What's your favorite decade for movies?

I'm just sitting here eating some strawberry ice cream (with real strawberry chunks just how I like it), and watching Ghost Busters on AMC. It's been on that channel a lot lately and this is the first time I've caught it from the beginning. I remember wearing out our old, recorded from HBO VHS copy when I was younger. I understood a respectable part of the humor, what with being under 10, but I would mostly watch it for all of the ghost and the wicked awesome proton packs and uniforms.

I was Egon for Halloween a few times even. Had a home made costume thanks to my mom and eventually a toy proton pack. Needless to say I was the envy of a lot of kids come those 31st's of October.

It's something about that movie though that just screams the 1980's. A lot of movies from that decade do that though; Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Aliens, Big Trouble in Little China, and Back to the Future just to name a few. The fact they happen to be some of my favorite movies notwithstanding of course. Is the 80's my favorite decade for movies though? I honestly don't know. I have just as many movies from the 90's and 00's (however that's pronounced) that I love just as much.

The 90's gave me Jurassic Park, Independence Day, The Matrix, and Men In Black, again, just to name a few. I have so many memories of going to the movies with my friends or by myself to see all of the awesome movies that were so totally freaking awesome that I absolutely had to go see them as soon as possible. So, I could make the argument that the 90's is my favorite decade for movies, but I haven't even gotten to this decade.

Meanwhile the 00's had the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean, most of the Harry Potter movies, The Dark Knight (not just because of The Joker, mind), the Bourne trilogy and a whole hell of a lot more. When I finally got my driver's license and a truck in '03 I could finally go to late night movies and the super awesome Midnight Premiere (the allure of which has since come and gone as evidenced by a previous entry) whenever I felt like it.

Whenever I watch one of my favorite movies I always get a certain feeling or 'vibe' from it. Memories picked up from different times I've watched them, noticing things I haven't before and understanding jokes I didn't understand previously (if it's been a really long time since I saw it last). With this decade quickly coming to an end, I'm very excited to see what's coming when we can start saying Twenty-_____ instead of Two-Thousand-_____

Seeing as how the title is a question, it would only make sense for answers to follow. Do any of you out there have a favorite 'decade'?

As a side note, I left out the 70's simply because I hadn't been born yet. You needn't do the same.

I'm not old enough for this

I miss the days when I would go see Independence Day at the Metro Four with my Dad.

I'd be in my room looking out the window at a clear night sky when he would pop his head in and ask, "Hey Kelly, you want to go see Independence Day tonight?" Before I could even say 'Yes' I'd already have my shoes on and be walking out of my room. I know it's cliché, but it's true that the little inconsequential things matter, and are usually what we remember most fondly.

I remember having to walk home from the mall one day after going to see it. Thankfully I was with Jared, my best friend at the time, and we had a lot of fun on our long, often misguided way back home. I really miss walking to his house practically every day during the summer. I miss all those things I did with Jared, but they wouldn't be memories if they couldn't be missed. I think that's a worthwhile trade.

For years there were pink and blue smudges on the windows of my truck that faded away one by one. One day when I was leaving for work I looked where the last pink smudge had been for months and it was gone. It took me a second to realize why it seemed so off for my rear window to be smudge free. It's not that I had forgotten why it was there, but it had become so routine to look at that one spot and smile that it didn't quite register that it was gone.

The smudges were from KaTrina and her friends writing on my windows with those special markers. They also filled up my truck with balloons and other stuff. I wasn't exactly surprised seeing as how I gave my consent, but it made me happy that KaTrina followed through with her "threat." Seeing plain glass where the last pink smudge had been for so long cemented that memory in my mind.

The other day, I was lying in bed when Sasha jumped up to come and sniff my face, startling me. That in turn startled her and she ran out of my room. I went to go after her but I heard a very familiar sound coming from Shawn's room. I looked in and it was a home movie of Donald's last day of his paper route. What really caught my eye was the beige, ring tailed, round eared cat I hadn't seen for years sniffing at Donald much like Sasha does to me.

Mazy talked a lot more though.

One of the first few thoughts that ran through my head after seeing her was that she's in heaven right now just waiting for her family to show up. I loved that cat. When I say she talked, oh did she ever talk. Easiest cat to ever have a conversation with. She had a past that we could only guess at, but that didn't matter anymore because she was a part of our family.

I remember being there when we had her put down vividly. I stroked her fur. I scratched behind her ear. She was so quiet.

My Dad built her a nice little box that we lined with fabric. Courtney and I both gave her her two favorite things to play with; a rubber band and one of those clear water bottle caps, one by each paw. When I move out and get a cat, I'm hoping it'll have the same affinity for them.

I've always looked forward, wondering what will become of my life as I and those around me grow older. There's always a bit of sadness that comes with thinking about the future, because we need to trade in the past in order to get there. What I've talked about in this blog is all in the past, and while I'd like to go back and visit those happier times (I would give anything for that to be so), there are always going to be more.

More memories to make and some day think back on with fondness, wishing to revisit them just once more.

Now, I didn't just pour out my heart and soul and cry over my cat for nothing. I want comments. KaTrina and my Mom are exempt from this request because they don't need to be requested. I know you're reading this and it really does mean a lot to me when I get more than 2 or 3 comments per painstakingly written entry. I'm running out of ways to get them. Making a video of me dancing to Aqua or Eiffel 65 songs is on the list somewhere and I'd rather not get that far thank you very much.

I'll even throw in this Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory spoof for good measure:

WW: "The strawberries taste like strawberries. The schnozberries taste like schnozberries."
VS: "Schnozberry? Whoever heard of a schnozberry?"
WW: :sigh: "Alright, y'know what? Just-Just go. There is a line between spoiled brat and ungrateful little- and well, you crossed it. You have been nothing but nasty this entire time and frankly I've had enough of it. Just leave... No, you don't get a song! Leave!"

Okay, that's enough

Tuesday night I went to the midnight premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I got to the theater an hour early, found the parking lot nearly full, and began to wish I could exchange my ticket.

Every theater (maybe one or two weren't) was already about 75-90% full, and I was lucky enough to find one of the emptier ones, and even luckier to sit alone (read: empty seat on my left, aisle on my right). I also had the foresight to bring along my DS Lite so I wouldn't be bored out of my mind or tempted to start calling/texting people who were smart enough to be in bed. I was a little worried that people might talk during the movie, but thankfully that didn't happen.

Anyway, the movie was pretty damn good. It was edited together like Order of the Phoenix, but a hell of a lot smoother and with more sincere acting. A lot was left out, and that's understandable, because expecting everything to be covered is silly. I felt the movie did a good job picking out some of the really important parts and doing them justice on screen. As with all the movies after Chamber of Secrets, some things were changed and/or merged together (finding Harry on the train for instance), and some things that weren't in the book at all were tossed in for... no reason? Yeah, that sounds right.

The movie isn't exactly what this post is about though. More like movies in general. Midnight premieres in particular. In short, the 'magic' of going to them has worn off for me. It's not so much me growing old (yes, I can see that comment coming a mile away :P), as it is me growing up. I mean, it's great to go and be around people that are just as excited as I am to be one of the first to see an awesome new movie (forgetting we live on the west coast for just a moment), but the headache that comes along with it has finally gotten too much to bear.

I stayed until the end of the credits and even after that, when I went outside people were still pouring out of the parking lot. I didn't get home until around 3:30, and the movie is only 2 hours and 37 minutes long. I'm happy that what is potentially my last midnight premiere was Harry Potter though, and one of the better Harry Potter movies to boot.

From now on I'll just risk going to the early morning showings instead. The risk being that parents and their noisy kids might be there. I guess I'll find out next time.

Oddly (un)familiar

So, as of June 19, 1:35 PM I have officially been on Summer Vacation. I never thought I'd ever have one again, but after 8 years here I am. I don't have to go to bed early Sunday through Wednesday or get up early Monday through Thursday. I don't have to, but for the most part I still am.

Even more than the sleep schedule however, I've been affected by not having any homework to do. I can't tell you how many times I started to freak out at work on Sunday, only to come to the realization that there were no reading assignments or papers to write for Monday. I am incredibly hard to convince to get started on homework. Trust me when I say it's infuriating when you either can't or won't listen to yourself or do what needs to be done. Hell, even doing what you want to do!

I should have more motivation come next school year though. I got my financial aid award letter last week. I'm getting $7,640 to go to school next year. Well, $4,640 is a more accurate amount. It still costs around $1,000 per quarter, and that gets taken out of the $2,564 I get per quarter, so I get a check for the remainder, which is roughly $1,564. That money is mine to do with whatever I need to. Pretty freakin' sweet if you ask me.

Yet with the sleep schedule gone, the temporary lack of scholastic responsibilities, forcing myself to write a paper the night before it's due over, and getting paid to go to school, I've been affected in an unexpected way.

I'm happy.

It's odd. I guess content would be a more accurate description of how I'm feeling, but happiness is something of a novelty to me, so I'll take it.

I'm going to do all sorts of Kelly stuff on my break that I miss doing: playing video games, writing stories, lyrics and even poetry, watching long stretches of anime and what I believe will be the highlight of my summer; visiting KaTrina.

I'll be flying for the first time ever, going to an amusement park, and traveling farther from home than I've ever been. It's going to be very exciting, and fun, and most importantly it'll be new.

As if all this wasn't enough, I got my grades for the Spring Quarter. Remember how I said that 4.0 in English Composition I wasn't going to be my last? Yeah, I totally called it.

English Composition II: 4.0
American Literature WWI to the Present: 4.0
American History: Civil War to the Present: 3.7

I'm surprised at both History and English though. I thought for sure I'd get a 3.7 for English and a 4.0 for History. Mainly because I had a hell of a time writing my two main assignments for English and I wasn't too pleased with the results. I had no such problem in History though, and I did really well on my mid-term. I can only assume I didn't do as well on the final as I thought.

American Literature was never a question for me though. I knew that there was no way I could get anything less than a 3.8, and I was fully expecting a 4.0. So, to get 4.0's in both English courses I've taken, and in American Literature has certainly helped to confirm what I've believed for so long:

Writing is my calling.

This is where I shamelessly plug the other blog I've got going on where I plan to put up samples of my work for open critique or just reading if you're bored. Seriously, go and read it and leave comments. It would help me to get off my creative butt and work! Believe me, as hard as it was to get myself to do my homework, it's even harder to get myself to write the stories I want to tell.

I'm well aware of how ludicrously counterintuitive that is.

It's going to be an awesome summer vacation regardless, either in spite of or because of how different it is from the others.

Private screening of 'UP' for dying girl

This is one of the most sadly beautiful things I have read about in my life. The article makes me love the movie even more than I already did, and it made me all misty eyed. Give the article a read but be prepared to be emotionally dismantled. In a good way.

You can read the article here

Habits and Hyperbole

When I first saw the word 'Hyperbole', I read it as any sixth grader would: hy-per-bowl.

"Is that like the super bowl but better?"

"Is that like the super fast cousin of the common mole? Like he digs really super fast?"

"Wait... what does it even mean?"

It wasn't until a few years later that I came across it again and learned what it actually meant, and yes, how to say it properly. Hy-per-buh-lee for those that doubt my pronunciation skills :P

However, even though I know how to properly pronounce the word, and really like what it means (I myself hyperbolize all the time), whenever I see it written I always say or think it the same way I did when I was 11. It's like those intervening years from when I first saw it to when I first truly understood it have cemented the incorrect pronunciation in my subconscious.

I have to work actively against it.

'Hy-per-bow-'
'NO! It's hy-per-buh-lee.'
'Oh, right.'

Now, this is only when I read it. My brain has managed to work around that bit of faulty wiring when I need to use the word in conversation, thank goodness. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever break this trivial habit of mine. I'm sure most people have something similar. A habit or something like it from childhood that still manifests itself from time to time.

Not so much writers block

As it is writer's barricade with armed guards on rotating shifts.

I honestly cannot think of anything to write on here and it's really starting to bug me for a few reasons. Most are trivial, but some have merit to them.

Like desperately wanting to catch up to KaTrina in post count while she's experiencing (or so it seems) the same lack of posting. Though her last post was to plug my other new blog Stranger and Fiction where I plan on posting some of my shorter works to get peoples input so I can submit them to be published.

Kinda funny that I plan on writing so much yet I can't seem to bring myself to make a post on here. It'd be awful kind if some of you could pop over and give me your opinions on the story. I'd really like honest critiques though.

Another reason I haven't been posting on here is because school has been ramping up with the end of the quarter only a couple weeks away. I've absolutely loved going to school this quarter. American Literature is easily my favorite class in regards to what I'm learning and how much I'm expanding myself.

Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings truly are classics that deserve every bit of respect they get and have, but reading stories by authors like Ernest Hemingway, John Updike and Flannery O'Connor are satisfying on so many more levels. It's really pushed me to take my own writing to a deeper level instead of trying to write what I think will be popular.

I hope when I end up with a static character, it will be because that's their purpose in the story. I want to make people dig into the story to see what lies underneath and gain something more than just entertainment. I still want my stories to be fantastical and entertaining, but I want the substance to easily outweigh the style.

That's why it's a good thing that I have this blog (and my poor, forgotten, malnourished MySpace blog) to just come and write whatever comes to mind. Because I love writing.

I've experienced something of a confirmation by going to college. The word potential was always tossed around when I was in public schools. Like it was some kind of security blanket I refused to acknowledge, yet it was pinned to the waist of my pants, one end dragging along the ground. I knew it was there, but flat out refused to use it.

I'm stubborn like that :)

Well, now I'm using the damn thing and despite the one end being slightly ragged, it's still as useful as it's always been.

I'm always the one that's talking in both my American Literature and English Composition II classes. Even when it's supposed to be a class discussion in English 102, I'm the one leading the class in the discussion. I've always got my hand up in Lit, desperate to discuss what I'd read the night before.

I started writing this about a half hour ago and I wish I had another, but I've got to go to class. I'm really happy that I managed to find the weak spot in my writers barricade with armed guards on rotating shifts and finally posted something of substance on here. I'm wondering how many comments I'll get though.

This deserves at least three :)