I Don't Care What You Say

I grew up watching Star Wars...truth be told...until I was a teenager I hated it. Except for the Ewoks and their own special little movies with that cute little girl with curly blond hair. I loved those little movies. But I hated Star Wars. I don't know why. Maybe I was scared of it as a child, maybe it was boring. Who knows. I don't understand a lot of my childhood. I just figure it was all for a reason.

Then George Lucas *whom I love, always a forever* re-released his movies. I decided to  give it a try. It was the "IN" thing to do and who was I not to be "in"? So my mom and I went. But we were late because of my mothers job. Her boss wouldn't let her leave for some reason or another and we were late.

I remember we went to Fireweed Theater in Anchorage. We stood in line even though we were late for a large popcorn and a cup of cheese *yes, I was a popcorn cheese dipper*. I carried the popcorn in one hand, my mom was behind me and we made our way to the door of the theater. We were late and had missed the previews.

I opened the door...and the words STAR WARS popped up on the large screen...along with the sweet music of John Williams. I was hooked. I mean, I can't even describe the moment for you. It was like I was in a dream. An amazingly wonderful dream. And I was hooked. Forever.

After that I remember the new movies. Of course they were not as wonderful as the original. But they were still amazing. George Lucas had always had a dream. In his mind he KNEW what the movies would be...for himself and for others. Along the way people have forgotten what these movies mean to him. They are HIS children. Not ours. We just share a part of his life...a moment. A memory. I always have a hard time with those who "hate on Lucas". Perhaps they are right in some ways. But if they were in his shoes...what would THEY do with their babies?

Lucas KNEW what he wanted out of Star Wars. But at the time he couldn't complete his vision...because he lacked the resources that were needed. So he CREATED those resources. HE brought us into the new age of movies. He is a Jedi in his own sense. And if he so chooses to change his creations to his will...then I will ALWAYS respect his decisions. They are HIS dreams. Yes, they helped me along with my own dreams. But I would not step on the toes of a dreamer. I would not change his mind. For they are his, and HIS alone. We have no right to be so cruel, to try to shape his dreams into our own.

I remember when I saw The Phantom Menace for the first time. I was here in DC with my mother, she was here for a conference or whatnot. We went to the Cleveland Park movie theater. We bought 4 tickets. One for the first show and then another for the second. We smuggled in coffee in a water bottle and I admit during the second showing I may have dozed off. Not because I didn't want to watch it, but we had JUST come into DC from Alaska *a 4 hour time difference* and could only stay awake for one.

Star Wars has been a part of my life. I don't remember everything about my childhood. But I do remember sitting in front of the television and watching the VHS of the Ewoks movies. And the moment the words STAR WARS popped up in my life for the first REAL time in the theater.

My second tattoo was Star Wars and even now I plan another. No matter what I will ALWAYS believe in George Lucas. Maybe one day he will hire me to work on Skywalker Ranch as a Chef. One can always dream like Luke did. That the world you live on now...is just a stepping stone into the future of your existence. You shape you destiny.

My Dream Jobs

I'm a big dreamer. I mean I buy a lottery ticket and I "KNOW" I'm going to win. Then I plan what I would do with all of that money. Or I try winning the Dream House on HGTV and "KNOW" I'm going to win it. So what would I do with that house? Etc. Etc. I dream big, I used to fall big when my dreams were never achieved. But I realized its more fun to dream big even if you don't win or get what you want then to not dream at all. So I will always dream big.

Recently I've been thinking about my perfect dream jobs. I have a couple of them.

1. Work for Disney World or the Disney Cruise Line, I would work for Disney Land too, but I love Florida better. I would give almost anything to work as a Chef for Disney. Recently I was out with my friends and I found out one of my friends who said she was going to Disney was also going on the NEW Disney Cruise Line and I started spouting facts and information about the new Cruise Ship and all of the things she could do. I think I scared everyone.

2. Work as a Test Chef for Americas Test Kitchen and write about how I created such and such dish. Yes, I would be okay with living in Vermont.

3. Owning my own Bakery. Its a very special Bakery.

4. Being a fiction writer and living in the Florida Keys.

5. Traveling and writing about my travels and the food.

So those are my top five. I don't know why I felt like I needed to write about it. But like I said, I've been trying to get a free house with HGTV and a few Cruise with Disney Cruise Line.

The Flight of the Cell Phone...or R2D2's Death

About a year ago...maybe a little less I bought this adorable R2D2 phone. Since I am totally obsessed with Star Wars. I mean...why WOULDN'T you want a Droid phone that was all about R2D2. I loved him. He was a great friend of mine. We had our ups, we had our downs. But thats R2 for you...he's a tricky little fellow. But I loved him all the same.

This past weekend I tried to plug him in to charge his little battery and low and behold...nothing. It wouldn't work. He died, and I kept trying to charge his little battery hoping for the best. Trying to tap into the force. None of it worked. Heartbroken I tried turning him on one more time and to my utter horror this msg was displayed:

"Error. Cannot be fixed."

OMG! SAD FACE! R2 is no longer with us. And with that I went into Verizon today to get an iphone. Yes, I'm caving into the thrill and money that an Iphone brings. But I have to admit that I've had my ipod touch for the past four years and I haven't had any issues with it. While R2 was overloaded with issues. So fingers crossed this new phone will be a breeze.

But!!! My story does not end. The store didn't have it in stock but the woman was so nice. She was very helpful and didn't push any extra sales. She did try to get me to buy a case for it...but I have had one made...more on that later and said no. She informed me that it would arrive Friday!

SO excited I left and hung out with my friends, unaware that I was getting an email *since R2 had died* that my new iphone would be here TOMORROW. Thats right folks. Tomorrow. When I got home I read said email and though quite excited I was also very sad. Because tomorrow I have school. And a paper due.

Long story short I'm skipping class tomorrow and skipping lunch with my wifey *thats another long story. I'm married to two women and a wonderfully gay man* so that I can wait for my phone. I hope its worth it.

Now, I have not given up on Star Wars as I had THIS case made:

Dinner Party

Everyone at some point in their lives are asked who they would invite to their ultimate dinner party. Young, old, dead...etc. I've been thinking about this for awhile, don't ask me why. But this is my list:

Ginnfer Goodwin - Because I think we would be AWESOME friends. I would love to meet her in person.

Juliet Marillier - By far one of my favorite writers ever. She "re-told" my favorite fairy tale of the sister and her 7 brothers who are turned into swans. Among others.

Jim Parsons - Because I love him. He is SO funny and so amazing.

Albert Einstein - Because who WOULDN'T to have him as part of your perfect dinner party?

My Grandmother - Because she was one of the most amazing women I've ever met.

Walt Disney - Because he was ahead of his time...in most things. I need him to come to dinner so I can show him that there is NOTHING wrong with tattoos and his company should hire people with tattoos.

Hillary Clinton - Because she is awesome. You know it.

Al Gore - To tell him NOT to give up on helping the Earth. He is so influential and I don't think he knows it.

Tamora Pierce - Who I actually had lunch with oh so long ago. But she is an amazing woman, and I would love to have dinner with her as well!

The Cast of Glee - But JUST the cast, not Ryan. He's not invited. But they are awesome, and I know they've changed SO many peoples lives.

Johnny Depp - Yeah...this should be easy to figure out why...

The Cast of The Night Circus book - Because they are AWESOME. And I love them.

Okay, there are more. But I can't think of them right now.

Who would you invite?

Letters on a Plane

Sorry its been so long, school just started and life has swept me up in its saving grace. Not everything is perfect, life never is. But I have fantastic friends, and school is going really well so I count my blessings and just look forward.

I was trying to decide what would make a good post to come back to. Then I remembered when I was on the plane going to Italy I was inspired by a guy...and a letter.

It was dark on the plane and quiet, hush whispers swirled around me as I watched whatever movie it was I had chosen to watch. It was one of those moments when you can just listen to your inner voice and let your thoughts drift away into the shadowy darkness.

One row ahead and to the right of me was a young man, probably around my age, dark hair, cute. He was traveling alone, and like me seemed to not be able to sleep. I watched as he pulled an envlope out of his bag, opening just one of the sides and pulling out a college lined letter. It was about 2-3 pages, and I watched him as he read it. He didn't seem to have that many facial expressions as he read it, but you could tell he enjoyed it.

Then, to my dismay and wonder he pulled apart another three very empty pages. Whomever had written him this letter had offered him pages in return. He took out a pen and began writing. Who knows what he wrote to whomever this person was. But he wrote back.

New Years New You

Resolution - 1 - To Actually WRITE my book. Because it will be an EPIC book and I plan on writing a cookbook to go along with it.

But really, thats my only resolution, other then to stay happy, love as much as I can, try to give back this year and continue to work towards my Disney Dream Job. Whoot. I'm actually not a big fan of resolutions, just because it seems people make them *me included* and you never actually DO them. Thats why I really only have the one. Its a pretty big one so its kinda like I have a billion. But no matter.

On another note I am back from Italy, I'll write about that later. I needed to take a break and just try to regroup, because though it was a very good trip...I don't think I'll really ever be going back to Italy any time soon. But thats another story.

Recently I've been obsessed with The Hunger Games again, re-reading it for the third time...the series that is. And I bought the unauthorized cookbook which is what made me want to write my OWN cookbook to go along with my book. Apparently its a pretty big thing now, to cook from the books you love. But since I'm on my way to being a Chef I think I have a leg up on the whole idea of a companion cookbook. I'll keep you updated and I may start cooking some of the things. Now I just have to figure out how to work the food in so its sounds like you really need to buy the cookbook along with the book. Fingers crossed.

I wish everyone a happy new year Stay safe, stay happy and don't forget to tell your loved ones every day how much they mean to you.