Last month for my birthday, my friends and I went to the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit at San Jose’s Tech Museum! It was so fun seeing some of the props and costumes from the Star Wars saga. I feel like there could’ve been more things on display (no ewoks, tauntauns, Lando Calrissian, Boba Fett (he made an appearance there only recently), or Queen Amidala’s ornate ensemble from The Phantom Menace), but I still really loved seeing what was there, like Chewbacca! There was a sign that said he’d be leaving for the Smithsonian on January 16, so I’m really glad that I was able to see Chewy before he left. 🙂 And there was also a wampa, and jawas, a model of the Millenium Falcon, and Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper AND OTHER REALLY AMAZING AWESOME THINGS!
Here are some of the pictures I took while I was there:
This is the only Northern California stop for the Star Wars exhibit and its stay has been extended until the 23rd of March, so if you’re a huge Star Wars fan, you should definitely stop by! Who knows what else they might add to it!
Oh, Valentine’s Day. Or Single’s Awareness Day to the unattached.
To the masses, it’s just a stupid holiday that candy confectioners, floral arrangement businesses, and greeting card companies came up with in order to rake in a few extra bucks to keep momentum up after the fall/winter holiday season.
For years, people have assured me that Valentine’s Day isn’t just a day to celebrate romantic love, but all kinds of love — familial love, friendship, whatever. The cynic in me wants to call bullshit on that because if you look at the merchandise, that’s all it’s really targeted for. But the Edgar Allan Poe tote and chocolate dipped Oreo my mom gave me (and the other presents she’s given me on past V-Days) and the stuffed unicorn I’m going to get from Jen later today says otherwise.
I remember listing Valentine’s Day as one of my favorite holidays as a youngling because I liked the fact that we dedicated an hour of the day at  school to eat cookies and drink punch and pass out super adorable cards to classmates and get super adorable cards in return. But then it stopped happening. Suddenly, I became painfully aware that Valentine’s Day was for romantic couples. And at school we were given the option to buy Crush-o-Grams or some other sort of treat to send to friends during the day, and if your name didn’t get called by the delivery person, well, it was just a bit soul crushing. I always found myself bitter because I didn’t have anyone to call my Valentine, or just didn’t have anyone in general, and the only person who ever sent me a Crush-o-Gram in high school was my mom and she marked it as “From Jon Bon Jovi” because I was totally into 80s music my junior year of high school and I thought Jon Bon Jovi was pretty hot. “You couldn’t have at least put Orlando Bloom? He’s my age appropriate crush! And he’s cuter!” I said to my mom after receiving it. It was a sweet gesture, but so embarrassing! I love her for it anyway.
Even though I had someone for two years to call my Valentine, and oh God was I ever excited to celebrate my first one as a non-single lady, I still thought the holiday was a bit stupid. Like many others have argued, I agree that it shouldn’t take one particular day of the year to make all these grand gestures to show the person you’re with how much you love them. But to be completely honest, I have to admit that I relished the fact that I wasn’t alone and could properly celebrate the day by social standards if I wanted to. You’d feel the same way if you spent 24 (or 25?) consecutive Valentine’s Days alone, wouldn’t you? And I thought I didn’t have to ever worry about being alone each time the 14th of February rolled around till the day I died. Silly me for being so confident in my last relationship. I also grew up with a father that sent my mom a beautiful bouquet of flowers no matter what each year. Even if he was in the Philippines (which he was for quite a few Valentine’s Days), there’d be a bouquet waiting for my mom at work. Oh, and this year he decided to put the flowers together himself (tulips instead of his usual go-to red roses). So yeah. Expectations. I haz them… thanks to the way my dad treats my mom and Disney movies. Stupid Disney movies.
And now I’m back to where I started. Flying Solo with no wookiee to keep me company in my cockpit. Today also marks exactly two months since my break-up, so I can’t help but feel a bit woebegone and angry on this day where romantic love is glorified and I’m still trying to cope with the fact that I don’t have it anymore, and probably won’t for quite some time.
George Takei posted this  meme on his Facebook page with a caption that says: “Proof that you can be just fine alone today.” I’ve done this 24 or 25 times alone before. I can do it again. And I’d like to think I’m Han Solo, so this cheered me up a wee bit.
Whether you’re taken or single, I hope the day treats you well.
I just added seven new designs to Le Fancy Geek Boutique! Designs include Ned the Pie Maker from Pushing Daisies, Admiral Ackbar and Padme Amidala (Star Wars), Liz Lemon (30 Rock), Joan Holloway/Harris (Mad Men), Lady Mary (Downton Abbey), and Captain America.
And with Valentine’s Day around the corner I decided to throw in a little coupon code so you can all save 10% on your purchase. Just use type in “valentine14” during checkout!
Since the sale is kind of short notice (mah bad), the coupon will expire next Sunday on the 16th. 😀
Indiana Jones and Harry Potter necklaces with oval pendants are also going to be added to the shop this week too along with a brand new Sherlock design on a bigger pendant! Be sure to follow me on Etsy and subscribe to Le Fancy Geek (see sidebar for different options) for shop updates 😀
And if you don’t see any of your favorite characters in my shop, just message me and we can work on a custom order.
It’s every introvert’s dream to watch a movie in a theater all alone — or whoever they happen to be with. Right? Or is it just me?Last week Caitlin and I headed a town over to watch August: Osage County because I’d honestly rather drive to a country bumpkin town 40 minutes away than go to the nice movie theater downtown that’s 15-20 minutes from my house. If you’re familiar with Stockton, you’d understand. Anyhow, much to our delight, when we walked into the theater for the 10pm showing it was completely empty! I did my little happy bounce knowing that I’d be able to fangirl whenever Benedict Cumberbatch’s strange yet handsome face would grace the screen. Of course, my happiness dwindled down when a couple of other folks came into the theater minutes later. *shakes fists at the heavens*
I had heard many good things about August: Osage County, and from the trailers I had seen I thought it was supposed to be a bit of a dramady, and I did laugh… the things I laughed at weren’t necessarily supposed to be funny though. This movie was rife with tragedy. A LOT of tragedy. I really did enjoy the film, but I just don’t think I’d be able to sit through it again. It was depressing as hell and emotionally shattering. Meryl Streep’s performance as Violet Weston, a begrudged middle-aged house wife with mouth cancer, was phenomenal (duh, it’s Meryl Steep after all), and the rest of the cast (Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Julianne Nicholson, Juliette Lewis, Abigail Breslin, etc) was perfect too. And there were so many moments that were horribly uncomfortable and shocking, it got to the point where I had to take the sides of my cardigan and criss-cross them over my face to blind myself from what was going on in front of me. I get second-hand embarrassed so easily. x__x
Given the content of the film, I felt slightly horrible for my fangirl actions. Fangirl actions? Like what? Well for instance, when Ewan McGregor’s handsome bearded mug popped up  my natural instinct was to reach out to the screen longingly and turn to Caitlin and whisper, “OH MY GOD! EWAN McGREGOR! SO HANDSOME! I TOTALLY FORGOT HE WAS IN THIS MOVIE [because I was so goddamn excited about Cumberbatch — we both were].” And when Benedict Cumberbatch showed up as Little Charles, the mentally slow but oh-so-sweet nephew of Meryl Streep’s character, we both reached out to the screen and were like, “Awww, baby! Don’t be cry! OH MY GOD HE’S SO CUTE” (he’s in a bit of a sad state when the audience first meets his character). Oh, and he plays the piano and sings in the movie too [see clip below to hear it]. Yeah. Really. That’s when we had to try our very best to contain our feels, but both of us managed to mutter “No, don’t play the piano, you’re going to make me love you more. OMG YOU CAN SING. I LOVE YOU. DAMN YOU.”
DAMN HIM AND HIS TALENT AND HIS STRANGE BUT BEAUTIFUL FACE.
Whew. Sorry.
I swear, I acted as if I was watching Twilight or something. Ugh. I did my very best to not interrupt the viewing experience of the two other people in the theater though. But y’know what? I think the fangirling helped a bit, otherwise I would’ve left the theater in a completely horrible state of mind which wouldn’t have been ideal for the drive back home. The family dynamics were just so broken, and it didn’t matter that I knew it was fictional, I just felt so miserable witnessing  every character shatter like fine china onto the ground. So I’m glad I watched it with a fellow Cumberbitch who happily and quietly squeled along with me. 🙂
Um, well… this wasn’t much of a review now was it? If anything this movie going experience only showed me that hanging onto itty bitty pieces of your youth (being a fangirl is a step up from being a 12-year old teeny bopper) can definitely help make the most out of any awkward and depressing situation. Does that even make sense? Whatever. I’m gonna shut up now.
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