Dear angry teens:

If you would like me to post your anti-Twilight rants in the front page article section -- which I'd be more than happy to do simply for the uproar and fangirly angst that it would stir -- please try to make a half-decent submission that doesn't break every spelling and grammar rule in existence. (Despite what you may think, netspeak is not an acceptable form of English.) Also preferably a submission that is more than two sentences long. (Extra exclamation points do not count towards your word count.) I am always up for spreading more LULz at the expense of Stephanie Meyer and the Twilight series, but I can't do so when you don't put in any effort!

On the related note of Twilight fuckwittage: If Twilight Were 10 Times Shorter and 100 Times More Honest

So I've been badgered into taking a trip on the Twitter bandwagon. I made a deal that I'd use it for a week and I'm on my fifth day and am still not quite sure what the whole point of Twitter is. I'm trying, I really am. *Squints* Wait, is that... Nope. Sorry. Don't see it.

I don't understand why people are flocking towards this awkward and somewhat useless middle ground between blogging and Facebooky social networking. I particularly dislike the part of this week-long deal where I'm being forced in turn to follow every Tom, Dick, and Sally that randomly decides to follow me. I don't understand. I don't know these people. I don't care what they're thinking, doing, or saying through out the day. Why are strangers following my Twitter feed in the first place? D:

The only Twitterism that I've grown fond of is the handy ability to immediately update my Facebook status straight from the Twitter app on my desktop. That's cool. I also like the idea of being able to include a widget on the side of my blog that shows my recent updates. Basically I like and will probably continue using anything involving it that directly relates to updating or displaying my Facebook status, which essentially is all Twitter really is. Starting Friday though, I'm cleaning out my spammed-to-hell Twitter friend list.

I didn't get to play any Guild Wars tonight, which I'm very sad about. :c I really need to buy a cheap computer headset. Playing in a party that I can't talk outloud to directly is really hard; I don't know where people are, or what they're doing, or what I'm supposed to be doing! There's not exactly a lot of time to spare to type out game plans while you're being mauled by a fucking gang bang of vicious skale monsters, you know?

I technically just did a meme like this, so I tried to do 25 new things that weren't included in the last one. :P

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged.

1. I routinely look like I just crawled out of a barn. Between the bits and pieces of hay from sitting in my pet rabbit's playpen and the tufts of white feathers that escape from my down-filled winter jacket and get caught on my clothes, it raises the theory that I live in a chicken coup.


2. I used to be a tomboy. It's only in the last three or four-ish years that I've ditched the ugly over-sized man shirts to openly embrace my feminine side. Floral! Color! Dresses! Fitted clothes! OMG look I'm actually a girl and I LOVE IT~! :3 I would never ever go back to the way I was, because being girly is too much fun.


3. I really like my job, and that's something that I never would have believed I'd ever say. But I do, I like the job, I adore the people I work with, I get excited over new projects we're working on and where we're going. It's not very often many people are able to wake up everyday and not hate the idea of going to their job, and it concerns and makes me a little sad to not know whether I'll still be able to be there a year from now.


4. I would love to travel more. I especially dream one day of going back to Europe... England, Paris! *hearts* I wouldn't mind visiting Africa and maybe Japan too~


5. My biggest goal in the next five years (and that's a maximum ETA, preference would be one to two years) to own my own bloody house. I hate renting, I hate it! Look at all my beautiful money being sucked away that I'll never see again! D: I want more space, I want a garage, and I want a yard so we can finally get a puppy~


6. I'm probably one of the few people who was born in St. Albert, Alberta, and never ever wants to leave. It is one of the many aspects that is part of what makes up what has been affectionately coined the "Brenna Bubble". I love my little slice of suburbia and if I get my way I will live here forever. By an uncommon contrast, I despise Edmonton. It's too big, it's dirty, it's stressful, and it's scary, as opposed to my comfortably small city that is by comparison clean, easy, and safe, and most importantly, is close to my friends and family. If I ever make a move out of St. Albert, it will be to another suburb in the nearby area, but if it's left up to me, I will die here in one of the very many local retirement homes.


7. My dialogue is littered with what we in the family refer to as "Saunders Words", and sometimes I forget that the rest of the world has never heard of them. Terms like "gweeblies", "tuffettops", and "goobersmooch" have a habit of sneaking into my dictionary while out in public and end up earning me lots of funny looks and ridicule.


8. I speak to my bunny as if he were a tiny three-year-old. I never thought I'd be one of those people who engages in in depth conversations with my pet and treats them like their own child, but I can't help it! *Hugs Toby* He's so freaking adorable! X3


9. I wish I had more money to buy ridiculous amounts of clothes and shoes! I can't walk into a mall without seeing a dozen things I want to have, and if I didn't have the reserves of will power as I do, I would be very very poor.


10. I am probably the pickiest eater I have ever and will ever know of. (And I can't even blame mine on allergies or anything.)


11. I'm cold all the time. I hate being freaking cold! *Hugs her portable work heater*


12. I'd really like to get more in shape since my current shape is more like a squiggly no-muscly void of nothing, but I am admittedly notoriously lazy when it comes to physical activity. Gyms are an absolute no-go for me. Selected sports I can sometimes pull off, but it really has to be a very Brenna-friendly sport, and that usually means that it doesn't involve a lot of running or painful physical contact. I keep saying I want to get into a habit of playing DDR again every day, but that probably won't actually happen until we have a house and more space to keep the dancing mat out and available to remind me to use it.


13. On the note of Brenna-friendly sports, I'm extremely glad that Mason introduced me to golf. Yes, it's as boring as dirt to watch on television, but I really do enjoy playing it. It gives me some exercise, I get to go for a nice leisurely walk, and it's very relaxing.


14. I started taking piano lessons this year, something I've always wanted to do and finally did~


15. I don't like small talk. I'm much more of a comfortable silence kind of girl. Please don't talk to me about the weather or other things we know that neither of us are really interested in talking about just to fill an awkward void. Either have an actual conversation with me, or keep to the rule silence is golden.


16. When it comes to television and movies and books, my favorite characters always end up being either:
    
    1. villains (ex. Spike from Buffy, Grievous from Star Wars),
    2. arrogant assholes (ex. Alan Shore from Boston Legal, Severus Snape from HP), or
    3. a little bit crazy (ex. Dilandau from Escaflowne, The Joker from Batman).
    
    Or in some cases, all of the above mixed into some crazy Molotov cocktail of creepy. It's especially strange since all these characteristics when displayed in real life piss me off and make me want to punch the owner in the face. Yet in books and shows, I can't get enough of them. They draw me in -- they're just always so much more interesting than the heroes or other protagonists! :B


17. Denny Crane.


18. I'm so happy to be getting back into reading again. I was an obsessive book worm when I was younger, and then for whatever reason I stopped buying books and going to the library for a while when I discovered things like anime and manga and pink Nintendo DS's. Something clicked last year though and I've compiled a giant list of must-read material that I'm working though.


19. I am an Anal Annie when it comes to filling the dishwasher. Everything has a designated place, dishes must be sorted, everything has to fit in order to maximize dishwasher capacity and efficiency! Mason very often simply doesn't load the dishwasher at home because he knows that I'll just walk by, get frustrated, and proceed to take everything out and re-load it my own way. I go over to my parent's house for dinner some times and blanch at the horror that is their dishwasher now that I don't live at home with them. It's a disgrace, and I think they do it purely because they know it annoys me.


20. I like playing board games. One night a week I get together with a bunch of friends and we play a board game or card game of some sort, it's a lot of fun, and I like that I get to see the group of people at least once each week because of it.


21. I am an enormous fangirly geek, and I love it. Being a fangirl is my favorite hobby ever, whether it's watching episodes of a series over and over again, or finding a new piece of amazing fanart, or staying up until the wee hours of the morning researching information and details on specific parts of a story or character that I never knew before.


22. Directly related to / caused by / is the causing factor of #21, I'm a pretty big daydreamer. Not in the teenage girly sense of "and then Johnny Depp comes sweeping in with rippling muscles and carries me off for some full-frontal shagging", but more along the lines of where I write little scenes and bits in my head of various fandoms I'm currently indulging in. It's more or less fanfiction writing, only without the actual typing because that's far too much effort. I like to think up those scenes you'd love to see, or bits of a story and character experiences that were never included but should have been. They play like my own little directed movies in my head, and they can range from little two-minute concoctions to full blown half hour episodes where I end up getting really annoyed if someone interrupts me in the middle of it.


23. I both miss and do not miss my old spiky hair. I miss it because it was very unique, and not a style you saw on every female who walked by; though on the same note, I very much do not miss it because of the same reason. My hair may be more boring now, but it feels more mature and I'm finally no longer recognized every where I go as "That spiky haired girl who worked at Sobeys". =_=; There's a point when creepy old ladies try to run their hands over your hair gushing that you say enough is enough.


24. I live my life by my Google Calendar. *Hearts* I'm not sure I could get along in the world on a day-to-day basis without my online schedule and daytimer.


25. I can't stand rudeness. It is by far my biggest pet peeve and turn off. Egotistical people come in as a close second -- modesty is a virtue, learn to use it, you arrogant asswipes.

I can now play the first bit of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" on the piano by myself! *Feels proud* I really like this Synthesia program, it's fun times. I think I'll try to tackle "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" next, that one looks a little trickier because there's chords... :x My goal is to some day (years from now, I realize) be able to sit down and play some Journey -- they played it at the dueling piano bar we went to for the Nex Christmas party and I was like *hearts* and *sparkly eyes*.

In lieu of a holiday potluck which were originally going to do, we gathered everyone together and went to the new little Asian buffet. Somehow it managed to escape my razor-sharp casual observation that with the oriental-flavor of the restaurant name it was going to serve primarily Chinese food, but it turned out to be really tasty actually. And they had these wonderful little cheese-covered potatoes that were fantastically yummy~ I'd go back, but considering that they were in the midst of their grand-opening with only a couple tables filled, I don't think they'll be around long... *Sweatdrop*

I am so close to being done my Christmas shopping it's sick! If this damn weather would let up a bit, I would venture out and quickly finish up the last few items! It's really not fair how Alberta can go from a mild -5 to -30 practically over night... may I add that it's also very unfair how my car starter has developed an annoying habit of stopping to work as it gets progressively colder, which defeats the entire purpose. -5? It's good to go. But -30? I have to go out and start it by hand. Someone hates me.

I actually logged onto Guild Wars this weekend for the first time in... *strains* ...ages. I forgot how fun it is and how ridiculously AWESOME my necromancer is. Mason says I only have a couple more missions before I beat Prophecies, and then I want to start using my new ritualist~ With GW and piano, I don't know if I'm going to finish my Grievous picture in time for the contest deadline. >_<

Or at least they did last night at Kevin's place as I proceeded to completely PWN everyone at poker. Whether it was the fuel of tasty pornstar cocktails and mini chocolate bars, or the need for enact vengeance after being the victim of an elastic band firing squad, I slyly -- yet somewhat flukily -- whittled them down and emerged victorious and a shiny $60 richer after five long hours of Texas Hold Em. *Evil cackle*

I believe it was a well-deserved good end to what was in contrast a very frustrating and arduous day. I phoned our property manager yesterday morning at 8 a.m. to get her to come over and have a look at our apartment pipes and thermostat. Sometime over the last year we discovered that one or the other was buggered, which results in either our apartment feeling like a sauna when the hot water pipes are turned on, or having to suffer in frigid cold when we turned them off. I ended up having to work from home to wait for the plumber to show up to fix it because I didn't have an extra key to give the manager to get into the apartment. Now the idea of working from home is very tempting for most people, and I'm not going to lie, I was a little thrilled at the idea of suddenly getting to curl up in my pajamas and slippers and eat a tasty breakfast of Eggo waffles at my computer, working away while at the same time getting to watch a few episodes of What Not to Wear on my EyeTV.

It's all a lie, people. A HORRIBLE, AGONIZING LIE. Working from home is not relaxing, it's freaking annoying. Nothing works! You don't have what you need! And to get what you need, you have to spend the entire day conversing long distance over IRC with co-workers simply trying to set up your workstation at home which is entirely out of your frame of technological know-how so you can do everything you would have been doing at the office! Look at my happy list of things I wanted to get finished yesterday! *Indignantly holds up detailed blue stickie-note with list of bullet-point tasks and a doodle of a happy flower in the corner* None of this done, no! I spent the eight hair-pulling hours of my day yesterday trying to gain access to the mere ability to work on these items! Throw in a shoddy Shaw internet connection that went offline half way during the day and upset all the previous progress I'd made during the morning, and it was a complete and utter gong show. Seriously. I went through an entire layer and a half of Pot of Gold fine chocolates and truffles in my stress and rage. Never again. =_=

And to top it all off, the fucking plumber never even showed up. I have to wait until Monday. I am getting an extra bloody key cut this weekend.

On a completely different note, huzzuh for Mason finally coming back home tonight! THERE WILL BE GLOMPAGE! :B

I think I've recycled that particular post title but if you don't tell, I won't. ¬_¬

Well Mason flew off to Florida yesterday, so I'm on my own for two lonely weeks. It'll be the longest time we've been apart in our relationship, and I already started missing him last night when I went to bed. (It didn't help any that yesterday afternoon I watched I Am Legend and it very predictably wigged me out as I came home to the dark apartment with not a single Mason cuddle available. I may or may not have intentionally left the television on while I slept so I'd have the glow... WHY DO I INSIST ON WATCHING SCARY MOVIES?!) ;_;

It was nice to have the day off today (long weekend, HUZZUH!), but it does mean I have to go in to work tomorrow. *Pouts a little* We're launching some new improvements to our last improvements, which you know, will hopefully be an overall improvement. It looks very promising so far.

Toby went in (finally) to his neuter appointment this morning and I'm happy to say it all went very smoothly. I was really surprised how up and about he was when I brought him home; I thought he'd sleep the rest of the day away. I have pain meds to give him once a day which the vet told me should (hopefully) be easier to get him to take than the Critical Care was. *Crosses fingers* >_<

I also have to check on his incision twice daily to make sure there's no swelling or anything, which I was dreading because I have so much trouble picking him up. But tonight I was like "Okay. This is it. Let's do this. No funny business." and I just scooped him up! It was the first time he's been so mellow about it! He didn't stay still very long, but I held him up long enough to check things out~ *So happy* I just have to try to make sure he doesn't chew at his stitches or he's going to be a very unhappy bunny when I have to go and fit him with a cone.

We have these mini pizzas here at work and they are very possibly some of the tastiest mini pizzas I've ever had. I was a little discouraged the first few times I attempted to cook them. I would throw them in the toaster oven and go back to my desk to let them cook for 10 minutes -- then 20 minutes later I would be like "SHIT! Shitshitshitshitshit..." and my tasty pizzas would be shriveled black hockey pucks. I experienced this epic pizza failure three days in a row at first and was close to resolving myself to the apparent fact that BRENNA IS NOT DESTINED FOR TASTY PIZZA IN MINIATURE FORM, but then realized I actually was destined to eat pizza if I would just stop being lazy and set a 10 minute alarm on my phone. Lazy < Pizza.

*OM NOM NOM NOM*

As gleeful as I was to watch Obama get voted into office on Tuesday, I was also dismayed to see that the election coverage delayed a new episode of House. D: I must have flustered Gregorz! I must have more House-Cuddy kissage! *Rolls around in a pit of her own fangirly angst*

I saved a kitty last night~ Well, sort of. We got home from Brock's and this adorably friendly cat followed us to our building and up the stairs to the door. If Mason hadn't insisted on denying the kitty entrance, I most likely would have had a new furry house guest that evening. :c Instead I coaxed him away from the door with cuddles and went in search for poor kitty's home. Hopefully the little old lady who welcomed him back inside at the original house we saw him sitting on the stoop of is actually a kind old lady and not some creepy terrible woman looking for kitty meat pies. :x

I've decided I want to start taking piano lessons~ I love the piano and I think it would be so relaxing to just sit down and play (ENVY DAN, ENVY!) -- I regret not enrolling in some as a kid but I figure it's never too late to learn. (Besides, everyone always tells me I have piano fingers~) Dan says Innovations Music in St. Albert does lessons which are really good, but their next classes to enroll in don't start until next September... And I'm a little paranoid about having lessons at some Joe Shmoe's house who I don't know. Where to go?