Sorry I have neglected to post an entry recently. I will post an update early this week. Stay Tuned Fans of Jessica Justice!! For she will be back soon...

I love that line. I saw the Producers this weekend when I was at home with my parents. What a great show!! I'm listening to the soundtrack right now. The movie is shot like it's a broadway show. It feels like you're watching a show too. Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick are amazing. Uma Thurman has never looked better, in my opinion....Damn sexy. Its rare that I see a movie and laugh out loud several times during the show. I plan on seeing it multiple times. It gets a 4.5 out of 5 brownies from me.

Update on my last week or so. I ended my semester pretty well with a 3.25. I'm happy with that considering how busy I was. Three B+s and a B. For not finishing a 10 page research paper that was 20% of my grade, that's not bad at all. My stress is over for now. I have one more semester to go, and it's off to the "real world". This past weekend I actually realized that I'm going to have to start thinking about jobs. I have been in the school mindset for so long that I didn't even think about applying or even looking for my career. So that's on my plate now.

I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't get the internship I wanted. I applied for an internship with the International Television and Radio Society. It would have been in New York City for 9 weeks all expenses paid. There's a lot of competition nationally. I really didn't expect that I would get it, since I know how the system works for these internships. I wish I had had the experience to apply last  year or the year before, because you usually have to reapply for these type of internships. Oh well. I have another one lined up. I go in for a local internship interview a week from Monday. They sound very interested. So, I'm not worried.

My Christmas was good. My family doesn't have a whole lot of money right now. So it was a much much less greedy Christmas for my family, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I've hated Christmas the past few years. It was a very welcome change to have a more heartfelt Christmas. My mother asked me for a list of things I wanted a couple months ago, and all I told her was that I just wanted something thoughtful. So everything was a big surprise, and it was all nice stuff. I put a lot of effort into my presents that I gave my sisters and parents. I spent more than I should by a lot, but they really appreciated what I got for them. That really made me happy. I hope the next few years continue that way.

This New Years is the first time I've ever had something planned to do. I'm not working at the movie theater as I have for years past. This time, Lindsay is having some sort of New Years party. So I'll be at that. I think it's a dress nice party. So that means I need a dress. Unfortunately I don't have one and don't have the money for one. Perhaps I'll find something cheap. We'll see. I don't know. I should probably ask her what the party dress is going to be like so I know for sure.

Let's see...other movie reviews...

I saw King Kong, and wow it was amazing. Peter Jackson is really a genius. That movie is a perfect example of it. My only criticism is that some scenes are a bit overindulged. By that, I mean they run a bit long. For example, the Brontosaurus chase is a bit long, the bug scene is a bit long, and so on. However, I think people will start to take Jack Black a bit more seriously after this film. His character is a tad bit overplayed, but that's actually not his fault. The character is designed that way. He did an excellent job. I was blown away by Kong himself. I knew he was computer generated, but he doesn't look like he is. Some of the ape/dinosaur fight scenes were a bit graphic, not that it bothers me, but I was just surprised to see it. All in all King Kong gets a 4 out of 5 brownies.

I also saw Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was enjoyable, though I didn't find it to be as amazing as people were saying. It was definitely more of a kiddie story. There were some things that were a bit ridiculous...no I'm not talking about the talking animals. I'm speaking more about the character Peter having no skill with a sword as demonstrated earlier in the movie, and then not much later all of a sudden he can push a rather large minotaur out of the way with it and fight in long duels like he's been fighting with a sword for years. Still there was some great imagery. Liam Neeson's voice is awesome for Aslan. The CG was not quite as good as it was for King Kong, but it was still pretty neat.

One of my major criticisms was not of the film, but of the Christian population's comments about the film. I almost lost all interest in seeing this film because people were calling it a Christian film due to C.S. Lewis many Christian writings. Yes, there are some of those themes present, but overall I'd say it wasn't. There were some strong pagan images as well. One main example is the appearance of Father Christmas, aka Santa. Complete with sleigh, reindeer, red coat, and bag-o-gifts, his character is unmistakable. Most Christians may think of Santa as a Christian figure, but he's really not. Christmas is on Dec. 25th not because of Jesus' birth, but because of the Pagan celebration of the great feast. Anyway, I had lost interest in seeing the film because the idea of it being a Christian film really took away from the pure enjoyment of it for me. Instead I went in with all these preconceptions and expectations. I probably liked it less because of that, not because I'm anti-Christian, but because I'd rather watch a story for the story without the preconceived messages. So...leaving it at that, I give it a rating of 3 out of 5 brownies. It was an enjoyable film, but it just didn't have enough substance to fill me up. It actually reminded me of the Harry Potter films in that respect... Go ahead...throw your tomatoes at me. I'm entitled to my opinion though.

My book is getting started. I have several chapter titles in mind. I'm trying to set up the outline for it so I have a backbone to work off of. I'm going to be doing a lot of research for this book. I think I may set up a large survey on this site to see what kind of responses I get. I may even poll people at random places to see what they may say. If you're interested in helping with it, let me know. We'll set something up. Anyway, I'm excited to get started on it.

On the job front, there are two open positions in the Computer department here at the University I go to. I am likely to apply for at least one of them. That'd get me some nice state benefits if I got the job. We'll also see what happens with the TV station. There may end up being a position created for me. I'm not sure there. We'll see what develops over the next semester.

Uh...I think that's it. It's not as big of a post this time as some of my others, but it's still pretty long. Sorry...I really should update more often. Oh well. Talk to all you wonderful people soon. :)

Luv,
Jess

I'm about to go to bed now that I've finished my last paper. I wanted to post a couple pictures of my girlfriend and also of Flapjack...my cat. :)


Here's Lindsay and Me from Sunday night.


And here's Flapjack being flappy. Scratch him on one side and he'll eventually flop over to the other side. He loves me. :) OK off to bed.

Luv,
Jess

The semester is almost at an end. Let me tell you, it couldn't

come any sooner. I am so sick of papers, presentations, and group

projects. I am definitely ready for a month off. It'll be nice. I don't

have work, which kinda sucks, but at least I can relax. I have a list

of things I want to do in the meantime. I'm kind of excited about some

of them, for example...I have "nothing" specifically written down. So

that ensures that I must do a certain amount of nothing during break.

OK, time to begin the massive recap of the past several weeks starting

with the most important and moving to the less important...

Lindsay and I are officially a couple now. :) YAY!!! We've seen as much

of each other as we can. It's an hour drive to see each other, but it's

been worth it. We have so much in common, it's crazy. I've spent every

night on the phone with her save one or two nights. It's been great.

I'm really happy. I know she is too.

I have a new kitty. His name currently is George, but I am planning on

changing it to something a little less generic. He's a black kitty, but

he has white hairs randomly throughout his fur. So I might go with the

name Dan D. Ruff. I'm a dork, I know. But I like it. I've also had

other thoughts too, but I'm not sure. How about a poll?

!++10++!

I can't wait to see the results. If you have a suggestion, comment and let me know.

Let's see...other stuff... Ah, school. So, the past two weeks have been

solid work. I had project after project due. I had a ten page paper

that I had to turn in a week and a half ago. I did turn it in, but I

only got about 2 pages of it done. That paper was due at the end of the

first week. That week was the worst of the two as far as stress is

concerned. I woke up every day in a panic. Literally, my alarm clock

would go off, and I'd sit up in my bed freaking out that I was late or

didn't get something done. I didn't sleep well all week, and by the end

of the week I was so frazzled that my paper just didn't happen. On top

of that, the content of the paper was a bit close to home, which made

it difficult to read. By the time I was trying to read through the

sources, I was in a solid panic. I couldn't get through any of it to

save my life. So, I gave up and tried to go to sleep. I couldn't sleep.

I laid on  my futon for an hour with my thoughts racing. I had to

eventually take Tylenol PM to get at least some sleep. I woke up early

enough to talk to the prof about the situation. He told me there wasn't

much he could do since he has to be fair, which is what I expected. So

I turned in what I had.

Friday I had to give a presentation on the paper, which I had been a

little concerned about. I was worried that I'd start to make excuses

while presenting, which is what I didn't want to do. So, I focused on

my structure and shaped the presentation in such a way that I wouldn't

even find a way to talk about why I didn't get it done aside from a few

minor things. My professor really liked it, and so did the class. I was

shocked about that. Today I got my paper back, and was blown away by

the B- that was on it. I'm still not exactly sure why I got that decent

of a grade. I'm not sure I deserve it, but it would appear that my

professor thinks I do.

My speech class has gone very well. I'm really happy with what I've

learned and how far I've come in this semester. I understand the craft

so much more now. I think I had one speech which wasn't that great, but

mostly I just got As. Oh, and one paper I got a slightly less than an A

on too. So, that probably was my best class overall.

My other two classes could have been better grades-wise, but I

definitely enjoyed them. Persuasion and Communication Theory...I'm such

a geek that I apply comm theory to whatever I'm doing. I see persuasive

techniques in the videos I do for departments of the school or in my

methods of educating the people I am helping with their computers. At

least I know I'm in the right field of study.

The holidays are upon us too. I have purchased one gift so far. I have

about five more to get, and I have about no money to get it with. It's

always this time of year that my income drops a bit due to all the

holidays clustered together. So, I'm a bit short on cash. I'm not out

of money by any means, but I'm just not in as great of shape as I was a

month ago. So, I have to budget to get by for the next month and a

half.

I applied for an internship in New York City. I'll find out if I get it

in a couple weeks. I'm really excited, but trying to keep my hopes to a

minimum. I didn't get the last one I wanted. So it's entirely possible

that I wont get this one too. Still, one of my professor friends thinks

I stand a very good chance. She read through my application and said

that I have all the experience I need to get the internship and beyond

that, my application suggests a lot of other things about me. Like, I

know the lingo of TV production. I can talk the talk and understand it.

I didn't answer things all cutesy. I put down some very serious

thoughts. So, cross your fingers.

Well, I have an exam in the morning. I should probably get to reviewing

the content. It's a pretty complex exam. So, I'll write more later this

week...since I'll have time. See ya then.

Luv,

Jess

The annual Women's Leadership Conference happened this past

weekend. I was one of the student organizers for the event. It was a

lot of work. Even now after the fact, I'm not sure it was worth it.

From the behind the scenes perspective, it was a fiasco. Though, I've

heard from others that it was great. So, hopefully only the organizers

thing it was horrible. There were some good things about it though.

Like for example, my friendship with Erika has been solidified into a

real friendship. Prior to this event, we worked together organizing,

but we were just acquaintences. Now we hang out for the fun of it.

We're kindred spirits. I'm really happy about that.

The second really awesome thing that happened was Lindsay. I'm sure all

of you are just now just dropped your jaws going "What?!!!", but

yes...I met someone. I wasn't expecting to at all. In fact, prior to

Saturday, I thought she was dating the girl she was hanging out with

every time I saw her. I had met her a week and a half prior when I

spoke at a college an hour away. My good friend Audrey had invited me.

Both Abigail and Lindsay gave me this vibe that they were a couple. So

yeah...when I found out on Saturday that they were all single, I was a

bit surprised.

Saturday night I was invited to hang out with the three of them. While

we were hanging out, Lindsay started playing footsie with me. Then she

started giving me eyes. We connected and were smiling and giggling.

Audrey and Abigail thought we were laughing at them. After the lights

went out, there was a little making out going on. I haven't done that

in two years. It was a very welcome change.

Sunday came and the conference ended. Due to my responsibilites with

the conference, I didn't get to say goodbye to them. Thankfully Lindsay

got my number from Audrey and called me later. We talked for an hour.

It was good. We have a lot in common. She's really cool. We seem to

have complimenting personalities. Apparently she thought I was out of

her league. That really blew me away. I've never thought of myself that

way...ever. It's always been the other way around for me. From my

perspective, I'm just doing what I think is right. I don't see why

people would look up to me or think of me as on some other level.

Anyway, I asked her out. Friday, while everyone else is succumbing to

the day of gluttany, Lindsay and I will be enjoying ourselves

(hopefully) at a restaurant and then we're going to probably watch a

movie or something. Yeah...pretty standard, but what can I say? I have

all this creativity when it comes to video, web work, and story

telling, but I can't be creative with a date. Go me. Still, I'm really

looking forward to it. I'll be sure to post updates.

School is just getting more and more stressful. I have 25 pages of

paper to write yet as well as four speeches not including my extra

curricular speeches, and I also have two presentations, one with a

group. That's not including finals. Last week Thursday night I actually

had a full out panic attack due to all the stress. I can't wait until

Winterim starts up. I need the break.

Anyway, it's past 2:00 in the morning. I have class at 9:30 am. I should get to bed. G'night all.

Luv,

Jess