Blogging Challenge: random facts about me!!

1. List 20 random facts about yourself.

Well, shit.  That's quite a lot of random facts.  Okay, so let's see what I can come up with.

1. Horror movies can terrify the shit out of me.  I love them, even the shitty ones, and am always up for watching them.  But there are some movies that will have one moment, or one event, or one shot that scares me enough to not want to turn off my lights at night.

2. I've always felt really weird yelling during sporting events, even when I want nothing more than to yell at the players.  I feel like everyone is watching and judging me.

Park in Toronto (left); islands in Georgian Bay (right).

3. I've always wanted to be a Photoshop genius, so I love to play around with it and find tutorials.  I'm not terrible, but I definitely wouldn't hire me!!

4. I love music, but the creative process for it (writing lyrics, singing, instruments, etc) are my enemy.  No matter what I do or try, I suck at anything besides listening to music.  You should hear me sing.  I'm pretty sure it's considered cruel and unusual punishment.

5. Painting and photography make me happy.  Super happy.

6. I'm a super picky eater.  I don't like peppers (of any colour), steak, mushrooms, most seafood (fishy tasting fish, mussels, calamari, clams, oysters, etc.), pickles, carrots, and celery.  I can't take hot sauce.  I won't even try offal (except chicken heart.  Yummy!!).  I dislike brussels sprouts and nutmeg. 

7. I love making lists.  I never follow them, and I often lose them, but I love making them.

My two favourite chefs. ©Food Network.

8. Camping is one of my favourite things to do in the summer.  Bruce Peninsula National Park is my favourite place, and I try to go at least once a summer (it books up pretty fast!!).

9.  I've recently become addicted to the Food Network.  I will watch anything with Bobby Flay or Michael Symon in it, which explains my new love of Iron Chef America.  They make me happy, and I wish I could get cooking lessons from one of them.  Or just hang out with them.  I do also enjoy Diners, Dive-ins, and Dives.

10.  I still consider El Salvador home, even though I've lived in Canada for 21 of the 28 years of my life.

11. I love traveling, and would prefer a backpacking or touristy vacation over a relaxing beach one any day, although I do love the beach more than anything and would try to fit at least one day in.

Original blog as it looked like when I left LJ in 2007.

12.  I start new blogs all the time, most of which I get bored of fairly quickly.  Brain Mush is the only that I always update (even if it's super sporadically).  I've been updating it, first on Livejournal, then here on Blogger, since 2003.

13. One show I could watch forever is Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I can watch it non-stop, all day, everyday.  And I can watch the musical episode, "Once More With Feeling," over and over and over again.

14. I love birthdays.  Although I do, every so often, get the urge to have a small, intimate, relaxed birthday, I fully believe that birthdays should be celebrated all weekend and as loud and crazily as possible.  I'm sure the low-key birthdays will happen more often as I get older, but next year will definitely be an awesome party!!

15. I live my life with music non-stop.  I have music playing while I read, while I cook, while I'm in my room, when I shower, while I sleep, while I commute, on road trips, at work (if allowed), and just about any other time I can have music on.

16. I know almost all of the words to Empire Records.  I say almost because the DVD version is not the same as the VHS version.  I don't know who thought it was a good idea to change it, but they did.  Also, I just watched the trailer I added in this post, and I think I'm gonna go watch the movie now.

17.  I love live shows.  Everything from concerts to plays to musicals.  I love them and would watch them all the time if I could afford it.  We Will Rock You was awesome, and I'm sad I missed Rock Of Ages.  I do still hope to one day watch Phantom of the Opera live.  I would love to see Wicked, or maybe a Shakespeare play.  I also love shows like Riverdance, and would absolutely love to see Cirque du Soleil.

18. I have recently (as in the last two weeks) discovered One Tree Hill.  I never watched it before, and now that I've seen a few episode, I want to watch all nine seasons.  Only problem??  I want to beat the fuck out of Brooke.  She's kind of annoying, but more than that, I hate her voice.  And her facial expressions.  And her attempts to act her heart out.  She's lucky people like her in a tiny cheerleader outfit.

19. I'd rather wear skirts and dresses than jeans.  I love track pants and yoga pants, but I feel weird wearing them when I go out for anything more than a quick errand.  And I love heels and cork platform sandals more than anything, but I'm not used to wearing them anymore, and I don't want to deal with the pain of getting used to them, so I don't.  So I wear flip-flops and Roxys instead.

20.  Much Ado About Nothing is my favourite Shakespeare play.  It's followed by Hamlet.

30 Days of Truth: If my best friend was hurt...

21. Scenario: Your friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before.  What do you do??

Well, unless my best friend slept with my boyfriend, physically hurt my family, set me up for a crime I didn't commit, or had me kidnapped and sold my organs, I'm pretty sure the first thing I'd do is rush to the hospital to make sure they're okay.  We can always work our shit out later, but if there was an accident, then I'd need to make sure that I let my best friend know I'm there for them no matter what.  No matter what stupid shit we fight about or what retarded shit we say to each other, 'cause those things don't matter in the end. I'd make sure they were okay, and see if they needed anything, and help out any way I could.

Unless they did one of those three things I mentioned (or something equally as bad).  In that case, well, all I can say is, "Ha!!  Good.  I hope it hurts."

Yeah, I can be incredibly mean.  If it helps, I'd also call or text them that.  'Cause there's no point in being a bitch about things if they don't know you're being a bitch about things.

Oh, Lucky, how I miss you.

So it's been a little over three weeks, and I still miss my baby.  My Lucky.  I still think I'm gonna see him when I leave my room.  I still think he's about to scratch my door so I can let him in my room.  I still wake up thinking that he should be on my bed.

I come home, and my heart breaks because no one is barking excitedly at me.  No one is so happy I'm home that they run to see me so I'll pet them and hug them.  I don't have him to take out for a walk.  I don't have him to hug.

The love of my life.  RIP Lucky.

I just want to hug him.  Everyday, that's all I want to do.  Just cuddle with him.  Give him a kiss and tell him I love him

Every time I feel down, I look for him, because his hugs and cuddles soothe my every hurt.  But he's not there, and it kills me every time I realize it.

I miss him so much.  It still feels like there's a hole in my heart.  I've always known that he was a part of the family, I just never though I'd have to say goodbye.  I know it seems like I should have known, but I wasn't ready.  I just want another few minutes with him.  Is that so much to ask??

I went to Aidan's house last weekend to drop off my mom, and I went out into the backyard.  Nelson showed me where they buried Lucky. Never in my life have I had such a strong urge to do something.  But I can't dig him up and hug him, 'cause he's gone.  And what's there isn't him.  It breaks my heart to think of him, in the ground, cold and alone.

I always hated the phrases "Give it time," or "It will get better."  Neither of those tell you how long it'll take.  I just want someone to give me an actual timeline.  Like, "It'll hurt for six months, but then you'll be okay."  Something like that, so I know when this hole will stop feeling like it's drowning me in sadness.

I keep thinking that maybe if I had another puppy, I'd feel better.  But then I feel like I'm replacing him.  Is that crazy??  Regardless, no new puppy for me until I don't cry every time I see a puppy on TV.  Or every time I think his name.  Or every time I picture him.

I'm gonna make a shadow box to put in my room, and I'll take it with me wherever I go.  I saved some of his toys, and I'll take a piece of his blanket and put it in.  And a few pictures.  I found some of his hair a few days ago from the last haircut I did (and it wasn't pretty, I cried for like an hour), so maybe I'll put some of that in there as well.  I don't care how creepy it sounds.

That way, I'll always feel like I have a part of him.  Something I can't forget.  Something others can see and remember him by.  Because he was my love and my baby, and he should never be forgotten.

30 Days of Truth: my not-so-secret love for booze!!

20. Your views on drugs and alcohol

Tequila good.  Rum better.  Drugs bad.

I think that about sums it, right??  No??  Fine, I'll elaborate a little.

St. Patrick's Day, 2012.  Made by Kasia.

So I started drinking when I was legal at 19...  hahahaha, you didn't really believe that, did you?? It's almost as if you don't know me or something!!

So the first time I was drunk I was 14.  Someone had gotten a lot of beers, and I drank many of them.  They were gross, but it was the thing to do, you know??  And it was a good time.

I didn't actively start drinking again until I was about 17.  That was when it became a common thing at parties.  Kasia's parties were awesome!!  And usually they involved lots of drinking.

Back then I was the queen of coolers.  I loved Smirnoff Twisted in watermelon and green apple.  And I loved Woody's Blueberry.  But sadly, coolers started giving migraines.  I don't know why.  They're instant -- as in, I take a drink and less than five minutes later, I'm in pain.  And if I drink coolers all night anyways (or even just like 3 or so), I'll throw up the next day as if I've drank my weight in vodka.  Also, vodka is the tool of the devil (no, seriously, it is!!).

And that was when I discovered the greatness that is Captain Morgan.  White rum, spiced rum, and (the best one!!) silver spiced rum.  I love me some Captain. It is my go-to for all parties.

Lobsteritas from Red Lobster are super yummy!!

A few years ago I also discovered tequila.  At first, I thought it was gross.  But then I stopped being a moron and decided it was awesome!!  Sadly, I can't drink gold tequila (instant migraines!!), so I drink silver.  I have also learned that salt does NOT help.  In fact, it makes it worse.  So now I just do the shot and have a lemon (the green one.  Yes, I know.  Leave it alone.).

Patrón is now my drink of choice.  It's not for everyday, 'cause $90 a bottle is crazy, but it's so good. Rum and coke is my usual drink, although I do enjoy amaretto sours, mojitos, and slushie margaritas. 

Jello shots are awesome too.  They're super fun!!  And you can drink sooooo many of them!!

But drugs are bad.  No drugs for me.  If you do weed, I don't care (as long as I can't smell it, it gives me migraines).  But anything harder than that and you're not welcome at my party.  Just say no.

Now I'm really looking forward to camping!!  So much rum to drink....

My secret love of fake orangey goodness!!

I'm not sure how many of you know, but secretly, I'm a Sunny D junkie. I love Sunny D.  I could drink it forever.  If I'm ever asked to get orange juice, that's what I'll get.  So as a warning, don't ask me to get orange juice unless you want Sunny D.  Or be specific about which one you want.  And I always make sure to bring one or two bottles camping. It's so not good for you and so yummy tasting.  It's so fake....and so good!! I love it.

So yesterday, while on a super quick Walmart run, I came across this aisle, and took a picture.  It was like someone at Walmart actually went out of their way to make me happy.  So I had to share it.

I'm not sure why someone decided that an entire aisle needed to be sunny D (it was half the regular yellow one, and half of the orange tangy one, which is why further down the colour changes), but they're freaking awesome!!

Of course I bought some.  I had to.  It called to me.  Also, it was only $2 for the big bottle!!!  If I'd taken more cash with me, I would so have bought more than one.  It's not like they go bad or anything.  Seriously, they're fake juice.  That shit must last forever!!  I should put some aside in case the zombies come or the Mayans are right.  Ooooh, I'll make an underground bunker and fill it with Sunny D.  Except...well...that would be a lot of work.  Maybe I'll just fill my closet and hope my building doesn't blow up due to zombies/apocalypse.

But yes, sooooo tasty.  I'm looking forward to breakfast, and the nice big glass of fake orange juice I'm gonna have with it.  I don't even know what I'm gonna have for breakfast, but I know it'll include Sunny D.

'Cause there's just no better way to start the day than with fake, way-too-yellow, orange juice.  Unless I was on a beach.  Oooh, at the beach, drinking some Sunny D.  With rum in it!!  That'd definitely be a better way to start the day :)

30 Days of Truth: religion and what I believe.

19. What do you think of reli­gion? Or what do you think of politics?

This one is much, much harder than the last one.  I can't decide which question to answer.  So I flipped a coin, and we'll be talking about...religion. 

Hmmm.  Where to start without pissing everyone off??  Well, I was baptized and raised as a Catholic.  I went to a Catholic elementary school (go, go STM) and I had my first communion and confirmation.  Then I went to a Catholic high school (yeah Pocock).  I even joined Heart Ministry, which was the group led by the priest at our school and did things like food drives and Christmas baskets.

But honestly, I haven't been inside a church in a long, long time.  Well, other than Ste. Anne-de-Beaupré outside Quebec City, but that was more of a touristy thing than a religious thing.  I don't think I went to church during my high school years at all.  Except maybe if my siblings had a communion or a confirmation.  Even then, I may have skipped it.  What?? I was like 14.  I had way better things to do, you know.  I was a good sister like that.

So what do I believe??  Well, I'm not faith-less.  I'm not atheist (like I used to think I was).  I just don't believe everything I'm told to believe or in the church (any of them) itself.

What does that mean??  I believe there is a god, although I don't really believe it's the god of any one particular religion.  I mean, it could be Zeus for all I know.  But really, I do believe there is a higher being.  I'm not so sure about Jesus.  I feel that Jesus could have been some guy that they picked to write about, although I admit I don't know, and I could very well be wrong.  As for the Bible, well, I feel like it could have been written by anyone.  And you hear all about these books that should have been in there but weren't because they said something different, and while they could all be lies, it's just enough to make me doubt them all.

I don't believe in priests absolving you of sins, and I don't believe confession is the key to Heaven.  Honestly, I don't know if I believe in Heaven.  I like the idea of reincarnation better, if for no other reason than it means we get another chance at life.  But I don't believe that confessing your sins makes you clean and pure again.  How can someone who kills a bunch of people, or rapes and tortures women, or hurts children, suddenly be okay because he told a priest all about it and said a few Hail Marys??  That doesn't make sense to me at all. They should be born again as a slug.  Or, if I'm wrong and there is a Heaven and Hell, then they should burn forever.

Also, I'm all for gay marriage.  I think being gay is something you are, not something you learn, and I believe they should have the same rights to a legal marriage as everyone else.  I'm also all for birth control and pre-marital sex.  Yeah, let's not pretend that it doesn't happen, 'cause it does.  And I like things that will help keep all the pre-marital sex-havers baby-less.  

Do I want to get married in a church??  Not really, but if it meant a lot to the person I was marrying, then I'd be willing to do it. I'd prefer a non-religious ceremony, if only because they're so long!!  Also, there is that "obey" line I take offense to, although that's easily removable. 

I could totally get more into it, but that's the basics.  I don't think I'm missing anything super big. 

Check out this post, from Avitable, called "Why You're Probably Stupid If You're Giving Something Up For Lent."  It's pretty good, and totally in line with what I think.  Actually, just check out his whole site.  It's pretty funny.

There is a song by a Spanish singer named Ricardo Arjona that I feel really sums things up well.  It's called "Jesus Verbo No Substantivo."  My mom played it for me when I was younger, and I've loved it since then.  He's got a bunch of songs that are awesome and fairly protesty.  And he sings one of my favourite songs ever, called "El Problema."  Too bad it's in Spanish and most of you can't understand it.  Maybe look for a translation??  

I guess you can always ask me later.  I'll translate for you.  Or, to be more honest, I'll email you a translation that I Googled, which you can really do yourself.  Don't be lazy.  Only one of us can be, and I'm already doing a great job at it.

My mom's chicken soup is better than your mom's chicken soup.

So I wanted to talk to you about chicken soup.  Yes, chicken soup.  The food you're supposed to eat when you're sick, when you're down, when you're not feeling well.

The sad part is, most of the chicken soup I've seen here is kinda sad.  A lot of it is the noodles in water with some chicken flavour.  Sometimes they'll have a bit of veggies, but it's not a lot.

But my mom's chicken soup has always been really freaking awesome.  It's fantastic.  Whenever I make it, it comes out more like stew than soup, but I kinda like it that way.  But I though I'd share the recipe, for those that are interested.

The ingredients may seem a little weird, but that's okay.  And to be honest, you can play with the amounts as much as you want.

So here's what you do:
1. Fill a big pot with water.  Put in the onion, garlic, chicken stock, salt, and skinless chicken.  Let it boil, and leave it for about 20 minutes.

2. Remove the chicken.  Put aside.

4. Put in the diced potatoes, sliced zucchini, and the sliced carrot.  Feel free to add more or less of each vegetable as you want.  Let that boil, and leave for about 5 minutes once it's boiling.

5. Add in the rice.  I use Mr. Goudas Instant White Rice (the bag with the pink on it).  Leave it for about five minutes once it starts boiling again.

6.  Add the chicken and the green beans.  Once it boils again, leave for about ten minutes.

7.  Pour into bowl.  Add avocado and lemon to taste (I like a lot of each).

Keep in mind that the more rice you add, the less water you'll have.  If you like it soupy, try to start with a lot of water, or just add less rice.  The one cup mentioned here leaves it soupier than I like.  I would prolly use a cup and a half or two.  I prefer it more like stew, with the lemon juice making it soupy.  But I'm weird like that.

So there you have it.  Simple enough, but awesomely tasty.  I know it seems weird, but I promise you, it is incredible.  Best chicken soup ever.  This is what you want if you're sick.  The lemon helps.  Or at least, that's what I tell myself!!

Life would be easier if we just Googled it first.

Today, thanks to a Google search, I discovered Photomerge in Photoshop. I'm not sure how long that's been there, but WOW.  Mind blown.

I've done a few panoramas, and I've painstakingly put them together myself. I tried to match them up (because who needs a tripod, right??) and get the colours to match and everything. I spent hours.  Days.  TIME.

And all along, there was a GODDAMN FUNCTION BUILT RIGHT INTO THE FREAKING PROGRAM.

Well, fuck. You just pick the pictures you want, and Photoshop puts them together for you, all matched up and everything.  Even the colours are matched and even. I love it. I mean, I'm upset that I spent so much time when apparently pressing a button does it better, but love it.

Yeah, the program does a better job than I did.  I must admit, though, mine doesn't look all that bad.  I'm using it as the banner for my other blog, so I do really like that I can fix them and put them in.  I have two others that I hope to fix, which were much more badly done than this one.  And I spent so long doing them!!  Although to be honest, my "hours" of work also included Facebook time, spaced out time, and reading time.  Go ADD.

But so I think this might be my new obsession.Well, at least for like a week. Then, like always, I'll move on.

30 Days of Truth: I don't care who you marry.

18. Your views on gay marriage.

This is probably one of the easiest to answer.  I don't care who you marry.  I'm all for everyone being able to marry whoever they want.  I don't believe the word "marriage" is a religious term, so I don't see any reason why it can't mean something besides the union between a man and a woman.

As far as I understant it, 'marriage' used to mean that, legally and politically.  But it was changed (at least, it was here in Canada) to "the union between two people." Or something like that.  I don't see why this is a problem.

I can see why people have a problem with changing the religious version, but honestly, we don't need that.  As long as you're legally recognized, who cares if you can't get married in a church??  I mean, I don't even want to get married in a church, and I'm allowed to.  It's not all great to have to stand there for an hour and agree to obey someone else.

Anyways, back to the original answer: I'm all for it.