(So this post is a little late for Halloween but let’s do it anyway~!)
I love myself some sweet sweet found footage horror. There is something wonderful and cathartic about shaking cam and unknown actors running through fields to escape the ‘evil’. Found footage horror is one of those genres that I appreciate because it’s the sole genre where having a big name actor can actually hurt the movie (I’m not saying Quarantine was a bad movie because Jennifer Carpenter was in it, I’m saying I couldn’t watch it without thinking about that scene in White Chicks) and I truly appreciate what having relatively unknown actors can do for the overall experience. So I decided that I needed to share my favorite films with everyone and just take a break from the school madness. There are in no particular order haha.
Grave Encounters (2011)
Grave Encounters was a film I didn’t expect to like when I first came across it. It was something I threw on Netflix one day while I figured I’d take a nap through the whole thing and it scared me so bad I slept with the hall light on that night. It was not my first found footage film but I think it really had a lot to do with me getting my teeth into the genre. My first time through it I had just moved into a creepy building in Portland Oregon and man, did it just send creepy crawlers up my spine whenever I turned my back on a dark room and I’m so glad I have yet to live in a building with a garbage shute. Hospitals are creepy enough without stuff like this creeping into your brain. One thing I love is that the film isn’t the characters lives, sometimes found footage is written in the sense that ‘only this film exists’ and the characters are only motivated by things we see on the screen. In Grave Encounters however, the characters have struggles and traits that originate before we meet them and never get to full ‘pan out’ on screen, so when one of them bites the proverbial dust we’re left hold a bag full of old hospital bracelets. It is one of the few movies I will put on immediately if you saw you’ve never seen it and for me it’s never not scary. I love this film.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)/ Blair Witch (2016)
I won’t lie, I am combining these two into one because of all the found footage horror sequels out there I think that Blair Witch complements The Blair Witch Project well in the sense that although it’s ‘updated’ with technology and a more diverse cast, the same creepy feeling I got from the first one is still there. Even though the kids in the film are teenagers, even I can still identify with them. I wasn’t allowed to see TBWP when it first came out because I was 8 and the only theatre in town that was showing it was the drive-in (it’s weird to think that’s how old I am now) but my parents went to see it with my aunt and uncle and my aunt thought it was real for a very long time. It was the ‘first of it’s kind’ for me in that this was a movie I wasn’t allowed to see that people thought was real and I used to make little ‘witches’ out of bobby pins until my mother told me to stop because she was worried the school would get involved. Blair Witch and TBWP will probably always been films that stir up the scary parts of my stomach when I need them not to be. I still have apprehension about going camping because of it (that and I probably just don’t like camping as much as people want me to think I do).
Hell House, LLC. (2015)
So, I didn’t watch this one for a long time because I thought it was going to be super lame. When I read through the quip about it on Amazon Prime I was like, that doesn’t sound great, but now thinking back, I’m not sure I actually read the right quip because the one I remember reading had a lot to do with ‘frat guys’. Hell House, LLC. is way better than better than I ever thought it could be and I jump every single time. I’ve been apart of haunted houses before and the makeup and effects in this one (not including the actual ghosts and spooks) is done really well. The cast acts like they know what they’re doing and it’s so nice to see that. There is a lingering creep that this film has and I just can never shake it. Maybe it’s because I have issues with strobe lights or being stuck in dark rooms. The scares don’t hide in this film. It’s not loud scoring followed up by a jump scare, they literally stare at you from the hallway and then probably eat your soul or something. I know that this just got a sequel and I haven’t had time to watch it YET, so no spoilers, but I’m really hoping that it has the same pay off. I don’t like haunted houses at all really, even working in them (the strobe light thing is a huge problem), but I definitely feel like this is as close as I am comfortable getting.
As Above, So Below (2014)
I wonder if Indiana Jones knew that this was the way it was going to go for explorers in the future. As Above, So Below was a film I saw in theatres, I believe (because I was old enough this time). It isn’t the strongest writing from the others on the list but it definitely sends you on a crazy adventure through the Catacombs (a place I’ve never been and most likely won’t visit because that’s where people got their bones put. While I don’t believe in ghosts I’m still very much under the influence of ‘you don’t just pile up bones to make a corridor’ as a personal philosophy). AASB definitely has elements that remind me of someone’s first indie horror game, where the quest has been given and you must go, complications happen along the way, but it doesn’t end with a jpeg of “YOU DIED”, but one reason I like it is because it shows promise for the future projects undertaken by that dev. The rawness of the film, the way they play with sound and give you a sense of claustrophobia really alerts instincts in me that keep me awake after watching it (of which I have done several times). It doesn’t rely on twists to propel it, but information that the characters already have they just have to solve. It does well at setting itself up in the beginning and then not letting us down at the end. There is nothing magical about this film, yet I keep coming back to it.
So, I’ve lost quite a bit of weight over the last few months and I’m glad to say that I now weigh about 255. I started the year over 300 and I think it’s super important to me being healthier that I share with everyone. I’m still not super confident in myself but this summer I’m going to work extra hard to change that. A friend of my mum’s has offered me her bicycle since I won’t be leaving C-falls much this summer and to help save some money. My diet has gone from what the dining hall says I’m eating to what I say I’m eating. Speaking of what I’m eating:
Mmmmmm…
and
Dem colors…OOoooooo
Now aren’t you jealous? It’s really not hard, but it does take time. Also, where I’m currently at it’s really expensive. Starfruit is the cheapest “exotic” fruit I can afford. Blood oranges are a close second. Both are good though.
I’ve been spending more time in my tiny kitchen (I’ve got a rent free situation this summer in a nice two bedroom) than I thought I ever would. I was going to more Keto stuff but I’ve found a happy place in my diet. Chia seeds keep you so full!
I won’t lie, I have lost steam for this blog and most things lately. I know I say in a lot of them that I’m going to work harder at creating more posts and then I never follow through. So I’m just going to go ahead and say I’ll see you when I see you and hopefully I’m down another 50lbs by then.
Hey Everyone! So, I haven’t posted since my birthday, which is a little sad because I’ve done a lot with every intention of posting what was happening. I posted a short fiction piece but that is about it.
First off to get this out of the way, I’ve changed majors again. I know, I know! I said I was going to keep with engineering, but as it turns out you can’t just wish yourself good at maths and have that be your one plan. So, I’m changing to English (for the 3rd or 4th time). But with that, it means that I’m not going to be in school for 7 more years, I’ve got a year and a half or so and I’ll be graduated. So that’s super fun. I’ve made a few contacts in my field too, so that’s also good for once I’m done. I know I’m not the best writer on the planet, but hey, it’s what I love to do. So I’m going to do it. It opens up positions in Japan as well, which is nice. I don’t need a teaching certificate, just a degree. I’m excited about that.
7 classes, ya’ll!
Speeeeaking of Japan, that is where I spent my spring break this year. Could barely afford it, but I made it work. The ticket and hotel was less than 1000$ so guess who doubled down with their tax refund and took a trip? I did. I will save that for another post though, because I took pictures and videos. For those of you that went along the journey (via Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter) I want to thank you all for your support and love while I traveled. Without a lot of you in my life, I wouldn’t have bit the bullet and done it, so thank you.
The SO and I finally took a trip together too, out of the country. We just went up to Calgary for a comedy show (We haven’t missed a John Mulaney tour since we got together) and crossed the border together. I think it was the first time he’s ever been to Canada, so that was a fun milestone. We got into a huge fight on the way home, but obviously we worked through it. Our hotel was so nice and we had a lovely sushi dinner that I will also be posting about in another post.
I don’t have a few fun posts planned for the coming months (granted I remember) and a few adventures planned elsewhere. I’m working on a few creative projects with a few friends, my Twitch channel should be going live soon, and hopefully I get my Youtube channel off the ground (this century). But school comes first. And then when I’m done I get to start paying off all those loans that I love so much.
I’m still here lovelies, and will eventually get back to this blog regularly.
Winter Break is here! Woo! Finals are over, grades (that I haven’t looked at) are in, and everyone is leaving campus. The roads are terrible and the weather is negative. The SO and I decided that we weren’t going to try to beat traffic and deal with everyone trying to drive over the Continental Divide at once so we waited a few days for the traffic to die down. We stayed at his place in FGH, as they closed my dorm on Saturday, and I had no where to stay. We didn’t want to kill each other after the weekend was up and that was really great to learn. It was nice to just relax and enjoy each other’s company for a while, and on Sunday night we went out to a local restaurant called Dave’s Sushi.
We had been here one time before, but it had been a very long time since then. We went back in early 2015 we we first were together. Dave’s Sushi is a very hip eatery. It can only sit 81 people, so it gets crowded fast. In the summer they do have patio dining, but we haven’t had a chance to experience that yet. Just FYI, they don’t accept reservations for groups smaller than 7. You may have a bit of a wait depending on the night that you go. They are open 7 days a week and usually go until about 930-10 on most days. They are a little more on the spendier side, but with this being Montana the prices aren’t that bad for our land-locked, no local fish market scene.
They have a pretty lengthy drinks menu, but no hard alcohol. They have beer, wine, and sake. We’ve had a few of their sakes before and our favorite is the House Sake. Our waitress was incredibly fast with taking our order.
We started the evening with an order of edemame (blanched soy beans) sprinkled with kosher salt. You can’t really screw up edemame, but the shells were soft and warm; the beans were firm, but cooked.
We ordered a large bottle of sake, and I got the black cup. Their House Sake is served warm and it was the perfect temperature. I’m always nervous ordering a warm sake because there is such a thing as overheating it and it ruins it. But ours was perfect. The finish is soft and there isn’t that regretful burning sensation in your throat like there is with certain sake. It also isn’t mixed with a fruit which is definitely a plus. I haven’t liked any of the fruity sake that I’ve tried.
Make time at Dave’s Sushi isn’t that bad. In some sushi places they take forever to get your food out to you, but Dave’s is very fast. I think between placing our food order and getting it was only about 15 to 20 minutes in a fully packed restaurant.
Round one!
They had a great special the night that we went. It didn’t have a name it just listed the ingredients.
I can’t remember what was in it, because I [s]forgot a notebook to write everything down with[/s] forgot to write things down because I was to busy eating. What is topping it though is something I hadn’t had before. From what Patrick and I could decipher, was tobiko soaked in a habenero-mango juice concoction. It was spicy and delicious and I could have eaten just that with a spoon.
We also had the “Le Possion” (the one topped with salmon) and the “Grave Danger” (the one topped with spicy tuna and black sesame seeds). I picked out the Le Possion and Patrick picked the Grave Danger. Ingredients were super fresh. The cilantro mayo on top of the salmon was different, and was recurring throughout the menu. It was nice on the Le Possion but it accompanied two of our rolls in round two, which I will get to in a moment. The Grave Danger had a bite to it, and I very much thought it was going to be too much for me to handle. I love spicy but can’t take much heat (because I’m a wuss). But once again I was pleasantly surprised. Everything combines so well in your mouth that it didn’t even dawn on me that it was hot until the burning started to build in my mouth. Much water was consumed this evening.
I would recommend all three of these roles to someone. They are delicious and complex.
ROUND TWO!
The second round confused me a bit when we got it. I thought two of the rolls were the same. I was wrong when I bit into them, but they totally look alike.
This round we got what we loving dubbed “The 80’s Platter”. (From left to right) The David Hasslehoff, S’Happening, and Thai-na-mite. The David Hasslehoff is the other roll that came with the cilantro mayo. It was also topped with a bit of fresh lime juice and for me that didn’t work. It was still good, but the flavor fell a little flat for me. The Thai-na-mite was topped with green curry sauce, which was really good. This one had cilantro on the inside, which made me feel a little cilantro’d out. It was in everything. The S’Happening was my favorite of the three. It had the least amount of ingredients but was still very flavorful.
In conclusion, we left full of good sushi, good memories, and good sake. I highly recommend Dave’s Sushi to anyone needing their raw fix after skiing up at Big Sky. They do have other things on the menu, but what’s the point of going to a sushi restaurant if you’re nothing going to order sushi. 9/10
So, We had a date night the other night. I got to go out with this handsome devil:
He really does not like this picture.
We rarely have full fledged date nights anymore because we are both so busy with class and our regular lives that we usually just have dinner in the dining hall together and that’s that. But the semester is just getting more stressful for the two of us, and with only one of us going home for break we won’t see each other for a while. I start my new job on the 28th which will limit our time together even more, so we picked Saturday and went for it. He wanted pizza, but I was able to convince him to try the little Korean place that we pass all the time and we’ve never been in. It’s a tiny little place off the main road that shares a building with a hair salon and another store called “Earth’s Treasures” (which I assume is a geology shop) and it’s across the street from an auto parts store, somewhere you wouldn’t really notice. I first noticed it when we were out drinking one night about a year ago and kept wanting to go, but wasn’t sure when to go. I’m also a terrible blogger and forgot to take pictures of everything, so I pulled a TON of photos from their facebook page. So here we are.
The facade of the restaurant, like I said, is pretty nondescript.
And as soon as you walk in you are greeted by an modern interior. With corrugated tin along the register, mismatched lighting and chairs, exposed brick, and bright green accent paint, it was very inviting. It wasn’t a place I would call a ‘hipster’ location, even with the aforementioned decor. It was comfortable. Though they do play K-Pop over their sound system (if this is a surprise to you, it shouldn’t be. It’s a Korean restaurant) it isn’t ear blasting terrible, at least for me.
The employee at the register was quick to note we had never been there before and took charge right away to help let us know where the menus were, told us about dishes that weren’t really familiar to most people (thankfully I watch enough Simon and Martina to have an idea of what I was ordering), and was totally there if we had any other questions. As the SO and I are larger than the average person, routinely needing more leg room and tables are usually on the small side when it comes to a place to put our arms, I appreciated that the tables were very spread out. It wasn’t that busy for a Saturday night, but we were there at about 5pm and Bozeman night life doesn’t really take off until a bit later in the evening (looking at their facebook page, they regularly sell out of food on the weekends, so I’m going to consider us lucky).
We ordered at the register (I ordered the Bulgogi Bibimbap and the SO had the Spicy Bibimbap (no meat), we also ordered a starter of Bibim-Mandu with chicken) and took a seat at a table that was near the door. As soon as we sat down another employee brought over a complimentary side of pickled cucumbers and our silverware. I wasn’t expecting that, and as the SO distracted me with pointing out that the chopsticks were metal and I explained to him that a lot of Korean chopsticks were metal because it saves on bamboo, he beat me to trying them first (which means that I didn’t get a picture of it because that meant it was a fight to eat more than the other, but I found this one on google). They were so good. Crunchy and firm, but still tart and vinegary. The spice on was just right for me. Not kimichi spicy (thankfully), but it was a great introduction to the meal we were going to get. Our starter came out pretty quickly, which sometimes makes me nervous, but everything was fresh. Bibim-Mandu is different than regular mandu. Bibim-Mandu aren’t stuffed, you use the dumpling shell like a taco shell and you stack the fillings on, dip the whole thing in spicy red sauce, and tuck it away in your mouth. Delicious. The spice and seasoning on the chicken was really good and was complimented by the spicy red sauce.
Also, metal chopsticks are heavier than I thought they would be. I found myself holding them a lot further back than I would and it changed the way I ate. So, chalk that up to a fun new learning opportunity.
Our food came out at a pretty decent time after we were done with the starter, and we had some leftover bits from the Bibim-Mandu and we tucked the extras into our Bibimbap (which we had served in regular bowls, next time we are going to get sizzling bowls) and topped it with red sauce and mixed it all together (which is what you do) and dug in.
The SO was so excited that he dug in before I could get a photo of his, but this was before I mixed all mine together(his looked like mine, but without the beef). There is a nice fried egg in there, Korean beef, and veggies all on a bed of fresh rice. I don’t know what that red sauce is, but it is so good. I didn’t put to much on the first mix up, because I do like spicy but I can’t handle a lot of it. I did get to try him, and I thought it was a little weak for it being the “spicy” option. So I added the rest of my sauce to it and ate it up. And then it happened. The burn starts at the back of your throat, sneaks up into your sinuses and then sounds the alarm. It was such a sweet burn and made everything taste awesome.
My favorite thing in the whole bowl was that chunk dedicated to the beef. It was absolutely the most amazing beef I have ever tasted. It made me close my eyes to savor it and it just sent happy signals through me entire body. It was moist and salty, but not to salty and it just hit all the right spots on my tongue.
I won’t like, it did not take long for us to finish eating, we barely spoke to each other because it was just amazing. I haven’t stopped thinking about eating there since then. I would have gone back for seconds but instead we went to get bubble tea. 10/10, would go again. I love Whistle Pig Korean!
NEXT STOP!
From what I understand, there is only one bubble tea place in Bozeman, and I wish there were more. I love Townsend Teahouse, but it isn’t really within winter walking distance. Townsend and I have a bit of a history, they were the ones to sell me my first ever bubble tea to me when I lived in Portland. It was a green tea peach with fruit jellies. I remember because it was amazing and now that it was in my life I didn’t know if I could live without it (I totally did, but it wasn’t as fun). So when I found out that Bozeman had a Townsend it scored points when I was looking for a new uni.
I usually get green tea, aloe jellies, and then a fruit combo. I’m not a fan of tapioca pearls, they just don’t taste good to me. Patrick got them this time. He is a fan of mate tea and fruit jellies. I went for a peach and raspberry combo as it is made with real raspberries. They were out of fruit jellies, so Patrick tried something new without heeding my advice and decided in the end I was right.
Overall, it was a great night that we got to spend together and we got to eat some amazing foods. I’ll be back Whistling Pig. I know your MSU Student Special now, we’re gonna be best friends. 🙂
So, as many of you know, I love horror movies. And as I struggle to come up with things to talk about on this blog (and it turn justify paying for it) I figured I would share with ya’ll my favorite Japanese horror movies. Now, as a disclosure, I’m not saying these are the best or most well made movies out there. I’m saying I watched them, I liked them, and have/will watch them again. The list isn’t in any particular order,just my favorites! I’ve also not gained any sort of profit from companies for talking about these movies (that would be really super cool though because watching movies for a living in legit my life dream). If you disagree with my list, that is fine. I’m not writing it to persuade you to have all of these become your favorite, just what I enjoy and things ya’ll might like. Let’s get this party started!
I do wanna say that this post is dedicated to the late Isao Yatsu, he appears in more J-horror than the average person watches and the genre will never be the same without him, even if his roles were always small. Just something about him made the movies better.
Ju-on/The Grudge Movies
I’m sure most of you have seen or heard of these, but they still give me nightmares. The original Japanese version is based off of novels by the same name, Ju-on. The Grudge is the American version staring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, and Clea DuVall. There are some other rather large name actors in this one, but one casting decision that I really like in that the use Takako Fuji and Yuya Ozeki in both movies (Takashi Matsuyama is also in both movies BUT, he doesn’t haunt my dreams. Takako does hand the role of Kayako over to Aiko Horiuchi in The Grudge 3 and to Misaki Saisho in Beginning of the End; but it was her decision).
((Yup, this is the face that haunts me))
They also take different paths, the movies. The American version starts with Gellar living in Japan and visiting a sick woman in the super haunted house, everyone is being haunted, and everyone dies. Although the Japanese version starts in a similar fashion, there are mutiple off shoots of what happens in the films. At one point, it’s even a different house. If you want to watch them in the order they were made (as explain all the different points of each movie would take forever and I want you watching movies, not reading plots) the timelines goes: Ju-on: The Curse, Ju-on: The Curse Two, Ju-on: The Grudge, Ju-on: The Grudge Two, Ju-on: White Ghost, Ju-on: Black Ghost, Ju-on: The Beginning of the End, Ju-on: The Final Curse, and finally but not least, Sadako v. Kayako. The only one I haven’t seen is Sadako v. Kayako; the reason being that my Japanese isn’t that great yet and I can’t find a version with English subs… yet. The Curse and The Grudge are two separate things, as are White Ghost and Black Ghost. But if you want a fun weekend I recommend ALL of them; they explore a lot about the story of Kayako.
If this doesn’t scare you I don’t know if we can be friends.
I know she isn’t real, but if I turn my back to a darkened hall way, leave my closet open at night, or the light turns off in the bathroom(auto-timers kinda suck); she is the first thing to pop into my head and my immediate reaction is to get out.
Ringu/The Ring Movies
For a lot of people (from who I’ve talked to, no real research went into this), The Ring was a lot of people’s first J-horror movie. I remember discussing this on the bus in grade 6. It was one of the first released in the states. As with The Grudge/Ju-on movies Ringu and The Ring start out quite similar in story line. With this one I prefer Ringu myself. In the American version I feel that there is to much emotional commitment between the characters and it hurts the effect of terror. You feel sorry for Samara (Sadako) instead of fear, and I don’t think that’s a good method to try to use in that kind of horror movie. There are sequels to Ringu and The Ring; The Ring’s more based on the emotional need of the ghost and her killing to get what she wants. Ringu two is more about outrunning Sadako, protection Yoichi, and staying alive.
I also enjoyed the Ringu 0: Birthday prequel to Ringu. It describes Sadako as a college student and what led her to be a vengeance murder beast. It doesn’t quite fit with the Ringu/Ringu 2 style of haunted video tape, but it goes more into Sadako and why she does what she does. That’s one thing I like about Japanese horror, it takes the time to develop their ghosts, but not in a way where we feel sorry for them. Just so that we understand them.
One of my favorite parts in Ringu is the very first scene, which was borrowed by The Grudge during it’s final scene. Watch it and find out
One Missed Call
Alright, another movie with an American counterpart. This one is apart of a trilogy, but as with most trilogies, the second movie isn’t really the same as the first, and the third is WAY off. However the first movie runs really well. Yumi’s (who owns a creepy cuddle pillow) friend receives a call from her own cell phone number and the voice mail left is of her last moments alive before something kills her. This continues to escalate and it’s up to Yumi to figure out what is happening to everyone. The movie touches on topics such as abuse, which is an overlying theme of the whole movie. A lot of people say they don’t like/don’t understand the ending, but I’m not gonna talk about it because I don’t want to spoil it. Because I think it is a little silly, but it returns to a theme that is mentioned earlier on which I can appreciate in film.
Just like all the rest so far, the American version starts there and takes a turn for not better (I wouldn’t say worst, because it definitely could have been worse). Similar to The Ring, the first American version of the film takes the best parts of the first two original films pastes them together and then tries to salvage a second movie out of it. Thankfully they didn’t get to make a second one for American audiences. If you prefer the American version then please, by all means, watch it. It’s just not my cup of tea. I like to have people watch as many horror movies as they can manage.
There are many more movies that I’m going to mention that have American remakes, but I’m not going to get into the remakes as much. I’m sure if you want the American version, you will watch it, but this is about J-horror!
Kairo (Pulse)
This movie is older, but is only dated by the technology. It’s about technology too. The movie follows two different groups of people. The first group compraised ofMichi, Junko, Yabe and Taguchi and the second, Ryosuke and Harue. Michi works at a plant shop and when Taguchi stops showing up for work she goes to his apartment where he promptly kills himself. Ryosuke begins his story by signing up for the Internet with a CD and a manual (like I said the movie is dated and as soon as he is connected to the internet is shows him a lot of different people, sitting in dark roooms, acting strangely. Now days, we call that Chatroulette, but in the movie it spread ghosts between users which resulted in the user committing suicide.
I like this movie for a few reasons. It explores technology in dark way, hinting that it leads to an apocalyptic sort of future. Maybe we are headed in that direction… slowly? Who knows. I like that the characters are constantly looking for hope in a dying world. They look out for each other, even when people throw themselves from tall buildings. The red tape in this movie seems to serve a different purpose than in the American version. In this one it seems like the red tape is to keep things in, whereas the tape in the American version is meant to strictly keep things out.
If you want to second guess your webcam and turn your monitor away while your not using it because you’re afraid. I recommend this film.
Carved: The Slit Mouthed Woman
This movie is based on an urban legend from the Edo period about a woman who covers her face with a scarf, fan, or mask and goes about asking people if she pretty. If the person answers yes, she removes her covering which reveals a huge gash across her mouth. She asks again and if the person screams or says no, she kills them. If they say yes, she lets them go, only to kill them later on that night in their home. So that’s a fun person to party with. In the movie she is depicted as a woman wearing a beige coat and mask and she carries a giant pair of shears. She kidnaps children and hides them away, while a couple of school teachers investigate and try to find the children.
I think this movie does really well because the majority of it is shot during the day. There are hardly shadows for the ghost to hide in. And that lends an element of realism to the story, as to say that abductions can happen at any time; even by ghosts.
Carved does have a prequel/sequel that came out after the first movie called Carved 2: The Scissors Massacre. It’s the story of a girl who gets acid thrown on her face after an old lover of her sister’s gets jealous after the sister’s wedding. That story is more about her descent into madness and her taking revenge on unforgiving classmates. Also a good watch.
I’ve listen 5 movies here that I think you’ll love this upcoming Halloween, hey you could even start early, there are enough prequels and sequels to get you started. A lot of these moves are available on sites like youtube.com, 123movies.to, or netflix. Happy watching and stay scared!
So, hello everyone. I am absolutely sore right now. As I no longer work at Teletech, I’m working as a Temp doing what ever it is my agency needs me for. Yesterday I worked six hours in the sun pushing carts during a sale. Didn’t sound hard, I’ve pushed carts before. I wasn’t expecting the sun (I have a vague burn that is running my life), how hot it got (almost 68F, I’m lame I know), and that I am way more out of shape then when I last did it 10 years ago. But, things are starting to look up for me job wise. I don’t want to say anything about that much though, because then it will all go wrong.
Pushing carts was fun in it’s own way. I got to chat with a bunch of elderly people. Little old ladies who need help getting carts or loading their goods. And then old men. Oh, I love little old men, they are the best. They always seem grumpy, like I do, but you crack a joke with them and their faces light up. I’m probably an old man in a female body. That makes sense.
Onto other news, I’ve started watching what I’m eating again. Healthy foods, lots of fruit and veg. Lean meats, good grains, the works. But tonight I broke and had gizzards. Ooooo, those deep fried bits of deliciousness. My forearms are killing me, who knew you used all of those muscles to type. Lots of water, mostly water actually. I haven’t noticed any of the glowing changes that the internet says I should be seeing, but I don’t really look at myself all that often. I did finally get my housing assignment for school. Johnstone, Large Single, NO ROOMMATE! Woo! The SO was right again, that I was overthinking things. I’m going to see if I can take the COMPASS test up at FVCC instead of taking the MPLEX. It would save me the (probable) separate trip to Bozeman. I’m going to go ask in the morning, see if they can schedule me or if that’s not allowed. Who knows, we will find out! Life is full of adventure!
The realization that I am a quarter of a century old is slowly setting in. The next time I have a century party, I’ll be fifty. That’s weird to think about.
My nose and face itch. I’ve already made the mistake of scratching it once and that burned. I’m trying to keep the skin moisturized and cool but to no anvil. Away I go, see if I can score some hours of sleep before I have to go get my tires done!
My first requested post! Oh goodness, where do I begin (there is going to be math, simple math, but math)! So, in the comments on our facebook page I had a request to write a post about the cheap meals I’ve been making lately and how I go about it. Now, a lot of people I know are on a super fixed budget, and if you’re like me, it’s not always cheap to eat super healthy. You may notice that a lot of the dished I post are pasta, rice, or noodle based. This is because those three things are cheap when purchased in bulk. Take for example:
$13.79 at the local Costco
That’s 25 lbs. That’s about .55 cents a pound. Which is fantastic. I’m more than willing to spend $14 on a bag of rice that will last between 3-5 months. It’s cheaper than minute rice, even if you need to put a little extra work into it. A lot of the time, when people make rice, a large portion of it get burned to the bottom. This is where a rice cooker comes into play. It may cost a pretty penny, but it is worth it. Once you wash the rice and the water you are washing with runs clear, less of it is going to burn to the bottom. Lack of that extra starch saves the rice from burning. So, that’s a cool tip, washing rice is important.
Noodles! I love noodles! Mostly ramen noodles. At .20 cents a package, you get 5 meals for a dollar. And then once we jazz it up with other ingredients we’ve purchased, it will only run us about $.85-1.20 depending on what we do. Pasta (not noodles, totally different), is usually on sale. Today there was a great sale, buy six and get them all for .49 cents. So, let’s look at an average shopping trip for the Half Ginger.
So, we show up to the store, coupons and list in hand.
These are two very important things that I forget all the time (and yes, my list is written on the back of my 1-a-Day learn Japanese calendar). Those are deals I wrote down to keep an eye out for. I follow the online ad for my local Smiths, and write down things I could make into other things. Sometimes when I get to the store, a different brand is cheaper, so I will purchase that. Which happened on this trip. Which happens on a lot of trips.
I will always try my best to get a tiny cart, because when I have a tiny cart I buy less.
No… not that tinyUgh. No.Uh… little bigger (and without the child)AH! That’s close enough!
So, when I get a tiny shopping cart (and the correct google search terms) I will only ever fill the top half of the cart. Keeps things cheaper.
At the beginning of my local market, they have their big sale items in bins. Which I find useful. Usually it’s beans, crackers, gummies, stuff like that. I always take the opportunity to browse. This time, it’s where I found the pasta on sale (6 packages cost me $2.94) flour tortillas (2 for $4, I only purchased one), and some pudding (10 for $10). I didn’t need the pudding, who ever does, but it was 4 cups for $1 and for .25 cents I think it’s worth it. (Not all the time. Just sometimes.)
In produce, they had avocados for 4 for $5. As I had already picked up the tortillas, and I had purchased black beans on a prior shopping trip (.89 cents a can), I figured I could use half of one per some burrito I figured I’d take full advantage of the sale. Since they are smaller tortillas, I can use 1/4 to 1/2 of each avocado for each dish and have some leftover for other meals. Most of the time it’s a quarter, which means I’ll have 16 quarters, when you price it out that’s .31 cents per avocado servings. So far I am under a dollar for 10 meals.
Nothing else in the produce section sparked my interest, and I wasn’t sure how I’d incorporate any other produce into this clever plan (except when I left I thought about tomatoes) and I moved on to the meat section. This is of course after I walked by the bakery to smell the bread.
Meat is always a tricky purchase. Expiration dates, price per unit, and so on. Beef is expensive, but when on sale can be worth it. Pork and chicken are where I usually keep it. Ground pork runs about $1.99 a pound on average where I live, which is awesome, because you can make a lot of meatballs with a pound of pork. Pork steaks go on sale a lot too, so I like to buy them when they do and then freeze them. But also, in the meat department, my favorite thing happens.
See that awesome sticker? That sticker means that the meat is discounted. Some may be wary of this kind of thing, but play your cards right and you can save quite a bit. With the discount of 1.46, that is .18 cents an ounce. Instead of .24 cents an ounce. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but if I divide the 23.2 ounces that I purchased I can make about 5.75 meals with it. So, that’s super peasy!
I also purchased a pack of chicken tenderloins for $5.41. They aren’t the most economic meat, but given their small size, and that I can divide them up into portions and freeze them. Smaller than chicken breasts, not as much work, and just as tasty.
Near the meat department, there is the discounted produce section. This section is great for a few reason. I don’t buy a lot from there, mostly because I don’t use a lot of produce all the time. Mostly because I’m terrible at remembering it. For .99 cents you can get some good deals. Today I saw organic bell peppers, eggplants, turnips, potatoes, just to name a few. It was great. I didn’t pick anything up, like I said, but it’s definitely a good place for bargains.
These are my main two departments that I hit up. For the burrito idea, I grabbed a bag of cheese that was on sale for $3.50 /lb ( the one on my list was tiny and I didn’t want to have to buy six of them). Jumping down the tuna aisle I grabbed 4 cans of Starkist Tuna for $2. I’m not a fan of tuna mac, but it does fill the stomach and I can make a huge batch of it and eat it over time.
I grabbed a loaf of bread on the other side of the store, some sour cream, and a bottle of frank’s red hot. That was not originally something I usually buy, but I used the last of it in the house. Guess what? It was on sale, and I had a coupon. WOO!
Got through the line (after leaving my wallet in the truck again), bags in the truck, drove home, AND BAM, I found this:
I’m out of work. I’ve filed for FMLA leave… again. Which is awesome. I’m sure this looks super great on my work history. Officially I have one more paycheck to pay off this months bills and by this time next month I’m hoping I’ll be back at work and okay.
What happened this time, is I lost my voice. I have been advised medically to not speak at all. Now, in my line of work, that’s a big deal because I talk all day. Literally, I talk on the phone for 8 hours. Before I was told to stop talking, I was whispering, which apparently wasn’t making anything better; and several people I spoke with during that time said I sounded like a ghost. Until I get (again) back on my feet, I’ve decided to ration the food I do have. Onto the ramen diet I go! haha. Right now dinner is elbow macaroni, spicy tomato juice, and black pepper. #poorpeoplefood
That’s what is left. I give it the poor people food tag, because, when I first had this, I was living in a moldy trailer and I paid my rent in Pabst Blue Ribbon. I slept on a couch of suspicious stains, under a blanket of regret. During that time of my life though, is when I got Cora. Sweetest little girl. I’d hide her under my thin blanket instead of making her sleep out on the porch in the freezing cold. The people I lived with didn’t like it, but I wasn’t going to let the puppy (she was actually a puppy then) sit outside in the damn cold. I will love that little dog until the day I die, even if she lives with my mum now.
This picture is a few years old, she is giving me that look because she is concerned about the life choices I was making at the time.
In the light of good news though, I’ve officially been accepted to MSU for the fall semester. WOO! I don’t have the letter yet, but I’ve been using the online undergraduate admissions checklist and that tells you. So, I’m super excited about that. Being out of work has given me a lot of time to catch up on Hiragana practice.
That’s been fun. I’m also reviewing math for fun. Just kidding, not really fun. I have to take the MPLEX, which is a mathematics placement test. Since it has been YEARS since I’ve taken a maths class, I thought it would be good to review. I’m not going to show you those notes. Because, there are a lot of angry lines and squiggles. You can see the terribly simple mistakes that I make and how frustrated I get at them, haha. So yea, I’m not going to show you those. But it’s not as hard as I remember, but that may be because I have the time to sit and make myself understand the problem. I am soooooo bad at maths.
So, yes, not a lot new here. No cute lunch this week. No reason to make one. Hopefully next week. Everyone have a great rest of your week!
where having a big name actor can actually hurt the movie (I’m not saying Quarantine was a bad movie because Jennifer Carpenter was in it, I’m saying I couldn’t watch it without thinking about that scene in White Chicks) and I truly appreciate what having relatively unknown actors can do for the overall experience. So I decided that I needed to share my favorite films with everyone and just take a break from the school madness. There are in no particular order haha.
They were so good. Crunchy and firm, but still tart and vinegary. The spice on was just right for me. Not kimichi spicy (thankfully), but it was a great introduction to the meal we were going to get. Our starter came out pretty quickly, which sometimes makes me nervous, but everything was fresh. Bibim-Mandu is different than regular mandu. Bibim-Mandu aren’t stuffed, you use the dumpling shell like a taco shell and you stack the fillings on, dip the whole thing in spicy red sauce, and tuck it away in your mouth. Delicious. The spice and seasoning on the chicken was really good and was complimented by the spicy red sauce.
The Half Ginger 
You must be logged in to post a comment.