Mixed Drinks

Not nearly as pretty as the expensive monstrosity I passed up.

I know mixed drinks are going to be expensive, but there is no way in Hades that I'd pay $9.04 for a strawberry banana margarita.  So, while the birthday girl was downing shots and sipping pretty fruity drinks that her friends bought her, I looked on, sipping a Heineken.  Despite the fact that it was not super fruity, it was very good.

Deadly Storm (Richard Castle)

I just finished reading Deadly Storm.  And it was amazing!  I'm normally not one for detective fiction....usually I just can't find a series that really catches my attention.  Either the writing is too bland, or I don't like the detective, or it's too violent, or some other reason.  But, as always, Richard Castle never fails to please.  I love the show, and I own all the books (even though I've not had the chance to read them yet).  Condensing this story into a graphic novel was a great idea; it made it super easy to read; and I was so engaged in it, I was done before I even knew what happened.  I really, really recommend it!

When Derrick Storm, private detective, takes on a case to find a woman's missing husband, he has no idea of what he is getting himself into.  Before long, he finds himself running for his life, getting arrested, and getting tied up with a CIA agent who might actually be rogue.  It's a fast paced story of drama, intrigue, and action.

I'm afraid I can't tell much more; it's short enough that I don't want to start giving away the more juicy bits of the plot; besides, you should totally just read it for yourself instead of relying on me to tell you about it ;)

Christmas Money and Castle

My Monday night companions

One of the biggest disappointments of this semester was not being able to watch Castle.  The campus is getting cable service through a new provider, and for some reason, I can't get ABC.  And because I've been too busy, I haven't had the time to load the episodes online and catch up.  (I might need to do that over this break).  I've greatly missed Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic's antics over the past couple of months.

One of the fun bonuses of Christmas is getting Christmas cash from relatives who want to get me something, but don't exactly know what I would want. Heck, sometimes, I don't even know what I want, haha.  So, I was messing around in a bookstore, and happened to come across a little beauty of a book: the newest Castle adventure.  I already have Heat Wave, Naked Heat, and Heat Rises.  This is the first graphic novel in the Castle canon: Deadly Storm.  I've only just started, and I'm very excited about it.  Once I finish, I'll be sure to post a little bit more about it.  Right now, I'm just enjoying a bit of Castle after a too-long hiatus.

Hope all of you had a wonderful holiday; I know I did :)

Christmas Eve

I want to take a moment to say "thank you" to all of my blog followers; Ramblings would surely not be around anymore if not for your dedication and support.  It really means a lot to me.  I love hearing from all of you.  And of course, thank you for so many of your blogs; it's always a delight to read what you have to say, and to learn a little bit more about you.

I also want to wish all of you a very, Merry Christmas.  I understand that not all of you probably celebrate Christmas, and I hope that I do not offend by wishing you a very merry one.  In all honesty, it confuses me when people become offended by holiday well-wishes from faiths they do not celebrate.  In high school, one of my best friends was a confirmed Wiccan.  Even though I'm a Catholic, I was very touched by her wishes of a happy Winter Solstice.  So, I hope that all of you have a wonderful Christmas, and in addition, if you do not celebrate Christmas, I hope you truly enjoy the holiday that you DO celebrate. :)

(Also, on an unrelated note, I'm thinking about bringing back Weekly Wodehouse.  Either that or a Weekly Wilde or Weekly Chesterton.  Please take the survey at the top of the page to tell me which you would prefer. :)

Shakespeare Fun Fact

I discovered something while perusing my subscription to Futility Closet this morning.  The term "benedick" refers to a newly married man.  However, the Shakespearean character Benedick, from Much Ado About Nothing staunchly refuses to ever marry, claiming that he hates women.  Rather ironic, isn't it?  However, if you read the entirety of the play, Benedick actually is very much in love with Beatrice, but refuses to admit it. By the end of the play, Benedick is indeed a benedick.

Finals Week

It's nearly three in the morning.  I've gone past the slap-happy stage to the dead-exhaustion stage.  I need sleep.  I'm going to fail my Earth Science final tomorrow....or is it technically TODAY?

I don't care.  I'm going to bed.

Faceplant Fail

Finals today and yesterday.  Two more days to go.  I'm pleased to say that my finals so far were fine.  I got the second most difficult one out of the way (Greek History), and my easiest (Modernist Literature).  But, I'm going to have a hell of a time with my finals on Thursday and Friday.  Earth Science is going to be the worst one, and Tudor Literature is no walk in the park, either.  Still, I'm almost done, and that makes me really, really happy.

And now for the title event....I was chilling with Rachel and Movie Boy, watching Inglorious Basterds.  I actually rather liked it, but it was just too violent for me.  I think if it was a bit tamer, I would have really liked it.  For such a dark topic (a bunch of American Jews killing Nazis), it was actually pretty funny.  We didn't watch the whole thing, since we didn't have much time.  Mostly just select clips that Movie Boy wanted to show us.

I walked him back to the library, and was on my way back, looking for Rachel, when I epically faceplanted.  I honestly don't know what happened; I just tripped over my own two feet!  There was no ice or snow (strange for December), but we had been having a ton of rain, so I didn't just fall, but I fell into a mud puddle.  Well, half of me did.  The right leg of my jeans, from the ankle to the knee was covered in mud.  And besides the initial shock and embarrassment, I had to deal with a blood-red stinging and burning in my hands where I had ripped the skin open.  The one was mostly just grazed, but the other needed to be bandaged.

Besides my sore knees and my stinging hands, what hurt the most was my bruised pride.  A couple of people saw me fall (including Rachel--I found her!!!) and one good Samaritan actually tried to see if I was okay.  I waved her away before she got too close; I was really, really embarrassed, and I didn't want the attention.  When I get hurt, I usually try to just shake if off and ignore it (fencing taught me that--you can't cry out every time something hurts during practices).  That doesn't mean I don't like being babied about it AFTERWARDS, but when it initially happens, I just don't want people to talk to me.

Just felt like rambling about my epic spill today.  I'm curious to see how I'll feel in the morning.  My wrist and knee are already starting to act up.  Details perhaps tomorrow.

My First Big-Girl Drink, or Vodka is a Kicker

I've been twenty-one for a couple months now, but since I'm not much of a drinker, I usually just settle for a Mike's Hard Lemonade or something similar.  I've just never really cared to drink something more than that.  I just don't really care for alcohol. It's okay, but it's not OMG!  MUST DRINK!

So, anyway, Italia has been asking me to go out drinking with her all semester.  Finally, I conceded, and we agreed to go....right in the middle of finals week.  We actually went out tonight.  Now, remember, I don't drink.  So: One, I have a low tolerance.  Two, I don't really know what drinks are good and what drinks are too strong.  Italia and her friend both ordered Sex on the Beach, and since there was a buy-one-get-one deal (but you had to get two of the same drink), we agreed to just get four Sex on the Beaches (is that the correct plural???) and split them between the three of us.  In the end, Italia and her friend ended up just sharing the extra.

I felt fine.  It was okay; the alcohol taste was strong, but not terrible, and it was such a small glass.  Even though I tried to drink slowly, I felt like I finished pretty quick.  I still felt fine....until I went to turn my head.  It felt like my brain was sloshing around.  THAT was not what I was expecting.  Not at all.  And after a while, when the swimmy feeling didn't go away, I started to realize that this fruity little drink was stronger than I had expected.

Talked to Rachel about it after I got back.  Apparently, there's vodka in Sex on the Beach.  Durr....I guess I have a lower tolerance than I thought; either that, or vodka's pretty strong.   Although, in my defense, I haven't had much, so I shouldn't be so concerned.  I'll build up a tolerance (albeit slowly, since I don't drink much).

Emmy Returns

It took an email from one of my blogging friends to make me realize just how absent I've been on this blog.  I mean, I log on several times a week, read your posts, etc., but I haven't been posting anything real and personal lately.  Just movie clips and stuff like that.  I want to apologize.

Earlier this year, I went through a lot of stress and dealt with a lot of crap.  I know some people who read this blog are somewhat connected to everything, and I just didn't want to talk about it.  In other words, I was hiding.  No more.  If I want to talk about something on MY BLOG, I shouldn't be afraid to do that.  I've been yelled at for saying things here--WITHOUT naming names or pointing fingers, just referencing vague groups of people--and I've taken down a lot of posts because I was trying to please everyone.  This is my blog, though.  If I want to talk about things that bother me, I should be able to.  I want you all to know how I'm doing, to share, in a small way, in the good things that happen to me, and to have you there for me when things go wrong.  I don't want to hide.

There are going to be some changes here.  I'm going to talk about things.  You'll be updated more.  I want to be a blogger again, not an anonymous writer.

It's good to be back.

SNL Batman