It truly has been ages since I've written an entry for this journal. Life seems to creep up and take control of leisure activities. Now that I'm back living with my parents, it has been even more difficult to keep up with the internet (slow or unavailable access) - especially since my desktop computer is located upstairs in my bedroom, away from the place where we spend our time in the evenings.

This Christmas has been good to me! My big gift this year is a new laptop computer. :) I'm thrilled since I've always wanted a laptop. Plus, it feels good to catch up with 'new' technology.

I did feel a bit guilty with such bounty but apparently I've been especially good this year (and my sister received a big gift last year). Still, I'm so thankful for such an amazing holiday.

The shiny new computer is pretty cool.

Silvery metal case with swooshy designs
17.3" screen
Windows 7
BluRay player/DVD/CD player/writer
600 GB memory
4 GB RAM (with room for upgrade)
Good audio, more than good graphics card.

And most amusing:
Fingerprint scanner/reader for security. (Seriously. I log in to Facebook with my fingerprint.)

I spent today at the McDonalds in town leeching their free WiFi as our home net is too slow and was broken last night. I had to download iTunes as one gift from my sister was an iPod Shuffle. :) :)

Tonight, I'm moving some of my music on to the laptop so I can get the Shuffle up and running. Ahh, so spoiled this year.

I haven't written a public entry in a long time!

What has happened?

I moved out of my apartment after my lease expired. I'm living with my parents again. Hopefully I can find a full-time job soon, but in the meantime I'm enjoying my part-time public library page work.

Unfortunately, my commute to work is now about an hour each way. I've been listening to audiobooks. Right now I'm into the Teaching Company's lecture series, A History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts. My knowledge of British history is a bit lacking so I wanted to learn more. A lot happened between 1485-1714 in England! There are 48 lectures in all (each about 30 minutes long) and I'm only on 12. The library (in which I work) has a lot of interesting Teaching Company lecture series.

Just this past weekend I had my 10 year high school reunion. It was a good time, although I wish the location/event had been different (it was in a local bar). A bit sad that many of my better friends couldn't make it but it was nice to see my buddies Kirk, Kenzie, and Charlie. :)

What else... I had fun reading the last book in the Hunger Game series, Mockingjay. Surprisingly sad... or maybe better to say bitter story. I'm still thinking about it.

Internet meme thing.

I Write Like

I don't get the same author twice! Lol.

I put in some of my recent LJ entries and got: Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, Chuck Palahniuk, and Margaret Atwood.

Do I write a lot of horror or science fiction entries?? No.

Let's see what happens if I combine all those same entries into one try... Will my computer explode?

Ah, combined I got H.P. Lovecraft again. :/

I just think I write like a distracted blog writer who complains a lot and doesn't worry too much about grammar.

I've been watching the anime for Natsume's Book of Friends (Natsume Yūjinchō) online.

It is so warm and fuzzy, I feel like giving hugs after I watch episodes. ;)

Natsume Takashi is a teenage boy who was orphaned at a young age. He has struggled with loneliness his entire life because of his supernatural powers. He can see and interact with spirits/monsters but he does his best to hide that from others so they don't think he's creepy.

After being shuffled from relative-to-relative, he finally ends up with a middle-aged couple who treat him well. Unfortunately, they also live in the same place where Takashi's grandmother, Natsume Reiko, grew up. Reiko was... let's say, kind of a bully.

Reiko had strong supernatural powers that she used to bind spirits/monsters to be her servants. Reiko would defeat the spirits in some challenge and then force them to write their name in her Book of Friends.

Now Takashi wants to give all the names back because the spirits are after him and the Book of Friends (since it has so much power). He has some "help" from a spirit cat/monster, Madara (aka: Nyanko-sensei) who promises to be a bodyguard and adviser in hopes that Takashi will die and leave the book to Madara. (Yes, that sounds strange, but they have a complicated friendship.)

Each episode of the anime features a story of the spirits they encounter and explores both Reiko's and Takashi's lives.
Loneliness is a major theme of the story, as is the importance of kindness and keeping promises.

I will have to read the manga too. :)

After speaking with my sister on the phone, I remembered that I wanted to sign up for the Give a Day Get a Disney Day program. If you haven't heard of it, the idea is straightforward -- volunteer a day and get a free ticket to Disney. The website makes it easy since it locates nearby volunteer opportunities.

I signed up to hopefully be a driver for the American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery program. I'll only have to drive one patient to a doctor's appointment to get the ticket, but it sounds like something that I could continue to do. I missed out on the chance to volunteer at the library (lol) but that's okay. Helping out people with cancer is also important to me.

I have been searching for a job but the economy is as tough as ever. Right now I am interested in getting in the public library system - especially if I can be hired as an assistant or entry level librarian.

Like most people, it is coming down to paying the bills -- so someone please hire me to do anything before I get evicted from my apartment. :)