Mishmash of default icons I made for various layouts, plus a lot of Kristen Stewart.

01. 02. 03. 04.
( more )

1. Last week I went to Point Dume and lounged by the beach. A pod of porpoises swam by. Why does anyone live anywhere else?
1b. I now have a V shaped sun burn on my chest.

2. Yes I am posting just because I wanted to use my new icon. (also, new layout)
2b. Ever since Adventureland, I've had a crazy new girl crush on Kristen Stewart. It helps that she was in one of my favorite movies of all time: Into The Wild.

3. I saw Up this weekend. It broke my heart, then scotch taped it back together.

4. I'm still unemployed.
4b. So I'm going to London and Paris at the end of the month. Seems like the fiscally responsible thing to do.


( Accomplishments )

Growing up in Seattle, our go-to family vacation was the Olympic Peninsula. I couldn't possibly estimate the amount of time I spent there as a kid. In a fit of nostalgia, I decided to go back and do the 101 loop just like when I was little, but this time with better hotels. It was awesome. Just like I remember it, except now there are Twilight tourists all over the Forks area who think it's okay to smoke in National Forests. Dude, it's a NATIONAL FOREST, do the math.


( Port Angeles, Freshwater Bay: )

( Views from the Hotel Room in Port Angeles: )

( Lake Crescent Area: )

( Kayaking: )

( Hood Canal, Family Cabin: )

( Hiking down to Third Beach: )

( Kalaloch: )

( Shi Shi Beach, Cape Flattery, Makah Reservation: )

( Quinault Lodge: )

( Leverage )

( Battlestar Galactica )

( Dollhouse )

( Legend of the Seeker )

( Sarah Connor )



( Accomplishments )

I am once again on hiatus. Free to go to the beach, the spa, work on my own writing, catch up on tv, maybe even update my livejournal more than once a month. It's awesome.

( Accomplishments )

New Years Resolutions

1. 50% of paycheck goes into savings. (While I'm working, during hiatus all bets are off) I've really got to stop being one of those Americans who ignores savings in favor of retail therapy. It's time to be a fiscal grown up.

2. No Ss diet. No Snacks. No Sweets. No Seconds. Except on days that start with S. I've been doing this for the last few months and I think it's really changed my eating for the better. And it's pretty easy to keep going without feeling deprived. I used to think you should eat small meals throughout the day, but not to sound paranoid, I'm starting to think that's just what the snack food companies want you to believe.

3. Exercise five times a week - That was going really well until the temperature dropped, the holidays hit, and this cold knocked me on my ass. But I don't think it'll be hard to get back into it as soon as I can stay up past 9.

4. Be more charitable. Last year the only contributions I made were to Obama, Begich and random charities that friends of mine were doing fund raisers for. I want to be more focused about my giving. This year I'm going to start loaning money through kiva.org regularly. Once a week is probably a bit much (or will be, during hiatus). Maybe a new loan every month is a good place to start.

5. 50 Books in 2009. I've been really good at keeping this up the last few years. I actually read 75 in 2008. But I don't want to raise my goal. That would just encourage me to read faster and the faster I read, the less I retain.

6. 5 Accomplishments a day. Speaking of...


( Accomplishments. )

Shows I'm still bothering to watch:
( Leverage )

( Gossip Girl )

( The Daily Show )

( Damages )

( 30 Rock )

( The Office )

( Battlestar Galactica )

( Lost )

( Life )


( Accomplishments )

We drove to Vegas friday night to volunteer for Obama. We left after work, and proceeded to turn a 4 hr drive into a 7hr drive. It was 3am by the time we were tucked away in our beds, which sucked cause we had to get up at 5 to head to the rally. At least we got a really close spot (see photo above). I'd never seen him speak, so it was really exciting for me. I hate always living in foregone conclusion states, no one ever courts your vote.

The rest of the day we canvased. (I'm so glad I had my mbts with me.) After canvasing we ran home for an hour nap (bringing our total for the day up to 3hrs of sleep) then hit the strip. We were too tired to do anything but eat at Paris, look for the dolphins, and drink. We were home in bed by 2 (thank you Daylight Savings Time). The next day we went out and did another two shifts of canvasing and drove back to LA. I'm feeling surprisingly good considering the sleep deprivation. I'm really glad I went. I feel like I did my part for democracy.



( Accomplishments )

1. The homeless people with the sprawling settlement have started doing chalk drawings on the wall next to their home. It says "I love you." Also, they put up Halloween decorations. This pleases me no end.

2. Obama's Krypton speech was the funniest thing ever.

3. I was at home most of the week writing, as a result, my wardrobe doubled in size. Damn you, online shopping.

4. I just caught up on this season of Life. I really love that show, in spite of the fact that the last episode was crazy, wicked predictable.

5. New layout. css by refutare

6. I just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife for the second time. Bawled my eyes out. Again.



( Accomplishments: )

There's new TV! (but I haven't had time to watch most of it):

( True Blood )

( Fringe )

Meme:

( Bold the things that apply to you, italicise the things that somewhat apply to you, and don't do anything to the other stuff. )


( Accomplishments )

New layout. I saw these pics of Michelle Williams and they just called out to me.


When you see this, post another Buffy quote in your LJ. Let's see how long this can go on.

XANDER: Ooo, if he asks you to play chess, don't even do it. The guy's, like, a whiz.



( Accomplishments )

Books round up:
The World Without Us - Interesting thought experiment but it too often felt scattered and more like a series of essays than anything else.

The Zookeeper's Wife - Hobbled by a lack of insight into the inner lives of the Zookeeper and his wife. Beautifully written (though at times a bit purple).

Ronin - Very cool story. Great character insight.

Persepolis - When I first heard about it, I thought this was skating on its novelty. Iran+comic book=press attention. But it's actually a great piece of literature.

Under the Banner of Heaven - Fascinating and terrifying. It'll make you stay up all night and vow never to go anywhere near Utah. Krakhauer starts out talking about a specific event but widens to explore the history of Mormonism and the phenomenon of religious violence.

Batman: Year One - Wonderful origin story. Made so much more sense than Batman Begins.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Great portrait of a city under siege. Gotta love Alfred's dry wit.

How Fiction Works - An interesting series of essays from someone who clearly loves the written word.

A Study in Scarlet - Again with the Mormonism. This is the first of the Sherlock Holmes novels and it shows. Still, a lovely mystery at the center.

The Sign of the Four - The second Holmes novel. We start to get hints about Watson and Holmes's personal lives. Great mystery.

Now I'm embarking on a reread of Harry Potter.



( Accomplishments: )

Title: The God of War
Rating: PG-13 (for violence)
Characters/Pairings: Gen, Tony/Pepper
Length: 1,899 (11,000+ total)
Disclaimer: I barely own my car.
Summary: Sequel to The Man Makes The Suit. Tony struggles to save Rhodey while a new threat conspires to destroy everything he's built.
Status: Complete
Many thanks to ancarett and youngpadowan for the beta

( Previously: )

( Part 9 )

Title: The God of War
Rating: PG-13 (for violence)
Characters/Pairings: Gen, Tony/Pepper
Length: 2,206 (11,000+ total)
Disclaimer: I barely own my car.
Summary: Sequel to The Man Makes The Suit. Tony struggles to save Rhodey while a new threat conspires to destroy everything he's built.
Status: Complete, posting regularly.
Many thanks to ancarett and youngpadowan for the beta


( Parts 7&8 )

Title: The God of War
Rating: PG-13 (for violence)
Characters/Pairings: Gen, Tony/Pepper
Length: 1,741 (11,000+ total)
Disclaimer: I barely own my car.
Summary: Sequel to The Man Makes The Suit. Tony struggles to save Rhodey while a new threat conspires to destroy everything he's built.
Status: Complete, posting regularly.
Many thanks to ancarett and youngpadowan for the beta

( Pt 6 )

Title: The God of War
Rating: PG-13 (for violence)
Characters/Pairings: Gen, Tony/Pepper
Length: 2,143 (11,000+ total)
Disclaimer: I barely own my car.
Summary: Sequel to The Man Makes The Suit. Tony struggles to save Rhodey while a new threat conspires to destroy everything he's built.
Status: Complete, posting regularly.
Many thanks to ancarett and youngpadowan for the beta


( Parts 4&5 )

Title: The God of War
Rating: PG-13 (for violence)
Characters/Pairings: Gen, Tony/Pepper
Length: 2,218 (11,000+ total)
Disclaimer: I barely own my car.
Summary: Sequel to The Man Makes The Suit. Tony struggles to save Rhodey while a new threat conspires to destroy everything he's built.
Status: Complete, posting regularly.
Many thanks to ancarett and youngpadowan for the beta

( Parts 2&3 )

New Layout
(I gave in to my obsession)

Book Round Up:
Amsterdam - Great character studies and more action than his most recent work. Great read.

The Ten Cent Plague - Interesting, but a tad repetitive. I'd advise waiting for the paperback.

Enigma - Harris maintains an irritating emotional distance from his characters and I'm not sure I buy the plot but the cryptography stuff was interesting.

Y:The Last Man - I loved this series. So many comic books are just endless action sequences but this relied on character and dialog and emotion. And the world was so intelligently thought out.


( Accomplishments: )

Title: The God of War
Rating: PG-13 (for violence)
Characters/Pairings: Gen, Tony/Pepper
Length: 2,217 (11,000+ total)
Disclaimer: I barely own my car.
Summary: Sequel to The Man Makes The Suit. Tony struggles to save Rhodey while a new threat conspires to destroy everything he's built.
Status: Complete, posting regularly.
Many thanks to ancarett and youngpadowan for the beta

( The Man Makes the Suit recap )

( Part One )