Hollywood Video, etc.

I'm so worn out. I'm not sure why, though. Last night at Hollywood Video I felt like I was constantly running around and time went by really fast. All I was doing was straightening stuff and ringing up customers. And then restocking candy, popcorn, and soda, then mopping and vacuuming. Then I was done.

Hollywood Video's got a cool thing going on now called MVP (Movie Value Pass). It's a better deal than Blockbuster's thing for $24.99, so check it out at your local Hollywood Video. (That sounds almost like a commercial).

Last night, Renee and I watched Real Women Have Curves. So not a guy movie. It was cool until she got all "hey I'm a woman, let me take off my clothes". I liked the repressed spanish speaking girl and I wanted her to go to college. Not take off her clothes.

Well anyway, this is my last day before I start my real job. Renee's sleeping and Renaissance is eating. And I want to be sleeping, but I don't want to waste the day. So here I am, blogging. Oh, Renaissance just finished her bottle, so I guess I'm gonna watch TV with her.

Growling Baby

I just added another video to Renaissance's web site. This is one of her growling.

Sorry about the mess in front of the video camera. I didn't want to take the time to clean and then miss the cuteness.

The direct links to the videos are:

Low Quality (368 KB) and

High Quality (1.2 MB)

Caught on Tape (or something like that)

Okay, Renee and I got Renaissance walking on camera. The links are:

Low Quality (428 KB) and

High Quality (1.3 MB)

Or, if you'd like, you can navigate to them on Renaissance's web site. They're in the Videos section, and all videos require Apple's QuickTime (click here to go to Apple's QuickTime download page).

Today's Random Update

Today's been pretty boring, but I still appreciate it as the last Friday before I start my first real job. I woke up around noon because Renee let me sleep in. When I woke up, I let her take a nap until 4:30 p.m. Then I went to the post office with Renaissance to mail some more bills (I could've taken them to the rental office, but I hadn't taken a shower and there was no guarantee that anyone was there). The time between when I got back and 4:30 is a big blur. All I remember is that I watched Rugrats and Fairly Odd Parents, changed some diapers and made some bottles.

Oh, another plug: I made a Yahoo! group a while ago and finally the other day, someone attempted to join it. So I may start doing that. It's called Virginia Parents, but it's really just for parents in general. I like Renee's groups, but they're all for moms. So this is kinda like that, only for moms and dads. I don't know how it'll work out, or what will even go on, but it seemed like a good idea at the time, and even with no publicity, someone wants to join. So that's cool.

*a few minutes later*

Ok, so I just approved the only applicant. I guess the group is up and running, now.

But in other news, Renaissance just walked! Two steps! Renee's been working with her trying to get her to walk to her and it finally worked. So now Renee is putting a monkey shirt on Renaissance so we can get it on camera. Watch her not do it now. If we get it, I'll post again and put the video online.

So... tired...

Renee and I are pooped. Not in the literal sense, but just tired. Very, very tired. Kings Dominion was fun but... tiring. I have never been on so many roller coasters in one day. My feet hurt. Renaissance is sleeping right now because she's pooped too. She had fun, though. We got her a Blue doll, but she hasn't been in a good mood since she didn't get a real nap. So we'll show that to her later.

Oh, but back to Dead Like Me. I know it's a lost cause trying to explain it because it always makes me look psycho. And I don't want to give too much away, so the pilot boils down to this: an 18 year old girl named George (short for Georgia) gets killed by a toilet seat falling from the destruction of MIR. They aimed for the ocean, but miscalculated a little and she was killed (this isn't exactly plausible since there were no toilet seats on MIR, but that's ok). So she dies and meets up with some people and is then turned into a grim reaper. Not the normal kind, either. In this show, grim reapers are just people who died, and are now undead, and they take people's souls before they die to make it less painful. It's really well written and like I said, the first season is on DVD so go rent it and watch it when the kid(s), if any, are asleep.

All right, well I have email to read, so, uhh... bye!

Bleh...

The end of today has been filled with getting ready to go to Kings Dominion tomorrow... actually today. But yeah. Last Christmas, Renee's aunt and uncle gave us tickets to go, and we've been saving them until we could use them. Now, with me having a week off, is the perfect time. Renee's mom is going to "babysit" when we're on rides since she has a bad back and hates rollercoasters anyway. So it should be pretty cool.

We bought a cooler that I'm gonna use for my lunches, too. (I'm going to be making enough money to eat!) Oh, and just a random plug. Everybody should watch Dead Like Me. It's awesome. The first season is out on DVD right now and it got Renee and I hooked. The language isn't the greatest and the whole premise of the show is about gruesome death, but it's really cool. Really! I may write more about it later, but right now I need to get to bed. Night!

I miss friends...

I was just talking with a friend who's having some problems and I feel completely useless. It's been so long since I've socialized with anyone other than Renee and I just... miss certain people. I miss the way things used to be. I love being independent but I just... want everyone together... my old friends. I want to lay on the floor during a study hall and sleep until ten minutes before the bell. Or walk in circles because there's nothing better to do. I miss being weird and having weird people to be weird with.

I think I'm scared to make new friends because I don't even keep in touch with the friends I already have. And that's completely my fault. I think. Maybe it's just the way things work. We all get old and lose people. I choose not to think that way, but how is it supposed to work? Why can't I make any new friends? I feel like my mission isn't complete with the "old friends" so how can I focus my attention to new people? It just doesn't seem right...

Anyway, my reason for writing this entry is because I don't know what to say. Since I've been slacking in the keeping-in-touch department (when's the last time I've called anyone?) I feel fake giving my opinions to a certain someone (you probably know who you are since I haven't talked to anyone else). If I haven't kept up, what gives me any right to tell you how I feel? Why do I matter? But my intention was just to show that I still care. As cheesy as that sounds. I want the best for all my friends, even if I haven't had the time or motivation or whatever to call or IM or email, etc. If there's anything I can do, please just let me know...

Grrr...

I just got back from the post office. I took Renaissance to the rental office with me so I could drop off some outgoing mail, and SURPRISE... they're closed until 12:30 p.m. Which is a bunch of crap. Every time when I called them from work, they were closed from about 1 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. This is their job for goodness sake. They should be there all day with a half hour break for lunch. Like 90% of all other jobs.

So I took Rena for a drive. And she liked it, but was glad to be home for her lunch bottle.

Thought this was interesting...

Wired News: Scientists Breed a Tougher Mouse

Apparently, scientists have genetically modified mice to be able to run twice as far as normal mice before becoming exhausted. Also, they don't get fat as easy as normal mice. This is kind of scary to me, but I'm not sure why. I guess I'm sort of imagining if one of these mice escapes the lab and starts populating the entire world with Super Mice. There are also some pretty interesting ethical questions at the end of the article.

"The world is about to change dramatically" indeed.

My day thus far...

Renee, Renaissance, and I just got home about an hour ago. When we'd finally gotten up and ready at about 1 p.m., we started doing everything.

It took 57 minutes to pee in a cup.

We turned in our letter stating that we'll be leaving our apartment in October. Ate at McDonald's. Went to the mall and ordered another sheet of pictures of Renaissance. Walked around, bought some stuff. Got really tired. Went to Target, bought some more stuff.

Fifty-seven minutes. To pee.

And a crazy lady with no sleeves who was cold.

First Comment!

This entry is just to celebrate my first comment. Thanks, Mari!

Now I'm going to bed. I have a busy day tomorrow, what with being partially unemployed and all. And no, that's not sarcasm. I have to get my drug test done and drop a letter off at the rental office, put the decals on Renee's Honda, and a bunch of other stuff that I'll probably think of tomorrow. Night!

Update [Aug. 23, 1:52 a.m.]: I just changed my settings so you don't have to be a member to comment. I didn't think anyone would actually be commenting, so I didn't think it was a big deal. But it's easier now.

Sleeping In

So last night, Renee tried to stay awake until I got home. Needless to say, it didn't work. She let me get a four hour nap yesterday which is the only reason I could stay awake until 5 a.m. I think she ended up falling asleep at 3 a.m. She's still in bed, and Renaissance just went to her crib for her lunch, after which she'll probably fall asleep again for her afternoon nap.

So far today, I've watched Fairly Odd Parents (the episodes with the abominable snowman (a.k.a. hunky pizza guy) and Chompy the Goat) and now I'm just kind of listening to Clean Sweep on TLC. I'm discovering that it takes some time for certain things to update in my Blogger, but I guess I'll just have to deal with it. It'd be so much more fun if I could just see what I changed instantly.

Update [Aug. 23, 7:13 p.m.]: I figured out how to get things to update yesterday. And I feel dumb. But problem solved.

Graphology

I was looking through people's blogs and I found this site that supposedly analyzes your handwriting and tells you about yourself. I did it and it was pretty accurate. Here's what I got:

You possess a mature, cool temperament and would face up to any situation with courage and composure.

You dont have any prejudices and possess good temperament when facing emotional situations. Your decisions are based on facts and figures.

You are liberal and generous in handling money.

You try to find a balance between work and leisure.

You think twice before accepting a new proposal in any endeavour.

You believe in doing one work perfectly than to produce large chunk of mediocre work.

You always present yourself well to the outside world.

You are a person who values tradition and conservative in outlook.

You can maintain your poise and composure even when facing criticism.

Your goals match perfectly with your potential.Thus you avoid pitfalls in meeting your objectives.

Your have moderate enthusiasm in your work.

Your determination and willpower are exemplary and enviable.

You complete your work to your satisfaction and hope for the best. You are not bothered about satisfying others.

You have a reasonably good memory

You are always in a hurry to complete your work.

You are a person who likes to stay away from the limelight.

You are an expert in mechanical matters.Your hands are likely to be dextrous.

Your problem solving abilities are exceptional.

You tend to stay away from the limelight.

I'm feeling random.

Last night, Renee and I watched Ella Enchanted (my second job is Hollywood Video so I get rentals free and a week before they come out). It was an okay kids' movie.

Then today, we went and got Renaissance's pictures done. The girl who took the pictures was kind of unsure of herself and was a little offended when Renee asked if we could get certain poses with certain props. I had to ask if she could zoom out so we could see the actual prop (a bench) instead of just a little white thing in the corner with her hand on it. We went to the Short Pump Town Center and I saw the new iPods at the Apple Store. I think they're a little better than the old 3G models, but I guess I'm just not a big fan of the actual click wheel. I kind of think I'd like it better if you just tapped the trackpad and it performed the function (but then it'd probably be hard to keep it from clicking). I don't know. I don't get paid to design stuff.

I forgot I'd signed up for the Roper mailing list. Roper is Reese Roper's new band. They're going to have audio samples of their music on their web site either just tonight, or they're just being made available starting tonight (Update [Aug. 21, 10:20 p.m.]: Looks like they'll be up for good. Sounds awesome. Check it out.). Either way, that'll happen at 10 p.m. EST and I'll be listening.

And then to finish my day, I'll be working at Hollywood Video at 11 p.m. Tonight is inventory, so I'll be there until about 4 a.m. Fun fun. At least I don't have to wear the purple shirt.

Why, exactly?

I guess I should give a little explanation why I'm creating another blog. Basically, this is the best-designed one I've ever seen and I've been wanting to make a better blog for a while. There's just one problem:

*pause for dramatic effect*

My life is incredibly boring.

Not that I hate my life or anything. I love being me. It's just nothing that I imagine would be particularly exciting or entertaining to other people ever happens to me. I work. I come home. Feed the baby and play with her. Not much social interaction with other people though. I left NY, so my friends are far away. I have another friend who moved to CO. One in Boston, etc. All my friends from college seem to have faded away too. I've looked for "support" groups in Yahoo! Groups, but I don't feel like basing a friendship on Homestar Runner or 2 Stupid Dogs. I want a real friend who understands kids. I feel like I've grown up faster than everyone else, which I know isn't true, and I know when my friends start getting married and having kids it'll seem like I have a lot of experience. But right now, Renee and I are in the phase where we're the only ones who are married with children.

It feels like everything is finally falling into place. I've got a new job (I start on the 30th) and I'm amazed that I got it. But I think I came to Virginia for it. God can take complete credit for this because I totally did not see it coming. I'll be working nights for 12 hours at a time, two and three nights a week (alternating). It's a 60% pay increase from my previous job. Seriously, this is the reason why I came to Virginia, and it's also why I was having such a hard time finding a good job. God wanted me to wait for this one.

Anyway, I'm neglecting the baby again, so I gotta go.

So I quit...

Today was the last day at my job. I didn't give two weeks notice so I can't ever work there again. It feels kind of weird. When I started, I was working 60 hours a week and it wasn't appreciated then. I guess they don't ever want me back anyway. Not that I'd ever go back. The last person who tried to give two weeks notice was almost fired after she did. So she quit early. Anyway, Renee's not here and I'm taking care of the baby, so back to raising my daughter I go.