Indata Valid
Sunday, December 23, 2007
December Blog
Carnival Cruise
This is my last year of pharmacy class (yay!) and then my rotations (basically internships) start in May. So my last chance to have fun before starting real work is now and my block of time off in July 2008 (which will be spent at Carlsbad for beach week). I am going on a cruise to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada from San Diego with a bunch of pharmacy dorks from Boise.
It starts out of San Diego on the 7th of January and goes to the said places, then hits San Diego again on the 12th. After that, I fly back to Boise on the 13th. Going to be a whirlwind trip this Christmas near the end.
Below is a picture of the boat I’ll be on (Carnival’s Elation):
I want to take a bunch of pictures and videos, so hopefully my camera cooperates. Maybe the January blog will have the end results on it.
TV Networks Are Getting Desperate
I cannot believe that American Gladiator is making a comeback. That was such a trashy show back in the day. But I guess on account of the writer's strike, it is going to make a comeback. Those damn networks must be down to the bottom of the barrel trying to scrape up the last remaining ideas.
On the bright side, good riddance to shit like Desperate Housewives and Friday Night Lights. Maybe the writers will never work again. One can hope, I suppose.
ExpressJet
So there is a new-ish airline out there called ExpressJet (www.xjet.com). It has no layovers and no middle seats. All of its planes are small enough that you either are on the aisle or at the window. I had never heard of it until the last couple times I flew. Not that it's a great airline (which it's not), but it is very nice never having a layover. I hated having to wait around in Salt Lake City for my connecting flight. Now I can fly directly from Boise to Ontario and back. The amenities are few and far between. The planes are pretty much tin cans with engines. The fares are cheap though, compared to their competitors.
Movies
You probably won’t care to read an in-depth review of each one, so I’ll give you a quick description and a rating.
Halloween II: decent follow-up to the original. 3.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween III: Season of the Witch: completely unrelated to Michael Myers. Just dreadful. 0.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers: back to form and on the original plot lines. 3.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween V: The Revenge of Michael Myers: weak sequel to IV. 2.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers: nice way to end the ‘real’ Halloween series. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later: decent movie, but lame that they wanted to make more money by making an irrelevant sequel. Jamie Lee Curtis' character should have been dead before the movie started (according to the original plotlines). 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Halloween Resurrection: nice premise for the movie (following H20), still not along the original plot lines though. 3 out 5 stars.
Wolf Creek: Australian movie and hard as hell to understand what they say, but intense nonetheless. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Resident Evil: not a huge fan of video games (ie. Silent Hill) being turned into movies, but this was decent. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Resident Evil Apocalypse: nice overlap with previous movie. 4 out of 5 stars.
The Hills Have Eyes 2: weaker plot than the original, but gorier and more suspenseful. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Turistas: a trite horror movie idea turned into a new one. Better than Hostel. Too bad the main actor looks like Johhny Knoxville, so it's hard to take him seriously. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
The Return: disjointed, not scary, weak acting, and why the hell did they dye Sarah Michelle Gellar's hair dark? 2 out of 5 stars.
Congrats to Katie
Nice job on graduating, babe! Wish I were done too. Can’t wait until the day when I no longer have to go to class like you. Can’t wait to get paid instead of paying $7,000+ a semester. Sheezus. Sign-on bonus, here I come.
My First Cavity Ever!!!
I went to the dentist last week since I hadn’t been in about 7 months. They poked around and did their normal shit. At the end of the appointment, I thought I was free. But then the dentist looks at me and tells me that I need to make a return appointment so that he can fill my cavity. WTF?!?!
I've never had a cavity before, so this is a new experience for me. Not one I wanted to have, but what the hell. I guess most people have fillings, so now I will be one of the majority.
My Self-Cauterization
I went to the doctor's the other day for refills on my heartburn med and to get my nose cauterized (I am getting nosebleeds again). The doctor was actually an NP (nurse practitioner) and she had never done a cauterization. She went and got the kit, then led me to the mirror and had me do it.
Never again.
That shit hurts. I've had it done before, so I knew what to expect. It made my eyes water, my nose run, and it made me sneeze uncontrollably last time. This time was no different, except that I did it to myself. I had to rub the cotton swab with the silver nitrate on it on my septum, trying to chemically burn the blood vessels out. Sucked ass. So yeah, if you ever get the chance to cauterize your own nose, politely decline and have the professionals do it. And if your doctor hasn't ever done it, let someone who has do it. Don't try it yourself. Hard to torture yourself like that.
My Roomba Still Kicks Ass
I still think my Roomba is awesome. I use it about once a week. It may not clean every little corner perfectly, but it sure does a decent job and prolongs the time between manual vacuumings. Is niiiiiiice.
Flat Iron Steaks and Why I Won't Eat Anything Else
I have been gorging myself on flat iron steaks recently. Let's just say that it's my favorite cut of beef. I never was a huge steak eater before. I like meat well-done and by the time you get a steak well-done, it's not moist anymore. Well, the flat iron is. Mmmmm... It's the only steak I've ever had where it stayed moist, no matter how long you cook it.
Restaurants, particularly upscale, have recently begun serving flat iron steaks on their menus. Especially popular are flat irons from Wagyu beef, as a way for chefs to offer more affordable and profitable dishes featuringWagyu or Kobe beef."
Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah (those are the only two real holidays) 
1. You draw numbers. You pick and open presents in succession. 1 goes first and gets to steal in the end.
2. When it's your turn, you either open a present or steal someone else's present.
3. If you have a present stolen, you can open a new present or steal someone else's (but not the one you just lost).
4. A present can be stolen 3 times before it is locked to the person left with it.
5. Don't ever end up with a S'more maker.
I got a $30 Best Buy gift card for it. I usually do the gift card thing, but end up putting the gift card in a big box with a rock in it to throw the person off when they are choosing to open a new gift. Last year, I gave a Petsmart gift card (since everyone in the family has cats) in a huge box. This year, I put the Best Buy card in a hand-made papier mache reindeer:
X-mas Failure
So I was 0 for 3 on the 1st three gifts Katie opened from me on X-mas. I got her a brown Fossil belt (wrong size). Note to all the people who may purchase a Fossil belt online: their sizing runs small. I got her a personalized picture frame for graduation (they put the wrong year on it). Apparently, 2009 is the new 2008. I got her intimate apparel (wrong size). I guess I just goofed up on that one. Damnit.
Meaning in Shaving?
I dream about shaving at least once a week. No kidding. I can never remember anything else from the dream, except for the simple fact that at some point during the dream, I was shaving my face.
To dream that someone is shaving your leg, represents a lost of your independence. You are relying on others to get you through some difficult times. You need to build up your self-confidence and self-esteem.
To see someone shaving in your dream, indicates that there is some conflict in your self-image. Perhaps what you portray or project does not match who you really are inside.
I don't know how anyone could actually know the aforementioned things or how you could scientifically prove them, but what the hell. People read their horoscope and don't believe a word of it.
I know I've mentioned the shaving thing before, but I just think it's weird that shaving is my recurrent dream. Why couldn't it be a foursome with Jessica Alba, Maria Sharapova, and Katie, bodyboarding a huge wave, or winning the largest lottery in history? Why shaving? Weird. I'm lame. Apparently, shaving the best thing my mind can come up with when I am asleep. My unconscious mind is as lame as my conscious mind. Poop.
Random Trivia (No cheating and looking it up! I will put the answer in the comments in a few days)
What does "bolshevik" actually mean in Russian?
Hint: the phrase is used somewhere else in this blog entry
Current music:
Carnival Cruise
This is my last year of pharmacy class (yay!) and then my rotations (basically internships) start in May. So my last chance to have fun before starting real work is now and my block of time off in July 2008 (which will be spent at Carlsbad for beach week). I am going on a cruise to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada from San Diego with a bunch of pharmacy dorks from Boise.
It starts out of San Diego on the 7th of January and goes to the said places, then hits San Diego again on the 12th. After that, I fly back to Boise on the 13th. Going to be a whirlwind trip this Christmas near the end.
Below is a picture of the boat I’ll be on (Carnival’s Elation):
I want to take a bunch of pictures and videos, so hopefully my camera cooperates. Maybe the January blog will have the end results on it.
TV Networks Are Getting Desperate
I cannot believe that American Gladiator is making a comeback. That was such a trashy show back in the day. But I guess on account of the writer's strike, it is going to make a comeback. Those damn networks must be down to the bottom of the barrel trying to scrape up the last remaining ideas.
On the bright side, good riddance to shit like Desperate Housewives and Friday Night Lights. Maybe the writers will never work again. One can hope, I suppose.
ExpressJet
So there is a new-ish airline out there called ExpressJet (www.xjet.com). It has no layovers and no middle seats. All of its planes are small enough that you either are on the aisle or at the window. I had never heard of it until the last couple times I flew. Not that it's a great airline (which it's not), but it is very nice never having a layover. I hated having to wait around in Salt Lake City for my connecting flight. Now I can fly directly from Boise to Ontario and back. The amenities are few and far between. The planes are pretty much tin cans with engines. The fares are cheap though, compared to their competitors.
Movies
You probably won’t care to read an in-depth review of each one, so I’ll give you a quick description and a rating.
Halloween II: decent follow-up to the original. 3.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween III: Season of the Witch: completely unrelated to Michael Myers. Just dreadful. 0.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers: back to form and on the original plot lines. 3.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween V: The Revenge of Michael Myers: weak sequel to IV. 2.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers: nice way to end the ‘real’ Halloween series. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later: decent movie, but lame that they wanted to make more money by making an irrelevant sequel. Jamie Lee Curtis' character should have been dead before the movie started (according to the original plotlines). 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Halloween Resurrection: nice premise for the movie (following H20), still not along the original plot lines though. 3 out 5 stars.
Wolf Creek: Australian movie and hard as hell to understand what they say, but intense nonetheless. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Resident Evil: not a huge fan of video games (ie. Silent Hill) being turned into movies, but this was decent. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Resident Evil Apocalypse: nice overlap with previous movie. 4 out of 5 stars.
The Hills Have Eyes 2: weaker plot than the original, but gorier and more suspenseful. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Turistas: a trite horror movie idea turned into a new one. Better than Hostel. Too bad the main actor looks like Johhny Knoxville, so it's hard to take him seriously. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
The Return: disjointed, not scary, weak acting, and why the hell did they dye Sarah Michelle Gellar's hair dark? 2 out of 5 stars.
Congrats to Katie
Nice job on graduating, babe! Wish I were done too. Can’t wait until the day when I no longer have to go to class like you. Can’t wait to get paid instead of paying $7,000+ a semester. Sheezus. Sign-on bonus, here I come.
My First Cavity Ever!!!
I went to the dentist last week since I hadn’t been in about 7 months. They poked around and did their normal shit. At the end of the appointment, I thought I was free. But then the dentist looks at me and tells me that I need to make a return appointment so that he can fill my cavity. WTF?!?!
I've never had a cavity before, so this is a new experience for me. Not one I wanted to have, but what the hell. I guess most people have fillings, so now I will be one of the majority.
My Self-Cauterization
I went to the doctor's the other day for refills on my heartburn med and to get my nose cauterized (I am getting nosebleeds again). The doctor was actually an NP (nurse practitioner) and she had never done a cauterization. She went and got the kit, then led me to the mirror and had me do it.
Never again.
That shit hurts. I've had it done before, so I knew what to expect. It made my eyes water, my nose run, and it made me sneeze uncontrollably last time. This time was no different, except that I did it to myself. I had to rub the cotton swab with the silver nitrate on it on my septum, trying to chemically burn the blood vessels out. Sucked ass. So yeah, if you ever get the chance to cauterize your own nose, politely decline and have the professionals do it. And if your doctor hasn't ever done it, let someone who has do it. Don't try it yourself. Hard to torture yourself like that.
My Roomba Still Kicks Ass
I still think my Roomba is awesome. I use it about once a week. It may not clean every little corner perfectly, but it sure does a decent job and prolongs the time between manual vacuumings. Is niiiiiiice.
Flat Iron Steaks and Why I Won't Eat Anything Else
I have been gorging myself on flat iron steaks recently. Let's just say that it's my favorite cut of beef. I never was a huge steak eater before. I like meat well-done and by the time you get a steak well-done, it's not moist anymore. Well, the flat iron is. Mmmmm... It's the only steak I've ever had where it stayed moist, no matter how long you cook it.
Here's what www.wikipedia.org has to say about the flat iron steak:
"The Flat Iron Steak is a cut of steak from the shoulder of a steer. The steak was created by researchers at the University of Florida and University of Nebraska during the course of a study of undervalued cuts of beef. The study also found that this specific cut is the second most tender cut of beef, after the tenderloin. The major initial barrier to the flat iron steak was the large band of connective tissue running down the center of the steak, which led people to assume that the cut in general must be tough. Removing the connective tissue, however, leads to a steak that is often described as having both the tenderness of a rib eye or strip steak while still having the full-flavored character of a sirloin or skirt steak. Whole, this muscle is known as Infraspinatus, and one may see this displayed in some butcher shops and meat markets as a "top blade" roast. Steaks that are cross cut from this muscle are called top blade steaks or patio steaks. As a whole cut of meat it usually weighs around 2 to 3 lbs, is located adjacent to the heart of the shoulder clod, under the seven bone. The entire top blade usually yields 4 steaks, between 8 to 12oz. each.
"The Flat Iron Steak is a cut of steak from the shoulder of a steer. The steak was created by researchers at the University of Florida and University of Nebraska during the course of a study of undervalued cuts of beef. The study also found that this specific cut is the second most tender cut of beef, after the tenderloin. The major initial barrier to the flat iron steak was the large band of connective tissue running down the center of the steak, which led people to assume that the cut in general must be tough. Removing the connective tissue, however, leads to a steak that is often described as having both the tenderness of a rib eye or strip steak while still having the full-flavored character of a sirloin or skirt steak. Whole, this muscle is known as Infraspinatus, and one may see this displayed in some butcher shops and meat markets as a "top blade" roast. Steaks that are cross cut from this muscle are called top blade steaks or patio steaks. As a whole cut of meat it usually weighs around 2 to 3 lbs, is located adjacent to the heart of the shoulder clod, under the seven bone. The entire top blade usually yields 4 steaks, between 8 to 12oz. each.
Restaurants, particularly upscale, have recently begun serving flat iron steaks on their menus. Especially popular are flat irons from Wagyu beef, as a way for chefs to offer more affordable and profitable dishes featuring
As Tony the Tiger would say, they're grrreat.
Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah (those are the only two real holidays)
No tip-top Tet, solemn dignified Ramadan, or kwazy Kwanzaa for me. Just the normal holidays. We are going to be going to Ventura for Christmas. The deal is the same this year as it has been for awhile. No gifts are given (the kids get gifts and I get the occasional check/card full of cash). But we do the gift exchange thing. $30 limit, has to be something that everyone or nearly everyone can use. The rules are pretty easy:
1. You draw numbers. You pick and open presents in succession. 1 goes first and gets to steal in the end.
2. When it's your turn, you either open a present or steal someone else's present.
3. If you have a present stolen, you can open a new present or steal someone else's (but not the one you just lost).
4. A present can be stolen 3 times before it is locked to the person left with it.
5. Don't ever end up with a S'more maker.
I got a $30 Best Buy gift card for it. I usually do the gift card thing, but end up putting the gift card in a big box with a rock in it to throw the person off when they are choosing to open a new gift. Last year, I gave a Petsmart gift card (since everyone in the family has cats) in a huge box. This year, I put the Best Buy card in a hand-made papier mache reindeer:
X-mas Failure
So I was 0 for 3 on the 1st three gifts Katie opened from me on X-mas. I got her a brown Fossil belt (wrong size). Note to all the people who may purchase a Fossil belt online: their sizing runs small. I got her a personalized picture frame for graduation (they put the wrong year on it). Apparently, 2009 is the new 2008. I got her intimate apparel (wrong size). I guess I just goofed up on that one. Damnit.
Meaning in Shaving?
I dream about shaving at least once a week. No kidding. I can never remember anything else from the dream, except for the simple fact that at some point during the dream, I was shaving my face.
Here's what www.dreammoods.com had to say about shaving in dreams (not that I believe a goddamn word of it):
"Shaving:
To dream that you are shaving, suggests that you are making a minor life-changing decision. Some aspect of your daily routine is being altered. Alternatively, it may represent your severe attitude or self-punishment.
"Shaving:
To dream that you are shaving, suggests that you are making a minor life-changing decision. Some aspect of your daily routine is being altered. Alternatively, it may represent your severe attitude or self-punishment.
To dream that someone is shaving your leg, represents a lost of your independence. You are relying on others to get you through some difficult times. You need to build up your self-confidence and self-esteem.
To see someone shaving in your dream, indicates that there is some conflict in your self-image. Perhaps what you portray or project does not match who you really are inside.
To dream that you are shaving your head, indicates a desire that you want to reveal more of yourself. If you leave some hair on your head, then it suggests that you are not completely prepared to let others see who you really are. You are afraid what people might think. The few clumps of your hair serves as some sort of safety net."
I don't know how anyone could actually know the aforementioned things or how you could scientifically prove them, but what the hell. People read their horoscope and don't believe a word of it.
I know I've mentioned the shaving thing before, but I just think it's weird that shaving is my recurrent dream. Why couldn't it be a foursome with Jessica Alba, Maria Sharapova, and Katie, bodyboarding a huge wave, or winning the largest lottery in history? Why shaving? Weird. I'm lame. Apparently, shaving the best thing my mind can come up with when I am asleep. My unconscious mind is as lame as my conscious mind. Poop.
Random Trivia (No cheating and looking it up! I will put the answer in the comments in a few days)
What does "bolshevik" actually mean in Russian?
Hint: the phrase is used somewhere else in this blog entry
Current music:
