Just a thought...

"I miss StarCraft" is seriously what I hear at least once a day everyday since the Beta went down. Seriously?! Seriously! I mean come on, it's not like it's not coming back in like a week or something. And then a few weeks after that the game will be released. It's really no big deal. I don't think I mourned this much when I finished Twilight or Harry Potter. And those characters were some of my best friends for a long time. I think I think of reading in a really weird way. I'm not sure it's completely healthy. Is a person really supposed to consider the characters in a book friends of theirs? Should I really feel like I'm experiencing these things with them? Should I cry when they're sad? And should I really miss the characters when I finish my book?! Whatever, maybe it's the wannabe writer in me. Or maybe I'm just kind of crazy, which is really no big surprise.

I've actually had some pretty good luck recently regarding good books. I went through a really depressing drought there for a little while where I simply could not find a decent story to read. It all started with Something Borrowed. I kind of have an addiction to books turned into movies. Like I HAVE to read the book and then see the movie. I honestly feel weird seeing a movie without reading the book. I feel like I'm missing out on some kind of VIP inside information. So anyway, my mom read this book called Something Borrowed a long time ago. Recently, I read somewhere that it was going to be made into a movie and Kate Hudson and Ginnifer Goodwin were going to be in it! Obviously, I NEEDED to read the book...So I did. Thus ending my drought. I honestly wouldn't highly recommend the book to anyone. I mean it was just mindless reading, and I really felt no connection to the characters. But, you better believe I will be at that movie when it comes out because I will totally be in on the secret. After Something Borrowed, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner came out. You can imagine my excitement. I mean we all know what a Twihard I am. So I, of course, bought the book to go along with my collection. My fiance actually read it first, and he really enjoyed it, so I was super excited. I started it and really couldn't get into it. It was really depressing. I finally finished it and I was left feeling completely underwhelmed. It was like a bad joke. The whole story was totally rushed. I feel like so much more could have been explored. I feel like there was plenty of time to build on Bree and Diego's relationship. There was plenty of time to make us hate Riley even more and to believe how evil he was. But it just came up so short. I really didn't feel a connection to her. I wasn't like sad when she died. I was really pretty indifferent to her. I don't know. It just really felt like a huge letdown. Now, on to Water for Elephants!!! This is the movie that Robert Pattinson is currently filming with Reese Witherspoon. Since it's a book being turned into a movie I absolutely NEEDED to read it. And it did not disappoint. It was an incredible story, and I loved every minute of reading it! I didn't want it to end. I think the casting director did an amazing job for the movie. Just based on looks and previous movies, I couldn't have hoped for better people to play the characters I loved so much. Once I finished this incredible book, I was kind of at a loss as to what I should do. I mean, typically, when I finish a really great book, it's hard for me to jump into a new one because in my mind, nothing can compare. I decided to pick up Eat, Pray, Love which is being adapted to the big screen with my all time favorite actress JULIA ROBERTS! I started it, and I'm really loving it. I'm a Creative Writing major, and one of my writing teachers told me Elizabeth Gilbert is an incredible writer. I have to agree wholeheartedly at this point. I want to write like her. She's a creative genius!!! I'll obviously let you know how it goes but so far, so good!

It's really weird writing this and not talking about Zerg. Honestly, though, with the World Cup and no StarCraft, it's been pretty nice around here. Except for Red Dead Redemption. Fiance was playing it the other day, and I'm not even kidding you he started just stabbing random innocent people!!! It was highly disturbing. He seriously told me that you could rape women in the game. I was so disgusted. I actually questioned his morality and soul in my mind. What kind of person kills and rapes women in a video game?! He laughed, surely enjoying my utter disgust. He finally told me there's no way to rape women, and he wouldn't even if it was an option...which I can't imagine the creator of a game actually making that an option. What a PR nightmare that would be. I really and truly don't even get the fascination with Red Dead. I mean you're riding around on a horse lassoing and stabbing people. What is that even instilling in the youth? I'm starting to lose hope for my generation and the generations to come. Fiance is going into game design as a profession, it's what he's studying in school right now. Maybe I can talk him into designing positive games that parents would approve. Like maybe there could be "Save Your Mother". It would be all about recycling and taking care of the planet, planting trees, walking around barefoot, hugging animals, and bathing in dirt. Or he could design, "Till Death Do Us Part". It could be about planning weddings and overcoming all kinds of obstacles with your bridal party at your side. Or maybe "For the Love of Flipper" and you could go around releasing captive dolphins and fighting for their lives. Maybe Ric O'Barry would make an appearance. I think all of these are really great ideas - none of you should steal them, Fiance needs to cash in on them.

A sigh of relief...

Today marks the end of the StarCraft 2 Beta!!! I can't believe I made it this far without breaking my fiance's computer. I wish I could say that I had some good times and some bad times with that game, but there was only BAD! Last night, fiance and his friends thought it would be smart to have a big StarCraft tournament. Good idea for them...too bad I had to suffer through it. He sat there for THREE AND A HALF HOURS playing. Not to brag or anything...but he was the undefeated champion of the tournament! Now that's something I'll be proud to tell all of my friends!!!

He sat there playing that game while I watched the MTV Movie Awards (GO NEW MOON)! I tried to talk to him a bit while I was watching the show and he was playing games. He had temporary hearing loss. For instance...When I was squealing over Kristen Stewart winning Best Female Performance, he couldn't hear a word that I was saying. They announced that in five minutes they were going to play an exclusive trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. I told fiance he better be ready to watch the TV in five minutes, as he is a Harry Potter fan. He said, "I don't think I'll be done yet." I replied, "Oh they're showing exclusive footage of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows." His response.."Oh I'll have to be done then...Tell me when it comes on!" Surrrrre. So then Rob and Kristen won BEST KISS!!!! And I'm all "OMG THEY'RE GONNA KISS! LOOK!!!! AHHH" Of course he was suffering from slight hearing loss. But when Scarlett and Sandra kissed...Well he was all eyes on the TV for that one!!! Silly, silly boy.

So I woke up this morning thinking, I have my fiance back!!! Two months free of StarCraft! No more "WE REQUIRE MORE MINERALS!" No more talk of how Terran and Protoss are so totally rigged while the poor Zerg suffers! No more yelling at the computer! No more constant StarCraft conversations with his friends while I sit there twiddling my thumbs! Well...I could be right about a few of these things, but what I seem to have forgotten was...RED DEAD REDEMPTION! When one game ends...it's on to the next. Boooo. And that's not all. I've failed to mention fiance's obsession with Two Plus Two. This is a forum for poker players of which he is an avid member. I'm pretty sure he may play a bit more online poker now than he has in the past few months. So I can cross "NO MORE YELLING AT THE COMPUTER" off my list because that is sure to come!

This is one thing I don't get about boys. They easily sway from one thing to another. Call of Duty was a big deal until Final Fantasy came out, then StarCraft filled those shoes, then Red Dead Redemption came barging in. You don't see me flopping from Team Edward to Team Jacob, and you certainly don't see me whoring around with other vampire series. I'm a Twihard through and through. If there's no more Twilight books for me to read, I'll fill my time with something else. You won't see me going to buy the latest House of Night novel or anything like that. I have loyalty.

URGENT NEWS!!!!!

MA used to be an amazing person until AM (fiancé) and JB corrupted him with StarCraft 2.

Let me clarify...MA, AM, and JB have been best friends for nearly their whole lives. AM and JB play StarCraft pretty seriously. MA, however, has not fallen into the trap. His fiancee is a lucky, lucky girl. It is with deep sadness that I report the fall of MA. AM and JB have officially showed him how to play StarCraft. I know that, eventually, MA will be sucked right in.

JB has a girlfriend that can easily relate to the frustrations brought on by playing second fiddle to the computer. She and I have had numerous conversations of just how much we don't get the appeal of these ridiculous video games. Perhaps she'll be a contributor to this blog!

I believe in magic and miracles.

Okay, so I have to take a bit of time out from trying to grasp the concept of video games to discuss a few things. Recently, I've come to notice that people simply don't care anymore. It's a truly sad thing to come to understand, but I have finally grasped this. After working over three years in retail, I always knew that people were mean and often times cruel. But after visiting a local restaurant tonight, I realized, people really don't care anymore...about anything and definitely anyone. Well let me clarify - the majority of people out there don't care. It's like I can work all day and never come across a genuinely nice person. There's not a day that I work in my retail store and I don't have at least one rude customer. This is not one of those glass half empty theories. This is fact. I have never gone a whole day mingling with the public and not come across a mean person. It's truly sad. I would argue that it's an epidemic. Apathy, meanness, rudeness, smugness, all of these things and so much more are truly, truly an epidemic. Honestly, if we all just tried a tiny bit harder, things would, no doubt, be so much better. If we were just a little bit nicer to each other things would be monumentally better. I think that when big changes occur drastically and fast, it never lasts; it's only temporary. However, I firmly believe that if we just tried a little harder, and if we were just a little nicer, and if we smiled to each other and ourselves just a little bit more, magic would surely happen. I believe in magic. I believe we can have sympathy and empathy for our neighbors. Apathy is a disease.

Everyone has baggage. Everyone has hurt and fear and anger in them. We all have meanness and greed and hatred. But we all have goodness and kindness too. We all have the ability to love someone. We all have the ability to experience life altering love that you can only feel once in your life. We all have the ability to laugh and to make someone else laugh. I think people forget these good things sometimes. I think people forget that they have the ability to love and accept people wholeheartedly. I think we all need to focus on that more. Everyone has a bad day. Everyone has a day where they think "nothing could feel worse than I do right now in this moment", but if someone were there to smile at them and offer them hope...man...I can't imagine the gratitude I would feel. Sometimes it's hard to ask for help, but I know that it's often better to offer help without anyone asking. It's easy to ignore a person in need, but I'm willing to bet that the feeling of helping someone in need is pretty beautiful. I think that if we all just stopped assuming that everyone was okay, things could change. We never know how much or how heavy someone's baggage could be. We need to try harder to be better for ourselves and everyone else.

Acceptance, love, and laughter are magical things. And I believe in magic.

If I hear "We require more minerals" one more time...

Seriously. That is all his computer ever says when he's playing this stupid StarCraft 2 Beta. They are obviously totally desperate for more minerals...SO FRIGGIN' GIVE IT TO THEM ALREADY! Seriously. Is it that hard?! Between StarCraft and Red Dead Redemption, I might pull my hair out. Let me elaborate on how video games have totally surpassed me in fiance's eyes...

So about a week ago, my family received some very bad news concerning my dad's health. I was at work when I received the call from my mom that my dad has been diagnosed with cancer. I did what any normal daughter would do...I cried my eyes out. I ended up leaving work early that day. The first thing I did was call fiance to see if he would meet me at home. His response was "Well I'm at my friend's house, but I'll come by later." SERIOUSLY? SERIOUSLY! He didn't need to elaborate. I knew what this meant. He'd been waiting for weeks for his copy of Red Dead Redemption to get in, and when it didn't, he went to his friends house to play. I was seriously not as important as his video game!

To his credit though, he has been super nice since and even APOLOGIZED! SO anyways I've been doing some research on these creatures that have so captivated my love's affections. Now, I'm a total Twihard. Team Edward till the day I die. I get the fascination with fictional characters. But seriously...at least the things I like are loving and pretty and don't need minerals constantly.

Case in point... THE ZERG


VS.

THE EDWARD


It's really not hard to see which is better. But seriously...how can he love that nasty Zergling so much? It scares me just looking at him. This just further justifies how I could never play video games. How creepy. Now, if it were a bunch of Edwards running around...Well I could play a game like that...