You go girls!

The women of PA have taken matters into their own hands when it comes to the clergy in their Catholic Church:

Women to be Ordained as Priests

This is very exciting for me, even if I'm not Catholic anymore. As you all know, one of the many reasons I jumped ship was the way women were demonized and made inferior in the Catholic Church. I'm sorry, I can get that in the real world, God should view me as an equal to man. As the nun on CNN just pointed out, Mary Magdalane was the first to witness the resurrection, a Samaritan woman was the first evangelist...Clearly, Jesus didn't have a problem with women.

Of course, this goes back to the REALLY early days of the Church as the clergy tried to suppress the idea of the Earth Mother and they figured if they didn't give women any real power, people would forget that She ever existed.

Preach on, sisters, preach on.

Ug...

I'm suffering from EBS...Empty Bed Syndrome. I've been sleeping in lately and it occured to me that this would be SO much better if I had someone in the bed with me...and not just two cats. The cats are lovely companions, but it's not quite the same.

I also had a sex dream last night, but the sex wasn't even particularly good. It was with the guy from the pictures (which makes a certain amount of sense) but we couldn't really...get anywhere with the whole thing. I've had lots of unsatisfying REAL sex, could I at least have satisfying fake sex?

According to the mostly-useless dreammoods.com:

To dream about sex, may be your libido's way of telling you that it's been too long since you have had sex. It may indicate repressed sexual desires and your needs for physical and emotional love.

To dream that you are having sex with an ex or something that is not your current mate, denotes your reservations about embarking in a new relationship or situation. You may feel nervous about exposing yourself or currently feel a resurgence of those old emotions and feelings that you felt back when you and your ex were together.

I should go to the gym today...but I won't. Tomorrow morning, I think, I'll start a regular schedule again. I've got a bunch of phone calls to make anyway.

I felt like I was in "The X-Files: Fight the Future"--lots and lots of corn.  

Jane the eldest to Jane the youngest...in one form or another. 

Karen and Baby Jane...creepy eyes notwithstanding, the kid was in a pretty good mood for about 20 minutes. 

Actually snatched from lj...

1. Elaborate on your default icon.
Sarah found it for me...she calls me "Lady"...I like King Arthur

2. What's your current relationship status?
Oh, such a nice question...

3. Ever have a near-death experience?
*ponders* No.

4. Name an obvious quality you have.
Impatience

5. What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now?
"Over My Head (Cable Car"

6. Any celebrity you would marry?
I have no idea...some I'd like to get up close and personal with, though

7. Who will cut and paste this first?
Emily, maybe

8. Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity?
I always look like "my cousin"

9. Do you wear a watch? What kind?
Yes...when I remember to change the battery

10. Do you have anything pierced?
Both ears, twice...belly button formerly

11. Do you have any tattoos?
Yupper

12. Do you like pain?
No...but it also takes a bit to inflict pain on me

13. Do you like to shop?
Depending on my mood...and water retention

14. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
Ice cream

15. What was the last thing you paid for with your credit/debit card?
Dinner for Leila and the roommate

16. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone?
Roommate, after I got out of my workshop

17. What is on your desktop background?
Kiefer Sutherland looking hot as all get-out

18. What is the background on your cell phone?
It's a little drawing of a coffee cup. Standard cell phone wallpaper

19. Do you like redheads?
No objection...especially when they look like Rupert Grint

20. Do you know any twins?
There are so many ways this answer could turn raunchy...

21. Do you have any weird relatives?
All of 'em.

22. What was the last movie you watched?
"Munich."

23. What was the last book you read?
Completed? "Priestess of Avalon."

Feeling a little down, but don't know what to do with myself...didn't sleep well last night. Roommate and I had a long discussion which was nice because I at least vocalized all the shit I've been feeling, even if there's nothing I can do about it but wait and see. And we know how much I like to wait.

Well, that answers that...

..."no romantic interest."

At least he was honest about it. 'Course now I'm a bit pissy because I thought the guy was pretty cool, but apparently I'm not exuding "romantic interest" with the guys I feel that way for.

*big sigh*

All right, off to shower for my day tomorrow.

Movie Reviews (before I go earn some money)

Casanova: This was not the best period piece/romantic comedy in the world, but it was still a pretty good way to spend an hour and a half. Heath Ledger was yummy as always and Sienna Miller can pretty much act. If you're stuck inside on a rainy weekend day and want to curl up on the couch with a movie, watch this one.

Munich: Okay, first of all, this movie was WAY too long. Almost 3 hours of...well, killing. Besides that, Avner (Eric Bana's character) keeps flashing back to the hostage situation at the Olympics...which he was not there for and of which he could not possibly have known all those details. Still, it was an interesting study in Israeli-Palestinian relations. Or lack thereof. Only watch this if you have that much time to kill and want to see where all the mess in the world sort of got started.

Boys on the Side: I've seen this movie before, but it was on TV the other day and I watched it again, despite it being pretty depressing (It was followed on TBS by A Walk to Remember. Talk about your tear-jerker double feature.) This is one of your pen-ultimate chick flicks. I'm trying to think of a single thing in this movie a straight male might find interesting and am coming up very short. If you don't know the premise, it's this: two strangers agree to drive cross-country to save on money, pick up one of their friends...and chaos ensues.

If You Ruled the Land . . . by wackyweasel
Your first name:
How you gained your rule:	Military coup, of course! They never saw it coming . . .Walked in and took the throne while they were at lunchRightful heir!!Strategic poisoning . . .Mind controlAsked for it really nicely, 'pretty please'No idea . . .
Your title is:	The Big Cheese
Your symbol is:	the unicorn - it's a horse, but improved!
You rule from:	a tower surrounded by circling dragons!
At your side is:	your sexiest bodyguards
Your enforcers, troops, and guards are all:	archers with mad skillz
Your most popular law is:	Five-day weekends
Your least popular law is:	Banning of 'stupidity and laziness in the same person'
Your worst enemy is:	a poorly-chewed pretzel
Your popularity rating is:: 78%
Your chance of being overthrown is:: 70%
Quiz created with MemeGen!

LIVE TRUMPS 1.1

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Another bust...apparently.

So, a week after what I thought was a good date and I am actual further back than where I started. I find myself thoroughly befuddled as to what went wrong and examining what it is about myself that can't seem to get beyond this point.

I have attempted face-to-face communication, which only left me MORE confused than when I had started. I have now sent out an email, simply stating that I am interested and that if he is as well, he should let me know in some way.

And now we wait. This appears to be a pattern with me. Am I simply picking the wrong gentlemen to pursue, or is it me? It could very well be the latter.

Book Reviews, Part...whatever

I know this blog has been lacking in serious content lately but...well, rather than expose you all to something that is very confusing, I'll just wait until it makes a little more sense before explaining it all. Sorry.

Anyhew.

While in Canada, I finished one book, started and finished a second and then started a third, which I just finished yesterday.

Code to Zero by Ken Follett: Now, normally I'm not a big spy mystery fan, but some of my students get into this sort of thing, so I wanted to read one. I think I picked it up for $0.25 at a garage sale. It wasn't half bad. Set in the 50's during the Space Race and the Red Scare, a man name Luke wakes up to realize he has no memory of his life...at all. As he's piecing his life together, old friends gradually filter in...some for good and some for evil. Not what we would call intellectually stimulating, but a fun read.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray: Historical fiction meets fantasy meets young adult lit. I must say it is one of the better young adult lit books I've read. A young woman "witnesses" the murder of her mother in India and then travels to a finishing school in England where...things just get weird:

"Thou shalt not steal. I seem to recall that as being one of God's I'd rather you didn't lest I have to smite you into ash commandments."--Gemma, p. 76

"Didn't you have any sadistic nannies who told you these tales to keep you quiet and well behaved at night? Heavens, what's to become of the Empire if governesses have lost their touch for scaring the wits out of their girls?"--Miss Moore, p. 130

"What are they doing," Ann asks, turning quickly away.
"She's lying back and thinking of England!"
--Ann and Pippa, p. 150

"I know that. But what happens? Do they chant? Speak in tongues? Do the runes sing 'God Save the Queen' first?"
"Yes. In E Flat."
--Gemma and her mother, p. 286

"Pain is underrated as a tool of motivation."--Gemma, p. 297

The Priestess of Avalon by MZB--I suppose this was her attempt at mixing history with empowered feminist religion. I'm not sure how well it worked. I don't know much about Constantine (who ends up figuring rather prominently in the book) so I can't say for sure how whacked out this theory of his mother being a pagan Priestess is.

"Just like aman; he went on and died bravely and left the women to put his work together again afterward."--Helena, P. 174

"I had been around Christians long enough by now to know that far from fearing martyrdom, they welcomed it as an easy way to cancel out all sins and win the favor of their gloomy god."--Helena, p. 181

"Apparently those who served the god of the Jews had always had difficulty in getting along with its neighbors."--Helena, p. 185

"But I am Emperor, and must rule in an imperfect and sinful world--"
And you suspect you may hae some sinning yet to do...
--Constantine and Helena, p. 241, on why he is not baptized yet

"It did not good to point out that the Empire had flourished for more than two centuries while tolerating a wide variety of cults and creeds. The bishops who had come to the council were representing the people who had let themselves be slain rather than throw a pinch of incense ona pagan altar fire. I wondered sometimes if the had become so accustomed to persecuttion that now that they were the Emperor's favorites they were compellted to attack each other."--Helena, p. 243, on the Council of Nicea

One of six pictures for your viewing pleasure.

I have mad skills and pulled a muscle playing Twister. Thankfully, someone was willing to help me out with that.

This was at the border crossing. I think it pretty much explains itself. 

The infamous Baby Jane...attacking! 

My father with his grand-nephew. No, he doesn't want grandkids. Not at all. ;) 

My parents' now-solo cat. Mom had to put Victor down yesterday. 

This is the stupid dog that's driving everyone crazy. AKA Weatherby. 

Dinner and a Movie

(also known as "Lady had a date and saw PotC: Dead Man's Chest")

So, after returning to my parents' house at 7:30 on Friday night, I met up with my roommate and her boyfriend for Margarita Friday, bringing with me absolutely nothing smuggled across the border from Canada. There I swam and made with the merry with the physics geeks...

...and got asked out on a date.

I got a total of 4.5 hours of sleep between 5:30AM and 3:30PM on Saturday. This is partially my own fault, as I danced my little heart out 'til 4:30 AM...and also Hob's fault for waking me up at 8AM because...well, no discernible reason has yet to be discovered. The cat is not dead, but it came rather close at one point.

Oh, did I mention how I'm a moron and left my camera at the party, so I can't post pictures of my trip to Canada...or the party for that matter? Yeah, my bad. Probably tomorrow or Tuesday.

So yes, I went out last night. I had a very good time, I believe he had a good time and while I have his phone number, I'm not going to call him because that would be weird. He can call me. :)

As for the movie, I was not as impressed with it as I was the first one. The story was kind of jumbled, but some of the fight scenes were FANTASTIC. Not as many catchy one-liners either, but they carried some things over from the first movie, which was cool. Still, a good time was had by all.

All right, off to do laundry. Yee. Haw.

Blame Canada!

Kidding.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am indeed alive. My cousin's baby is adorable, her 4-year-old son is a panic, and my relatives are all good. Mom and I went into Pictou today and she bought me a necklace...Celtic Crosses rock my world.

Goddesses (& Roommate): My grandfather's property is covered in corn. It's like The X-Files movie! I'm going to take a picture just for the humor of it.

Oh yes, I love my camera, although it's not happy about bright sunlight pictures, a little sad.

Sar, if you need a pick up at the train station on Friday evening, please call me so I can find someone to get you. Or if it's Saturday...well, call me anyway so I can know when to come get you. I won't answer the phone (international roaming charges and all) but I will listen to any voice mails left.

See you all on Friday night!

Misc.

1. I did not get home until 5:15 this morning. It's an odd time to try to fall asleep. Made it 'til about 11 after a shower so...5.5 hours? M'eh.

2. I need another MP3 player. The one I have is fine, but I've deemed it annoying to have to wipe it clean of gym music to get ready for travel. Is it wantonly self-indulgent to have two? Or do I just suck it up and buy an I-Pod?

3. I invited my parents over for dinner tonight, but neglected to think through to WHAT I was going to feed them. Oops.

4. You may or may not have another post from me 'fore I flee the country.

Some youtube videos to enjoy:

Star Wars meets "Let's Get It On."

Star Wars meets "The Phantom of the Opera."

The X-Files meets 10,000 Maniacs

Harry Potter meets Van Halen.

Summer Magic (and other assorted thoughts)

I looked at my online bank statement today to see which bills had gone through and...

I got paid yesterday and totally forgot! I love getting paid for reading and swimming.

Yes, I'm gloating. What?

On a completely unrelated note, I really think this is the worst song ever. Every time I hear it, I get a little angrier.

My mom bought me my camera yesterday. It's sweet...I'm very excited. Obviously, none of the previously posted pictures (there are 7, by the way) come from it, but I'm going to take pictures in Canada (I leave Sunday night) and will post the good ones (if there are any).

Also, went to see Superman Returns last night. Visually stimulating movie, Brandon Routh is not bad to look at, and it kept faith with the previous movies in many ways, which I appreciate. That was my problem with the latest Batman movie; they hit the reset button and I was perfectly happy with the Michael Keaton movies.

My I-Tunes random function is obsessed with Matthew Sweet, Pink and Dunkan Sheik. The songs themselves aren't particularly appropriate to my mood at the moment, but it is odd.

A big thanks to Leila for my tarot card reading the other day. It was very fun (and amusing) and while I haven't seen the cards' predictions in action, I'm hoping. :)

I cleaned my litte area of the living room this morning and am feeling somewhat accomplished. I still have to go to the post office for my mother, and possibly the AAA office to buy some luggage (still undecided on that). I'm making my spinach artichoke dip tonight for the Margarita Friday party, so I hope that works as well as it usually does.

Hope everyone had a good week. Safe traveling, Sar and please call me if you need anything!

Hello! was with the stupid and wouldn't load this picture of my cat

Just before I threw the football at him...my roommate was obsessed with pictures of me and this guy. Hrm... 

Myself with Guy B during a rousing game of Marco Polo. 

Look it! Two tired roommates after swimming and ultimate frisbee! (Why do all pictures of me involve my hair being back in a pony tail? It's really unattractive.) 

Ignore the giant white space at the bottom; I edited myself out. This is the Roommate's Boyfriend with Guy A. 

This is the Roommate with her Boyfriend...and Darth Vader chillin' in the background 

This is me with the Roommate's Boyfriend on the 4th of July 

Insomia-ish

The problem with setting a 1 a.m. bedtime for myself is that I can't really fall asleep before then...even though I want to. I was exhausted a few hours ago, but now my brain won't shut down.

In seeing how happy my roommate has been lately, I have started to review the choices I have made in the past year. Obviously we have the big life-changing choice of last April, which has consequently led to all of the smaller choices (some not so small) that followed:

1. Moving out--a good thing, though finacially a bit dicey at times. I do like having a place of my own (well, sort of) and I feel like an adult for the first time.

2. Drinking--made some VERY bad choices with that (as in, let's see how much we can consume) but now have made a good choice. It's been difficult at times, and I know I'm going to go off the wagon when I'm in Canada at least once to have a REALLY GOOD BEER, but I've prepared my parents for this and am hoping they'll back me on it. On the whole, it has been a smart choice, although see previous posts about difficulty socializing.

3. Sex--This relates to point two in a lot of ways. I went from being with one guy and thinking OMGTEHSEXOR=LURVE ONLY! to "Whatever, it's got a pulse, let's see what it can do." Both are extremes that are not good. I know I said a few posts ago (maybe half a dozen) that I was starting to feel the withdrawl, but I think it has more to do with the emotional disattachment (like that? Not even a word...) in which I was previously engaging in said activities. Singledom is very good...when everyone else you know is single. I like having someone special in my life though, someone who is happy to see me and wants to be with me. I mean, yes, friends and family can be like this, but it's different with someone in your life. You all know that, you're smart people.

I know this blog has really turned into a pity party for me lately, and I truly apologize for dragging you all into it. But it's easier to rain on people's parades all at once then to get each of you on the phone individually and sob about how much my life sux (My mother gets the brunt of it; the dear woman deserves a medal. Or a new car. Maybe I'll bake her cookiees...) Because I know my life doesn't really suck-I have a ton of things going for me (starting with my summer vacation) and I just need to accept that right now is my "alone time"...even if I wasn't particularly looking for it.

I should be using the time to write, or exercise or take up basketweaving, however. And I'm not because I am not, fundamentally, a loner--I like to do things with other people. But when the other people you know all have very busy, couple-y lives, it's hard to get them away from that to go to the beach with you or see a movie, take in a museum, whatever. I don't like to try new things when I'm by myself; I have a horrible fear of failure which is lessened when surrounded by people who will think I'm an ass but still love me anyway.

I know I should just grow up and realize life is not fair, as I know Ms. Kelly would tell me, or turn to God and let Him point me in a direction, as Ms. Sarah would suggest. Ms. Leila might tell me to find my inner pagan; Roommate would probably suggest I take up knitting. Or baking. Something domestic. Perhaps that way leads to inner peace. Ms. Amanda will suggest I throw footwear at the problem in an attempt to beat it into submission.

I don't think I came to any conclusions, and I'm not sure any of you will want to comment because I'm pretty sure you're sick of me kvetching about this all the time. I'm sorry that I'm wallowing; I'm trying to be better.

Tomorrow (well, today) is another day. Off I go to stare at the ceiling and hope to find some sleep.

I think I might have pictures up tomorrow of various good times (and my cat being cute). Look forward to not-so-whiney-postage in the near future!

Back to your regularly-scheduled Lady

Sorry for my really teenage-girl-wangst post. This is what happens when I spend too much time alone.

I love Star Wars.

This story was linked to from the livejournal community fanficrants and...yes, you all need to read it. I heart MSTing. I miss MST.