Resolutions Update

It's past time for a resolution update.  Next year I'll have to keep a better eye on the resolutions.  I should try at least quarterly updates.  I ignored them all this year until this month!  Problem.  Know why?  Because my progress is a hot mess!!  Here are the goals and my progress thus far.

1) Run a 5k.  Yeah... that didn't happen.  I DID have a dream that I started training for one AND in life, actually downloaded some interval training podcasts for my ipod.

2) Get an internship.  Didn't do that either.  But I'm working on one for the summer.  I guess if I can get that lined up before the end of the year that could count huh?

3) Work on my film... a LOT.  I could've done more.  There's still time.

4) Try new restaurants.  DEFINITELY!!  This was a gimme, really.  But I did it!

5) Give the ultimate gift.  Totally!  I loved it!  I gave Rashan an ipod after he lost his.  I surprised Stace at her house & gave her some FAMU stuff she loved.  My line sister loves orchids so I gave her two for her birthday and she loved them, too!  I'm awesome!  Oh yeah!

6) Grow locks.  Another gimme!  Lol.  What a lazy resolution!! Wait.  Maybe not because it was so dramatic for a minute!  Like ummm.... THIS IS HARD!!  My hair was irritating me badly!  I'm past that now.

7) Watch more movies.  Yep!  More than 630 this year!!  That's at least 4xs as many as I watched last year and almost more than I've watched in my lifetime combined prior to that!  I'm going to post the things I've learned thus far from watching so many films in the coming weeks.  I already have more than 30 things on the list!  Still learning!

8) Workout more.  I don't even think the side-by-side comparison would be worth the effort my working out has been in the last 2 years.  Pretty bad.  I'm going to kick it into gear for the rest of the year!!  I can do it!!

9) Procrastinate less.  I have actually done this and it's really cool!  There are things I still procrastinate on so it's not eliminated.  But the goal was definitely procrastinate less and I absolutely did that!  #score!

10) Leave the country and/or go further west.  Nope.  Boooo!!!  But there's still a possibility.

Week 1, Recipe 2: Brined Chicken, Creamed Spinach, Crispy Potatoes

I brined a chicken for the first time and also made creamed spinach for the first time.  Here are the recipes and results.

Brined Chicken

• 1/2 Kosher Sea Salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 gallon cold water
• 1 4-5 lb. whole chicken

• 3 tsp. oregano
• 2 sprigs of rosemary (optional)
  
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp. garlic puree
• Juice from one lemon
• Pepper
  

In a bowl large enough to submerge chicken, mix salt, sugar & water until ingredients dissolve.  Add chicken to brine and refridgerate 6-24 hours.  Drain & pat dry, discard brine.  Preheat overn to 375.  Combine oregano, garlic & EVOO.  Loosen chicken skin & spread garlic mixture between skin & meat.  Place sprigs of rosemary inside chicken cavity.  Squeeze half of lemon over chicken.  Cook 40 minutes, turn chicken & baste with juices.  Squeeze remaining lemon, season w/pepper and cook an additional 40 minutes until done.  Let rest 10 minutes prior to carving.

Result: I got this recipe from the Alessi Sea Salt box.  I'd wanted to brine a chicken and was really excited!  I only had quarters so I used that instead of a whole chicken.  I probably should've cut back on the amount of salt I used.  It wasn't sweet at all if that was your concern but it was unreasonably TENDER!!  WOW!!  So moist and juicy and fell right off the bone!  I brined it for about 20 hours and it was amazing!  I also accidentally put the dried rosemary & dried oregano in the brine but scooped most of it out and that worked well anyway.  Very lightly flavored with rosemary & oregano.

Creamed Spinach By Ellie Krieger in Food Network Magazine (Nov. 2009)

• 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen spinach, thawed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 small shallots, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups 1 percent milk
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons fat free evaporated milk
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Squeeze all of the water from the spinach. In a large pan, heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the milk and broth and cook, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Add the spinach and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the evaporated milk and nutmeg and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Result: I was out of shallots so I subbed garlic.  I also didn't want to open a can of evaporated milk for 2 tbsp. so I used heavy cream I already had in my house.  I halved this recipe since there were just two of us eating it.  I still probably used a little too much nutmeg.  It wasn't bad but a little more there than it should've been.  It tasted like Thanksgiving, though!

Crispy Potatoes

• red potatoes
• salt
• pepper
• oregano
• EVOO

Combine all ingredients, roast for 35 minutes at 375 degrees or until crispy and cooked through.

Result: This is my "recipe," not a new one.  I use it regularly in varying versions.  I used oregano because it's in the chicken.

I would use all of these recipes again!!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 23

1) I almost got a portobello burger with Rashan once at this place we know has GREAT meat burgers and Rashan seemed so disappointed with me.  LOL!  I went with the regular meat (bison I think) and it was delish.  Also now I know to get all my veggie curiosity out with my classmates & Stace.  Rashan is not interested!
2) Conversation between me and Rah after I saw a Metallica concert clip. 
J: How do you headbang for an entire concert w/o getting a headache?!
R: You take drugs.
J: (Coyly & fake innocently) Over the counter drugs?
R: Yeah! ... if your drug dealer has a counter. 
J: Lolololol.
3) I've decided over-reliance on trends is what makes music not stand up to time.  (I know this is not a newsflash so SHUT UP RASHAN.)  A lot of 70s music sounds HORRENDOUS today.  Poor T-pain.  And new/"modern" jazz just sucks.  I can't tell you why.
4) After tasting too much subpar orange juice (probably my favorite beverage) I have now decided I will only drink Tropicana.  It's too delicious to settle for less.  And please don't ever try to give me grocery store brand.  None of it passes muster.
5) Guess who's already in the Christmas spirit?  MEEEEEE!!  You guys know how much I love Christmas!  If I feel sad in April?  Out comes the Christmas music!  Dani tweeted about her irritation with early Christmas decorations & it had the opposite effect on me... I got excited!!  Ya girl was singing Christmas carols in the shower Friday and listening to her Christmas Faves list on the way down to Daytona!!  And it's 76 degrees outside!  Lol!  Florida and its non-observance of appropriate seasonal temperatures slay me!  As long as it's not 90 I'm going to take my blessings as they come!  Praise Jesus!
6) Most bizarre conversation ever with my classmates Friday night.  My mom's coming and going to cook for everyone so I told them we will definitely have dressing.  Insert perplexed faces.  So we said white people call it stuffing, black people call it dressing.  Then David asked, "What do you call that stuff you put on salad?"  Lololol.  Dressing.  And what?
7) Wow... we passed some country stuff headed to Daytona on back roads.  Ummm... 90% of Florida's lakefront trailer parks are along Rt. 20.  I made up that stat but it's probably true.  S.naque Shaque?  Really?  Why would you choose to spell it like that?  Need a car?  CarBoyz has the hook up for you.  Road name.  LaTesha Terrace.
8) Rashan got freaked out by BillyMays commercials twice when we were in Daytona.  HILARIOUS.  He yells at the tv, "THIS IS WRONG!!"  LOL!  Why?  Dead men can't hock car paint sticks?  MichaelJackson is still making money!
9) After watching pieces about the Iowa caucuses twice in a week... I'm pretty creeped out by the fact that the process still occurring in 2009... Very strange to me.  Not even an old 1970 voting machine, you gather in your corner & I'll gather in mine and we'll cross-recruit... .... ....
10) Why are Cracker Barrels so far off the beaten path?  Like you see the sign from the highway, get off on the exit, can still see the sign but have to make 8 turns, a u-turn and stand on your leg inside your car while singing I'm a Little Teapot to find it.  WHYYYYYYYYYY???  SO irritating.
11) I'm over GQ... so much so that I'm 3 months behind in reading it.  We've discussed my issues with it.  But let's just say I'm glad I only have one issue remaining in this subscription.
12) When Rashan's here he moves my stuff, leaves on lights, uses my computer when I want to use it, always has the tv on (I think it's white noise to him & straight up noise to me) but even when he's irritating me I never want him to leave and it never gets any easier.  I'm sure I'm becoming a broken record but he was here 5 days this time and I was still like, you're leaving already? :(
13) I saw my first gator in person this weekend!  It was in Lake Alice on campus w/about 8 huge turtles.  Really cool!  There are no gates but the gators appear to keep their distance b/c I had to walk right up to the lake to see it.  I won't be doing this regularly but it was pretty cool.

Crazy Movie Lady 41

November 1-7, 2009
613. The Mirror Has Two Faces. Barbara Streisand directs and stars in this film, which also includes Pierce Brosnan, about a marriage of convenience between two college professors.  I know I've seen it in pieces before but I'm not really sure how much.  There were clearly parts of this film where I would've had to kill the main character's husband.  Though I enjoyed the characters and the plot, this film was WAY too long.  It was funny but could have seriously benefited from some editing.  Romantic comedies should not last more than 90 minutes.  4.3 stars
614. What's Up Tiger Lily?  Woody Allen took a Japanese film about murder and dubbed it as a comedy in English.  If you think I don't get Allen, you're right.  There was a strange long period of no dialogue early on.  The musical breaks were ridiculous. The plot was worse.  There was even a break for shadow puppets.  Mess.  1 star
615. Dominick Dunne: After the Party.  Documentary about the crime writer.  Interesting story at the start but it probably lasted a hair too long which became indicative of the vein of the rest of the film which seemed to have a problem with focus.  Incessant name-dropping by everyone.  It was nuts.  It's almost like the film didn't know what it wanted to be: a retrospective or heavily about his work.  Yes, the two are intertwined, but to what extent?  There were these interesting or funny stories that went on and on until you got to an underwhelming end.  Boring, boring, boring.  Some of these stories he told seemed absolutely unbelievable and self-important.  It was like the person who led the editing was too enamored with the subject to pull back.  There was also a lot of jumping around in the plot.  Follow SOME sort of organization or chronology.  If the film must be non-linear or topical it would help to keep the story easy to follow.  It was also strange that so many stories were told multiple times on multiple days and all spliced together.  Dunne's motivations became very clear pretty early.  Interesting subject.  The filmmaking leaves much to be desired.  2.3 stars
616. Dracula. 1931 film about the original vampire terrorizing his hometown and London.  Vaguely amusing horror film.  I'm sure it was horrifying when it was first released.  Dracula and his sidekick especially are both well-played roles.  3 stars
617. By the People: The Election of Barack Obama. HBO Documentary about the 2008 campaign.  I was disappointed by the lack of access to the then senator.  Many times the filmmakers were in the pool with the reporters.  There was decent access to Michelle, some cute interviews with the kids, some access to upper level campaign staffers.  But when you say a behind-the-scenes look at the campaign, there are some expectations that weren't quite met.  Access of course is the primary one, but this film seemed to be missing something in focus as well.  It actually would've been a more interesting film considering the lack of access (have I said that enough?) if it had focused on the grassroots movement and just bolstered it with talks from Obama.  There were more one-on-ones with journalists than with the president.  It did evoke some of those feelings I had along the way during the campaign so in that respect it worked, but I followed the campaign closely so I didn't feel like I was exposed to things I hadn't seen before.  It would probably be interesting to see this more removed from the events, but in general I didn't feel any new ground was broken.  3 stars
618. The Color of Paradise.  Extremely quiet Iranian film about a little blind boy whose father nearly abandons him because he's trying to marry into a prosperous family.  This kid spoke very little but I loved him. The end was bad.  SO unbelievable which dropped the rating down.  3.4 stars
619. The Answer Man.  Lauren Graham is a struggling chiropractor who finds herself connected to a grumpy self-help/new age religion guru and a struggling bookstore clerk.  Slow start to this romantic drama.  Jeff Daniels' character was amusing and well-acted.  There was some pretty bad lack of chemistry between the two main characters.  The ending was a bit ridiculous but I enjoyed this film enough.  3.4 stars
620. Marty. 1955 film about a lonely Italian man living with his mother about to give up hope of meeting a wife.  Not bad.  The end was on the underwhelming side.  3.3 stars
621. The Taking of Pelham 123.  Denzel Washington stars as an MTA dispatcher who gets caught up in a hostage situation where John Travolta is the hostage taker.  I liked both the of the roles and there was some good action built into this film.  There was some silliness in there as well.  Like why would I believe that?  And in what world?  Still enjoyable enough for what it was.  3.9 stars
622. The Big Heat. Fritz Lang directs this 1953 thriller about a detective who while investigating ends up having to avenge a murder.  I enjoyed the twists and turns!  4 stars
623. Love Crazy. William Powell & Myrna Loy are a couple celebrating their anniversary when the wife's mother sends the wife into a tizzy prompting a divorce.  The only way to stop the divorce is for Mr. Ireland to pretend he's crazy.  Of course hijinks ensue.  Powell and Loy should still be making movies together.  They're awesome!  The hijinks were a bit irritating after a while.  3.4 stars
624. The Pink Panther. Classic film starring Peter Sellers as the detective trying to stop a serial jewel thief.  Cute and funny though the slapstick was wearying at times.  3.9 stars

Aaaand I'm Up

Once again it's before 8 a.m. and I'm awake. Why? Partying like a rock star. Okay maybe not like a rock star. There were no drugs involved and I only had a few beers. But no matter how much alcohol I consume, I'm always awake, not groggy awake, but wide awake ready to conquer the world awake, before 8 a.m. As much as I love sleep and dislike morning, you would think that in and of itself would be enough to keep me off of the bottle!! But you would be wrong. However...

I think I'm losing my taste for alcohol. I can't tell you how strange that is to me after my experiences in the last 10 years. I wasn't an alcoholic but I have been to a lot of parties since I graduated from high school and starting sophomore year there have been maybe 2 or 3 where I did not consume alcohol. That might be one percent of the parties I've attended. That doesn't mean I was falling down drunk because that's not cute but consumption was key. It's become a habit. I had a rum and coke on Halloween and had to choke it down. I tried again this weekend and it was not as bad but still not something I like very much anymore and it used to be my drink of choice!! Beer is a little better but I had a case and a six-pack of beer in my house for weeks. Very strange.

I think it may be partly psychosomatic because I really hate the way alcohol makes me feel in the morning. Even if there's no headache, my stomach may be unhappy or I'm just up... before 8 a.m. I'm so beyond not a morning person it's not even funny. It's kind of a mess, actually. Kind of like this post... Lol. You know how people are always like (all bright-eyed & bushy-tailed Chim Chim the Squirrel-like), "But you get so much accomplished!!" That has never been incentive to me. Waking up early means less time I'll be awake when I want to be: night time. Even if I'm just talking on the phone, night it awesome to me. If I could get the rest of the world to cooperate at night and be able to conduct business at night, I would absolutely do that. Know why I don't have any kids yet? Because they wake you up. Lolol. Those mommy bloggers are great birth control when they talk about that! I'm supposed to be using this early awake time to wash my hair before we go to Daytona so I guess I should do that, huh? Adios amigos.

Mexican Rice Bowls

This recipe is actually one you can have the kids help with since it's from the kids section of Rachael Ray's book, Classic 30 Minute Meals. Oddly, it's the only of her (6) books I have that's a hardcover. Not that that means anything but I just noticed that the other day. Anyway! I saw this recipe for Mexican Rice Bowls and it looked easy and yummy and I had most of the ingredients. My olives were pimento-free.

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups white rice
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon Goya brand Sazón seasoning blend
• 1/2 cup tomato salsa or taco sauce
• 1/4 cup drained olives with pimentos, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• Blue or red corn tortilla chips and salsa for serving (optional)

Preparation

Heat a medium size pot over medium-heat; add EVOO and butter. When butter has melted into EVOO, add pieces of chicken tenders. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Sauté the chicken, stirring, until lightly browned.

Add the rice and cook another minute or two. Then add the chicken stock to the pot and the Sazón seasoning. Put a lid on the pot and raise to high heat to bring the stock to a quicker boil, 2-3 minutes. When the liquid boils, reduce heat to simmer and put the lid back on. Cook until the rice is tender but still a little chewy in the center, 13-15 minutes.

Take off the lid and stir in salsa or taco sauce, olives with pimentos and parsley. Turn off the heat and let stand five minutes.

Serve hot Mexican rice in bowls placed on dinner plates and garnish plates with chips and leftover salsa or taco sauce for dipping.

Result: Quite delicious! The olives were a bit salty for the rest of the meal so I would probably make this in the future w/o olives. I also kept the salsa on the side and added black beans (drained, rinsed with pepper, cumin, cilantro & coriander & a splash of lime added). I can't see any Mexican meal without black beans in my home! I also added garlic and shallots to the chicken & topped the whole thing (on a plate... lol) with homemade guacamole (garlic, onion, avocado, sea salt, lime, cilantro mashed together).

Fooooooooooooood

Rashan is trying to set me up for the okie doke? You know why? Because he's a jerk. So there's this crazy site called FoodGawker which I just found out about full of gorgeous pics! and recipes and promptly labeled food p.orn. Rashan was like you know that doesn't mean that really... that means something else... I was like, WHAT?! Was I just unintentionally nasty??? OMG! And then he starts laughing. Jerk (soft j). Then he's like, "No, really. Google it." And I almost did it... such a Stace move. Rookie. Almost like I haven't been dating this man for more than 15 months.

Can we just reiterate my love for food? It's ridiculous. I wish I had someone to do the dishes for me. I would cook more. I also would love to have a personal chef. Can I have a personal chef, please? I would definitely eat out less if I had someone who would cook whatever my heart's desire. Lest we forget my ultimate quest, let me remind you. You are all still to be on the lookout for my HH. That's right, my Hispanic Husband. I'm going to need a man who is a Mexican chef. That man can cook me to a size 8 and I will love him for it for the rest of my life!! All of you have been seriously slacking on your pimpin and this makes me sad. How can I call you the blog la familia if you won't even find me my HH? I probably can't. But I can forgive you if you try again. Operation HH back in full effect... but don't tell Rashan, ok? He's kind of sensitive about me dating him and hunting for the HH. Selfish, ain't he? GET OVER YOURSELF!!

This weekend Rashan & I are meeting Adei & Drew and HU homie Bran & her fam in Daytona for the Hampton-Bethune Cookman game. You know what's important? WHAT WE'RE GONNA EAT! Our hotel has like 4 restaurants. Wow... They're probably mostly overpriced but they have bars... so it's a good start. Mmmmm.... foood. I'm on a plan to taste something new and amazing before the week is out. Life's good.

November Goals

I don't see the point in waiting until January to set goals. (Speaking of which I should really check up on my goals from January... I have a feeling I haven't done what I wanted to...) Aretha does monthly goals and I like that idea so here's what's on deck for November!

1) Try new recipe twice a week. Seeing as I now subscribe to Every Day with Rachael Ray AND Food Network magazine (which has a ridiculous amount of recipes!!) I should really put those to use. I also have a ridiculous number of RR cookbooks with a new one out this month (yesterday in fact and you know I want it even though it will be number 7!!)... I should use this stuff!!!

2) Try new ingredient, spice or dish once a month. I like being adventurous! Since sometimes it's difficult for me to get out of Gainesville, I can at least travel via food.

3) Eat out no more than 3xs/week (4 on Rashan visits). This probably sounds like a lot to y'all. It does to me, too but when I was in class for hours and hours on end and didn't get home until 8 or 9, I didn't feel like cooking. Now that our classes are cut down so we can work on our films, I bet I can do even better than 3-4xs a week but I wanted to give myself a doable goal.

4) Work out 3xs/week. It is so irritating to me that I have let this go! It's insane! The gym is ridiculously close. I can and will do better.

5) Dedicate time for spiritual growth. I have let this go, too and I can tell a difference. I'm going to fix it.

6) Catch up on movies. I'm still about a dozen behind. I made no progress in October and we're getting closer and closer to the end! Time to kick operation 750 movies this year into gear!!

7) Use a budget. Ahem. Yeah.

Nitpicking the News Vol. III: The First Marriage

I am am captivated by this New York Times magazine article on the marriage of our President Rocky & First Lady Shelly. It's been a while since you guys heard those nicknames I gave them during the campaign, huh? I'd almost forgotten about them! This post doesn't necessarily fit into the nitpicking category since I heart this article by Jodi Kantor. As magazine articles are so relentlessly long, I excerpted here my favorite passages with my comments (if any) following denoted by an asterisk. I also rearranged some of the passages to make them flow better because I've omitted such huge chunks but unless denoted by an asterisk, the words are from Kantor's reportage. Enjoy.

"I’m married to the president of the United States."
*There's nothing special about this other than I'm excited that a black woman can say that! :)

Campaigns often prove toxic to participants’ personal lives, but [presidential adviser Valerie] Jarrett says the Obamas’ relationship improved in the crucible of the race. “They both rallied to each other’s defense and support,” she says. “By having to work hard at it, it strengthened their marriage.”

“If my ups and downs, our ups and downs in our marriage can help young couples sort of realize that good marriages take work. . . .” Michelle Obama said a few minutes later in the interview. The image of a flawless relationship is “the last thing that we want to project,” she said. “It’s unfair to the institution of marriage, and it’s unfair for young people who are trying to build something, to project this perfection that doesn’t exist.”
* PREACH!

“What do you think you could accomplish that other candidates couldn’t?” Michelle asked, according to [consultant David] Axelrod. The question hung in the air. Clearly, an Obama agenda would not look very different from that of Hillary Clinton or John Edwards.

“When I take that oath of office, there will be kids all over this country who don’t really think that all paths are open to them, who will believe they can be anything they want to be,” Barack replied. “And I think the world will look at America a little differently.”
* Le sigh.

When cable shows, bloggers and opponents fixated on her — on her supposed lack of patriotism, her supposedly angry streak — Barack was irate.
* Tell me how much you loved this!! I was SWOONING! I was working in news and didn't necessarily consider it news but as a person? LOOOOOOVED!!

The Obamas mix politics and romance in a way that no first couple quite have before. They also seem unusually willing, for a presidential couple, to kiss, touch and flirt in public. It may be that they are broadcasting their affection to the rest of us, an advertisement of their closeness. Or they may simply be holding tightly to each other as they navigate new and uncertain terrain. “Part of what they provide each other with is emotional safety,” Jarrett explained. Photograph after official White House photograph has shown the Obamas gazing into each other’s eyes while performing one or another official function.
* The pictures are soooo cute!

Marian Robinson, the first lady’s mother, has settled in (unaccustomed to being waited on, she won’t let the staff do the laundry). Last spring, according to Sher, well-meaning White House residence staff members tried to give the girls cellphones, so their parents could always reach them; the first lady stepped in to refuse.
* Clearly part of the reason I love them as a first family is because they seem so down to earth, so normal, so attainable. They make it look like something our children really can have if they so desire.

The equality of any partnership “is measured over the scope of the marriage. It’s not just four years or eight years or two,” the first lady said. “We’re going to be married for a very long time.”
*Let the church say, "AAAAAAMEN!"

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 22

*Day 2 of daily posting...

1) After badgering from Rashan I bought some margarita mix... after I bought it I looked at the label: 0% juice. *shudder* That's disgusting. I only buy 100% juice but I have this drink "product." I gave it to him when he came here.
2) Every time I try to get my Netflix queue down, I end up adding more films! At this rate I will need to watch 750 films every year for the rest of my life.... and that ain't happenin. I think I'll watch 365 next year, though.
3) I'm going through serious "When Harry Met Sally" withdrawal. I haven't seen it since January or February and I usually watch at least once a month. I heard someone say "He's never gonna leave her" in a movie and I wanted to go watch it IMMEDIATELY. But since I'm still pretty far behind I decided against it. But it wasn't easy!! I WANT A REWARD FOR WATCHING 750 MOVIES WHEN THIS YEAR IS OVER!!!!
4) The other night I told Rashan, "I'm not here to be nice. I'm here to be awesome." Clearly that statement is proof.
5) Rashan told me my film reviews sometimes sound like I will scream if I hear someone mention the film. Lol. Hilarious. Yes I was aware of this though I wouldn't have put it like that. And well... sometimes I won't SCREAM per se but I'm not gonna be happy if you mention that film!
6) It's been a while since I heard heavy rain, you know living in the sunshine state. The rainy season has been over for about a month and I haven't heard heavy rain... that means the rain outside sounds strange! Which is also weird.
7) I wonder if Goldie Hawn can act... I liked her more before seeing her old stuff which is full of her playing the bubble-headed blonde. I feel bad for people when I see that.
8) Carib what? Before I got to Hampton I was completely ignorant of the nuances of Caribbean culture. I am by no means an expert now but I had no clue there were so many nations with so many cultural differences. I grew up in the SOUTH. Charlotte was not nearly as diverse then as it is now 20+ years later. I might've met a Jamaican & my cousin's mom was from the Virgin Islands... my parents went to the Bahamas on their honeymoon... before I was born... yeah.... Nothing. Enter HU. Suddenly I know Bajans, Trinis, beaucoup Jamaicans, I'm listening to reggae and hearing people speaking patois! CRAZY! I also had my first beef patty & cocoa bread. Chile please. You know it's ALL about the food for me! It's been a while since I had some good Jamaican food! Man! Then shortly after I wrote this, I decided to go to the place near campus... W OW! The escovitch fish was DELISH! These pickled carrots were amazing! & the menu is so extensive! Clearly I need to go back regularly!
9) One of my fb pet peeves is when someone says "Tag me on this picture!" You're looking at the picture... TAG YOURSELF!!!
10) Just as I suspected, I got my Food Network Magazine & Rachael Ray isn't in it. BOOOOOOOO!!!!
11) I don't know that I can trust Guy Fiori after learning he doen't like big breakfasts at home.
12) Little known fact, the president visited Pamela's Diner (and loved it) while campaigning in Pittsburgh... I'd already been there multiple times. Guess what that makes me? AWESOME! :)
13) It's funny that my professors are very aware of my sensitivity to length. I seriously cannot take long films. And it actually has very little to do with the actual length and more to do with the emotional length. As in that movie was only 73 minutes but felt like my entire life. That means there is not enough happening in the plot and there are too many dull moments for your film to sustain my attention. I've watched 2.5-3 hour films I didn't want to end (Sex & the City (more because of my previously acquired affinity for the characters), Amelie). Fix that.