I stumbled across a news article today that I felt the need to address. It was in Rolling Stone, about a town in Minnesota that has seen a sharp increase in teenagers committing suicide ever since the school district implemented a policy demanding staff remain completely neutral on topics involving homosexuality. This policy was so vague that teachers and other members of staff became afraid for their jobs, and as such, they completely stopped acknowledging the existence of any sexual orientation that was not the accepted norm. This in turn led to the administrators and staff members of the schools in this district to ignore bullying related to homosexuality and tell students who complained about bullying to just ignore it.
They failed thousands of kids.
Not only did they fail the many kids who were bullied for their sexual orientation, but they failed the kids doing the bullying. These kids were taught that it was okay to treat people that identify as gay as second-class citizens. I am afraid of what their future holds, as well.
According to the article, over 700 kids in this school district were evaluated for serious mental health issues in the 2010-2011 school year alone. These kids were having suicidal thoughts, cutting, and showing symptoms of depression. Some of them were even hospitalized. The policy was put into place in 2009.
Some of the kids who died were as young as 13. I cannot describe the horror I feel at knowing that someone so young is now gone simply because they did not have the support system available to them to be able to cope. I want to do something. I want to help. And I know I can't really do anything - I haven't the money, or the time, or the transportation to do anything that would have any effect. I don't know how to be a mentor. I don't know how to change laws, or fix things.
There was a web comic that covered this topic in November of 2010. I want to have giant posters made of this comic and hang one up in every middle and high school in this country. I want these kids to know that it does get better, that high school is most assuredly not the peak of your life, because if it is, that's just sad. There is so much more they can be, there is so much more they can do, if only they give themselves the chance to achieve it, to see it. I want them to see that they will be stronger, more interesting people after high school than their bullies, and they will go on to soar if they stick it out.
I want them to know it gets better.
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Friday, October 28, 2011
Ballszilla!
I went to work two hours late (sanctioned) because I didn't get hardly any sleep last night, and today still managed to be tedious and long. Woo! I stood out there for an hour and a half this evening before I went home and absolutely no one would take a survey. And the ones that agreed didn't qualify for a survey. Goody!
While I was at work today, S had an equally long day rearranging the entire living room by herself. Crazy woman. It's pretty great, actually. I'm now on the other end of the couch and in the corner by the windows, and I really dig it. It feels sort of fort-ish. Ha. Anyway, she did an incredible amount of work, and between that and digging out a bunch of clothes that were by the bed in the bedroom, she definitely kicked ass today. Go S!! Also, she found my other ballet flat I've been missing for four months that I swore up and down was under the couch. It was under the couch. And she found a shirt I've been missing for almost a year, so I'm really excited to get to wear it again.
I'm attempting to catch up on the laundry, since now that I'm working, it's not really getting done and everyone is out of clothes. Joy. Sometime in the next few days I am going to have to go through and sort all the laundry so we can have J take it downstairs and we can start getting it all washed again. It's Mount Laundry in the hallway for now, though. Oh god.
I'm taking Girl Child trick or treating on Halloween, and I'm all excited because I get to wear my glow in the dark Toy Story shirt and have it actually GLOW. Yesssss.
While I was sorting the laundry out into what we need immediately tomorrow and what we can wait on for later this weekend, I got confused about some shirts, because S and I trade shirts around a lot. (We both wear huge shirts when we're just hanging out at home.) So I was trying to ask S about it, and I said her name, and she said, "Ballszilla!" Because unlike a normal person, she greets people like this sometimes. The hilarity was too much for me though, as it made me collapse laughing. And then she yelled things like, "Floor! Lamp! Wall! Dog!" and got great amusement from me laughing at this stuff. I laughed so hard and for so long that I cramped my abdominal muscles and made my entire face hurt. It was great. She and Girl Child were sitting there laughing at me laugh silently, clapping like a retarded seal. I love being here.
So today hasn't exactly been exciting or anything, but all in all a good day. I'm too tired to write anything of substance, sorry. If I could, I'd get all Link Round Up or ranty or some shit, but I'm just too exhausted to put a coherent sentence together. I may do a picture update sometime soon, though, because I need to perform a camera dump very, very soon. It's completely full. I've got pictures dating back to April on that thing.
I'm obsessed with playing Solitaire on my iPod lately. I don't know what to make of this.
And now, laundry!
While I was at work today, S had an equally long day rearranging the entire living room by herself. Crazy woman. It's pretty great, actually. I'm now on the other end of the couch and in the corner by the windows, and I really dig it. It feels sort of fort-ish. Ha. Anyway, she did an incredible amount of work, and between that and digging out a bunch of clothes that were by the bed in the bedroom, she definitely kicked ass today. Go S!! Also, she found my other ballet flat I've been missing for four months that I swore up and down was under the couch. It was under the couch. And she found a shirt I've been missing for almost a year, so I'm really excited to get to wear it again.
I'm attempting to catch up on the laundry, since now that I'm working, it's not really getting done and everyone is out of clothes. Joy. Sometime in the next few days I am going to have to go through and sort all the laundry so we can have J take it downstairs and we can start getting it all washed again. It's Mount Laundry in the hallway for now, though. Oh god.
I'm taking Girl Child trick or treating on Halloween, and I'm all excited because I get to wear my glow in the dark Toy Story shirt and have it actually GLOW. Yesssss.
While I was sorting the laundry out into what we need immediately tomorrow and what we can wait on for later this weekend, I got confused about some shirts, because S and I trade shirts around a lot. (We both wear huge shirts when we're just hanging out at home.) So I was trying to ask S about it, and I said her name, and she said, "Ballszilla!" Because unlike a normal person, she greets people like this sometimes. The hilarity was too much for me though, as it made me collapse laughing. And then she yelled things like, "Floor! Lamp! Wall! Dog!" and got great amusement from me laughing at this stuff. I laughed so hard and for so long that I cramped my abdominal muscles and made my entire face hurt. It was great. She and Girl Child were sitting there laughing at me laugh silently, clapping like a retarded seal. I love being here.
So today hasn't exactly been exciting or anything, but all in all a good day. I'm too tired to write anything of substance, sorry. If I could, I'd get all Link Round Up or ranty or some shit, but I'm just too exhausted to put a coherent sentence together. I may do a picture update sometime soon, though, because I need to perform a camera dump very, very soon. It's completely full. I've got pictures dating back to April on that thing.
I'm obsessed with playing Solitaire on my iPod lately. I don't know what to make of this.
And now, laundry!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
I Am Bitchy Tonight
Well, I finally got to the point where I'm about to start mentioning even more new people, and I had to create a spreadsheet (Okay, a table in OpenOffice!) to keep everyone straight, since I don't use identifying information on this blog.
Today was kind of a busy day. I'm really starting to not like RP very much - I liked her okay when I first started working at CAR (pseudonym!), but I'm seeing more and more that she's not a very nice person. She sucks up to Boss a lot, and is his pipeline of information on what happens when he isn't there. I don't like this very much (I can see why my coworkers at the fast food restaurant didn't like me very much), especially because she stole 3 different people out from under me today because she was being a competitive bitch. CRN gave one of the surveys back to me, since I was the one who originally talked to them, and they decided to come back while I was bringing in someone else and talked to RP, who wrote her name on the screening sheet when she knew full well that it should have been mine. So CRN gave it to me. Woo.
Anyway, my other problems with her are that she's only 20 years old and has a baby that she isn't a very good mother to - she told me a story about how her son is so bad that when he was 9 months old, he said "bitch" and got spanked for it. NINE MONTHS OLD. What is this person doing with a baby, and why don't I have one? I'd be a better mother than her. And it's not like he said bitch, anyway. He made a sound that sounded like it, while babbling, which is a thing that infants DO. Christ on a stick, people.
One redeeming quality of RP is that she's stupid, so she agrees with everything I say, even bullshit. Also, she thinks I'm a great singer, so it's nice to have the ego stroked a little bit, even if I know it's because she's an idiot with no life experience.
Anyway. I'm starting to look for a better job, because I kind of hate this one sometimes, especially since Boss drinks on the job. Actually, if he hadn't offered me the job on the spot, I'd have probably gotten a job with Old Navy, because they called for an interview on my first day at CAR. Figures.
I think that's enough bitching about work. Of course, I don't really have much to write about. I had an idea for a story earlier, it just popped into my head, and I wrote down the one line that was in there, but I'm letting the rest float in my head for a bit before I put it down, because if it's actually good, it should stick. (At least according to Stephen King.) Maybe there's still a chance of me getting to write that novel I've wanted to write since I was a kid. I would love that.
Anyway, I need to go and do stuff before I go to bed. I have the house to myself tonight because J and S went to visit a friend of S's and they took the children. Also, M is at work, so it's just me and the puppies. Who are passed out on the floor. I don't know how they are able to do that, since I've been really loud. (I really love singing.)
Why is Coheed and Cambria so awesome?
Today was kind of a busy day. I'm really starting to not like RP very much - I liked her okay when I first started working at CAR (pseudonym!), but I'm seeing more and more that she's not a very nice person. She sucks up to Boss a lot, and is his pipeline of information on what happens when he isn't there. I don't like this very much (I can see why my coworkers at the fast food restaurant didn't like me very much), especially because she stole 3 different people out from under me today because she was being a competitive bitch. CRN gave one of the surveys back to me, since I was the one who originally talked to them, and they decided to come back while I was bringing in someone else and talked to RP, who wrote her name on the screening sheet when she knew full well that it should have been mine. So CRN gave it to me. Woo.
Anyway, my other problems with her are that she's only 20 years old and has a baby that she isn't a very good mother to - she told me a story about how her son is so bad that when he was 9 months old, he said "bitch" and got spanked for it. NINE MONTHS OLD. What is this person doing with a baby, and why don't I have one? I'd be a better mother than her. And it's not like he said bitch, anyway. He made a sound that sounded like it, while babbling, which is a thing that infants DO. Christ on a stick, people.
One redeeming quality of RP is that she's stupid, so she agrees with everything I say, even bullshit. Also, she thinks I'm a great singer, so it's nice to have the ego stroked a little bit, even if I know it's because she's an idiot with no life experience.
Anyway. I'm starting to look for a better job, because I kind of hate this one sometimes, especially since Boss drinks on the job. Actually, if he hadn't offered me the job on the spot, I'd have probably gotten a job with Old Navy, because they called for an interview on my first day at CAR. Figures.
I think that's enough bitching about work. Of course, I don't really have much to write about. I had an idea for a story earlier, it just popped into my head, and I wrote down the one line that was in there, but I'm letting the rest float in my head for a bit before I put it down, because if it's actually good, it should stick. (At least according to Stephen King.) Maybe there's still a chance of me getting to write that novel I've wanted to write since I was a kid. I would love that.
Anyway, I need to go and do stuff before I go to bed. I have the house to myself tonight because J and S went to visit a friend of S's and they took the children. Also, M is at work, so it's just me and the puppies. Who are passed out on the floor. I don't know how they are able to do that, since I've been really loud. (I really love singing.)
Why is Coheed and Cambria so awesome?
Lunch Break Post
I made an error in my last post - the Toddler's birthday is not, in fact, tomorrow, but is coming up. I should probably not write stuff when I'm tired. Ha.
I'm at work on my lunch break right now. I just found out what my first paycheck will be, and I'm so excited about it. Part of me is a little terrified to spend any of it, in case this job doesn't work out, but I think it might for the short-term, at least. I still haven't figured out who is going to be called what on here, and I don't have very much time at the moment to deal with it. I'll work on it today, though. Heh.
There really isn't much going on and my attention span is not the best at the moment because my blood sugar crashed right before lunch and I almost fainted. Whee! Also, my lunch is now over, so I shall be going. I'm going to try to start posting more frequently again.
I'm at work on my lunch break right now. I just found out what my first paycheck will be, and I'm so excited about it. Part of me is a little terrified to spend any of it, in case this job doesn't work out, but I think it might for the short-term, at least. I still haven't figured out who is going to be called what on here, and I don't have very much time at the moment to deal with it. I'll work on it today, though. Heh.
There really isn't much going on and my attention span is not the best at the moment because my blood sugar crashed right before lunch and I almost fainted. Whee! Also, my lunch is now over, so I shall be going. I'm going to try to start posting more frequently again.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Obscure Doesn't Mean Hipster
I like obscure music.
I don't mean that in the hipster sense - it's not liking bands before they were mainstream thing. I mean music that is literally not mainstream, that is literally obscure. I'm talking about music that is usually categorized in New Age, Ambient, Noise, Space Music (which is actually a sub-genre of ambient), Ethnic Fusion, and World. I used to listen to Night Tides on KCUR, my favorite local NPR affiliate, until I didn't have a radio that worked well enough to tune the station. I wish I still had my stereo.
When I say my musical tastes are eclectic and kind of weird, I'm not kidding. I like as much weird stuff as I like (ADD moment - oh! Bjork!) mainstream music. Apparently I'm currently on a .. I don't even know how to classify this group of music. But I'm on a kick of it, whatever it is.
Anyway, I just woke up, haven't even had coffee yet, so am a bit incoherent. I wanted to sleep for longer, but I woke up when the Toddler did and then I started thinking, and that was the end of sleeping.
So basically, I've got nearly every musical genre represented on my iTunes playlist, and this tickles me. Now I need to sort it all and delete the stuff I don't actually want, of which there probably won't be much.
I'll probably write another post later to explain what has been going on in my life outside of my music, because yesterday was rather eventful. Also, I haven't taken my allergy pills in like two days, and I'm very sad, because all I can do today is sneeze and itch.
I don't mean that in the hipster sense - it's not liking bands before they were mainstream thing. I mean music that is literally not mainstream, that is literally obscure. I'm talking about music that is usually categorized in New Age, Ambient, Noise, Space Music (which is actually a sub-genre of ambient), Ethnic Fusion, and World. I used to listen to Night Tides on KCUR, my favorite local NPR affiliate, until I didn't have a radio that worked well enough to tune the station. I wish I still had my stereo.
When I say my musical tastes are eclectic and kind of weird, I'm not kidding. I like as much weird stuff as I like (ADD moment - oh! Bjork!) mainstream music. Apparently I'm currently on a .. I don't even know how to classify this group of music. But I'm on a kick of it, whatever it is.
Anyway, I just woke up, haven't even had coffee yet, so am a bit incoherent. I wanted to sleep for longer, but I woke up when the Toddler did and then I started thinking, and that was the end of sleeping.
So basically, I've got nearly every musical genre represented on my iTunes playlist, and this tickles me. Now I need to sort it all and delete the stuff I don't actually want, of which there probably won't be much.
I'll probably write another post later to explain what has been going on in my life outside of my music, because yesterday was rather eventful. Also, I haven't taken my allergy pills in like two days, and I'm very sad, because all I can do today is sneeze and itch.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
I May Just Die Now
Okay, so I don't know how the people with jobs have the time or energy to write anything worth reading. I barely had the energy to make myself dinner. Or the ability to get up and walk, for that matter. I'm not kidding. I spent four hours on my feet at work today, for the first time since I lost my job in December 2009 (when I'd regularly stand for 9-10 hours and be mostly fine), walking and shifting and reaching over my head and lifting heavy groups of hangers to bag orders, and that plus my decision to walk home (I was at the location within my perceived walking distance today) caused me to be unable to move around until about six hours after I got home. I am not pleased with this development, and I really hope that my resistance to that kind of thing returns quickly, or I'm just going to die. Maybe now. Maybe I'll just fall over sideways onto the couch right now and just die. Blah!
Anyway.. today I learned the Spanish word for stapler (es grapadora, apparently) and that you can get cramps in your knuckles. I also learned that I need more pants than I currently have. This whole owning only two pairs is not going to cut it for work. Anyway, I worked for four hours today, and I've started helping customers for real. As long as I stop forgetting that starch exists and remember to double-check the cash register when I close it, I think I'll be fine. (My cash register training took less than a minute - I don't know how exactly to use the credit card machine, but I imagine I could puzzle that out myself if I really needed to. I guess I'll find out on Monday.) I actually really prefer the main store, where all the action is - it just feels friendlier, and I can walk there and back. Please, scary boss man, let me have that location!
Today was also an excellent day at home - when I got home, S and the Toddler were outside because S was having a smoke, and you pretty much can't leave the Toddler in the house these days if you're going outside, because he will have paroxysms of grief over it. It's kind of hilarious to watch (hey, the kid regularly gives me injuries, I'm laughing at him when he's ridiculous!), but it's really annoying to cope with, so he gets to go outside a bazillion times a day right now, and that works out well for everyone, pretty much. Anyway, they saw me coming and he met me in the yard with a knee hug. It was really, really cute. After I went inside, I ate what was in my lunch box (I really don't need to pack a lunch for work - I never end up eating it, so I'm going to get grazing food instead) and watched Children of a Lesser God, which made me miss using ASL. It also made me cry. And I learned how to say "fuck you!" in sign language, which I'm sure will come in handy. Haha.
J ended up waking up really early (about 4:30), and he wanted to get food, so S went to McDonald's for him, and the Toddler went along, and he almost climbed into his car seat on his own. (I often put him in the car, so I've occasionally been asking him to try climbing in on his own.) When they came back, I took him out of the car (S's hands were full), and I asked him if he could say my name yet, sounding it out for him very slowly. And he said it. Then he said it again. And then he demonstrated for everyone else in the living room (Girl Child completely lit up), and then I used it as a form of bribery later when I was about to give him a bath - I told him if he said my name, I'd put him in the tub right then, and he immediately said it. I'm pretty sure he knows that he's saying my name, S is really the smart one in that department, being his mother and all. But oh god, what a rush! Every time he says it, I just want to grab him and kiss his face off. Totally made my day. (Seriously, this is the absolute best part of my day today, and I mean that. I would be more excited about him finally saying my name than if someone gave me $1000 right now. Not that I would pass up $1000.)
Anyway, I played some FFX later in the evening, worked on my iTunes playlists some more (because I'm just never going to be done with the tweaking, I think), and then I had the idea to look up speech pathology, which I've been thinking about on and off for about 10 years now. I think I'd like to become a licensed ASL interpreter and also get a speech pathology (or assistant) degree and work with deaf children and adults to help them learn to read lips and speak. Maybe. I've had a look at what you have to go through just for the interpreter certifications, and it's going to take me like four years just to get that, and usually a speech pathologist has a master's degree, so it's going to be a very, very long time before I get that, if I manage to do it at all.
Right now, it all kind of hinges on having a car. Doing the math in my head, if I spend absolutely no extra money for about four months, I should have enough saved to get a car that runs. Of course, Christmas is coming up, so I'll tack on an extra month for Christmas. But in any case, I should be able to buy a car by this spring, and hopefully I'll have my permit issues sorted out so I can start driving. (Though if I get the car and can't drive it yet, I'll just figure out how to make it be so S can drive it until I can drive it myself. If she's agreeable - I haven't talked about this with her yet because I haven't had any prospects for getting money until this week.)
I can't think of anything else to say. My brain isn't working very well - I'm really tired and I took two naproxen and a Zyrtec about half an hour ago, so now my brain is extra not working. See? I can't even make words be sentences. But I'm off tomorrow, so I'm going to sleep a lot.
Anyway.. today I learned the Spanish word for stapler (es grapadora, apparently) and that you can get cramps in your knuckles. I also learned that I need more pants than I currently have. This whole owning only two pairs is not going to cut it for work. Anyway, I worked for four hours today, and I've started helping customers for real. As long as I stop forgetting that starch exists and remember to double-check the cash register when I close it, I think I'll be fine. (My cash register training took less than a minute - I don't know how exactly to use the credit card machine, but I imagine I could puzzle that out myself if I really needed to. I guess I'll find out on Monday.) I actually really prefer the main store, where all the action is - it just feels friendlier, and I can walk there and back. Please, scary boss man, let me have that location!
Today was also an excellent day at home - when I got home, S and the Toddler were outside because S was having a smoke, and you pretty much can't leave the Toddler in the house these days if you're going outside, because he will have paroxysms of grief over it. It's kind of hilarious to watch (hey, the kid regularly gives me injuries, I'm laughing at him when he's ridiculous!), but it's really annoying to cope with, so he gets to go outside a bazillion times a day right now, and that works out well for everyone, pretty much. Anyway, they saw me coming and he met me in the yard with a knee hug. It was really, really cute. After I went inside, I ate what was in my lunch box (I really don't need to pack a lunch for work - I never end up eating it, so I'm going to get grazing food instead) and watched Children of a Lesser God, which made me miss using ASL. It also made me cry. And I learned how to say "fuck you!" in sign language, which I'm sure will come in handy. Haha.
J ended up waking up really early (about 4:30), and he wanted to get food, so S went to McDonald's for him, and the Toddler went along, and he almost climbed into his car seat on his own. (I often put him in the car, so I've occasionally been asking him to try climbing in on his own.) When they came back, I took him out of the car (S's hands were full), and I asked him if he could say my name yet, sounding it out for him very slowly. And he said it. Then he said it again. And then he demonstrated for everyone else in the living room (Girl Child completely lit up), and then I used it as a form of bribery later when I was about to give him a bath - I told him if he said my name, I'd put him in the tub right then, and he immediately said it. I'm pretty sure he knows that he's saying my name, S is really the smart one in that department, being his mother and all. But oh god, what a rush! Every time he says it, I just want to grab him and kiss his face off. Totally made my day. (Seriously, this is the absolute best part of my day today, and I mean that. I would be more excited about him finally saying my name than if someone gave me $1000 right now. Not that I would pass up $1000.)
Anyway, I played some FFX later in the evening, worked on my iTunes playlists some more (because I'm just never going to be done with the tweaking, I think), and then I had the idea to look up speech pathology, which I've been thinking about on and off for about 10 years now. I think I'd like to become a licensed ASL interpreter and also get a speech pathology (or assistant) degree and work with deaf children and adults to help them learn to read lips and speak. Maybe. I've had a look at what you have to go through just for the interpreter certifications, and it's going to take me like four years just to get that, and usually a speech pathologist has a master's degree, so it's going to be a very, very long time before I get that, if I manage to do it at all.
Right now, it all kind of hinges on having a car. Doing the math in my head, if I spend absolutely no extra money for about four months, I should have enough saved to get a car that runs. Of course, Christmas is coming up, so I'll tack on an extra month for Christmas. But in any case, I should be able to buy a car by this spring, and hopefully I'll have my permit issues sorted out so I can start driving. (Though if I get the car and can't drive it yet, I'll just figure out how to make it be so S can drive it until I can drive it myself. If she's agreeable - I haven't talked about this with her yet because I haven't had any prospects for getting money until this week.)
I can't think of anything else to say. My brain isn't working very well - I'm really tired and I took two naproxen and a Zyrtec about half an hour ago, so now my brain is extra not working. See? I can't even make words be sentences. But I'm off tomorrow, so I'm going to sleep a lot.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
New Chapter in My Story
I don't have time to do that links round-up, so it's going to have to wait until probably Sunday. In fact, a lot of things are probably going to have to wait until Sunday.
I'm going to begin at the beginning, though, just to be a horrid bitch. Bwahaha! Today, I slept in really late because I passed the hell out around midnight in the bedroom and slept through everything until I woke up in the middle of a seriously strange dream involving a mansion and a guy with thousands of ladies' socks stacked up in a gradient, so they made the entire color spectrum. There was also a room with a ton of antique furniture and things and lots of old lamps and an old guy restoring them or something. I don't know. It was weird. Anyway, between that and the company that was over bringing me further out of sleep, I was up for the day. Woo!
The day was basically the exact same day as the last several, until my phone rang at about 2:30. There was a man on the other end, the guy who owns the dry cleaner I applied at last Friday. He wanted me to come in for an interview this afternoon, so after much frantic running about (since I was still in pjs and all), I was dressed and S drove me to the interview, which was very short - if S had known how short it was going to be, she would have just waited until it was done and dropped Girl Child at her friend's house after.
The interview was okay. The guy was foreign, so I had difficulty understanding him sometimes, but he seemed really nice. He really liked my typing speed (80-90 wpm on keyboards that actually work), and he didn't like that I don't have a car right now (I decided to avoid mentioning the lack of driver's license), but I'm smart and willing to work, so apparently he's willing to overlook the slight transportation snag, since...
HE HIRED ME!!!!!!!!
(If I could, I would make that part sparkly and dance-y.)
Anyway, so he told me initially that he would call me by the end of the week and let me know if I was going to be starting training or not (I've heard this before, that's usually a sign that they're not going to hire you at all), and we thanked each other, and I went outside to wait for S. A few minutes later, I was on the phone with J, trying to figure out how long it would be before S came back, when he stepped outside and called me back over to tell me he had changed his mind and that I start training tomorrow morning at 10:00. Holy crap. I have to ask for a certain woman at the location near the house when I get there and I will learn things and it will be awesome.
When S picked me up, she decided we needed to go to Long John Silver's and have some food, and there was much excitement (I talk ridiculously fast when I'm excited, too!), and we ate and the Toddler displayed a love of tartar sauce the likes of which has never been seen - it got him to eat his chicken, which normally doesn't happen. When we got home, J was already in bed (he's been on vacation because his birthday was Tuesday), so after I got off the phone with C, I came outside and hung out with S and the Toddler for a bit, and we invented a new sport of walnut throwing. Ha.
After we came inside, I waited until I was sure M was awake, then I went downstairs and unstacked all my totes in the basement so I could get at the clothes I keep down there that I don't wear very often - most of them don't fit right now or are things I don't really need to wear at the moment, like my heavy sweaters and my bathrobes, which are all shorty robes and make me overheat anyway. Of course, I recently just switched my clothes around, moving the stuff that I only have for when I'm working downstairs and keeping all the fun clothes upstairs and also bringing up all my winter stuff so that I wouldn't have to worry about that later when it's actually cold. Then, of course, I end up needing my work shirts. Figures.
After I brought up all my work shirts, I did a quick fashion show for S so we could determine how many work shirts I have available to me, and as I was trying to get things moved around so they'd all fit (tiny dresser + a bazillion shirts = sad), I grew very frustrated with my complete lack of space - I have a small four-drawer dresser with a wide storage drawer thing sitting on top of it, which doesn't even begin to sufficiently hold all my clothes. So I went back downstairs and got the other storage drawers, which is the exact same size as the first one, took all my crocheting stuff out of it (all 58274 projects) and dumped it all in a piece of luggage, hauled the drawers upstairs and perched them upon the first one. I now have drawers reaching almost to the ceiling. It's a little ridiculous. I actually can't reach much above the top drawer in the first tote, so I will regularly need a step stool now if I need anything out of the other ones. Woo. I don't even care, actually, I'm just so damn happy to finally have room for all my shit.
Of course, this running around like a headless chicken (which is what S said about me on G+ earlier) caused me back pain, knee pain, ankle pain, shoulder pain, and foot pain. And I've got a headache and I'm starving. And I have to work tomorrow. God, that feels weird. I haven't worked in almost two years. TWO YEARS. That is a long time. I'm really nervous and excited about tomorrow. I hope like hell that I can sleep tonight, or tomorrow is also going to suck horribly.
Anyway, I'm really really excited. And stuff. Oh god.
I'm going to begin at the beginning, though, just to be a horrid bitch. Bwahaha! Today, I slept in really late because I passed the hell out around midnight in the bedroom and slept through everything until I woke up in the middle of a seriously strange dream involving a mansion and a guy with thousands of ladies' socks stacked up in a gradient, so they made the entire color spectrum. There was also a room with a ton of antique furniture and things and lots of old lamps and an old guy restoring them or something. I don't know. It was weird. Anyway, between that and the company that was over bringing me further out of sleep, I was up for the day. Woo!
The day was basically the exact same day as the last several, until my phone rang at about 2:30. There was a man on the other end, the guy who owns the dry cleaner I applied at last Friday. He wanted me to come in for an interview this afternoon, so after much frantic running about (since I was still in pjs and all), I was dressed and S drove me to the interview, which was very short - if S had known how short it was going to be, she would have just waited until it was done and dropped Girl Child at her friend's house after.
The interview was okay. The guy was foreign, so I had difficulty understanding him sometimes, but he seemed really nice. He really liked my typing speed (80-90 wpm on keyboards that actually work), and he didn't like that I don't have a car right now (I decided to avoid mentioning the lack of driver's license), but I'm smart and willing to work, so apparently he's willing to overlook the slight transportation snag, since...
HE HIRED ME!!!!!!!!
(If I could, I would make that part sparkly and dance-y.)
Anyway, so he told me initially that he would call me by the end of the week and let me know if I was going to be starting training or not (I've heard this before, that's usually a sign that they're not going to hire you at all), and we thanked each other, and I went outside to wait for S. A few minutes later, I was on the phone with J, trying to figure out how long it would be before S came back, when he stepped outside and called me back over to tell me he had changed his mind and that I start training tomorrow morning at 10:00. Holy crap. I have to ask for a certain woman at the location near the house when I get there and I will learn things and it will be awesome.
When S picked me up, she decided we needed to go to Long John Silver's and have some food, and there was much excitement (I talk ridiculously fast when I'm excited, too!), and we ate and the Toddler displayed a love of tartar sauce the likes of which has never been seen - it got him to eat his chicken, which normally doesn't happen. When we got home, J was already in bed (he's been on vacation because his birthday was Tuesday), so after I got off the phone with C, I came outside and hung out with S and the Toddler for a bit, and we invented a new sport of walnut throwing. Ha.
After we came inside, I waited until I was sure M was awake, then I went downstairs and unstacked all my totes in the basement so I could get at the clothes I keep down there that I don't wear very often - most of them don't fit right now or are things I don't really need to wear at the moment, like my heavy sweaters and my bathrobes, which are all shorty robes and make me overheat anyway. Of course, I recently just switched my clothes around, moving the stuff that I only have for when I'm working downstairs and keeping all the fun clothes upstairs and also bringing up all my winter stuff so that I wouldn't have to worry about that later when it's actually cold. Then, of course, I end up needing my work shirts. Figures.
After I brought up all my work shirts, I did a quick fashion show for S so we could determine how many work shirts I have available to me, and as I was trying to get things moved around so they'd all fit (tiny dresser + a bazillion shirts = sad), I grew very frustrated with my complete lack of space - I have a small four-drawer dresser with a wide storage drawer thing sitting on top of it, which doesn't even begin to sufficiently hold all my clothes. So I went back downstairs and got the other storage drawers, which is the exact same size as the first one, took all my crocheting stuff out of it (all 58274 projects) and dumped it all in a piece of luggage, hauled the drawers upstairs and perched them upon the first one. I now have drawers reaching almost to the ceiling. It's a little ridiculous. I actually can't reach much above the top drawer in the first tote, so I will regularly need a step stool now if I need anything out of the other ones. Woo. I don't even care, actually, I'm just so damn happy to finally have room for all my shit.
Of course, this running around like a headless chicken (which is what S said about me on G+ earlier) caused me back pain, knee pain, ankle pain, shoulder pain, and foot pain. And I've got a headache and I'm starving. And I have to work tomorrow. God, that feels weird. I haven't worked in almost two years. TWO YEARS. That is a long time. I'm really nervous and excited about tomorrow. I hope like hell that I can sleep tonight, or tomorrow is also going to suck horribly.
Anyway, I'm really really excited. And stuff. Oh god.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Goodbye, Facebook
Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything worthwhile - my allergies and my sleep schedule nonexistence of late have made it hard to do anything that requires actual thought. So I've been spending quite a bit of time tweaking my iTunes playlist, reading news articles (so many links to share!), discovering new music, watching movies, playing video games, and crocheting. Also, playing with Twitter.
Things haven't exactly resembled anything exciting here lately - same old, same old for the most part. I don't remember if I've mentioned this previously, but I applied for a job with a dry cleaner in my neighborhood, and am still waiting to hear back from them. I don't know if this means they found someone else, or if they lost my application among the many they probably received, as everyone and their mother is desperate for work right now, or if they're just taking their time deciding who to call. I've been on tenterhooks for days, though, and am starting to feel pretty confident that they're not going to call, just like everyone else. I wish I knew what I was doing wrong.
J installed the dishwasher the day before yesterday. It's wonderful. Everyone is so damn excited. We had to have the power off for about four hours, though, so that was kind of a fiasco, but it's a fair trade for a successful installation. Also, because S needed to help J with the install, I had the Toddler for a large chunk of the day, and took him to the park. Of course this was the one hot day this week, and of course I got a sunburn and 12 mosquito bites, and a horrendous allergy flare-up. I'm mostly fine now, though, except I get new mosquito bites every single time I leave the house right now, which is really lame. I am so itchy!
This morning, I woke up to discover that Facebook made some major changes to the entire site. I was already angry with them to begin with after their last "tweak" of the privacy settings, making it more difficult to set them the way I want them because I can no longer tell what some things are set as at all. This makes me pissy. Anyway. I'm completely sick of the way Facebook is run, I hate everything about it, and I've decided to quit using it. I'm in the process of getting a copy of all my data downloaded from Facebook, and then I shall be deleting my account. I don't give a shit who's going to miss me. That's what Google+, e-mail, and fucking telephones are for! Not to mention that I actively use both MSN and Yahoo messenger clients (well, I use Yahoo for E's benefit only, actually), and the fact that I'm not hard to get in touch with at all. So fuck off, Facebook. (I believe S decided the same thing this morning, as did several other people on my Facebook friends list, so I imagine I'll be seeing them all on Google+ shortly.) I've even found a way to make up for the stuff that I was following on Facebook that it is now impossible to follow with the new News Feed - Twitter! So I'm using Twitter to follow Huffington Post and NPR and all the other stuff that I use to find the news articles I read, and will probably use Google+ to keep up with the people I care about.
Anyway, that's really all. As stated previously, nothing exciting has been happening lately. I'm listening to a really beautiful song by M right now, which is pretty awesome.
Speaking of M, he saved my butt on Sunday. I was already having kind of a bad day, and then my iPod got frozen while I was trying to force my computer to recognize its existence. Like really frozen. I couldn't reset it, turn it off, skip the song, hear anything, lock it, or adjust the volume. I could literally do nothing with it. M offered to take it with him to work, and I don't know exactly what he did (something fancy, apparently), but he fixed it within half an hour. Of course, I didn't have access to it until Monday morning, but I was just so happy to have it functioning again that it really didn't matter to me when I got it.
Also, S and I discovered raspberry ginger ale. It's a very happy, pretty shade of fizzy pink. I will be having some with vodka later to see if that's tasty together. I will be having some alone in a minute to see if it's tasty at all.
I hope that I get back to regular postings soon - I'm planning on finally writing that post about growing up Catholic and how I've always sort of known that I was an atheist, but I'm lazy, so here's hoping it actually materializes. Also, I have an idea for a new story bouncing around in my head, but I think I'm going to let it marinate for a little while before I try writing anything down, since about half my stories are poop. Not that I've ever finished one, except for this story that was six pages long that was about a little girl and a pond that I wrote when I was 19. I've been thinking about revisiting that a little bit and seeing if I can tweak it a little bit, and see if I can revisit the same family after a few years have gone by. Maybe.
Anyway, I don't have anything interesting to say.
Things haven't exactly resembled anything exciting here lately - same old, same old for the most part. I don't remember if I've mentioned this previously, but I applied for a job with a dry cleaner in my neighborhood, and am still waiting to hear back from them. I don't know if this means they found someone else, or if they lost my application among the many they probably received, as everyone and their mother is desperate for work right now, or if they're just taking their time deciding who to call. I've been on tenterhooks for days, though, and am starting to feel pretty confident that they're not going to call, just like everyone else. I wish I knew what I was doing wrong.
J installed the dishwasher the day before yesterday. It's wonderful. Everyone is so damn excited. We had to have the power off for about four hours, though, so that was kind of a fiasco, but it's a fair trade for a successful installation. Also, because S needed to help J with the install, I had the Toddler for a large chunk of the day, and took him to the park. Of course this was the one hot day this week, and of course I got a sunburn and 12 mosquito bites, and a horrendous allergy flare-up. I'm mostly fine now, though, except I get new mosquito bites every single time I leave the house right now, which is really lame. I am so itchy!
This morning, I woke up to discover that Facebook made some major changes to the entire site. I was already angry with them to begin with after their last "tweak" of the privacy settings, making it more difficult to set them the way I want them because I can no longer tell what some things are set as at all. This makes me pissy. Anyway. I'm completely sick of the way Facebook is run, I hate everything about it, and I've decided to quit using it. I'm in the process of getting a copy of all my data downloaded from Facebook, and then I shall be deleting my account. I don't give a shit who's going to miss me. That's what Google+, e-mail, and fucking telephones are for! Not to mention that I actively use both MSN and Yahoo messenger clients (well, I use Yahoo for E's benefit only, actually), and the fact that I'm not hard to get in touch with at all. So fuck off, Facebook. (I believe S decided the same thing this morning, as did several other people on my Facebook friends list, so I imagine I'll be seeing them all on Google+ shortly.) I've even found a way to make up for the stuff that I was following on Facebook that it is now impossible to follow with the new News Feed - Twitter! So I'm using Twitter to follow Huffington Post and NPR and all the other stuff that I use to find the news articles I read, and will probably use Google+ to keep up with the people I care about.
Anyway, that's really all. As stated previously, nothing exciting has been happening lately. I'm listening to a really beautiful song by M right now, which is pretty awesome.
Speaking of M, he saved my butt on Sunday. I was already having kind of a bad day, and then my iPod got frozen while I was trying to force my computer to recognize its existence. Like really frozen. I couldn't reset it, turn it off, skip the song, hear anything, lock it, or adjust the volume. I could literally do nothing with it. M offered to take it with him to work, and I don't know exactly what he did (something fancy, apparently), but he fixed it within half an hour. Of course, I didn't have access to it until Monday morning, but I was just so happy to have it functioning again that it really didn't matter to me when I got it.
Also, S and I discovered raspberry ginger ale. It's a very happy, pretty shade of fizzy pink. I will be having some with vodka later to see if that's tasty together. I will be having some alone in a minute to see if it's tasty at all.
I hope that I get back to regular postings soon - I'm planning on finally writing that post about growing up Catholic and how I've always sort of known that I was an atheist, but I'm lazy, so here's hoping it actually materializes. Also, I have an idea for a new story bouncing around in my head, but I think I'm going to let it marinate for a little while before I try writing anything down, since about half my stories are poop. Not that I've ever finished one, except for this story that was six pages long that was about a little girl and a pond that I wrote when I was 19. I've been thinking about revisiting that a little bit and seeing if I can tweak it a little bit, and see if I can revisit the same family after a few years have gone by. Maybe.
Anyway, I don't have anything interesting to say.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Procrastination is Bad, But Links are Good!
I've been procrastinating lately about writing anything because I'm, well, lazy. However, I'm almost done completely redoing my entire iTunes library, which includes correcting files and deleting bad ones and removing the ones that I only deleted out of the library and not off the hard drive. (I had almost 10gb of extra material and am now down to probably less than a gig of stuff I don't want.)
This post is going to be primarily a links post - I'll write a real post about life in a little bit, and post some photos, because yay photos. But now, here are links I've been gathering since September 5th.
Links Round-Up
I complained about Pepperberry earlier this week in this post, but while I was writing that post (and looking at all the links that I used when I wrote it), I came across an article that pointed out that when Pepperberry was launched, they sized all of their stuff down just enough that the Super Curvy size now fits like a Really Curvy, which presumably means that no one above an F or G cup will be able to shop at Pepperberry now unless they want to buy overpriced clothes that are in a size that is too large everywhere else. If I'm going to be forced to buy something that doesn't fit me well, I may as well just get it from Wal-Mart for five bucks instead of thirty at Pepperberry. So disappointed - I was really looking forward to buying some clothes from them after I get a job and lose about 10 inches.
Square Enix is doing a remake of Final Fantasy X, which is only my most favorite video game ever. I'm hoping and praying that the battle system goes unchanged, since I'll probably be unable to play it if it does change. (I'm hilariously bad at real-time battle and most other turn-based systems are too quick for me to keep up with because I'm a rather methodical player.) But oh god oh god the graphicsgasm I shall have! Can't wait, can't wait! (I think they're just making it prettier for the PS3 so it can be in HD, but maybe there'll be new content, too.)
Vladimir Putin is pretty much the coolest leader of a country ever. Dude. Seriously, go look at these photos.
For the last several years, I've noticed that teachers are getting blamed more and more for things that are actually the fault of the parents and students. It's definitely not a profession I intend to go into anymore (I used to want to be a teacher when I was a kid), mostly because there's too much stress and bullshit for the low pay teachers receive. Until teachers are valued for the vital keystone to our world's future that they are, we are going to have nothing but the people who chose teaching because it was easier to become a teacher than it would have been to go into the profession they really wanted. I found an article written by a teacher that tells parents what teachers really would like to say, if they weren't terrified of going to jail, being sued, or otherwise losing their livelihood.
Scientists studied a group of 60 four year olds taking mental function tests, and found that watching nine minutes of Spongebob Squarepants right before taking the test caused them to do measurably worse than the children who watched nine minutes of Caillou or drew pictures for nine minutes. All right then.
Well, now I don't want to live in England anymore. What the hell kind of country rations tests designed to detect cancer early?!
In the rainforests in the Indian state of Meghalaya, there are living bridges. Made of tree roots. And they are pretty.
Cool!
I really like Obama, and I think most of the country is being a little impatient with him - how is he supposed to fix everything George Bush broke in just four years, when Bush had eight to break it all? (Not that it was just Bush, since it was also the entire Congress being rich, pampered assholes.) Anyway, I really liked seeing him be angry with Congress, and I hope that this does something, whether it lights a fire under Congress's collective ass or just gets Obama elected for a second term so that he can finish what he started. I feel proud of him, and I really hope that jobs bill gets passed, because maybe that will finally help me find a job. (Of course, then everyone reading this will probably never hear from me again... :P)
This is just horrifying.
NPR made a chart that shows where the Republican contenders stand on climate change and evolution. This is like a week old, but still relevant if you haven't seen it.
I have made it no secret in the past that I at best look upon Michele Bachmann with disdain, and at worst make fun of her mercilessly. And, of course, there's the recent bit about her in the news that, unless you live under a rock, you know about - the Republican debate where Michele Bachmann yelled at Rick Perry for trying to push through legislation forcing girls to get the HPV vaccination as the Governor of Texas. I think it's hilarious that the American Academy of Pediatrics debunked everything she said about how the HPV vaccine can cause mental retardation. It's even funnier that she tried to defend this, saying that she's not a doctor. Because when you're a public figure, it's totally okay to make completely fallacious statements about something just because you don't agree with its use.
I decided after the whole Toyota fiasco a few years ago that I was never going to buy a Toyota that was made after the 1990s, and after seeing what their idea of an ad campaign is, I don't ever want to own a Toyota ever. Ever ever ever. What the fucking fuckety fuck, Toyota?!
I found this video hilarious. Beware, you may find it mentally raping. S did. (This is all C's fault, he sent it to me!) Also, I really want to find the song that plays during the video, because it's really, really catchy. And I want it.
I was sent this recently, because apparently this is what I should be giving to my boyfriends. Ha.
I read Crazy Things Parents Say a lot, and I saw this the other day and thought it was really cute.
A murder suspect was called for jury duty... in his own trial.
Can't tell if trolling or legitimate... Seriously, I can't tell if this is a joke or if it's an article that was really written in the 90's by some old curmudgeon who didn't trust that new-fangled World Wide Web thing.
This morning, J was reading some statistics to S and me about Fox News viewers. Since we're a household of people who think people who legitimately go to Fox News for their news and political information are stupid, this was just more evidence of the kind of shit this country is going to. I asked him for the link, intending to post it here and freak out about how the whole country is just going to implode, and noticed that he hadn't really paid attention to the website, which is actually a satire website, like The Onion. Yep, that's right, it was a huge joke, and more hilarious for that.
This post is going to be primarily a links post - I'll write a real post about life in a little bit, and post some photos, because yay photos. But now, here are links I've been gathering since September 5th.
Links Round-Up
I complained about Pepperberry earlier this week in this post, but while I was writing that post (and looking at all the links that I used when I wrote it), I came across an article that pointed out that when Pepperberry was launched, they sized all of their stuff down just enough that the Super Curvy size now fits like a Really Curvy, which presumably means that no one above an F or G cup will be able to shop at Pepperberry now unless they want to buy overpriced clothes that are in a size that is too large everywhere else. If I'm going to be forced to buy something that doesn't fit me well, I may as well just get it from Wal-Mart for five bucks instead of thirty at Pepperberry. So disappointed - I was really looking forward to buying some clothes from them after I get a job and lose about 10 inches.
Square Enix is doing a remake of Final Fantasy X, which is only my most favorite video game ever. I'm hoping and praying that the battle system goes unchanged, since I'll probably be unable to play it if it does change. (I'm hilariously bad at real-time battle and most other turn-based systems are too quick for me to keep up with because I'm a rather methodical player.) But oh god oh god the graphicsgasm I shall have! Can't wait, can't wait! (I think they're just making it prettier for the PS3 so it can be in HD, but maybe there'll be new content, too.)
Vladimir Putin is pretty much the coolest leader of a country ever. Dude. Seriously, go look at these photos.
For the last several years, I've noticed that teachers are getting blamed more and more for things that are actually the fault of the parents and students. It's definitely not a profession I intend to go into anymore (I used to want to be a teacher when I was a kid), mostly because there's too much stress and bullshit for the low pay teachers receive. Until teachers are valued for the vital keystone to our world's future that they are, we are going to have nothing but the people who chose teaching because it was easier to become a teacher than it would have been to go into the profession they really wanted. I found an article written by a teacher that tells parents what teachers really would like to say, if they weren't terrified of going to jail, being sued, or otherwise losing their livelihood.
Scientists studied a group of 60 four year olds taking mental function tests, and found that watching nine minutes of Spongebob Squarepants right before taking the test caused them to do measurably worse than the children who watched nine minutes of Caillou or drew pictures for nine minutes. All right then.
Well, now I don't want to live in England anymore. What the hell kind of country rations tests designed to detect cancer early?!
In the rainforests in the Indian state of Meghalaya, there are living bridges. Made of tree roots. And they are pretty.
Cool!
I really like Obama, and I think most of the country is being a little impatient with him - how is he supposed to fix everything George Bush broke in just four years, when Bush had eight to break it all? (Not that it was just Bush, since it was also the entire Congress being rich, pampered assholes.) Anyway, I really liked seeing him be angry with Congress, and I hope that this does something, whether it lights a fire under Congress's collective ass or just gets Obama elected for a second term so that he can finish what he started. I feel proud of him, and I really hope that jobs bill gets passed, because maybe that will finally help me find a job. (Of course, then everyone reading this will probably never hear from me again... :P)
This is just horrifying.
NPR made a chart that shows where the Republican contenders stand on climate change and evolution. This is like a week old, but still relevant if you haven't seen it.
I have made it no secret in the past that I at best look upon Michele Bachmann with disdain, and at worst make fun of her mercilessly. And, of course, there's the recent bit about her in the news that, unless you live under a rock, you know about - the Republican debate where Michele Bachmann yelled at Rick Perry for trying to push through legislation forcing girls to get the HPV vaccination as the Governor of Texas. I think it's hilarious that the American Academy of Pediatrics debunked everything she said about how the HPV vaccine can cause mental retardation. It's even funnier that she tried to defend this, saying that she's not a doctor. Because when you're a public figure, it's totally okay to make completely fallacious statements about something just because you don't agree with its use.
I decided after the whole Toyota fiasco a few years ago that I was never going to buy a Toyota that was made after the 1990s, and after seeing what their idea of an ad campaign is, I don't ever want to own a Toyota ever. Ever ever ever. What the fucking fuckety fuck, Toyota?!
I found this video hilarious. Beware, you may find it mentally raping. S did. (This is all C's fault, he sent it to me!) Also, I really want to find the song that plays during the video, because it's really, really catchy. And I want it.
I was sent this recently, because apparently this is what I should be giving to my boyfriends. Ha.
I read Crazy Things Parents Say a lot, and I saw this the other day and thought it was really cute.
A murder suspect was called for jury duty... in his own trial.
Can't tell if trolling or legitimate... Seriously, I can't tell if this is a joke or if it's an article that was really written in the 90's by some old curmudgeon who didn't trust that new-fangled World Wide Web thing.
This morning, J was reading some statistics to S and me about Fox News viewers. Since we're a household of people who think people who legitimately go to Fox News for their news and political information are stupid, this was just more evidence of the kind of shit this country is going to. I asked him for the link, intending to post it here and freak out about how the whole country is just going to implode, and noticed that he hadn't really paid attention to the website, which is actually a satire website, like The Onion. Yep, that's right, it was a huge joke, and more hilarious for that.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Music Explosion
Last night I decided I was fed up with my music being so disorganized and began the endeavor of getting it sorted out and deleting stuff I meant to delete months ago. Like my Enya stuff, which was a mess - I had six copies of the same song in some instances. I've deleted about 1,000 songs since yesterday evening, when I started, and I've added probably about 150 or so so far, but I'm also still deleting. Exciting stuff. When I started, I had almost 4,000 songs, and I'm down to just under 3,000 now, ranging over the entire musical spectrum. I'm fairly sure I don't have a single unrepresented genre. Well, I was, but S asked me if I had any punk or Goth music, and I'm not sure I have any big band (because, dude, 3,000 songs), but I've got at least a small sampling of almost everything. Obviously.
I've got access to my files from the other hard drive again, and I'm taking great advantage of this by getting everything off of it as soon as possible.
Anyway, the weather here is wonderful and cold and perfect. It feels delicious and like cocoa and crunchy leaves and long sleeves. Favorite time of year ever.
I've been working on a crochet project that my ex-fiance sent me (I left it in England with him because I thought we were getting married), it's actually the first granny square I ever made, which I made with a bunch of random scrap yarn I had, and I'm going to give it to S when I'm done, because she really likes the colors. I'll post a picture tomorrow after I get the chance to take a picture of it. This means when I'm working on it and the Toddler is in bed.
I'm about to go out and drop off a job application, and half the reason I'm so stinking excited about it is because I get to wear a long-sleeved shirt for once! Okay, getting dressed and leaving now, so posting. The Toddler is very displeased that we are not leaving immediately.
I've got access to my files from the other hard drive again, and I'm taking great advantage of this by getting everything off of it as soon as possible.
Anyway, the weather here is wonderful and cold and perfect. It feels delicious and like cocoa and crunchy leaves and long sleeves. Favorite time of year ever.
I've been working on a crochet project that my ex-fiance sent me (I left it in England with him because I thought we were getting married), it's actually the first granny square I ever made, which I made with a bunch of random scrap yarn I had, and I'm going to give it to S when I'm done, because she really likes the colors. I'll post a picture tomorrow after I get the chance to take a picture of it. This means when I'm working on it and the Toddler is in bed.
I'm about to go out and drop off a job application, and half the reason I'm so stinking excited about it is because I get to wear a long-sleeved shirt for once! Okay, getting dressed and leaving now, so posting. The Toddler is very displeased that we are not leaving immediately.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Fat Chicks Only Wear Muu-muus in Fashion Land
Today, I found a link to a blog about finding fashionable, pretty clothing for the fuller-figured girl with very large breasts, and some of the things she wrote really struck a chord with me, so it's essay time.
I wear a size 20. Sometimes I'm an 18, or a 22, or a 24, depending on where I'm shopping, but for the most part, I am a size 20. However, if I follow the sizing chart at Lane Bryant (which is where I bought the only pair of jeans I have that fit), I wear a size 26. Funnily enough, it even has the measurements that would be accurate to my size listed as what a size 26 dress would be, but if I tried on a size 26, I would be swimming in it. Except for my boobs, probably.
Most dresses I've tried on have only fit at the chest, because I have to size up for my breasts. I am already not a thin woman. I struggle to find clothing that actually flatters my body and makes me feel good without being painful to wear or uncomfortable. It is incredibly frustrating to have to buy tents for my body because they do not make dresses for my shape. Large breasts aren't even close to being accomodated by the fashion industry, at least not if they are paired with proportionately large waists. I am never going to have a 30 inch waist again, especially not with my chest, which ranges from a 42G to a 36HH, depending on the cut and style of the bra, and the individual manufacturer. I am not going to be a size 10 ever again. I think I'll be lucky if I manage a size 12 or 14, which is my goal for when I eventually lose weight.
Even though I want to lose weight, I am still a size 20 right now, with very large boobs. I believe I deserve to feel pretty, I deserve to look nice when I want to look nice, and I am sick and tired to death of wearing nothing but enormous t-shirts because none of my clothes fit and I can't find anything in the womens' department that does. Pepperberry, Bravissimo's clothing line, doesn't even go up to my waist size. In fact, the largest size they carry is a full 10 inches smaller than my waist.
This is incredibly frustrating for me. I feel like I am being told that I do not deserve to look or feel beautiful because I am a larger girl. I am told this everywhere I go. The last guy I went on a date with basically told me that while I was good for a quick fuck, I was not good enough to be a girlfriend because I am too fat. I am tired of this. I am tired of being laughed at, I am tired of being used, and I am tired of my size and weight being a "problem". It is not a problem, or at least it is not my problem. My only real problem with my body is that I can't find anything to fit it and that my weight is causing me some health problems. This is the primary reason I want to lose weight. Not so I can feel beautiful again, not so I can get honked at while walking down the street, but so I can run again, so my tendons stop hurting, so the weight of my chest doesn't cut off my ability to breathe. I didn't even start having health problems related to my weight until I got larger than a size 16.
I want to be able to look in the mirror and think I am beautiful without worry about whether I am "too fat". I want people to stop telling me there's something wrong with me. I want people to stop telling me that I should get a breast reduction. I want the opportunity to learn to love my body, my whole body. I deserve that. Every woman deserves to love herself for what she is and not what everyone thinks she should be.
(Next post will have a link round up and maybe a little bit of stuff about life, since I haven't posted anything in over a week.)
I wear a size 20. Sometimes I'm an 18, or a 22, or a 24, depending on where I'm shopping, but for the most part, I am a size 20. However, if I follow the sizing chart at Lane Bryant (which is where I bought the only pair of jeans I have that fit), I wear a size 26. Funnily enough, it even has the measurements that would be accurate to my size listed as what a size 26 dress would be, but if I tried on a size 26, I would be swimming in it. Except for my boobs, probably.
Most dresses I've tried on have only fit at the chest, because I have to size up for my breasts. I am already not a thin woman. I struggle to find clothing that actually flatters my body and makes me feel good without being painful to wear or uncomfortable. It is incredibly frustrating to have to buy tents for my body because they do not make dresses for my shape. Large breasts aren't even close to being accomodated by the fashion industry, at least not if they are paired with proportionately large waists. I am never going to have a 30 inch waist again, especially not with my chest, which ranges from a 42G to a 36HH, depending on the cut and style of the bra, and the individual manufacturer. I am not going to be a size 10 ever again. I think I'll be lucky if I manage a size 12 or 14, which is my goal for when I eventually lose weight.
Even though I want to lose weight, I am still a size 20 right now, with very large boobs. I believe I deserve to feel pretty, I deserve to look nice when I want to look nice, and I am sick and tired to death of wearing nothing but enormous t-shirts because none of my clothes fit and I can't find anything in the womens' department that does. Pepperberry, Bravissimo's clothing line, doesn't even go up to my waist size. In fact, the largest size they carry is a full 10 inches smaller than my waist.
This is incredibly frustrating for me. I feel like I am being told that I do not deserve to look or feel beautiful because I am a larger girl. I am told this everywhere I go. The last guy I went on a date with basically told me that while I was good for a quick fuck, I was not good enough to be a girlfriend because I am too fat. I am tired of this. I am tired of being laughed at, I am tired of being used, and I am tired of my size and weight being a "problem". It is not a problem, or at least it is not my problem. My only real problem with my body is that I can't find anything to fit it and that my weight is causing me some health problems. This is the primary reason I want to lose weight. Not so I can feel beautiful again, not so I can get honked at while walking down the street, but so I can run again, so my tendons stop hurting, so the weight of my chest doesn't cut off my ability to breathe. I didn't even start having health problems related to my weight until I got larger than a size 16.
I want to be able to look in the mirror and think I am beautiful without worry about whether I am "too fat". I want people to stop telling me there's something wrong with me. I want people to stop telling me that I should get a breast reduction. I want the opportunity to learn to love my body, my whole body. I deserve that. Every woman deserves to love herself for what she is and not what everyone thinks she should be.
(Next post will have a link round up and maybe a little bit of stuff about life, since I haven't posted anything in over a week.)
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Harry Potter and the VMAs
It's been a few days. I haven't had much to say, really, so things have been boring! Sorry!
Anyway, today I finally saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. I was really irritated by some of the (unnecessary) changes that were made to the movie, including the HUGE plot change at the beginning of the Battle of Hogwarts. I also cried from the point where Harry speaks briefly with Snape until just before the end of the battle. I was really disappointed, though, all in all - they could have done it more justice. I'm so glad Pottermore will be open in October, I'm looking forward to stuff that is actually canon. At least I'll always have the books.
This afternoon was fairly uneventful - I got a migraine from a combination of lack of caffeine and attempting to stop crying and probably eyestrain and had to take a nap, had to suffer through a millionth viewing of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and heard a funny story about the Toddler.
The Toddler was not very pleased at being left behind when S dropped me off at the movie theater this morning. (I went to the first showing they had available so it would be super cheap.) When S got him ready to go pick me up, he ran to the door and said, "Me? Meee? Me! Meee!" When they got outside, he chanted "ME!" while looking everywhere for me before S told him that they had to go bye-bye to get me. So he ran to the side of the car his car seat is on and tried to open the door himself. Then he checked the car for me. When I got in the car, he said, "Me!" It was pretty cute. He does the exact same thing, only with a lot more crying and screaming, whenever S leaves the house with M or to make a quick trip to the grocery store when he's awake and left in my care. I imagine he also didn't spend the two hours I was gone asking for me, either, like he does when S is gone. ("Ma? Mom? Ma? Mama? Ma? Mom? Mommm!" Imagine this protracted over the course of two hours, broken up by tantrums and staring at the television.) Moral of the story? Toddlers are a strange species.
I finally repolished my toenails tonight. This is probably the most exciting thing I've done in weeks. They're very dark, because it's getting to be fall and they should stay polished long enough for the weather to cool off so I can stop sweating profusely every time I move. Fuck summer. I had many problems polishing my toenails, too. There was less than an ounce of nail polish remover left in the bottle, and Girl Child managed to lose her bottle, so I had to be very careful when using it to make sure I got all the old polish off on the first try. Then, of course, the color I wanted to use died, so I grabbed the OPI bottle of black that was in the hallway, only to discover that the (almost completely full) bottle was permanently stuck shut. J couldn't get it open when Girl Child asked him to earlier today, so he didn't even try when I asked him. S saved the day with a different bottle of black that has reddish undertones, which was actually pretty cool and closer to what I was originally going for.
Speaking of sweating, S thinks I might have a thyroid problem. Gahoogy-hoo. I really need to get to a doctor sometime soon and figure out what all my myriad problems are.
Wearing my glow in the dark Toy Story shirt to the theater today would have been way more awesome if I'd ever been in a room that was actually completely black. On the other hand, it is totally entertaining to get under the covers and look at my shirt. Yes, I am easily entertained, and I do find it hilarious when Sunshine chases (and catches) her tail.
So tonight, after the nail polishing, S and I watched the MTV Video Music Awards. What a waste of time that turned out to be. I was so disappointed. It was completely moronic, Lady Gaga was pretending to be a man again, which was really irritating, and the only good performance was Adele. She was stunning. Her nails were a little scary, though. 30 Seconds to Mars was nominated for Best Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing, which was why S wanted to watch it, but they didn't even show those on the broadcast. And they didn't win. I don't know who did, but that was pretty disappointing, especially since we got treated to a Lil Wayne performance before it immediately cut to the stupidest show I've ever had the misfortune to find myself watching in my life. It was called I Just Want My Pants Back. It was filmed very much in the style of another MTV show called Undressed, which was on in 1998, except with hipsters instead of college students. Snarky hipsters who don't behave like any normal person I've ever seen.
Basically, MTV is a travesty, and really needs to find a new name for themselves, since I haven't even heard of a music video being featured on MTV in at least five years. The whole thing was a train wreck. One part that was good was when some guy I've never heard of named Rick Ross was in his "dressing room" in a pre-recorded segment, and he was painting and pretending to be Bob Ross. That was absolutely hilarious. "Happy little tree... right there. Happy little trees."
Anyway. I hope I never have the misfortune to ever have to watch MTV again for the rest of my life. I don't care if that makes me old, I like quality music, and almost none of that was quality. It was pulp.
I have a lot of links. Because I am a lazy blogger. Crap.
Links Round-Up Ahoy! (Apparently it's a nautical edition.)
GameStop is a bunch of jackasses, and they'll be lucky if I ever set foot in one of their stores again after this stunt. I might apply for a job with them, though, but I will never shop there. I like my games unopened and unsullied, thanks.
Ron Paul finds FEMA unnecessary. Oh boy. I really do wonder which of the Republican candidates are going to terrify me into voting for Obama in the 2012 election, even though I was already pretty sure I was going to vote for him anyway unless someone truly awesome came along.
I'm disturbed by what some people label as unsafe. I don't think radio waves are harmful. I don't know why anyone ever would. And of course this crazy woman is homeschooling her kids! This is just as bad as that genderless baby. I wonder if they're friends?
Corporations suck. I want a job. Fuck the fucking shareholders.
I love Bad Translator.
You know, I want to make a Jayne Cobb hat. I would totally wear it. I do not, however, think it is a good idea to cosplay as a Jayne Cobb hat. What the hell.
Also, vote for my Rage Comic. I really want to make the front page.
(This blog title was so easy!! Haha!)
And now, I go to bed.
Anyway, today I finally saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. I was really irritated by some of the (unnecessary) changes that were made to the movie, including the HUGE plot change at the beginning of the Battle of Hogwarts. I also cried from the point where Harry speaks briefly with Snape until just before the end of the battle. I was really disappointed, though, all in all - they could have done it more justice. I'm so glad Pottermore will be open in October, I'm looking forward to stuff that is actually canon. At least I'll always have the books.
This afternoon was fairly uneventful - I got a migraine from a combination of lack of caffeine and attempting to stop crying and probably eyestrain and had to take a nap, had to suffer through a millionth viewing of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and heard a funny story about the Toddler.
The Toddler was not very pleased at being left behind when S dropped me off at the movie theater this morning. (I went to the first showing they had available so it would be super cheap.) When S got him ready to go pick me up, he ran to the door and said, "Me? Meee? Me! Meee!" When they got outside, he chanted "ME!" while looking everywhere for me before S told him that they had to go bye-bye to get me. So he ran to the side of the car his car seat is on and tried to open the door himself. Then he checked the car for me. When I got in the car, he said, "Me!" It was pretty cute. He does the exact same thing, only with a lot more crying and screaming, whenever S leaves the house with M or to make a quick trip to the grocery store when he's awake and left in my care. I imagine he also didn't spend the two hours I was gone asking for me, either, like he does when S is gone. ("Ma? Mom? Ma? Mama? Ma? Mom? Mommm!" Imagine this protracted over the course of two hours, broken up by tantrums and staring at the television.) Moral of the story? Toddlers are a strange species.
I finally repolished my toenails tonight. This is probably the most exciting thing I've done in weeks. They're very dark, because it's getting to be fall and they should stay polished long enough for the weather to cool off so I can stop sweating profusely every time I move. Fuck summer. I had many problems polishing my toenails, too. There was less than an ounce of nail polish remover left in the bottle, and Girl Child managed to lose her bottle, so I had to be very careful when using it to make sure I got all the old polish off on the first try. Then, of course, the color I wanted to use died, so I grabbed the OPI bottle of black that was in the hallway, only to discover that the (almost completely full) bottle was permanently stuck shut. J couldn't get it open when Girl Child asked him to earlier today, so he didn't even try when I asked him. S saved the day with a different bottle of black that has reddish undertones, which was actually pretty cool and closer to what I was originally going for.
Speaking of sweating, S thinks I might have a thyroid problem. Gahoogy-hoo. I really need to get to a doctor sometime soon and figure out what all my myriad problems are.
Wearing my glow in the dark Toy Story shirt to the theater today would have been way more awesome if I'd ever been in a room that was actually completely black. On the other hand, it is totally entertaining to get under the covers and look at my shirt. Yes, I am easily entertained, and I do find it hilarious when Sunshine chases (and catches) her tail.
So tonight, after the nail polishing, S and I watched the MTV Video Music Awards. What a waste of time that turned out to be. I was so disappointed. It was completely moronic, Lady Gaga was pretending to be a man again, which was really irritating, and the only good performance was Adele. She was stunning. Her nails were a little scary, though. 30 Seconds to Mars was nominated for Best Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing, which was why S wanted to watch it, but they didn't even show those on the broadcast. And they didn't win. I don't know who did, but that was pretty disappointing, especially since we got treated to a Lil Wayne performance before it immediately cut to the stupidest show I've ever had the misfortune to find myself watching in my life. It was called I Just Want My Pants Back. It was filmed very much in the style of another MTV show called Undressed, which was on in 1998, except with hipsters instead of college students. Snarky hipsters who don't behave like any normal person I've ever seen.
Basically, MTV is a travesty, and really needs to find a new name for themselves, since I haven't even heard of a music video being featured on MTV in at least five years. The whole thing was a train wreck. One part that was good was when some guy I've never heard of named Rick Ross was in his "dressing room" in a pre-recorded segment, and he was painting and pretending to be Bob Ross. That was absolutely hilarious. "Happy little tree... right there. Happy little trees."
Anyway. I hope I never have the misfortune to ever have to watch MTV again for the rest of my life. I don't care if that makes me old, I like quality music, and almost none of that was quality. It was pulp.
I have a lot of links. Because I am a lazy blogger. Crap.
Links Round-Up Ahoy! (Apparently it's a nautical edition.)
GameStop is a bunch of jackasses, and they'll be lucky if I ever set foot in one of their stores again after this stunt. I might apply for a job with them, though, but I will never shop there. I like my games unopened and unsullied, thanks.
Ron Paul finds FEMA unnecessary. Oh boy. I really do wonder which of the Republican candidates are going to terrify me into voting for Obama in the 2012 election, even though I was already pretty sure I was going to vote for him anyway unless someone truly awesome came along.
I'm disturbed by what some people label as unsafe. I don't think radio waves are harmful. I don't know why anyone ever would. And of course this crazy woman is homeschooling her kids! This is just as bad as that genderless baby. I wonder if they're friends?
Corporations suck. I want a job. Fuck the fucking shareholders.
I love Bad Translator.
You know, I want to make a Jayne Cobb hat. I would totally wear it. I do not, however, think it is a good idea to cosplay as a Jayne Cobb hat. What the hell.
Also, vote for my Rage Comic. I really want to make the front page.
(This blog title was so easy!! Haha!)
And now, I go to bed.
Monday, August 22, 2011
I'm Boring as Hell
I meant to write a post yesterday, but I ended up not bothering. I'm fine. The bites are still there, but the swelling has gone down significantly and I'm no longer in any pain at all. Well, now that I'm thinking about it, I recognize that my elbow still hurts, but I'm no longer in agony like I was the last time I posted. I didn't need to go to the hospital, either.
It's been pretty uneventful around here the last couple of days. Nothing of note has happened. I took some cute pictures of the Toddler, and I tried to get pictures of Girl Child for S because she wants them, but Girl Child was very obnoxiously refusing to allow me to photograph her, even going so far as to nearly smack my camera out of my hand when she tried to stick her hand in front of the lens. Less than six months ago, she loved having her picture taken. Honestly, she was probably being contrary just for the sake of being contrary.
I have links to write about, but I'm going to do it this afternoon when I don't feel like I'm going to fall asleep any second.
S just announced to the living room at large that WarGames is being remade. Really? How on earth does that make sense? I think all the creativity that used to exist with movies got used up at some point, so they're just doing remakes of everything now. This is why I don't bother going to the movies anymore except for the Harry Potter films. (Speaking of which, we really need to go see the last one before it leaves theaters, I'll be devastated if I don't get to see it in theaters.) I don't want to waste money on something I'm more likely than not to hate. I just looked at movies that are in theaters right now on Fandango, and the only one that looked vaguely interesting was Cowboys & Aliens, and I'm not excited enough about it to bother seeing it until it comes out on DVD.
I finished the book I was reading last night. It was Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts, which I've been waiting to read for about six months. It was pretty good, but fairly predictable for her stand-alone stories, which usually all follow the same formula. At least they have a plot, though, which I think is pretty good for the romance genre. The first sex scene wasn't until almost 200 pages in.
Honestly, I just don't have anything interesting to write about. McDonald's coffee is disgusting, I'm wearing a drink carrier on my head, and I have laundry to fold and wash. This is pretty much my whole day. But yay for some form of caffeine that isn't nasty Mountain Dew.
It's been pretty uneventful around here the last couple of days. Nothing of note has happened. I took some cute pictures of the Toddler, and I tried to get pictures of Girl Child for S because she wants them, but Girl Child was very obnoxiously refusing to allow me to photograph her, even going so far as to nearly smack my camera out of my hand when she tried to stick her hand in front of the lens. Less than six months ago, she loved having her picture taken. Honestly, she was probably being contrary just for the sake of being contrary.
I have links to write about, but I'm going to do it this afternoon when I don't feel like I'm going to fall asleep any second.
S just announced to the living room at large that WarGames is being remade. Really? How on earth does that make sense? I think all the creativity that used to exist with movies got used up at some point, so they're just doing remakes of everything now. This is why I don't bother going to the movies anymore except for the Harry Potter films. (Speaking of which, we really need to go see the last one before it leaves theaters, I'll be devastated if I don't get to see it in theaters.) I don't want to waste money on something I'm more likely than not to hate. I just looked at movies that are in theaters right now on Fandango, and the only one that looked vaguely interesting was Cowboys & Aliens, and I'm not excited enough about it to bother seeing it until it comes out on DVD.
I finished the book I was reading last night. It was Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts, which I've been waiting to read for about six months. It was pretty good, but fairly predictable for her stand-alone stories, which usually all follow the same formula. At least they have a plot, though, which I think is pretty good for the romance genre. The first sex scene wasn't until almost 200 pages in.
Honestly, I just don't have anything interesting to write about. McDonald's coffee is disgusting, I'm wearing a drink carrier on my head, and I have laundry to fold and wash. This is pretty much my whole day. But yay for some form of caffeine that isn't nasty Mountain Dew.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Power Outage, Storm Damage, and a Link Round-Up
I was going to write a second blog post last night before going to bed. There was going to be a link round-up and I was going to post some updated pictures of the doggies, because doggies are awesome. But, the weather decided that wasn't happening. We had some serious storms last night (one of my links is about that), and we lost power a little before midnight last night. It didn't come back on until about 6:30 this morning, so I'm just happy that Firefox saved my tabs, because I hadn't bookmarked my links or anything yet.
Anyway, about the storm - it was really cool to watch it come in before we realized how bad it was going to get. Both kids were in bed and I'd just finished up my evening session of Final Fantasy X (this is something like my sixth time playing that game, but will only be the third time I've actually finished it, if I do), and S suddenly said that a huge storm was coming in with straight-line winds and possibly hail. Of course, because we're weather people, we went outside to watch it come in. It was actually really awesome, there was a lot of cloud-to-cloud lightning in the storm, and I could see its progression by where the lightning was in relation to me - it started out only being north of us, and within five minutes was directly over us, and the wind went from almost completely calm to about 20 miles per hour, and it was just starting to rain a little bit when we suddenly had a huge 60 mile per hour gust. The wind was groaning; I was absolutely terrified that there was a tornado and that the sirens weren't going off like they're supposed to, but S told me that it was because of the way the wind was blowing through something. We had to run for the door to get back inside because we were getting a lot of debris, and we both got some small bits in our eyes.
A few minutes after we came in, the power went out momentarily before going out completely a couple minutes later. I started spazzing out because power outages freak me out (the only reason I was freaked by the storm was because I was terrified a tree was going to fall on the house), but S totally kept her head and just went and started lighting the million candles we have around the house, which gave us enough illumination to see. I imagine that's what it looked like in here when the original owners of this house lived here, back when it was a farm in the middle of nowhere and there wasn't electricity.
Of course, no event can happen without the dogs going completely nuts at some point, and they decided they were in love with my flashlight and chased me all over the house. They were really excited the whole time and both really wanted to go outside, but I wouldn't let them because I like having alive doggies.
While the power was out, S stepped outside to see why there were so many emergency vehicles around and to see if it was just our house that was out or if it was the whole block (it was), and I stepped out to see if I could see anything else and whether the dead tree branch in the front yard was still up or not, but my trip outside was abruptly aborted when a giant flash of lightning exploded right above me (it felt like it was, anyway), and then there was this massive clap of thunder immediately afterward while I was frantically scrambling with the door to get inside. I spent about half a second feeling sure I was about to die.
When S went to bed, I had to leave a few of the candles in the living room burning because I'm so afraid of power outages. I think it's because the house is too quiet and dark and I have a vivid imagination. Somehow, I managed to fall asleep, only to be woken by J coming home from work around 6:30, which was immediately followed by the power coming back on. I managed to stay mostly asleep until probably about 8:00, though, so I definitely got enough sleep to function, which was nice.
Anyway, S and I went to QuikTrip this morning, and on the way there, we'd seen a little bit of storm damage, so decided to drive around the neighborhood before going home and discovered houses that barely escaped being crushed by trees and one street was so blocked off by fallen trees that we had to turn around and go a different way, which led us past the neighborhood elementary school, which is right next to a little park. That park was seriously torn up. A giant walnut tree directly next to the playground had completely broken and landed in the middle of the playground equipment, breaking the only bench.
Later today, after J went to bed, S and I took the Toddler out to that park to get a look at all the damage. Clean-up crews had already done some work moving the branches out of there in the two hours since we'd seen it last, and while I was impressed with the speed and efficiency that they were showing, I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to come earlier to get pictures of the damage before it was touched. It was pretty impressive. I saw at least three uprooted trees, lots of torn up limbs, and just general debris. S and I are pretty sure that there was an undetected F1 or F2 tornado last night, judging by all the damage. I took many pictures. The Toddler got really excited on the playground equipment (it was safe to play on, miraculously) and decided his face was an excellent tool for descending stairs, which is also known as sliding down metal stairs with your face. That kid is seriously resilient: he didn't even cry; he was just really startled to find himself upside down on the stairs.
Anyway, we decided to leave the park when the crew that was removing all the trees came back from what I assume was their lunch break, and drove past a pretty impressive downed tree across a yard. It had missed the house by only a few feet. After I picked my book up from the library, which I've been waiting to read for six months, we drove by it again so we could get some pictures. It was truly epic. I know getting it out of there will be a bitch, but those people are incredibly lucky that their house is still standing.
After we got home, I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to chronicle some of the damage. I found two possible culprits for our power outage in this area last night - a huge tree on the main road we live on, about a block away from us, had fallen and hit the power pole, which is now leaning awkwardly over the street, and the lines are all screwed up. There was also a couple of awesome evergreen trees I always liked that were covered in thick vines on a side street, which broke and hit the lines there, too.
Okay, so now that I've dithered on for pages about the storm and the resulting damage, let's move on. I've been talking to E today, at least when I've been home, and she's decided that we must go on a vacation somewhere together. The lunatic wants to go to Europe, somewhere like Italy or France, where neither of us speak a word (or at least a complete sentence) of the native language, or somewhere ridiculously expensive like Australia. I suggested Iceland as a joke, and then Canada, because if we went to Victoria, we could also visit Seattle, which I don't think she's ever seen. She shot both down, so I suggested Alaska. She surprised me and greeted that idea with some enthusiasm. Of course, we'd have to go shopping to get supplies like hiking boots, so it'll have to be after I get a job, and oh god, I'd need about three extra memory cards and a whole case of damn batteries for my stupid camera. This is going to be awhile off, anyway, due to the me not having a job thing. But she's planning on coming back for a visit soon so we can truly hang out and spend some time together, instead of the short, fleeting visits we've been having for the last few years.
I tried to get in contact with the driver's license bureau again today, and once again, I was hung up on because they have no hold system. I'm so sick of that crap. I just want to know if I'm ever getting unsuspended or not, because I'd really like to get a driver's license so I can try to fix everything else. Seriously.
So, that's about all I have to say.
Links Round-Up
Apparently, Missouri got the worst of the storm last night, so I'm feeling very lucky to be living on this side of the state line, especially since we got our power back so quickly compared to the poor people on the Missouri side, some of which are still without power.
I doubt that this will ever actually work, unless some truly motivated, good-hearted people are very involved in the process, but it's a pretty cool idea.
Pottermore is now in full beta, due to be open to the public sometime in October. This article makes me wish desperately that I'd gotten into the beta. I'm very impatient to see what all the content will be like. Also, I'll never be bored again.
Anderson Cooper completely loses it on live television and giggles like a girl. Hilarious.
Animals with their heads stuck in things. Because. Just because.
Some of these things were some of my favorite things to eat when I was younger, and I'm very sad that they're gone. Seriously, bring Surge back, Coca-Cola!
(Also, this post had a ridiculous amount of technical difficulties!)
Anyway, about the storm - it was really cool to watch it come in before we realized how bad it was going to get. Both kids were in bed and I'd just finished up my evening session of Final Fantasy X (this is something like my sixth time playing that game, but will only be the third time I've actually finished it, if I do), and S suddenly said that a huge storm was coming in with straight-line winds and possibly hail. Of course, because we're weather people, we went outside to watch it come in. It was actually really awesome, there was a lot of cloud-to-cloud lightning in the storm, and I could see its progression by where the lightning was in relation to me - it started out only being north of us, and within five minutes was directly over us, and the wind went from almost completely calm to about 20 miles per hour, and it was just starting to rain a little bit when we suddenly had a huge 60 mile per hour gust. The wind was groaning; I was absolutely terrified that there was a tornado and that the sirens weren't going off like they're supposed to, but S told me that it was because of the way the wind was blowing through something. We had to run for the door to get back inside because we were getting a lot of debris, and we both got some small bits in our eyes.
A few minutes after we came in, the power went out momentarily before going out completely a couple minutes later. I started spazzing out because power outages freak me out (the only reason I was freaked by the storm was because I was terrified a tree was going to fall on the house), but S totally kept her head and just went and started lighting the million candles we have around the house, which gave us enough illumination to see. I imagine that's what it looked like in here when the original owners of this house lived here, back when it was a farm in the middle of nowhere and there wasn't electricity.
Of course, no event can happen without the dogs going completely nuts at some point, and they decided they were in love with my flashlight and chased me all over the house. They were really excited the whole time and both really wanted to go outside, but I wouldn't let them because I like having alive doggies.
While the power was out, S stepped outside to see why there were so many emergency vehicles around and to see if it was just our house that was out or if it was the whole block (it was), and I stepped out to see if I could see anything else and whether the dead tree branch in the front yard was still up or not, but my trip outside was abruptly aborted when a giant flash of lightning exploded right above me (it felt like it was, anyway), and then there was this massive clap of thunder immediately afterward while I was frantically scrambling with the door to get inside. I spent about half a second feeling sure I was about to die.
When S went to bed, I had to leave a few of the candles in the living room burning because I'm so afraid of power outages. I think it's because the house is too quiet and dark and I have a vivid imagination. Somehow, I managed to fall asleep, only to be woken by J coming home from work around 6:30, which was immediately followed by the power coming back on. I managed to stay mostly asleep until probably about 8:00, though, so I definitely got enough sleep to function, which was nice.
Anyway, S and I went to QuikTrip this morning, and on the way there, we'd seen a little bit of storm damage, so decided to drive around the neighborhood before going home and discovered houses that barely escaped being crushed by trees and one street was so blocked off by fallen trees that we had to turn around and go a different way, which led us past the neighborhood elementary school, which is right next to a little park. That park was seriously torn up. A giant walnut tree directly next to the playground had completely broken and landed in the middle of the playground equipment, breaking the only bench.
Later today, after J went to bed, S and I took the Toddler out to that park to get a look at all the damage. Clean-up crews had already done some work moving the branches out of there in the two hours since we'd seen it last, and while I was impressed with the speed and efficiency that they were showing, I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to come earlier to get pictures of the damage before it was touched. It was pretty impressive. I saw at least three uprooted trees, lots of torn up limbs, and just general debris. S and I are pretty sure that there was an undetected F1 or F2 tornado last night, judging by all the damage. I took many pictures. The Toddler got really excited on the playground equipment (it was safe to play on, miraculously) and decided his face was an excellent tool for descending stairs, which is also known as sliding down metal stairs with your face. That kid is seriously resilient: he didn't even cry; he was just really startled to find himself upside down on the stairs.
Anyway, we decided to leave the park when the crew that was removing all the trees came back from what I assume was their lunch break, and drove past a pretty impressive downed tree across a yard. It had missed the house by only a few feet. After I picked my book up from the library, which I've been waiting to read for six months, we drove by it again so we could get some pictures. It was truly epic. I know getting it out of there will be a bitch, but those people are incredibly lucky that their house is still standing.
After we got home, I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to chronicle some of the damage. I found two possible culprits for our power outage in this area last night - a huge tree on the main road we live on, about a block away from us, had fallen and hit the power pole, which is now leaning awkwardly over the street, and the lines are all screwed up. There was also a couple of awesome evergreen trees I always liked that were covered in thick vines on a side street, which broke and hit the lines there, too.
Storm Damage Photos
(Click to enlarge)
 |
| This was the tree in the park next to the playground. |
 |
| These people got very lucky. |
 |
| This was the tree that took out our power last night. |
 |
| I really liked these trees and am sad about how damaged they are now. |
Okay, so now that I've dithered on for pages about the storm and the resulting damage, let's move on. I've been talking to E today, at least when I've been home, and she's decided that we must go on a vacation somewhere together. The lunatic wants to go to Europe, somewhere like Italy or France, where neither of us speak a word (or at least a complete sentence) of the native language, or somewhere ridiculously expensive like Australia. I suggested Iceland as a joke, and then Canada, because if we went to Victoria, we could also visit Seattle, which I don't think she's ever seen. She shot both down, so I suggested Alaska. She surprised me and greeted that idea with some enthusiasm. Of course, we'd have to go shopping to get supplies like hiking boots, so it'll have to be after I get a job, and oh god, I'd need about three extra memory cards and a whole case of damn batteries for my stupid camera. This is going to be awhile off, anyway, due to the me not having a job thing. But she's planning on coming back for a visit soon so we can truly hang out and spend some time together, instead of the short, fleeting visits we've been having for the last few years.
I tried to get in contact with the driver's license bureau again today, and once again, I was hung up on because they have no hold system. I'm so sick of that crap. I just want to know if I'm ever getting unsuspended or not, because I'd really like to get a driver's license so I can try to fix everything else. Seriously.
So, that's about all I have to say.
Links Round-Up
Apparently, Missouri got the worst of the storm last night, so I'm feeling very lucky to be living on this side of the state line, especially since we got our power back so quickly compared to the poor people on the Missouri side, some of which are still without power.
I doubt that this will ever actually work, unless some truly motivated, good-hearted people are very involved in the process, but it's a pretty cool idea.
Pottermore is now in full beta, due to be open to the public sometime in October. This article makes me wish desperately that I'd gotten into the beta. I'm very impatient to see what all the content will be like. Also, I'll never be bored again.
Anderson Cooper completely loses it on live television and giggles like a girl. Hilarious.
Animals with their heads stuck in things. Because. Just because.
Some of these things were some of my favorite things to eat when I was younger, and I'm very sad that they're gone. Seriously, bring Surge back, Coca-Cola!
(Also, this post had a ridiculous amount of technical difficulties!)
Friday, July 29, 2011
My Very First Link Round-Up!
This is like a milestone! Or a day when I should get an award! I'm starting the foray into semi-mainstream blogging. I think. Maybe. Anyway.
I'm finding more and more that I have a lot of links I want to share with people, and I generally don't post them on social networks because I expect most people not to be terribly interested in what I post on Facebook.
Here, though, it's a bit different. This is my blog, so if you're here reading this, you've either got an interest in me personally or find me interesting (*dies laughing*), or you reached me while using Google to find something else (which has happened a few times now).
I digress. I'm going to start posting links, possibly daily, possibly a few times a week or once a week. I don't know. I'll start writing some form of title on them once I have some idea of how often it is going to occur.
Also, after this one, there will not be nearly as much pointless explanation before the good stuff.
Link Round-Up
Alec Baldwin wrote a piece for the Huffington Post about the national debt and all the problems with the debt ceiling and the defecit that I found interesting and accurate. I think I agree with him.
A really dumb man from New Jersey didn't bother to turn off the water for his automatic sprinkler system when winter came, and then was astonished to find that he would have to pay the water bill after the pipe froze and burst.
The school board of a small town near Springfield, Missouri has unanimously voted to ban Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five from the shelves of the schools because it is "biblically contrary". The complaint that brought the issue before the board came from a man whose children are homeschooled. Goddammit.
This article from Mother Jones started the abortion rights rant I was writing, which morphed into the sex education rant in my last post.
GraphJam very accurately portrays what household objects look like to a toddler.
The Bloggess made me want a giant metal chicken sculpture. Which I already posted about, but I forgot, so here's a link to the specific post.
And more No 'Poo articles, all of which are at least a year old:
NPR
MSNBC
A woman's personal experience with going No 'Poo.
So far, most of the articles I've found that talk about it negatively are people who haven't done their research and are horrified by how their hair will feel if they don't shampoo daily, not realizing that it eventually balances out and turns out fine for most people, from everything I've read so far.
I don't really have anything else of import to add except that I actually cooked for once last night and it turned out fabulously. I'll post a real post about it tomorrow, since I'm making it again when I feel less like a murdered migrane. For now, it's time to start getting ready for bed.
I'm finding more and more that I have a lot of links I want to share with people, and I generally don't post them on social networks because I expect most people not to be terribly interested in what I post on Facebook.
Here, though, it's a bit different. This is my blog, so if you're here reading this, you've either got an interest in me personally or find me interesting (*dies laughing*), or you reached me while using Google to find something else (which has happened a few times now).
I digress. I'm going to start posting links, possibly daily, possibly a few times a week or once a week. I don't know. I'll start writing some form of title on them once I have some idea of how often it is going to occur.
Also, after this one, there will not be nearly as much pointless explanation before the good stuff.
Link Round-Up
Alec Baldwin wrote a piece for the Huffington Post about the national debt and all the problems with the debt ceiling and the defecit that I found interesting and accurate. I think I agree with him.
A really dumb man from New Jersey didn't bother to turn off the water for his automatic sprinkler system when winter came, and then was astonished to find that he would have to pay the water bill after the pipe froze and burst.
The school board of a small town near Springfield, Missouri has unanimously voted to ban Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five from the shelves of the schools because it is "biblically contrary". The complaint that brought the issue before the board came from a man whose children are homeschooled. Goddammit.
This article from Mother Jones started the abortion rights rant I was writing, which morphed into the sex education rant in my last post.
GraphJam very accurately portrays what household objects look like to a toddler.
The Bloggess made me want a giant metal chicken sculpture. Which I already posted about, but I forgot, so here's a link to the specific post.
And more No 'Poo articles, all of which are at least a year old:
NPR
MSNBC
A woman's personal experience with going No 'Poo.
So far, most of the articles I've found that talk about it negatively are people who haven't done their research and are horrified by how their hair will feel if they don't shampoo daily, not realizing that it eventually balances out and turns out fine for most people, from everything I've read so far.
I don't really have anything else of import to add except that I actually cooked for once last night and it turned out fabulously. I'll post a real post about it tomorrow, since I'm making it again when I feel less like a murdered migrane. For now, it's time to start getting ready for bed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)