I know...I've been MIA...

HELLO!!!!!       

So, yes, I suck.  I've been totally MIA.  I'd be surprised if anyone even reads this blog anymore.  But that's ok, I totally understand.  Maybe if I get my act together and start writing some more, you will return to me and embrace me and be happy to hear from me again.  I hope so.

What's the OLD news....

I've spent most of the summer working.  That's right...working.  Bleh.  Like all the time.  I pretty much missed summer this year.  Company decided to do a full-on re-design of their website and all it's functionality and because the powers that be did not bother to analyze the amount of work that would entail, they didn't assign enough resources to the endeavor.  I was the only one.  So, I spent the summer doing the work of probably 3 people, reporting to like 3 or 4 different project managers at once who never seemed to communicate with each other, being told that 10s of millions of dollars in cost savings were riding on my work (no pressure!) and trying not to have a nervous breakdown.  Fun.  Or not.  I also had to deal with court stuff with The Squatter which was aggravating and totally made me understand why woman do not stand up to guys that push them around.  The legal system makes it a real pain in the butt.  But it got over with and he's totally out of my life and that's good.  I also dated another guy, Shark Attack, who was meh.  He wasn't a bad guy but just didn't want to make any real effort or show any sort of emotion.  And he was sort of moody.  So, it was like dating a cranky robot.  Not fun.  So, I cut him loose.

What's the NEW news...

I'm moving to Indiana.  Yeah, Indiana.  As of Nov. 1, 2009, I will be a resident of the state of Indiana.  Allow me to explain...

I hate the job I'm at now.  It totally burnt me out, I am not paid enough to deal with all the nonesense that goes on at that place.  So, a good friend of mine who works at an insurance company in Indiana had a job for me at 50% more pay and 75% less stress.  How could I say no?  Plus, cost of living in Indiana is like NOTHING compared to New Jersey.  Seriously, I'll be able to put money in my sad little savings account?  Wow.  There's a concept!  So, reason #1 to move to Indiana: New better paying job.

This good friend is more like one of my best friends and he has a circle of friends, so when I get out there, I will have a whole bunch of people to hang out with and won't be by myself all the time.  Sweet!  I love my friends here, but I don't really have that many and everyone is so busy and I'll probably see more of everyone when I come back to visit then I do now.  So, reason #2 to move to Indiana: Friends.

I found a house with a yard!  I'm going to rent for the first year, then I'm thinking if it's not terrible out there and I decide to stay, I'll buy a house.  But for now, renting a house with a yard for less then I pay now in rent is awesome.  Dakota puppy will have more room to move around and a yard to play in. So, reason #3 to move to Indiana: Dog gets a yard to run and play in.

After what went down with The Squatter (being thrown around and all) and the ambivolence of Shark Attack, I had sort of given up on boys.  I was just tired of it all. I had a talk with Kmarie and was like "why do we settle so easily?  Why do we hold the boys we date to a lower standard than we would for the people that we are friends with?  I would never be friends with the boys I date. They would not live up to my expectations of what I want in a friend.  So why do I date these guys?  I need to start having the same standards for boyfriends that I have for friends."  So, even though there were a few boys sniffing around, I was like "mmmm, you are okay but not what I'm looking for so no".  So, of course when my Indiana bff told me that I needed to meet this friend of his because me and this guy would immediately hit it off and everyone else in the world would be dead to us, I was like, "whatever, men are dead to me in general. Poor guy has no shot." And the guy was just coming off of divorce and pretty bitter about women, too, so I figured, "okay, I befriend him.  I'll be in Indiana soon, I'll need more friends. If this guys is as cool as Miller says, then at least we'll be friends."  So, I friended him on Facebook (yeah, cause I'm 23 apparently).

You know the phrase "and the rest is history..."?  Never has it been so appropriately applied.  Cause, a few hundred emails, thousands of texts, and hours of phone conversation later....I am in love.  Yes.  I. Am. In. Love. With. This. Person.   I can even tell you why:

1. He is hilarious.
2. He is smart.
3. He is the exact kind of geeky that I've been looking for in a man.
4. He is sweet.
5. He is kind.
6. He loves his kids. (he has 3 boys)
7. He is caring.
8. He is honest about his feelings.
9. He don't hold back.
10. He is the same kind of crazy as me.
11. He is interesting.
12. He is sexy.
13. He gets me (mostly :p).
14. He laughs at my jokes.
15. He laughs with genuine humor and joy.
16. He talks fast when he is nervous or excited.
17. We can talk about anything or nothing.
18. I love how my hand feels in his.
19. I feel safe when he holds me.
20. I feel like I can trust him.
21. He invented the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (Toast the bottom piece and put the peanut butter on. Microwave the top piece of bread and put the jelly on. Then put the sandwich together.  If you toast both pieces, the bread scrapes the top of your mouth. If you microwave both peices of bread, the sandwich leaks and is too squishy.)
22. He is ambitious.
23. He isresponsible.
24. He asks for my opinion.
25. He listens to me when I talk about the geeky stupid things that I love.
26. He makes me feel good about myself.
27. I love that he wants to do everything with me.
28. I love that I want to fall asleep with him every night and wake up with him every morning.
29. I love that he will be my best friend.
30. I love making him laugh cause every time I hear it or think about it, it makes me smile and feel good.
31. When he smiles it lights up the room.
32. I love the way he looks at me and the way it makes me feel.
33. I love that I have never been this happy before and that he is the person who makes me so happy.
34. I love that he seems to want the exact same things as me.
35. I love that everyday there is something else about him that I love.
36. I love looking at him when he sleeps. (I never ever wanted to look at anyone sleep before.)
37. I love that he smile whenever I smile.
38. He laughs obnoxiously loud like me.
39. He cares about how I feel about things.

Yes, yes, try not to vomit.  I love this man.  He's just a great great person.  I love everything about him. I'm totally gay over him. 

So, reason #4 to move to Indiana: Him...

I love photo booths!

Do these people look happy or what?

At this point we are just cracking ourselves up....

I think this is what love looks like?  Right?

*sigh*

-Jenn....Indiana, here I come....

Star Trek

Movie:  Star Trek

Director:  J.J. Abrams

Cast:

Chris Pine ...  James T. Kirk
Zachary Quinto ...  Spock
Leonard Nimoy ...  Spock Prime
Eric Bana ...  Nero
Bruce Greenwood ...  Capt. Christopher Pike
Karl Urban ...  Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy
Zoe Saldana ...  Nyota Uhura
Simon Pegg ...  Scotty
John Cho ...  Hikaru Sulu
Anton Yelchin ...  Pavel Chekov

I don't even know what else to say.  This movie made Wolverine seem like some kind of project that a film student from NYU accidentally got into the theaters.  This movie made some of the problems with Wolverine that I'd ignored seem so glaringly obvious, I felt smacked in the face by the awesomeness of Star Trek and the mediocrity that Wolverine actually was.  Star Trek was amazing.  A-MAZE-ING. 

You don't have to be a Trekkie.  I promise.  If you like any sort of science fiction, Star Trek will appeal to you.  Great story, great acting, great effects, great subtly.  If you are a Trekkie, this movie was friggin' impossibly perfect.  Every actor/actress nailed it.  NAILED IT.  Karl Urban may have stole the show with his portrayal of Leonard "Bones" McCoy.  Chris Pine owned the Captain Kirk likeable arrogance and swagger.  Zachary Quinto may as well be the offspring of Leonard Nemoy/Spock.  Simon Pegg is, well, Simon Pegg and was so perfect in the role of Scotty.  John Cho and Anton Yelchin and Zoe Saldana did a fantastic job of playing the updated and edgier versions of Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura.  I can not say enough about the actors and what a phenom job they did stepping into these roles.  It's not an easy thing to do, replacing pop culture icons and not only selling it, but making it their own. 

J.J. Abrams....oh, as if I didn't love you enough for bringing LOST into my life.  And now you are my hero.  I don't remember the last time I fist pumped and said "YEAH" so many times during a movie.  He added dimension to the characters without changing who they really were.  He gave the proper nods to the original series without being cheesy ("I'm givin' all she's got, Captain!!!").  He made the story current, believable, and interesting.  He made a movie everyone could watch.  He didn't shove fancy effects in your face to distract you from a poorly written story, mostly because the story was well written and also because JJ is a subtle sort of guy.  Don't get me wrong, there were amazing effects, but it wasn't like new Star Wars where half the characters where CGI creations and every scene was shot in from of a blue screen so the actors had no context.  JJ really knows how to unravel a storyline and put it on display.  I'm going to have to see this movie like 10 more times in the theater.  It was that good.

Seriously, trekkie or not, GO SEE THIS MOVIE.  It's just really good sci-fi that happens to be a Star Trek film.  This is not the Star Trek of old.  This is a ass-kicking, witty, emotional sci-fi adventure that every movie this summer should be compared against.  Good luck Terminator Salvation, Transformers 2, Harry Potter, GI Joe, etc.  The bar has been set, the gauntlet thrown and it's going to take a whole lot of awesome to bring down Star Trek as the movie of the summer.  And it's only week 2!!!

Jenn...I'm a doctor, not a poolman, Jim...

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

****POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!!! I WILL TRY NOT TO GIVE ANYTHING AWAY BUT MY OPINION BUT CONSIDER THIS FAIR WARNING!!!!****

Movie: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Director:  Gavin Hood

Cast:

Hugh Jackman ...  Logan / Wolverine
Liev Schreiber ...  Victor Creed / Sabretooth
Danny Huston ...  William Stryker
Will i Am ...  John Wraith
Lynn Collins ...  Kayla Silverfox
Kevin Durand ...  Frederick J. Dukes / The Blob
Dominic Monaghan ...  Chris Bradley / Bolt
Taylor Kitsch ...  Remy LeBeau / Gambit
Daniel Henney ...  David North / Agent Zero
Ryan Reynolds ...  Wade Wilson / Deadpool
Scott Adkins ...  Weapon XI

Last night at 12:01am, I dragged my ass out of bed and, still in my pajamas, went to a movie.  A movie that I have waited for with child-like excitement for many many moons.  A movie about my absolute favorite comic book character.  A movie that I could not help but have very high expectations for because I was looking so forward to seeing it.  I went to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Let me give you a little back story. Blade came out in 1998.  It took my love for vampires and karate and blew me away.  When the first X-Men movie came out in 2000, I had no idea what I was going to see.  I liked action movies, but I still wasn't sure about the whole "comic book" movie thing. I loved Blade, but the last Batman movie had still left the taste of very bad cheese in my mouth.  And who was this Bryan Singer directing?  Sure, The Usual Suspects was one of the greatest movies of all time, but that was all he'd really done up til that point (I'd never seen Apt Pupil).  But I went and I saw and my life was changed.  Changed.  Thus, began my love affair with a genre.  The Comic Book based action movie.  Bryan Singer breathed life back into a world that had pretty much died for a while.  Thank you, Mr. Singer.

The first X-Men movie wasn't a CGI masterpiece.  In fact, it had very little CGI compared to movies like the Matrix, which had blown the doors apart in the special effects realm.  But it did open the door for Comic book characters to be interesting, funny, relateable even if they had retractable claws or the ability to shoot lasers from their eyes.  Singer showed that a story could be told, that you could identify with the bad guy (Magneto), and that casting the right people went a very long way. 

Then came Spiderman, Blade 2, and Bryan Singer brought us X2.  And I thought life couldn't get any better.  Who didn't watch that first scene with Nightcrawler in the White House on the edge of their seat?  That alone was worth the $9 I paid.  Spiderman 2 saved us from the misfires of Dare Devil, Cat Woman, and the first Hulk movie.  Then, the movie that changed the face of comic book movies forever came out: Batman Begins.  Christopher Nolan is a genius.  He brought the whole genre to a whole new level, giving it a legitamacy that it had never experienced previously.  He showed the industry that a comic book movie wasn't just about the special effects and the witty one-liners.  It could be a story, a drama that unfolds, with a side of spectacular action sequences.  Oh, and the main character just happened to be wearing a mask, but aren't we all wearing a mask in some way?  

And then Bret Ratner almost ruined it all for me.  Bryan Singer opted out of X3 because the studio wouldn't let him have his vision. Idiots.  Bret Ratner let the studio tell him what was what and basically RUINED X-Men 3.  I still start shaking with anger when I remember that film. Thankfully, Bryan Singer once again saved the day by bringing us a Superman movie that defied all my childhood expectations.  When Superman saves the plane at the beginning of the movie, my brother and I jumped up in the movie theater and hi-fived.

Last year, I thought, "It doesn't get any better than this!"  There were 3 major wins.  Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and, of course, Batman Dark Knight.  Dark Knight really belongs in a category all to itself, but that's another blog for another day.  I couldn't believe that 3 such strong and well-done movies had come out in the same year.  If Wolverine is any indication of what this summer is going to be all about, well, I'm sorry 2008, but you are about to get your ASS kicked.

Gavin Hood.  Who are you?  Seriously, WHO ARE YOU??!!?!?  I was skeptical.  I knew that the cast was spot on awesome.  Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth?  EFFING GENIUS.  But Gavin Hood was someone I knew nothing about as a director.  As an actor, he was in movies like Kickboxer 5 and Operation Delta Force.  Yeah, I was not sold on this guy directing something I'd been waiting for for YEARS.  Well, sign me up to drink the kool-aid cause I am on board now.  He did a fantastic job.  Fan-freaking-tastic.  And the guys that wrote this movie, I want you to be my BFFs. Well done.

The premise of the movie is all about how Wolverine became Wolverine.  Where he came from, how he got his claws, how he lost his memory, etc.  I thought that they did an excellent job of expaining all the major points, as well as throwing in some minor details, like how he got his leather jacket.  Except for a slight continuity issue (the character of William Stryker is a bit young in this film to be so old in X2 based on the timelines established in this movie), I have to say that they really brought it all together to mesh with the original X-Men movies rather nicely.  Hood returned to the Bryan Singer philosphy on CGI: only when necessary.  Thanks to the groundwork laid by Dark Knight, the studio did not shy away from the darkness that surrounds the character of Wolverine to try to appeal to the younger audience (btw, Thank you, Dark Knight and your record making $1 billion in ticket sales, for showing the studios that younger audiences can handle heavier themes and that comic book movies don't necessarily have to be cheese laden to have appeal).  And the humor!  Interlaced throughout the movie are some of the funniest one-liners to come out of a comic book movie.  Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds know how to deliver.

So you might say that I liked this movie.  You may be so bold as to say that I loved this movie.  It kick started the summer of my dreams.  OF MY DREAMS.  In the weeks to come, I will be dragging my ass out of bed in the middle of the night to see Star Trek, Terminator Salvation (they played the preview before Wolverine and I almost started weeping with joy), Land of the Lost, Transformers 2, HARRY POTTER!!!, GI Joe....the list is long.  But Wolverine is the movie that will have started it all this year, and what a start it was.  My birthday is tomorrow. Happy Birthday to me!  Thank you, Wolverine.  Thank you!

Jenn - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;

July 1, 2009 First Annual SOUL-MATEY Day...

Hello Everyone!

So, my very best friend, Kmarie, and I were talking the other day (okay, okay, we talk every day) and we were thinking that it's quite unfair that only people who are married or in relationships get to have anniversaries.  We thought that perhaps it's about time we start celebrating our friendaverseries.  But then we couldn't remember the exact day we met.  We remembered the circumstances and the exact actions on that day that bonded us in friendship (we were talking outside of Educational Services at school and Kmarie was talking about a toy her son had. During the conversation she pantamimed ripping her own heart out and it beating in her hand and I thought to myself, "This is someone I want to be friends with FOREVER!". And, well, the rest is history...

Since we couldn't remember what calander date that was, we decided to invent our own holiday.  It's been commented on by various people in our lives that we are perhaps soul mates.  Which is probably true because, really, who knows you better then your very best friend?  Who shares your brain? And we also like pirates. So we came up with SOUL-MATEY day. (Arrrr, I would never make you walk the plank, matey, unless it was the plank to my heart, arrrr.)  We were trying to think of a date in between our birthdays and so we came up with July 1.  We do realize that this is also Canada Day, but since we do not live in Canada, we decided to steal it.  Sorry, Canadians.

SOUL-MATEY Day is a day to celebrate the relationship that you have with your best friend.  The best friend that you call when you are crying.  The best friend who makes you laugh no matter what.  The best friend who accepts you exactly the way you are and doesn't try to change you, despite your faults.  The best friend who you talk to on the phone for hours about absolutely nothing.  The infatuation stage never ends with your best friend, no matter how many years you've known each other.  That's what SOUL-MATEY Day is all about.  We are going to wear eye patches (to keep with the pirate theme) and make each other cards.  We are going to map out what each year's gift category will be (sort of like with wedding anniversaries where one year is the paper year, the silver year, etc.) We are thinking the first year is the Starbucks year.  We are going to pillage Sephora and Target.  We are going to giggle over silly things.  We are going to remember that no matter what else is going on in our lives, we can always count on each other to keep perspective.  We are going to celebrate our friendship because it's that important.

So join us.  Make plans with your very best friend for July 1, 2009 and celebrate SOUL-MATEY Day.  Because the relationship between best friends is not to be overlooked or taken for granted.  The best friend saves your sanity in a million different ways every year (at least mine does!) and should be celebrated.

Jenn - Go ahead, Hallmark, try to steal this idea....I dare you...

And I almost had you
But I guess that doesn’t cut it
Almost had you
And I didn’t even know it

You kept me guessing and now I guess that
I spent my time missing you
I almost wish you would’ve loved me too

- Almost, Bowling for Soup

Sometimes, things take a very interesting turn when you least expect it.  I guess it just remains to be seen where that turn ends up taking you.  Hopefully, this most recent turn takes me down a road I like cause I'm fed up with dead ends and traffic.