Blah, blah, fingernail polish

I'm bored with my blog topics of late. Blah, blah, tired. Blah, blah, holidays. Blah, blah, weather. It's like the blog has become my place for idle polite conversation. "So, how are things? Been busy? Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?"
Brian bought $40 worth of Powerball tickets today. I have grand plans for all that money, so be prepared for tomorrow's post, which may or may not be headlined with, "Suck it, bitches! I'm paying off my bills and moving back to California!!" It's all good, you know. Wouldn't that just be so awesome? I think it would make me very happy.
Decorating my house for Christmas takes me about seven hours. I didn't time myself today, and I'm glad I didn't, because that would have been weird. No, I started decorating after I dropped Sydney at school, and was just about done when it was time to pick her up. All that's missing is the smell of chocolate chip cookies, and this would be the happiest house ever.

How R U? No. How are you?

ITEM!: My daughter has, unbeknownst to her for now, joined the Apple community. With the newness of her knowing how to spell and type, I've been wanting her to have a texting function on her iPod. I couldn't decide on an app I liked, so have been unsatisfied. For an unrelated issue, I was visiting the Apple store this morning, and the Genius there told me that as long as she's in a wi-fi zone, and has her own Apple ID, Sydney can text from her iPod to any other iPhone. It took me a ridiculous amount of time to decide on an e-mail address for the child, so I could set up her Apple ID, so I could set up her texting function. But right now, it's working beautifully, and all is well. Tomorrow, Sydney learns how to text!
ITEM!: Also tomorrow, Christmas comes to Houston, and the house gets Christmas-ified. I'm very excited. But it may not go as seamlessly as I'd like, since I've already pulled out two Christmas pieces and changed where they go from last year's placement. I may very well be spending my entire day decorating, even though I know where most everything will go.
ITEM!: I declare shenanigans on the Christmas Junior Mints. They may have some red mintiness in some, but the "green" is disappointing. It's more like a seafoam green, which is sad, and that makes me yearn for a real Christmas-y green mint interior.
ITEM!: I went to Barnes & Noble today, and I walked out with only one book. I'm very proud of myself for showing such restraint. I did make note of two other books to purchase on the Nook, so my to-be-read pile is growing. I'm looking forward to there being less new television on for a few weeks so I can get my reading in again.

Bring on the good stuff

It's almost Christmastime, Y'ALL!!
I took down all the Thanksgiving decorations today, while listening to Christmas music. I spent some time on Christmas lists for the family. I was thisclose to donning a Santa hat to get through the day.
I also bought some awesome holiday lights for the living room. I think I'm getting into the holiday spirit. But for certain, I'm getting excited about doing Christmas for my kid.
She asked Brian and I yesterday if Santa Claus was real.
"Well, why did that one song say, 'you say there's no such thing as Santa?' if there is a Santa? Was the song lying?"
"Yes, baby. The song was just being silly about a Grandma getting run over by Santa. Do you think Grandma would get run over by Santa?"
"No."
"Well, then, the song is silly, and of course, there is really a Santa Claus."
Now, having dodged that particular Christmas-killing disaster, I can focus on the holiday for reals.
Yay Santa!!

Must have sleep

I like a good night's sleep. It's refreshing.
Of course, tonight's sleep may be more exhaustion-induced than anything, and I may not wake up as refreshed as I'd like, but it'll be good nonetheless. It's been five nights since I've slept with my little heaters in my own bed, and I'm looking forward to it tonight. Oliver and Daisy are fast asleep already: Ollie is running fast in his dream; and Daisy is all stretched out and breathing heavy.
Sydney probably took a while to fall asleep, but she was out at a decent time, so I know that she'll be in good shape tomorrow morning. Brian's been napping here and there on the sofa, so I'm hoping he gets a decent sleep. He will, because he's as happy to be home as I am.
As for me, the moment I'm done with this post, I'll be putting the computer away and climbing into bed for night nights. I wasn't fortunate enough to sleep on the drive to the airport this morning, nor was I able to lay down on the sofa as soon as we got home and sleep for an hour. This mom has been going and going since 5 a.m. Arizona time this morning. And I am totally ready for bed.

I think I might be ready

ITEM!: It's so weirdly quiet when the dogs are gone. We took Oliver and Daisy to the dog hotel tonight, and they should be snug as bugs right now, comfortable in their suite, and cozy in their blankets. Still, it's too quiet here, and I know I won't be able to sleep very well without them in bed with me. However, I also know that my morning tomorrow will go smoothly because I won't have to mess with them.
ITEM!: We are getting up butt early, about 4 a.m., to catch our butt-early flight. On the up side, we arrive into Phoenix early in the morning, and should be in Tucson in time for lunch. We're super excited to see the family!
ITEM!: Sydney is officially ready for a booster seat in the car. We decided to travel with one to Arizona instead of a full car seat (yay!), and are eager to try out the new safety device. Sydney though, has decided that we need a booster in every car, and is not subtle about her desires. She got in the car this morning and sighed, "Well, this seat is still here. It hasn't gone away yet..." I suppose we'll get rid of our car seats next week and pick up another booster. She's growing up, Y'ALL.
ITEM!: It's liberating to leave the laptop at home. Of course, I'm still bringing the iPad, but leaving the computer isn't something I do often. I'm excited also because the computer is so heavy, and the iPad holds all my magazines. I may or may not blog very much over the holiday weekend. I'll try my best, but I promise nothing.

I prefer dark colors in autumn

I let Sydney choose the color for my fingernails, and I'm unhappy with what she chose. She picked a really pretty pink -- in fact, it's the same pink that she's got on her left hand and right foot -- but I'm just not in a pink mood. She was so excited to share the color that I couldn't possibly say no. I tried to talk her into picking a red instead tonight, but she is practicing her guilt trip-ablity by saying things like, "Well, if you really want to..." and then "I really do like that pink, but if you'd rather have a red, that's okay..." So, as you can imagine, I'm wearing that really pretty pink, and I'll pretend to love it.

Warning: depressing post ahead

I think one of the most heartbreaking things I've had to deal with in a while was Sydney tonight realizing that one day Oliver won't be with us anymore, and me then having to comfort her over what will surely be one of the worst days in my life. Weirdly, and I'm sure it's a phase kids go through, she's asking a lot of questions about dying lately. Like, when she's 100, will Brian and I still be alive? Or when will we die? Or, horrifyingly, will I cry if she died? Or what will we do if Brian dies? I mean, for me, as someone who is terrified of death, having to answer all those questions is akin to torture of the most heinous kind.
But I refuse to lie to her, especially now that she's old enough to remember the things I tell her, so when she asked if Oliver will ever die, and if he'll live to be 100 years old, I was gently honest about it. And having had that conversation, she moved over on the sofa to hug Ollie, and then, next thing I know, huge, huge tears are rolling down her cheeks, and she's sobbing about Oliver eventually dying. Of course, I consoled, and explained that it isn't anything we need to get upset over now; we still have several years with Ollie, and that we should be hugging and loving our boy instead of crying about something that won't happen for a long time. She rolled with that, but still was upset, and gave him sad eyes and longing looks all night.
Having settled her down though, I was struck with the knowledge that at some point, I'll have to deal with the loss of my first baby by supporting my second and third babies through their emotional crises (as well as my husband's) first, and then my own crippling sadness about it second. That seems incredibly unfair to me, as I know that on that day, and probably many, many days after, I'll just want to curl up in the fetal position on my bed and cry.

An apple juice a day

Sometimes, nothing makes me happier than a bottle of Nantucket Nectars pressed apple juice. Tonight, because we went to Chipotle for dinner and they sell Nantucket Nectars drinks there, I am happy. I just finished it, and it was delicious. I always tell Sydney that when I was pregnant with her, I had to have some apple juice every morning. I'd get to the office, go straight to the cafeteria, and buy something to eat and a bottle of my apple juice. It made her very happy, and thereby made my mommy body very happy. Now, the juice is still delicious, but it also makes me all warm inside where my heart is because I remember so well how happy I was with my baby growing inside me. Sydney, interestingly, does not like apple juice.

Tonight, I catch up on my ZZZZsssss

I wish I could adequately explain, in beautifully descriptive words, how frickin' tired I am. I can't remember the last time I actually had to function through a day with only three hours of sleep the night before. Tonight, once I'm done with this blog post, I'm off to bed. No hanging out with the television, and no loitering on my phone. I managed to sneak a 20-minute doze in this afternoon but that's the extent of my sleep for Thursday night.
The reason for my lack of sleep, the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn: Part 2, was worth it, as I thoroughly enjoyed a night out with a friend. As for the theater experience itself, it was not as entertaining or insane or loud as I had thought. We arrived at the theater a few minutes after 10 p.m.; they allowed us into our movie at 10:30 p.m., and we were able to find good seats, and then sit comfortably for 90 minutes until the movie started. Of course, the place was full, but it wasn't bursting. I mean, the seats on each side of Marlo and I, between us and the next group of movie watchers, were empty. And the forward bunch of seats were relatively empty. The theater had four or five screens showing the movie.
It was, for a midnight show of a teenybopper romance movie, a pleasant evening. We had a drink at Cheesecake, got some coffee at Starbucks, and chilled out and chatted. The movie itself was good, too, offering a cute twist to the book, surprising us all.
And then I came home, and had to stare at an alarm clock that would buzz in my ear just a bit more than three hours later. Tonight, I'm all over turning off my alarm.

Sparkly vampires at midnight

ITEM!: This morning was Sydney's school's Thanksgiving feast and program, and it was pretty awesome. The class did a little Pilgrim play, displayed their manners by seating all the moms and dads and leading us from activity to activity, and shared their artistic and scholarly talents. Also, we had lunch, which included turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and applesauce, and a pumpkin pie that the kids made for dessert. I love school programs, they're so fun.
ITEM!: My new friend, Marlo, also was at the feast today, and we even got to sit next to each other. We happily discussed the kids, of course, but also mentioned meeting for coffee and hanging out. She said something about the new Twilight movie, and asked if I was going to see it. I told her that I would definitely see the movie at some point, but that I'd probably have to wait until next week. Then tonight, she texted me to see if I'd go to the movie with her tomorrow night! Brian, I think, was as excited for me to have plans with a friend as I, and I replied back that yes, I'd totally enjoy going to the movie. This means I'll be hobnobbing with the teenagers tomorrow night. No doubt, an incredibly entertaining blog post will follow.
ITEM!: After the program this morning, Sydney and her classmates were given the choice of either staying at school, or they could leave and spend the rest of their day with moms or dads, if they were able. My daughter, when given the choice, decided that hanging out with me would be more fun, and suddenly my quiet afternoon was nonexistent. What could I possibly do to make Sydney's afternoon awesome? How about a present-finding mission to Toys R Us? The plan: Wander through every aisle and look for things she wants for Christmas, and take pictures of those things so we don't forget. She rocked the assignment, and I have a bunch of good ideas.
ITEM!: Also, The Mindy Project is randomly brilliant.

Too cute to be a thief? Nope

I got proof today that Daisy has been stealing food from Oliver's bowl when I'm not around. This afternoon, I came home from picking up Sydney to discover Daisy laying on a pillow, hesitant to come greet me. This, as most dog owners can attest, is a bad sign. My first action was to check for poop. Finding none, I sat on the floor and gave her a kiss on the nose, the best way to tell if she'd thrown up anywhere, as the breath is a tell-tale sign. But no, not vomit; instead it was dog food I smelled on her. To confirm, I checked and saw that Oliver's bowl was empty.
Irrational feelings alert!: Why was the dog not taking this diet as seriously as I?
Suddenly, I realize why she's gained some weight rather than lost it over the last couple months. And the signs were there, I guess, but apparently they weren't NEON enough for me before today.
Happily, I can beat her at this game. Background: Brian bought Oliver a new dry food when Sydney and I were in California, and my little man really, really likes it. It's not the normal stuff though, so we've treated it as a secondary meal more than regular food.
But the fact that he eats it as soon as I put it in his bowl was a giant light bulb for me today. And our way to thwart Daisy was discovered: Feed Oliver this food, a serving at a time, and he'll eat everything in his bowl, leaving nothing for Daisy to finish throughout the day or night. And just as suddenly, she starts to lose weight again.
I'm laughing at myself quite a bit tonight, for crediting Daisy with the self-restraint I thought she had for staying away from Oliver's bowl. Why I sometimes forget that, at any given time, she's a dog, not a canine-ly person, amazes me. And that she's an overweight dog especially, because of course she'll be eating the extra food out on the floor in a bowl. (You see, even typing it out, I laugh at myself again.) So, the dog diet begins again tomorrow, and this time, I will win.

Food, glorious food!

I love it when I'm all, "let's go get some lunch," and Brian's all, "whatever; I'm not hungry for whatever you're going to make me eat," and then I choose a place and he likes it. Today, we lunched at a place that's new to us, Bullritos, which is right down the street. I chose it, and we had a delicious lunch. I love that I picked a winner. What I hate though, is that it's taken us a year to try this place, as it's been here, in the same parking lot as Smashburger and our "Ninja" Noodles, ever since we moved in.
Also, they have fantastic chips. And cheese dip for the chips. Sydney had a chicken taco, which she ordered all by herself; Brian had crunchy beef tacos; and I had pork tamales. They have free soft-serve ice cream for dessert. It has become, needless to say, a new regular stop on our lunch/dinner rotation.

21 years is a long time!

How many of you continue to remember random anniversaries?
For the first 10 years of our lives together, November 10 has been our "anniversary," the first night Brian kissed me, and for all intents and purposes, we became a couple.
Now, after we got married, I told Brian that he could forget the Nov. 10 day as long as he remembered our wedding anniversary (he does). But I always write that Nov. 10 milestone on the calendar, and I always tell him when the day comes along. Today, of course, he rolled his eyes at me, mainly because I also told him that he had to make out with me tonight, even with my coughing, "for old time's sake."

Only good dreams from now on

Do you believe in the magic of a dreamcatcher? I do. My grandmother bought one for me at an arts festival a hundred years ago. For the longest time, I kept it above my bed, and always believed that it did protect me from bad dreams. [ASIDE: Native American dreamcatchers are told to have the power to catch and hold onto bad dreams, keeping your sleep restful and happy. In the morning, the bad dreams that are trapped in the catcher burn up in the sunshine.] When our housing became more ... fluid ... after moving out of the house in Scottsdale, my dreamcatcher was stashed in my underbed storage bin for safety. After well over a year, I had pretty much forgotten about it.
But I'm happy to say that tonight the dreamcatcher has a new home, though it's not over my bed. Sydney had a bad dream last night, in which something tried to eat her head, if I heard it right. She asked me this morning why she had a bad dream, and how come her brain thought of it. And all I could think of, besides answering her question with enough cleverness to foil any additional questions, was my perfect dreamcatcher ... under my bed ... and how it could help and give her peaceful sleep.
It was a real treat to be able to show her my catcher, and explain how it works. And to tell her that her great-grandmother bought it for me, and that now she gets it in her room, was a genuine joy, and I felt very thankful to Grandma for it. We discussed the catcher as she snuggled into bed tonight, and she was very happy to have it. I just hope that it works as well for her as it always did for me.

Cat noise + Daisy noise > bunny noise

Well, come to find out that I can't, actually can't, sleep with my bedroom windows open. I've tried for the last couple nights, and I've come across a very specific problem. It begins, innocently enough, in a community with a relatively high population of outdoor cats at night. About 5 o'clock every morning, the cats decide to bitch and moan at each other in a manner that eventually devolves into a shouting match. This shouting match wakes my Daisy. As a, let's say "efficient and effective" guard dog, Daisy hears everything, and in her own way, comments on it. Her comments tend to be in the form of a long, loud growl that reverberates across the bed. She'll growl as long as she can on one breath, then take another breath, and then growl again. Occasionally, she'll throw in an "erf." As you can imagine, at 5 a.m., this is very annoying. And the only way to stop it is to shut the window, effectively cutting off the cat noises. Sadly, this also cuts off the cool breeze and fresh air.
I remember with incredible fondness my house in Scottsdale, in a quiet neighborhood full of old people with quiet dogs and cats, and my ability to keep my windows open all night. And the only noises were the sounds of baby bunnies rooting around in the bushes outside.

Yay flowers!!

No thoughts.
Too tired.
Time for bed.
No post, but a fun picture.

Election night ITEM!'s

ITEM!: It's not as hard to not brag about last night's results as I though it would be. Except to say that I was embarrassed for some of the overreactions I saw on Facebook last night, the melodrama on television was as I expected. (I've read that sentence like four times and I can't tell if it doesn't make any sense. Let's move on.) I am incredibly happy with the results from last night's presidential contest. All is well in my world, and I'm excited to see what can be done over these next four years with a president who isn't worried about being re-elected.
ITEM!: Huzzah, and YAY FOR OUR LADY PARTS!! I've never felt like my rights as a woman were in more jeopardy as I have in this election. I am appalled that so many gains were made by the Republican platform to reduce my decision-making rights about my own body. And the attack on Planned Parenthood was led by people who simply don't care about women. That's a dangerous sentiment in a country that is currently boasting a pretty substantial actively voting female contingent. I'm proud of the ladies, and the men who support them, for making their voices heard yesterday.
ITEM!: The same-sex marriage platform made tremendous strides last night, by being approved in three states, and by its discrimination being defeated in one. The fact that California continues to be behind other states in approving same-sex marriage is an incredible personal embarrassment for me. I always had such pride in my state, which is why I'm still registered to vote in it, but this lack of equality for a segment of a population is horrifying. I continue to vote in California because I want to be a part of the approval of a same-sex initiative when it finally passes. I'm hoping that will happen in my lifetime.
ITEM!: Donald Trump is a complete whackjob, and he needs to be muzzled. The dude went on a Twitter tirade last night, calling for a revolution against the election results and the Electoral College. An institution that I like to remind Republicans they celebrated in 2000, when Bush won the electoral vote and Gore won the popular vote. Trump needs to lose his platform (*cough* NBC), and just throttle his crazy.
ITEM!: And just so we know that life is going to go back to what is was before all this crazy election madness, Christina Aguilera's Braided Hair is trending at the top on Yahoo! this morning.

Fight for your right to vote

Tomorrow is Election Day. I've already cast my ballot.
I'm amazed and appalled by the political machinations going on.
Did you know that there are people actually putting out signs that say the election is on Nov. 8?!?!
Did you know that there are people standing outside polling places trying to intimidate and scare people from voting?!?!
Did you know that there are people maliciously directing other people to the wrong location for voting?!?!
Did you know that there are politicians that have actively throttled voting hours and places so that less people are able to vote?!?!
The subterfuge and intimidation that some people are stooping to in order to suppress voter turnout is appalling and frightening. That there are factions of our population that are so misguided in their zealotry that they think their vote is so much more important than another person's, and so much so that they'll actively pursue taking away someone else's right to vote is beyond unconscionable.
Everyone deserves the right to cast a ballot and vote for the person they think will be represent their ideals in office. Everyone should be able to stand in line at their polling place and be free of intimidation and vitriol. People of this country need to be able to vote.
I think early voting is a brilliant idea. Why can't there be an "Election Week," giving everyone in the country plenty of time to vote and have their voice be heard?
Also, I'm embarrassed by the actions of my fellow citizens this election cycle, and I've lost faith in almost every walk of life involved in politics. All I can do is fight for the issues that are important to me.
I want the dudes that want to take away my choices, and my daughter's choices, to go away.
Also, I want people to be free to marry who they want.

A year is a long time, but quickly gone

The next few days are going to be somewhat bitter in their tone, as we are coming up on the one-year anniversary of arriving in Houston. In fact, one year ago today was our last night in Arizona before hopping in the cars and heading farther east.
Oh, that we could have that day to do over again. (Oh, to have the last 20 months to do over again!!) I remember it vividly: us climbing in our cars in Sierra Vista, and making that fateful right turn onto the freeway, instead of the left turn that would have taken us back to Phoenix.
I honestly can not believe that we've been out of Arizona -- as residents -- for an entire year. I can't believe that we're still here, and that the office still hasn't opened. (It's supposed to open "this month.") I'm bitter that we've wasted a year here. I'm bitter that I'm so far away with no money to make regular trips back home. I'm bitter that we've spun our wheels and gone farther into debt for this "opportunity," which has, in fact, yielded nothing of benefit.
As I said, posts that are "bitter in their tone."

Clocks!! Change them tonight!!

I'm positive that I've posted about Daylight Savings Time before. (As a reminder, it's tonight that we need to set back our clocks by an hour.) But I found this little article on the origins of Daylight Savings Time, and some of the information was new to me.

It’s time to ‘fall back’
By Claudine Zap | The Lookout – Fri, Nov 2, 2012
 It's that time of the year to turn the clock back an hour: Starting at 2 a.m. on Nov. 4, daylight saving time ends and clocks go back one hour.
What is the history of daylight saving time?
The idea was first floated in 1784 by one Benjamin Franklin. While serving as U.S. minister to France, he wrote the essay "An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light."
The idea failed to see the light of day until 100 years later, when the U.S. railroads instituted a standardized time for their train schedules.
That time change was imposed nationally during the first World War to conserve energy, but it was repealed after the war ended. It became the national time again during World War II.
After that, it was a free-for-all for states deciding if they wanted it, and when it would start and end. Congress finally enacted the Uniform Time Act in 1966, which decreed that if a state chose to opt in to daylight saving, it had to be at the same time as everyone else.
Why did daylight saving time change?
In 2005, the Energy Policy Act instituted a change to daylight saving time, extending it by four weeks.
As of 2007, daylight saving time runs from the second Sunday of March through the first Sunday of November. The reasoning behind the change: a savings of an estimated 10,000 barrels of oil a day through reduced use of power.
It is not at all certain that the change saves any energy at all. On the bright side, extended hours of daylight are certainly pleasant.
Who has opted out?
While most of the U.S. observes daylight saving time, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa don't. Most of Arizona opts out as well, except for the Navajo Nation.
Why does the time change happen at 2 a.m.?
It's the time that is considered to be least disruptive, both for business and to people worried about being an hour late to church services or brunch dates on Sunday.
According to the blog Life's Little Mysteries, moving the clock back an hour from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. moves back only one hour in time, not back to the day before, which would only add to the confusion.

My thoughts on that: 1. I love that there was a state "free for all," when they all ran amok with the idea of Daylight Savings Time. 2. Why is Arizona so stubborn? Is it all the old people refusing to change their clocks twice a year? I mean, really. Get with the program, you and your crazy desert landscape. 3. Suddenly, the 2 a.m. change is making more sense to me than ever before. 4. Okay. I'm on board with this. Let's do it.

[Editor's note: I have a desk clock with the kind of wings in this picture. It's in the bin with my "work desk" things. I, right now, very much want that clock in my house somewhere. I actually have a lot of cool stuff in that box that I might want in my house now. I need to find that box and go through it. Project for next week!]

It's getting autumnal

I put away all the Halloween decorations today, and my goodness, I love how uncluttered my house looks right now! Of course, there's still a stack of orange and black storage bins that need to be taken downstairs to the storage, but once that's done (hopefully tomorrow), all will be normal in my home. You know, until Monday, when I put out all the turkeys for Thanksgiving.
The removal of the decorations did take most of my day, though. I did shift the way I packed them this year. NEUROSES ALERT: I finally have enough bins, and stuff, to be able to contain a room or two in a bin, and label it such. Master bedroom, bathroom, laundry and Sydney's bathroom; office and Sydney's bedroom; entry way and living room (part 1); kitchen and living room (part 2); and the all-encompassing "Misc." box. It's all good, and I look forward to unpacking and decorating next year, as it should go pretty smoothly. (I did my Christmas decorations like that last year, and I'm eager to see how quickly the decorating will go with a nice, anal-retentive system leading the way.)
I think I may go to bed early tonight. I feel like I'm practicing for my 40s when I realize that 10 p.m. is late enough on a Friday, but then I remember that we're all still kinda sick, and that I've given myself the weekend to get all our shit together for the month. And that means feeling better for all of us. So, an early night is what it is: a stepping stone towards better health in the days ahead.
Also, the leaves are starting to change on a couple trees around here.

Aren't *you* thankful for flip flops?

Ah, November. It's typically one of my favorite months. But there's something happening on Facebook that is making my November decidedly cheesy. The challenge is that people post a different thing every day during the month that they are thankful for. So far, the three that I've read are reliably sweet and predictable, and somewhat blah: all about the love of family. All I could think of to be thankful for today were my flip flops, because my feet still hurt from last night.
My challenge to myself everyday for the month is to be thankful for something silly, and not fall into the trap of preaching about how much I love my family and friends. Y'ALL know who you are; I don't need to tell you. And that will tax my creativity as well, since I imagine my thankfulness will ebb a bit around the 20th of the month due to a lack of inspiration.
This month's avatar is an homage to The Walking Dead. I dig me some zombies.