!

Well, as luck would have it this morning I was balancing my checkbook and it came out even. Even, I tell you! I LOVE WHEN THAT HAPPENS!!! It almost makes up for not having any cereal in the house for a week.

Almost.

So I’m cheerful, and it’s because there are some things in life that I have complete control over. Complete control means I can fix things. Fixing things that have gone wrong makes me happy.

Now, here is one of my favorite videos for you all to watch, just for the sake of sharing!!!

The mulberry bush!
The mulberry bush!

I got my Christmas present from Walter!

Did I just use my camera phone to take a picture of my brand new camcorder when I could have used my digital camera?  Yes I did.  And do you see that remote behind it on the left?  That is for the camera.  MY CAMCORDER COMES WITH A PHASER (yes, in my family we call remote controls “phasers”, don’t judge us.).  Isn’t it AWESOME?!!!  I’m going to try it out soon.  :D

I wrapped Sarah and John’s Christmas presents this weekend after going shopping with my dad.  I only have a few presents for me and my dad to wrap and put under the tree.  And what’s more?  My wrapping has improved so very much that people will not be grossed out when they see the mangled forms of their Christmas presents!  WINKITTY!

I seem to be getting more and more blog-tarded these days.  I have a very short attention span for blogs that are more than like four paragraphs.  It makes me feel bad but obviously you people have something against me and don’t want me to read the things you write, or you’d make your blogs shorter!  Or add more pictures.

I’ve become Mrs. McSkims-A-Lot.

I watched all 26 Episodes of Fruits Basket, and I loved it.  I wish I had the manga, but I don’t feel like spending the monies on it and I certainly can’t guarantee that I’d ever read it once I did get it.  I mean, after watching Gravitation the first five times I bought the mangas and I’ve only read like the first three or four (out of 13).

That was five years ago, people.

So yeah… snow.  We have it here, like it seems everywhere else on the planet also has it.  I got stuck trying to get out of my driveway this morning (we got about 14 inches yesterday).  My driveway empties out onto a rather busy road but as I’m nearing the end of the drive I can see that no cars are coming from either direction!  What luck!  But like I said… it’s a semi-busy road… so you can imagine my embarrassment when I go to pull out and get stuck in the massive inches of snow and the stupid dip that everyone and their brother bottoms out on when they pull in or out of my driveway.

People!!!  I was ¾ hanging out of the driveway for almost 5 minutes with my hazards on (and my face buried in my delicate, ungloved hands as people drove around me and gave me the fist) before my downstairs neighbors came out and gave me a good shove because they, too, had to get out of the driveway.

And did I mention that I live on a hill?  And that I had to go up the hill?  You’d think no one ever used this road what with the crappy job they do plowing it every. time. it. snows.  Not to mention that my landlord didn’t bother sending someone to plow the extra six inches in the gigantic driveway when the snow stopped (he’d plowed it wicked early yesterday morning while it was still snowing outside and never came back).  My sister broke the front of her Toyota Highlander (it’s kind of big) trying to get out of the driveway this morning, too.  And that’s AFTER our upstairs neighbor spent half of yesterday shoveling what he shouldn’t have had to shovel.

And don’t say anything about my blog being long today.  At least I gave you pictures.

…

Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 Challenge:
December 21 Project. What did you start this year that you’re proud of?

NaNoWrimo.  Wait, let me go back and answer NaNoWriMo for every question.  It is the most self satisfying thing I have ever done.  I”ll never forget the things I learned about writing and about myself last month (it was only last month?  I had to look it up, it feels like years ago) and I’ll use those things in the future.  Not only did I start the project, but I finished it too.  And that’s so impressive of me, because I never finish anything (unless it’s food).

Jaime: I love Gram’s scones.  She makes the best scones in the world.  When I get to my mom’s tonight I’m gonna be all like ‘bitch, get in the kitchen and make me some scones’.  But I won’t really say it like that.  And she’ll do it.
Mike: I’m sure she will.
Jaime: Yeah but it sucks ’cause you only get like 5 scones out of one batch.  *grumble*
Mike: You know what?  5 scones would be enough for most people, but not you.  Not you.

…

I LOVE…  Project for Awesome.  It was such a hit yesterday, let’s keep it going today!!!!!

I LOVE…  that when I was filming my vlog yesterday I actually felt comfortable in front of the camera.  WINKITTY!

I LOVE…  that Steffi subscribed to my YouTube channel.  I now have SIX subscribers.  It feels good.  :D

I LOVE…  formspring.me.  Like… I love it so much.  It is my new favorite.

I LOVE…  that it’s Christmas time and I’m actually feeling in the mood for it, and it isn’t creeping up on me!  Not only am I prepared, but I’m excited for it.  *dances*  Now all I need is a Santa hat.

I LOVE…  Fruits Basket!  I’m watching it now on Hulu for the first time, and it is uber cute!  I want to own it on DVD someday.

I LOVE…  anime.  I want to watch all the anime I own with Walter.  And I want to own all the InuYasha but it will take me a while to collect them (…all six million episodes).

I LOVE…  that Crystal came over on Tuesday and we totally had Knitfest 2009 in my living room, watching Pride & Prejudice.  I started on my brother’s scarf that he doesn’t know I’m making him (I hope I have it done by Christmas).

I LOVE…  that twice this week I accidentally left the house in my slippers.  lolz

I LOVE…  wearing Walter’s sweatshirt.

What do YOU love today?

…

Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 Challenge:
December 18 Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year?

I spent most of my money at the mall.  Random stores at the mall, I guess, even though I went a lot less this year than I did last year.  I would just like to say that I love spending money.  LOVE IT!  I could be buying cold cuts, as long as I’m spending money I feel good.