Several Addenda

Well, it seems I forgot a few things in my last post, so here they are. By the way, keep the suggestions coming!

*Superman Returns hitting theatres, hmm, oh, Today!
*The superb and ever so divine Johnny Depp appearing on David Letterman
*The aforementioned Depp to appear on Good Morning America Friday morning
*The airing of Johnny Depp's biography on A&E Friday night at 8pm
*Johnny Depp and Antonio Banderas appearing together in Once Upon a Time in Mexico (a personal favorite) on Friday at 8 and 10 on TNT, although Desperado is just as good, thanks to that singing bit in the first few minutes,

"...soy un hombre muy hondrado, que me gusta lo mejor
a mujeres no me faltan, ni al dinero, ni el amor
jineteando en mi caballo, por la sierra yo me voy
las estrellas y la luna ellas me dicen donde voy
ay ay ay ay
ay mi amor
ay mi morena
de mi corazon
me gusta tocar guitarra, me gusta cantar el sol
mariachi me acompana cuando canto mi cancion
me gusta tomar mis copas, aguardiente es lo mejor
tambien la tequilla blanca con su sal le da sabor
ay ay ay ay..."

Some things to get excited about...

I don't really have much to say; nothing new has really happened to me. Life is continuing as it always does here. It rained all yesterday and this morning and now; the pond's overflow pipes are overflowing; the yard is too wet for me to cut; and the mosquitos will probably be terrible when I go and feed the chickens. Golgomath and Cordera (the female yellow-bellied slide turtle) now make appearances every time we feed the fish, Cordera more so than Golgomath, although Golgomath did surprise us by actually swimming up to the surface to grab a few bites. He sure is big! My niece and nephew are now with their Aunt and Uncle over near Ft. Bragg, and I miss them. It's nice having a quiet house, but I do miss them. They both are walking advocates that decent people can come from not-so-decent homes, because they are good kids, and smart, and if they could just get some encouragement and positive attention at home, I'm sure they could do wonderful things! My sister is at Governor's school, learning about forensics and pharmacology, the lucky wanker. A guy asked her to a dance last weekend and she accepted. Background reports and criminal records are still pending approval on this so-called "Jacob." I'm thinking of making empanadas or empanaditas for dessert, but I can't decide whether to fill them with apricots or peaches, and then what spices to use for each. My Dad and my brother went for a walk during a dry spell and are now conked out, snoring, one on the couch and one in his room. Mom's at work. That leaves me to do whatever. I think I'll pick some flowers, make a nice bouquet, and then make a decision on what to make for dinner and what to fill those empanadas with. So, that being said, I thought I'd find something to motivate myself, or something to get excited about. Here's my list:
*Spending a few days with Karren and Dim, I mean Darren and Kim, in Charleston this weekend.
*Playing scattergories with Darren and Kim, and then just having a good time.
*Bringing my sister home for her break the weekend after Karren and Dim's.
*Watching Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest with my sister and whoever else wants to tag along when we go see it.
*Watching the Don Johnson version of The Long Hot Summer on July 15th(14th - whichever one's a Friday). If you've never seen it, watch it - if you're into southern drama and romance with hot men, you'll love it. I love it, even the 1957 version with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward works for me, but I like Don Johnson in the 1985 version best.
*Callie's birthday on the 17th of July. I think I've found the perfect present, but I have to do some thinking on it first.
*Sean Bean every Saturday night at nine on the BBC America Channel.
*The Devil Wears Prada coming out sometime in June-July
*Shakespeare's As You Like It coming out sometime this year (with Kevin Kline, Romola Garai, and Bryce Dallas Howard)
*Becoming Jane coming out, featuring Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen falling in love with James McAvoy (Narnia - Mr. Tumnus) and writing Pride and Prejudice.

Have anymore? Post them in the comments section!

Turtles

Two days ago, as I was walking around the yard, I happened to come across some old uncooked corn tortillas. As with most other bread-like substances that have been rendered inadvisable for human consumption, I sent it to sleep with the fishes. Well, more like sleep in the digestive tract of many, many fishes. As I threw piece after piece into the water, I happened to see a dark shape, like a large, flat rock swim along the bottom toward the sinking tortillas. This rock had a large shell probably sixteen inches long, covered in alga and detritus, with a tail about eight inches long, a long and thick muscular neck, and a head that was as large as my two fists held together. My guess is that it was a common snapping turtle. It looked so like a moss/algae covered boulder, that I have decided to name it "Golgomath," after one of the giants in JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This thing was huge, ugly, and huge. But it was surprisingly docile and sluggish. All it did was open its mouth and in went the tortilla piece. Then Golgomath saw me and turned tail and zoomed away with surprising speed. I have not seen him since.

We also have two yellow-bellied slider turtles, each with a shell of maybe eight inches in length. Those things sure are cute. I came across one trapped under the fence leading into the chicken pen. It stared at me, and I stared at it, and then I found a large bucket. I put the bucket in front of the turtle and gently nudged it forward. The turtle, a she, I assume, that was looking for a place to make a nest, moved forward into the bucket quite easily, as if she knew I was trying to help. I carried her over to the pond, and in she slid, under the cover of the water. And then earlier today, I was throwing some bread to the fish and up she surfaced. She swam lazily after the floating bread chunks until I started throwing them near her, and then she zoomed around happily (I think) after each one. And then after, she just looked at me as she swam around lazily on the surface, as if to say, "I say, old fellow, could you spare a morsel or two more?" Sadly, I didn't have any more, but I was glad to see that she was not afraid of me, and did not retreat under the water at the sight of me, as she and her hubby have been want to do. Maybe I can tame her (or him - I am not sure which one it was, as we have at least two yellow-bellied sliders that domicile in our pond). Well, I don't want to tame her much, just enough so that I might be able to get close to her, maybe have her eat from my hand. I'm such a nut. I have read that common snapping turtles, when bred and raised in captivity, can make surprisingly good pets, and can even learn tricks. We shall see!

Some Ranting

The past few days haven't been as bad as I expected. In fact, Josh and Brittany are some first-rate kids. Josh is so polite; he waits until all of the girls have fixed their plates until he gets in line; he does whatever you ask him to if you ask him nicely. Brittany is a very lively girl, very polite, and will do whatever you ask her. What is the problem, you might ask? Well, their parents, namely their mother, my sister, never miss an opportunity to tell you how bad they both are doing. Grades, conduct, behavior - all of it. Normally, parents try to build up their children's self-esteem, or at least offer some positive reinforcement. What could be more negative than telling all you family gathered around at your Uncle's wedding that both of you kids broke that and got caught doing this and couldn't seem to make the cut there? Never anything good to tell - it always the bad stuff. Neither Josh nor Brittany are bad kids. Neither are misbehaved or wild. I think that their biggest problem is the lack of interest their parents show in their lives. I know that neither my sister nor her husband make anywhere near the amount of income that my parents do, and yet look at the way they live - big screen TV, ipods for everyone, X-box 360, surround sound, etc. etc. etc. It's like they ply the kids with goodies to get them out of their hair. I really feel sorry for both Josh and Brittany. They are being bounced from one relative to the other this summer because their parent's don't want them home. Yesterday, their father said that they could come home next weekend. Today, my sister tells us that Josh and Brittany will be going to visit their uncle again at Ft. Bragg, NC, for at least another week after they leave us. Who knows what it will be tomorrow? We are thinking (and this is on the extreme down low) that they both can stay with us for another week instead of being shifted around again. I know that this is probably very wrong for me to be writing all of this here and that if my sister or anyone else that I have spoken of were to read this, I would have a lot of apologizing to do, and I'd feel very crummy. That aside, I think that what I have said is only slightly biased, if at all.
In other news, my parents are fighting once more, Yippee. My Mom wasn't home for more than twenty minutes before she stormed out of the room and my Dad started yelling. I don't understand what is going on, and neither does my Dad. Last year, when we all went to a counsler to talk about my brother's behavior (before he went to basic training and his illness was discovered) the counsler said that I was my father's champion. I suppose it is true to an extent - I do side with my Dad on most of the fights that he has with my mom. Can I help it? Perhaps, perhaps not. I can't help what I think and I think most of the time that my Dad is the one in the right and in the realm of rationality. And I can't help but see how this thing with my brother, and my brother himself, make everything that much worse. Most of their arguments start with him. It's easy to point fingers and say so-and-so is to blame, but I think what I say is partly true. Now I am sitting here trying not to think of all the rotten and sharp things that I am aching to say to my mother and to my brother as the phrases spring up like daisies in my mind. And now I am going to feel really rotten if either parent reads this, but perhaps it will be just rewards after several days of both of them fighting and everyone else walking on eggshells. I swear, we spend most of our time walking around egg shells around here, and it's starting to smell like rotten eggs. I hate conflict. My Psychology teacher taught us that when two people are in a relationship, that relationship cannot progress and develop without conflict. I've decided that if that is the case, I will not have any relationships. I HATE conflict. I hate fights. I hate the way it makes me think one of my parents is going to walk out the door and not come back. I hate seeing my parents yelling at each other and fighting dirty. I hate going to bed hearing them screaming at each other and waking up to the same. I hate getting used to say that one parent is turning us kids against the other just because we have minds of our own. I hate seeing either one of my parents cry. I hate siding with one parent and feeling completely furious at the other. I hate seeing all of this in my future. I hate the cynicism that is circling my like a vulture. I hate having to use this blog as an outlet and making all of y'all read it instead of screaming what I feel to everyone who needs to know. So I'll stop for now. Have a lovely day.

Seashore Restoration Project

Yesterday I worked on the sound shore behind the CMAST building on the campus of Carteret Community College (CCC) for a seashore restoration project. We planted two types of sea grass on the shoreline behind the building. I know for a fact that I helped plant over three hundred of the little buggers. My sister needed community service to add to her resume, and so my Mom (who works at CCC) heard about this restoration project, headed by Meg Rawls, and volunteered my sister. I went because I didn't want to go to the aquarium again and because I wanted some time away from my niece and nephew and most particularly my younger brother. By the way, the big blue catfish in one of the tanks was in the bottom right corner again - it must either like that area a whole bunch or it's a machine that is tethered to that spot. Anyway, back to the project. I had a good time, even though I still hurt and I still have dirt under my fingernails. People who worked at the labs headed up teams of ten people, who gathered up the plant trays of both grasses and went to our assigned area of shoreline. Other lab personnel were drawing grids of one by one foot squares into the sand/dirt/sludge substrate. We divided up into teams of three and set to work, with one person using a funny-looking shovel (it looked more like a big, flat knife on a stick, with a bar just to the side of the blade for you to put your foot for added leverage), one person to put some fertilizer pellets into the hole, and one person to put the selected plant into the hole and close the soil in around it. I worked with the plants, getting my hands dirty and straining my quads by squatting up and down, up and down. Then we switched jobs after an hour or two and I got to work with the funky shovel in the rocky, clay substrate. It wasn't easy. I stood on the shovel to try and get it into the soil, and it didn't budge. If you know me or have ever seen me, you would know that I am quite heavy, so I was reasonably impressed with this hard soil. Nevertheless, I toiled on, adding strains in my shoulders and back to my list. There were a lot of other people there, so I no one had to work too hard. After another hour, almost all of the shore had been planted, and my, did it look beautiful! I feel so proud to have been a part of it! If you are ever in that area, take a look, it really is a sight. Well, if you want to know the truth, I think it looks like a large-scale hair transplant, but hopefully nature will take its course.

Rub a dub dub, what's that floating in the tub?

Thanks for commenting!!! I feel so special!

He-man Waves

Well, life has continued in this over-populated dwelling that I fondly refer to as "home." My grandmother went home yesterday, so I have my room back. Wow, that sounded really mean. Bad Jessica! Bad! I have my room and my things and my privacy back [hopefully] for the rest of the summer. We still have some of my grandmother's fudge and ohh, is it good! I'd send y'all some, but it would never make it to the post office.

We kids (my sister, brother, niece, nephew, and oh, yeah, me) went boogie boarding yesterday, while my Dad watched us from the bath house. Let me rephrase: we kid got our butts handed to us by the waves yesterday. I wiped out (can I use that term if it wasn't surfing?) several times. It was an overcast day with rain in the forecast, but we decided that it wasn't that bad. My Dad said we were only to go as far out as where the first set of waves broke. We tried. The waves were so forceful that it took a supreme effort to get halfway out there, let alone to the first break. And then once we got out there, there was another wave break line just behind us, so we were dodging waves behind us while trying to catch the waves in front of us. The current pulling us to the left was so strong that we had to continually swim to the right (there was a large line of rocks to our left that we were none to keen on being rammed into). Several times, I'd watch the waves come at me, with my feet braced in the sand, or crouched down, ready to jump so that I could float on top of the wave that threatened to crush me, and then I'd see them [the waves] come right over the top of my brother (who is 6'4") and swallow him up. Those were the times that I gave up and accepted the plunge as inevitable. Other times, when I rode a wave in, I wouldn't get to my feet fast enough and get plowed over by a wall of water only two or three feet high. So, in summation, we got our butts kicked by a bunch of big, bad, burly, he-man waves. And then today, when I woke up and stretched, all I could feel was "owww!" Every muscle in my upper body hurts, but at least I feel like I did something.

Out of the frying pan...into the fire.

My brother's graduation went off without a hitch, thankfully. I video-taped him walking across the stage, and then you can hear us, particularly me, screaming and cheering him on. Then we came back home for a photoshoot and dinner, and then I stayed up with Darren, Kim, and Becca talking. The next day, we had an excellent breakfast - my Grandma really knows how to cook certain things, and pumpkin and zucchini bread are some of them. Then we went to the Aquarium and checked it out. It had been closed for two years while they remodeled it, and it was just reopened this May. I must admit, it was impressive, but I would have preferred several things: more than one floor; more breathing room on the inside; and some more parking area. The huge tank with the U-boat replica was awesome, though. It had huge sharks and and a huge moray eel, HUGE! But the parking situation is ridiculous. Before it was remodeled, you had very little room in the actual parking lot so you usually ended up parking along the road. The situation has not changed. What is it they say about learning from history - well, whatever it is, they didn't listen.

In other news, I have some great news! I'm going to be a bridesmaid in Kim and Darren's wedding! True, I have to wear a dress, but on the bright side, I like the dress and more importantly, it fits. I can't wait! My younger sister Becca is also going to be a bridesmaid, along with some more ladies that I will meet later. The wedding is on October 14th. Ironically, or fortuitously, my Fall Break is on the 12th and 13th of October, so I can go down early to help out provided I find some transportation. I really am starting to see what a benefit it would be if I had my license!

I saw The Omen today and I was pleasantly surprised. It is exactly like the original, exactly. However, the original Omen was excellent, so it's remake was excellent as well. There were some parts that got me quite well. Apparently, I would become complacent and then BAM! The music surges as a demonic dog comes out of nowhere to tackle the leading man and my husband, Liev Schreiber and David Thewlis respectively. Seriously, I see the signs everywhere: JCT: Jessica C. Thewlis. It's a sign! And he's cute. I love him as Professor Lupin in the Harry Potter movies. And his resume is almost as wild as Johnny Depp's, and that's saying something! Plus, he's as tall as my brother Rob, 6'4". I don't know why that is a plus, but it is.

Anyway, in reference to the title of this post, my life and my family have taken a jump from the frying pan into the fire. Nothing against anyone, but we are now trading my Grandma (her flight is tomorrow morning) for my niece and nephew, aged 15 and 13 respectively. My nephew is fine. Josh is a good kid, except Rob (I feel) is a bad influence on him. My niece, Brittany, is another story. I really feel sorry for her sometimes, but she embodies every vice that I abhor, every stereotype that I despise and cannot stand. I feel so terrible saying those things, but they are true! School is a priority for me; talking on her cell phone and sulking are her priorities. I'm going to hell for saying that, but it seems to be true. I know that neither one of them has the best home life. In fact, I think they have almost the worst home life possible. I think indifference in child raising is almost worse than animosity and anger, although there is a bit of both as well in their home life. They will be gone all summer, spending their time being shipped between different relatives because their mother, my oldest sister, does not want them at home because she is in nursing school at the moment and she just can't concentrate with them there. I feel so sorry for Josh and Brittany sometimes. They have essentially been kicked out of their home by their mother for the summer, to be dumped (literally) on the doorsteps of various relatives to be rented for two weeks at a time like a timeshare. The whole thing gets me riled up, so I will abstain from saying more.

All I have left to say is that I had a great weekend filled with family, friends, lumpia, and fun.

Best Day of the Year!

Today is the best day of the year. Well - hang on - it happens to be tied with April 17 as well - so I guess that makes it one of the best two days of the year. What's so special about today, you might ask? Well, I'll give you a hint: April 17 is Sean Bean's birthday. For today to be tied with His birthday, it would have to be a very special day indeed, and it is. Today, June 9, is Johnny Depp's Birthday! JOHNNY DEPP! Happy Birthday, Johnny Depp! Did you know that if I were to marry him, and I changed my last name to my middle name and took his name, we'd have the same initials: JCD. Johnny Christopher Depp, Jessica Cumbie Depp. That has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Anyway, Happy Birthday to Johnny Depp!

In other news, today is the day that my younger brother graduates High School. Congratulations to Rob! The graduation ceremony is tonight, at 6:30, I think. We're leaving at 5 anyway, just to find a decent parking spot and seat. I'll post a picture just a soon as I get one. I know how to work the self timer on my camera now - I'm prepared!

If you were stranded on an island...

If you were stranded on an island, what food and/or drink would make you choose to starve to death rather than to eat/drink it? Here's my list:

Cream Cheese
Cottage Cheese
Cheesecake
Yogurt
Liver
Kidneys
Tripe
Any other bodily organ other than muscle
Onions
Uncooked and Fried Tomatoes
Most Eggplant
Uncooked Peppers
Pickled Eggs
Pickled anything other than Pickles
Scallions
Fish (excepting only Tuna, Ocean Whitefish, and Flounder)
Shellfish (like lobster and crab)
Mollusks (clams, scallops, oysters)
Shrimp
Anything else that lives in the water (although I'd willingly try snake meat)
Mushrooms (of ALL types)
Pig's Feet
All Barbecue Sauces (excepting only vinegar ones)
NY style Borsht
Sour dough bread
Sourkraut (sp?)
Caviar

There's more, but I've forgotten them temporarily. Now you tell me what you won't eat.

In Recent News

Before you run at my mentioning Harry Potter again, let me run this conjecture across you. In The Order of the Phoenix, Harry spends time ridding the house of dark objects. He helps spray doxicide at a pair of doxy-infested curtains, and then later, helps remove all of the dark artifacts from a cabinent in the same room. They find a silver snuffbox filled with wortcap powder, a large bottle of something that looks like blood, and a heavy locket that none of them could open. In the sixth book, one of the horcruxes is almost certaintly the locket of Salazaar Slytherin, which is described as a heavy gold locket both of the times that Harry sees it. Then, at the end, when Harry looks at the locket that Dumbledore removed from the well of poison, he realizes that it is nowhere near as heavy as the one he saw in Dumbledore's pensieve. Why would JKR choose that adjective to describe the discrepancy between the fake and real lockets? So, if the locket in Number 12 Grimmauld Place is the locket of Salazaar Slytherin, and it is one of Lord Moldybutt's horcruxes, then how did it get there? Well, if you refer to the note, this is what it says:

"To The Dark Lord I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can, I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more. R.A.B."

First, it says to "The Dark Lord." As Harry said to Snape while he was forced to take occlumency lessons, only death eaters refer to Lord Voldemort as "The Dark Lord." Thus, the person who wrote the note has a good chance of being a death eater, or a former death eater.
Second, it says "I will be dead long befor you read this...." If we can rely on that, then the person who wrote the note is dead, for a long or for a short time - who knows?
Who do we know that was a death eater and is dead and could possible have the initials R.A.B? Regulus Black! And, if it was Regulus who found the horcrux, he could have brought it back to the The Ancient and Most Noble House of Black to destroy. If this is the case, then several things need puzzling over.

First, could Regulus have turned against Lord Voldemort and tried to work for the good of wizard kind?
Second, we know that destroying the horcrux in Slytherin's ring destroyed Dumbledore's arm. A lesser wizard would have probably been destroyed in all entirety. If Regulus did destroy or try to destroy the locket horcrux, it could have killed him. We never hear how he died, just what Sirius has assumed happened.
Third, did Regulus succeed in destroying the locket horcrux or did he not?
Fourth, if the locket was left at No. 12 Grimmauld Place, has Mundungus already filched and pawned it?

I hope I haven't bored you with my talk of HP, but I am so interested in it! But this interest is probably in response to my need to escape into a book for a while; a need that has arisen recently. I am going crazy! When I read, I get left alone for a bit, but even that gets interrupted. Even this gets interrupted! I can't say much without being unkind or just really really mean, but try this one on: I am looking forward to going shopping for an outfit for me to wear to my brother's graduation! Me, looking forward to shopping for clothes for me!