Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Carrie Fisher

There have been a large number of celebrities that have died this year. People that I have admired for a large portion of my life but none have hit me as hard as Carrie Fisher.

Princess Leia was the first strong, female character that I really connected with.  She was brave in the face of torture.  She fought with all of her heart for everything she believed in.  She ended up rescuing the men who came to rescue her.

She was sassy and outspoken and didn't take anything from anybody.  I fully believe that Carrie Fisher was the full reason that Leia was who she was.  The script was a small part of that, Carrie's portrayal really brought her to life.

I remember how excited I was when I found out her birthday was the day after mine. Almost exactly 22 years apart.

Then there was Soapdish.

"I'm Lori Craven and I'm an actress"

"I'm Betsy Faye Sharon and I'm a bitch."

I fell in love with her character right then and there.  And she really did live up to that statement.

Carrie helped fix the scripts to some of my most favorite movies.  I don't know what they were like before she got her hands on them but after they were pure gold.

Yes, she lived a hard life, but she was a brilliant, talented woman.

I remember tracking down and reading all of her books when I was in high school.  Back in the mid 90's that wasn't as easy as logging on to amazon and ordering them.  Surrender the Pink is my favorite but they were all absolutely wonderful.

Carrie Fisher made an impact on my life like no other.  She's always going to be one of my favorite people.

My heart goes out to her family but especially to Debbie Reynolds.  No one should ever have to outlive their child.

Rest in Peace, Carrie.  You will be missed.

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

My dad and I were talking about this last night so I decided to do it.  I winged the recipe so I'm posting it here.


 16 oz  baby portabella mushrooms (approx 18)







1  6oz package of cornbread stuffing mix







2  6oz cans lump crab meat drained







1/2 cup chopped green onions







1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese













Cook the stuffing mix as directed and let cool.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees  
Wash the mushrooms and remove the stems, do not discard the stems







Separate the parmesan into two bowls, one with 1 cup and one with ½ cup
Chop the stems to desired size and put in medium sized mixing bowl







Once the stuffing is cool, add it to the bowl with the stems







Thoroughly mix crab meat, onions, 1 cup Parmesan, stems, and stuffing
Stuff mushrooms with desired amount of stuffing  (there will be stuffing left over). Place on greased cookie sheet.











Sprinkle remaining ½ cup Parmesan over stuffed mushrooms.
 










Bake for 20 minutes or until liquid forms under the mushrooms.
Let cool and serve.



Monday, July 27, 2015

Over Analyzing Supernatural.

This is what comes from paying way too much attention to detail and from rewatching things over and over and over again.

The fact that Sam Winchester got enough of an education to actually get into any college, let alone Stanford, is really freaking amazing.  Especially with all the moving around that they did.  Transferring of records from school to school, staying at one for at most a year.  He was VERY lucky.  Applying himself could only do so much. And the fact that he took the LSAT after his second year of college is confusing as you usually take that after your third year but we're supposed to ignore that.

This is where my brain came up with this.  We know that Dean has a GED which means he didn't actually graduate from high school, he finished it later.  That's pretty understandable given the situation growing up.

I was born Oct of 78 and Dean was born Jan of 79 which means that we would have been in the same school year.  In the 4th season episode "After School Special", Dean is still in school in November of 97.  This means that he was held back because he should have graduated in May of 97 like I did.  Also the fact that Sam is 4 years younger and they're both in high school proves that Dean was held back.  That's because Dean didn't bother to apply himself.  He knew he was going to be a hunter.  He knew that he didn't really need all that much of an education.  So what's the point, right?

We know from various clues that Dean is actually very intelligent.  He reads a lot.  He read and understood Vonnegut.  I haven't even touched Vonnegut and I have a high IQ.   So it stands to reason that in a different life, under different circumstances, Dean could have gone to college.  He could have had a really great job making lots of money.  But he likes being a hunter.  And he has the education that he needs for being a hunter.  He knows most of the lore by memory, and what he doesn't know he has in books.  While he hates research, he can do it without any problem.

It really irritates me that Sam looks absolutely surprised every time Dean knows something that proves how smart he really is.  It's like Sam is constantly underestimating Dean just because he never graduated high school.  But he didn't need to graduate high school because he knows everything that he needs to know to stay alive.  Even if he has died like 136843546834354 times (remember "The Mystery Spot") .


This is what happens when a reasonably intelligent person over analyzes a fictional TV show when thinking about their favorite character on said show.  Sometimes I hate the way my brain works.


Thursday, July 23, 2015

Supernatural Drinking Game

I'm rewatching the entire series because I can and I came up with this.  I'm sure there are plenty of versions of this out there but this is mine.  The series is view instantly on Netflix so enjoy.


Supernatural Drinking Game
Sip
Every time Sam flares his nostrils
Every time someone says “I thought that was just a myth” or something similar
Every time Dean says the word pie
Every time we see random demon black eyes
Every time Sam or Dean say something about their dad  
Every time Bobby says “Idjits” or “Balls”
Every time Sam says “libary” (that is not misspelled, listen when he says it)
Every time they make a pop culture reference
Every time Dean eats or drinks on camera
Every time someone says “hoo doo”
Every time Sam or Dean get thrown across the room
Every time salt is poured
Every time someone/something is burned
Drink
Every time Dean is a pervert
Every time Sam yells “Dean!”
Every time Dean yells “Sammy!” or “Sam!”
Every time you hear a hell hound
Blatant car porn
Every time Castiel doesn’t understand a pop culture reference
Every time Sam or Dean think they’re going to die
Every time Sam and Dean have a fight
Every time they fight a ghost
Every time there’s a flashback
Every time Dean lies to Sam
Every time Sam or Dean get punched
Every time the Supernatural books are mentioned
Shot
Every time Dean mentions porn
Every time Crowley says “Hello, boys.”
Every time Dean jumps after praying to Castiel  
Every time you see Dean with black eyes
Every time Sam or Dean kick in a door
Every time Dean says “Son of a bitch”
Every time a demon is exorcised
Every time Sam or Dean actually die
Every time a demon makes a “call”  
Every time Sam is surprised that Dean knows something
Every time someone thinks Sam and Dean are a couple
Every time there’s a shifter
Every time Sam lies to Dean
Every time someone mentions the tablets
Every time a demon is summoned

Saturday, July 18, 2015

My delivery area alone is grounds for higher pay

I have been thinking for a while that I would sit down and write out a typical day for me.  The thing is, one day to the next isn't typical.  I have a certain routine but hat routine gets interrupted quite often.  I'm going to be honest, this post is going to be very long, so quit now if you don't want to do some serious reading.

Let's start with my delivery area.  That alone is worth more money.  Why you ask?  Let's see...

River Hills Cir
River Hills Ct
River Hills Dr

Green Oaks Cir
Green Oaks Ct
Green Oaks Blvd

Trinity Oaks Ct
Trinity Oaks Dr

Brown Oaks
Summer Oaks
Sleepy Oaks
Canyon Oaks
River Oaks
Fair Oaks
Southern Oaks

Forest Oaks
Forest Dale
Forest Glade
Forest Brook
Forest Point
Forest Hollow

Here's a map.  Everything inside the red is where I deliver.  



And that's just the ones that I can think of off the top of my head.  There are many more confusing streets.  And then there's the fact that my area has 82 apartment complexes and 19 hotels.  And most of the apartments I go to are either second, third, or even fourth floor walk ups.  So there's that.


Now, let's talk about my day, shall we?

I get to work at 10 am.  I have to organize and take out the trash from the night before which usually involves a lot of breaking down boxes and at least two trips and sometimes four to the dumpster which is about a half a football field per trip.  And that, of course, is if the dumpster that is closest to the store isn't already full from the unbroken down boxes of the convenience store and the dry cleaners.

After that's done, I have to make sauce.  This works out to anywhere from 1 to 4 gallons of sauce.  Each bucket of sauce weighs about  30 pounds and that has to be carried all the way from one side of the store to the other to put it in the walk in.  And that's just the pizza sauce, that doesn't include the bread stick sauce.

All of this is SUPPOSED to get done by the time we open at 1030am.  But it rarely happens because it usually takes me about 20 minutes just to get the trash organized so I can take it out.  Then I have other things that have to be done.  I have to make sure that the cut table is completely stocked.  On Fridays I have to stock the 2 liter and 20 oz coolers so that I can order the Pepsi shipment.  You read that right.  I, a minimum wage, non management worker orders the Pepsi shipment.  On Mondays I have to make sure that the coolers are stocked before the shipment arrives so that the driver will take all the empty cases away.

And all of this has to be done while trying to take deliveries so if it's busy, which means I spend a majority of my time at driver pay rather than in store pay, then I can't really get anything done.  Does it matter that it's busy?  No, of course not.  If I can't get anything done during my scheduled shift than I usually end up having to stay after my shift to get it done because it's MY job and no one else's.

Is there a second day driver?  Why yes there is, when he bothers to show up.  Why do I say he?  Because I am the only female driver.  I am also the only driver that stays past their scheduled off time when needed which has resulted on many an occasion in me staying until close.  The day drivers that I usually have are kind of idiots and intent on doing only specific jobs so guess who gets to try to do all the in store stuff while having to answer the phone because no one else will? That's right, that would be me.

I have to fold literally hundreds of boxes a day.  Sometimes as many as a thousand in one day.  Not an exaggeration.  I have to take deliveries, make sure that the deliveries are correct before going out the door because who gets yelled at by the customer if something is forgotten?  Me.  Who gets yelled at by the customer if the cook made the order wrong?  Me.  I have even gotten yelled at because I have had to take manager calls and deal with angry customers on the phone because the manager couldn't be bothered to do his job.

At the end of the day I am the only driver that actually asks if I am allowed to go home rather than saying that I need to go home.  I actually ask if the manager needs anything else of me because that's how I was trained.  I don't know where these guys get this "I need to go home now because I'm scheduled off" attitude but it is EVERY SINGLE MALE DRIVER in the damn store.

When one driver shows up at 10am and one driver shows up at 11am and both are scheduled off at 5pm, the 10am driver should get to go home first.  That's usually me.  I never get to go home first because I don't demand to go home.  The 11am driver will almost always get to go home before me because he has to get off work on time regardless of how busy we are.  I've lost track of the number of times I've been kept late because all the men insist on leaving on time.

Then there's the fact that I spend about $250-$300 a MONTH on gasoline and that's even in my extremely fuel efficient vehicle.  And I have to get oil changes more often than most people.  I already need new tires that I can't afford even though my car only has 30000 miles on it, oh  and that car is only 15 months old by the way.  So yeah, that's about 2000 miles a month.  Most people put about 12000 miles a year on their cars.  Roughly.

So after all that I have to go through.  All that I put up with on a daily basis.  And I do all of that for $7.25 an hour when I'm in the store and $4.25 an hour when I'm on the road.  That averages out to about $5.25 an hour.  I had a 93 hour paycheck that totaled $468 after taxes.  That works out to $5.03 an hour.  INCLUDING OVERTIME.



Now, tell me again why I don't deserve $10 or more an hour?

Thursday, July 16, 2015

When crossovers attack

When Adrianne Palicki plays two different characters on two different TV shows that are not even remotely related, and I realize that both characters are played by the same actress, this is what happens.


SHIELD is very aware of demons and shifters and monsters and ghosts and all of that.  This is why they allow the hunters to exist.  Because that way they can concentrate on terrorists and super humans.  SHIELD is also very aware of the various and sundry prophecies in regard to the Winchester brothers.  They know that Sam and Dean are very important and that they need to be hunting together.

SHIELD sends in operative Bobbi Morse undercover as Jessica Moore, the woman who would be the love of Sam Winchester's life.  SHIELD was also responsible for John Winchester's disappearance.  They needed Sam to drop out of school and get on the road hunting with Dean.  This had to happen.  So Dean came to get Sam to go look for their dad.  But Sam wouldn't go.  He wanted to stay and be with his girlfriend.

This is when it was time for Bobbi's undercover assignment to end.  SHIELD knew all about how Mary Winchester died and figured that the best way to get Sam to actually leave and go hunting with Dean is to have Jessica "die".  So they copied the way that Sam's mother died and it worked, Sam hit the road.

Of course Azazel took credit for the death because he's a demon and he wanted to get his way and that was the best way to do it.  And all these years Bobbi had been off on the sidelines, just watching and making sure that Sam and Dean have what they need to save the world because they are very, very important.


Saturday, July 11, 2015

Taste the rainbow. Be the rainbow?

For most of my life I have assumed I was a heterosexual cis woman.  I was to be a "girl" and get married to a man and have kids and be happy.  Growing up Southern Baptist in Texas raised by Republicans that was really the only option I thought I had.  I was as devout a Christian as a kid can be.  I told gay jokes and pulled the Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve bullshit.  It was how I was raised and I embraced it because that's what you did. 

As I have gotten older a lot of things have changed.  My eyes have been opened to more than just male and female.  More than just heterosexual and homosexual. There's a big range of things that a person can be.  I never felt like I fit into the binary world that had been presented to me.  The problem is that even with this multichromatic life I have been shown, I'm still not sure where I fit in. 

This is what I know about myself.  I feel more comfortable in men's clothing but I don't feel like I was born in the wrong body.  I've always known I was a woman and I am okay with that.  As a matter of fact, there's only once a month that I would really rather have a penis and I'm sure you can guess the reasons for that.  I used to have a huge problem with people that wanted a sex change or considered themselves to be in the wrong body but that was my upbringing and I have since opened my mind.  But, as I was saying, I don't feel like I was born in the wrong body but I feel like I was made for the wrong clothes.  Men's clothing is more comfortable, and easier for me to work in.  I have a hard time finding women's clothing that fits me properly or that I feel good in.  I also know that whenever I have dreams, I am a man.  That's always the case.  In all the dreams that I actually remember, I've only ever been a woman one time.  The rest I have been a man.  I don't know what that means exactly.  And then there's the fact that I have been told that I am very good at writing gay porn for someone that's never had a penis.

I appreciate beauty and can even identify people as being "hot" but I find that I am not actually physically attracted to any one specific person.  Of the men that I have slept with only one would actually be considered attractive by a large group of people.  When I say "sexy is an attitude" I genuinely mean it.  I've been with men that managed to turn me on even though there was no real physical attraction to them.  And I don't just find men aesthetically pleasing.  I look at women and think "Damn she's hot" but I don't want to sleep with women.  I truly appreciate boobs.  I would play with Kat Dennings' boobs if she'd let me and it would be completely nonsexual.  I do have sexual desires but they're not attached to any one specific person and I honestly can't really think about having actual sex with a person.  The idea turns me off, really.

I look at men like Chris Evans and honestly think "I bet he gives great hugs."  While other women look at him and think about tying him down and having their way with him.  The only remotely sexual thing that I even imagine doing to him is licking chocolate sauce from his abs and I don't even know why I want to do that.  Seriously.

I form more emotional attachments to fictional characters and, more correctly, cars than I do to actual people.  Watching Baby get smashed to bits hurt me more than seeing Dean laying dead in Sam's arms.  No lie.  And I feel more sympathy for the Tardis than I ever did for the Doctor.  I look at older cars and see these amazingly beautiful things that are practically art.  I look at a person that is considered to be attractive and I just see someone that's good looking.  There's no real desire to have sex with them.  And I say them because I am talking about both men and women.

There are all kinds of labels out there now.  Lots of things that you can consider yourself.  And I'm still not entirely sure what the hell any of that has to do with me.  How I fit in to any of this.  I guess I'm just looking for a little bit of help in figuring things out.  Because after nearly 37 years of being alive and thinking about who I am as a person, I still have no fucking clue.