This one's for you, Jean

My friend Jean asked for some pictures of my neighborhood, and here ate two. Well, technically, they're two views from my house: One at about 11am, the other at about 6pm:

Ahhhhh, California.

Inside my geek world

I normally don't consider myself a geek, but apparently I am in one thing: the Sims. I am all about the Sims. It's really fun, and you can learn all sorts of interesting things. In the Sims 2, I was able to build a successful business (after 2 flops, I created THE place to buy pet supplies =D ). In all of them, you learn a little about a God-us relationship. You want the best for your Sims, and you can do anything for them (you can create money, buy them stuff, etc), but you always try to do what's in their best interest (ex. not giving them something they may "want" because it will distract them from their lifetime goal, which will bring them a lifetime of platinum mood (Sims 2) or a lot of lifetime rewards (Sims 3). Etc. There are actually a lot of cool things about the Sims. It's one of the few topics that can get me talking for a long time & be really excited. Anyways, this week, the new expansion pack for the Sims 3 came out: the Sims 3 Late Night.
There's the cover. Exciting right?!?! (geek moment) The new expansion pack brings miscellaneous new objects & clothing, stars, clubs/bars, bands, and vampires! The Sims 2 had vampires too, but they were much less creepy and not really a problem. So far (= since tuesday), I've run into a few vampires and this is what I've noticed: 1) they are super creepy looking (on the cover, you can see a vampire in the bottom right, see?). Even ones that don't look malicious, are still pale and seriously look un-dead. Why can't the Vampires look like Robert Pattinson? I mean, seriously. That would be SO much better. 2) They can attack (I think). In the Sims 2, the vampires didn't really bother your sims. They existed, and you could get bitten, but only if you became good friends with them and wanted to be bitten, I think. I have the feeling that they can just attack in this one because my Sims got a negative moodlet, and it's explanation was something like "bad experience with a vampire" or something, so I think that they can just attack, but I'm not sure because my Sims isn't a vampire. Anyways, I'll let you know. So, I just discovered fun with Photobooth (if you don't have a Mac, then you might not know what I'm talking about, so...too bad for you). I was originally going to take a picture of the Sims 3 disk case, but it didn't come out well, but I did have fun with the different effects. Here are my two "Fun with Photobooth" pix:

You thought I was exaggerating?

Well, I totally wasn't. The French go on strike all the time for reasons that just don't make sense to me. I mean, our history and culture are very different, so it makes perfect sense to them, but not really to me. OK, the government is increasing the retirement age from 60 to 62 (that's TWO years, and we Americans are currently at 65, so why they're complaining so much? who knows. They have issues, as I told you on my Study Abroad blog in Spring of 2009). Big whoop. Look at the pictures of the riots on BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11576711. Is a difference of TWO YEARS really worth that? In my opinion, no. And I think most Americans would agree with me. SO it must just be their culture. I found an interesting article in the New York Times called "More than the Channel divides Britain and France" by Alan Cowell (Oct 22, 2010). Here are some interesting clips from it:

"Faced with the prospect of a longer working life until a minimum retirement age of 62 (up from the current 60), a million French citizens took to the streets, as strikers closed refineries and blockaded fuel depots, leaving motorists to fume in line for gasoline and diesel."

“French people tend to like to demonstrate,” the French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, said when asked to compare French and British national reflexes.

Taking to the streets, some argue, is a rite of passage for the young and, for the older, a right at the heart of the French way of democracy since the toppling of the aristocracy in 1789.

“What’s at stake here is not the retirement age, or jobs for students, but the very nature of power in this country,” said Lucy Wadham, a British novelist and blogger living in France."

“France’s problem is that, for too long, the economy has been run as a kind of job club for French workers,” said an editorial in The Spectator, a conservative British magazine. “Britain and France believe in liberty, but have different definitions of it.”

While the British believe in “liberty from government,” the editorial said, the French “still like the big state and squeal at the prospect of being removed from its teat.”

so true. so true.

Well, it's all I do, so...

As I look for a job / try to decide what to do with my life, all I really do on a regular basis is go the gym and go to Starbucks. So, all I really experience that's noteworthy is those two places, so...yeah. My one complaint: Equipment hoggers (at the gym). Ok, there are two types of equipment hoggers: 1) the kind that stays on the equipment for a long time, but is using it the whole time, and 2) the kind that basically place holds. The first kind can be annoying if you're waiting, but I stay on the elliptical for 45 minutes, so I'm that kind, and so I don't mind them. I mean, at least we're actively using the equipment. The second kind is the one that bugs me. For example, there was a lady who got off the elliptical & left her sweatshirt on it in order to save it. Then she was completely gone for about 10 minutes. Then she came back and stretched for about 5 minutes. Then she got back on. But still, 15 minutes of equipment hogging. Some people get on & off in 15 minutes. Example 2: the men (generally. I haven't noticed women doing this) who are trying to gain muscle (I guess), and so let's say they're on the seated leg press. They add a lot of weights, and then do maybe 10 pushes, then just sit there fore 2-3 minutes before starting again, at which point they do the same thing. I mean, seriously?!?! Couldn't you get off of the machine and walk around and let other people get on it? I could seriously do my entire workout on that machine in the time they take to sit there and rest. Very annoying. If you are one of those, STOP IT!

Day at Disney...Halloween style

Yesterday, my mom & I went to Disneyland because 1) I wanted to see Disneyland "Dressed up" for Halloween and 2) I wanted to see World of Color from the front. They didn't decorate California Adventure for whatever reason, but Disneyland was super cute.

You see? super cute. They also changed the Haunted Mansion so it was a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. THe whole thing it pretty much changed, which surprised me. I thought that there would just be a few decorations added or something, but they changed the voice track as well as the decorations and everything. I liked it. They also changed Space Mountain apparently, but I didn't go on it (my mom doesn't like roller coasters). I don't think that I'd ever been to Disneyland during Halloween time, so it was really fun.

SO, we got a fast pass for World of Color this time, but we got the red section, which is apparently the worst section. I could see more of the show as I could generally sort of see the projections of movie clips on the water and a lot more of the water+light designs, but apparently you need to be in blue or yellow (I guess)to get the full effect, which is super annoying. Shame on you Disneyland for creating a show that's so ridiculously hard to see! TO those who may want to see this show, save yourself time getting the Fastpass AND waiting in line and just watch it on youTube!!! Seriously, I'm watching it now, and I can see so much more. *sigh* Disneyland...

We also saw Secretatiat at the AMC in downtown Disney, and I really enjoyed it! During the races, I was super into it (Run, Secretariat, Run!) and was nervous for the horse even though I knew he was going to win (the movie's tagline was "the impossible but true story" of the greatest race horse ever. I mean, right there you know he can't lose). Good movie.

SO, I had a really great day, but now my ankles (yes, BOTH of them) are super tired out. Today might need a nice sedentary occupation like reading at Starbucks.

A GREAT song

I just recently purchased the two worship CDs by Kutless, and on one of them (I'm not sure which. I *think* it's on the It is Well CD?) there's a song called "What Faith Can Do" and it's a great song and so I'm sharing it with you. Here's the youTube link, and below are the lyrics (from here).

What Faith Can Do Lyrics

Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning
Anyone can feel the ache
You think it’s more than you can take
But you're stronger, stronger than you know
Don’t you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do

It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
It’s just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody’s scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water
It’ll be alright
Life is so much more
Than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do

Overcome the odds
You don't have a chance
(That’s what faith can do)
When the world says you can’t
It’ll tell you that you can!

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
That's what faith can do!
Even if you fall sometimes
You will have the strength to rise

Real Gone...

I'm on a Disney theme today I guess. Anyways, yesterday I went to a race out in Fontana (CA) with a group of people. It was a very interesting & fun experience, even though I'm not all that into racing (and the Vermont-influenced "green" part of me says that it has got to be the worst sport for the environment because they burn through who knows how much oil & gas in any given race). The race track was the model for the final race in Cars, but I don't really know how one race track is different than another (they seem really similar to me, really), but there you go. I should really re-watch the movie and see if I can see any similarities...(I can't remember if the above scene is from the first race or the last one, but I think it's the first one because the score board (or whatever they call it in racing) has more than 3 players..or rather, cars, on it). Anyways, here are some pictures of the race/ race track/ miscellaneous things:

The Incredibles...the tv show

Ok, ok. That's not technically true, but it totally reminds me of it? What show am I talking about?
It's about this family that went on vacation and their plane crashed into a lake with some sort of weird chemicals and so they all develop super powers and the show is about them coping with their new powers. It reminds me of the Incredibles because they -too- have super powers and have to pretend like they don't have powers and struggle with that. And in that movie, as well, the dad is the one who most wants to keep his power, the wife who wants to not have it, and the kids who are somewhere in the middle, I guess. For all I know, though, there was some level of crossover because ABC is Disney, so...yeah. SO far, I've only seen the pilot and part of the second episode, but I like it. It's a very interesting family dynamic and story, I think.

A simple update...

I don't really have anything interesting to write. There was something that I was going to blog about, but I didn't write it down so now I've forgotten. But it's time for an update.

*I finally have a legit copy of Beauty & the Beast (so now I have the special features and can hopefully put it in languages that are useful to me. I don't know Chinese or Thai or any of the languages offered on my old un-legit copy). And I learned that the Lion King is coming out of the vault sometime next year. Awesome. I don't even have a non-legit copy of that (my parents do, but I don't)

*At the mall, Mac is doing villain makeovers which look like fun, but always have a long line, so I didn't do them, but here's a pic in case you don't have a Mac store...

see, they give you makeover then you can put on the costume or hold the props and take a picture. so cool.

*We've had super weird weather here in SoCal recently. Last week, there were record highs (as in, ever...not just for that day or season). It was pretty crazy. According to the news, Malibu was 30degrees hotter than normal one day last week. I mean, my car said it was 94 degrees or so here, and it's pretty uncommon for the temperature to be over 80 in San Clemente. Then yesterday and the day before it rained and was borderline cold...weird, right? But anyways, the weird weather made for some pretty skies sometimes: