Oops, I did it Again...

Hi. My name is Larissa and I am an impulsive buyer.

Seriously, it's true and it's getting really bad. I mean, who buys 'Just My Luck' for full price?... who buys 'Just My Luck' period? Well, apparently I do. That's one of my more embarrassing crimes though (and in my defense, I bought it for the Chris Pine moments, not the Lindsay Lohan ones). But recently my impulses are wackier than ever.

This morning I was working, just minding my own business, when suddenly I felt in dire need of a hamster. A hamster. Luckily I wasn't anywhere near a pet shop, nor allowed to leave work for such a silly reason, and the impulse left after a couple hours... Other impulses of late that I have managed not to act upon have been things like buying a brand new computer (I settled for an external hard drive and extra memory for my old one) and getting another tattoo. I just came back from returning a gym bag... I bought it without thinking about the fact that it was way too big for the simple purpose of carrying a pair of shoes and a towel, never mind the importance of size when it comes to fitting it into my gym locker.

Movies are my Achilles' heel... how do you think my movie collection got to be what it is today? Of course, most of the time I allow a little bit of common sense to leak into my movie purchases - I only hunt in the previously viewed section at Blockbuster or the bargain bin at Walmart. Once in a while though, my impulse just takes over... The "Oh, I know I can't afford it but it was such a great movie!" happens I find myself buying something before it's reached the bargain bin. Don't worry, that wasn't running through my head when I bought Just My Luck; but it was when I bought things like Fantastic Mr. Fox, Juno and Iron Man for full price.

Books: the library didn't have the Twilight series when I suddenly had to read it, so guess what's on my shelves now?
Clothes: How many graphic tees does one person really need? Yet every time I see a good one, it joins the rest of 'em chez Larissa.
Posters: My walls literally can't fit any more; I now have to decide which old posters will be covered up by the new ones.

(that's just A-D ...ridiculous much?)

You'll be happy to know (especially those of you who are shaking your heads at my behavior as you read this) that I'm working on this addiction of mine. Before I wasn't capable of walking into a Blockbuster without walking out with a movie or two; now I can just look and long but refrain from buying - though I let myself every so often... I mean, there are still so many good movies out there! Haven't bought a book in a while, returned that over-sized gym bag and just use my brother's old one (it's not that smelly after the fifth or sixth wash), and hit up Value Village more than any other clothing store. So I'm getting better. I'm starting to include my brain when I make purchases (or choose not to make a purchase). I mean, you'll notice all the recent impulses I've had I've managed to mostly ignore or come to a compromise. That doesn't mean I still don't feel the need to leave my house right now and buy Sherlock Holmes and Young Victoria. But I won't for at least one more night. Hopefully I feel this strong-willed tomorrow. :)

Anywho, I don't know why I decided to write about this today but I guess I just felt like sharing. If only I could act on my other impulses as readily as I do with my buying ones... I mean, the socially appropriate impulses... 'cause sometimes I just want to slap a patient upside the head for being such a jerk, but I don't nor will I ever (hopefully). But yesterday I went to a bar close to my house with a couple of friends and I saw this kid I knew from high school and I wanted to say hi but didn't. Lame.

So yeah. It seems eyes are a window to the soul and blogs are a window into the mind... I'm gonna go ahead and shut the drapes now though. Gotta catch up on some editing of the novel if I want to get that baby published! Thanks for reading my rantings. :)

Keep it real!

Shoot!! Now I want a hamster again!... :s

not your average day at the office...

Oh MAN! I don't know why I didn't write about that stunt driving course as soon as it ended... oh yeah, my life got insanely hectic and has finally slowed down just about twenty minutes ago... that's why.

So 'how did the stunt driving course go' you ask? At least, I hope you ask because I'm about to answer regardless! It was SO MUCH FUN! Not nerve-racking at all! And here's the weirdest part: it felt so natural; like... well, not like I was born to do it, because I'm sure there's plenty of things that could fit into that strange, cliche category... but everything just clicked. Does that make sense? I didn't have to do a lot of thinking, the impulses were just there. The 'teacher' would tell me how the stunt works, demonstrate and then let me take the wheel and boom - I'd do a 90 degree slide into a parallel parking spot. (Which, by the way, is one of the funnest experiences EVER!) In the one day course I learned how to do most of the 'money shots' that you see in your basic car commercial. The skid to a stop on a 45 degree angle about a foot away from the lens of the camera (we used pylons, just in case), the skid into a parallel parking spot and the 180 degree turn (driving forwards, not reverse 180s... I'll have to try that one on my own) and then we just did a combination of those and a few easier stunts.

Unfortunately minivans aren't the greatest car to practice with, so I won't be able to do any of these stunts in my neighborhood. Plus, the stunt cars had this crazy awesome breaking system. One break petal was attached to the rear wheels to allow for skidding, while the normal break petal was attached to the front wheels so when you stepped on that one your car actually would stop. My next car is definitely going to have that tripped out breaking system... as well as about 50,000 spare tires, because those wear out FAST when you're skidding all over the place.

So, not only did I enjoy an entire day behind the wheel without someone yelling at me to slow down, but I also met a bunch of really cool stunt drivers. Apparently they're legends within the industry and they had the stories to prove it!

Bottom line: I'm going back. Maybe not until I'm done school because I, sadly, am not even close to being made of money, but I will go back to learn more... or just to have fun. Either way, I already know I won't regret it.

That's all I've got for now...

Keep it real!

Zoom Zoom?

Tomorrow I will be taking an all-day stunt driving course. I think I'm the only girl registered so no pressure... SOMEone has to break the stereotype that all women are horrible drivers... Tomorrow it'll have to be me. Like I said, no pressure. I've been excited about this for weeks, but now that it's almost here I'm mostly just nervous. I mean, I haven't driven a standard car in at least two years... but I'm very confident behind the wheel. Arguably too confident, if there is such a thing. My parents think so. I argue with that... 

What possessed me to take a stunt driving course, you ask? Well, I'm tired of watching awesome action movies with fantastic car chases etc and then getting into my minivan where the best thing I can do is weave in and out of traffic at high speeds. I don't want to be a dangerous driver - I don't like those guys. But I want to be able to drive fast, safely and *with style*. Plus, learning how to skid into a parallel parking spot is always a handy trick to know. That is apparently something I'll be learning how to do tomorrow.

I can't believe how nervous I am about this though. I'm just taking the novelty course. It's just for people who want to do a few tricks that they see in the movies. In a couple years I plan to actually become a certified stunt driver. That would look good on a resume, eh? But tomorrow's just for fun. All I need to do is relax and enjoy myself. I'm positive it'll be a blast. I love cars and I love stunts - what more could I ask for?

Anyway...

On a completely different note, I discovered that I have shin splints, so it means I can't run for a while until they go away. I bought new shoes so hopefully when I start running again the expensive shoes will keep the shin splints at bay. It sucks a little that as soon as I get into the groove of regular jogging expeditions I have to stop for long enough that I'll have to start back at square one again. A couple weeks ago I did 4K in 30 minutes. I was pretty proud, even though that's not spectacular by any means - it's still the best I'VE ever been able to do. So now I just use all the other equipment at my gym to make sure I don't fall behind even though I'm not running.

On Monday me and three friends are going to Niagara Falls for a two-day adventure. I would have loved to go to New York City, Los Angeles, or (best of all) Australia, but seeing as we are all poor students, we settled for Niagara for now. Traveling is traveling - it's always an adventure no matter how close you are to home, I guess. I'm looking forward to it. And then it's back to the daily grind... working at the doctor's office. Everybody's finding things for me to do there. It's fun enough. I can't wait 'til I have a job that I love. Still wondering what that'll look like, nevermind feel like. There are so many different things I'm becoming interested in. And yet, all of them are still within the film industry: actor, writer (of books OR screenplays), stunt something, director... all of those jobs sound appealing to me. Who knows?

I'm gonna go now though. I was in the middle of watching episode 6 of 'The Mentalist' Season 2... it's a good show. Hopefully I'll find time to write again soon. I'll probably have to rave about the stunt driving at some point. Though what I'm really looking forward to is not telling people what I learned, but SHOWING them. :D

Keep it real!