I have not had a cigarette since 5:30 Thursday evening. I am not quitting, I'm simply experimenting, seeing how long I can go without. No pressure. If I happen to discover I can put them away forever, all the better.

But I haven't killed anyone yet, so that's a good sign, right?

~Meg

I spent a part of my lunch hour watching previews for New Moon, the sequel to Twilight. Some of you may recall that I ran out to see Twilight on opening night, with my daughter and her friend in tow. You may also recall that I fully enjoyed it. Then, I ran out and bought the DVD the day it became available. (I actually pre-ordered it!) I watched it that night with my daughter and realized that perhaps it wasn't as great as I had originally thought. Then, I showed it to my (I hate this whole label thing, but to make it easier I'm just going to go with...) boyfriend and though it wasn't quite as thrilling as when I saw it in the theater, neither was it as lame as I first thought on DVD. It was enjoyable again, and even he didn't think it was awful. It's a teen romance movie, cheese is to be expected. So here I am, with a love/hate relationship for that movie.

But I am a sucker (no pun intended) for the books. I admit they are not all that well written and the teen angst volume is high. But I found the story engaging and for whatever reason I cared about the characters. I can certainly understand why so many teenagers and adults fell in love with the series. (Though I do believe I could do a hell of a lot better, and I am in the middle of putting my money where my mouth is.)

All that being said, when I realized New Moon was premiering this month, I got that familiar buzz in my head. I got a bit giddy. I am shamefully excited. The second book hit a nerve with me unlike the others because I happened to read it during a very difficult time. I related to Bella quite a bit. I HAD to get to the end. I did nothing but read that book from the moment I opened it, and finished it in a little over a day. (Ok, ok, I allowed myself about 6 hours of sleep.) So when I heard that the producers were excited to announce that there would be more of Edward in the movie than in the book, I got pissed.

I know, everyone loves Edward. He's so dreamy. But the whole point of the second book is that he's BARELY in it! And there's good reason. I know every movie based on a book or short story fucks with the story. But if you fuck too much shit up, it fucks up the rest of the series. And I'd hate to see the intent behind the second book changed just so a bunch of drooling teenage girls get to see more of Robert Pattinson. (Not that I don't find him and the guy playing Jacob Black to be obscenely hot.)

So, to get back to my point (yes, I have one), I spent the better portion of my lunch hour watching the different previews that are available. The one I had caught last night on tv gave me the "uh oh" feeling. But the ones I saw on lunch looked... passable, I guess is the word. I won't know for sure until I see it for myself, but it doesn't look like it was fucked with too much. One part in particular is a huge difference, but we'll have to see if it ruins anything.

Ok, my geek-out is done for now. Until November 20th!

~Meg

*Please note, this story has not been properly formatted, edited, or even spell checked. It doesn't even have a title. I am a moron who forgot all about this until last minute, and so wasn't properly prepared. Here's my on-the-fly contribution to Kill Brian Keene in Your Blog Day.*



Brian stood on his porch and waved at his wife's car as she pulled out onto the main road. She was taking their son to her parents' place for the weekend. Brian had a deadline looming, so Cassandra thought a weekend of silence would help him. He smiled at the thought of her generosity and understanding. He'd have to think of a way to repay her.

But that was for later. It was time for him to get back to work. He'd promised his publisher that the novel would be ready by the end of next week, and he only had about 40,000 words completed. There would be no sleep this weekend. The only sounds around the house would be of his typing, the constant brewing of his coffee maker, and San Dog's snoring.

Around 2:00 AM Brian pushed his chair back from the computer desk. He rubbed at his blurry eyes and stretched, letting out a yawn so loud Sammy jumped up and hit his head on the underside of the desk.

"Sorry Sam Dog," Brian said as he scratched the bewildered dog's head. His tail thumped against the floor, matching the beat of the rain that had just started.

"Coffee. That's what I need, boy."

Brian staggered out of his office and into the main part of the house. He fumbled in the cabinet for a clean coffee mug. He had just started to pour his seventh cup of coffee of the evening when a noise caught his attention. It sounded like someone had bumped into his dining room table. He glanced down at Sam Dog, who let out a yelp and hid under the kitchen table.

"You're some help," Brian muttered. He grabbed a butcher knife off the counter and crept toward the dining room.

"Who's there?" His free hand slid back and forth over the wall next to him, searching for the light switch. A shadow crossed into his periphery, but before he could react he felt a crack on the back of his head, and everything went black.

Brian awoke with a throbbing headache. He attempted to reach for the back of his head but discovered he couldn't move his arms or legs. It took a minute for him to realize he was staring up at his kitchen ceiling. He turned his head and saw he was tied down on his kitchen table. He thought of Sam hiding under the table and was relieved to hear his barking outside.

"Hello?" His dry throat caused him to choke and cough.

"Oh, you're awake!" It was a female's voice, one he thought he'd heard before. Her face came into view, peering over him. "Sorry about the bump, but I had to get you restrained."

"Who the fuck are you?" Brian pulled at the ropes binding his wrists.

"I have to admit, for a 'Gangsta Horror' writer, you were easy to take down. Perhaps you really are all talk, like some say on the message boards."

"Look, I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but you'd better untie me." Brian wracked his brain for a suitable lie. "Coop is on his way over, and you do NOT want to be here when he arrives."

The woman just smiled at him, her green eyes dull and empty, her brown hair pulled back into a pony tail. He knew he had seen her somewhere before. She was probably just some nut from one of his signings. She held up the kitchen knife he had been holding when she bludgeoned him.

"I'll just have to be quick then." She was calling his bluff.

"Okay lady, what is it that you want? I've got an office full of my limited editions. Take whatever you want and we can forget any of this ever happened."

The woman's smile faded and her brow furrowed. Brian could see her ears turning red. She raised the blade and brought it down next to his face. The blade nicked his cheek before becoming embedded in the wooden table.

"I have everything you've ever written! Every book in every format you've ever put out. Why in the hell would I need any more?"

"What is it you want then? Please, I'm a husband and father. Think about what you're doing!"

"I'm saving the horror genre. You've forgotten your roots. You're no longer the zombie guy."

Before Brian could respond, he heard a knock on the door. For a moment he thought maybe Coop had come to his rescue after all, but the smile on the woman's face proved he was still alone. She squealed in delight as she danced out of Brian's view. He could hear her open the door and heavy footsteps entered the house.

"I'm so sorry to have started without you, but he caught me by surprise."

Brian struggled to see who was with the woman, but the doorway was just out of his line of sight. He didn't have to wait long, as he heard the steps getting closer and closer to the table. A familiar face hovered over him.

"You?" Brian swallowed hard. "This is a joke, right?"

"He's bleeding. What the hell did you do?" Big Joe rubbed his temples.

"I panicked!"

Brian couldn't believe what he was seeing. Big Joe, his assistant, driver, bodyguard, and loyal friend for years, orchestrated a plot to kill him. Why? Hadn't he always been good to him? Sure, Brian mocked him in front of everyone, but it was all in good fun. And maybe he did name a necrophiliac after him in his book, but Joe had always been a sport. Joe was happiest when he was serving someone else. Brian just gave him what he wanted, right?

His eyes widened as he saw Joe pull a cleaver out of his backpack. "Brian..." Joe's voice was soft and calm, as always. He swung the cleaver downward as Brian squeezed his eyes shut and screamed. He could feel his bladder release and a steady stream of warm urine ran down his leg. And still he screamed. But he felt no pain.

He opened his eyes and watched as Joe swung the cleaver down again, this time on the other side of the table, cutting through the rope that was binding his right wrist. Brian realized that his left arm was already free.

"This is my new girlfriend, Alisha. I met her at one of your signings. She's a huge fan and, well, the two of us thought it would be funny to pull a sort of prank on you, since you're always giving me such a hard time." The cleaver came down again, freeing Brian's right leg. "She obviously got over excited. She was supposed to wait for me."

Brian's mouth hung open, his eyes fixed on Joe as he freed the last of the restraints. "Pretty funny though, right? You peed your pants! Sorry about your head and cheek."

Brian bolted upright and grabbed Joe around the throat. "Are you fucking crazy? She could have killed me!" Joe's face turned a steady shade of red as he grasped at his throat. Brian released him and Joe slumped to the ground, coughing and sputtering. Alisha ran to Joe's side and stroked his hair.

"Both of you, get the hell out of my house!"

The couple got to their feet and walked toward the door. Joe looked back and said, "So, I'll see you on Monday?"

"Yeah, see you Monday. I'm not paying you for this week though!" Brian stuck his finger in the air and jabbed it toward them.

"You never pay me, Brian." They closed the door behind them and Brian sank into a chair. He rubbed the back of his head and wondered how he would get his revenge. The coffee maker beeped, bringing him back to reality.

He made his way back to his office after finally getting his cup of coffee. Sam Dog was close behind, tail wagging. "I need a real guard dog."

As he sat back in his chair and tapped at his keyboard to get rid of the screen saver, he heard footsteps behind him. "Dammit Joe, I told you two to get the hell out of here!" He turned and saw a man he didn't recognize.

"I just read The Rising. You call that an ending?"

Brian could only scream as the man lunged at him, swinging a machete at Brian's neck. A fountain of blood spurted from the stump where his head used to be. The man took a long look at the head that was still rocking back and forth on the carpet. He glanced around at the bookshelves that lined Brian's office. A copy of City of the Dead caught his eye. He picked it up and read the back cover copy.

"Ohhhhh. There's a sequel." He tucked the book into his coat pocket, and walked out the door.

Don't let Brian's death be for nothing.

Andy's comment on my previous post reminded me that I have not officially announced my most recent publication. So, here it is!

The always amazing and super talented Deena Warner creates an incredible Halloween card every year. The last few years she has asked an author to write a tale to accompany her illustration. This year I was honored that she asked me.

So go here and check it out: http://deenawarner.net/halloween09.php

Thanks, Deena, for letting me be a part of your Halloween tradition!

~Meg

A hate group protesting at a priest's funeral?

I really have no words. Actually, I have plenty of words, but I'd rather direct them at the disgusting excuse for humans that will be protesting.

~Meg

I don't know how much coverage this is getting, probably really only in Jersey. I wasn't going to write about it, but in an effort to try to make some sense out of it, here I am.

I spent the first 29 years of my life in the same house in Chatham, NJ. A quiet, affluent town where nothing ever really happened. I lived on a small street, and at the end of it sat St. Patrick's church. I went to Sunday school and mass there every Sunday as a kid. I got married there. My kids' christenings took place there. My daughter went to the attached school from 1st to 5th grade, until we moved to where we are now. I am no longer a religious person, as you all well know. But there were a few priests I've met over the years that went through St. Pat's who were all very good to my family. The last priest to come through before I moved was Father Hinds. I did not know him all that well, but from what I did know he was a kind man who did a lot of work for the less fortunate. My daughter knew him better as she went to the school there. What I came to learn since was that my parents both knew him well, he was there for them during an extremely difficult time back when I was just a baby.

So I get a call from my mom while I was at work on Friday. My ex-mother-in-law had called her to ask if she had heard about a priest dying at St. Patrick's. Turned out Father Hinds had been found dead in the rectory kitchen. The police would not say what happened, only that they were treating it as a crime scene. I was shocked to hear of something like this happening in my old town, but I assumed either it would turn out that Father Hinds died of natural causes, or it would be due to some botched robbery or something. My mother was very upset at the news, but it didn't really hit me that way. I mean, I felt bad for Father Hinds and his family, but death happens all the time.

Then tonight we finally discovered what happened. Jose Feliciano, the janitor for the church and school for the last 17 years, was arrested and charged with Father Hinds's murder. He admitted to having an argument with Fr. Hinds at about 5:00 pm on Thursday night, during which he grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Fr. Hinds 32 times in the upper torso, face, hands, and back of the neck. Mr. Jose is well known to the parishioners and families of St. Pat's students. His kids went to school with my daughter, one a year ahead of her and one a year behind. I used to talk with him whenever I dropped her off and picked her up and when I did lunch duty. He was a calm, quiet, and kind man, always had a smile on his face and was so good to all the kids. He used to call my daughter "the hat girl" because in the winter she rarely wore the same hat twice. His kids are good students and well-liked. His family had been an integral part of school and church for close to two decades. People always say in cases like this, "I never thought him/her capable of murder." I hate to be one of those, but it's true. I thought for sure there had been a mistake, I can't fathom what they could have possibly argued about to cause Jose to become so brutal.

They aren't releasing the details of the argument, so for now we'll sit in wonder. But Mr. Jose confessed to the crime, and there was plenty of evidence collected from his home to prove that he did, in fact, commit a heinous and brutal murder.

My mother is beside herself. My daughter refuses to believe Mr. Jose did it. I can't wrap my brain around it.

I haven't spoken to Fr. Hinds or Mr. Jose since moving away in 2007. And I was never exactly "close" to either. Still, this news bothers me.

Click here for the story.

~Meg

The last horror convention I went to was Horrorfind 2007, and it was a sucky con indeed. Limited time and money have prevented me from attending any since. I sorely miss NECon and intend to attend next year. But that's not what this post is about.

Thanks to the awesomeness that is Monica O'Rourke, I attended the first KillerCon in Vegas this past weekend. I volunteered to help out and was able to find a cheap flight, so off I went. Now, it's the law that I can not speak about what went on there. I mean, being Vegas and all, details are just not permitted. But I thought I'd give you a bit of a "vague recap" (to steal a line from one of the new buds I met there) and a couple of shout outs. So, here it is, my list of awesomeness for KillerCon 2009:

1. Talking with my hero Joe Lansdale.

2. Getting quality time with F. Paul Wilson.

3. Having John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow save my sanity SEVERAL times. (I already hearted Skipp, but this was the first I met of Cody, and I now heart him too.)

4. Singing backup for The Slushpile (F. Paul Wilson and Heather Graham's band).

5. Losing $90 at the casinos, but only paying for 1 drink the entire 4 days I was there.

6. The dealers at the Pussy Cat Dolls Casino. I so wish I could have taken pics there.

7. Meeting new friends (i.e. the aforementioned Cody, as well as Heather Graham, Dave Simms, P.S. Gifford, Christie White, and a slew of others I don't have the time to mention).

8. Tomo's hot beef platter.

9. My failed attempt to hatnap Keene's cowboy hat (it looked better on me!).

10. Room service and TV laziness with Matt Schwartz.

I just want to give a huge holler to Monica and Wrath James White for making the con possible. You guys rock my socks and I had such a blast! I HATE to fly, so getting me on a 5-hour flight was no easy task. I'm so glad you did! I will be attending next year, and so should all of you!

( And now, behind the cut, just a few random shots to give you a feel for how the con went. )

are better left unturned.

I don't wanna be the girl who laughs the loudest
Or the girl who never wants to be alone
I don't wanna be that call at four o'clock in the morning
'Cause I'm the only one you know in the world that won't be home

Aahh, the sun is blinding
I stayed up again
Oohh, I am finding
That's not the way I want my story to end

I'm safe
Up high
Nothing can touch me
But why do I feel this party's over?
No pain
Inside
You're my protection
But how do I feel this good sober?

I don't wanna be the girl who has to fill the silence...
The quiet scares me 'cause it screams the truth
Please don't tell me that we had that conversation
When I won't remember, save your breath, 'cause what's the use?

Aahh, the night is calling
And it whispers to me softly, "come and play"
Aahh, I am falling
And if I let myself go, I'm the only one to blame

I'm safe
Up high
Nothing can touch me
But why do I feel this party's over?
No pain
Inside
You're like perfection
But how do I feel this good sober?

I'm comin' down
Comin' down
Comin' down
Spinnin' round
Spinnin' round
Spinnin' round
Looking for myself.. Sober

Comin' down
Comin' down
Comin' down
Spinnin' round
Spinnin' round
Spinnin' round
Looking for myself.. Sober

When it's good, then it's good, it's so good, 'till it goes bad
Till you're trying to find the you that you once had
I have heard myself cry never again
Broken down in agony and just trying to find a friend

I'm safe
Up high
Nothing can touch me
But why do I feel this party's over?
No pain
Inside
You're like perfection
But how do I feel this good sober?

I'm safe
Up high
Nothing can touch me
But why do I feel this party's over?
No pain
Inside
You're like perfection
But how do I feel this good sober?

How do I feel this good sober?

~Meg

Life is catching up with me.

I've always been a busy person, which is hysterical because I'm the first to admit how lazy I am. But I do what needs to be done for my and my children's survival...and the survival of others I love. But something has to give.

I've hit a point where I'm always tired. And I'm not talking tired in that *yawn* *stretch* sort of way. I mean my body feels heavy and aches. My eyes are constantly dry and fuzzy, eyelids always heavy. Most of the time I'm amazed I can keep my head up and my eyes open. My head always hurts and even breathing takes effort. I am fucking exhausted.

So what's a person to do? Time to evaluate the things that need to get done and NEED to get done. Because honestly, nothing I do is for want. It's all for need. Well, I suppose reading and Xbox and watching the tube every now and again are all wants. But lately I don't do enough of any of those things to make a difference if I stopped all of it.

All I know is, I woke up this morning feeling like death. I realized that I've woken up like this every morning for the last month. And I just don't know how much longer I can do this before my body revolts against me.

But my body is the least of my worries. I feel like I'm losing my mind. No, not in the psycho, whackadoo sense. But every day I lose more focus. My memory is shot, short term especially. My speech is even affected. It's like I'm in a constant state of heroin high. I feel disconnected, almost like I'm floating through life.

I will say my greatest fear, aside from anything bad happening to my children, is losing my mind. I've always prided myself on my intelligence. Now I feel like I'm losing brain cells by the boatload. It scares me.

This is the first I've really acknowledged any of this, even to myself. Sure, I've been complaining of exhaustion for weeks now, but this is the first time I've sat down and really analyzed what it's doing to me. So now I'm facing a whole new problem to deal with, and I'm just too tired to think it through.

~Meg

(I apologize for the re-post, but I didn't realize the pic I tried to post originally didn't come through. Piece of crap LJ app for the iPhone sucks ass. So I went to fix it today, and then all my other formatting got fucked up. So instead of trying to figure out what happened, I deleted the post and decided to "start from scratch" and see what happens. Yay copy and paste!)

I know, I know. It's been forever since I posted. I'm a slacker. So I'll try to fill you in on as much as possible, though it's not like my life is so exciting that you missed anything too thrilling.

I guess the biggest "change" is my relationship status. I don't really feel the whole story is necessary and, frankly, I'm not too comfy putting it all out there. Suffice it to say, though technically I call myself single, I am re-exploring a relationship with the one formerly known as my one and only. Circumstances led us both to decide to try doing things a bit differently this time. No pressure, no expectations, just exploration at a nice, even pace. I am down with this. It really is all my heart and head is up for right now. And my life is so full and busy that this is the only type of "relationship" I can handle right now. Bottom line, it makes me happy for now.

So, as to the busyness... It's mostly work. We're still at a bare bones staff, but we've gotten a slew of new projects. That means everyone is wearing multiple hats and putting in all kinds of hours. On the one hand, I'm exhausted and stressed, on the other, more projects means more money for the company. We're slowly getting back on our feet, so hopefully we'll be able to afford some help sooner rather than later.

So, aside from my social and work lives, I've been spending what little free time I have reading (currently Let the Right One In), painting ceramics (see my latest finished project behind the cut), and most recently, playing my new Xbox 360. I took a few days off work a couple of weeks ago while the kiddos were on vacation with my parents. Spent most of that time at my (this is the frustrating part, figuring out exactly what to call him, I suppose I'll steal his line...) intimate friend's place. He's got a 360 and he convinced me to give Resident Evil 5 a shot. Now, you should know that I have a history of breaking game systems. As a teen I smashed my Gameboy against the wall in a fit of anger, and beat my nintendo so bad the game cartridges no longer locked in. I'm a sore loser, I lack patience, and when I don't immediately take to something I feel stupid, leading me to crankily give up. He's tried in the past to get me to enjoy various games, but I was so out of practice and overwhelmed by all the buttons and sticks and triggers on the controller that I usually gave up less than 5 minutes into the games. I don't know why he thought RE5 would be any different, but I wanted to give it a shot, if only to make him happy. And I was definitely frustrated and feeling dumb, but he convinced me to press on. So I worked through the frustration and after a couple of hours I finally felt like I knew what I was doing. And I actually had fun. So, fast forward to this past Thursday, and I went out and bought my own. Yes, I am that addicted now. RE5 and Viva Pinata are the two I'm working on now, but I've got Gears of War 2 and Mass Effect waiting in the wings. Woooo!

Well, I'm writing this on my phone and have grown tired of typing. So I suppose this is all the catchup you get for now.

( Clickey for pic of latest hobby. )

*I realized that my photo did not make it onto this post originally. That's what I get for using a crappy phone app.

~Meg

My son's appointment went well. The child study team at his preschool wanted him evaluated by a neurologist as part of their overall evaluations to see where he should be placed for kindergarten. They told me it was really precautionary and they just wanted to cover all their bases.

As it turns out, the neurologist diagnosed him with both speech apraxia and OCD. The OCD I figured, but I had never heard of apraxia. Basically, there is such a delay between brain and tongue (or brain and lips, etc.) that he can't say some of his letters properly. He needs more intense speech therapy and also occupational therapy. His apraxia also seems to be why his fine motor skills are lagging as well. So, it's not terrible. It can be worked with and he should be able to completely catch up with the proper therapies. I'll have to wait to hear from the school to find out what type of class he'll be placed in.

As for the OCD, the doc asked me if I wanted to try medication, but I said no. It's not impacting his schooling or social life in a negative way. It can be frustrating, but we're trying to break him of these tendencies in other ways. Medication is an absolute last resort. He's only 5, I'm not drugging him.

In other news, saw yet another move last night. This one care of Netflix. Shuttle was actually better than I expected. It had its typical, horror-movie moments, but in the end I was left disturbed and it stuck with me for awhile. In fact, I'll probably never watch it again because I was so bothered by it. But it was well done, so I'll recommend it.

Probably will end up finally watching The Wrestler this weekend. Need to get this depressionfest out of the way so I can move on to livelier movies in my Netflix list. heh

Well, happy Friday all!

~Meg

I put review in quotes because I don't really do reviews. So many people do that so much better than I do. But I will tell you what I thought of the latest stop on the movie theater tour.

Saw Drag Me To Hell and I'm glad I did. I saw the previews for it awhile ago and laughed (not in the good way) and groaned. Looked like Raimi had lost it. I was convinced that it would be just like 95% of the other horror movies that have come out in the last decade. Absolute crap. But then I saw it had such a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And then I heard people talking about it, in a positive way. So, I relented and decided to give it a shot.

I took my daughter and her friend, as well as my main movie buddy (who remained even more skeptical than me). Now, it wasn't Evil Dead, and that's ok. But it was reminiscent of the old Raimi, before those horrible Spiderman movies. It was over the top, in true Raimi fashion, but so well done. It was hilarious and disgusting and ridiculous and FUN! Do I think it would have been better with an R rating? I can see the argument for that. But I really thought it was plenty entertaining as it was. And my daughter loved it. So there you have it. I would definitely recommend checking it out.

Next movie on the tour will probably be Year One. I love both Jack Black and Michael Cera, so it should be really good times. :-) I still have The Wrestler and Shuttle from Netflix to watch. Maybe this weekend.

In other news, I have my son with me at work today. He's being so well behaved, I'm proud of him. :-) He's got an appointment with the neurologist that's in my building. His school is paying for it. Just another kind of evaluation they're doing to see where he should be placed next year. It's mostly his speech that's behind, but he's got some fine motor issues as well, so this is just a precautionary appointment to rule out anything physical, I suppose. We'll be headed out to lunch soon and then on to the appointment. So wish us luck!

~Meg

So I had a really full weekend. Saw a couple of movies, had some kid time, had some friend time. Definitely a weekend well spent. But I'm absolutely exhausted.

Went out to a bar on Saturday night and had only played to stay a short while. But then we found out it was karaoke night, so we were there until about 1:30 AM singing our hearts out. heh I was out having a smoke when I heard some chick singing MY karaoke song. I was so mad! I always do Me and Bobby McGee by Janice Joplin. And this girl didn't do it as well as I do. Sigh. So I ended up singing some Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Tracy Bonham. Good times!

Sunday I took the kids to see Up which I loved. It was my son's first time to the movie theater, and he was really well behaved. Both kids had a great time. Definitely be prepared for some heart-string tugging, but it was really well done and very sweet. And I love Doug! heh What I didn't love, though, was the family that took up the entire row behind me. There were kids galore and mothers and fathers and grandmas and aunts and uncles. It was like a freakin' family reunion back there, which is fine, except for the fact that BOTH the adults and children were obnoxious. There were two kids there that were just too young for the theater. I don't care if the movie is PG, that doesn't mean your two-year-old with the attention span of a cricket should go. The kids were constantly up and down and talking. The youngest actually started crying at one point, and instead of taking her out the parents just kept shushing her. Yeah, that works. And even the adults were up and down and talking. My seat was constantly being kicked and knocked into, and at one point one of the kids yanked some of my hair out while galloping past my seat. I was ready to punch every one of them. If I hadn't had my kids there, I would have turned around and threatened the closest adult. But I made my annoyance known with plenty of staredowns and loud sighs. heh

Sunday was movie day, as I also went with a friend to see Land of the Lost that night. It was cute. Entertaining and funny, but nothing special. It's a better rental, not really worth the price of a theater ticket. But I had a good time. Next up is Drag Me to Hell. Maybe Tuesday night. So much is coming out this summer that I want to see. I'm spending all my money on movies!

Well, that's about all I've got for you. Three nights in a row of getting home after 1 AM have taken their toll. Don't know how I'll make it through the work day. Ugh.

~Meg

Been busy since my last post. Always something going on these days, but at least life's not boring.

Have seen a couple of movies, loving my new Netflix subscription. So, A Tale of Two Sisters...really not as good as I had hoped. I mean, it was ok, but it went on way too long. I felt like I was watching The Return of the King again ("Ok it's over. Wait, no it's not. Ok, now it's over. No, no, still not over. Is it over this time?") and I think it was confusing just to be confusing. I didn't find it clever in the least. Some of the imagery was truly creepy though and I can see why some people liked it. But I was disappointed.

The Day the Earth Stood Still remake was just as terrible as everybody says. I KNEW it was going to be terrible. I had no desire to see it. In fact, I never desire to see any film with Keanu Reeves. But my movie partner really wanted to check it out, and I made him sit through Two Sisters, so I owed him one. But yeah, he agreed that it was total shit. They totally missed the point of the original. It was worse than most SciFi channel movies. There was really nothing good to say about it. Special effects were kind of cool, but that's it. And the acting pretty much sucked all around. Just, terrible. Blech.

I may take the kiddos to see Up this weekend. And I also want to see Land of the Lost and Drag Me to Hell, but there are only so many hours in a weekend. I still have The Wrestler from Netflix as well, but I hear it's a major downer so I need to be in the mood for it. I'm expecting Shuttle to arrive tomorrow. I'm just drowning in movies!

I suppose that's about all I've got for you today. Life isn't all that interesting. Just working and spending time with the kids and friends. But things are good. I'm happier than I have been in awhile, so that's saying something.

~Meg

When it comes to horror movies, in my experience, true brilliance is extremely rare. Out of the hundreds I've seen, only a dozen or so stand out in my mind as being thoroughly enjoyable and close to perfect. Another few dozen rank as "meh" and the rest are ultimately crap...though some of them are craptacular and so, in their own ways, aren't really so bad. (If you have followed along thusfar without being completely confused, yay for you!)

So last night I saw one that was "meh." In most cases, you hear the word "meh" and think so-so. In this case, so-so is better than average, because the average horror movie sucks donkey balls. (At least in the last couple of decades.) Let me get to the point already (can you tell I'm trying to kill time?). Last night's film was Splinter. A tale of abduction gone awry and the introduction of a really cool monster. The gore was satisfactory (not over-the-top for me, but some might disagree), the monster was new and really disturbing, and one of the actors was pretty damn good! They were a bunch of no names and I can't be bothered to look up who played who. But the male abductor was pretty awesome. The female lead was kind of annoying, but ok. However, the lead male abductee made me want to drive nails into my head. But even he couldn't turn the "meh" into crap.

An all-around entertaining movie that I'd actually recommend. Next on the Netflix list Horrorwise is A Tale of Two Sisters which I've heard both good and bad about. I shall reserve judgement. Also on the list is The Wrestler which I've been itching to see.

That's about all I've got for you today folks.

~Meg

It's not like I wasn't warned. Rotten Tomatoes had it listed at 33%. Every friend of mine who saw it told me it sucked. I read some reviews. Just the fact that it was PG-13 was enough to warn me off. But I still went to see it. I went not with low expectations, but with NO expectations. And that is why I didn't cry about it and complain about wasting my money and blah blah. Even the title to this post isn't fair, since I knew what I was getting into. I just thought it sounded funny.

So, yes, people. The negative hype is correct. This movie was TERRIBLE. I mean, like, almost unwatchable. And maybe I missed something, but it seems to me like it ignores all three of its predecessors. I am a Christian Bale fan, but they gave him nothing to do. In fact, they didn't give any of the characters much to do. I didn't give a crap about any of them. By the end I was rooting for the machines. I won't tell you who wins or what happens or any of that. No spoilers here. But even if I did it wouldn't matter. Because you simply won't care.

Special effects were awesome, I'll give it that. But that's where the awesomeness ends. It's too bad the franchise had to go out on such a horrible note. At least I hope it's gone out. Please Hollywood... give up now! No more terminator movies! For shame!

Oh, but one really good thing did come out of me going to see this piece of crap. The trailer for Sherlock Holmes made me creamy in the pantaloons! Wooooooo!

And in other news, after seeing the previews for Drag Me To Hell I wanted to cry. It looks like such utter crap. But I am a fan of Raimi's horror (NOT of his Spiderman. Ugh.). Still, I told myself it wasn't worth seeing, the trailer had all I needed to know. But then, I find out it's got 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. I think there are only about 15 reviews up, but still, that's pretty fuckin' impressive for a horror movie. I don't think I've ever seen any movie get 100%, let alone a horror flick. So now I'm curious. Does the trailer just look stupid? Do I dare spend the money on this film? I'm still on the fence. Thoughts?

~Meg

Today is one of those rare days where I have nothing to do at work. I guess I've been too productive this week. So, I've got a short list of little things that I need to do, but I could probably finish it in a half hour. So I'm trying to spread the tasks out.

This doesn't usually bother me, since most days I have too much to do and am pulling my hair out. The rare slow day is a nice break. But though I slept well last night, it was only for 5 hours, so I'm pooped, and the less I have to do, the longer the day drags. Not cool when your eyes are heavy.

I do have one thing to keep me occupied. Something I swore I'd never get into. As some of you know, I have a Facebook page. Anyone familiar with Facebook knows about all the different apps people send. "Send your friends a virtual plant." "Send your friends a virtual fish." "What ___ are you" quizzes galore. And I take part in many of them, just to kill time. But I never got involved in any of the games, really. Some Scrabble here and there, but that's about it.

My co-worker begged me to join his mafia in Mafia Wars (not Mob Wars, that's actually a different game, one that I've played but got bored of quickly) because he needed a boost in numbers. He swore I wouldn't even have to play, just accept his invitation. So I did. But I figured since I joined, I might as well check it out. Well, a week later I'm at level 13 and massively addicted. Oy! If I had more time, I'd be at level 100 by now, I'm sure. But I can only play for a few minutes at a time throughout the day. And I'm so busy after work I rarely get a chance to turn on my laptop. But I try to squeeze in a bit of play here and there at home. It's a simple game, really. Which is probably why I'm addicted. What it takes, mostly, is patience and time. Two things I have little of, but yet, I keep going back!

Anyhoo, it's gotten to a point where I'm strategizing when I'm driving and I'm constantly bugging my friends that play to help me out. And I try to be as helpful to them as possible as well. I'm sure it's just a phase I'm going through, like when I played Monopoly on my phone ALL the time for a few weeks. heh But, I'll enjoy it for now. And the only reason I'm not over there right now? I'm waiting to build up some more energy so I can do some more jobs... like robbing pimps and stealing cars. Woot!

So yeah, if you're on Facebook... check it out. And join my mafia! ;-)

~Meg