Never Graduate

So, since I'm sitting around a lot during the day, sending out resumes, and leaving ESPN or TVLand on in the background, I get to hear a lot of commercials. This might be one of my favorites.....It's kind of hard to see, but that guy is definitely wearing a Texas A&M shirt....

Thoughts on 24 (Spoilers if you haven't watched 10a-11a)

Official Jack Bauer Terrorist Kill Count: 1 (I don't expect this to stay at 1 for too too long, really, it's 24)

Well.

Another week, another "Holy crap, did they just do that?" moment.

So, Graham, the guy that spearheaded multiple attempts to kill Jack in Season 5 is Jack's brother? I have to admit, I didn't see it coming, but I wasn't completely in shock either when it happened. I've officially adopted a policy of not thinking very far ahead in '24' for the simple fact that I'll drive myself nuts trying to figure out what's going to happen next, b/c either I'm wrong, or I'm disappointed that I've figured it out. So, I've done the thing that makes the show more enjoyable than anything. I just don't think about it till something happens.

The odd thing about this turn of events is that it's a rare time when Jack who knows less about a situation than someone else. Jack doesn't know that Graham was behind the plots of Season 5. At this point, he still thinks it was Logan, who took the fall, that masterminded it. All Jack seems to know is that his brother is not exactly an upstanding citizen who is possibly working to protect their father from Jack and the government.

And that was enough to get Jack to punch his brother, tie him up with a lamp cord, and then put a plastic bag over his head from behind. For an episode where there were a lot more plot moving agents than action segments, the 5 minutes or so at the end where this took place definitely balanced things out.

Also, we're definitely getting our requisite amount of "drama inside the White House" this episode, and I'll all say is: I know David Palmer, and Wayne Palmer is no David Palmer. That being said, I think he's handling it well and doing a good job of not succumbing to the pressures from more aggressive members of the administration.

So where do we go from here? Well, we're getting Jack's dad in the next episode, the previews gave us that much.

Jack's probably going to do a good amount of torturing Graham, at least in the beginning of the ep, also a positive.

Also, as much as I don't want to look ahead, I want the backstory on this whole thing with Jack and Graham's wife (Marilyn), that just plain looks like fun.

Oh, did I mention that's there's still 4 tactical nukes floating around LA somewhere? Yeah, someone is going to need to find those.....

Dreaming.....

I will, for the record, get to last nights' 24 in a little bit, at some point today.
I'm still not sure if I'm in a place where I can process all of it, especially the ending.

I must be eating something wrong, or must be a little off lately, b/c I've been having some messed up dreams lately. Sunday night I had a dream about 24, which I was okay with b/c we had just watched it, etc. However, last night, I had this really wierd dream. I dreamt that when the Browns came back in 1999 (which would have been my junior year at BW) they were so bad that they had an open tryout. Of course, that makes sense, b/c 1) They were terrible and 2) Their training camp facility is 4 blocks from campus.

Then, it gets wierd. In my dream, apparently I made the team as the 4th QB. Yes, I know, teams don't carry 4 QBs on the active roster. It was a bad dream. OK?

And, since the team was so bad, apparently (in my dream) the other quarterbacks all got injured, and somehow I ended up in a game. And I was awful, b/c I was still my regular old 5'10" small handed self. It was one of those like imagined, really embarrassing moments. I was like one-for-four with 3 picks or something? Like everytime I threw the ball it didnt' work out, b/c NFL balls are huge and I have tiny little 12 year old girls hands.

I really need to get a job, so I can start dreaming about work and stuff like that again, like a normal person.

Please Don't Ever put a Knife through my Knee

WARNING! This is totally all about the first two hours of '24' Season 6, so don't go any further if you don't want it ruined b/c you didn't watch for some reason.

Official Jack Bauer Terrorist Kill Count: 1*

Let's start off with this: Jack looked like hell. I mean, I don't know much about Chinese prisons, or being a political prisoner, but let me just say that if how Jack came off that plane looking was any indication, then no thanks.
But really, that little exchange with Bill and Curtis when he's sitting in the hanger right after he got off the plane, when he could barely even find a voice? Just give Kiefer his Emmy right now, there's no point in even putting it up for a debate.

I think my favorite part of the episode, other than Jack getting away from the terrorists, was Wayne Palmer's reaction to Jack getting away from the terrorists. You could see him smile a little, though obviously in complete disbelief. It was kind of like in his head "thank God I didn't end up resposible for the death of someone who saved my brother's life x3 at least" combined with "only f'ing Jack could get out of that situation"

I already pretty much hate Peter MacNicol's character (Tom Lennox) He sucks, a lot. Obviously that's his role, to play the "Presidential advisor who keeps coming up with really bad ideas", but still.

Wayne Palmer as President by the way? That one's a bit of a stretch for me in the plausibility department, but I'll take it. What was his campaign slogan, I wonder? "At Least I'm not Charles Logan"? That's really all it would have taken, I suppose.

Also, can we discuss the fact that Taj is a freaking terrorist? Yeah, I know he was in other movies since Van Wilder, but really, it's Taj, okay? And he just shot that guy! And he's going to be blowing stuff up, obviously, or he wouldn't have a "package" stuffed behind the wall of his house.

It kind of made me think a little bit when Jack was standing there, before they went to chase down the next subway bomb and he says "I don't know how to do this anymore". It was like between the mental and physical abuse he took, and the fact that he obviously shouldn't be in any condition to do this, he doesn't have a choice. And you'll notice, that, in the moment, he's fine, and still able to do what it takes. When he has to, he can. I found it telling though, that he couldn't torture that terrorist. It was like he knew what it was like to be on the other side, and even though he needed the information, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. It will be an interesting story line to follow, for sure.

Let's put it this way. It was son intense that I watched it last night, then had a dream about what was going to happen tonight. All I remember was that it involved a missle targeting CTU and Jack almost drowning. So, obviously, I'm way off. Some crazy shit is going to happen tonight, that much I know, just from knowing how this show works.

*Oh, and really, a note on the killing? He BIT A GUY'S NECK!!!! Are you serious?
I was going to give Jack more kills, but that guy on the subway did blow himself up, and Jack was trying to stop him, so I can't give him that one.

Four More Days....

Am I the only person in the world that is seriously growing impatient with waiting for the new season of '24' to start? After plowing through Season 5 in a mere three days, thanks to that lovely flu bug, I've developed a nervous tic everytime I see a commercial or a teaser for it on Fox. It doesn't help that they carry the NFL playoffs, and they had the national title game this week, (which, by the way, I'm NOT going to dicuss, ever. I don't even think it actually happened) so therefore I've seen approximately 1,398,469 teasers for the show. What's probably most sad is that plotting out my Mondays to watch 24 is the most structure I'll have had in a month. This is probably not a good thing, at least until I start working again.

At least it's almost the weekend, and I can somewhat put the job hunt on the back burner for a day or two. I've gotten into such a rut of getting up in the morning, checking email, eating some breakfast, and then some combination of doing whatever needs done around the house and spending a good 4 hours or more a day looking for jobs that by the time the weekend rolls around, I don't want to think about it for a while.

How long has this been going on? Let's put it this way, according to my iTunes, I have 8 days worth of music on there, and in the last 3 weeks, I've plowed through most of it, even the stuff I really hate. I'm just saying, I didn't even know I HAD Air Supply on there.

Fortunately, I'm looking forward to this weekend. I have a date on Friday, with someone that I've gone out with a few times already and like, but we've had to cancel out on each other the last two weeks b/c we took turns getting sick. I think ti's going to be a pretty low key dinner-and-movie thing, but we have fun when we hang out, so I don't think it matters what we do.

However, here's the thing with doing the dinner and a movie thing. At least for me.

Problem #1- Late movies (the after 9pm starts) are almost night killers, as far as I'm concerned. You get out of the theater at 11:30 or something, after being anchored ass-to-chair for 2+ hours, you don't really feel like doing much.

Problem #2- I HATE being rushed through dinner, esp on a Friday night. There's a time to rush through dinner, and a date when you've first started seeing someone is NOT the time. Unfortunately, since the theaters start most of the movies between 7 and 7:30 you're either going to rush through dinner, or you're going to dinner at like 5. With the seniors. No thanks. I mean, really, can I get a movie that starts at 8:15? Seriously.

So, I'm voting for an earlier showtime and a later dinner. Obviously, it's not all up to me, but that's the suggestion I'm going in with.

Unfortunate

So, this newly discovered patience that I have allowed myself in the job search, the one that keeps me from taking the first thing that comes down the line, and hopefully means that I'll end up getting something that is at the very least a good career move and financially rewarding, has had it's side effects.

Ever since I've stopped working, I've been a bit on the bored side, but up until about 3 weeks ago, school took good care of that, believe me.

Bored is the least of my troubles though, at this point. It's been a long couple of weeks, between getting the flu, arguing with certain people, and my own personal touch of neurosis that I hold so dear to my heart.

Left to my own devices, and too much free time, I'm very capable of over thinking, over-analyzing, and over worrying things. The unpleasant offshoot of this is that I end up hiding in my house, listening to angry music, and feeling crappy about myself. And, as usual, it's a direct result of worrying too much about what other people think, or how they feel. Such is life.

Five Days In, And......

Well, I promised myself that this would be not only a new year, but a new perspective. I would accomplish more. I would worry less, and all the little pitfalls that I've tripped over in the past would remain there. You know, in the past, and all that. Instead, I catch myself doing more of the same. Worrying, thinking that I don't measure up.

Maybe it's the fact that I haven't been gainfully employed for 6+ months.

Maybe it's the year and something without a meaningful relationship, or even a hint of one.

Maybe I'm just too hard on myself, in general.

I want so badly to succeed in every aspect of my life, that I kill myself over it if I'm not doing well in any/all of them.

It's silly, and it's hard, b/c I can't change, completely, obviously. I know the standards and whatnot that I hold myself too, and they aren't limited, that's for sure. I guess I'm just frustrated, b/c I feel like I'm putting a decent amount of effort in to certain things, both personally and professionally, and feel as though I'm just beating my head against the wall. And that's not an easy thing. When you care about someone or something, you want to feel some kind of reciprication, or reward, in return, otherwise, it feels helpless, worthless, and just plain silly.

Recovery, Physically and Otherwise.....

You know that little mention I made of feeling pretty ill last Thursday night? Well, let's just say that from about 15 minutes after that till sometime Monday, I was victim of an illness the likes of which I hope I never experience again. I was VERY sick. I spent most of Thursday night crippled on the bathroom floor, and the better part of the next few days doing the following:

1) Being mis-diagnosed with pnuemonia
2) Not eating
3) Living on a combination of prescription drugs, tea, juice, and Tylenol PM
4) Realizng that if you're going to get sick during the NFL season, don't do it in Week 17

I mean really, there were NO games worth watching. Couple that with spending New Years on the couch (lame) and it was a pretty vicious case of the flu. Now, sadly, a lot of other people I know have it. Fortunately for me, I'd imagine by now that I've pretty much got my immunity up on it, for what it's worth.

On the bright side of all of this, I managed to not have a hangover on New Years Day, which in a way wasn't a bad thing. I caught up on sleep, and plowed through all of Season 5 of '24', so now I'm ready for Jack to come back from China in about 11 days.

So that's it. I'm alive again, and seriously hurting for some human interaction. And I really hope nobody else comes down with this flu thing. Seriously.