MY SENIOR YEAR: 12 Years Later

 

1. The year? 2005

 2. Did you go to prom? Yes, with my homegirl Autumn. We had a running competition to see who could dance with the most girls. 🕺

 3. What kind of car did you drive? None! I used to walk at least 3 miles a day... oh how things have changed! 😂

 4. It's Friday night football. Were you there? EVERY FUCKING GAME. Not by choice, I was in the Marching Band.

 5. What kind of job did you have? Grocery Bagger at Fort Meade Commissary

 6. Were you a party animal? Not really, but I hosted a Halloween house party/Horror Movie Fest every year 🎃

 7. Were you a jock? I ran Track for a season, but my other clubs took up most of my time. If my school had a Gymnastics team, I totally would've tried out!

 8. Were you in the band? Yup, played the clarinet from 4th Grade up until Junior Year of College

 9. Were you a nerd? Definitely! 🤓 But I could dance, so I was a SMOOTH nerd. 

 10. Do you still live in the same school district? Almost but No, returned to Anne Arundel for a few years after College, but I'm currently in Baltimore County

 11. Can you sing the school song? 🎼 Northeast, our alma mater, true to thee we'll always be, Honor and truth will be upheld, to thee we give our loyalty, Proudly we wear the black and gold, Shining bright for all to see, Northeast, Alma Mater, our praise we give to thee... 🎼 ...What? They made us sing it after every football game! 😜

 12. What was your school mascot? Eagles 🦅 

 13. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Sure, I actually had a blast in high school. It's where I met some of my closest friends. 😘😘

 

 14. Are you still in contact with people from high school? YES! I'm closer to my high school friends than my former college classmates... Probably 'cause we all have such deep roots in good ol' Pasadena.

 15. Do you know where your high school sweetheart is now? Haha, yup! He's in Maryland, hung out with him a few months ago 😉

 16. What was your favorite subject? English Literature (what I ended up pursuing in college) or Gym Class 

 17. Do you still have your high school ring? Never bought one... I liked high school but not THAT much! 💍

 18. Do you still have your yearbook? I was Copy Editor of the Yearbook, so I have one for all 4 years

It's Morphin' Time!

 

(2017, Dir: Dean Israelite)

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WOW, I remember seeing the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie in theaters 22 years ago! 😱😱 I must say, the film reboot exceeded all of my expectations! 🙌🙌👏 Good acting/relatable characters, detailed storytelling, spectacular special effects.

 

The new film bravely steers the MMPR franchise in a new creative direction. Gone are the clean-cut popular kids from the series, replaced with a motley crew of angry teenage misfits thrown together during Saturday detention John Hughes-style.

 

Since it's a new ensemble, most of the film is spent exploring the backstories of all the Rangers as well as the main villain, Rita Repulsa. Portrayed by the fabulous and unrecognizable Elizabeth Banks, the reboot's Rita is much more ferocious than the TV show's shriveled-up villainess. 🔮 In an ingenious twist, Rita is revealed as a former Ranger herself, giving her character a more compelling reason to hunt Zordon across the galaxy.

 

The Rangers' first battle is against the infamous Goldar, who has also gotten a modern makeover. The reboot also ditches the TV show's concept of Zords in favor of vehicles straight out of Transformers. Each Ranger still has his/her signature color but they're never assigned "spirit animals."

As a kid, my favorite character was the Black Ranger (of course), but watching the reboot, I found myself rooting for Trini the Yellow Ranger, who is the MMPR franchise's first openly GLBT character. 🐯 I, for one, cannot wait to see the sequel and the DragonZord! 🐉👊

My Hero!

Ever have the feeling that you're being watched? 👀

Around 5am this morning, I woke up with a bladder full of hard apple cider and sprinted to the bathroom. As I'm standing there with my junk out, something immediately feels off: I can feel AT LEAST one set of eyes on me.

I look over my shoulder and on the wall, I see a black pulsating mound of hair, legs, and eyes the size of a catcher's mitt! 😱😱 I don't have my glasses on, so I'm blind and don't know if it's a spider, a sandcrab, or the dreaded Babadook. Still peeing, I hold back the screams and search the room for weapons. Whatever this creature is, it's bigger than every household item in sight.

Here's where my straight roommate's natural appetite for destruction comes in handy.

*bangs on roomie's door*

Him: "'Sup, man?"

Me: "I need you to kill something."

Him: "ON IT. Let me put on my boots." 😎

He kicks in the door as I keep a safe distance in the stairwell.

Him: "Where is it?"

Me: "Right next to you."

Him (turns left): "HOLY SHIT!! *covers mouth* Oh God!"

(Now I don't feel as bad)

Woken by his high pitched screams of terror, my roomie's new girlfriend comes out of the bedroom.

Her: "OMG, what is it? Take a picture!"

🙄🙄 This dumb bitch would be the first to die in a horror movie. *smh* Ani valiantly smacks the beast with a giant wad of TP, but that only makes it angry as it falls to the floor and I see my roomie hopping around in terror trying to crush it with a sandal. 

He finally succeeds and flushes it down the toilet... HALF of it anyway. Anything more would've clogged it! Normally I don't support killing spiders, but that creature had to be sent back to HELL. 💪😍⚰️🔥

One Last Ride

 

LOGAN

(2017, Dir: James Mangold)

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DAMN. Hugh Jackman ALMOST made me cry in the theater! 😱😭😭

 

FINALLY! Logan is the X-Men film that adult comic book fans deserve. Reality has finally caught up to Logan (aka Wolverine) as he is now past his prime in a desolate mutant-free future and on the run from the law, taking care of the only family he has left, Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart).

 

Having hung up the spandex decades ago, Logan is tossed back into the fray when the last-living mutant, a child fugitive named Laura, lands on his doorstep. He sets out on a road trip to redemption, in hopes of delivering the girl to safe haven before the Feds catch and kill them all.

Touting a solid R-rating, the movie sheds the usual comic book campiness, and instead goes for realistically brutal violence and a nihilistic world view. It also explores the many definitions of the word "family." 

 

As the newspapers say, "Not just a great Superhero movie--but also a great movie!" That being said, it's the best of ANY X-Men adaptation of ANY universe out there.

Grocery Baggery 101

GET IT TOGETHER, PEOPLE. 😤 Does anyone know how to bag groceries anymore? Every time I skip the Self Checkout, I immediately regret it because the cashier always puts ONE ITEM in each bag, so I'm walking out with 20-2 lb. frickin' bags in my arms! 

 

Maybe it's 'cause I worked at the Fort Meade Commissary all through high school and have the arrangements permanently drilled into my skull; the only things that should be single-bagged are fragile items like bread or eggs 🍞🍳, or hazardous cleaning/hygiene products. Everything else is fair game. 

#VitalInformationForYourEverydayLife