Last year, a bunch of my friends went to Vegas to gather at a friend's parents' house for Thanksgiving, eat way too much food, drink a lot, and hit up the strip. I missed out because I had a wedding to go to. Not that I didn't enjoy seeing my friend get married, but I missed out on a good trip. I vowed to make it up this year.

This week I have been preparing my final week of Funemployment and I start back up at a job next week. Tuesday I drove down to San Pedro for the best meatball sandwich ever, ate lunch on the beach, and then walked around the aquarium that I used to volunteer for in high school. I forgot how much I liked that aquarium and sea life and how I wanted to be a marine biologist before I figured that was "too much" science and lost my way down the rabbit hole of the entertainment industry. Then I sort of wished that I had spent my 8 months of funemployment doing things like that instead of just sleeping or being lazy at home. But resting up should not be taken for granted either. It made me realize (yet again) that I shouldn't be afraid to do things because it seems like a hassle, or too time consuming, or something that I "shouldn't" be doing.

Awhile back my roommate sent me this quote:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

- Mark Twain

And I find that that's how I should try to live my life. That and not obsessing or being upset over the things that happened in the past I can't change. I have to pick myself up, learn from my mistakes and do better next time.

Thus, this weekend I find myself in Vegas. I spent Thanksgiving with my dad and even snuck in a black friday online shopping hour with Dre, a Bigfoot West visit (because there's always time for that), and then I packed up a few things (yes few, as in not enough, this is why I should always over pack!), and drove myself out to Vegas. Around Baldwin Park, I started to question it and wonder if it was really a "smart" idea because I had "things to do" at home. But I was a little too far to just turn around and go back. And then you're on that stretch of the 15 that NEVER seems to end and all of a sudden you see the Primm lights, and you finally find yourself in Vegas.

I forgot how fun it was to hang out with this group of friends. When we were around the craps table tripling our money, coming to Vegas this weekend was the best idea ever. We'll see how the rest of the weekend goes. But I have a plan...

1. Don't drink too much like you did on your birthday. And if you do, eat more than hummus and a smoothie. (Going to Burger Bar for dinner tonight!!)
2. Don't pull out extra money on your credit card because you want to gamble - the cash you brought was good enough for now... you'll be back in two weeks.
3. Don't lose (or break) your cell phone (or camera).
4. Stick with your gut feelings
5. Smile and have a good time.
6. Don't get a speeding ticket.

Big Thanksgiving Dinner

And I didn't even have to cook anything

I've recently thought that I should pimp myself out more. Not in real life, but on the internet. And not through eHarmony (not yet anyways), but through my blog. Once upon a time ago, my blog was huge to me. I'd write on it all the time, what I ate for lunch, who I talked to, how I did on my papers. Yea, I was that girl. And in my AIM profile, I'd have a link to my blog, with a cheesy quote from some MTV show and I thought I was so clever. I didn't get a bazillion comments, but I knew people were reading it, and people I didn't know were reading it, and people I knew, but not that well would read it. And for the most part, I was okay with that. I actually probably loved it. And then somewhere along the line, I thought that writing all about my life on the internet wasn't really my thing anymore, and I didn't want people to know about me. And then my MySpace blog took a little bit of precedent, and who knows, it just kind of tumbled into obscurity. Bloggity blog o' mine is starting to make a come back. Small at first, but hopefully later.. HUGE! (that's what she said).

This is also a little hard because I don't really know if this blog is going to have a clear cut theme. There are a million blogs out there, and people "need" a reason to want to read you. Food, fashion, technology, art, music, etc etc etc. I'm not really any one of those things, and even though there's TV in the title, I don't really talk about it that much (that would have actually been clever, Jean.) So then I'm stuck at a "what to do".

And I think the answer is maybe to just continue on, but better. And then maybe I'll find my niche naturally instead of trying to cram myself into one. I kind of like that I can read this blog and reminisce about things I did in a certain year or day. Or the fun stories, good pictures, or trips to look back on. Is that wrong? Is that not the right path to take? Am I not that interesting? I guess I'll find out... and until then, I'm debating how much I want to pimp myself out.

ps. Update on my friend, 42" Plasma: Philips customer service blows. I kind of expected it because that's what I had read on the interwebs. I also didn't expect it to be under warranty because it has been almost 3 years and I didn't purchase any plan of any kind. But I called them anyways and they told me that because it's an "older" model, they didn't so phone support, but only web support and to check their website. Which is pitiful. There's almost no help at all to be found on that site, unless you're a moron, and then maybe they can tell you how to put batteries in your remote. I bought my TV from Costco, and they sent me a "Concierge service" postcard. I called that number to see what they could do for me, they helped me troubleshoot and actually did get my TV to turn on! But then it failed again. So they're sending a service person out tomorrow to figure out how to fix my TV. And if they can't fix it, I'll probably get a replacement. And I asked how much it would cost me? $0. My size of TV qualifies for protection 4 years from purchase date, for free. Freaking. Love. Them. Like I need another reason to love Costco even more. But I do. All my TV's will now be purchased from Costco. There was a 62" that I had my eye on the other day when I walked in. :P

Today is a sad day indeed. When I started this blog, I titled it as such, because sometimes I really do feel that way. TV is there for me, to make me feel better when I'm blue, and I can always turn to it in a time of need. Today, my only true friend died.

Well actually, I mean TV in the general sense and institution of it, and not my one specific TV, so it's a little less tragic, but really sad for me nonetheless. A little less than 3 years ago, I bought myself a new 42" plasma television as a birthday present to myself. It was something I thought would look great in our new apartment, and despite my mom saying it wasn't necessary, I bought one anyways. I did love the way my TV looked, and often am so pleased by it. Tonight, after I had finished logging mounds of footage, I went downstairs to finally catch up on TV that we had been neglecting for weeks, and the TV wouldn't turn on. It would make the clicking noises on, but then immediately turn off, and then there would be beeping red lights. That's never a good sign.

I checked my user manuals, and my roommate googled the symptoms and found that this problem is actually common with this brand/model, and Philips will charge you like $500 to fix, but you can DIY for less than $100. That also involves me cracking open my own TV. I'm gonna have to check my risk to pay out ratio. I went back to my room, checked some internets, worked a little bit more and sulked. I don't know why I am so sad. It was one of my prized possessions and loves, but it's just a large piece of machinery. Maybe because I can't just go out and get a new one given current economic status. I also hate when things break because then I feel that I did something wrong. Also because it's not even 3 years old, it shouldn't be just up and breaking. What a shame.

I'll let you know if my friend can be resurrected. Keep us in your thoughts and wish us luck.