I feel tricked.

Location: Home
Listening to: The end credits of Defendor

As you may have gathered if you bother to read my location/listening to things at the beginning of each post, I just finished watching the movie Defendor. And, guys, I can honestly say...I feel tricked. (Warning: Anything past this point may contain spoilers.)

I stumbled across this movie when I worked at a local video rental store last year. It came out last spring and was on the movie preview reel we has to play at the store. The clips it showed were cute or funny, and it stars Woody Harrelson and Kat Dennings, so I figured it had to be good. Kat Dennings cracks me up, so I didn't think there was a way she could be in a movie I wouldn't like.

I was wrong.

At first appearances, this movie seems like it's going to be a superhero comedy along the lines of Kick-Ass and...um...those other superhero comedies. It's about a guy who has a superhero alter ego and gains an unlikely sidekick in a young prostitute.

What they don't tell you on the back of the box (or the website synopsis or the previews) is that the guy who thinks he's a superhero? He's mentally handicapped. And his young prostitute sidekick is a coke addict who's dad is a scumbag child molester or something. This sweet and innocent guy, played by Woody  Harrelson, who doesn't know any better is trying to get rid of "Captain Industry", the man he thinks murdered his mother when he was a child. "Captain Industry" is not a person. He heard his grandfather/older male mentor/caretaker refer to the drug lords who killed his mom as "captains of industry" and believed "Captain Industry" to be his mother's killer. So he poses as Defendor and tries to get rid of the scumbags that roam his city as he searches for "Captain Industry."

He comes across a young prostitute, played by Kat Dennings, and saves her once or twice, and they become unlikely friends. Except, she's using all of his money to buy drugs for herself and using his desire to avenge his mother's death to try and get rid of some drug lord/pimp/baddie who she didn't like by saying that he is "Captain Industry".

I'm not going to ruin the ending for you, except to say it isn't happy. In fact, it's rather sad. Not at all the uplifting, positive, moral-inducing conclusion you hope for.

Overall, it wasn't a terrible movie. But I can't for the life of me figure out why they advertised it as a comedy. Nothing about it was funny. Almost everything about it was kind of depressing.

Anyway, Internet, I feel duped. Tricked. Bamboozled.

I think this situation calls for ice cream.

More later.

Love is lovely.

Location: Home
Listening to: The news

Oh, you guys. I am in love. Absolutely, incredibly, deeply in love.

This seems like the time when I would pull a fast one and tell you that I'm in love with something ridiculous or predictable, like shoes or ice cream. But that's not the case. Well, it is. I love those things. But, I am in love with the most lovely boy ever in existence.

I try not to gush too much, because I know when all someone talks about is their sweetie, it gets kind of obnoxious. Like, I know you're in love and that's great, but, honestly, get a life. So, I try (and kind of fail) to keep my boy-gushing to a minimum here. But I just felt like letting my love flow tonight.

Brad and I have been dating for nearly 7 months, which is about twice as long as any of my most recent previous relationships have lasted. And every day I find myself falling deeper and deeper in love with him. I'm used to dating guys who are douchebags. I mean, they never tried to be, but they were. They would put themselves first and take me for granted (which sounds kind of conceited, but a relationship is supposed to be about compromise and balance, not ME! ME! ME! ME!).

This guy is totally different. He's adorable. He is incredibly cute and the sweetest boy alive. He's always doing what he can to make me happy, which is nice because I try my hardest to make him happy, too. He's constantly surprising me with little things and he's the best cuddler and makes me feel so safe and cozy and happy and loved.

When I went to visit him last week, we celebrated his birthday. I got him a pot and a bunch of macaroni, because he only had a frying pan and that severely limited the food he could make himself. I also got him a video game he really, really, really, really wanted, and a picture frame with photos of us in it. He told me he loved it all, but his favorite was the frame. He explained that he's never had framed pictures before, and now he has several of us together. It made me smile that the least expensive gift, something he hadn't asked for or expected, was his favorite.

He also surprised me with something. I have a claddagh ring that I've worn every day for the past four years. For those of you unfamiliar with claddagh, it's an Irish symbol depicting two hands holding a heart that has a crown above it. It's really symbolic. The heart stands for love, the hands for friendship, and the crown for loyalty. It's on all kinds of jewelry, but with rings, it takes an extra meaning. The way you wear the ring shows the status of your heart: single, taken, engaged, or married.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that my ring had a crack running halfway down the band and mentioned that I would have to replace it soon because it was at risk of breaking in half. Brad and I spent a little while looking up pictures online of different types of claddagh rings so I could get an idea of what I would want to replace mine. A few days later, he mentioned that he had a surprise for me that I would get when I came to visit him.

When I got to his apartment, we sat around waiting for the FedEx guy to deliver my surprise. And it ended up being this ring. I've never gotten jewelry from a guy before. And it's gorgeous. And it fits perfectly. And it's amazing and he's amazing and I love him.

He's coming up to visit me tomorrow and meet some of my friends. I'm so excited. This long distance stuff is no fun at all. It's working and we haven't had any problems thus far, but it's hard being so far away.

Sorry for the mushy overload. I hope you are all having wonderful summers! If you're looking for something fun to do in July, check out Allyson's blog for info on a potential blog book club!

More later!

Failure.

Location: Home
Listening to: My neighbor's kids yelling outside

Well, apparently summer makes me suck at blogging. I guess that was kind of to be expected, you know? I go from being in a structured, educational environment where I always had other things to be doing but managed to find time to write at least once a week to a totally free environment where I have no limiting responsibilities and I can't find the time to bother updating.

Sorry!

Honestly, guys, my life is pretty boring. I started my job at Applebees, and at first I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or stick it out all summer, but now I'm having fun with it. I also already have managed to have to call in sick, accidentally miss a good chunk of a shift, and totally fail to call in for an on call shift. And I've only worked there for a week. Granted, I'm not sure if the on call shift one mattered, because I'm still not entirely sure if you're supposed to call them or if they just call you if they need you, but I didn't get any stern lectures or phone calls, and I'm pretty sure they didn't need me because it was a sunny Saturday afternoon over Memorial Day weekend, so everyone was probably up at their cabins or out grilling instead of eating there.

 Tomorrow I'm going to visit Brad for his birthday. I'm soooo excited to give him his present. I can't tell you what it is yet, because he sometimes reads this and I don't want to spoil it, but I'm pretty sure he'll like it. I've given boyfriend's gifts before, but I've never been this excited about it, and I've never spent this much time/effort/money on someone I've dated (not that I spent a lot of money, because I didn't spend that much but Brad specifically told me that if I spend more than $10, he'll complain about me spending my money on him). And I'm excited.

That's really all there is for me right now. Maybe I'll have better stories when I get back on Wednesday. Who knows.

More later.

PUPPIES!

Location: Couch (home)
Listening to: Commercials

This week has flown by. Seriously. It's nearly Saturday already and I'm pretty sure the last time I was conscious of it being a specific day was Tuesday. Because on Tuesday, I got to reunite with the boyfriend. It was wonderful. I know we'd only been apart for, like, four days. But it could have been nearly a month until I got to see him and I missed him terribly and getting a chance to visit made my week.

I ended up driving down to see him and help him move into a new apartment. We ended up playing Call of Duty (he thoroughly kicked my ass) and wandering around the park we had our first date at (awwwww) and driving to the closest mall and wandering around. And this was probably the best idea ever. Because we discovered a store that sold puppies (hence the picture of me with an adorable puppy). Now, Brad and I both loovvvveeee dogs. Serious discussion has been had of the two of us getting a puppy eventually. So we were both super excited to go in this store. I felt like a little kid. There was the most adorable husky puppy and we tried to play with her, but she was scared of us and hid in a corner and peed all over the place. We ended up leaving after that, but we came back as we were leaving and played with the little guy in the picture above. He was awesome. He was bouncing around and playing and cuddling and nipping all over the place. I didn't want to let go. But, sadly, neither of us have the money or time or living conditions to take care of a puppy right now, so I had to leave my new friend behind.

Originally, I planned to come home on Wednesday, but I was having a lot of fun helping Brad move. He was switching apartments because he went to resign his lease and someone else had already signed for his apartment, but there ended up being another studio open in a different building. Personally, I like his new place much better. It was a little roomier because it had one less closet, and they gave him more furniture and he was able to set it up so there was a divided living area and bed area. His friend Kent came to help move the big stuff and we all hung out and ordered pizza and the boys played video games while I screwed around on the computer and compulsively yawned every two seconds.

But that's not all! My busy week got busier when I started my new job at Applebee's on Thursday. Like I mentioned before, I got a job hostessing for the summer. I'm not really sure how much I'm going to like it. I've never worked in a restaurant before, so I've never had to deal with $4 hour wages + tip pool or being scheduled for a certain start time and working until they don't need you anymore or double shifts or any of the other craziness that apparently comes from working in a non-retail setting. All of the people who I work with seem really cool so far, but as far as the work goes, I could take it or leave it. But, it's a job and they're paying me and I really don't have any other options right now, so I'll tough it out.

That's my life in a nutshell recently. How have you guys been doing? I hope you're all having an awesome spring and that everyone's doing awesome on finals or at work or just having fun with life! Let me know about any cool things you're doing. I love to hear what you guys have to say. :)

More later!

Over the hump

Location: Home

Listening to: Commercials on Fox

This is how kick-ass my nails look right now. I just got done with an awesome and much needed girl time bonding session with Alison. I haven't seen her since Christmas break, so we had a lot of catching up to do and we spent it painting our nails, watching silly TV shows, and getting ice cream.

I am officially over the terrible hump of sadness that came with leaving my boyfriend halfway across the state. I miss him terribly, but I have resigned myself to the fact that being sad is not going to make him closer. And I'm visiting him this Tuesday instead of three weeks from now, which makes it much more bearable. I am so excited to see him!

Thanks to Charcoal Renderings for your awesome awesome awesome advice! It makes me feel a lot better about this situation knowing other people are in it and have dealt with it before and survived.  :)

Even though I actually did stuff tonight, I still don't really have much to write about. I've pretty much spent my time home so far unpacking and making my room a complete disaster and doing laundry. And playing Pokemon...because...um...it's kind of addicting and I just got into it and it amuses me.

More later!

SPOILER: This is not a happy post.

Location: Home
Listening to: South Park

Well, guys, I'm back home for the summer. And honestly, I'm really, really, really sad. I know it's silly to be so torn up over being a few hours away from your boyfriend, but I was practically living with him these past few weeks and it sucks not being able to see him.

I mean, I'm going to visit every other week if I can afford it and we talk all the time and he'll call me every night and things will work out, I'm sure, but it's hard. Really hard. I'm kind of crying right now. I've never cried from missing someone who was still alive before.

Um. Yeah. I'm gonna stop now because if I keep going I'm going to keep getting sad.

More later.

Summer Can Wait

Location: Brad's Couch
Listening to: Wheel of Fortune


Sorry for not writing sooner! After BEDA, I definitely needed a break. Also, I have the greatest boyfriend in the entire world and last weekend he came home from work with four Harry Potter movies and Lego Harry Potter for his Playstation. And, Internet, I have a confession.

My name is Abbie, and I'm addicted to Lego Harry Potter.

I know it was made for, like, 8-year-old kids, but it is seriously distracting me from studying for finals. Or doing the other things I'd be doing to procrastinate instead of studying for finals. I am nearly done with Year 3, then I have Year 4 (which I'm really looking forward to) and then I can go back and try to get all of the extra things for each level.

Um. Yeah. I might be a nerd.

As it gets closer and closer to finals, I'm less and less excited to go home for summer. I mean, I'm sure it'll be nice to sleep in a non-dorm bed in my own room and have all of my things, but I am not looking forward to being so far away from my boyfriend. Which is silly, because I'm going to be visiting him all the time and he'll be visiting me, so we'll still get to see each other a ton, but not nearly enough.

And there's the whole issue of my friends. As in, I really don't feel like I have any anymore. I still keep in touch with my friends Dani and Dillon, but besides them and occasionally my friend Jess, no one really talks to me anymore. Granted, I don't really talk to anyone else. But just about every time I went home for a break this year, the friends I was closest to the last few years of high school would hang out and kind of forget about me. I don't know if it's something personal or not, but it feels like it is. Which I know is ridiculous. But I've definitely spent the last few times I was home sitting by myself and knowing that the people I would normally be hanging out with were all hanging out with each other without me. And that's a sucky feeling. I don't want my whole summer to be like that.

I have my orientation and training set up for Applebees, so I'll be busy for a few days while that's all going on. My sister graduates from grad school and my brother graduates college. Between work and grad parties and visiting Brad, I probably won't have time to think about sad things like feeling left out or whatever.

Meh. I'm still not looking forward to summer.

More later.