All the Single Ladies...Check this out!

Howdy y'all,

Finals week + blog writer's block + pure laziness = l a c k  o f  p o s t s
(which means I am passively screaming for some ideas here....Tell me what you want to see on this here bloggy blog and I will see what I can do about it.)


Here is a great site I came across one moment and subscribed to on Google reader the next moment because I enjoyed it so much.  See for yourself.

THE RULES GIRL


Funny enough, I have been adopting the theories of the aforementioned page before I even knew about this. 

Coincidentally enough, lately I have been thinking the SAME EXACT that was featured on today's post! 

New Name

I Googled my former blog title ("Blah Blah Blahg") and discovered there were quite a few blogs already with that title and decided to come up with something else.  I might play around with it a bit.....and if I do please bear with me.

I am open to suggestions if you have any. :)

School Bum

"School Bum" could mean a few things.

• The ever increasing size of my bum because between sittin' at work, sittin' in school, sittin' during the commute to and from either of those, and sittin' doing homework, there's not much time left in the day to move around as much as I'd like.
• A term used to describe someone who hangs out at school a lot (doesn't fit me though)
• A term to describe someone who doesn't know what it's like to NOT be in school (well fine, I had a few breaks here and there...but that doesn't really count!

Well let's see...according to my rough calculations, I've been in the formal educational system for about 23 years!  And like the Energizer bunny, seems like I just keep going and going and going.... Not necessarily because I LOVE school (although don't get me wrong, I thoroughly LOVE to learn).  I wish I had made some goals sooner and stuck to them, but despite those times of aimless wandering through the college abyss, I can honestly say I've had some good, fun experiences along the way, met some great people, and learned a whole lot about myself.

Right now I'm in the process of getting my spring semester figured out.
The other day I met with my academic advisor, I declared my major and minor, and he helped me plan out the rest of my undergrad courses (yes!), projecting my graduation in spring or summer of 2012!  I'm excited to have that goal to work toward.  If I can manage a bigger load (which is tough sometimes having to work a certain amount of hours to keep my benefits like health insurance and tuition reduction), then I might be able to finish a couple semesters sooner.  I'll be plowing through these next two summers and I pray I won't burn out!  I just need to get done because the goal is grad school....another 2 years of that at least.  So I'm going to be like 30 something when I'm finally done!

So I'm looking at the courses and I have to take a class that fulfills an "International Requirement" (IR).  There's a World Music class which sounds like tons of fun (but it really has nothing to do with my major).  Another one I'm looking into is an International Children's Literature course which is totally up my alley since I LOVE children's books!  Again, not related to my major.  At all.  Sigh.  I keep looking and find a class that fulfills both an IR AND Quantitative something-or-other....JACKPOT!!!  It doesn't sound too bad.  It's called Population and Society .  Oh...and I just came across Language and Culture, a linguistics course.  Shoot, that sounds cool too.....There are just too many classes that sound enriching!  It's gonna be tough to make up my mind!

People say the stupidest things sometimes

I was just talking to a friend of mine who's in her mid 20s.  She's dated quite a bit, and all kinds of guys.  She is a cute, sweet, smart, funny gal who has her head on straight and it just doesn't make sense that some amazing guy hasn't snatched her up yet.  She usually would let people set her up on dates and stuff, but has recently confessed she's gonna start being a little more picky from here on out. 

We started talking about the guys who have a hard time committing, others who are too eager to commit, the mystery guys who disappear just when things seem to be going great, the cowards who lead us on and suddenly never call again leaving us wondering if he was attacked by flying monkeys or something, there's the creeps who leave messages that include the latest weather report, and then....every now and then, a guy who takes some responsibility, actually CALLS to ask out on a date, AND communicates about his feelings.  Wow.  Refreshing!  And rare.

Well, just when we thought we'd heard all the excuses in the book, this one seemingly nice guy said what is possibly the most absurd of them all.....

"I feel like we don't really click.  I have a hard time relating to your culture."

(He even specified she might be better off with a guy who knows Spanish, how thoughtful!)

HA HA HAAAA! 
Wait a second.
 
WHAT?!?!
Seriously?!

Ok, you have to understand that my friend has lived here almost her entire life.  Most people have a hard time believing she wasn't born here.

His comment caught her off guard, but it took a full 24 hours for this absolutely ridiculous comment to sink in.  She asked some friends what they thought and one guy was like: "Is he retarded?  Latins are hot and good cooks!" another said, "That's just BS sister."

{Sigh}

 It's really sad how incompetent people can be.  Geez. 

I mean, Hello!  Pretty sure EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THE PLANET HAS CULTURE! Duh.

Oh well.  I guess it takes a really lame guy to come up with that lame of an excuse.
Poor dude.

Nanny Diaries

A few years ago I read the book The Nanny Diaries.  Despite some language I didn't appreciate much, I really enjoyed this book and it was one I couldn't put down.  I love the style in which it was written and I found it very funny.

While I was out of the country for a time, it turns out they made it into a movie.  I forgot all about wanting to watch it until last night.  I watched it on tvshack.net (you can watch movies and tv shows for free!).

 I was a little wary because Scarlett Johansen is in it and I don't care much for her typically slutty roles....but I was actually surprised because it turned out to be pretty clean.  They left out a lot of hilarious parts from the book and they could have done a better job of showing just how much Mrs. X took advantage of Nanny...but whatever. 

Chris Evans played the Hayden the "Harvard Hottie".  Makes me want to move back east and find my own! ;)

Sweet Black Friday

While some people gave up sleep and comfort to stand out in the frigid cold lines outside their favorite retail establishment to snag the "sweet deals" in the wee small hours of the morning, I slept in until about 10 in my nice roasty toasty bed.  When I finally got up, I sank my teeth into my own sweet deal.  These delightful chocolat chip sweet rolls that my mom and sis made last night..Mmm. 

Shopping is so overrated anyway!

Dear Ex-Bf

I've seen people do this on blogs often and rather like the idea so you may see me do this from time to time.

Please understand this is just an outlet for my sarcastic/cynical sense of humor, not meant to portray a negative attitude...haha.

 

Dear Ex-BF:

Hey! I'm going shopping for a birthday present for my niece and nephew, will you tag along please? I know you forgot about me quickly and got engaged to another girl 2 months later and wow! You'll be married in like a month, isn't that right? So it's no big deal. I mean, you hung out with your ex's ALL the time when we were dating, so I KNOW your honey probably won't mind one bit! Well it's settled then. See you at 7:30!!!

Yours,

          Super Fox Ex-GF

Yeah, it was gross.

This semester I'm in 3 health classes and I've definitely learned a lot (I know I promised once that I would post some stuff but sorry, I just didn't get around to it!)  It's been nice because we have pretty much talked about the same things around the same time (a little more or a little less in depth on some topics, depending on the course),in all my classes, so the material has stayed in my brain a little better.

One of the more recent topics was on STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) and STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections).  We discussed some alarming statistics, and saw some pretty nasty photos.  I wanted to throw up.  I was squirming in my chair because it was so gross.

It's hard for me to wrap my mind around some of the crazy, and in my opinion, reckless habits and lifestyles that are out there in the world.   I just don't see how people can meet someone and choose to sleep with them that same night.  I mean, I have a hard enough time holding hands even, sometimes! (just kidding)

Seriously though, with all the crap out there, I worry about people NOT worrying about stuff like that.  But anyway, what kept popping into my mind over and over again was, how grateful I am for the way I was raised, for what the doctrine of my religion  that has taught me about virtue, chastity, and most importantly I think, what it all boils down to: knowing I AM A CHILD OF GOD.  This knowledge is everything.  It's like Mufasa in the Lion King telling Simba: "Remember who you are".  When we remember who we are life makes sense.  Knowing this, everything else falls into place and explains WHY we should be virtuous an chaste. We have purpose and we have potential.

Three's company? No thanks. (new version)

I once dated someone who's "best friend" was a girl. She had once been his girlfriend. She was now married. With a kid. I knew they emailed and talked frequently, but did it bother me? Initially, not too much. Sure, I thought it was a little abnormal, but was secure enough in our relationship that I hardly considered it to be an issue of concern.

Come to find out later -in the final stages of our break-up - that he still had feelings for her. Suddenly, that hurt. Although it was over with us and it didn't really matter anymore, I started thinking about it a little more. Perhaps that was one of several factors that lead to our relationship not working out? If his heart was still with this girl, how would it have worked out anyway(assuming I had ever made up my mind and felt ready to move forward with him)? I suppose we both had our own stumbling blocks.

As we talked he told me about his past few weeks; what he'd been up to, how she had been in town visiting, and how good it had been to see her and play with the baby. From what I understood, her husband was on active military duty, so he wasn't around but was aware of their friendship and apparently okay with it (a bit weird, don't you think? Hmm).

Okay so I don't know a whole lot of people who still keep in touch with an ex that is now married. Is there anything wrong with hanging out with a married person? No, of course not. Is it wrong to spend solo time with an ex I still have feelings for....uh...probably. I have friends whom I may have liked once, who are now married. Every now and then we may say hello and catch up briefly, but you'll never see me going out to lunch with them or something unless the Mrs. is there. Even though there are no longer any feelings whatsoever, even if she totally doesn't care, it's simply the principle of the matter.


Freely emailing, chatting, calling, texting, etc is totally ok when people are friends or dating, but once one or both marry, that sort of interaction should end. I didn't come up with this idea, the Bible says so, and I find the Bible to be a pretty credible source. (See [Gen. 2:24], “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Once someone marries, maintain a friendship but keep it at an appropriate distance.

To back up my logic here, I was thinking about the scripture that counsels us to avoid the appearance of evil. I couldn't remember the exact reference so I looked it up and found this:

If you are married, be faithful to your spouse in your thoughts, words, and actions. The Lord has said: “Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else. And he that looketh upon a woman to lust after her shall deny the faith, and shall not have the Spirit; and if he repents not he shall be cast out” (D&C 42:22–23). Never flirt in any way. As much as possible, avoid being alone with anyone of the opposite sex. Ask yourself if your spouse would be pleased if he or she knew of your words or actions. Remember the Apostle Paul’s counsel to “abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). When you stay away from such circumstances, temptation gets no chance to develop.

So am I just paranoid? Most people whom I unofficially polled on this said it was not cool. Hanging out while the spouse is away looks suspicious--regardless if 'nothing happens', it doesn't make a lot of sense. It just leaves the door for temptation open--if but a crack, why do that to yourself? Especially if one or both parties still have feelings for the other. I don't understand, what does it accomplish? Isn't keeping that friendship alive taking precedent over seeking your own companion? There are hundreds and thousands of stories where things started out small and innocent and before realizing what was happening, people found themselves in a sour situation.

The ironic thing about all this is that just before this conversation, we'd had a conversation about virtue. Interesting.

I'm not judging him or anyone. People can and will do what they want. I certainly don't claim to be perfect and have many flaws and weaknesses. I just felt like sharing this because we really can never be too careful.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Every Friday at work, one lucky soul gets to clean out the fridges in the break room.  Anything that is not labeled properly goes in the garbage.  I am ever so grateful to those brave people who take to this rigorously disgusting task.

One such Friday, I went to the break room and wrinkled my nose as I noticed what the source of the stench was.  What appeared at first glance to be someone's cream of mushroom soup, upon closer examination I discovered those gray spore-like things were NOT mushrooms, but MOLD!

EWWWWWW!









Not quite sure why the fridge cleaners decided to leave out the containers with the forgotten soup. I would've just chucked the whole thing, tupperware and all. I mean, if the owner forgot about their soup long enough for it to grow a fungi farm, are they really gonna miss their precious container?  I think not.

Also, I love how it was strategically placed so that the contents of the container were exposed-- making the already stangnant dungeon air toxic-- and also putting the lid on display, as if silently advertising, "Don't let this happen to you!"

Left Eye

I'm not sure what is up with my left eye.  The last couple days they have felt scratchy at times or like there is something there.  I KNOW I don't have an infection, and it IS nearly time to put new contacts in....but still.  I am only having issues with my LEFT eye.  My right eye is as happy as a clam....or something.  Um...I just don't understand.  I thought maybe it's an allergy to makeup or my makeup is old or something but then shouldn't it be happening to BOTH eyes?  Totally wierd.  If you thing you might know what's up with my left eye, please do tell.

Costume

I'm trying to decide what to dress up as for Halloween.
Costume needs to be cheap and easy.
So far the ideas I've come up with are:

- Miss Congeniality (get a formal dress and sash)
- Lady Gaga (I have a blonde wig and big sunglasses...as for the outfit, I'm not sure yet, maybe some funky shirt or something, but I would be modest...)
- I have a Cleopatra costume....if all else fails, I'll be Cleopatra for like the 4th year in a row!! Or I can switch it up a bit and be a Greek goddess or something.

Any other ideas??? Suggestions???
Leave a comment below and be sure to vote on my poll on the sidebar!

Thanks!

CD Changer

Look how cool! My car has a 2 CD changer!
You've probably never heard of a 2 Disc Changer huh?
Well that is because they are very rare.
This was imported and specially made!
It's slightly manual...you press where it says "Push", see?









The tray pops out.









Insert the cd (they have to be mini cds, which
are hard to find!).

Ready to rock!







PS. Actually, I was just using my imagination.
My car doesn't have a tape deck or cd player.

These are my cup holders. :)

G o t c h a !

Beware of Butt Dialing

I was chatting with my brother in law and he said:

"Your butt called us Sunday morning.

You really have to keep your butt under control"

True story.  Except it wasn't my butt that dialed on accident.  I really don't know how it happened but I was driving to church Sunday morning and I'd picked up a friend so I had my purse propped on the seat between me and the door.  I noticed a faint noise, like talking, and the radio was turned off so I was trying to find the source of the noise.  I happened to check my phone and realized that somehow the phone hadn't locked itself and had dialed my sister's home number!  How random!

"You are my exception"

Oh to hear those four words.....sigh.  Haha.

So I FINALLY saw that movie, "He's Just Not That Into You".  And yeah, I may have pulled a GiGi here and there.  And yes, I DO understand now, if the guy is interested he'll call, if he's not, he won't.  A few of my favorite parts:

* When GiGi was so convinced whats-his-face was interested in her and she goes in for the kiss and then he's like "what the heck?!" and then she storms out saying that even if she read the signs wrong at least she is closer to finding someone than he is because she allows herself to "feel" (something like that)  BOO-YAH!

*When Mary is talking about how she misses the old days when people had one phone number with one machine that had one little tape that either had a message on it or not and how frustrating it is to end up getting rejected by 7 different technologies!  haha.

*Where the married lady goes crazy and is throwing her scumbag cheating husband's clothes down the stairs....and then when bumface cheating husband gets home it shows the clothes and shoes neatly piled on the steps, color coded and in vacuum sealed packs.  (OCD! haha)

*When Ben Affleck's character (who doesn't believe in marriage) hides a ring in the pants Jennifer Aniston's character hates and is going to throw out, and he tells her to check the pockets first at least and then he proposes and says he just wants to make her happy and that if she's not happy he has absolutely no chance at being happy.  (Aw, cute)

So I came across a blog where someone was like "I believe in the 3 date rule"...as in, it takes at least 3 dates to give someone a fair chance before deciding to keep going or not.  Hmm...anyone agree?  I've been given a death sentence after one date (ending with, "keep in touch"....uh huh....okay!) and also the 3 date chance (led on and then dropped without forewarning.....  Everyone is different I guess!  Isn't it exciting!  You never know what you're gonna get!!!

Funny Games

Last night one of my good friends invited me to a party.  Most people there were BYU students (current or former) and toward the end of the evening someone started up some silly games.  I'm always amazed by people like that who can just get a crowd of people doing something together at the drop of a hat...talent!  Anyway, they started playing a bunch of games, that I like to call "BYU games".  Quoting my friend, "Well we don't have drugs or alcohol...so we have to get creative!" Yes, leave it to us crazy Mormons to find all sorts of creative ways to have fun without mind and mood altering substances!  Haha. 

I really wish I'd had my camera to show you how to play these games, but for now a description will have to suffice, sorry.

The first game was some sort of ninja game (I started to think it was a Ninja Themed party since we'd just watched Kung Fu Panda).  Everyone stood around in a circle and one at a time going around the circle every one had to do some sort of ninja position.  Simultaneously, they were supposed to hit the hand of whomever they wanted (within a near proximity obviously).  If successful, the person hit was out, and the circle got progressively smaller.

The next game I got suckered into playing, but it was actually quite fun!  And could totally be a workout too.  Ok this one will be tricky to explain, but I'll try.  So for this game, we were all in a circle again and there was a rhythm of 1, 2, 3 as far as movements, and you had to play in groups of three.  For example, I'm in the middle and you're to my left and another friend is to my right.  Someone starts it off and when they point to me, since I'm in the middle for #1 I go, "HAH!" and throw both arms up.  For #2, the two people to either side of me do a chop motion toward me and yell something like "HOO"  and then for #3 I would then point to the next person and it continues randomly in this fashion until whoever is "it" isn't paying attention and messes it up, then they are out and the circle gets smaller and people keep playing until it's down to 3 finalists.  It's pretty funny and LOUD.

The last game I watched before I left I'd played before but had forgotten about it is where the group is in a huddle and stomping their feet to the rhythm of the words and looking to the floor, everyone says, "Ooga Booga, Ooga Booga, Ooga Booga, STOP! (or something like that), and at STOP, everyone looks up at someone. If whoever you're looking at is looking at you too then you're out!

Roller Coaster

So this is a pedal powered roller coaster in Japan.  I usually like roller coasters.  In fact, someday I hope to go to the roller coaster park in Cedar Point, Ohio...but does anyone else think this looks totally freaky?!?!?!

For all you manly men

Really, I don't know how people find this stuff!  I saw this on someone's blog and thought it looked interesting.  This is quite the extensive blog put together by a couple who noticed a decline in the content/quality of men's magazines.  It's dedicated to showing men how to return to real manhood.

Blog Safety Tips

Blog Safety Tips - (found bling on the blog website-"click here"s will only work from website)




Whether you are a novice blogger or expert blogger it is always good to have an extra reminder on how to blog safe. There is a large majority of bloggers who simply blog for family and friends and not for exposure. Here is list of ways to blog more safely.



1. Go Private. For instructions on how to make your blog private click here.



2. Change your blog settings. By changing your blog settings you can select your blog to be removed from blog listings and also search engines. By removing your blog from search engines your blog cannot be searched by search engines such as Google. The only way to access your blog is by entering the exact blog address or clicking a link with the exact address. For instruction on how to change your blog settings, click here.



3. Never use your last name anywhere on the blog. This includes your url address, blog title, and throughout your posts. If your last name is in you url (blog) address it is easy to change to a new name. For instructions on how to change your blog (name) address, click here.



4. Never post actual birthdates. Post birthday events a day, week or even a month after the actual event.



5. Disable right-click to prevent your photos from being copied. Please note, if you disable right-click your viewers will not be able to right click on any of your links as well.



6. Add a copyright image or watermark on your pictures. This can be done by using a photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop.



7. Never post pictures of the outside of your house or car. Especially with your house number or license plate visible!



8. Never mention where your kids go to school or any workplace.



9. Do not add countdowns for vacations or other events that would allow people to know when you will be out of your house.



10. Do not post when your spouse is out of town for work or deployment.



11. Moderate the comments made on your blog before they are allowed to be published. This will protect you from random or spam comments posted on your blog. For instruction on how to moderate you comments, click here.



12. Add a web or hit counter to you blog site. Although this will not tell you the names of those viewing your blog it will allow you to view the IP address and where your viewer are located (typically State or Country).



13. Have courtesy for your fellow bloggers. When adding your friends and families blogs to your blog list DO NOT include their last names. Many bloggers do not want to go private and are doing their part to protect themselves. Have courtesy and do the same.



14. Do not post you email address on your blog or when you are commenting on anothers blog. You are allowing others to send you spam. An easy way to allow reader to email you without posting your email address is using a contact form such as Kontactr (it's free).



15. Assume anything you publish on your blog will be permanent. Anyone can copy, print, or save to a computer what you publish whether your blog is private or not private.

Two Words

In one of my health classes we are working on a personal "behavior change" project.  Each person in the class was to select a behavior (i.e. exercise, eat more fruits and veggies, get enough sleep, etc) they wanted to change.  I chose to work on thinking more positively.  I would like to get to where I don't automatically think of a complaint or something negative.  Most of the time I do ok, but the other night in class I had an opportunity to measure my progress (or perhaps lack thereof?). 

 

Our instructor made a dreaded two word announcement:  Group Project.  Argh.  I couldn't help it.  My immediate reaction was the word "Nooooooo!" screaming through my head.  I can't stand group projects.  Sigh.  I already have another group project going in another class.  It's such a pain having to depend on others for my grade, among other things....

 

Sigh.

Jason Mraz

Empty Promises & James Morrisson

To preface my little rant, I am a little annoyed at the moment.  Probably one of my biggest pet peeves would have to be empty promises.  This drives me crazy! 

We all know people like this: 

• 
  
  They say, "I'll call you" and never do.
  
  
  
• 
  
  They say,"We should get together and do something sometime" (sheesh, let's be a little more general, huh?)  and best of all they don't bother getting any contact info making it rather hard to actually make it happen.
  
• 
  
  
  They say, "keep in touch" (reminds me of high school year book signings, "Have a great summer!"...or for the lazy ones,  "H.A.G.S.!".  Seriously, what is that?!
  
• 
  
  They say, "I'll try to make it", even though they are already 100% positive they won't. 
  
  
  

Why can't we just be more honest and straightforward with each other?  If you don't really want to call me, then don't say so and give me false hope.  If you don't really want to hang out, then don't make it seem like you do and then bail out last minute.  If you really just don't like me then don't pretend, don't act like you do.  Don't tell me my hair looks cute when it is obvious I  rolled outta bed that day (by the way, is it just me or does anyone else get compliments on their hair when they actually did NOTHING to it that day? haha).  Really now, are you just saying stuff to reach your word quota for the day?  If you DO want to keep in touch, be the first to do something about it.

Of course I have said every single one of those things myself.  I'm not exempt from my own pet peeve....but I'm trying, I hope others become aware of being like that and start trying too.

Anyway, on a more peppy note, a friend has introduced me to the music of James Morrisson and I gotta say.  GOOD STUFF! :)

Lesson Learned

I went to the beach last week. Since I'm hardly ever outside I don't usually fuss with a lot of sunscreen. That was a bad idea. I got a really bad sunburn! Usually I burn and then tan...this was terrible though, my shoulders hurt for several days and I had blisters. Well I sorta tanned and now it's peeling and looks like this. Lovely huh. Bleh. Lesson learned: Wear Sunscreen.

Guilty.

I am a health promotion major.  Technically I haven't declared my major yet, but I am feeling a little guilty.  I have managed to eat out for at least one meal for  9 consecutive days.  I am ashamed.  I have NEVER done this, ever!  Ever ever ever ever ever ever EVER!  NEVER!  (name the movie)  I know, I know....it's not good.  My excuse is that I was on vacation, and then didn't have time to make a lunch and went from school to work.  Sigh.  I'll work on it though...

Definitely...or Definately?

I was just doing my math homework and as I was writing out observations of  stem plots (exciting, yes), I wrote the word definately, and paused.  Wait a second...is that right?  Without Googling or using a spell checker, right now, can you tell me, is it spelled "definately" or "definitely"?  It is definitely (or definately) not "defiantly", which I see people write a lot.  Stare at it long enough and it's hard to decide!  haha, or maybe only at 1am when all you want to do is hit the sack but still have 5 more math problems looming ahead of you PLUS another assignment (that hopefully can be done quickly).  I have a feeling this is going to be a loooong next four months and I am dreading the winter/snowy/cold/depressing part but....I ♥ to learn, remember? (see prior post)

Well, I already know the answer to this, but just checking if you did.  ;)

I ♥ learning!

I started college straight out of high school and finally received my associate degree after 6 years (rather than the commonly achieved two). What can I say? Quick decision making has never been my forte. While there are some things I certainly could have done better or differently, what is done is done and the hands of time cannot be turned back, but even if I could go back in time, I probably wouldn't. The experiences I had along the way, the people who have weaved in and out of my life, and the lessons learned, have all contributed to the shaping of my persona. Sometimes I feel a bit frustrated, like I am "behind", since most of the friends I graduated with (and even several younger than I) have a bachelor degrees and are now plowing through grad school, and/or have spouses and children even. It is often a daily struggle to remind myself that it is okay that my life is not a cookie cutter of a young adult in this geographical area. It's okay and I am right where I need to be, learning and experiencing the things that will most benefit me and I trust that the Lord will direct my paths as I look to Him for guidance.

Going on Week Two of my University career, I feel like a "big girl" now. Figuratively speaking, I gave up the diapers and upgraded to real undies. The night before my first day at the "big school", my dad gave me a blessing and I felt like a kid frightened for the first day of kindergarten. My mom wrapped me in a hug as tears quietly rolled down my cheek.

Lucky for me I have a friend in my same major and in 3 out of my 4 classes this semester. This helped calm my nerves greatly (especially because if I got lost, which is something I am famous for, then I wasn't alone! hehe). For the record I didn't get lost. Well, we had to stop and ask some students if we were anywhere close to the building we were looking for, but actually we were right by it, woo-hoo!

During these past few days I have become very aware of something: I love learning.
My classes are awesome! I am learning so much and my mind is constantly flooded with ideas and concepts that interest me and make me want to look into it further. It's really exciting! Maybe it's the fact that I actually have a goal I'm working toward now, or because it's a fresh new start. or probably both! In fact, even my Stats class is proving to be interesting (and I am NOT fond of math).

I feel really lucky that I have the opportunity to go to the University and learn from others, hear different perspectives on the world in which we live, understand my own thinking and behaviors in a clearer way, and see how everything is connected. I am also fascinated to see the things in our world that aren't working so well and hope to make some kind of contribution change those things. I feel blessed to have a loving and supportive family that encourages me to succeed and is there to help me, and for kind friends who check up on me every now and then and make sure I take the time to play and do fun things!

Sorry about this post being "Dear Diary"-like (I try to stay away from that), but I couldn't help it. I just wanted to share that learning, by formal education or otherwise, is WONDERFUL! I will try to post stuff I learn from my classes and find interesting (in addition to whatever random stuff I decide to put on here). Enjoy and feel free to comment! :)

Cha-Ching!

Man, life is expensive!  What a crazy week it's been...I'm pooped.

School just started. By the end of this month I probably will have spent more than in the past entire YEAR!  For instance:

 

Bought a car. $$$$

Got the car insured. $$/month

Title and Registration $$$

A few light bulbs to be replaced $$

Gas $$ (lookin' like one tank will last me about a week and a couple days.

Safety and Emissions $$

 

Safety failed which means I need new tires $$$

Started school.

A few new clothes (of course!) $$$

Tuition and fees. $$$$

Books. $$$

School supplies (like a calculator for my stats class, etc) $$

Parking in the visitor's parking because I don't have my permit yet because I needed to do my safety and emissions to get my plates, which I still won't have until I get new tires.)

Parking permit {I'm thinking of getting} $$$

 

Yeah.  I think that covers most of what I've spent this week.  Ouch.  And that's probably not too bad considering I live with my parents and they provide nearly all my other living expenses such as home, food, etc)  Yowza.  How do couples survive??  How do families survive??  It's just nuts.  Guess it just gives me that much more motivation to succeed in school so I can graduate and get a better job, right?

 

Goodbye social life for the next 4 months.  Hello new boyfriend named math book.

Wrong Email

Got this in my email today, here's a good laugh.......

This one is priceless…A lesson to be learned fromTyping the wrong email address!!!

A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter.  They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules.  So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday with his wife flying down the following day.

 

The husband checked into the hotel.  There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife.  However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, sent the email.

 Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston , a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral.  He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack.  The widow decided to check her email expecting messages from relativesand friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted.

The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

 

To: My Loving Wife

Subject: I've Arrived

Date: October 16,2005

 

I know you're surprised to hear from me.  They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones.  I've just arrived and have been checked in.  I've seen that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow.  Looking forward to seeing you then!!!  Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P.S. Sure is freaking hot down here!!!!

Ppppoker face

Melissa, are you reading this?  Hello!  We need to do our Poker Face video still!  Otherwise I won't let you go to Hawaii.  Just kidding.

 

Anyway, the other day I was able to get myself out of an uncomfortable situation, thanks to my lovely little Nokia XpressMusic phone, my clumsy fingers and Lady Gaga.  If you are interested in hearing this entertaining tale, let me know.

Wax on, Wax off.

I recently went to a "waxing party" at my friend's home. She had her cousin do waxing for us, basically for the price of the supplies. Right on! I got my legs done-- which hurt like crazy--and for the first time, my armpits. The pits hurt, slightly, but I would totally do it again. Ah. It was nice. Highly recommend. Maybe one day I will exchange razors for lasers though...that'd be nice! No more shaving or waxing again..ever!! Anyone know where I can get a good deal? Please share.

Where's da fish?

Seriously!!  Please stop bringing the fish!  It freakin stinks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  BLEH. (See "febreze please")

Chaos

Chaos: a state in which one may experience massive confusion and often discomfort.

No, i didn't just join a dictionary definition league, that is just how i would define the word at the moment. Thanks to the Tower of Babel event, I got to experience my own bit of chaos today. Allow me to share.... I was given a list of patients to call to reschedule their doctor's appointment, which had been bumped. I call one and the mom answered first, then handed the phone the the father. I explained why i was calling and that we needed to reschedule. I explained this in what seemed simple terms, having to repeat myself several times. The man spoke English pretty well, but his comprehension did not quite match.

Finally i asked if we could get an interpreter to help us, and thankfully he agreed to it. I got a interpreter on the line and it was really interesting to listen to. With my background noise plus the patient AND interpreter's it was difficult to tell when the interpreter had finished and was talking to me. He had a thick accent so it was almost hard to tell when he stopped speaking his native tongue and began in English! Anyway, it was cool and interesting but TRICKY all at once.
It was rather chaotic, and something very simple turned out to be rather complicated and...chaotic.

I used to think 'chaos' was supposed to be read 'chaw-ose', silly huh? I distinctly remember thinking this while reading a Babysitter's Club book about Claudia, 'wonder what that word means?!' Then one day it finally dawned on me, DUH! That's how you spell chaos!

One of the greatest inventions

One of the greatest inventions known to man has got to be toilet seat covers.  Really, they are great and I am so grateful for them.  You can also use the middle part to dab at your oily face if necessary (before putting it on the seat, obviously.). 

 

While on this subject, can I just say that one of the most heart stopping experiences is when you are sitting on the porcelain throne and someone bursts in?!?!  Enough to give someone a minor heart attack.  Or even if they just try to open the door and in a panic you check to make sure you indeed remembered to lock it, and to your relief it is locked.

Blahging Marathon Lunch Hour

I've lost count of how many posts I've done today.....and mostly during my lunch hour (minus the half hour or so I spent eating, so actually it was more of a what's-left-of-my-lunch-hour-blahging-marathon). Are you impressed? I just had all these random ideas today and figured I out to let em ought and jot them down before I forgot.

I realize I have not posted much lately and this is because I really have not had much to say that wouldn't have been overly personal (ok I kinda want to stay away from my blog turning into a public journal/diary), revealing, boring or depressing. This blog is mundane and unremarkable, sorry. I'm not crafty, I haven't gone on any cool trips. I don't have any super amazing skills. I do have a lot of drama sometimes....but I am saving that for my reality tv show that I will never do (I have been told by a couple people that I ought to have my own tv show, why this is so I utterly cannot fathom. Like I said, my blog=unremarkably bland..

The Sixth Toe

I once met a teenage girl who as a little girl had 6 toes on one of her feet. She had it surgically removed, and kept it as a souvenir in a jar (I think with formaldehyde?). I know, pretty gross. True story. If I had been born with 6 toes, I think I might have just kept it attached...Maybe not, who knows. I suppose it might be uncomfortable because shoes wouldn't' fit quite right, and also uncomfortable to have people point and laugh.

Salad

I really like that salad you can buy that has all the stuff you just throw together.  You know what I'm talkin' about? It's like Super Cesar or something.  Mmm Mmm.  I also like salad with cucumber, tomato and onion...with salt. Delish!  :)  Another great one I had was at a friend's baby shower.  It had broccolli and bacon and the dressing was made with mayo and sugar I think?  I'm not sure, maybe I'll put up the recipe later.  What's your favorite salad?

My new obsession

Chocolate covered pretzels are my new favorite treat.  They are soooooooo good!  They are like the perfect salty, sweet goodness....YUM!

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

I schedule appointments.  I don't like common names.  Why does every other female spanish speaking client have to be named Maria?  Are there not enough names to go around?  And if some family has 3 girls, they are all named Maria.  Why...WHY!?!?!  On the other hand, I'm not keen on super wierdo made-up names either. 

Giant Toothbrush

The other day I went to a small town fair. It's a bummer it was so expensive! Most rides required three or four tickets and each ticket was like a dollar! My sister, nephew and I rode the spinning strawberries. We got spinning really fast!!! What a thrill.

They also had a bunch of game booths. One game was balloons and darts. The man was nice and gave us a couple extra darts which we threw at some balloons to try and pop them. We won a little penguin. My sister wanted one of the monkeys because she collects monkeys, so the man said: "I'll give you 10 darts for 10 bucks and you only need to pop 6 balloons to get it" We figured we could probably just buy a cuter monkey for that much and declined.

We moved on to the lucky duck game. This was a little moat thing that had rubber duckies floating around in a circle. For $5 one could pick up 3 ducks and adding up the numbers on the bottom, win a prize. My nephew won a gecko and the booth man threw in a giant plastic toothbrush for a bonus.

Next we played a game which had a ramp and balls that rolled into slots with a different number assigned to each slot (sounds like a casino huh!). Adding up the points at the end, a particular prize was awarded. The boys won swords after we traded up two smaller, (lame) prizes.

The game I found most exciting was a racing one. So there was a guy that talked fast like an auctioneer once the race started, and the cars were wooden cutouts with the Flintstones as drivers. To get them to move, the players had to get a ball into a color coded hole. The better the hole the ball went into, the further the car went. My nephew won the game and got a cow.

It was interesting and I saw a real, live cowboy, he wasn't just pretending. We enjoyed the fireworks show from the car afterward. Hooray for small town fairs!

My lips hurt real bad, gosh!

I love that scene from the movie Napoleon Dynamite where Napoleon calls home to see if someone can bring him some chapstick. Chapstick is one of my essential items i cannot live without it! My two favorites-in case anyone ever needs a gift idea- are Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm (a smidge pricey but worth every penny) and Chapstic Mint (which is rather hard to find!). Burt's Bees is true to it's label, reading: ' Soothing. Cooling. Refreshing'. Another favorite is that one that you can buy at Bath & Body Works, that falls into the lip gloss genre with its goopy consistency and colored tint. It is also flavorful and refreshing! :)

Febreze please?

Ok there really are certain foods that ought to be banned in places where people are stuck for 8 hours a day, in a confined area (with no windows), and poor air circulation.

They are:

* Fish- I love fish, but honestly people, tuna or any sort of fish REALLY stinks. BAD. Who doesn't know this? If only those bringing fish could be a little considerate and eat it outside or something, that would be great. There is nothing appealing about something that smells rotten. Someone had some fishy thing yesterday (and today as well I think) and I just about gagged.

* Onions - Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between potent smelling onions and some serious B.O. Again, not pleasant.

* Burnt popcorn - There's nothing like the tempting aroma of popcorn popping....but there's always the idiot that leaves it in the nuker and walks away. Burnt popcorn smells foul and quickly changes from tempting to terrible!!!

Ok, that is all.

Hooked on fonicks

Yoo no how sumtimes wurds look reely funee? Like yoo just stair at a wurd and it duzn't look kwite rite? I wuz just thinking about the wurd "answer" and how it duzn't make too much sens for thair too bee a "w" after the "s". Yeea. Sumtimes it's a littel absurd. Ennyway, I wuz also thinking abowt how awd it wood bee if Inglish wur too bee ritten az it soundz. It seemz like it wood bee a lot hardur to rite this way. Wut doo yoo think?

Gremlins!!!

Hi. So I know I haven't blogged in awhile. I just haven't had any sparks of inspiration these days and have been rather preoccupied in the maze of my own thoughts.

Yesterday, while tapping away at work making appointments for people, each of my programs shut down (without my permission mind you!). My workstation is rather sluggish as it is....and I always have about 6 screens going all at once, so it pretty much takes foreeeeever to log back into everything again. What a pain.

It happened again today, about 10 minutes before I was due to take my lunch break. Sweet. So I called the help desk (aka tech support) and told a nice guy named ---well I don't remember his name now so we'll call him James. The conversation went something like this:

"Thanks for calling the Help Desk, this is James, how can I help you today?"
"Hi James, I'm so-and-so, I seem to have some gremlins in my computer and everything just shut down on me."
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"Oh I'm having some problems with my computer, all of a sudden it kicked me out of all my programs."
"Right, but what was the first thing you said?"
"Gremlins got in my computer somehow I guess"

Well, he chuckled. Probably made his day a little more interesting.... If I didn't have to meet a quota for calls, I'd try to make people laugh more. That would make MY day more interesting. ;)

So I get the report back in an email (whenever we call with a problem we get an email from the techies after we hang up). This is what I got:

"So-and-so's computer has been randomly shutting down her computer; not freezing, or crashing, just begins shutdown procedures. The problem began happening intermittently as of yesterday;


Remoted into her PC, and was unable to find any recently installed programs that might be responsible; it could also be an auto-update on an application that could need restarting, but isn't prompting her.

Checked her installed programs and the startup programs (msconfig), but didn't see anything unusual; really didn't have any way of knowing for sure, So-and-so said there are 'Gremlins' in her computer; I couldn't prove otherwise (smile)

Forwarding to Remote RPC for review;
(demographics are up to date)

Haha. PS, the "gremlins" thing was my co-workers idea and I decided to run with it.

My "Top" Weaknesses

I am so excited for June 23rd! This is the day Confessions of a Shopaholic comes out on Redbox, yipee! I really enjoyed this movie, and the book was fun too. I'm NOT a Shopaholic. In fact, I don't really care for shopping very much. I do have some "top" weaknesses however. By this I mean, that most of my shopping is dedicated to the top half of me, my better half probably, from the waist up. I can easily find accessories, tops and makeup that suits me well....I just have a harder time with the bottom part of me.

When I am shopping for something specific, I never seem to find what I am after.
For example: When I sang in a session of the April LDS General Conference. It was decided we were to wear "jewel tones". I went to no less than 27 stores across town and being spring, it was basically impossible to find any dark reds, greens, blues or purples among the pastel spring swatches, and on top of that it was supposed to be 3/4 length or long sleeves. I was ready to punch the genius that decided on that dress code in the face. At long last, I stumbled upon a lovely green colored button up shirt at the Banana Republic in Park City . I didn't care that it cost more than what I would normally spend on a shirt, I snatched that baby right up.

Today, my boss asked me to leave a little earlier since we had a meeting this week and otherwise I'd have overtime. I happily skipped off to the mall.

Funny thing about me and malls: When I was in high school, one of my best friends and I decided to go to the mall. On the way there, we had to stop at a 7-11 with a pay-phone, so we could look up the address to the mall in the phone book. I know, two high school girls trying to find the mall, inconceivable right? So, that gives you an idea of how into shopping/malls I am.

Anyway, I get to the mall, park the car, sling my faux Prada purse over my shoulder and saunter into Nordstrom. I have had a Nordstrom's gift card laying around for like 2 years. I have never bought anything from there in my entire life, and have probably only ever stepped into said store twice. But it's kinda fun to stroll around in and NOT look at price tags. I mostly walked right through the perfume/makeup counters though, passed the shoes (I am way too intimidated by the smartly dressed male shoe salesmen to even stop and browse) and right into the rest of the mall. I headed to Macy's, looked around a bit. There are nice things there too, but all of a sudden I was feeling very frumpy, so after a quick walk around a jewelry table (accessories and jewelry are some of my weaknesses), I hurry out of there. I'm on my way to Sears on the other end of the mall to check things out there and pass the carts. I passed one selling wigs and hair pieces and chuckle to myself, thinking of the movie Paul Blart: Mall Cop. I know, I'm a nerd. Then another cart and a dark haired man with a european accent stops me and asks to see my hands. I'm kind of offended by this but still stupidly show my hands, also feeling embarrassed (I have never had my nails done professionally). He tries to sucker me into listening to his schpiel about dead sea salt hand scrub or whatever if was, but I'm like "I don't have time, sorry". He begs for 30 seconds and I say "No" and continue walking. He calls after me, "Come on, be nice". I wasn't aware that I was not being nice...

That kind of cart salesperson annoys me. It's like a telemarketer, but instead of over the phone, they are in your FACE. Much, much worse. And of course when I want to go back across the mall I'd have to pass him again, so I had to go outside and around. Good thing it stopped raining. Last time one of those crazy cart salesmen stopped me was for some hair straightener or something. My hair was curly that day and I'd say probably not one of my "good" curly days. It was more of a 'fro. But I was rather miffed when the guy was saying he'd show me how to make my hair beautiful. Excuse ME?! I am proud of my curly hair thank you very much! (well, most of the time anyway).

A couple hours later, I left the mall empty handed. No glossy, fancy bags, just a bummed out persona realizing I have no sense of style whatsoever. So, off I went to the nearest Ross to indulge in my other "top weakness". Lately I have bought a lot of tops at Ross. How can I possibly resist a snazzy shirt that costs under $10 and I look absolutely hot in? Seriously. I have been into tops that are between 92-95% polyester and 5-8% spandex. They are light and flowy fabrics, meaning they are perfect and light for the warmer months and don't cling to the wrong areas, but fall in a flattering way. Out of the 10 things I tried on, I bought three.

After that I went to Rite Aid (bought my deodorant as mentioned) and some makeup. I love makeup! I love trying different kinds and especially lip and eye stuff. I like to match my eyeshadow with what I'm wearing...

So yes. That was my shopping day. The end.

Deo for the B.O.

It all began with Teen Spirit.
Then I switched to Lady Speed Stick.
I then decided to upgrade to Secret. The "clear" part of it is a lie.
I tried Degree once, not too crazy about it, back to Secret.
Tried the gel stick Secret, not a fan.
Then they had to come out with all these weird, obscure, ridiculously-named scents like "Totally Tropical" and "Ooh-la-la Lavender". Really now, it's deodorant for crying out loud! They are naming it as if it's a crayola or something! I just want my classic "Shower Fresh", por favor.
I tried Dove once or twice too, but wasn't too impressed.

Having tried all of these different kinds of deodorants, I always found the same result. They all seemed to leave that icky layer of white crap on the armpits of my shirts, ruining the fabric, and forcing me to go through the painstaking extra effort to pre-wash stuff before putting it in the wash. Sigh.

Then, on my mission, I picked up a quirky habit from one of my comps. I bought Old Spice. Yes, I know that is a man's deodorant. Yup, I dismissed the "Strong enough for a man, ph-balanced for a woman" slogan and went for the "Smell like a man and---yeah---that's it." Hehehe. I actually really liked it, ok? It went on smooth, smelled fresh (although a tad manly....but hey, perfume can take care of that!), it lasted MUCH longer than that old Secret, and best of all? NO WHITE CRAP.

So today when I was at Rite Aid in the deodorant aisle I looked at the Secrets. I looked at the Doves. I took off the lids and the plastic thingies (shh, don't tell!) and compared ingredients. I can't figure out why the man deodorant is nice and the ladie's ones lie with the "little black dress approved" sticker on 'em. I lingered around the Old Spice. I smelled them all and picked out the one I thought smelled the most neutral of them all. I bought it. Don't judge me.

45 Lessons

I got this in an email and felt like sharing. It took one lady 90 years to gather up these bits of wisdom. Lucky for us we can read it in about 90 seconds and THEN spend 90 years trying to live this way! ;) What are some of YOUR life lessons?

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written." My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends andparents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.

But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words’ In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did ordidn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.

Is it any wonder?

www.webmd.com is my new favorite website.  After punching in my height, weight, age and level of activity into the fit-o-meter I learned how many calories I ought to consume.  Being slow to get ready this morning meant I left my house without breakfast, so on the way to work I made a stop into the gas station for something to get a jump-start.  I chose a chocolate milk (naturally) and a package of Grandma's cookies.  I remember I used to get those cookies from the high school vending machines every so often.  Did they always taste so awful and preservativey?  Anyway, imagine my shock when I counted the calories those two items amounted to.  A whopping 680!!!!  That was well over half of my alotted calorie intake for the day!  So, is it any wonder that with my desk job, limited activity and poor eating habits that instead of buns of steel....I just have cushy buns?  And my legs seem to be covered in cottage cheese?  Gross. It really woke me up to paying more attention to my food choices.  And I promise....I usually try a little harder to eat better!

Well, I suppose it's just another pang of guilt to get me that much more anxious to go to the gym!  hahaha.  Well, motivation has to start somewhere eh?  I figure I probably ought to start now since I will soon be majoring in the field of Health Promotion...yeah, might be good.

So check out webmd and there is a ton of cool info on there!

What I Learned On My Blind Date

1) I will never again trust my Institute teacher (when it involves getting set-up on a date). He was nice, and I had a good time, but very much not compatible with me. My height, at least 30 years old if not older, divorced with 2 kids, no hair, skinny build not weighing more than 120, leaving me self-consciously feeling like a COW! yeah.....Ok, I must sound very shallow, sorry. Maybe I should just not go on any more blind dates. Yes that is the lesson learned.

2) We ate at Village Inn and I discovered I like my eggs "basted", and next time I go out to eat and I'm asked, "How would you like your eggs?" I can confidently reply, "Basted please".
If you are like me, I did not know this was the proper term for it. I'd heard of "scrambled" and "sunny side up" before but not "basted". This is when the egg is cooked through but you can pop yolk part and it's juicy! Hooray for basted eggs!

I want my five dollars!

Next time you want to insult someone, all you need to do is say:
"Do you have the IQ of a Wendy's cashier?!"

Of course there is a story behind this. And no offense to Wendy's cashiers, really.

One day I felt like a big, fat, "Baconator" (yes, I certainly regretted it later). I don't know why but it sounded really good at the time. My buddy at work who kindly gave me a ride waited outside while I ran in to order for myself and also another co-worker.

I order my Baconbeastburger and it comes to a lofty $6.77. I hand the lady $11 (because I wanted a five dollar bill back and not a bunch of ones) and tell her, "One sec--I think I've got the 77 cents..." She already punched it into the register thinking I was going to hand her 77 cents, but when I realize I am one penny short, I hand her 85 cents instead (I know, that probably doesn't make sense but read on). So remember, total was $6.77 and I just gave her $11.85. How much change am I supposed to get back? Ah, that is the magic question. She looks at me blankly because I have obviously thrown her off.

Uhh....So being the math genious that I am, as my face begins to flush because there are people around and I am forced to figure out the difference myself when it's totally not even my job! Sheesh. I count off on my fingers quietly: 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85! Then say, "Ok, you owe me 8 cents. Well, I gave you $11 so actually $5.08. Blank-staring-cashier continues to blank-stare back at me, not quite following. I repeat how it worked out that way and she hands me 8 cents. Anxious to get out of there, I grab my Barfinator and my co-worker's order (which turned out to be the 99 cent chicken sandwich when I asked for the Chicken Club Deluxe...no wonder it turned out to be so much cheaper than mine!), drop my nickel and 3 pennies into my change pocket, and stuff my co-workers change in the other pocket.

I get in the car and it dawns on me that she never gave me my $5, only the 8 cents! Blast. So i go back in and I'm like: "Hi, me again. Um, I gave you $11 and should have gotten a five back but only got the 8 cents." She looks confused (again) and then says to me "Are you sure 5? Not 4?" I'm thinking "Wow. Are you kidding me?! Even I can figure this out." After breaking it down yet again, she finally gets the manager to open the till so she can hand me my change. True story.

I wonder, do they not train people for cashier jobs anymore? Do they not understand how to count back change? Having been a cashier myself, I hated when people did this to me because it threw me off, but counting back the change lessened the chances of my till being off at the end of the night.

So remember dear friends, next time you go to Wendy's just hand over the debit card and this will save everyone in the long run (the cashier's already limited brain function, and your time/money).

Closer To Love...

This is Mat Kearney. Yes, I took this picture. He opened for Keane and we were on the fourth row. Heaven. We made eye contact but I sheepishly looked away. He probably wanted to get my number too but I'm sure he was tired so he didn't stick around till Keane was over. Anyway, his first album was fabbitty-fab (Nothing Left To Lose) and his latest is even better (City of Black & White). He joked that he never expected to have his songs picked as background music for shows featuring Doctors making-out (Grey's Anatomy? I have no idea, I don't watch TV.) If you like Coldplay, pretty sure you'll like the MK. Check out www.matkearney.com. He's got a blog with vids of him on tour this year. Also, for a free download (before June 2nd) check out the Borders website for the single, "Closer to Love". Catchy! :)