Remember When We Used to Get Drunk Together?

   
Yeah, me neither. But damn! Those hangovers were a bitch, weren't they?

On my way home from work today I was thinking hard about potential blog posts. Usually driving is a great time for me to brainstorm, but lately? Not so much. I've got nothing. Nothing at all. In fact, It's time to take an official hiatus.

So... I'm officially taking a break. I realize I've been on a break for awhile now, but at least by making it "official" I'll no longer feel guilty about not posting. I'm too distracted by all the great things happening in my life right now to give this blog proper attention.

(Yes, this is my actual baby-to-be. Yes, baby-to-be is a girl.)

Do I intend on returning? Who knows? I've got some events and get togethers and time off coming up in the near future, so... maybe. In the meantime, you can still find me writing about the "joys" of teaching art to snot-nosed brats at Art Teachers Hate Glitter, or you can find me and all my new found gushy soft spots for pretty girly things at The Bittersweet Blonde (If you're the kind of person who's interested in baby updates and style and design, this is the place for you). 

'Till next time! Or not.

Forgive me while I ramble

 

This work shit seems to be getting the best of me right now. I know that in a few weeks all the Beginning of the School Year (BOSY) crap will die down, and I'll have some free time again, but in the meantime, I'm dealing with BOSY crap in three different schools. Three schools that couldn't be any different, which I already babbled about here.

And while we're on the topic, can I just say that I'm terribly afraid this job is going to make me racist? I am, guys. Without getting into any specifics, I must say that there are a couple days a week in which my job is so much easier and my psyche is so much happier then, well, three other days of the week. It all comes down to student behavior and their cooperation in my classroom. One school I work at has a significantly more cooperative and responsive student body than the other two. While trying to figure out why, I concluded that I'm dangerously close to drawing racist conclusions. I think it might be time to reevaluate my approach with the other two schools because I do not want to become the ignorant person/teacher who has favorites based on race. I do not, do not, DO NOT want to become that person.

Source

Moving on...

I find myself heading to Target shortly to pick up a few items for my classroom; a timer, a magic wand and chimes. *Sigh* The life of an elementary art teacher, where you're expected to perform magic everyday. All part of the new strategy. I'm going to find something that'll work, dammit.

On a completely unrelated topic, still waiting on my driver's license to arrive and hating every happy hour I miss day I don't have it. In case you don't remember, or maybe I never mentioned it, I lost my license while in DC a couple of weekends ago. The worst part was that I wasn't even drunk, or in DC to get drunk. We were in DC for sushi and I'm pretty sure it fell out of my pocket while I was using the bathroom. Unfortunately, when I realized I had lost it (when we tried entering a different establishment after dinner for a "one for the road" beer), the sushi place was so packed, I couldn't even find the bathroom when I went back. Now I'm just waiting for a new one to arrive from New York.

Um... so I have so much to report on, whenever I can manage to find the time. There's a giveaway I won awhile a back and a contest I won as well that I never mentioned. Not that you necessarily care, but I like to spread the word, so-to-speak, on these sorts of things. Plus, I have a Saturday feature I started working on months ago that has yet to see the light. Maybe someday. My "Previously On" posts have been few and far between, and while I've managed to keep up on "Random Shit Tuesday" (more or less) they've certainly been lacking. I haven't had an "I ♥ Etsy" post in ages and it seems like I've completely forgotten that there are days after Tuesday in which I can post. And holy shit, when was the last time I shared my musical tastes with you all?

*Sigh*

This just in... who decided we needed to redesign the dollar bill, and why would we even consider letting the British to do it? Apparently there was a contest for this or something, and now people can vote for a redesign? I don't know how I feel about this, but it's trending towards not good. I haven't heard much on the subject.

You can read more about it here (although it doesn't really provide all that much information), and if anyone has anymore information on this (like, is it for real?) please pass it on. Thanks.

Everyone loves a meme. Wait... what do you mean, "No they don't"?

   

Fuck it. It's my blog and I'm doing one anyways. This meme is brought to us by pieces of me, who I came across at...

(you've joined, right?)

Here goes...

Outside my window… there is darkness, and from the sounds of it, insects.

So… I am thinking… I could use another glass of wine. And I'm kind of feeling homesick and lonely.

I am thankful for… having a job. Finally.

I’m wearing… boy shorts and a tank top. Hooray for being home alone.

I am remembering… good times in NY.

I am creating… work for The Sketchbook Project. Images to come soon. Maybe.

I wonder … if I'll ever make it back to the gym or into a regular Pilates routine again. My thighs and love handles are screaming at me to try.

I am going… downstairs to the kitchen for some food. Oh, that's right, I haven't gone grocery shopping, so there is no food. Hmmm...

I am reading… shit. Not a gosh darn thing right now. But I hope to pick a book up again soon.

Song that is playing over and over in my head… "The Joker" by Steve Miller Band because I was searching for Pompatus of Love on Netflix earlier today to see if I could watch it on Instant Queue (I can't) and I got it stuck in my head.

I am hoping… that this new job makes me instead of breaks me. *Sigh* It's going to be a long year.

Pondering these words…. "letting go" is pretty much the same as "giving up", right? So when people advise you to "let go" and "move on," they're basically telling you to "quit" and "settle," right? Let's take, for example, that time I was stressing about not getting a teaching job and having to consider waiting tables, and people kept telling me that plenty of folks out there are working jobs in a field they didn't necessarily want to be in, and that maybe I should just suck it up and do the same thing (I'm paraphrasing). Well, guess what, I didn't listen, and I didn't give up, and I got a job doing what I want to do, so... IN YOUR FACE, people. Wait, that wasn't the point... my point is, "letting go" isn't always the way to go, right? I think holding on to hope is o-kay too.

From the kitchen… microwave popcorn, wine and frozen berries.

Around the house… everything is beige and French Country. I hate beige and French Country. I can't wait to move again.

One of my favorite things…  is receiving surprise texts that make my heart feel good.

Doh… I totally just thought the wind blowing my bedroom blinds against the window was the sounds of footsteps coming up the driveway. And this is why I should never be left alone without adult supervision. Well, that and the fact that I am a walking disaster and am a danger to myself. Seriously. I have injuries on top of injuries. I injure myself with injuries. (I don't think I told you about this, but remember that last toe injury I had? Well, before I was able to clean up the damage, I managed to stub the gnarled toe on the heel of my other foot, trip across the driveway, and cut the back of my foot with my injured toe. Yes folks, I am that talented.)

I don’t get… Responsive Intervention Classrooms. How can I manage my classroom without consequences? I really need some training on this.

I do enjoy… time to myself. Being around other people 24/7 really wears on a person.

I am watching… Tin Man. One of my favorite versions of the Wizard of Oz.

A few plans for the rest of the week… work, work, and work. Oh, and a 3 1/2 hour New Employee Orientation and a 3 hour Bright Beginnings seminar. Both on Monday, beginning at 2pm. Ouch.

A picture I would like to share…

I don't think I shared a full image of my wine/liquor bag painting. As you may notice, it's not finished. I don't think I have ever completed any of my work. It's a problem I have. I've given up trying to work on it and have come to accept it.


And that's it, folks.

Writing this post was a big waste of time. So would be reading it.

   

There's no denying it, my laptop's on its last legs. Which I mean quite literally as 3 out of 4 of those little rubber stumps on the bottom of my laptop have melted off. And I mean that literally too. My laptop gets so hot that the glue holding those babies on melted and the rubber stumps keep falling off. I've thought about glue gunning them back on, but never got around to it.

At any rate, my computer is slower than death right now (what does that even mean? How slow is death?) and so everything I try to do on it takes a hundred times longer. For example, right now I'm waiting for an email to send. 

And for your entertainment, here's a list of things I've done while waiting:

Things I Do While Waiting for Shit to Happen (aka Pages to Load)

1. Searched for a '1' that I could copy and paste into this post so I could have a number 1 on my list, thinking it might confuse you all if I started out with '2'.

2. Wrote this post.

3. Ate breakfast.

4. Sat on the couch and squirted things around the room with a water gun to see what kind of reach it had.

5. Spoke to Manjit, a service rep with my credit card company, so I could activate my new card that should have been activated three months ago when my old one expired (shows you how much I use my credit card, right? Which is a good thing, by the way, because it means I never use it. Of course, the fact that I just activated it indicates that I have a suspicion I might have to use it in the near future.)

6. Looked up Indian names for #5 because I thought using "Punjab", the only Indian name that came to mind, would make me sound racist.

7. Checked to see if, after 20 minutes, my email has sent yet/reset itself/acknowledged that I canceled the action/moved on from the screen it's been on for the past 20 minutes. (It hasn't)

8. Contemplated trashing this post because it seems boring (but not wanting to be a quitter, I'm pushing through).

9. Continued to get pissed off because of the "Unresponsive Scripts" messages that pop up on my computer EVERY 5 MINUTES. (Seriously, does anyone know how to resolve this issue?)

Ten. Made this illustration to demonstrate how frustrated I am (click on the pic for a more detailed view). 

Eleven. Checked my email tab again and realized that it must have froze entirely.

Twelve. Wondered if my sis ever received the email I was trying to send or if I would have to attempt to recreate it.

Thirteen. Cursed out Yahoo.

Fourteen. Cursed out the person who set my computer up to automatically update, thus forcing me to deal with this pop-up every fifteen minutes at the most inconvenient times.

Fourteen and a half. (Because I thought of something else after finishing my list but didn't want to renumber it) Tried to figure out how to stop this pop-up from appearing EVERY FIFTEEN MINUTES, but failed.

Fifteen. Made this illustration to show you how much I hate inconvenient pop-ups. I admit, I could have put some more effort into it and done a better job, but I've got a To Do list to complete today. (click to enlarge)

Sixteen. Finally got around to filling out a change of address form with the Post Office and then wondered what happens with the mail that's already sitting in my PO box back in NY.

Seventeen. Realized I haven't had coffee yet.

Eighteen. Came up with really lame items for this list in the hopes that I would hit 20 so I can stop spelling out the numbers with ones in them.

Nineteen. Sneezed.

20. Gave up on the email and decided to call my sister instead.

Sorry for wasting your time like that. I can't believe I just wasted my time like that. Now off to go do some job searching, which in reality means I'm gonna grab a cup of coffee, use the bathroom and maybe take a shower. And then I'll think about job searching again. After, of course, I scold myself for not going to the gym (again) but then contemplate the internal struggle I have with going to the gym when that time should really be spent job searching. And then I'll probably have lunch. And then I'll probably do some job searching. 

Hope your Friday is more productive than mine. Hope you have a fabulously fun weekend planned. See you all back here on Monday[ex.pt.]

Dude, I'm beat, yo.

  

No, I haven't transformed into some sort of gangster/hippie hybrid overnight, but 'd' to the 'a•m•n' am I tired.

Too tired, in fact, to make coffee this morning, and since we're out of K-cups, I had tea. And tea is no substitute for coffee. Don't believe me? Why don't you go back and re-read that first sentence. Believe me now? Just be thankful I'm not to the point where I'm deliriously rolling around on the floor laughing like a maniacal crazy person. It's been known to happen, is all I'm saying.

This clock has no relevance to this post. I just thought it was cool.

So you might be wondering why the frick-frack I'm so tired (and when did I start becoming the type of person to replace all my curse words?)? Well, you got me (on both counts). It's not like I'm doing anything all day. However, if I have to blame something, I'm inclined to blame the following:

1. Medication. I'm on it. You don't need to know the details. Moving on.
2. Tension. The tension in the world of OBG is at extreme levels right now. What with job searching, apartment searching, money woes and so on and so on. I believe mental exhaustion can be more debilitating than physical exhaustion.
3. Laziness. I'm pretty sure I read studies about this sort of thing. The less active you are, the more tired you are. Or something like that. The only part of me getting any exercise lately are my fingers. I'm having a hard time convincing myself that it's okay to step away from the computer and the grind of job searching. 
4. Xbox and Dexter. Two things that have consumed my evenings of late. And when it's bedtime, these two get together in my dreams for nocturnal parties that drain the life out of me.
5. My Sleep Schedule. It's all out of whack. As I've discussed before, I'm a night person, and I have a tendency to be an insomniac. It is physically impossible for me to fall asleep before eleven pm, and often times, one am. And while I can be quite functional on a mere six hours of sleep, it is cruel and unusual punishment for me to be rudely awakened by bells and whistles and fog horns and alarms before seven am. Especially when I have a tendency to wake up during the night every few hours. *Sigh* I am so not built for the real world. 

So yeah, I'm tired. But I also have shit to do today, so while I'd really like to go take a quick power nap, I might actually go fold some laundry. Or something like that. And yeah, this post really has no point, but whatev'. I'm too tired to think. Get over it.

These two do not play well in sleepy time dreamland.

Oh, and I think this weekend is going to be relatively tame (thank God), but I did hear rumors of bowling tomorrow night, so that'll be cool. What are your weekend plans? Hope they're good ones (but if they're not, that's okay too).

Tales from the Texting Thumb.

From: The G-Man

Morning beautiful! Want to meet me for lunch today?

Jul 23, 10:28 am

huh? what? where? when? seriously?
To: The G-Man

Sent: Jul 23, 10:31 am

From: The G-Man

R u still sleeping?

Jul 23, 10:32 am

no. but i wish i were

To: The G-Man 

Sent: Jul 23, 10:33 am

From: The G-Man

Ohh..u sounded confused.

Jul 23, 10:33 am

From: The G-Man

I wanted to see if u wanted to meet me here at [place of work] for a sushi lunch

Jul 23, 10:34 am

like, i would have to drive? and shower? but that might disrupt my job searching time...

To: The G-Man 

Sent: Jul 23, 10:36 am

From: The G-Man

Well I wouldn't want to take u away from that... I know how much u enjoy it

Jul 23, 10:53 am

right... so seriously though, it sounds like a lot of work... can't i just place an order to go. and then you can deliver it?

To: The G-Man 

Sent: Jul 23, 10:55 am

From: The G-Man

Ummmm...no

Jul 23, 10:55 am

why not? it's not like you have anything better to do, right? I mean, hello! I've got a huge "To Do" list going on over here.

To: The G-Man 

Sent: Jul 23, 10:58 am

From: The G-Man

Well...there is the whole work thing

Jul 23, 11:04 am

pffft... work schmork. all the cool people are unemployed these days. so... when again? my tummy is rumbly. i suppose i can drive for sushi

To: The G-Man 

Sent: Jul 23, 11:07 am

From: The G-Man

can you be here noonish?

Jul 23, 11:08 am

uh... not if i need to be clean. which i do. and furthermore, how do i get there and where do i meet you?

To: The G-Man 

Sent: Jul 23, 11:10 am

From: The G-Man

Just come to [place of work]...park in the parking lot at the corner of [such-and-such] st and [so-and-so] ave. U will need id...just tell the guards at the checkpoint you are going to see [company] on [so-and-so] ave.

Jul 23, 11:18 am

okay, im going to have to pass. no way im going to make it since i just began battling the bathtub stopper in an attempt to remove a clog.

To: The G-Man 

Sent: Jul 23, 11:19 am

From: The G-Man

Seriously?

Jul 23, 11:20 am

well yeah, i want to shower first!

To: The G-Man 

Sent: Jul 23, 11:20 am

fine. ill fight the hair clog later.

To: The G-Man 

Sent: Jul 23, 11:22 am

Four hours, one I-95 traffic/incorrect directions incident, and one boring tour of [place of work] later and I finally make it back home. So much for that "To Do" list. I need a nap.

Writing Workshop Wednesday

              

List ten things you are currently sick of.

1. Celebrity "News"- I don't care about Mel Gibson's phone conversations or about Michael Jackson's suspicious death. I don't care about so-and-so cheating on whats-her-name or about Mrs. Lipo divorcing Mr. Botox. I couldn't pick Snooki out of a line-up and honestly, I don't even know if I spelled her name right. The only news I want to hear coming out of New Jersey is that its roads have miraculously repaired themselves, people have learned to drive and it no longer smells like ass-crack. My life is not made any better knowing that Jessica Simpson has gained weight, Britney Spears has no neck, and Jennifer Love is magically thin again. I get it. They're people. They do things. They say things. Shit happens to them. Sometimes these things are good. Sometimes these things are bad. Can we please get over it already and move on to more important things?
2. Social Media- Ironic, right? Well, it's not helping me any right now. It's not making me feel better about myself. It's not getting me a job. It's not making my thighs any smaller. In fact, it's having the exact opposite effect. I think we might have to break up.
3. Political Poll Results- Does anyone really place any value on those things anymore? How? Why? Studies are starting to show that polls may no longer be accurately representing the general population as more and more people are becoming cellphone-only users. Pollsters can only poll people who are at home and are on landlines. Who do you know that still uses a landline? My Republican parents do. I'm just saying. For further reading, read this. For those too lazy to read, listen to this.
4. A/C- Ugh. It dries out my hair, my nose and my skin. It gives me headaches and makes me sleepy. I am sooooo over A/C. Give me the heat, the humidity, a freezer full of ice, a spray bottle and a fan and I am good to go (Hey, it worked when I was younger. We didn't have fancy air conditioning back in them there mountains.)
5. Cats and everything cat related- There. I said it. I'm sure I'm going to make tons of enemies on this one and possibly lose some followers, but I don't really care (see #2). I hate cats. I don't care about your cats. I don't care to see pictures of cats with corny captions. I don't care that you went on vacation and had to leave your precious wittle kitties behind and you miss them soooo much. And no one else on Facebook cares either. I think cats are stuck-up and icky. And they make me sneeze too.
6. Vegetables- This one perplexes me. I have always been a vegetable lover. Even when I was a wee child. Broccoli? Yes please. Asparagus? Oh yeah. Brussels sprouts? Green beans? Corn on the Cob? Yes, yes and yes. The more vegetables on my plate, the merrier I be. Except for lately. As in within the past 3-4 months. I can not stand the thought of eating a vegetable. It makes me want to gag. Literally. I get that metallic, I'm about to gag or puke, mouth watering thing going on whenever I think about putting a veggie in my mouth. What the fuck?
7. LOL, LMAO, OMG, and so on and so on- WTF, people? No seriously, what the fuck? If I have to see one more goddamn "LOL" I'm going to hurt someone. No one in real life says, as a response to something, "Laughing out loud". I mean, imagine how that would play out. BETTY: "...and then I fell up the stairs!" VERONICA: "Laughing out loud." BETTY: "WTF, Veronica?" That isn't even grammatically correct! Who's laughing out loud? Are you laughing out loud, because if you were I'm pretty sure I would know, because I could hear it, because you'd be laughing, out loud, and I have ears. And does it really take that much more effort to write, "That's funny" or "You made me laugh with your witty commentary"? I don't think so. And what the hell does "ROFL" mean, because every time I see it I think you're referencing vomiting but don't know how to spell "ralph".
8. The radio- In fact, I stopped listening to it. I couldn't even begin to tell you what gets played on it anymore.
9. Hangovers- Enough already. I get it. Seriously, you can stop bothering me now. I know what you are. I know what you feel like. Move on already. There are plenty of people out there who don't know what you're all about. Go bother them and let me have my productive Sundays back, please?
10. Adults who watch cartoons- I'm not talking about adults who watch cartoons from their own childhood while reminiscing about Saturday mornings spent in front of the TV with a bowl of CoCo Rice Krispies in their lap. And I'm not talking about adults who have children and get sucked into cartoon watching with them (as an excuse?). I'm talking about adults who watch cartoons with no children present. Like Spongebob. (Adult cartoons being the exception. Like Archer.)
    

This post was brought to you by...

 

[Insert creative title here]

                             
I’m completely uninspired. All my inspiration has been lost. Where did it go? In New York I was brimming over with ideas. I was jotting down things to write about left and right. I could jump in the shower and immediately compose a hilarious story about my fashion faux pas of the 90s. At 1:00 am I could begin writing a wonderful homage to John Cusack. While eating breakfast and watching Supernatural, I was able to outline the perfect post comparing Twitter to the cool kids’ table in the school cafeteria. Now that I’m in Virginia… nothing. Nada. Nilch. Zippo. My creativity has dried up.

What gives? Is it because my primo creative time is no longer alone time? Is it because there are now expectations that I be in bed, ready to sleep, at 10:00 pm? Is it because I’m being cruelly dragged from the comforts of slumber at 6:00 am? Is it because everything of mine that is me is packed away in boxes, deep in the confines of storage while I’m living in someone else’s space, among their things?

Yes, yes, yes and… yes.

I’ve been in this situation before. Cohabiting always makes me feel less like me. I never feel more like me than when I’m by myself. Or when I’m around others like me. But now, well, I’m not by myself, and I’m not around others like me. Therefore, if I’m not me right now, than who I am?

I’m a shell of the real me, struggling to muster the energy to be me while dreading the idea of losing more of me. I need to be surrounded by creative people, in creative places, and amongst creatively inspiring things. My creativity is fizzling. Pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff............

_______________________________________________________

In the meantime, while I attempt to recharge, or decide to throw in the towel, Miss Nikki honored me with an award, and since I accepted the challenge that comes along with it, I guess now is as good of a time as any to complete it.

(Thanks, Miss Nikki. Rule #1? Check!)

So apparently there are rules that come along with this thing and what not. *Sigh* I'm so not into rules right now, but for the sake of keeping the bloggity blog world happy, I'll post them anyways. Lucky for us, there are only three:

1. Thank the blogger who awarded it to you (done)
2. Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience using five words (say what now?)
3. Pass it on to 10 other blogs which you feel have real substance (10? we'll see about that. I don't even have the energy to read 10 blogs anymore *sigh*)

Alright, well, here goes nuttin'...

Boredom (as in, I created it because of, I write it because of, and you read it because of)
Alcohol (as in, the fuel that keeps me going, also, my best stories are the result of, but unfortunately they're also the most humiliating and shameful so I don't really write about them, and you don't really get to read about them)
Comments (as in, I'm a whore for them and they keep me going)
Humor (as in, I pretend to have a sense of one when I write so long as you all continue pretending to understand it when you read)
Pickles (as in, I love 'em, and so should you)

Okay, now for the hard part. I have to pass this shit on.

Um... so... don't judge me on this or anything, but I decided to mix things up a bit. It seems like all the same bloggers out there keep getting all the awards, and rightfully so, 'cause they're good, but I've decided to share with you 10 (random) blogs that I enjoy reading that you probably aren't reading.* And yes, these were selected randomly** from my blogroll using everyone's favorite tool, the random number generator over at random.org.

1. [ THE DRIFTER and the GYPSY ] 
2. No Teacher Left Behind
3. Skunkboy Creatures 
4. Etiquette Bitch
5. A Cup Full of Cake
6. Wait in the Van
7. DC Princess 
8. *uncorked 
9. Miss Mommy
10. a single girl in the city...

And there you have it. Go check out these bloggers. Let 'em know who sent you (and while you're there can you give them the good news about this blogger award thing? I might not get around to it today. Thanks). I can't guarantee you're gonna like them, nor can a I guarantee that they're frequent posters and what not, but they're on my blogroll so they must have something going on or else I wouldn't have chosen to follow them.

Congrats winners, and thanks again, Miss Nikki. Sorry if I didn't present this with as much enthusiasm as it warranted, but in case you missed it above, I'm creatively and inspirational-ly dead inside.

Now please excuse me while I go drown my sorrows. 

* I realize there's an official day for this sort of thing, but I prefer doing things my way. Deal with it.

** But not necessarily accurate. I can't be held responsible for my counting skills.

My Brain's on Vay-Cay

Right now my mind is pretty much preoccupied with packing and other life shit. Coming up with clever things to write about is pretty much out of the question (Shut up! I do to write clever and funny things!). So, here is some random stuff to tide you over (I know, and it's not even RST).

First off, is a faux-Snuggie considered clothing? I happen to have one in my possession that I would like to get rid of. Can I drop it off in a clothing drive drop-off box, or is it technically considered a blanket, and therefore not suitable for the drop-off box?

Second of all, I just caught the weirdest, most-fascinating train wreck of a show on VH1, You're Cut Off! Normally, I don't write about the TV that I watch, but for fun, here's some quotes from the show:

"I didn't hire her as a life coach. I already have an astrologer."
"I am not doing laundry."
"We're taking a van? Seriously? We're not getting a limo?"
"I'm a fly princess."
"My housekeeper doesn't even live in houses like this."
"What about our diamonds?"
"I have to go tanning."

I can't say that I'll ever watch it again, mainly because I can never remember when shows are on (seriously, my sister had to remind me EVERY Tuesday via Facebook that LOST was on, and we're talking LOST here, folks!).

Thirdly, I'm watching repeats of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and I love the fact that the big sisters are giving the younger sisters a talk about puberty and starting their first period. Seriously, I wish my big sister had done that for me. Instead, I had to make do with the book my mom bought for my twin and I to read. I remember this topic was discussed by the lovely Hipstercrite awhile back. Real quick, go read this post, A Brutally Embarrassing Coming-of-Age Story, and then come back (please?). Alright, now tell me, what was your experience with this time of your life like?

Finally, go check out the giveaway. Seriously. Do it. Otherwise McGriddle pants is going to walk away with the prize, and how is that any fun? Competition is good for the soul.

And since I hate posting without pictures, check out these two pics that I found while packing. My mom sent these to me at some point in time, and I forgot that I had them. Aren't they great?

The little boy is my grandfather, and the baby is my great-aunt. My grandfather passed away when I was really young, so I barely knew him. My great-aunt passed away last year, unfortunately I barely knew her as well because... well, I'm not really sure why. We just never saw her. It's good to have these pics though.

Anywho... enjoy your Thursday. Can you believe it's almost Friday already? Where the hell does the time go?

TGI... FU

         
For your consideration, the highlights, and, more likely, the lowlights of my week...

• I came back from my sister's to an empty house. Yay! Well, not exactly empty. Wacko Art Girl hasn't moved out yet and Banker Girl lives here permanently and Landlord Dude technically still lives here, but basically lives at his girlfriend's place (for those of you who don't know, I currently live in a house that houses college students. About 6-7 people live here). I love it when the house is nearly empty. It means I can drink my beer in peace, leave my dirty dishes on the counter overnight and shower whenever I get around to it.

• I discovered that nuking peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds and topping it with frozen vanilla yogurt is the best treat ever. It's super-d-duper better when using crunchy peanut butter.

• I applied for a job as an assistant for a woman who claimed, "I will get back to you in a flash!" I don't really expect to get the job, but I liked the idea that she would immediately let me know that I wasn't right for the job. Apparently her definition of "in a flash" and mine are different because I haven't heard back from her yet. I can't stand it when I apply for a job and then I'm left hanging in limbo. Remember that job interview I went on ages ago? Yeah, well the Principal told me he would be letting all the candidates know one way or the other within a day. Yeah, well I'm still waiting for that phone call. Or rejection letter. Or at least a rejection email. (I know, I know. I could have called them, but I'm stubborn, dammit, and when someone says they're going to do something, I expect them to do it.)

• I discovered that my thighs have recently decided that they must give each other an encouraging pat every time they cross each other mid-stride. Not cool, thighs, not cool.

• Some random dude hit on me while sitting at a traffic light, which made me feel really good, especially since I hadn't showered that day and I had a seriously painful zit working it's way to the surface of my face. Then I looked down and realized I was having a total Paris Hilton/Fire Crotch moment as a result of my insistence on driving with my left leg propped up on the lower part of my car door, and my hatred for shorts, which was why I was wearing the same jean skirt for three days in a row. Which then reminded me of the thigh-rubbing thing, which totally bummed me out again.

• I impulsively went to the grocery store to buy fruity Twizzlers after visiting the Etsy store of new follower, charasjewelcandy. Thighs be damned! On a side note, did you know that a serving of fruity Twizzlers is 3 Twizzlers? Yeah, apparently it is, which I think is wrong. I mean, there are 6 colors! How do you decide which three colors to eat? Moving on... I also picked up toilet paper (cause we all now my track record with that), microwave popcorn (because my brain could use the food) and...

•  Meet (name to be determined). This little guy is going to save my life. I decided that I need some sort of purpose or else I'm going to lose this battle I'm currently fighting. My new purpose in life is to keep this guy alive. Now, those of you in-the-know know that my track record with plants is not good. In fact, I've killed every plant I've ever owned (except for the ones that my family have removed from my custody). You might be thinking that I'm just setting myself up for EPIC FAILURE, and you're probably right, but like I said before, I'm stubborn. And I need a project. Plus, I'm pretty sure this guy will be easy to care for.

• A new housemate moved in. He's interning in NY for the summer and hails all the way from Temple, TX. And that's about all I know about him. Oh, and his sisters recently got him hooked on LOST so he's been holed up in his room for marathon LOST watching. Oh, and he makes a full pot of coffee every morning before he goes to work, which is awesome, because I love coffee, but I love coffee I don't have to make even more.

• I'm currently suffering from insomnia. Which sucks and means that I'm going to bed around 4am and waking up at 8am but not getting out of bed until 10am. It also means that when the automated sub system calls with an assignment at 5am, my tired and fried-out brain automatically ignores the call. I'm also totally regretting scheduling an eye appointment for 10am. Life hates me.

• Landlord Dude informed me the other night that he has already rented my room out for the summer. So... looks like it's official. I'll be homeless at the end of the month. 

• Banker Girl invited me to go with her to Mountain Jam this weekend. She volunteers and gets all sorts of freebies and what not. Unfortunately, I already have lame-o plans for Saturday, so I had to decline the invite. Bummer, Dude.

• Remember my toe injury? (Don't worry, Erin, no toe pics in this post.) Well, I totally lost the fight to keep the skin flap. Just in case you were wondering.

• You ever see those bloggers who have those really neat signatures at the end of their posts? Yeah, well, I tried to make my own using my laptop. This is the result:
Nice, right? Just call me Anlnme. Yup. That's me! Anlnme (pronounced anal-n-me, in case you were wondering). I think I just found my new name. Yay!

Anywhoops... hope you all have a fabulously wonderful weekend. I'll be drinking wine. Quite possibly with new glasses (as in, eyeglasses). See you on Monday! (or sooner if I get bored)

I am a Lady of Laziness -er- Leisure

So technically, this is my last day of work as a grad assistant at the school I'll be graduating from tomorrow. However, there ain't shit for me to do at work, therefore, my days are pretty uneventful, boring and, quite frankly, lazy.

Let me illustrate for you...

A Typical Day in the Life of the OBG (otherwise known as yesterday):

8:58 am- Get jolted awake by... something. What was that? An alarm? A text? Angels heralding in the new day? Decide that since I'm up, I might as well get up and take care of some errands and head into work, but decide not to shower but figure that clean clothes would be a good idea.

9:32 am- On the road, heading to the post office, a place I haven't been to in about three weeks. Once at the post office wonder what the purpose is of my mailbox if all I ever get is junk mail. Sort through the grocery store fliers and discover an Urban Outfitters catalog and a notice from my Student Loan Big Wigs. Realize I forgot to contact the Student Loan Big Wigs last month when they notified me that my in-school deferment (or was it a forbearance?) would be expiring. Make a mental note to call the SLBW later. Head to work.

10:03 am- Arrive at the office where people are perplexed as to why I'm there since they have no work for me to do. Receive a graduation gift from the secretary and fight back tears that are struggling their way out because it's touching to think that she will miss me. Fill out last (bogus) time sheet. Make plans to officially say goodbye to everyone on Friday. Leave.

10:25 am- Pick up tickets for graduation that I will not be using because I am a loser and instead will be giving to one of my friends so her entire family can attend the ceremonies. Feel slightly depressed about the nonevent that graduating grad school has become.

10:37 am- Head home.

10:40 am- Arrive at home. Make coffee and cinnamon toast. Crack open the laptop and proceed to apply for a student loan deferment because of unemployment, and become slightly shocked over how easy it is. Decide to (finally) schedule an eye exam before I lose my insurance. 

11:18 am- Try job searching but give up when a) I can't find any jobs and b) I can't apply for the jobs that I can find because the online application process isn't functioning properly. Curse technology because it's keeping me from getting a job. Curse school districts for only accepting online applications and not paper ones.

11:52 am- Check email, facebook, local newspaper sites, blogger, and a variety of other internet sites for news, updates and random information.

12:38 pm- Clean room up a little bit. Make popcorn. Have a brief conversation with the mail lady.

1:00 pm- Eat popcorn, try watching a Netflix movie online.

1:30 pm- Quit watching Netflix because the connection sucks so much. Have brief conversation in kitchen with a housemate about school being over.

2:06 pm- Blog for awhile. Have a few texting conversations. Catch up on reading blogs. Develop blogger girl crush on Katie at Date me, D.C.! because the tales of her dating woes are just too much. Spend WAY too much time reading her archived posts.

3:28 pm- Become only slightly concerned that the 'M' of the 'PMS' has yet to show itself, especially since my insides tend to run like clockwork, but decide to worry about this later because I prefer to ignore potential problems in the hopes that by doing so they will go away. Return to hiding away in the internet.

4:48 pm- Participate in phone call that makes me want to pull my hair out because of the whole PMS thing and the fact that I hate talking on the phone. Become secretly relieved when the call gets dropped.

5:00 pm- Cave to a chocolate craving that results in me bustin' out some mad MacGyver skills which also results in me having a slight microwave mishap (you'll hear about this next week)

5:20 pm- Pre-blog about microwave mishap. 

5:25 pm- Answer phone and continue phone call that was dropped earlier while continuing to pre-blog. Restrain from pulling my hair out, again. Get slightly freaked out by conversation when gangrene is mentioned. It was brought to my attention that I may require supervision, something that I have been saying for awhile now. I decide that I need to purchase some real first-aid products, toot-sweet.

6:26 pm- Check self in the mirror to make sure I'm appropriately dressed to be seen in public. Decide that it doesn't matter since I don't really know anyone in town any ways. Walk out of the house looking like this:

6:28 pm- Proceed to the grocery store with fears of rotting appendages and other medical nightmares. Purchase hydrogen peroxide, Neosporin, bruschetta, tortilla chips, mozzarella cheese and ginger ale. Contribute $1 to some cancer charity that I didn't quite catch because the cashier was talking too fast.

6:50 pm- Back at home, make bruschetta nachos and let some guy use my phone to call his friend (aka my landlord) who he was suppose to meet at our house. Rack my brain to try and remember the dude's name because I know I've met him before but resign myself to the fact that I suck at that sort of thing. Curse the house because the ice cube tray is empty and I want a drink. Stat. Refill ice cube tray.

7:15 pm- Have brief conversation with housemate in the kitchen. Let the same guy from earlier into the house to use the bathroom because he's been hanging outside this whole time because the landlord has yet to show up.

7:35 pm- Turn on Ghost Whisperer and respond to facebook messages. Realize that I missed a call from my dad but also realize that I'm totally okay with that. Notice that I missed a call this morning for subbing which totally explains the noise that woke me up.

8:07 pm- Get impatient with the whole liquid turning to solid process and mix a drink up, neat. Watch some more Ghost Whisperer.

8:30 pm- Watch newly discovered funny Wednesday night TV on ABC. Realize that I have yet to resolve the toe issue and should probably do something about that since it's really starting to become painful and of course, it still smells bad.

8:38 pm- Finish drink and remember that there is a tray full of Jell-O shots in the fridge, leftover from a house mate's acapella party this past weekend*. Wish that I liked Jell-O. Wish that I could tolerate vodka. Recall how terrible vodka is. Wish I had some pudding shots which I had for the first and only time during my trip back to the mountains when we partied in the woods, sort of. Decide to just go make another drink, with or without ice.

8:40 pm- Get distracted from life by the appearance of Betty White on "The Middle." Laugh out loud when they talk about how cross-country has no-cuts and all you have to do is just show-up and remember a post by The Sassy Curmudgeon that talked about the same thing.

8:43 pm- Realize that I haven't gotten anywhere on that drink. Or with that toe. Realize that you are all probably realizing now that I'm writing this post Wednesday night and not on Thrusday as I would like you to believe.

8:44 pm- Feel so seriously bad about myself because I truly have no life now that grad school is over and kind-of sort-of want to disappear from the world. Wonder what the purpose of my life is. Can't come up with an answer.

8:46 pm- Decide to make a very, very strong drink. And make a mental note to fix that toe thing but secretly wonder if I wouldn't be better off developing gangrene and turning into a scary werewolf/zombie monster. 

8:48 pm- Imagine that Sue Heck is really the middle school version of the Sassy C, reincarnated, or something like that. Die laughing.

9:13 pm- Enjoying my drink and decide that I beat this post to death.

Catch you all later!

10:05 pm- Notice that I neglected to publish this post. Wonder what the hell happened to "Happy Town". I mean, I know I wasn't entirely on board with it yet, but I was giving it a chance. Wonder what the hell "What Would You Do?" is and decide it looks stupid. Mix another drink, because really, what else have I got to do, and proceed to channel search.

10:08 pm- Decide that I really have beaten this to death and publish post, for tomorrow.

* There is nothing in the world more entertaining than being awakened at 2:00 am to a basement full of partiers busting out in song, in perfect harmony. Seriously. Most partiers are drunkenly yelling, shouting, fighting, tearing through the house at this point in time. These folks? They sing.

Dear Saturday,

You're lovely. This morning I slept in. If you count 8am as sleeping in. I awoke to a lovely thunderstorm. I actually really enjoy thunderstorms. And then I stayed in bed until 2pm, watching an ANTM marathon on the Oxygen channel (Cycle 14, which I really enjoyed. New judges... extra super-duper catty contestants). Yes, that's right, 2pm. Whatever. I totally can. Not like I've got anything else going on right now (did I mention I'm in a total funk lately?). That's when I decided to finally jump in the shower. Yay for me. Today has been highly unproductive, which is A-okay with me. I'm just happy I made it to the shower. I did some job searching as well. That was super fun. Seems no one's in the market for an art teacher lately. What're ya gonna do? I also worked on my painting some more. Here's another sneak peek...

Again, I'm super excited about how it's turning out. Presently (aside from painting) I'm watching The Holiday on TBS. I happen to really love this movie (don't tell anyone, please. I have a reputation to maintain. You know, that of an unloving, non-romantic, cold-hearted girl). I can't even begin to tell you how much I like this movie. It breaks my heart. I think I ♥ Jude Law too. But that's a post for another day.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to do some laundry and I 'm contemplating taking a trip to the mall to find some work clothes that actually fit me. There's nothing more embarrassing than subbing in a 7th grade art room and having to constantly pull your pants up. We'll see. I figure tomorrow might be a good day to go shopping. Seeing as how it's Mother's Day and all, everyone should be at home, enjoying the day, right?

In the meantime, I'm going to continue painting, enjoy my whiskey and try not to be an obsessive texter, which, at the moment, is really, really hard to do. I suppose we've all been there though, right?

Yeah...

Whoa! What happened to Friday?

  

Really. What DID happen to Friday? I could have sworn I posted on Friday. I didn't? I don't get it. How did that happen? What's today? SATURDAY? Damn! Where did the week go? Oh... right... I've been in a funk and when I get in a funk I lose all track of time and days and of myself. WTF, self?

So here's the deal, I'm truly bummed out. I can't even begin to explain why. I mean, I think I know why, in fact, I know I know why, but I'm pretty sure if I begin to explain it we would all end up heading down a road we don't really want to go. At least not together. Well, I know you won't want to go there with me. Me? I'm pretty much okay with going it alone. (I know, right? WTF? Sorry.)

As you may or may not know, I finally finished my thesis (well, I'm still procrastinating on the last round of revisions, but I've got until next week to turn it in, so... plenty of time. No worries.). Finishing my thesis means I'll be graduating in May, yay. Wait, what? It IS May already? Damn. I really am out of sync with time. Fine. I guess I'll be graduating in two weeks. No biggie. 

Except, it sort of is a biggie, because what the fuck am I going to do then? I want a job, but I don't want a job. I want to move, but I don't want to move. I want to aimlessly wander the world until I finally find a place that feels like home enough that I might actually want to stay there for longer than a year, but I don't want to aimlessly wander. I want love, but I don't want love. Oh, wait. We weren't gonna go there, were we? Sorry.

I thought being at this crossroads would be more exciting for me, but it's not. It's not like it's even scary though. It's just... eh. I really don't know where I'm headed next, and I've been pretty much ignoring the fact that this is something I really need to be thinking about and addressing. Like, ASAP. But not tonight. Mainly because it's actually the morning, and I should really be getting to bed. Not that I have anything exciting to do tomorrow. At any rate...

Seeing as how it's the end of the semester, the BFA and MFA students are having their thesis shows. I went to one tonight (and one last Friday night). It was okay. Not as great as last week's, but it inspired me to start painting again. Well, that and the new Anthropologie catalog I picked up tonight at the post office.

So, I started a painting tonight. I'm really, really excited with the way it's turning out. Here's a sneak preview (sorry about the poor picture quality. I live in a cave.):

In case you're wondering, yes, I am painting on a deconstructed brown bag from a liquor store. And yes, said bag was acquired this evening when I stopped at the liquor store to purchase a bottle of whiskey. I really needed it. And yes, it's the same liquor store from this story. But no, Mr. Bum was not present this evening, despite the glorious weather. Maybe he was snagging free food at the opening for the BFA show tonight. Who knows. I know that's why I went. Not that I got any food. It was all gone by the time I got there (and I got there ten minutes after the thing started. Guess artists really are starving). 

At any rate, I intend on reconstructing the bag once the painting is complete. Like I said, I'm really excited about this painting. If I ever get around to finishing it, I'll post a pic. In the meantime, good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.

100th post!

   

Well, this here post is my 100th post. I've been putting off writing it because I wanted something super-special to write about, but alas, I've got nothing. The pressure to be entertaining and monumental with this milestone is too much, therefore, I'm choosing to be boring and trivial.

First off, you may have noticed a significant change to One Blonde Girl this week. Apparently, a bored blonde girl fills her time by revamping her blog. I've been dying to do this for quite some time now, but haven't had the spare time to do so. If you're wondering why the change, I had a few reasons. 

1. the old blog design had me feeling claustrophobic. I needed to spread out. 
2. the white-on-gray text thing was bugging my eyes out. Really, it was becoming painful for me to read my own blog (not because of the content, although that has been pretty drab lately, but because I'm pretty sure I'm due for an eye exam again since things have gotten pretty fuzzy recently). 
3. the old design didn't really reflect me. When I first started blogging, I was experimenting with different layouts and different elements, and somewhere along the line I ended up with a blog design that wasn't quite me.

So that's that. Feel free to let me know what you think. 

              

Second of all, despite my lament on Friday of being friendless, I had a great weekend with some good friends, and I didn't even need to go scrounge them up. They found me! My good friend, Stormey, invited me out to a field/forest fest/party/bonfire/good time on Saturday at his brother's house. That same morning, my good friend, Pooh, told me he was considering coming into town for the day. Needless to say, I felt like I had won the friend lottery on Saturday! It was great to hang with Stormey and Pooh again. The party was tons of fun with mediocre music, beer pong (I kicked butt! My partner, Stormey, not-so-much), burgers and dogs, large-scale group painting, crazy hula-hooping chickies, one kick-ass flaming hoop dancer, a bonfire, glow sticks, bongo drums and lots and lots of stress-relieving fun. Just what the doctor ordered. 

           

Sunday, for the most part, was spent recovering from the previous evening's debauchery (it wasn't so much a need to recover from the alcohol this time so much as it was a need to recover from... other things. Like, for one, getting to bed at 3am and waking up at 6am. What the hell, body?). But, it was a nice and relaxing day because... IT WAS THESIS FREE!!! (I promise to tire of saying that real soon. I think.)

Today was interesting. I stepped back into a classroom- for the first time in a year, as a substitute teacher- for the first time in three years, in a 7th grade art class- for the first time in six years. But I'll be writing about that later over at Miss Weber's Room.

Overall, I realized this past weekend that I DO have friends, even if they aren't readily available to go grab a beer at a moment's notice. 

I realized that the rules for drinking games aren't universal, they're regional. Or maybe they're generational (yes, I was the thirty year-old partying with the early twenty year-olds. BUT, I wasn't the only one. In fact, I wasn't even the oldest one. That honor went to Stormey. Poor old man).

I also realized that if I can survive a day of 7th grade art as a substitute, I'll be fine returning to the real world of work (except for that waking up early thing. I don't know if you can really get used to that), which is good to know, 'cause I've got that interview on Wednesday. I still have my teacher voice too. Which is also good to know.

Well, so much for a fabulous 100th post.

Oh! Here's some good advice, straight from me too you. If you find yourself wearing a skirt to a field/forest party, make sure you have a good buddy around to hold the contents of your pockets when you need to use the porta-potty. Unless you want to lose your favorite chapstick and $5 in the hold of a porta-potty.

(In case you're wondering, if you Google "another name for the hole in porta-potty, you'll come across this story about a stabbing suspect hiding out in a porta-potty. Gross.)

Whatev'

  

So I recently discovered that I have no friends. As in, I discovered this evening that I have no one in the world to hang out with. Despite the fact that I have lived in this town since last July, I have no one around that I can call up and say, "Hey! Let's go grab a beer!" I guess this is what happens when you spend all of your free time holed up in your room with just your computer and thesis for companionship. 

               

While I wallow in some pretty deep self-pity, you're going to have to suffer through a pointless survey, about me, which I stole from a lust for words, who stole it from rbandj You might be wondering why I'm forcing you to sit through this. Well, it's better than sitting through the garbage that I would write with my Deep Depression cap on, so be thankful. And enjoy. Maybe you can steal it too.

1. The strangest thing I've ever eaten was eel. I'm sure I've eaten a lot of strange things, but that's the one that I can clearly remember. I also remember liking it. I've really taken to the whole sushi thing.
  
2. My best friends are my sister and SMos. My sister lives about 5-6 hours away. SMos live in Brooklyn, otherwise I'd totally call SMos up 'cause she'd drop everything and go out for a beer with me. Remember last time we got together? Good times. (I wouldn't call my sister up, because she doesn't drink, but I know she would love to hang with me and talk shit about people and watch pointless TV. She's good like that.)
  
3. If I could live in a different era it would be the 60s. No! The 70s. No, wait! The 40s. Crap, I don't know. I like aspects of all of them when it comes to fashion and style. If we're talking about society and equality, give me the 70s. (Did you know gas cost ¢11/gallon in 1940? And in 1970 it cost ¢39/gallon? In 30 years the cost only went up ¢28! So really, shouldn't gas only be, like, ¢70/gallon now or something? Think about it. Source)
  
4. If you only knew one thing about me it should be that I'm not what you would expect. Really. Over the years numerous people have been shocked and/or surprised by me and my me-ness (it's a word. I swear. Despite what Firefox thinks. Okay, I just made it up, but NOW it IS a word. 'Cause I just made it up. See?). People are always shocked by my humor, my intelligence, my mischievousness, me cleverness, my dirtiness, etc. Thankfully, this has never been a problem for me, or I guess for others either. Good. 'Cause I like me.
  
5. My favorite book of all time is Bag of Bones by Stephen King. I think. Yeah, I'm pretty sure of that. Right? Yeah. 
  
6. The one beauty product I can not live without is Oil of Olay. Because my face gets super dry. And I can't afford a lot of fancy, schmancy beauty products. Sometimes I splurge on Aveeno products, but it's been awhile since I've done that. And I don't wear makeup. Like, rarely ever. Sometimes I'll do mascara, but that's it. And sometimes lip gloss.
  
7. Blogging is a great way for me to not only keep track of my thoughts but to also keep track of my identity, something that I tend to loose easily. I'm not kidding. Sometimes I just totally forget who I am. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and think, "Oh my god! I'm Jennifer Aniston!" And then I try to do those cool beachy hair waves that she has, and then I remember that I'm sooo not Jennifer Aniston. Occasionally, I go out at night, thinking I'm a rock star, and then I party like a rock star, and then, the next morning, I realize, "I am sooo not a rock star." There was this awful, horrible period in time when I thought I was a housewife. After about three months, I realized, "I am sooo not a housewife." And then I ran away and joined the circus.
  
8. If I could star in a movie with one actor/actress, it would be Christian Slater. Seriously. I ♥ him.
  
9. One of the best feelings in the world is being touched by someone you like.
  
10. My current obsession is watching TNT all morning. Two hours of Supernatural followed by two hours of Las Vegas. Good stuff.
  
11. What's for dinner tonight? Um... I had some cheese and crackers and pepperoni and a strawberry and a piece of pineapple and a prosciutto and cheese stuffed jalapeno pepper and some macaroni salad.
  
12. The last thing I bought was a coffee.
  
13. I am currently listening to two of my housemates gossiping in the hallway. Good stuff.
  
14. If I could have a home, totally paid for, totally furnished, anywhere in the world, it would be in Italy. Why? Why not?
  
15. The one thing I would change about myself is my fear of settling and committing.
  
16. If you could go anywhere in the world in the next hour, where would you go?  Canton. Or Brooklyn. I could use a friend right now.
  
17. The languages I would love to learn are Spanish and sign. And maybe Italian. For when I live there, of course.
  
18. My favorite quote (right now) is “It is better to be hated for who you are, than to be loved for someone you are not.”
  
19. I am most afraid of losing my freedom.
  
20. My favorite color is blue
  
21. My dream job is baker or cake decorator. Not that glamorous, but so much fun!
  
22. The one thing that brings a smile to your face instantaneously is being touched by someone I like.
  
23. The word I use a lot is fuck. It has so many uses.
  
24. When I'm feeling blue I will curl up with a drink and watch bad, cheesy movies
  
25. What inspires me is other people. As in people I admire. As in people I respect. I miss those people.
  
26. My favorite season is spring!!!
  
27. My favorite dessert has to be blackberry pie.
  
28. How many tabs are open on your browser right now? 6
  
29. What was the first thing that crossed your mind this morning when you looked in the mirror? "If I wear my hair like this, I can totally get away with not showering today."
  
30. The best piece of advice I was ever given was "The only thing worse than 8 years is 8 years and 1 day."
  
31. If I had a million dollars to give to one charity, I would give it to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. For my grandfather. I miss him.
  
32. If at first you don't succeed lower your expectations. 

Damn! That was kind of painful and took WAY longer than I expected. You can probably tell that I started losing interest at the end there, huh? Hope it's easier to read. Have a great weekend. I think I'm going to try and scrounge up some friends somewhere.

What's a bored girl to do?

    

Now that I'm done with my thesis, I'm trying to figure out what the hell to do with my time. (Yeah, I know. I just finished yesterday but I get bored very, very quickly.) This led me to wonder what the hell it was I used to do with my time before I had a thesis to write. Before I was in graduate school. 

Let's see... That would have been two years ago...

Well, for one, I was employed. I was working as an elementary art teacher, so that occupied most of my time. What with all the lesson planning and art show organizing and what not.

I was living in Northern New York in a house with three four five guys. In case you're no good at math, that means there were a total of six of us living in a four bedroom house. Only four of us paid rent.

The fifth frequently put in money for the utilities, which was cool. He often bought food for the house too, which was also cool. Probably because we allowed him to "conduct business" out of our house.

The sixth was always the DD and would drive our drunk asses around at all hours of the night, which was awesome and very convenient. He often bought food for the house as well, which was also awesome and very convenient.

We played a lot of beer bong in the basement and Three Man in the second living room rec room fifth bedroom. There were parties at our house quite frequently, which wasn't always cool. There were also cops showing up at our house quite frequently, which wasn't awesome or convenient. It was funny though, the neighbors would call the cops to our house when there were only two or three of us at the house, and we weren't doing anything wrong, which made our neighbors look like real assholes. The cops hated them. This amused us.

Our lease wasn't renewed, which had less to do with the parties and the cops and more to do with ridiculous zoning codes that forbid more than three non-blood relatives to live in the same housing unit. The neighbors reported our landlords for this violation the day we moved in. Our neighbors were all doctors and college professors. Apparently we weren't welcome in the neighborhood. We stayed for almost a year and then parted ways. 

After that, I moved in with four guys and one two girls. For you math challenged individuals, that would be a total of seven of us in a four bedroom house. A couple of months after that I started graduate school and then all hell broke loose. But that's a story for another day.

So, what was it that I did in my free time? 

I guess a drank a lot. I lounged around on the weekends, hungover, with friends, watching movies and eating greasy food.

Now that I think about it, I guess I didn't really do a whole lot of anything. At least nothing constructive nor productive. I suppose that's why I eventually extricated myself from that way of life.

Now that I live on my own (well, aside from the six other people that live in my house, but they don't count since none of us actually socialize together), I have all this free time to myself. What on earth am I going to do with all this time?

Maybe I'll work on some art. Maybe I'll do some job hunting. Maybe I'll go road tripping and visit far away family and friends. Maybe I'll try making local friends.

Who knows? I guess the possibilities are endless, huh?