Processing Judicial Judgments

WEEKEND RECAP

FRIDAY

Faye, Kayobi, Ahe and I watched Hellraiser for October’s Good Movie Friday. Kayobi brought a party tray and Faye make crack chip cookies. Is there any better movie to watch whilst stuffing your face with goodies? I think not. Hellraiser is actually quite a cool movie. Some of the special effects don’t necessarily stand the test of time, but there are a great many that do. You have to love a horror film from the old school of effects, before people got lazy and just used CG for everything. Some assistant effects person had to painstakingly dress bits of latex to look like flesh and hang them on hundreds of hooks. What an awesome job!

After the movie, I do believe we called it an early night. As the days get shorter, I have to resist the urge to hibernate.

SATURDAY

With so many awesomely bad movies on television, how does one bring oneself to leave the house? I began the day by watching “Sybil” (the 70’s TV movie about a woman with multiple personalities) on Lifetime. After that, I had to choose between Superman 3, The Other Sister and Young Guns. The Other Sister might possibly be the most offensive depiction of the mentally challenge ever committed to film. It’s just so WRONG. So wrong, it almost feels right. “I love you more than big band music and cookie making.” “Strange things are happening all over my body.” “I feel like we should be doing something more than kissing.” “I had to make all the decisions because you were DRINKING!” (The last line having been uttered by the NON-mentally challenged Diane Keaton. Hard to tell the difference, really.)
Anyway, when I finally WAS able to tear myself away, I met Faye and we went to Value Village to get a few more items with which to complete her Halloween costume.

Then we caught the bus down to the Dragonfish just in time for the start of their delectable happy hour where we gorged ourselves on vegetarian Asian Fusion and Lemongrass Lime Rikis. We were joined midway by Ben and later by Sherrard. This was all part of the plan, you see…the plan to have just the perfect buzz going when we saw DOOM.

DOOM!! Oh, Andrzej Bartkowiak, you have taken an unnecessary concept for a film and make it delightfully watch-able. Not in a Uwe Boll: why do they let this guy make movies kind of way, but more in a Jr. Verhoeven: This guy isn’t much for plot, but damn he knows how to kill things kind of way. Sure, the obvious parallels to our current U.S. government (as seen through the eyes of a European) were a bit heavy-handed, and it was rather distracting to hear so many otherwise talented English/Kiwi actors poorly attempt an American accent, but it wasn’t ABOUT that. It was about killing science experiments gone-wrong. And that was done well. Even the 10 minutes of first-person perspective were entertaining.
We left the theatre on a high that could only be sustained by more drinking. We went to the Six Arms because Andrew was with us and the boy was functioning on no sleep. So he intended to have one drink somewhere close to his car and then take off. Hopefully he got home OK.

At the Six Arms, I decided to finally try their very expensive ($5.75) home-brewed hard cider. You know what? Bleh. It certainly wasn’t superior to the $4 Strongbow and CERTAINLY not to the $3 Blackthorns. Screw you, hoity toity cider. No matter. Now I know. And knowing is half the battle.

The other half is leaving the Six Arms at 11 to go back to Faye’s house and listen to cheesy music, stopping first at QFC for reinforcements. I purchased a bottle of wine, as recommended to me by a spooky owl. I think it was the right decision, though the emus were making a pretty good case of their own.

At this point it was just Faye, Sherrard and me left. We put on a CD I made Faye which is full of songs that I want her to sing at the karaoke Halloween party next weekend. These songs (like The Carpenters, Spandau Ballet and Starship) are perfect for late night drinking and remising. And remise we did. Before long, Faye brought out the photo album and the Tickle Me Emo CD. Did you know that the three of us have known each other for nigh on 6 years? And Faye and I for longer. How we have changed since then. And yet, not at all. At our core, we’re still the same people. We’re just a little bit wiser. Not a LOT wiser, mind you. Just a little.

After all that memory lane shit, there was naught to do but start watching Alone in the Dark. It was then that I checked the time: 3am! We were fading and needed sleep. Sherrard and I got our shit together and left around 3:30 and he was gentlemanly enough to walk me home. I really like walking home (in the company of another) in the wee hours. It’s so quiet and peaceful in our neck of Capital Hill then.

I fumbled my way into bed in the dark and hopefully didn’t wake Dom too abruptly.

SUNDAY

I wasn’t hung over, as I expected to be. However, I was feeling pretty hermity. This is yet another side effect to the changing weather. Since Dom was absent on account of another 48-hour film challenge, I used the opportunity that an empty apartment affords, to stay holed up and not talk to anyone. Fantastic. I briefly excursioned to the grocery store to get some baking supplies and spent the day making cookies and scones and watching the telly. I also, inspired by the previous night’s events, looked through my old photo albums to find pictured to upload for today’s entry. Here is what I found:

1) Jessica and Sherrard during their brief stint as a couple. Look at our rosy cheeks. Look at Sherrard’s hair! Look at MY hair, for that matter. I kept it short and black for years. And Christ, I’m wearing YELLOW.
2) Faye with a microphone in the Posse House basement singing an improvised song about our ill-advised friend Jeff and tryst with one Red Jeans Katie.
3) Young Jacob sporting a nerdy t-shirt and a sprightly expression. You won’t catch him like that anymore. Well…occasionally the sprightly expression…Also, check out the obligatory stolen traffic cone.
4) Slightly older Jacob in more adult clothing, but still a boyish haircut, and Erin (who still looks the same) at El Toro! Oh, El Toro…before you were consumed by flames, you were worth the long, dangerous drive to Tacoma for karaoke.
5) Another one of a Jacob of yesteryear. This is Halloween 2000. Check out his shiny shirt. He used have a closet full of shiny shirts that he would wear on special occasions. I don’t think he has a single one anymore.
6) Young Daniel and Baxter. Back then he was known as DJ. I’d never met him before that night. Before this picture was taken, he hit on me. I resisted. After this picture was taken, he passed out in my bed. Needless to say, we later dated. Having dated is inconsequential (if not beneficial…and certainly anecdotal) to our current friendship.
7) Faye and I used to live together. For a few years, actually. In our last apartment on Queen Anne, we happily prepared for the Buffy episode wherein Anya and Xander were to be married. We made cupcakes and everything. Faye’s got flowers. Look at our happy, optimistic faces. Those of you who are familiar with the show know what happened next.
8)
This picture of me was taken shortly after the above-mentioned Buffy episode concluded. Nerds? Why, yes. But weren’t we cute?
9) This picture of Dom was taken by Faye at our first joint birthday party, shortly after we started dating and shortly before I started feeding him.

NEXT WEEKENDHalloween parties galore!

Also,

Happy Friday.

title or description

Hard Like Steel QGS6

ParentsTV.org released a list of the top 10 best and worst shows for family viewing. In other words: the top 10 lamest and 10 most interesting shows on TV. They couldn't even find TEN shows for Jesus. Too bad, Jesus.

Constant sandwichboard

WEEKEND RECAP

FRIDAY

After work, I caught the bus to the U to meet Dom and off we went to Woodinville to attend the wedding of his former co-worker. It was a mercifully short ceremony and we were entertained by the pleasant company of one Ms. Rountree. Lovely. Dinner was AMAZING and the drinks particularly potent. I only had two, however, on account of me being on antibiotics. They also had one of those wonderful Wonka-esque chocolate fountains flowing. So of course, I ate way too much. After dancing to YMCA and watching a photo-slideshow (at the behest of the bride’s mother), Dom and I took our leave.

SATURDAY

Dom and I had to take Tobe to the vet in the morning. He has some scabs around his head and one on his tummy so we wanted to get them checked out. The vet said that it could be either fleas (one could have hitched a ride into the house on me or Dom) or a food allergy. She said that cats can be allergic to certain proteins and since Dom and I pretty much give the cats fish exclusively, it seems likely. So he’s being treated for both and Marilyn is now being treated for fleas as well, just in case. Tobe has to take an antibiotic twice a day for 7 days. He loooooves that. Tobe is really turning out to be a special needs cat. Poor little guy.

After we dropped Tobe off, I had to run to the store to buy a pumpkin and an appetizer to bring to Kayobi’s pumpkin carving party. It was just for girls, so Dom dropped me off. I attempted a design that I downloaded from the internet which is supposed to be Otis Firefly’s head. It turned out decent, but only when there’s a candle inside. I will upload pictures soon. (Probably along with all the pictures from the upcoming Halloween Party Weekend!)

After Kayobi’s thing, Dom and I had to go BACK to the store to get food for krk’s birthday BBQ. Around this time, my cold started to kick my ass. I thought perhaps I could rest for a minute when I got home and feel ok, but it didn’t turn out that way at all. Once I sat down on the couch, I was unable to move. So, unfortunately, Dom had to go to krk’s party without me. Sorry, krk!

I did, however, have a lovely evening by myself doped up on Nyquil. I watched “Superstar” (which I LOVE, in spite of it being an SNL movie based on a rather weak character. It’s just so fucked up. And Harlan Williams is amazing in it.) and a bunch of “Strangers With Candy” episodes which are even more hilarious and surreal when medicated. I passed out at 10 and have no idea when Dom got home.

SUNDAY

Sherrard, Dom, Dusty and I set out for a day hike on Tiger Mountain. This was my first hike in a very long time and so, compounded with my general gimpyness, we opted for a fairly flat trail. We started to climb the Tiger Mountain 3 trail, which, in elevation, is similar to that of Denny Way. I am perfectly capable of climbing Denny Way on foot. Of course, Denny Way is concrete, and Tiger Mountain 3 is mud, leaves, rocks and roots. It is decidedly more difficult. Sorry, guys. I love nature, but I’m just not that extreme. We walked all around “Tradition Lake” and took “The Bus Trail” past an old, rusty overturned hippie bus. It was entirely riddled with bullet holes and really cool (albeit dangerous) to stomp around in. We ate lunch by the lake and then Sherrard and I smoked half a doob down by the marsh. Good times.

We returned to Seattle around 2:30. I had the sudden urge to visit Uwajimaya, so after we were dropped off, Dom and I got in his car and drove to the I.D. We stocked up on delicious packaged Asian foods and returned home to eat them.

As we ate, I caved and watched the two “Lost” episodes that Dom has TiVo’d. They were…ok. Not as shitty as previous episodes. But that’s only because they didn’t feature Kate or Jack. A guest starring role by D.J. Qualls (for once not acting slightly retarded) helped. I love that guy.

Then Dom and I watched the first two Eccleston Doctor Who episodes (because I caved and finally bought them from Amazon.co.uk) and enjoyed them immensely before retiring for the evening.

Not a very wild weekend, but busy nonetheless. I’m still feeling fluey so who knows what I’ll be able to do next weekend. I need to rest up for Halloween. One thing is for sure…There will be a matinee of DOOM in there somewhere.

so true

Meme from .

1. Google “(your first name) needs”.
2. Laugh (and post your results in my comments, beyotch!)

My top 3 results:
1. “jessica needs to keep her mouth shut sometimes instead of just blurting out whatever is in her head. she is making herself look stupid!”
2. “Jessica Needs Cash”
3. “Jessica needs some time to talk and feel special.”

Accelerates recovery from athletic injury

WEEKEND RECAP

FRIDAY

I began my Friday by meeting Elyse at Ohana for happy hour. Their regular food menu is a little pricier than I care to pay, but for $3 each during happy hour, you can get some delicious veggie appetizers that rival that of the Dragonfish! You can also get $3.95 Blue Hawaiians, which are basically Polynesian Long-Islands. And damn, do they fuck you up.
Elyse and I gorged ourselves and gabbed. It was a lot of fun. I feel like I haven’t hung out with Elyse in ages. In actuality, I saw her at my birthday, but I guess one just can’t get enough of Elyse. Especially when the next thing she does is take you behind a dumpster, next to a pee-soaked mattress and smoke you out. Now THAT’S friendship.
While we were waiting outside Ohana for Gene to show up, Andrew and Brugos called from the Cyclops. There was still time for me to get in a drink or two before I was supposed to head back up the hill for a screening of “Snow Day” at the Film Forum. I called Faye to see if she wanted to come down, but of course she didn’t. I probably wouldn’t have either. Coming down the hill and back up again in a matter of hours is not a fun bus activity for a Friday night. So I stayed for only one drink. It took ages to get that drink, however, because the waiter was a snob. When we hesitated on our order, he actually turned away from us and waited on the table next to us. Then he didn’t come back to us for half an hour. When he finally did come back, I ordered something called The Pink Eye. The others had ordered fries a long time ago and those still hadn’t come out either. This combined with the general snootiness of our waiter, prompted Brugos to suggest that we dine and dash. He suggested it several times, so I think he might have been serious. Perhaps it’s due to that Silver Spoons episode, but I’ve never been able to do that. Luckily, I was leaving before bill time anyway. Elyse will have to fill me in on the ultimate outcome of that situation. I left around 9:00, but not before Brugos cracked us all up with the most hilarious and not inaccurate impression of his loquacious cat, Lucy. This impression basically involves him emitting a high-pitched, continuous scream that is almost too obnoxious to carry out in a public place. Instant classic.
I had a (thankfully) uneventful bus ride back up the hill and met Faye, Borgia and Gafzilla at the Satellite for another quickie. Of course, a quickie drink at the Satellite takes no less than an hour. By then I was on the road to Drunky Town. I decided to stop drinking at that point so that, if there was a Q & A following the screening, I wouldn’t embarrass myself (and Faye) completely.
At the theatre, I bought some popcorn (which is deliciously popped in coconut oil!) and a water to soak up some of the Blue Hawaiian mess in my stomach. Luckily, there was already plenty of Agadashi Tofu in there. That’s the wonderful thing about Happy Hours with good food. You never overdo the drinking too much because you’re constantly stuffing your face.
ANYWAY, we sat through some good shorts and some okay shorts and one pretty impressive Evil Dead remake (sort of) as done by some 15-year-olds who had obviously been doing their homework. Our one under-21 actor was finally able to attend a screening with his friends and Faye suggested that we plant him in the audience at all our screenings. The boy loves to laugh. It makes us feel, well, hilarious.
After the movies, they called all the filmmakers up to introduce themselves and even though the alcohol had pretty much left me at that point (and sleepiness was starting to take over) I still fucked up a simple introduction by introducing myself and the movie without Faye. She was standing right next to me, and in my messed-up brain, I assumed that she would just introduce herself. But I’d already said the name of the film. Sorry, Faye. I still feel like a right-asshole about that.
As we gathered our wits outside, we were approached by the guy who’d done the voiceover in our trailer. We’d never met him before but, of course, we recognized his voice. Really nice guy!
And then it was time for beddy-bye.

SATURDAY

I took care of a few errands straight away when I woke up so that I couldn’t procrastinate them off the schedule. One of them included cleaning up the bathroom where Tobe had decided to pee on the bathmat. The little fella has been peeing in all manner of places that aren’t his litter box as of late (including my suitcase). I know he knows HOW to use the litter box because he uses it for everything else. I’ve also seen him pee in it. But not lately. I think he might be trying to tell us something, either about his health or about his mental state. He has a vet appointment next Saturday. Hopefully, he won’t ruin anymore of my stuff before then.
After the errands, and a brief moment of being sucked into watching the trainwreck that is “The Other Sister” on TV, I headed over to meet Faye so that we could shop for our Halloween costumes (which are going to be VERY awesome). We spent way more time at Value Village than a person should, and then topped it off with a trip to Crossroads (where I completed my costume). Faye is still working on hers but I’m confident that it will come together brilliantly. Possibly our best costumes since we’ve been costuming together…to wear to what may be the best Halloween Party in recent years. Can’t wait!
Sherrard, we didn’t see anything for your costume, but we will be on the lookout!

After Crossroads, I went to buy a new bathmat, and Faye and I wandered around the Uber QFC wondering if we should cook or go to a restaurant. We finally decided to go to the Wok and Grill, and I’m certain that it was the best decision. We highly recommend the string beans in garlic sauce which are undoubtedly cooked using the rare crack variety of string bean.

After our bean and appetizer feast, we ambled back to Faye’s to digest before watching this week’s horror film. Faye and I had been craving cigars, so I bought a pack of Blackwoods and we smoked them on her porch while listening to the CD of 70’s and 80’s love ballads that Elyse made for me. FANtastic.

After Borgia arrived, and we put in “The Hills Have Eyes”. This is one of those movies that everyone and their dog seem to put on their top ten horror movies list. And, you know, it wasn’t that bad…until the end where it just…ENDS with no warning or dénouement. It was entirely abrupt and frustrating. Borgia checked IMDB to see if, maybe, they were shooting IN sequence and ran out of money at precisely that point, but he could find no such evidence. It just ends right in the middle of a scene. Weird. Ok.

And then it was time to pick up Dom from the airport! We foolishly didn’t check arrival times before leaving so we didn’t know that the flight was delayed, apparently due to quite a bit of turbulence. Fun for Dom! When we finally picked him up, Faye and I at least, were pretty beat, so she dropped me and Dom off at home.

Sunday

Spent most of the day watching TV on account of a UTI. Lovely. At least I’m all caught up on my Smallville (two seconds of screen time does not, a James Marsters guest appearance make) and as caught up as once can be on Battlestar Galactica (which, I realized while watching Lost recently, may have its problems, but it’s definitely the best scripted drama on TV right now). Faye, I have some VCD’s for you to borrow.

so fly by sport works

WEEKEND RECAP

I realize this is very late indeed, but, to be honest, last weekend wasn’t terribly interesting. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed most of my escapades, but they just weren’t really blog-worthy (whatever that means). However, my southern upbringing compels me to uphold tradition. And, as such, I will recap an uninteresting weekend with my usual verbosity.

FRIDAY

Faye and I begun our evening at the Six Arms. She drank beer and I, overpriced wine. Not to worry, though. I had a water bottle full of the stuff on my bag, so I didn’t need to buy more than two glasses. After we left the Six Arms, we decided to stop at Faye’s old local shopping establishment “The Ghetto Mart” to buy a quickie cheapie to drink in Hobo Park. Unfortunately, Hobo Park was closed, so we instead found a nice set of stairs at the top of a “Local Access” walkway. We two adult women walk by with sleeping bags, apparently on their way to a slumber party? We saw a guy trying to jump a fence from the inside (an escaped patient from a hospital?), and we “met” two fellows from the suburbs who were HAMMERED and also on their way to see Tom Lycus (sp?) at the Paramount. We gave them directions and then they invited us to join them at the Salmon Days festival the next day. “We don’t get girls like you in [wherever they said they were from]”. We took this to mean that not many girls in their particular suburb sit on stairs drinking on Friday nights. And sure that they are correct about that.

After we finished our drinks, we headed to the Meridian. We were 2 hours early. There was a line, but it was pretty short. Faye and I sat down to wait and were joined later by Dusty, Ben and a fellow called Ian (hey! I remembered someone’s name) who I learned was training to be a cop. I learned this after making a slightly disparaging comment about cops. Go me! Ben and Ian decided that we could hold their place in line while they went to get a drink.

Around 9:50, the line had grown exponentially. The theatre staff, not having any idea how to handle the type of opening-night fanaticism usually reserved for the Cinerama or Pacific Place, decided that the best course of action for dealing with an orderly line would be to instruct everyone to bunch forward and form and orderly blob. Nice work, guys. The geeks were the picture of politeness, however, and everyone found their seats in pretty much the order of their arrival.

We found our seats and awaited the start of the film. I, for one, was nervous. I have faith in the Whedon, but I’ve also been burned on plenty an occasion.
SPOILER ALERT
I have to say that the second Mal mercy killed a man who was about to be eaten by Reavers, I knew Joss wasn’t going to let me down. By the third act, I couldn’t close my mouth. Now, that asshole on the bus had indicated to me that someone was going to die. When Book bit it, I thought that was it. Of course I was sad about Book. But I did NOT see what happened to Wash coming. Never in a million years. When Wash was impaled, I earnestly placed my hand to my mouth in shock, which is something I never thought I would do. I was incapable of removing it for quite some time after that. I also grabbed for Faye’s hand as Kaylee and Simon were shot within seconds of each other. At that point, I had NO IDEA what was going to happen and I was terrified. I know Faye was feeling it too. After the movie there was naught to do but go home. On our way up the hill, Faye and I talked about the genius of Whedon. And his tendency to kill the characters who are the most pure of heart RIGHT when you least expect it. We hearkened back to Tara and how shocking THAT had been. And Xander leaving Anya? Good lord. Faye and I were messed up for weeks about that. We’d even made CUPCAKES for the goddamned wedding. He must have some sort of Faustian deal going because that kind of talent doesn’t seem natural.
END SPOILERS

SATURDAY

It’s office moving day! No human being should be required to wake up on Saturday morning to move their office, but I was. It was 7:30 and the copious CHEAP wine from the night before was taking its toll. I decided to take an experimental puff or two to quell the nausea, lest I begin the day by vomiting all over my co-workers. Granted, I have the urge to do that even when I’m not hung over.
We met at Starbucks at 8 for breakfast on the company. An eggs Florentine sandwich and coffee was just the thing to help me through the next few hours of…watching dudes move our stuff. We’d hired movers and, since we’d already packed everything, there really wasn’t anything for any of us to do till they were done. I definitely appreciated everyone coming out though. They could have easily just said “you handle it”. In fact, I’m surprised they didn’t. So I spent my Saturday hanging out with my co-workers while movers hauled things away around us. Actually, let me clarify that. Boss Man ended up conveniently out of town that weekend. Lil’ D “had to leave” at 11. So it was me, the nice intern and The Other One. Our tech guy was also there because he thought he would be able to get a jump start on setting up our server. But of course the data people hadn’t actually finished their job, so there was nothing for any of us to do. At 1:00, we went to get lunch at Fado. We came back at 2 and they were almost done. I got home around 3.

I intended to take a nap, but I just couldn’t fall asleep. So I just watched some TV and putzed around the apartment until 7:30 when Faye and Dusty came over to watch House of 1000 Corpses. Halloween being our favorite holiday, Faye and I have developed an annual October tradition of watching one good horror movie every weekend in October. Since most people we know actually HATE House of 1000 Corpses, it was just the three of us die-hard Zombie-ites. And it was every bit as entertaining as we remember it to be. Sure, it has its flaws. But it’s funny and gory and Mosely and Haig are AWESOME. After the movie, Dusty left and Borgia came over, but by that time I was pretty much ready for bed.

SUNDAY

I did pretty much nothing. Just went to the grocery store, and looked around the apartment for stuff I could sell for cash. If we’re going to be taking impromptu trips to L.A. (at least I hope we’re going to) I needs tha cash. Anybody know what the requirements are for selling your eggs?

guys, where are we?

I hate “Lost”. Tonight Faye and I realised the thrill is gone. Was there ever a thrill to begin with? Or was “Lost” just a rebound from “Angel”? I don't know. All I know is I'm watching “Veronica Mars” with Faye from here on out.

repeate

This one's from Mark. He did one for me.

The CRITERIA:
1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello to wrestle with you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
5. I'll tell you my first memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal

The RESULT:
1) You're hair is shiny.
2) Nightmare Before Christmas
3) Good ole Lime
4) Yay! We did it guys!
5) God I hope she casts me
6) An Otter
7) Can I be your Ted Raimi?

I've done this one before, but since Ben did one for me and asked nicely that I post it, post I must. Post.

descent

Well, the weekend recap is running late this week, obviously, on account of our office moving and me being too busy to sit at a desk for half an hour. I hope to have it up tomorrow. In the meantime, I will say this: Joss Whedon is the only writer who makes characters so vivid that when I'm watching his work, I actually feel like the characters are my friends. It makes it rather difficult, then, when something happens to my pretend friends. Now THAT'S a testament to good writing.