Yes, I did see that door.

I saw Paranormal Activity yesterday. The movie was horribly undermined by all of the screaming and hysteria coming from the crowd. I probably would have found the movie to be more frightening if there had been a marked lack of "OOOH SHIT!" and "DIDJA SEE THAT DOOR?!?!" commentary. The part that really struck me as funny, however, is that everyone in the theater actually thought that the movie was real. Doesn't anyone else remember the Blair Witch Project? Same thing. The movie was supposed to seem real, and people truly believed it until the presumed dead college students began showing up on various tonight shows to talk about their present fame and what it's really like to be dead.

On another note, I recently watched a music video that has been in my iTunes for a while. I've seen it before, and I remember having an equally confused reaction to it before. It has continually baffled me...so I would like to present for your viewing pleasure "Looking Glass" by The Birthday Massacre. Please take a moment to watch the link below and potentially get back to me with commentary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctrcpgIo_9I

Note: I really do like The Birthday Massacre. I just have no idea what is going on here.

Life's Lessons: Lots of Lyrics

Yesterday, I went to Phoenix. Not having much experience driving in Arizona (outside of Tucson itself), I was a little stressed about getting up there. I arrived without getting lost and with minimal emotional duress. I stayed in Phoenix for the night, and left in the wee small hours of the morning (8 am).

For as horrified as I was getting up there, the drive back was freakishly liberating. It's about a two hour drive, and I sang the entire way home. My throat was aching by the end of my trip. For the sheer giggle factor, the "play list" that I created for myself during my drive is as follows:

1. Depeche Mode- Precious

2. Depeche Mode- Enjoy the Silence

3. Depeche Mode- Policy of Truth

4. Depeche Mode- World in My Eyes

5. Depeche Mode- I Feel You

6. Depeche Mode- Walking in My Shoes

7. Amanda Palmer- Astronaut

8. Amanda Palmer- Runs in the Family

9. Amanda Palmer- Leeds United

10. Amanda Palmer- Guitar Hero

11. Amanda Palmer- Oasis

12. Crazy Loop- Crazy Loop (mm-mm-ma)

13. Katy Perry- Hot N Cold

14. Daft Punk- Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

15. MGMT- Kids

16. Head Automatica- Beating Heart Baby

This relatively schizophrenic, kind of embarrassing and utterly predictable grouping of songs fueled my return. I came home feeling pretty good. I really needed it, after what has been a pretty emotionally draining week.

I work tonight. I really should be sleeping, but-surprise! It's not happening.

.

I am almost officially done with being overworked (for now).

There comes a time...

...when you realize that laying in bed, wide-eyed and staring at your cat, is counterproductive. Nailing this point home is when your cat is laying in bed, wide-eyed and staring right back at you. It appears that I have not only tossed and turned myself awake, but Ozymandias, too. Poor Ozy.

I suppose I should be happy that I am awake. Because of my innate inability to sleep longer than four hours at a time (today it was six! I should be so proud), I have the chance to get up, greet the world, and go do...stuff. I'm sure there are things that I could do. I could go grocery shopping. I could do laundry. Interestingly enough, neither of these things seem "get out of bed" worthy. The questions that arise, then, is this: Do I try to go back to bed? Do I wake up, putz around for a few hours, then cram in a nap before work? Do I give up completely? Such deep questions...questions with no suitable answers!

What I really should do is take a shower. The sad thing is that no matter what time I wake up, someone in the apartment building is always taking a shower right when I want to. I tried to forge through it last night. The net result: no cold water. I was absolutely scalded before I finished.

Hark, I hear no more running water. It's my turn to use the cold tap!

cough/hack.

So the past week has been filled with:

A) work, and
B) the flu.

Yes, I know it's only September. But my immune system decided that it just couldn't wait to get sick...and I mean sick. Like, "hack so much your muscles ache" sick, or "sleep eighteen hours straight in the fond hopes that you won't cough and/or choke while unconscious" sick. I finally got well enough to get up go out yesterday. After a few hours, I became very, very fatigued. But you know what? I'm not coughing nearly as much as I was. And last night I only slept ten hours.

I really want to rent My Bloody Valentine: 3D. I saw it in theaters, and no, it wasn't anything amazing, but it was enjoyably gory and quite entertaining. Besides, seeing a Boston Terrier in 3D was faboo...not that I don't get to see that on a regular basis, anyway.

Which reminds me of the BEST PICTURE EVER:

Speaking of black and white (a small jump, but bear with me), I've been wearing a lot of monochromatic outfits lately. It makes me wonder if I'm secretly aspiring to be a mime. Thanks to Speed Bump, I'll end this blog with a brilliant comic:

Nothing, really.

I have nothing very important to say right now. This week has been about as ridiculous as Eugene Ionesco's Rhinoceros. I mean this in as real a sense as can be possible. I have only run in to one or two rhinos roaming the streets in the past week, as opposed to the entirety of humanity, but we're getting there. For anyone who isn't aware of what I'm talking about...well, google it.

Anyway, there is no point to this post except to keep me occupied while I can not sleep. I can only hope that someone comes away from this with something, even if that's just taking solace in the fact that I am pseudo pretentious enough to have read Ionesco. Note: I read Rhinoceros while waiting for my clothes to finish drying at the laundromat one day. One of my favorite quotes from said absurd play is this:

Daisy: I never knew you were such a realist- I thought you were more poetic. Where's your imagination? There are many sides to reality. Choose the one that's best for you. Escape into the world of imagination.

I found out today that my favorite contemporary author and my favorite musical artist are dating. This means absolutely nothing to me or the rest of humanity, but it certainly is cool when your top faves of all time find each other and create awesome work together. So, uh, congratulations Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman. I hope that you continue to bless me with things that make me feel less morose about not being able to sleep.

Speaking of which, I have not slept more than four hours per day for the past four days. Why, one may ask? Well, part of it may have to do with the AWESOME allergies that I am currently enduring. I lay down and become dyspneic. On another note, I don't appreciate the fact that the spellcheck just told me that 'dyspneic' isn't a word. It is, damnit.

Dyspneic: difficult or labored respiration

So there.

A photo of the beautiful AFP, for those that don't know her. Posted merely because I feel like it:

I suppose I should attempt to sleep a little more before work. I still have a good three to four hours before I absolutely have to be up.

P.S.- Robin, I miss your blogs. I haven't gotten my fix recently, which probably means that you're busy and having an awesome time... :D

P.P.S.- Dad, if you're reading this, then YES, I am insured through Edna. Har, har, har.

Confessions of a single toilet bathroom.

Though I'm not very interested in the bar scene, I managed to get coerced into going to Bison Witches (http://www.bisonwitches.com/) last Thursday, with some hilarious results. Thursday is a big night for the college scene, and because of this, 4th Avenue was pretty busy. Bison Witches, being a bar and sandwich shop (and also sporting $1.50 Hefeweizen Thursday nights) was no exception. So there I was, crammed in a very busy venue with a couple of friends, when a very human urge struck me: I had to pee. Unfortunately, BW only has two bathrooms: a men's room and a women's room. Each has one toilet. As is the norm for a room full of inebriated individuals, a lot of people had to pee. There was a bit of a line. After standing in line for a few moments, I got in. Once my mission was accomplished, I exited the room to see several more ladies and a few guys waiting for their respective bathrooms. I held the door open for the next gal to enter...and she walked in with her friend close behind her.

Now, I'll be honest with you: I wasn't shocked. It doesn't weird me out or confuse me to see two people go in to a single bathroom. The guys who were standing in line had a much different reaction; one that I did not at all expect. They were mad. Mad! This is how the conversation went:

Guy1: Maaaaan, you see these girls goin' in together.
Guy2: Yeah, I know! If we tried to do that, we'd be so made fun of.
*Guy3 exits the bathroom, trapping Brenna between Guys1&2 and himself*
Guy3: For real! We'd never hear the end of it. It's not fair!
*Brenna stifles a laugh, then ducks and runs before Guys1-3 get more in depth about the unfair societal standards for men*

I could get all "social psychology" on this, but really, I'm sure it's pointless. The truth is that three drunk guys became very passionate about having to wait for the bathroom.