CHOCOLATE. COVERED. BACON.

It's official: I'm spoiled.  Not just because I'm an only child with no siblings (well, yeah, I guess I am spoiled), but I signed up with a $17 a month plan to rent DVDs and Wii games from Blockbuster.  I can rent 2 DVDs or games (or a combination of both) at a time and I can just drop them off at Blockbuster instead of mailing them in.  It feels weird and awesome at the same time.  According to Blockbuster, I'd be getting the latest movies 28 days before Netflix and all those other guys.  The first movie I rented is a two parter from the kind folks at the BBC.  There was a 1973 TV film version of Jane Eyre that I had wanted to see and none of the nearby libraries had it in circulation.  I saw some clips of it on YouTube and it sounds like a cool movie.  Here's a clip of the infamous proposal scene:

Looking forward to seeing it after watching the 1944 version with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine and the recent 2011 one with Michael Fassbender (sigh, he's so dreamy) and Mia Wasikowska.

I had just started on the short story version of my novel.  For some reason, it's painful to write as my ideas and thoughts come out stiff and sloppy.  Maybe I should do some writing exercises to keep my abilities in check so they don't atrophy. 

About a week ago, I got my San Diego County Fair "best pass ever" in the mail.  Basically, I get in free for all 22 days of the fair and the pass cost me $22 (literally, a buck a day).  I can go see the concerts, visit the exhibits, eat the artery-clogging food, and watch 4H livestock shows.  If you live in San Diego or San Diego County, you can buy it on the fair's website.  I've bought my pass two years in a row and I love it!  I can't get enough of the Mackinac Island Fudge they sell in the exhibition halls or the Australian Battered Potatoes or the chocolate covered bacon - yes, you heard me.  CHOCOLATE. COVERED. BACON.

Right now, all I can hear in my head is the "Habanera" song from Georges Bizet's opera, Carmen.  I will be seeing the opera on Sunday.  It will be the second time I will be seeing tenor Richard Leech on stage (he will be playing the part of Don Jose); the first time I saw him was four years ago when he played Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana.  Although I will be equipped with binoculars in the nosebleeds, I am still looking forward to enjoying myself.  My mom will accompany me as this is her first opera.  Next year, we will be seeing The Barber of Seville together.  I hope to get a chance to hear soprano Renee Fleming in concert in March of 2012 at the San Diego Opera. 

That's all for now.  Fin.