BUDDY BRANDO

As you can obviously tell, Brando's one of the most exciting things in our lives right now. hehe. I'm gonna write about him very often to update you on what he's doing & also as a personal diary so I can look back at this years later & remember how he grew & stuff & stuff. I'm very sentimental. So what? Don't judge me!!!

So we got him last Friday night (2/22/08) after Actor got off work. It was probably midnight but he was still up, well, VERY up & hyper I should say. We jokingly said that one of the kids gave him some crack or something cuz he was extra extra hyper. We hung out for a little while then I wrapped him in a soft blue blanket & we took him home. He squirmed for a little, slept for a little, and whined for a little. He did pretty good considering that was his 1st car ride. But as soon as we parked the car I felt his stomach shaking really bad. I thought he was gonna poop so I put the puppy pad on his butt but then it came out the other end. lol. He threw up a good bit on my arm.

As soon as we came in the house he peed & pooped like 10 times within 10 minutes. We were cleaning up repeatedly. Guess he was just marking his territory... We fed & gave him water, let him walk around & get aquainted to the place, showed him his bed & toys & just played with him all night. We didn't go to sleep till almost 5 in the morning.

We woke up at 7 to feed, walk & play with him some more. He was scared of the outside for a little while. We had to drag him across the hallway cause he kept resisting to walk. No not hard as in abusive, more like an encouraging nudge. Gotta show him love but discipline him at the same time. After a couple of walks he couldn't wait to go outside. He goes in & out of the house without hesitation now.

We're crate training him; he took to it immediately & even goes in it by himself to sleep. The 1st day or so he could stay in it for 3 or 4 hours & then starts wailinggggggg. After 4 hours he'd wail until we let him out. We ignored him the 1st time just to see how long he would wail. We figured that he'd get tired within 15 minutes & stop. Yea righttttt. He wailed for 3 hours straighttt. We had just taken him outside so he didn't have to go or anything. He just didn't wanna be in there.

After a couple of days we'd decided on another approach, you know, just testing to see what works best for him. So we moved his crate to the kitchen & left the door open but gated him in. That way he'd have room to roam around & occupy himself until we got home from work. Now mind you I taped puppy pads on the entire floor... When I got home that day... BOYYYYY. The entire house smelled like poop. I walked to the kitchen to see what was going on: he dug under most of the pads, peed & pooped EVERYWHERE. And if that wasn't enough he smeared his poop EVERYWHERE that he could reach: alllll over the floor, on the cabinet doors, bottom of the oven... yea.

I was overwhelmed. lol. I stood & stared at the mess for like a minute, like "How the hell do I approach this situation?" So I put him in the crate so I could clean up. It took me almost 45 minutes to clean, wipe & disinfect everything. Definitely an experience...

We decided that we were gonna give the whole "open ground" thing one more try before we put him back in his crate. So I taped the pads on the floor, this time with much more durable tape, and we hoped for the best. When we got home it was a little better as he didn't smear stuff everywhere but it was still too messy.

The next day we put him back in his crate & it's been getting better everyday. He barely whines anymore unless we just came home & he's so excited to see us that he keeps jumping up & down & barking to get out. He's getting trickier with his poop though; smart little runt! I had his bed on on side & the pad on the other & he pooped under his bed where there was no pad. Little rascal! Yesterday Actor told me that he threw his poop out of the cage. And last night we came home from the store & he had pee & poop outside of the cage. Apparently he stuck his booty out of the cage to do his business. lol. I'd be mad but it's too freaking adorable. Guess cuz he's still new. Cuz after a while I'm gonna be on that ass. Better play your cute card for as long as possible buddy.

He be posingggg

Look mommy I'm biting my toy! Take a picture!

You can kinda tell in this pic but his eyes are gray/blue/purple

His sexy come hither look

Outside on the rock that he eats. More on that next time...

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BRANDO 2

Here's some pix of Brando. He just turned a month old yesterday =)

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BRANDO

Pssssssst... Guess what?


















Me & Actor are expecting...








:-D










Now before you go pacifier & diaper happy, ya might wanna consider a petsmart giftcard. lol. Cuz we're getting a puppy!!!

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

There's no word that can describe the depth of excitement that I feel. Actor's had numerous dogs before but this is my 1st dog ever. My 1st real pet ever. Cuz I mean, I had goldfishes as a child but they all eventually died & plus I didn't get to play with them so they don't count.

His name is Brando (as in Marlon of course.) He's a pit/rottweiler/chow mix. Yes I know that's the roughest mix ever for a 1st dog & everyone that we've told have been like "You got a what?!" but it's all good. With Actor's experience & both of our love, affection, attention & discipline he'll grow up to be a fine dog. Oh, he's gonna be trained to attack you if you mess with us too, believe that, lol. But if you don't mess with us then you won't get ate up *wink wink*

He's still at Aunty's house feeding off of his mom Sasha. She's a beautiful blue pit bull. Aunty's family is like our second family; we love them dearly. They already have a handful of dogs and Sasha just had a litter of 7 so they were giving them away. Me & Actor just started talking about getting a puppy & Brando came into this world right on time.

We can't separate him too soon from Sasha & are waiting for him to grow a little bit more before we can get him. If all goes according to plan we're getting him next Friday. I'm so excited! I've already looked online & in stores & know exactly what I'm getting him as far as a bed, food, & etc...

I remember the 1st night that we saw him, he was a little smaller than he is now. I stood there & watched him for like 40 minutes! lol. Couldn't take my eyes off of him. He's so adorable & cute & playful & affectionate &... everything great in this world. Did I mention that he's a deep, rich, chocolate color? And we think his eyes are blue. We're not too sure cuz his eyes were so tiny & he was moving too much for us to look.

I'll definitely take lots of pictures & post it on here. He's gonna be the most loved dog in the whole wide world.

:-D

MY NEW FRIEND PEARL

I remember the first day I got her. Black, red & silver with a mirror on the back. Shaped like a regular rectangle but with the top right & bottom left corner curved in. The infamous Nokia whatever edition (I still can't remember.) I love limited/ unique/ customized stuff. They're the best.

My brother gave it to me as a graduation present; straight from Vietnam to my tiny little hands. It was the most complex & entertaining device I had ever seen in my life: Mp3 music player, movie player, film maker, photo caller id, internet, memory card... the works. It might sound typical now, but mind you this was 3 or 4 years ago; before anybody even knew that music on your phone was even possible.

The reactions were always great: "What's your number?" "404. 5. Whoa! What kind of phone is that?!" "Oh, it's just a... *insert explanation here*" It was cool to have a phone that everybody loved & complimented over. Cuz I'm a gadget freak. And I love having cool stuff. lol.

We've had conversations, good & bad. Pictures that are definitely worth more than a thousand words. Messages that make or break your day. Songs & videos that entertain. We've been through it all.

I dropped her a couple of times (Ok, many) & it was very painful. I don't know about ya'll but I don't like dropping stuff, especially my phone. It's the worst.

Years later, as with all things, my little Nokia started to deteriorate. Bit by bit she wore down & out. I was sad. I tried to nurture her, heal her, but to no avail.

Reluctantly I got another phone. Turns out my little Nokia had already told her friend about me: what I liked & needed. Ergo me & little miss Blackberry met & shook hands. "Pearl" she calls herself. She's beautiful & smart too. Adorned with silver jewelry & bright, shiny, red lipstick, she catches everyone's attention. I mean, you should see her lipstick! It's the most amazing red I've ever seen in my entire life! It's shiny apple, new car paint red.

I've only known her for what? 2 days now? We've gotten off to a good start. I love everything about her so far & I'm excited to learn more. She's just so interesting. I have a good feeling that this will be a long lasting friendship, hopefully as long as it was with Nokia.

I still have her by the way (Nokia.) I'm looking at her right now. In a couple of days we'll say our final goodbyes as she goes back to Vietnam with my dad. He'll find a nice place for her to stay & might even fix her up for good. Even so, I might just let her stay there & go on a permanent vacation. She deserves it. Don't we all?

TO- THE TOILET SEAT WETTER

LISTEN- I HATE TO TELL YOU THIS BUT I KNOW WHO YOU ARE

YOU SEE WE HAPPENED TO CROSS PATHS- AS YOU CAME OUT, I CAME IN.

I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU TO COME BACK AND CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF, BUT YOU HAD ALREADY WALKED INTO THE OFFICE AND I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE AT THAT TIME. BUT NEXT TIME WE CROSS PATHS TO AND FROM THIS RESTROOM I WILL, CAUSE SINCE I KNOW WHO YOU ARE AS SOON AS I SEE YOU COME OUT I'LL JUST ASK POLITELY BEFORE YOU GET AWAY AGAIN.

I (NO, WE ALL) ASK THAT SINCE APPARENTLY YOU WERE NOT TAUGHT AS A CHILD THAT BOYS SHOULD LIFT UP THE TOILET SEAT *white out* THEY TINKLE - WOULD YOU PLEASE BE SO CURTIOUS ENOUGH AS TO WIPE IT DOWN WHEN YOUR DONE. I DON'T THINK ANYONE ENJOYS CLEAN UP YOUR URINE.

SINCERELY,
YOUR SECRET KEEPER (FOR NOW)


"PLEASE WIPE OFF THE TOILET SEAT WHEN YOU WET IT"



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*I saw this in the handicapped bathroom at work. (There's two businesses in this building & we share a public bathroom. The regular bathrooms have 4 or 5 stalls & there's a separate handicapped bathroom across the hall (which everybody uses. I don't think I've ever seen a handicapped person use it...)

*Ask me how hard I laughed when I saw this

*It's filled with grammatical errors but you get the point. You toilet seat wetter! lol. Stop it! That's gross!

TOUCH FREAKING DOWN

The Giants won! (Not as in happy, but as in shocked)

They won! As an Atl-ian I'm obligated to stay true to the Falcons but since they weren't playing (and won't be for a long time. blah) we were rooting for the Patriots (weren't we all?) But it was inevitable: 18-0 & you lose the game that matters the most. Yea. That's just how life works doesn't it. I feel bad for them. But damn if the Giants didn't deserve that win. They fought for that thing. You don't understand! It was an uproar! There were only 3 or 4 people in the house that were going for the Giants so when they made that last touchdown everyone else jumped up & screameddddd (Not cheering. Screaming in pain. lol) Glad I didn't put money on that game. If I did I would've bet on Giants just cuz everybody thought the Patriots were gonna win. I think that's another reason why they didn't either. They were a little bit too comfortable & figured they had it in the bag. Boys & girls, this is what we call a classic case of GOT YO ASS!!!

And look! The Manning brothers both won the superbowl! Two years in a row! How kick ass is that?! I bet they're gonna make them go head to head in the superbowl soon. Very very soon. How big is that gonna be? Can you imagine?

SWEENEY TODD

Sweeney Todd. WHOOOO!!!!!! Love it!

Me & Actor agreed that this has got to be our favorite musical now. Grease is still one of my favorites, but this movie just took musicals to a whole 'notha level. And plus Johnny Depp is the shiznit. Did I mention that by the way?...

Depp plays Benjamin Barker, a happily married barber who is unjustly exiled & sent to prison by a jealous & greedy judge who wanted his wife. He comes back years later, changing his name to Sweeney Todd & vowing revenge. The only person that recognizes him is Mrs. Lovett, a meat pie shop owner who's store is right below his. Lovett, who's been secretly in love with Sweeney forever, becomes his accomplice in the quest. He reopens his shop & vows to give people the closest shave they'll ever have. A shave that they never come back from again...

Filled with banging songs, lyrics & melodies, Sweeney Todd is magnificently crafted. I mean, I can remember most of the songs even now and I saw it a while back. Most of the movie was dark but splashes of colors were beautifully thrown in & made you appreciate it. The story line was... exciting, breathtaking, scary, thrilling, moving, overwhelming... it's just freaking awesome!!!

Helena Bonham Carter (Lovett) was a great match for Depp (you know they've done movies together before. Look it up.) She's a great actress & singer. Everyone else in the movie were great singer & actors too, hence the all-around great musical.

Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) made a cameo appearance as Signor Adolpho Pirelli, a former apprentice of Sweeney (before he went to prison) and is now a self-proclaimed barber of the town. lol. He is a trip!

Alan Rickman (Judge Turpin) is the one responsible for Sweeney's miserable life & has Sweeney's daughter in captivity. He's also the bad guy in PERFUME. He's a great actor; definitely makes you scared of & despise him.

I definitely gotta give props to Depp for singing throughout the WHOLE ENTIRE movie. He was really nervous about it but he did his thang! Refer to the "he is the shiznit" comment above...

I also gotta give props to Jayne Wisener (Johanna; Sweeney's daughter.) Her voice was so pure & enchanting. Her song was one of my favorites.

Now mind you, some people didn't know that Sweeney Todd was a musical. A couple of people left the theater after the opening scene & the ones who stayed were very annoying. They kept commenting & making fun of the singing and you KNOW me & Actor were blowed! This chick behind Actor kept kicking his seat when Sweeney killed people in the barber shop... Yea. Pretty bad... But guess what? The movie got soooo good & captivating that everyone, EVERYONE, in the theater were still & quiet & taking it all in. It was a great thing to experience for me. I'm such a big Depp supporter.

Speaking of, I want him to win the Oscar. He deserved it a LONGGGGGGGGGGGGG time ago. I'm all for Depp winning "Actor in a Leading Role" this year. He better freaking win is all I'm saying. It is not a request!

I like all the other contenders in the category too (Clooney, Day-Lewis, T. Lee Jones & Viggo Mortensen) They're all great actors but I'm all for Depp this year. Sorry guys! You'll get one another time...

In conclusion, here's a recap:

1) Sweeney Todd is THE musical. Watch it.
2) Sacha B. Cohen is still the truth.
3) Depp better win the Oscar this year.
4) Remind me to tell you about "Eastern Promises." That was a good movie too.
5) Depp better win the Oscar this year.
6) Win the Oscar this year Depp better.


~ Akanke

SWEENEY TODD

"This is the tale of an ordinary man, who had everything... Benjamin Barker. Until a man of power stole his freedom, destroyed his family and banished him... for life. And in his sorrow a new man was born."


"No! Not Barker. That man is dead. It's Todd, now. Sweeney Todd. And he shall have his revenge..."



At last! My arm is complete again!

"I can guarantee the closest shave you'll ever know."




"There's a hole in the world like a great black pit, and it's filled with people who are filled of shit, and the vermin of the world inhabit it..."

"I want the bleeders"

"YOU DON'T WANNA GO THERE CUZ I WILL RING MY BITCH BELL SO LOUD..."

The past month have been the most busy & fun month as of yet. Of this year anyway, since it's the 1st month so doesn't have any competition. lol


* My birthday party was on Jan. 12th at Hooters. It was great! Started off kind of rocky but ended really well. We were supposed to go to the Atlanta location & I called & told them like 10 times but 20 minutes before we were supposed to be there they told me that they didn't have any tables available for me. Some sorry service... So we changed it to the one near where we lived instead. It was way across town so some people couldn't find a ride/ make it so I lost about half of my party but alot of people still showed up. (The real, true, ride or die friends. lol. Boo everybody else! Still love you though :-p) We had a blast! I got great gifts :-D

* My friend Cali's birthday was this past weekend. We had an all girl's dinner on Friday (well, all girls plus one gay guy, same difference) at F.R.O.G.S. I've never been there before but we ended up having to go there because Loca Luna (I hate you guys by the way) was a horrible horrible stupid idiotic place with the worst customer service EVERRRR. We got there at 8:30pm & waited until 10:30pm and left. Mind you there was no waiting area so we sat/stood by the door where people were coming in & out & it was the freaking coldest night of the week & I gotta freaking cold as we speak. And they said that we couldn't make reservations until 10pm but people were coming in in herds & got tables immediately, cuz they, of course, had reservations. WTF man??!!!!!!

When we 1st got there they claimed that the wait was an hour. We called around & every restaurant in the vicinity was about the same so we decided to wait. An hour later it was "Oh, your table's coming up. Give us 15-20 minutes." Half an hour later it was "Oh yea, 15-20 more minutes." Half an hour more... well, you get the picture.

F.R.O.G.S was ok. I'm just not into hispanic foods like that so... ehh. Just went there cuz the birthday girl wanted to.

But yea. Boyyy. Alot of people almost got stabbed that night. By my purple suede stilettos. For realll. But none of us made a big fuss cuz we were all starving & had no energy to. In the words of our fab gay friend "You don't wanna go there cuz I will ring my bitch bell so loud... honeyyyyy"


* We went to Bazaar for our friends' mixtape release party after dinner. They brought her a chocolate cake and all. It was delish! And thennnnn.... dun dun dun... a fight breaks out! Apparently 2 guys started fighting over lord knows what & our guys had to break them up. Turns out they were on the same team. They were both our friends. Crazy I tell ya.

Actor was mad because he met us there & had only been there for half an hour & we got kicked out. lol. They kicked our 2 guys that were breaking the fight out too & the party was for their mixtape. lol. Talk about ironic.

* We spent the night at Cali's house & went to Red Robin for lunch the next day. It was greattt. One of my favorite burger joints now. They're hugeeee. lol. Our friend Meth got a monster burger & by the time he (barely) finished it he was breathing heavy & face was a little flushed. hahahaha. It was funny. And their freckled lemonades? Whew! I had like 5 of 'em. The best ever! It's lemonade with real strawberries in it. *drools*

* Me & Actor have been going shopping crazyyyy. One of the things we said that we were gonna do this year (we don't believe in NY resolutions, you should try to do better all the time, not just on a list once a year. But anyways...) was get more stuff. And indeed we did. I swear I've literally acquired 5 pairs of shoes in like 3 weeks. Including some ridiculously banging Coach shoes for a ridiculously low price. hahaha. Yayyy. :-D

That's all I can remember as of the moment. I shall write more shortly.

Toodles.

Love,
Akanke

A PLEASANT SURPRISE

"Can you imagine? Right now God's up there going *head down, scratching his head with both hands* 'These freaking dandruffs!'"

lol






I'm sure everyone in Atlanta blogged about this yesterday, but...

IT SNOWED!!!!!!!!

It freaking snowed. In Atlanta. In like 8 trillions years. lol. I swear I haven't seen snow here since I was a little girl (and that was quite a while ago. Yes I just had a birthday. And yes I'm getting up there)

It was beautifulllllll. Me & Actor just got off work & it started to flurry then snowed full blast by the time we got home. We got out of the car & stuck our tongues & hands out to catch some of the snow. Great times :-D It was like the world stopped for 5 minutes & the snow healed everything & everyone...

I went inside, changed into my jeans, timbs & sweater then we went back out to WalMart for food.

By the way did I mention that Atlantans are crazy???!!! They already DRIVE LIKE IDIOTS and they get even worse when it rains, so imagine snow, if you will... Yea... And everyone & their mama was at WalMart (it's always packed, but today to the 9th degree cuz people were stocking up "in case they get snowed in") Are you serious?! Call me a pessimist but I barely believed that it was gonna snow! lol. And you really think we're gonna get snowed in? Rightttt... Well, I guess anything is possible since I didn't believe it was gonna snow in the 1st place.

Once we got home we stayed in the car for like 20 minutes to enjoy the snow. We closed our eyes & listen to it pitter patter on the windshield. Actor smiled from ear to ear. Apparently he loves snow too. It made me happy to see him gleam...

We finally got out of the car & I was attacked by a snowball as I was getting groceries out of the car. lol. "What the hell?! When did you even pick that up?" "The art of war baby. Art of war." I couldn't pick any snow up cuz my hands were full so I settled to kick him instead.

We got in the house & opened the blinds to watch the snow fall some more. After a while it turned into freezing rain & we closed it back. Hey, it was great while it lasted.

I love pleasant surprises...

PERFUME

Ok. Let me tell you about Perfume. We saw the trailer for it in a dvd's bonus features (can't remember which one) but me & Actor was like "Yooo, we gotta get it!" So we did... And it's as good as it looks, if not better.

Whoo! I mean, wow. First of all, the idea & concept is soooo original. Well, to me anyway. I'm sure there's similar movies out there but I've never personally seen a story like this. The closest thing that I can think of is Sweeney Todd (which isn't really that close once you think about it; I just happen to be thinking about it right now & I'm gonna definitely post about that next, so... *finally takes a breath*

But anyways, in a nutshell, Perfume is about Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (played by Ben Whishaw,) an orphan who grows up with an unbelievably, out-of-this-world heightened sense of smell. I mean, he can smell the maggots eating the insides of a dead rat. Yea. And he can smell someone throwing an apple at him. And ducks. Yea. He's that good... So he grows up fascinated with the smell of everything. And over time he literally knows the smell of EVERYTHING. One day in town he crosses path with a woman with the best scent in the world. Captivated by euphoria, he follows & smells her intently. As she gets startled, he covers her mouth out of instinct & kills her. Her smell keeps a lasting impression on him & he lives the rest of his life trying to preserve scents because he never wants to lose that euphoria again.

Dustin Hoffman is Giuseppe Baldini, an out of touch (and smell) perfume maker whos business is revived after meeting & recruiting Jean-Baptiste to work for him. He teaches Jean-Baptiste the basics of perfume making & in time JB goes to another city to better develop his art.

Did I mention that this movie is the greatest? Yea, ok, just making sure. The cast, lighting, narrative, characters... everything is up to par. And did I mention that the story is freaking awesome? Whew!

There's a sex scene in there that knocks all sex scenes that you've ever seen off of the map. You'll see... And the ending? I couldn't guess it. Can you believe it? I had no clue how the movie was gonna end. It's so incredible. I just love these movies with unguessable endings. Pure delight!

Should I even tell you to go rent this movie? I mean, come on! Do it or else!

PERFUME






Jean-Baptiste Grenouille: I can make Amour and Psyche for you. Now.
Giuseppe Baldini: And you think I'd just let you sop around in my laboratory? With essential oils that are worth are fortune?
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille: Yes.


Whatever his insane scheme is... it will surely be incomplete without you

Antoine Richis: Why did you kill my daughter?
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille: I just needed her.

Antoine Richis:Very well, but remember this... I'll be looking at you when you're laid on the cross and the twelve blows are crashing down on your limbs. When the crowd is finally tired of your screams and wandered home, I will climb up through your blood and sit beside you. I will look deep into your eyes... and drop by drop I will trickle my disgust into them like burning acid until... finally... you perish.

UNNAMED

Some disturbing news to me:
1) A family in Cali said they found maggots in Gerber baby food. Gross. They just asked for their money back. What?! I would've sued the hell out of Gerber. Cuz they found 2, not one but TWOOO bottles with maggots in it. That's disgusting! I wonder if the baby actually ate any of them.

2) A father threw his 4 kids off a bridge in Alabama. WHATTTT?????? I've heard millions of disturbing news in my life & time but this shocks me. And he's Vietnamese (which is what I am.) That doesn't have anything to do with anything except for the fact that Vietnamese people never really get that much press. Especially in the news. For murder! I can only imagine how his family & friends feel. They're so embarassed right now. More on culture exposure later.

3) The Golden Globes are cancelled. ARE YOU F&*$&%* KIDDING ME??!!! That blows. I hope the writer's strike ends soon cuz this is going too far. I want them to get what they deserve & I want to see things other than re freaking runs on tv. K thanks!

*sexy voice* In other news...

My birthday party is this Saturday bitches!!!!!!!!! It's gonna be on & popping!!!!!!!!!!!

BIRTHDAY GIRL

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

YAY!!!

Oh yea, in an addendum to my HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS are two very very crucial things:

1) Chrisette Michele's new/debut album is vital to your cd collection. It's all I've been listening to for like, 3 weeks.

2) Assassin's Creed= my new favorite game. I've been watching the guys play it since Christmas. It's rawww. Think I'm gonna start my own file in a minute...

Will blog more later...

~ Akanke

I'M BACKKKKKK

Wowwww. Long time no talk. I didn't realize that I've been gone that long. Whew! I've been on vacation from work since 12/21 & been chillaxing the wholeeee entire time. It's been a fantastical 2 weeks I tell you that much...

:-D

MERRY BELATED CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!!!!

I've got lots & lots & lotsss to tell you, but since I'm pressed for time today I'll hit the highlights. Don't forget to remind me to tell you!

1) Sweeney Todd = oscar worthy. Whew! One of my favoritestestest musical/movie now.

2) I am Legend. I saw that when it came out but forgot to mention.

3) Untouchables. Another movie that I've seen that I failed to mention.

4) I cooked Ham, yams & baked mac & cheese for the first time this Christmas. lol. It turned out great!!! Very proud of myself :-)

5) I got lots of goodies for Christmas. Notably a new cd player for my car, some red pots & pans that I wanted & lots of hot clothes.

6) I got something very exciting that I'm going to/doing tomorrow & can't tell. Maybe I'll never tell *raises eyebrow*

7) New Year was a blast. I love hanging out with my fam & friends.

8) I just saw my life-long friends again for the 1st time last night in what? 2 or 3 years? It was great! Just like old times. We were finishing each other's sentences, looking at old school pix (oh my goddd. haha) & just talking & laughing like we never left each other's presence for a second.

9) My birthday is Monday the 7th. Yayyyy. How old am I gonna be? Go read my archived blogs & figure it out :-) Or you can just read my profile & find out... eh. Easy way out.

10) Here are the stores that I frequent. Gift cards are very much appreciated *wink wink*
- Bebe
- Wet Seal
- Coach
- Target
- Victoria's Secret
- Linens & Things
- QuickTrip (hey, I can always use some gas. holla)
- Bakers
- 579

That's all I can think of right now. Cash is good too :-D

11) I'm having me birthday party on the 12th. Haven't decided where yet so I'll keep you posted. Everybody's invited! By invitation only that is.

That is all for ze moment. I'll check back soon.

Love you all,
Akanke

BABEL

Babel is an excellent movie. The end.

I mean, being a Brad Pitt fan I know that anything that he signs up for is gonna be good. He picks great movies. And this one is not an exception.

Also starring Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal, Koji Yakusho, Adrianna Barraza & Rinko Kikuchi (I know alot of these names are unfamiliar to most, but after you see this movie you'll remember them for a long time) Babel is a seriously touching picture. Imagine "Crash", if you will, but more intense & political. I mean, I was on edge for most of the movie.

In a nutshell, Babel is about 4 different families in four different parts of the world whom are connected to each other in ways they couldn't fathom. Brad & Cate are a married couple vacationing in Morocco, where a family just bought a gun to keep rascals away from their animals & the children got a hold of it. Brad's children are being watched by a nanny who takes them with her to Mexico for her son's wedding because she couldn't find anyone else to watch them. And the last family is a widowed Japanese father & deaf-mute daughter trying to connect & re-established their relationship after the mom commits suicide. And in one way or another every one of their actions affects one another's even though they've never met.

Like I said, this movie had me on edge the ENTIRE time. I've never had a movie make me so tense & concerned about the characters; I felt like I was a part of their family. My eyes were wide, heart beating fast & sometimes I held my breath for longer than a person should before they start suffocating. And they broke so many movie "rules" and boundaries that it's crazy & exhilarating at the same time. You see the human body exposed in a completely different way, the realness & intensity of people's struggles, and how one stupid decision can alter your life forever.

Wow, my heart is racing again just talking about it. They definitely didn't win an Oscar for Best Motion Picture for nothing I tell you that.

Go watch this if you haven't. It's incredible.

Love,
Akanke

BABEL


It's almost new. Three hundred cartridges. The guy who gave it to me said you can hit as far as three kilometers.

I'm deaf, not blind!


They look at us like we're monsters.


What about you? How many wives do you have?
Anwar: I can only afford one.


This is your fucked-up country, it's your responsibility!

ALONG CAME A SPIDER

Along Came a Spider. Hmm. Even the name is intriguing. If the name is intriguing than the movie must be too right? Of course! No sarcasm there! Maybe I'm biased but anything that Morgan Freeman stars in is going to be great. Well, except for "Guilt by Association." The title is full of LIES! All you need to know is that he's only in the movie for at most 15 minutes and it's a horrible & deceptive title because it has nothing to do with the movie. I don't fault him though, it wasn't his fault that the rest of the movie sucked. He did them a favor by being in it but even Morgan couldn't save that horrible independent venture.

But anyways, Along Came a Spider was fantastical! It's an older movie (2001) but still has substance & style. Adapted from James Patterson's novel, ACAS stars Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross & Monica Potter as Jezzie Flannigan. Cross is a distinguished detective who gets pulled into a well-planned game by Gary Soneji (Michael Wincott.) Soneji abducts the Senator's daughter in hopes of topping Charles Linbergh's kidnapping (his son's kidnapping was THE kidnapping of all time.) As he leads Cross in cat & mouse chase across Washington D.C, time runs low & people reveal their true intentions.

I must say the ending caught me off guard in a good way; I can usually tell what's going to happen but not for this movie. I love Morgan's character: Cross is incredibly smart, thoughtful & compassionate. He could play those roles forever & I wouldn't be tired of 'em. I actually jumped for joy when he won the Oscar for Million Dollar Baby (which I haven't seen yet & shall put on my QUEUE.) He deserves every award that he receives!

Along Came a Spider: a genius story accompanied by incredible actors. Thumbs up! If you haven't seen it, you already know... better sign up for that Total Access! :-D


~ Akanke

Alex: Wow. Imagine the patience... the dedication...
Jezzie: You sound like an admirer.
Alex: Well, he's like a spider. I happen to like spiders.

Gary Sonjei: I am living proof, that a mind is a terrible thing.

Gary Sonjei: They say that when I die, the case will die. They say it will be like a book I close. But the book, it will never close...

Alex: You do what you are Jezzie.
Jezzie: You mean you are what you do.
Alex: No, I mean, you do what you are. You're born with a gift. If not that, then you get good at something along the way. And what you're good at, you don't take for granted. You don't betray it.
Jezzie: What if you do, betray your gift?
Alex: Then you betray yourself. That's a sad thing.

TOTAL ACCESS TO MY QUEUE

By the way I just signed up for Blockbuster Total Access so I get unlimited rentals & stuff. Very excited about this! Oh and guess what?! You get to see my queue. lol. Why does that sound so dirty? Well it's not, and you illegal song downloaders should know what a queue is :-p. In case you're not familiar with Total Access you basically go online & search for movies that you want to see & drag it to your queue (basically a list of pending movies.) They then send the 1st movie on the list to you & when you're finished you send it back to them & they send you the next movie on the list. Pretty simple process...

And so I've added a little section at the bottom of me page so you can look at my actual queue list of movies that I'm going to watch. It'll give you an idea of what movie I'll be blogging about next. And it also gives you a synopsis, cast & awards (if any) info and everything about each movie. I think it's pretty cool. Yay!

I'll try to blog about each movie as I finish but I'm pretty sure I'll watch faster than I write. I mean, I do have a job & a boyfriend, and a... life. So yea, I'll try my best to write every time I have time.

Enjoy!
Akanke

Random P.S.- I like renting but I love buying movies more so this whole Total Access thing is just a bonus goody. Trust me, when I'm done I'm gonna need a whole room in the house to store all of my DVDs :-D (Yes I've already thought about a floorplan for my built from the ground up house. More on that later)

:-D

BORAT

So we finally saw Borat. hahahahaa. It's the most funny, gross & highly controversial comedy ever! lol! Oh my God! He is soooo crazy!

If you guys haven't seen it, which you need to go rent RIGHT NOW, Borat is THE political & funny movie. Sacha Baron Cohen (Talladega Nights, Da Ali G show) is supposedly a reporter named Borat from Kazakstan traveling across the U.S. and A (Yes that's how he says it. Not USA. U.S. and A. Holla) doing a documentary on the people & culture that he meets along the way. Well, that's what he tells the unsuspecting victims anyway. hahahaha. He's an idiot!

The people that he meets are real people & he messes with them soooo bad. They're trying to be all professional in front of the camera but Borat is an asshole & asks provocative & highly inappropriate questions. He interviews people all across the spectrum, from driving instructors, dinner etiquette teachers, college students to guys on the block (just to name a few.)

No for real, ya'll have GOT to see this movie. Not only is it so incredibly entertaining, it is serious as it reveals how people really feel about certain subjects, such as sexism, racism & slavery.

And there's tons of deleted scenes that couldn't make it into the movie so the bonus features are packed with greatness. haha. Go rent it! Oh, and look for him in the new movie Sweeney Todd with Johny Depp. Can't wait to see it!

~ Akanke


BORAT

You telling me the man who try to put a rubber fist in my anus was a homosexual?

What kind of car can I buy that attract woman with shaved vagine?
Car Dealership owner: That would be a Corvette. Or a Hummer.

Does Jesus love my neighbour, Nushuktan Tulyiagby?
Church Pastor: Yes, Jesus loves everyone.
Nobody like my neighbour, Nushuktan Tulyiagby.

Sometime my sister, she show her vagine to my brother Bilo and say "You will never get this you will never get it la la la la la la." He behind his cage. He cries, he cries and everybody laughs. She goes "You never get this." But one time he break cage and he "get this" and then we all laugh. High five!

My name-a Borat. I like you. I like sex. Is nice!

THE YELLOW ONE

~ The weather's been great for the past 3 days; it feels like springtime. I mean, it's literally like mid 70s to low 80s. It's good & bad because I'll take springtime weather anyday, but it's two weeks from Christmas & I was hoping for snow. haha. Yea right. Wishful thinking...

~ By the way, our tree IS 8 feet tall. Whoot whoot! I went home & stood next to it & since I'm 5'2 & the tree boldly overshadows me by a clear 3+ feet, I was like yea... You're so not 7 feet buddy. We decorated it on Sunday too; Actor's brothers & his dad helped us. There were some complications but it turned out nicely; it's beauuuutiful!

~ Visine is getting so much money out of me. My contacts have been bothering me for the past couple of days & my eyes have been literally drenched in the stuff. Are you making my eyes drier? *mugs*... Oh but I'm getting my new contacts today so, yippee! No more Visine!

~ Why was I extra slow yesterday? I didn't get enough sleep so was kinda dragging all day. Then I got hungry & went to Mickey Ds for lunch & boy was I a retarded customer. So I ordered & paid & drove to the second window right? I got a grilled chicken sandwich & some fries & wanted some sweet & sour sauce to go with it. So I'm like "Can I have two of your sauce?" The lady (couldn't speak much English, had a thick accent, so we both couldn't really understand each other) looks at me like... "Ok, you're gonna have to help me out here, we've got like 8 million kinds of sauces." And for the life of me I couldn't think of "sweet & sour" for nothing! My mind was racing & I'm thinking of all types of complicated sauce like "bbq, honey mustard, bourbon, teriyaki (knowing damn well they don't have either of the last ones. lol)" and mind you, 10 seconds have probably gone by & I'm just staring at her, zoned out in my own little mind trying to think of the name of the sauce.

"The yellow one." lol. After 15 seconds of thinking, I said "the yellow one." Standing ovation for the retard please! She says "Sweet & Sour?" "Yes! That's the one! Sorry!"


She gave me 2 packages & I drove away in shame...

TELL ME WHY...

Tell me why...

1) The trash people at my job don't replace my trash bag? They just empty the bag... That's gross. I had this sticker that I threw in the trash like a week ago & it's still there, stuck to the side of the bag. Grosssss. I mean, I can see how you would do that if it's just paper, but how do you know unless you rummage through it? Which would also be gross. Case in point: change my bag pls!

2) I don't realize that I'm missing an item that I ordered (from a fast food drive through) until after I'm long gone from the place? Ughhh. Irritating. Like today I didn't get my drink & completely didn't notice it till I got back to work. Boo. I really wanted it too. I upsized to a large. lol. Double boo.

"Why don't you just go back Akanke?" you might ask. Well, that depends on numerous factors: 1 being if I even notice that I didn't get something (cuz sometimes I'm too hungry to check or just trust that the person got my order right.)
2 being if I'm already out of the parking lot. If I am then I probably won't come back.
3 being what the actual item is: if it's just some fries or a drink I'd probably just leave it. If it's a burger or similar then I'd probably go back but wouldn't want to.
4 being how long the line is once I get there. If the drive through is long I'd probably just leave cuz I don't feel like getting out of the car. lol

3) They sentenced Vick to 23 months in prison? I mean, why don't you just make it an even 2 years. Gosh. I mean, not that I want him to spend more time in jail, it's just why do people make stuff so complicated? Why can't everything just be an even dollar? or number? You know? Stuff that are $9.99 irritates me. lol. Just go ahead and put $10. My God! Do you really think changing the number from 10 to 9 will make me think that I'm saving a whole dollar? You only took a penny off! Ughh.

And about the whole dog fighting thing? Blah. Maybe I'm biased because I've never had a pet (except for some goldfishes but they all died. I dunno, I don't really count them as a pet) but damn, I don't think it's that serious. People cock fight, hunt deers, etc. all the time! Who's to say one animal is better than another? If that's the case then why don't everybody become a vegetarian & not eat ANY meat. I just feel that they overblown the case cuz he was famous & they wanted to make an example out of somebody. Leave people alone! And before you PETA people starting throwing paint on my door, I don't condone or encourage mistreatment of animals. I just don't think that one animal should be regarded higher than another.


That is all.

Akanke

*INSERT YOUR FAVORITE CHISTMAS SONG HERE*

I'm excited about Christmas! Yay!

That about sums up how I feel about the upcoming weeks: I can't wait for Christmas to come. We just bought our tree last night. It's huge too! I'm guessing it's 7-8 feet cuz it's literally an inch away from my ceiling (According to me assuming that our ceiling is 8ft. It could be 9ft, but I'm pretty sure that the tree isn't 9 ft. so I'm assuming that my ceiling is 8ft. Confused yet?) But anyways, yay for the tree! This is my second real tree & Actor's zillionth, but we are excited about it like it's our first time. hehe.

We're probably gonna decorate it tonight or sometime this weekend. Bought some extra boxes of lights in case our old lights decided to give out... We have cool stocking holders & everything. I'm putting them on the bar counter since we don't have a fireplace like we did last year. Actor & his brothers still have their stockings that I decorated for them last yr. They're dope; I decorated them with glitter gel pens & drew things that reflected each person's favorite things on there. Speaking of I gotta find mine; it's in one of the Christmas boxes that we packed away somewhere...

We're having Christmas dinner at our house this year. This is the second year but will be the 1st time that his parents are joining us. And his mom is cooking too *drools.* I'll be helping her but she's doing all the important/main dishes. I'm probably only gonna do the sides & etc since I haven't really ever cooked holiday dinner & don't wanna mess it up. haha.

I've gotten each person at least two gifts already (well, Actor like 5+) but haven't shopped for his mom yet. I wanted to get her this beautiful necklace & earring set but Actor said that she probably wouldn't like it so... I digress. Gotta regroup & find something else to get her. I love her by the way. That's my second mommy :-)

On another note, I'm so tired of Christmas music! Oh my god! Everywhere I go everyone is playing Christmas music: radio stations, elevators, stores, EVERYWHERE! I love the music, but you know the saying: two much of anything is bad. It gets to the point I'm sitting there driving & I start to sing a Christmas song for no apparent reason. It's like it's injected into my skull or something. Yuck! And plus everyone shouldn't remake/ have a Christmas album ok? Give it up. If you can't sing a normal song then a Christmas song isn't gonna sound better. LOL at country Christmas songs btw. They're funny...

All in all, I love this time of year. Family, friends, presents, food, joy, love, and everything inbetween. Yay! Oh & plus everything is so close together it's like our holidays never end: Christmas is on the 25th, then New Years, then my birthday is Jan. 7th, so yea... The party never stops for us.

I've already decided what restaurant I'm going to for my birthday, but haven't decided if I want it to be just us two, close family & friends, or an all-out every we know kinda deal. Hmm.... oh the possibilities. I'll let you know what I decide... later.

Toodles for now (wow I haven't heard the word toodles in ages, but it's a fun word to use)
:-)
Akanke

*HAPPY HOLIDAYS*