It's 5:30 PM, and it feels like 10:30 PM. This part of the year is my least favorite, despite Thanksgiving being my all-time favorite holiday. It's because of the DARK. Also, the cold. But, I live in Southern California, so I can't emphasize cold the way I emphasized dark.

Anyhow, speaking of Thanksgiving, we are going out to eat on Thanksgiving day. Normally, I am the one who is against eating out, because I love all of the home-cooked goodness on Thanksgiving, but it is a real hassle to make all of that food. The best part about Thanksgiving, to me, anyway, is the turkey sandwiches afterwards, and we are going to cook a turkey, even if we aren't cooking it for the giant meal.

On December 5, we are having an early Christmas for Kurtis who leaves for Air Force basic training on December 8. We will be cooking a lot of food for him on that day, too, so it'll be like a nice after Thanksgiving feast.

My little brother is going into the Air Force in about two weeks. I am scared for him, but I hope he does well with basic training. I have been reading a lot about what is expected from new recruits.

Today, we had really awesome soup for dinner. My mom made delicious chicken noodle soup.

Earlier today, I had a presidency meeting. I'm the secretary for the stake young women program. I feel like we got a lot done and discussed.

I think I might use Thanksgiving break as a time to watch the four "Bring It On" movies that I own. It's times like these, where I feel like watching cheerleading movies, that I really miss "You Got Served," because I consider that the male counterpart of "Bring It On." I don't know what happened to that DVD.

I have so much to be thankful for in my life. First of all, I'm grateful to be alive, and I have many people to thank for that. I love living, and I love life. I like this world, and I love that I am a part of it. There is so much happiness just from that simple fact.

Secondly, I am grateful for people. I love my family and my friends. I couldn't have asked for better ones. My parents are supportive and loving, and I'm very close with them. My brothers and sisters are great people who are constantly trying to improve their own and others' lives. My friends are wonderful individuals who play a big part when it comes to my self-esteem. Also, I just love people, in general. No matter where I'm at, I want others to be happy, and I am concerned for each of them. I think that's why it's hard for me to read/watch the news, because when other people are experiencing such pain or loss or grief, I feel so strongly for them that I sometimes cry, as cheesy as that sounds.

Thirdly, I am grateful for my advantages and opportunities which I enjoy. Not only do I live in one of the most prosperous countries in the world, but I also live in one of the best places to live, hands down. Not everyone has or will have that opportunity, and I do. And I know that it's special, and I'm glad that I get that opportunity. I also enjoy a lot of advantages -- education, religion, employment, those of the socioeconomic variety -- and I am grateful for those. They make me very happy, and I recognize that they are advantages that not everyone has.

Lastly, I am grateful for everything else -- music, art, books, technology, medicine, nature, animals, food, things. I'm even thankful for my challenges, because I know that they make me a stronger, better person.

I started out the day with some difficult physical challenges (shoulder pain), but it's hard to stay upset when there is so much in my life I should be glad about.

There are a lot of good Michael Jackson songs, but I'd like to talk a little bit about my three favorite Michael Jackson songs.

#1: Billie Jean. I don't know what it is about this song, but it's just super great. The lyrics don't have any particular significance to me, but the music is so pretty it makes me want to simultaneously cry and dance.

#2: Please don't judge me, but my next favorite is Will You Be There? Yes, the song from FREE WILLY. It's really nostalgic for me. First of all, I really liked that movie. Secondly, I got to sing this song with my seventh or eighth grade choir and it was epic.

#3: Black or White. I remember watching this video when I was a kid and just thinking it was amazing. First of all, you have John Goodman being the dad of Macaulay Culkin, and then John Goodman gets blasted into outer space by the power of Macaulay's speakers, and then when he finally lands he's in the middle of the Serengeti where Michael Jackson starts dancing with a group of African hunters. Then they run and suddenly they're dancing with some Chinese girls, and then Michael is dancing with Indians, and then he is dancing with the other type of Indians, and then he is surrounded by a circle of Russian dancers, and then he's in the middle of a snow globe which gets picked up by a couple of racially diverse babies who are sitting on top of a papier-mâché world, and then suddenly Michael Jackson is dancing with Macaulay on a door stoop in some city, and Macaulay is all blinged out and he does the rapping part. After that, Michael walks through fire which I think is a deep metaphor for racial tension. It ends with this really cool face morphing technology wherein all these people from different racial backgrounds sing and then they turn into each other. So, basically, it's the best video ever, which is why I like it so much. It was the first music video that I was ever impressed with, which is why it's my third favorite Michael Jackson song.

What are your favorite Michael Jackson songs?

So, we watched NEW MOON last night/early this morning, and I have to say that I really liked it. The movie was good, even if the makeup and hair were not an improvement from last time AT ALL.

Speaking of TWILIGHT, have you seen this? It's a mashup of TWILIGHT and BUFFY in which the true creepiness of one Edward Cullen is revealed. I highly recommend.

Today, I substitute taught at Murrieta Valley High School, and it was a lot of fun, even though I was so tired from last night.

I'm going to go to sushi and then see a double feature Twilight/New Moon tonight. Then, tomorrow, I'm going to substitute teach English at Murrieta Valley High School. Awesome!

Today was one of those days where I feel like I worked really hard but didn't get anywhere. It's very discouraging for me, in particular, because I am used to floating by, but when I need to work hard, I have always seen results, and also, I usually get my way. It made me very empathetic to those who work hard only to see limited results.

It also made me want to work harder and be more industrious, in general.

You know I have my goals list, and while I love to succeed at every single one of my goals, I feel like some of them are too general, and I also need to define what a successful score actually is. This way my end score is more indicative of the effort that I have expended. Right now, I'm not sure it is. I'll definitely have to get that together.

The power was out the entire day at my house! It made me very sad, and also very grateful for electricity. My life is almost completely dependent on it, sadly.

When I was younger, I thought it would be really fun to have a farm and really live off of the land, but of course, this was back when I still thought camping was fun. I hate to admit it, but a small part of me really thinks that hiking the Appalachian Trail would be fun to do. I know it's ridiculous; who in their right mind would want to walk over 2000 miles for the fun of it? (Side note: I'm reading on Wikipedia the hazards of the Appalachian Trail. They include: severe weather, American black bear, tick borne diseases, mosquitoes, biting flies, chiggers (what is that?), steep grades, limited water, diarrhea from water, poison ivy, and venomous snakes.) I don't know what it is, but maybe the appeal of actually being able to walk outweighs the obvious nightmare that hiking the Appalachian Trail would be.

Anyhow, we had a good day today, even if we didn't have power. We went and got brunch at Burger King, and then we spent some time at Target, and then we got some frozen yogurt. I actually didn't eat any frozen yogurt because I'm doing the sugar-free thing right now, but I had some fresh fruit with almonds and pecans. It was surprisingly very delicious.

I hope we never run out of electricity again.

Sometimes, I miss the old days. You know, when you had one shot to watch your favorite show on TV, and that was the night it was on at the exact time it was on, and if you couldn't make it, you had to set your VCR timer. I feel like I live in some weird void right now, because I don't watch TV live, and therefore, I don't watch commercials, and therefore, I was completely unaware that Fantastic Mr. Fox came out last weekend, for example.

Also, I am not even sure what night some of my favorite shows are on TV, because I never watch TV when it's on anymore. I either watch it on DVR, online through the network sites, or acquire it electronically through different means. And you do watch it with commercials online, but usually it's just the same commercial about Clorox or Wal-Mart or Cotton (the fabric of our lives). Those commercials aren't really that informative.

Anyhow, I remember when we had antenna governing what was watchable, but now that's not even a possibility anymore. I feel so old right now.

I had a really great weekend. On Friday night, Cecilia and I got to hang out with a bunch of really cool girls for Daniela's birthday. Then on Saturday, we got our hairs cut by Marisa. (Yay!) That night, we got to hang with another bunch of girls for Lauren's birthday. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday morning, I got turned away trying to donate blood because I couldn't squeeze the little ball.

After we hung out with the girls on Saturday, Chris Allen came over and we tried to watch A Very Potter Musical, but we all ended up falling asleep. It was still very cool to see him, though.

Last night, I had a very weird dream where I saw a ghost, and I cannot stress how real the dream seemed. I really thought I had seen a ghost. It was scary. Then there was this whole part about dressing up in weird costumes to go to Disneyland. I don't know, but it was definitely Halloween time in my dream.

I had a really nice time at church today. At the end of all of my meetings, I even met someone who is going to be in one of my classes tomorrow that I am substituting! Very cool. Well, I'm turning in really soon because I have an early morning tomorrow. I also might be going to Disneyland with my friend Jenn.

There is a fly in my room right now that's making my life a little more difficult than usual. It wouldn't be so bad, but the little bugger wants to fly all over my face. It's maddening!

So far, today, I have watched LEVERAGE (love that show), taken a nap, and scored 28,857 points on Word Island. So, it's been a pretty productive day so far. :-) Actually, this morning, I got a job for Monday subbing English at VMHS, so I actually have done something productive.

Today, I was so sleepy that I slept until 11:30 AM. I don't like sleeping in so late, but it felt really good today. I had a bad night because my shoulders have been really killing me.

I spent a lot of today working on my brother-in-law's website. Hopefully, I will have it up by tonight.

I really liked GLEE last night. Cecilia and I got to watch it with our friends Ashley and Alyssa. Speaking of TV, I was really sad to learn that DOLLHOUSE has been canceled. :-(

River, my little niece, is getting cuter every single day. She is super precious and hardly ever cries. When she does cry, it's really quiet and not for a very long time. She is SUCH a good baby.

Today, was Tiana's last day. She has been my helper for the past month or so. Woe!

Today, I got some new socks! Yay! I didn't like paying two dollars per pair, but they look like really good socks, so we'll see how they do. I also got washcloths, two undershirts, and Camelback refills.

I have a goals sheet that I have been filling out at the end of every day to note my progress in my various areas of potential accomplishment. I made it in Microsoft Excel, and I really love it. It prevents me from wasting time, and forces me to use my time more wisely. Based on how well I do in each category, I get a score 0-5. Then I have it total up my points and give me a percentage for the day. So far, my highest percentage has been 80, and my lowest has been 49. I'd really like to get it up to 100. Knowing that I have to fill it out and input a value at the end of the day keeps me strangely motivated. Anyhow, I'm going to include the chart I made up my progress for the first seven days I did my goals sheet.



http://pics.livejournal.com/theamyrlin/pic/0000csp3

In conclusion, I'm very aware that I am a total geek.

Among the various things I did today, one of them was starting to read "Pride and Prejudice." Is it ridiculous that I majored in literature and writing and have never read this book? Don't answer that question. It's rhetorical, and plus, I know it is. And that's why I'm reading it now. And also because Cecilia told me to. :-)

My mom and Katelynne (and Cecilia) have been putting together puzzles a lot lately. So far, they have put together three: a seal puzzle (500 pieces), a collage puzzle (750 pieces), and one of some place in France (1000 pieces). Katelynne is a puzzle fiend. She is so serious about putting puzzles together that if, in the course of emptying pieces on the table, she finds a couple pieces stuck together, she will break them apart and mix them in with the rest of the pieces. That's hard-core.

Today, our printer was broken so I couldn't print out my Sunday school lesson. So, this morning, I memorized it. I liked the way it turned out so much, I'm thinking of always memorizing it. I learned so much more that way, and it is really handy not to have to depend on a cheat sheet.

I'm excited about Veterans Day. I really hope I get to watch the parade again. It was really fun last year.

Speaking of parades, you should check out this link: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtR2m20C2YM). It's about the 30th annual ninja parade. Stellar stuff.