Lists

I love lists.

I love writing a long list, like a to-do list or a shopping list, and hanging it on my fridge or putting it right by my planner where I can see it all the time.

As a matter of fact, I always keep a pad of really cute paper on my refrigerator (like, right now, it says "When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade! and has bright green flowers and lemons in the background) so that I can write on it when I run out of something.

During my second-to-the-last semester of college, I had to make an hour-by-hour list of everything I had to do. I even wrote in free-time.

On a weirder note, I once made a list of everything I had in my freezer and labeled it "Freezer Inventory," so that I knew what I could make for dinner.

What can I say? Lists keep me organized.

And what do I like better than making lists?

Crossing things off them!

There's a certain amount of satisfaction I get from crossing something out.

Maybe it's because it means I'm getting things done. Or maybe it's just because then I can make a new list.

Snow in Movies

In real life, when it snows at night, it's absolutely beautiful. The snow sparkles as it comes down, and I like lying down in a snowbank and looking up at it. But then it gets cold and my ears begin to freeze off and I have to go inside.

But I love watching snow in movies, because it's beautiful and not cold at all, because I'm sitting on my couch or in a theater.

And any scene with snow just looks magical. It really does. Especially when it's night time and snow is falling down. I especially like it when it's in a foreboding scene, but it's good anytime.

It's few and far between, too. I can only think of a handful of movies that have scenes where it's snowing. There are plenty of scenes with snow already on the ground, but that's not impressive at all, because it usually looks brown and dirty.

I'm sure there are more than I can think of, but right now I'm thinking Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, lots of the Harry Potter films, Edward Scissorhands, and Amadeus are the only ones I've seen. I might be wrong. I have to be. So if you know of any others, let me know and I'll watch them, because I love it.

Snow adds so much to the scene. Rain is great, too, but there's something about snow-- maybe it's that you can actually see the flakes, and rain just sort of fogs up the lens-- that is just so incredible.

Anyway, that's one thing that I think should appear in more movies. Take out all the half-hour long sex scenes and put in some snow.

Universal Orlando

I went to Universal Orlando for the first time this past summer. And let me tell you, I had the time of my life!

My sister and I planned to go, because the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter park had just opened at Islands of Adventure. We're a little obsessed, and we expected to spend a ton of time at the Harry Potter part. And we did.

We spent around 5 hours in that part alone. My cousin who went with us, who had been to Universal several times, thought we were overestimating how much time we'd spend in Harry Potter World. She said we could never find that many hours worth of stuff to do. She was very wrong.

First off, we rode the incredible simulator ride in Hogwarts Castle, and stopped every two feet to take pictures. We even were told to "move along" by one of the workers. I don't think he really understood how excited we were.

Secondly, we got to drink Butterbeer and eat in the Three Broomsticks. How cool is that?

We also rode some roller coasters and other stuff. But my sister and I spent over half an hour walking up the trail to the roller coaster ride, taking pictures of (and with) all of the "Support Harry Potter" and Triwizard Tournament signs. So cool!

But the rest of Universal rocked, too! Islands of Adventure is incredible. The Jurrasic Park ride is phenomenal. We were told we wouldn't get wet at all on that ride.

Another lie.

We rode in the first row the first time, and we were so interested in this part where there's a giant T-Rex head, that we didn't even realize we were going to plummet down a waterfall! If you've ever been there you'll know the part. We thought we were going straight into T-Rex's mouth, and we got a pretty shocking, soaked surprise when we didn't.

Like I said, incredible.

The rest of Islands of Adventure is great, too, but those are just the highlights.

At Universal Studios, I loved the Mummy ride. There was also a roller coaster, called something like Rip It Rockit, where you go straight up at a 90 degree angle. The only thing that kept me from completely losing my head was the music that played out of headphones in each separate seat. I played "Hella Good" by No Doubt in my car.

I sound like I'm on a tourism commercial, promoting Universal.

But I'm not. I just really, really love it. But, if any big-wigs from the Universal Orlando park read this, I'd be happy to do some publicity for you. In exchange for free season passes.

Honestly, though. Time of my life.

Go here. It's well worth the money. And this is coming from me, who is quite a tight-wad with cash if I do say so myself...

Award Shows

In light of the Golden Globes being broadcast this Sunday, I've decided to profess my love of awards shows to the world.

Golden Globes, Emmys, OSCARS! If it has to do with movies or TV shows, heavy golden statues, and designer gowns, I'm there. In fact, I clear my schedule specifically so that I can watch them. I even took the day off work this fall so I could be sure I would be able to watch the Emmy awards.

And then I spent the entire show barking at my TV, because Lost was nominated for 11 awards and didn't get any... damn Mad Men...

Anyway, I started watching award shows with my family when I was little, and I watched them mostly for the dresses. And the sparkles. And the up-dos. And, probably, because I've always wanted to be famous.

But in the last couple years of high school, I got really into award shows, and I didn't want to miss a single one. Should I also mention that my senior year of high school, I made it my goal to win a Golden Globe for Best Original Screenplay? Not an Oscar. A Golden Globe.

I set my sights real high.

No, but really. I'd take a Golden Globe. I'd take an Oscar, too, if they were just giving them out...

But, anyway, back to the shows. The Oscars, of course, are my favorite. The Oscars are, like, the top of the food chain as far as award ceremonies are concerned. Anyone who is nominated for an Oscar is Hollywood royalty...even if they were in an indie film that kind of sucked.

I love the Oscars. I watch the entire show, from red carpet coverage to the very end. I happily sit through all of the boring speeches, too. Maybe it's just because I love film, or maybe it's because I love glamor. Or maybe it's because I love how incredibly happy these people look when they get up to accept their awards. I mean, most of them are actors, so they could possibly be faking a bit. But I like to believe they're not. I mean, Kate Winslet, for one, when she won for The Reader was most certainly not faking. Look it up. It's sweet.

On my 20th birthday, the Oscars were on, and all I wanted to do was watch them. I didn't want to go to dinner, have a party, nothing. I wanted to watch the Oscars, straight through. And I did. And it was fantastic.

And last year, I had an Oscars party. All out: formal clothes, champagne, hors d'oeuvres, the whole deal. And my guests actually dressed up. And I don't know if they had a good time, but I sure did.

I take award shows very seriously. If someone or something is nominated for the Oscars, you know they deserve it, and the acting or film was fantastic. Or directing, or screenplay...you get my drift. Therefore, I got really angry when I found out they were having 10 Best Picture nominees...but, I mean, the best one will always win, anyway, I'm sure. I just think to double the size of the category makes it a bit of a joke. What kind of honor is it when any half-way decent movie gets nominated? Oh well. It's still great.

Because I take these so seriously, I get incredibly upset when movies win that aren't...well, shall I say, award material. Last year, The Hangover won Best Comedy at the Golden Globes. And I saw it, it was a funny movie, don't get me wrong. But there was really nothing about it that was well-made. And I just feel that if you receive a Golden Globe, no matter how funny your movie is, it should also be well-made. But that's that.

Joke or not, I'm a sucker for Award Shows. And hopefully one day I'll be at one. If not as a nominee, then at least as a guest!

I'm getting ready for the Golden Globes Sunday...everyone watch! It should be great, as long as Angelina Jolie doesn't win...

Office Supplies

Post-it notes! Staplers! Pens! Tacks!

I love them all. And now, they're making office supplies, like tacks and paper clips, with these awesome designs, like swirls!

How cool is that?

I think my obsession with pens comes from waitressing for almost 6 years. I really like a good pen. I used to collect these really silly ones, like with Simba on top, or fur, like on Clueless. And the best silly pen I had had a snowman in a squishy snow globe on top. I used to use these all for waitressing. I don't know if it made anyone else happy, but it sure made me happy. It made my job a little better.

Now I'm into good pens. Smooth writing pens with jet black ink. I got a pen today that floats over the paper when you write. I swear. It's magic.

What other office supplies do I love? All of them!

Seriously. I want a desk job so bad, just so I can have all these office supplies on my desk. And so I can spend all day shredding paper and making copies.

But, anyway, office supplies. Today I saw a tape dispenser that was a red high-heeled shoe. How cool is that?

All these little things make me so happy.

So, if you are so lucky to work in an office, I hope you have some awesome stuff on your desk. Like, maybe colorful post-its or ones shaped like stars! Or a 3-hole puncher! Nothing fancy about that one; it's just good.

Or maybe you have a collection of really sharp wooden pencils. Either way, I hope that if you work in an office, you take full advantage of the cool office supplies they make. I know I will someday. If I ever get away from waitressing.

Harry Potter

I know. It's pretty much everyone else in the world's favorite, too. Except my best friend, Skye, who, in her own words, never, ever wants a ticket to a Harry Potter movie, or anything to do with the story at all. She's missing out, if you ask me.

I started reading the books when I was in fifth grade. My teacher recommended them, as they were the big thing at the time. Who knew that they would still be the big thing 11 years later?

I read the first couple then, but after that, I just gave up. To this day, I don't really know why. I watched the movies (which really aren't good as far as movies are concerned, and certainly don't stand alone), but I never read the books. My sister did, though, and I made her tell me everything that happened. Even that Dumbledore died! And then, after I watched the fifth movie, I decided to read the books again. And I'm very, very glad.

Now I'm on my third time reading the series through. I'm on Goblet of Fire, which, along with Deathly Hallows, is my favorite.

I'm a bit obsessed, to say the least.

But it's really strange for me, because I hate fantasy. But Harry Potter is so cool, because it's so real. There are these kids who are way too brave for their age, and they go to school and they have crushes on one another and they laugh and have fun and grow up. And that's what I love about it.

Well, all of that, and the fact that there are no talking animals. Give me wizards and goblins, but talking animals I can't stand. I mean, come on.

Obviously I think the Harry Potter series is the most incredible series of all time. Yes! I said it. Tell me all you want that J.K. Rowling can't write or that the story lines are stolen, but I'll back her up to the death.

And here's why: J.K. Rowling somehow changed the entire world of literature. She made kids want to read again. I know people who have never read a book outside of class, but they read Harry Potter and enjoyed it. And I have the utmost respect for her because of that.

I mean, how does a book series get that huge? Movies get huge because there are commercials and trailers, and the same with TV shows. But no one's recording a trailer for a book series, are they? It's a testament to how interesting and exciting her stories are that the books have become so legendary.

When I read them now, I think, "Oh my gosh, these are little kids! They're way too young to be fighting dragons and sounding this old!"

But the fun part is, when I was eleven and reading about Harry when he's eleven, it didn't seem like he was too old. Because when you're eleven, you feel old. And you feel like you could do all that stuff. Assuming you were a wizard, I mean.

And that's what's great about Harry Potter. No matter how young or old you are, you can relate to these kids. I do feel a little old when I think of these eleven year olds. But when I think about how I felt when I was that age, I realize that even I look at kids as being too young sometimes. When I was fourteen, I acted (besides the whole high-school-freshman-syndrome thing), pretty old. I could have totally been running around doing missions in a wizard tournament. I mean, I ran track and all.

So, what's my favorite thing about Harry Potter? Besides Harry and Ron and Hermione and Fred and George and Mrs. Weasley and Dumbldeore and Sirius Black and... well, you get the point, right?

My favorite thing about the series as a series is that it makes me feel young. It makes me feel excited. It lets me escape the world for a little while. And I really, truly believe everything that happens, one-hundred percent.

Because sometimes it's nice to believe there's a Wizarding World and a giant castle with a Room of Requirement and house elves in the basement that cook you feasts.