Saturday, October 31, 2009

Halloween P.S.

For those curious about this year's and last year's costumes, here they are! Last year in my honey bee outfit was fun, but it was the first time I'd really tried out the "sexy" thing with a costume. It was nerve-racking at first, wondering if my butt was showing. Eventually, I got over it and enjoyed myself. There were also wings that aren't shown in this image, but I really didn't like them.
Glenda and I went together to a party, and she was a Bollywood dancer. She had made her own costume, while I took the easy route and rushed to a party store to find something cute that would fit me. This is what I got.
This year, I don't yet have a picture of me in my costume. However, I do have the picture of the costume from ebay. I'm thinking that the model will look a wee bit better in it than me. Oh well.

Halloween!

Hello all! Tonight is Halloween, as you all know. I just heard the doorbell ring upstairs for trick or treaters. Earlier today I was out shopping at Alderwood Mall with Mariko, and there were tons of little girls and boys dressed up trick or treating in the mall. So cute!

Over the years, I've been many different things for Halloween; a clown, senorita, cowgirl, Avril Lavigne, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, honey bee, school girl, etc. Last night's party outfit was a black cat. Tonight I will be a sexy stewardess.

It seems that every year it gets more and more difficult to come up with original ideas. I had the brilliant idea of being a sailor girl after watching a music video by either the Saturdays or Girls Aloud. Unfortunately, I noticed that there were tons of sailor girl outfits this year. Evidently, I'm not exactly original. At least there weren't really any stewardess outfits. Mine is imported from an ebayer in Hong Kong. :o)

What fun, but not ugly unique Halloween costumes can you think of? I would love to have some ideas for next year!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Joy in the Little Things

Today is my 24th birthday. Yes, as my mom pointed out it's my "perfect" birthday - turning 24 on the 24th. And while it's been slow and I'm really not doing much to celebrate, various things today have made me a very happy birthday girl:

1. Waking up around 3am thinking that I needed to get up for work, then realizing the time and day and going back to sleep. Okay, this isn't that great, but finding out that the reason I'd awoken was due to a text message my friend Kirk had left wishing me a happy birthday made it a little better.

2. Walking out of my room to go wash up to find that Stacy (my roomie) had left a birthday gift sitting in the doorway of the bathroom for me. I'm glad her cat didn't start playing with it.

3. Getting the annual happy birthday song phone call from my family.

4. Sitting on my couch playing around online in a warm, cozy room courtesy of the space heater that my parents bought for my birthday.

5. Getting a free birthday scoop of Baskin Robbins ice cream. Yummy pumpkin pie flavor!

6. Finding an eyeliner in the perfect shade of deep purple for only $5 at Sephora.

7. Receiving a free 3-pack of lip glosses for my birthday at Sephora.

8. Buying myself two cute birthday panties...for only $1.99 each at Ross.

9. Eating leftover Chicken Tikka Masala from last night's outing with my mom for lunch.

10. Going dancing with Stacy tonight to celebrate.

There you go. I know that everyone does different things for their birthday, but I think mine is pretty darn cool. :o)

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Aging Through These Years

This Saturday will rise to find a 24-year-old where the night before left a 23-year-old. It isn't a milestone, of course, but it is another birthday for me. It is one of those times when I get a bit reflective on what has transpired thus far in my life. What accomplishments have I attained? What memories will make me giggle even when I'm old and senile? What lives have I touched that they will mourn me when I leave this world?

I suppose a lot has happened over the years, and I have experienced my share of things. Yet, I always think of those other things, the ones that I haven't managed to do. I have not finished my bachelor's degree. I have not had more than 1 boyfriend, and haven't had one that lasted over 5 months. I haven't found a career. I haven't made many new friends in Washington.

So often it becomes easier for me to dwell on these things than the positive experiences I've had. Okay, I haven't finished my degree, but I can go back at a later time when financially possible. Dating may not be one of my strengths, but I'm still going to put myself out there with open eyes and an open heart. My job may not be what I want to do for the rest of my life, but it's keeping a roof over my head, food in my belly, and I actually enjoy it. Plus, it is where I've made a couple new friends. And yeah, my social circle could use some widening, but I have friends both in Washington and across the country that I know care for me.

Back in Virginia, my roommate Meng (who became my best friend!), my sister Christina, and I would often have our girls' nights at a club in Roanoke. Sometimes it would be us, sometimes we'd have Kristina J. and Ashley with us, but it was always a good time. This picture was taken in my apartment before departure. As you can see, we were ready to take on the night and all that would come with it (fat old guy in a cowboy hat, weird ugly Italians, short Greek man who jumped when dancing...even to Usher, etc.).
This was a very happy time, as you can see from our faces.
More happy moments to come in later posts. I must leave you now to go practice singing for tomorrow night's karaoke.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Scary Movie Binge

After putting in a lot of hours earlier in the week, I was able to leave work around noon on Friday. I decided that it would be a good day to have a "free" shopping day and watch some scary movies to put me in the mood for Halloween.

My first stop was Bellevue Square mall, where I had my "free" shopping time. I was armed with a coupon for a free 2 oz. bottle of aromatherapy lotion from Bath & Body Works, and a coupon for a free panty and $10 off any purchase at Victoria's Secret. At Victoria's Secret, I picked out my free panty (I've probably gotten around 10 of them by now), and found a spray scent on sale for $10. Fabulous, free free free! Except that when the girl rang up my things, she informed me that the coupon was for $10 off any regularly-priced items. Well, crap. I ended up having her ring up the spray for the full price and take the $10 off of it, so I paid a little over $5, which is half the current price. Not bad. Next store was Bath & Body Works, where I found the 2 oz. aromatherapy lotions (I got the stress relief one), discovered a lovely seasonal scent, and picked out a vanilla bean hand sanitizer for $1.50. Great success! I also bought gyros for Stacy and I at the Greek Kitchen, but that wasn't part of my little game.

After coming back to a very excited roommate who was practically salivating at the sight of the gyros, I left to go pick up some movies at Blockbuster. I got The Lost Boys, Cronos, Behind the Mask, Green River Killer, A Tale of Two Sisters, and Children of the Corn. I watched a couple by myself, then watched Green River Killer with Stacy. Just some advice for my beloved reader(s): don't waste your time or dignity by watching this movie. The cinematography is horrible, it doesn't tell the whole story, and it's graphic both with sex and violence.

Children of the Corn was creepy, but wasn't really scary. The special effects are certainly not what they are now.

Cronos was a bit odd, but just as with Guillermo Del Toro's other movies, I felt a little let down.

The Lost Boys was fun but not scary in the least, and watching 80s movies is always fun. Love the outfits and hair! I think that this was the first movie I've seen with the "other" Corey - Corey Haim.

Behind the Mask was a comedy/horror movie. Basically, it was a documentary news crew following around a guy who was planning on becoming the next big slasher villain. Seriously hilarious, but the plot twist at the end was way too predictable.

Still haven't seen A Tale of Two Sisters, but I'm guessing that it will put me more on edge. I've heard that Asian horror movies are a completely different level of terror. I can't wait.

Tomorrow night I'm going to Mariko's for a scary movie sleepover. Besides everything pumpkin, I think scary movies is another reason to love October.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Ideals vs. Reality in Dating

Boy meets girl. Girl saves boy, leaves him with only a memory of her. Boy searches for girl. Girl wants to go back and meet boy. Girl gives up part of her identity to find boy. Boy and girl meet, and boy courts girl. Boy meets Other Girl and plans wedding. Girl saddened, but friends help her get to boy. Girl crashes wedding and Other Girl is revealed to be an octopus who drags girl away. Boy comes and rescues girl. They live happily ever after.

vs.

Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Boy pursues girl. Girl likes boy. Boy and girl date. Girl opens up to boy and falls in love. Boy is no longer interested in girl and moves on.

Even if you're a couple fries short of a Happy Meal, you'd be able to figure out that one is a Disney plot and the other is what typically happens. If you're a female, you can probably relate to why I have the love/hate relationship with Ariel and all the other Disney heroines. Basically, little girls are set up for failure. From the time the first video was popped in the VCR, I was shown how Prince Charming meets the beautiful princess (or occasionally a gorgeous peasant), and instantly falls in love. There's some bad stuff that happens in the middle to pull them apart, but ultimately the lovers end up together and live in wedded bliss until the VCR dies.

Girls really don't have a chance here. Megan Fox said in her recent Cosmo interview that because we have ::ahem!:: female parts down there, that we hold the power. How is it, then, that female hearts keep breaking, dreams keep shattering, and despite the economy, Ben & Jerry's keeps doing just fine? How is it that we have become so enraptured by the fairytale that when reality sets in, we are completely unable to cope?

What exactly happened with this generation? Did the feminist movement truly scare guys into losing all traces of gentlemanly behavior? Why do my friends roll their eyes when I say that I want a guy who will adore me? My grandparents married out of obligation, and even as they would yell at each other in various languages, anyone around them could tell that they loved each other. When I see old couple walking down the sidewalk hand-in-hand, I wonder when my turn will come.

I do not want to keep setting myself up for failure, but is having standards going to stand in the way of ever going out on a second date? Am I too traditional in my idea that a man should act like a man and a woman act like a woman and all that entails?

Open the door so that I may enter. Take the check without a thought (otherwise it isn't a date, and you will be magically transported into the friend zone). Don't stop pursuing me after we've been going out for a while. Call, don't text. Are these things so difficult? Am I living in a dream world to expect standard date behavior?

Experience has jaded me a bit. Rather than planning my dream wedding, I play out in my head what sort of shenanigans I'll get myself into when I become a crazy dog lady.

Just a word to Disney: Thanks for the good times, but I feel I'm moving in a different direction.