I didn't really celebrate Hallowe'en this year.  However, I have been watching scary movies a lot lately, and I've decided they are something akin to Salt-n-Vinegar potato chips.  The first taste is ridiculous, but once you've had a couple, it's so good.  Notably, though, I wouldn't want to eat them all the time, nor would I want to watch horror films all the time.  They're seasonal like Pistachio Almond ice cream and Peeps.  I will say that horror films have more liberty than most other genres, because the suspension of disbelief is a bit more flexible with them.  Of course Leatherface got there before you.  Why wouldn't the hotel flood with blood?  You wonder why no one noticed the cult next door earlier?

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This semester seems like it could be entitled "Trace Gets Screwed by the System."  You remember the outstanding (not my fault) scholarship thing?  My parents paid it off for me.  And yet, yesterday, when I went to have dinner, my card did not work in the cafeteria.  Even though I met their hostile demands before the deadline.  Seriously.  Tomorrow, someone in housing gets to see my face... AGAIN.  It's like the fifth trip I've made to that office this semester.  What's the deal?  

Also in TGSS, I might not have a job at SFBC because of the idiocy of the management.  Apparently I didn't show up for work on Thursday.  Now, how I should have known to show up without them telling me is beyond my grasp.  The manager with whom I interviewed on Wednesday said at least thrice that she would call me and tell me when to come in.  I assumed that meant for this next week.  So, on Friday morning I decided to check in with them.  When I called, I got shuffled around on the phone, finally talking to a very nice AM who called the boss to ask about me, because apparently I was no longer employed with them.  They took my no-show as not wanting the job, and hired somebody else.  I kid you not.  So the boss is supposed to send me an email (real classy) to straighten things out.  You know where this is going, but I hate being punished when someone else drops the ball.  In honesty, I'm not sure I want to work for a retarded company like this.  But I do need the money.  

In other employment news... NOTHING.  I still haven't heard from Lana.

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Today I went to Grace Church on Cantrell in Little Rock because the Tedders were leading worship there.  Mark and Carrie Tedder led worship at BICF when I was in Beijing, and so it was like a little piece of China in the 501.  I went down more specifically to man the merch table of the cd/dvd combo that was produced at BICF while I was there (remember the videos a while back?), called 门The Door.  I was glad to help out and hear about their ministry plans.  I would love to work with their organization some time.  They lead worship and train worship leaders around the world, and they've started doing so through video podcasts.  I told Carrie that I'm studying film and that I'd love to work with them on projects in the future.  

Steven, Bekah, and Jenny came down to go to Grace with me this morning, and that was nice of them.  After all was said and done I went with Jenny to have lunch with her parents and grandmother at Johnny Carino's a few blocks down on Cantrell.

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This afternoon when I came back to my suite my roomie was watching Pan's Labyrinth, which is an excellent movie about the Spanish Civil War, magic, and escapism.  If you haven't seen it, have the stomach for some violence, and can endure a kind of long movie in Spanish, you should investigate.  I love it.

T