As Sarah already mentioned, it was a year ago today we stood face-to-face for the first time. One of the best days of my life. Happy Anniversary, baby! 

 So, Sarah's mum sent her these, and I'm not sure how much I agree with 'em, so I'm going to go through and give my take on them. Keep an mind I'm a little weird, so don't be too thrown off if my responses don't match.

"The Man Rules"­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­
These are our rules! Please note, these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers. okay, this one is true, but I understand women aren't either. Still, if you don't say anything, don't expect us to.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down. this is just bitching for bitching's sake. You're a big boy now, put up the fucking seat. Besides, the codes of being a gentleman dictate you cater to the woman's needs.

1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be. i don't watch sports, so this is just a moo point. I don't give a damn.

1. Crying is blackmail. i wouldn't call crying "blackmail," per se, but it does go a long way with me. I hate knowing I made woman cry, and I usually do anything to stop it, so it's more a guilt thing for me.

1. Ask for what you want.
Let us be clear on this one:
Subtle hints do not work!
Strong hints do not work!
Obvious hints do not work!
Just say it! this is true to a point, but there is something to be said for reading between the lines. Not everything said is right out there. Give the extra effort you lazy ass.

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question. yes, but sometimes it's obvious to even a deaf person that more is required; if so expound on it.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for. this is total bullshit. Sympathy is what the person you love is for, plain and simple.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become Null and Void after 7 Days. again, bullshit. That's just not taking any responsibility for anything. Guys like this give other guys bad names.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us. depends. This is that catch-22. If you're in an honest relationship, maybe say something, but delicately.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, WE MEANT THE OTHER ONE. laziness again. Say what you mean.

1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself. again, true to point. Either ask or tell, or help us while we're doing whatever, just don't complain about it afterwards

1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.. nope, not true.

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we. what, is this based on total macho, not use brain at all guys?

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is. but it is possible to learn. I hate things like this where guys are painted so stereotypcially

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that. well...more or less, though we'll try not to do it public

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle. not entirely true. Men who are actually paying attention will notice the difference. I try to be one of these.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear. this is sort of true.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really. haha, more or less, though more skin (as long as it is for one guy's (namely whomever your dating) benefits) won't get a whole lot of complaining on the time it takes

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball or motor sports uh...no. I don't think about any of these with anything even bordering on regularity. If you're going to talk to me, it's going to be about lit, film or tv

1. You have enough clothes. sure, but if you enjoy it, go nuts.

1. You have too many shoes. depends. I don't really care. See above.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape! if I get out of shape, I want my woman to tell me (gently, though). I want to be appealing to her, so if that means working out, so be it.

1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight, but did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping. please, any jackass who would rather sleep on the couch than with the woman he loves should be on the streets. 

So, that's my take. Girls, feel free to flame me if you want. That's just how I feel.

Now that I've seen at least 50 of AFI's Top 100 Movies of all Time, and because Sarah asked me about it, I thought I'd compile my own "Clarke's Top 100 Movies of all Time." These are just mine, so feel free to bash/disagree if you want. There's not a whole lot of "classics," because if I put some of 'em on there, it'd just be me being pretentious, so I'm going with what I really think. Also, if you're super bored, you can copy the list and put it in a reply and see which ones you've seen (this is a requirement for Sarah, so I can see how much work I have to do =) Anyway, here it is:

Clarke's Top 100 Movies of All Time
1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
4. Almost Famous
5. Casablanca
6. Lost in Translation
7. Citizen Kane
8. Roman Holiday
9. Spirited Away
10. To Kill A Mockingbird
11. Jurassic Park
12. High Fidelity
13. The Royal Tenenbaums
14. Forrest Gump
15. Pulp Fiction
16. Pan's Labyrinth
17. The Godfather
18. Annie Hall
19. Brick
20. Saving Private Ryan
21. Jaws
22. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
23. Fight Club
24. The Shawshank Redemption
25. Serenity
26. When Harry Met Sally
27. From Russia With Love
28. Some Like it Hot
29. Rushmore
30. Good Will Hunting
31. Field of Dreams
32. Shakespeare in Love
33. Breakfast at Tiffany's
34. Sabrina (1954)
35. Toy Story
36. The Music Man
37. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
38. Dr. Srangelove
39. Sideways
40. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
41. Back to the Future
42. A Boy Named Charlie Brown
43. My Fair Lady
44. Young Frankenstein
45. Star Wars: A New Hope
46. Clerks
47. Children of Men
48. Volver
49. As Good As it Gets
50. The Graduate
51. How to Steal A Million
52. Mullholand Drive
53. Schindler's List
54. The Maltese Falcon
55. Gladiator
56. Manhattan
57. The Lion King
58. Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban
59. Uncle Buck
60. Dogma
61. Casino Royale
62. Castaway
63. Sleepless in Seattle
64. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
65. Spaceballs
66. American History X
67. Broken Flowers
68. Love and War
69. Match Point
70. The Emperor's New Groove
71. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
72. Plains, Trains and Automobiles
73. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
74. Say Anything...
75. Jerry Maguire
76. The Treasure of the Sierra Madres
77. Big Fish
78. Camelot
79. West Side Story
80. Caddyshack
81. Memento
82. Aladdin
83. Elizabethtown
84. Finding Forrester
85. King Kong (2005)
86. Finding Nemo
87. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
88. Election
89. Babel
90. Rounders
91. Love Actually
92. American Splendor
93. The Sword in the Stone
94. Golden Eye
95. Duck Soup
96. The Holiday
97. 21 Grams
98. I am Sam
99. Death Proof
100. Kingdom of Heaven

So yeah, there you go.

In other news, I made it into my Tolkien class (yes!) and every other one I wanted. Hopefully my last semester at college'll be a good one.

Finally, Georgia, you need to check out the soundtrack to the movie "I'm Not There" (the one about Bob Dylan). Actually, Sarah, since you're not a big fan of Dylan's voice, you may like it, too. I can get it to either of you right away, just let me know. Check out this tracklisting! http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?EAN=886971203820&delay=y&PV=y&z=y&cds2Pid=18835&linkid=1032356

Happy One Year Anniversary, Sarah! I love you, baby, and I hope next year is even better than this one!

That title has nothing to do with what's in this post; it's just one of my favourite quotes from That '70s Show and I thought would grab people's attention. 

So, I thought I'd start it out with my thoughts what I'm reading/watching/listening to for anyone who cares:

So, other than that, I'm just feeling pretty old, since my brother is graduating from high school Friday. We had his graduation party yesterday, which was fun (I had to laugh at how back-handedly derogative his cakes were, with messages like "You Made It!") but really hammered in how old I feel. My crazy super Catholic grandmother is coming in Thursday for a few days, which is always interesting. This time she's bringing her boyfriend, and I'm really tempted to give her a hard time for sleeping with a man who she isn't married too, but that would require me thinking about my grandmother sleeping with someone, and that's all kinds of ::shudders:: so, not going to do that. 

Also, the Kohl's Sarah works at better get their arses in gear and let her know she has the time off so she can come visit, because if not, I'm just going to be listening to blues records for the next couple of weeks. 

Sorry I was so rambly, but I hope everyone's summer is starting out well!

My mom may be a little strange, but the vision she had today has got to be the best thing ever...

Why has work been so boring lately? 

Why isn't it May 31? 

Why am I complaining? - because I'm bored. 

Oh yeah, thanks to rjade829for finding me this kick ass icon!

It's really hard for me to believe that I've been blessed enough to have been with Sarah for eight months today. It's been a great eight months, and I love her so much and am so grateful for everything she's brought to my life. 

It would seem that the fates must have been aware that today was our anniversary, because what better way could there be to celebrate than with the release of the first complete work by Tolkien in 30 years!


I read it already, for a book review I have to write, and it's great. Some beautiful illustrations and good ol' fashioned Tolkien for fans of him. Check it out!

Well, first off, here's my book review from The Met from last week I forgot to post:

Scavenger

The rest of my Spring Break I'm still working on finding the words for. I had the best time with Sarah and all ready miss her like you miss home when you've been away for a long time. And it hasn't even been a full day away yet. 

Not sure what to say, except it was a great week, and I wish it wasn't over. 

Maybe more words will come later...

"The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules. Anyway... I've started to make a tape... in my head... for Laura (re: Sarah). Full of stuff she likes. Full of stuff that make her happy. For the first time I can sort of see how that is done." - High Fidelity

Lifted from Sarah, and because she tagged me:

List seven songs you are into right now, no matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your LiveJournal along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

1. It Makes No Difference - My Morning Jacket
2. I'm Gonna Find Another You - John Mayer
3. Can't Let Go - Landon Pigg
4. I Try - Ben Taylor 
5. Sail Away - Randy Newman
6. Walking After You - Foo Fighters
7. The Long and Winding Road - Ray Charles & The Count Baise Orchestra

I never thought being called a Ranger (one of the coolest kinds of people from Lord of the Rings) would freak me out, but today proved there's a first time for everything...

...33...

Livejournal has been a big part of my life for the past year that I've been a member. Not only has it given me an outlet to share my stories, a place to go when I need to rant, but I have also met some really amazing people. One person in particular has had a huge impact on my life, and that's Sarah herminia and I wanted to let everyone know that we are dating. I'm out here in Wisconsin with her right now, and we are having a unbelievably fantastic time together. I'm happier than I've been in a long time, and I wanted to share it with my friends. I'm very fortunate and blessed to have found her, and I just wanted to share!