So I figured it's probably safe at this point to post this. I don't think my mother still has the link (or I hope not), so I feel it's safe enough to point anyone who sees this in the direction of the new blog. I created a new blog and abandoned this one to escape my mother in every aspect of my life that I could possibly manage. I got tired of being verbally abused on every social media site I used. (I also completely deleted my old Facebook and sent her the sim card to my old cell phone and never gave her my new address when I moved.)
Anyway, that's why this blog stopped being updated. And life got ridiculously busy over the course of the last couple years. And I suck and don't write as much as I'd like. Here's the link to the new blog:
http://thecrochetingmeteorologist.blogspot.com/
Showing posts with label linkage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label linkage. Show all posts
Friday, July 18, 2014
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.
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, September 4, 2011
My Face May Explode Soon
Allergy season has kicked in with full force. I can barely breathe and everything tastes horrible. I thought I was getting sick yesterday, but now that the weather has finally cooled down, I am merely unable to breathe and not hot and itchy. I am probably going to start sleeping between 9 and 16 hours a day, too, if last year's trends are anything to go by. I spent most of August and September last year asleep.
Anyway, so I'm not terribly able to keep up anything like a posting schedule, as I'm generally in a hazy stupor. So I'm doing a lot of reading, which has caused me to accumulate a large number of links. So there's going to be a rather impressive link round-up at the end of this post.
Let's see, a whole fat lot of nothing has been happening this week. I did update my OkCupid account yesterday, but that doesn't mean anything, as I'm not terribly sure I'm interested in using it. I mostly updated it because I had nothing else to do, and it kept me briefly entertained. Honestly, after that last guy from there, I'm not entirely sure I trust OkCupid - there seem to be a disproportionately large quantity of assholes on the site. In any case, that's what I spent a good bit of yesterday doing.
It finally rained yesterday, bringing tolerable temperatures to the area, which is very nice. I went and stood outside in the rain for awhile, and after it rained, Girl Child went outside to mess around and we found some snails, so I took a whole bunch of pictures of her holding them so S would finally have some more recent photos of her. I also got some photos that are of just the snails and her hands, and got permission from S to post one, so here's a picture of a tiny snail on Girl Child's hand:
There's going to be a detailed photo of the snail itself on the Photo Gallery page, if there's any interest to see extreme snail-y detail.
Anyway. Nothing exciting is happening. I washed my hair last night before going to bed and woke up with a giant tangled frizzy fluffball. I don't know how this happens. Hermione keeps trying to possess me, but all she manages to get to stick is her damn hair. Well, she can keep her hair! Take it back! Oh my god. I've tried using the boar bristle brush to distribute the sebum to the ends of my hair in the hope that that would be helpful, but all that did was make it stand on end more. I look like I've been electrocuted!
So, in other news, I received a call from E the other day. I hope she doesn't mind me posting about this, but I don't think anyone she knows reads this blog, especially since her mother has me hidden from her news feed on Facebook because of my prodigious use of the word "fuck". But I digress.
E was crying when she called me. I already knew about this at the time that I posted about going to Topeka, but hadn't mentioned it yet, but since it's now a thing... Anyway, E had her doctor do the genetic test for breast cancer. I don't know if he did both BRCA1 and BRCA2, but she is at risk - most of her mother's female relatives have had it by the time they were 50, including her mother, so I can see why she'd want to know, but at the same time, it's rather worrisome, because it makes me wonder if her insurance company will cover treatment if she develops it at some point in the next 50 years, since American insurance companies will do that to you.
Anyway, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do. I feel for her, but am I supposed to go on acting like everything will be fine? That's been my approach so far, and I think it's helping her. Maybe. I know I don't intend to treat her like she's going to die, since her chances range from 56% to 87% of her contracting it by the time she's 70. Maybe she won't get it until she's 67 or something. I know I'm not going to treat her like a time bomb, or in any other way that is different from how I have treated her for the past 15 years. Even if she does develop cancer when she's 35, she's still the person she was before, not a disease.
Well, that was depressing.
In other things for me to worry about with E, she and her husband have agreed to divorce. He's also stopped saying that he wants to take her to court, because most of the belongings they have were acquired by E before the marriage, and all that would happen would be that he would have a lot less stuff than before. I think this is a fairly sensible course of action, and a lot better than the previously childish behavior he was displaying when E first made it apparent that she wanted a divorce. However, this does not absolve his previous behavior, and I am not even slightly impressed by him. I hope, if she ever gets married again, that she marries an actual adult next time, and not a man-child. At least that's good news, sort of. I mean, getting divorced sucks, but at least she's not sentencing herself to a lifetime of misery instead of facing and dealing with the issue.
I tried to call her this morning, but she didn't answer the phone, either because she was busy or because she didn't recognize the number, since I called from the house phone and not my cell phone. She called while I was writing this post and we talked for a very long time about lots of different things. It was nice, we haven't done that in a long time.
I've been amusing myself by pressing on my sinuses in my cheeks, because it makes my nose feel like it's being strangled. It's kind of a cool sensation, actually. I imagine that's weird.
I've allowed myself to fall behind on the laundry, mostly due to the lethargy that comes with allergies and sleep deprivation. This sucks, but hopefully I'll feel a little better in a few days and will be able to keep up with it again. Please.
I think I'm going to take a walk today, since it's so nice out. That'll be different.
I recently took photos of the giant spider that lives right outside the living room window eating a cicada. It's actually pretty cool, and if I wasn't terrified of the spider, I'd go outside in the early mornings and get pictures of it from that angle, but I'm simply not able to do that. That layer of glass between us is the only thing that allows me to photograph it at all. It is a pretty interesting thing to observe, though. Also, S says that it's just an orb weaver, which is a pretty common spider. According to her. Because I have no idea. I know what black widows look like, and I can sometimes identify brown recluse spiders, and jumping spiders because they're easy, but the rest are "OMG KILL IT" and tarantulas. Except for those spiders that eat birds in Australia. Those make me want to move to a space station permanently. Anyway, spider picture.
Anyway, I have links. I have about 20, actually, due to the fact that I don't stop reading things like Fark just because I haven't written a blog post. Also, my head feels like a water balloon from the incredible amount of sinus pressure I'm developing at an exponential rate.
Links Round-Up
I'm starting with the saddest stuff first today, so there'll be less sad at the end.
There are a lot of articles about 9/11 lately, since the 10th anniversary is coming up, and one of them was about the photographer who took the famous "Falling Man" picture, and how everything surrounding the photo and that day have affected him, and it also talks about how powerful the image is. That's one of the more heartbreaking photos I've seen from September 11th. The explosions, the people running in the streets, none of that is as gut-wrenching as looking at that photograph.
In addition to the article about the Falling Man photograph, I also found an article about surviving twins from the attacks - 46 people who were twins died, and their surviving siblings have been trying to figure out how to go on with their lives after suddenly becoming an "I" instead of a "we".
Apparently a whole lot of people would rather feel safe than have their rights. That's really scary. I will never trade my rights for more security. That's how things like the Patriot Act happen.
Why, why would someone have to go to jail for overdue library books? I can't imagine what the motivation is and I'm horrified that this happened. What's next? The death penalty if you lose a few over the course of your patronage at the library? This is why our libraries are disappearing.
This guy is seriously fucked up. Also, this makes me never want to own a computer with a webcam again. I wonder if the government has the ability to do that. That's a seriously scary thought.
There's a 10 year old child who lives in a small town and has identified as female since toddlerhood, despite being biologically male. Her parents, when they talk about their children, say they have two daughters, and she is allowed to dress how she pleases and decorate her bedroom in a feminine way, as well. The only dissenter is her grandfather. I think she's very lucky, and I wish her all the best in her future.
Some bigoted asshole thinks it might be psychologically damaging for children to witness diversity being welcomed on national television, and advises against allowing any children to watch Chaz Bono (Cher's son) on Dancing With The Stars. Also, how is seeing a transgendered person on television going to affect the sexual/personal identity of any children or adolescents watching the show? I think it's great that it's not being treated as a thing by the show, as it's just one of many identities a person can have. Of course this article is from Fox News.
I think it's pretty cool that advertisers are starting to be more diverse when showing commercials for their products. K-Y has a commercial following their current trend of couples talking, but showing a lesbian couple this time. It's not any different at all from any of their commercials featuring heterosexual couples, and I think that's wonderful. Maybe things will be okay and acceptance is in store for the LGBT community. Also, the slideshow of commercials on this article are worth watching, particularly the John Hancock Financial Services commercial, which made me cry.
I found a very old article about Lane Bryant while researching the origins of the company a few days ago, talking about the controversy surrounding a lingerie ad that was supposed to be aired during prime-time slots, alongside very similar Victoria's Secret ads. But of course, the networks had a problem with the Lane Bryant ad, what with the very healthy, voluptuous, sexy woman in the commercial, while the walking clothes hangers in the Victoria's Secret spots received no criticism at all. Obviously we're having a problem here figuring out what is sexy. Personally, I do not think a woman who has protruding hip bones, ribs, shoulders, and everything else is a sexy person. Anorexia is not hot. My personal, ultimate goal for the weight loss I'd like to achieve is to look like that Lane Bryant model. Because shit. She is HOT. Oh my god.
I'm voting for Obama this election, and this is why. At least he's not trying to take away more of my rights. This terrifies the hell out of me. I'm not sure what candidates the other parties have, but because everyone is so complacent in this country, there will never be any real change to the world because no one cares enough to make it happen or elect someone that might be able to fix this mess. I really do think we need a complete overhaul of our government system, this is ridiculous. I want to only elect people who pay attention to the needs and wants of the people they're supposed to be representing, or maybe we should just get rid of Congress altogether so that way the general public can vote on every law that goes through and whether it should be a law or not. I don't know. I'm not really educated enough to figure out what the solution to this would be, but I don't think it has anything to do with keeping the same corrupt, self-serving rich assholes in office. In any case, I want to keep my reproductive rights, so none of the people that are Republican candidates for president are getting my vote. I just find it hilarious that this is what Republican has come to mean, because they used to be the polar opposite of this.
Also, speaking of reproductive rights, a judge in Texas blocked parts of a new abortion law that was ready to take effect on September 1. The law would have forced every woman who wanted an abortion to view a sonogram of her fetus/embryo and listen to its heartbeat, without exception for a woman who was the victim of rape or incest. If she was, and did not wish to view a sonogram (duh), she would have to certify in writing exactly why she didn't want to do that. I would imagine that anyone who was having an abortion would probably not want to view a sonogram. Apparently it's more important to protect the rights of a cluster of cells than the woman incubating them these days, and honestly, I don't see how that cluster of cells is more important that my wants. Once it becomes a viable living baby, we'll talk. Also, the Justice Department is starting to crack down on abortion protesters harassing women who are entering the clinics. I love how abortion protesters don't even think for a second that a woman might go into a Planned Parenthood to get a pap smear, or renew her birth control prescription, or to get free condoms, or any of the other things that happen at Planned Parenthood that have nothing to do with an abortion. For fuck's sake, people, get a grip and stop this insanity. It is no one's business but the individual's if they want an abortion. Back the hell off.
Some assholes decided to teach a female smoker a "lesson". Did you know that cigarettes actually release less harmful chemicals and gases into the air than, say, cars? And the truck in the video obviously had some illegal modifications done to it. I hope that woman called the cops or something, because she definitely did not deserve that. This is why I am against anti-smoking laws. Who cares if they are smoking? I think it's fine if people are smoking outside of public gathering places. I'm still working on quitting, so I can speak from the perspective of a smoker. I have never been comfortable smoking in bars and restaurants that allow it, preferring to go outside. I'm always mindful of blowing the smoke away from others as much as possible. I try to be as fucking considerate as possible, but these guys? If they did that shit to me, I'd hunt them down and blow an entire pack's worth of smoke directly into their eyeballs. And then kick them in their balls. Fuck you, anonymous truck-driving assholes.
I really like wildlife photography. It's not something that I sit around and talk about at length or anything, because that's just not very interesting, but sometimes there are photographs that just grab you and scream to be talked about. These photos of lions are some of that kind of photograph. The facial expressions are just incredible. Lions are beautiful.
Also, desert sunset photos. Because this particular jet trail looks like a tornado, and these are beautiful photographs.
I really like the concept of store pets. It's just something that's always appealed to me, and here is a case of a cat that is 19 years old and has lived in a hardware store for 15 years. That is so awesome.
This is what happens when you get bored and have a colicky baby. Pretty cute, actually.
I think if more companies did this, the world would be more awesome. This is seriously awesome.
There was a tree in Brooklyn called "The Vagina Tree" because it, well, looked like a vagina. Hurricane Irene decided this would never do and knocked it down. Poor Vagina Tree.
Of course someone would be offended by the most awesome cutting board in the history of everything ever, but I'm not, because it's pretty freaking terrific. S thinks so, too. Also, I discovered that ThinkGeek already has them in their inventory yesterday morning, so I am now biding my time until I can afford to completely furnish my kitchen with ThinkGeek merchandise.
And now I'm finally done with this post, which took about four hours, due to having a very long phone call when I was halfway done.
Anyway, so I'm not terribly able to keep up anything like a posting schedule, as I'm generally in a hazy stupor. So I'm doing a lot of reading, which has caused me to accumulate a large number of links. So there's going to be a rather impressive link round-up at the end of this post.
Let's see, a whole fat lot of nothing has been happening this week. I did update my OkCupid account yesterday, but that doesn't mean anything, as I'm not terribly sure I'm interested in using it. I mostly updated it because I had nothing else to do, and it kept me briefly entertained. Honestly, after that last guy from there, I'm not entirely sure I trust OkCupid - there seem to be a disproportionately large quantity of assholes on the site. In any case, that's what I spent a good bit of yesterday doing.
It finally rained yesterday, bringing tolerable temperatures to the area, which is very nice. I went and stood outside in the rain for awhile, and after it rained, Girl Child went outside to mess around and we found some snails, so I took a whole bunch of pictures of her holding them so S would finally have some more recent photos of her. I also got some photos that are of just the snails and her hands, and got permission from S to post one, so here's a picture of a tiny snail on Girl Child's hand:
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| Woo for snails! I am so glad she didn't try to make me touch it. |
There's going to be a detailed photo of the snail itself on the Photo Gallery page, if there's any interest to see extreme snail-y detail.
Anyway. Nothing exciting is happening. I washed my hair last night before going to bed and woke up with a giant tangled frizzy fluffball. I don't know how this happens. Hermione keeps trying to possess me, but all she manages to get to stick is her damn hair. Well, she can keep her hair! Take it back! Oh my god. I've tried using the boar bristle brush to distribute the sebum to the ends of my hair in the hope that that would be helpful, but all that did was make it stand on end more. I look like I've been electrocuted!
So, in other news, I received a call from E the other day. I hope she doesn't mind me posting about this, but I don't think anyone she knows reads this blog, especially since her mother has me hidden from her news feed on Facebook because of my prodigious use of the word "fuck". But I digress.
E was crying when she called me. I already knew about this at the time that I posted about going to Topeka, but hadn't mentioned it yet, but since it's now a thing... Anyway, E had her doctor do the genetic test for breast cancer. I don't know if he did both BRCA1 and BRCA2, but she is at risk - most of her mother's female relatives have had it by the time they were 50, including her mother, so I can see why she'd want to know, but at the same time, it's rather worrisome, because it makes me wonder if her insurance company will cover treatment if she develops it at some point in the next 50 years, since American insurance companies will do that to you.
Anyway, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do. I feel for her, but am I supposed to go on acting like everything will be fine? That's been my approach so far, and I think it's helping her. Maybe. I know I don't intend to treat her like she's going to die, since her chances range from 56% to 87% of her contracting it by the time she's 70. Maybe she won't get it until she's 67 or something. I know I'm not going to treat her like a time bomb, or in any other way that is different from how I have treated her for the past 15 years. Even if she does develop cancer when she's 35, she's still the person she was before, not a disease.
Well, that was depressing.
In other things for me to worry about with E, she and her husband have agreed to divorce. He's also stopped saying that he wants to take her to court, because most of the belongings they have were acquired by E before the marriage, and all that would happen would be that he would have a lot less stuff than before. I think this is a fairly sensible course of action, and a lot better than the previously childish behavior he was displaying when E first made it apparent that she wanted a divorce. However, this does not absolve his previous behavior, and I am not even slightly impressed by him. I hope, if she ever gets married again, that she marries an actual adult next time, and not a man-child. At least that's good news, sort of. I mean, getting divorced sucks, but at least she's not sentencing herself to a lifetime of misery instead of facing and dealing with the issue.
I tried to call her this morning, but she didn't answer the phone, either because she was busy or because she didn't recognize the number, since I called from the house phone and not my cell phone. She called while I was writing this post and we talked for a very long time about lots of different things. It was nice, we haven't done that in a long time.
I've been amusing myself by pressing on my sinuses in my cheeks, because it makes my nose feel like it's being strangled. It's kind of a cool sensation, actually. I imagine that's weird.
I've allowed myself to fall behind on the laundry, mostly due to the lethargy that comes with allergies and sleep deprivation. This sucks, but hopefully I'll feel a little better in a few days and will be able to keep up with it again. Please.
I think I'm going to take a walk today, since it's so nice out. That'll be different.
I recently took photos of the giant spider that lives right outside the living room window eating a cicada. It's actually pretty cool, and if I wasn't terrified of the spider, I'd go outside in the early mornings and get pictures of it from that angle, but I'm simply not able to do that. That layer of glass between us is the only thing that allows me to photograph it at all. It is a pretty interesting thing to observe, though. Also, S says that it's just an orb weaver, which is a pretty common spider. According to her. Because I have no idea. I know what black widows look like, and I can sometimes identify brown recluse spiders, and jumping spiders because they're easy, but the rest are "OMG KILL IT" and tarantulas. Except for those spiders that eat birds in Australia. Those make me want to move to a space station permanently. Anyway, spider picture.
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| "Nom nom nom!" says the spider. "Aaaarghblbaaahsghghff!" says the cicada. |
Anyway, I have links. I have about 20, actually, due to the fact that I don't stop reading things like Fark just because I haven't written a blog post. Also, my head feels like a water balloon from the incredible amount of sinus pressure I'm developing at an exponential rate.
Links Round-Up
I'm starting with the saddest stuff first today, so there'll be less sad at the end.
There are a lot of articles about 9/11 lately, since the 10th anniversary is coming up, and one of them was about the photographer who took the famous "Falling Man" picture, and how everything surrounding the photo and that day have affected him, and it also talks about how powerful the image is. That's one of the more heartbreaking photos I've seen from September 11th. The explosions, the people running in the streets, none of that is as gut-wrenching as looking at that photograph.
In addition to the article about the Falling Man photograph, I also found an article about surviving twins from the attacks - 46 people who were twins died, and their surviving siblings have been trying to figure out how to go on with their lives after suddenly becoming an "I" instead of a "we".
Apparently a whole lot of people would rather feel safe than have their rights. That's really scary. I will never trade my rights for more security. That's how things like the Patriot Act happen.
Why, why would someone have to go to jail for overdue library books? I can't imagine what the motivation is and I'm horrified that this happened. What's next? The death penalty if you lose a few over the course of your patronage at the library? This is why our libraries are disappearing.
This guy is seriously fucked up. Also, this makes me never want to own a computer with a webcam again. I wonder if the government has the ability to do that. That's a seriously scary thought.
There's a 10 year old child who lives in a small town and has identified as female since toddlerhood, despite being biologically male. Her parents, when they talk about their children, say they have two daughters, and she is allowed to dress how she pleases and decorate her bedroom in a feminine way, as well. The only dissenter is her grandfather. I think she's very lucky, and I wish her all the best in her future.
Some bigoted asshole thinks it might be psychologically damaging for children to witness diversity being welcomed on national television, and advises against allowing any children to watch Chaz Bono (Cher's son) on Dancing With The Stars. Also, how is seeing a transgendered person on television going to affect the sexual/personal identity of any children or adolescents watching the show? I think it's great that it's not being treated as a thing by the show, as it's just one of many identities a person can have. Of course this article is from Fox News.
I think it's pretty cool that advertisers are starting to be more diverse when showing commercials for their products. K-Y has a commercial following their current trend of couples talking, but showing a lesbian couple this time. It's not any different at all from any of their commercials featuring heterosexual couples, and I think that's wonderful. Maybe things will be okay and acceptance is in store for the LGBT community. Also, the slideshow of commercials on this article are worth watching, particularly the John Hancock Financial Services commercial, which made me cry.
I found a very old article about Lane Bryant while researching the origins of the company a few days ago, talking about the controversy surrounding a lingerie ad that was supposed to be aired during prime-time slots, alongside very similar Victoria's Secret ads. But of course, the networks had a problem with the Lane Bryant ad, what with the very healthy, voluptuous, sexy woman in the commercial, while the walking clothes hangers in the Victoria's Secret spots received no criticism at all. Obviously we're having a problem here figuring out what is sexy. Personally, I do not think a woman who has protruding hip bones, ribs, shoulders, and everything else is a sexy person. Anorexia is not hot. My personal, ultimate goal for the weight loss I'd like to achieve is to look like that Lane Bryant model. Because shit. She is HOT. Oh my god.
I'm voting for Obama this election, and this is why. At least he's not trying to take away more of my rights. This terrifies the hell out of me. I'm not sure what candidates the other parties have, but because everyone is so complacent in this country, there will never be any real change to the world because no one cares enough to make it happen or elect someone that might be able to fix this mess. I really do think we need a complete overhaul of our government system, this is ridiculous. I want to only elect people who pay attention to the needs and wants of the people they're supposed to be representing, or maybe we should just get rid of Congress altogether so that way the general public can vote on every law that goes through and whether it should be a law or not. I don't know. I'm not really educated enough to figure out what the solution to this would be, but I don't think it has anything to do with keeping the same corrupt, self-serving rich assholes in office. In any case, I want to keep my reproductive rights, so none of the people that are Republican candidates for president are getting my vote. I just find it hilarious that this is what Republican has come to mean, because they used to be the polar opposite of this.
Also, speaking of reproductive rights, a judge in Texas blocked parts of a new abortion law that was ready to take effect on September 1. The law would have forced every woman who wanted an abortion to view a sonogram of her fetus/embryo and listen to its heartbeat, without exception for a woman who was the victim of rape or incest. If she was, and did not wish to view a sonogram (duh), she would have to certify in writing exactly why she didn't want to do that. I would imagine that anyone who was having an abortion would probably not want to view a sonogram. Apparently it's more important to protect the rights of a cluster of cells than the woman incubating them these days, and honestly, I don't see how that cluster of cells is more important that my wants. Once it becomes a viable living baby, we'll talk. Also, the Justice Department is starting to crack down on abortion protesters harassing women who are entering the clinics. I love how abortion protesters don't even think for a second that a woman might go into a Planned Parenthood to get a pap smear, or renew her birth control prescription, or to get free condoms, or any of the other things that happen at Planned Parenthood that have nothing to do with an abortion. For fuck's sake, people, get a grip and stop this insanity. It is no one's business but the individual's if they want an abortion. Back the hell off.
Some assholes decided to teach a female smoker a "lesson". Did you know that cigarettes actually release less harmful chemicals and gases into the air than, say, cars? And the truck in the video obviously had some illegal modifications done to it. I hope that woman called the cops or something, because she definitely did not deserve that. This is why I am against anti-smoking laws. Who cares if they are smoking? I think it's fine if people are smoking outside of public gathering places. I'm still working on quitting, so I can speak from the perspective of a smoker. I have never been comfortable smoking in bars and restaurants that allow it, preferring to go outside. I'm always mindful of blowing the smoke away from others as much as possible. I try to be as fucking considerate as possible, but these guys? If they did that shit to me, I'd hunt them down and blow an entire pack's worth of smoke directly into their eyeballs. And then kick them in their balls. Fuck you, anonymous truck-driving assholes.
I really like wildlife photography. It's not something that I sit around and talk about at length or anything, because that's just not very interesting, but sometimes there are photographs that just grab you and scream to be talked about. These photos of lions are some of that kind of photograph. The facial expressions are just incredible. Lions are beautiful.
Also, desert sunset photos. Because this particular jet trail looks like a tornado, and these are beautiful photographs.
I really like the concept of store pets. It's just something that's always appealed to me, and here is a case of a cat that is 19 years old and has lived in a hardware store for 15 years. That is so awesome.
This is what happens when you get bored and have a colicky baby. Pretty cute, actually.
I think if more companies did this, the world would be more awesome. This is seriously awesome.
There was a tree in Brooklyn called "The Vagina Tree" because it, well, looked like a vagina. Hurricane Irene decided this would never do and knocked it down. Poor Vagina Tree.
Of course someone would be offended by the most awesome cutting board in the history of everything ever, but I'm not, because it's pretty freaking terrific. S thinks so, too. Also, I discovered that ThinkGeek already has them in their inventory yesterday morning, so I am now biding my time until I can afford to completely furnish my kitchen with ThinkGeek merchandise.
And now I'm finally done with this post, which took about four hours, due to having a very long phone call when I was halfway done.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Epic Mall Trip with Clarification
Okay, so now that I'm not all goofy on a single Benadryl, I figured I'd actually write about yesterday in a way that made more sense than yesterday's post. If I can manage to type like a human, I'm failing today.
Anyway, yesterday morning, we went out to go to the mall to pick up the bras. As I said yesterday, mine didn't fit, which was pretty disappointing. I wound up exchanging it for one that fit really well that they had in stock in the store, because they didn't have the color I wanted in the size I needed at all, not even online. And it really was the most excellent shade of magenta. Of course, it wound up taking almost an hour to get all of that sorted out, because we had to first find the right size, and then I ended up with the same saleslady who sold me the jeans I bought there not too long ago, and she was awful. I started with the awesome manager, but was unfortunate enough to end up with the saleslady again. She was inappropriate and pushy and just like last time, insisted that I sign up for a Lane Bryant card, to "save" money. Thing is, she bugged me about it so much last time that I gave in and let her sign me up, and was still declined, and she still sold my jeans for the wrong price. Anyway, this time she decided to do the return separately from purchasing the correct size, I assume so she could get the commission, but she fucked me over by doing that, because when she returned it, it went back to my card, but that wasn't going to post right away because, you know, bank, and I didn't have any money left. So at first, it looked like I wasn't going to leave with a bra, and I was just getting angrier and angrier with her because she was a flaming idiot, and then the manager came over and fixed it by voiding the return so it never happened, and then processing it as an even exchange instead. The saleslady was also rude when she thought I was ordering it from online to be delivered to my house (when we were checking to see if they had it in the color I wanted online), but when we discovered they had the same color options online as in the store, I wound up with one from the store, and she was nicer after that. So the dumb bitch was just after a commission, but apparently doesn't understand that if you want repeat customers, you can't only care about the commission. Also, she was snarky again when the manager fixed it so it was an even exchange. Not the best shopping experience in the world. She should really learn that giving the best customer service experience possible is much more important than getting her commission.
Anyway, I got home, took photos (including a photo for ThinkGeek of my Firefly shirt), and decided I missed eating bananas. So I made a peanut butter and banana sandwich with a hilarious amount of peanut butter after taking a single Benadryl about 20 minutes before I started eating. Even with the Benadryl in my system, my tongue still swelled a little, and the roof of my mouth was a bit itchy, but it was nothing compared to how it would have been had I not taken the Benadryl. This also resulted in yesterday's rather special blog post.
Also, as briefly mentioned yesterday, I looked really good. I even took pictures. I even changed my Facebook and Google+ profile pictures to pictures of my face for the first time in months. (Well, first time ever for Google+.) Also, the hat I made for myself last summer now looks really good on me because my hair has grown enough that it no longer looks silly.
Woo! Well, anyway, the Benadryl made me very sleepy, which was kind of bad, since I was supposed to be watching the Toddler for S for a little while, but she got Girl Child to help me. Well, until Girl Child got distracted and went to her room, at which point I held the Toddler on my lap on the big chair by the TV so he could watch Sprout and I could sort of sleep - I'd wake up every time he moved, so it worked pretty well. Then S came back and I was able to sort of just sit and feel tired.
So that was yesterday. Today has been pretty uneventful, but I haven't been awake all that long, and the most exciting thing that's happened is that a door to door salesman showed up and made the dogs bark. There are links, though, because I'm tired of having a million tabs open on Firefox.
Links Round-Up
Someone had an idea of how to help fix the economy, except that we all know that no bank would ever do this, because they care much more about profits than about fixing things.
The nurse that did this was a moron, and I hope like hell that none of the patients affected by this caught anything from her doing this. Oh my god.
A woman who used to be a fashion merchandiser and is now a sociologist is committing to a year without mirrors, due to her fear that she will start having problems with her body image again. It's kind of interesting.
Michele Bachmann is making more gaffes than I think Sarah Palin did. This is one of the more idiotic things I've ever heard. Especially since no one's god should have a place in government.
How the ink industry really works. (Comic)
How Internet Explorer 10 should actually work, thus making it the best browser ever. (Image)
Anyway, yesterday morning, we went out to go to the mall to pick up the bras. As I said yesterday, mine didn't fit, which was pretty disappointing. I wound up exchanging it for one that fit really well that they had in stock in the store, because they didn't have the color I wanted in the size I needed at all, not even online. And it really was the most excellent shade of magenta. Of course, it wound up taking almost an hour to get all of that sorted out, because we had to first find the right size, and then I ended up with the same saleslady who sold me the jeans I bought there not too long ago, and she was awful. I started with the awesome manager, but was unfortunate enough to end up with the saleslady again. She was inappropriate and pushy and just like last time, insisted that I sign up for a Lane Bryant card, to "save" money. Thing is, she bugged me about it so much last time that I gave in and let her sign me up, and was still declined, and she still sold my jeans for the wrong price. Anyway, this time she decided to do the return separately from purchasing the correct size, I assume so she could get the commission, but she fucked me over by doing that, because when she returned it, it went back to my card, but that wasn't going to post right away because, you know, bank, and I didn't have any money left. So at first, it looked like I wasn't going to leave with a bra, and I was just getting angrier and angrier with her because she was a flaming idiot, and then the manager came over and fixed it by voiding the return so it never happened, and then processing it as an even exchange instead. The saleslady was also rude when she thought I was ordering it from online to be delivered to my house (when we were checking to see if they had it in the color I wanted online), but when we discovered they had the same color options online as in the store, I wound up with one from the store, and she was nicer after that. So the dumb bitch was just after a commission, but apparently doesn't understand that if you want repeat customers, you can't only care about the commission. Also, she was snarky again when the manager fixed it so it was an even exchange. Not the best shopping experience in the world. She should really learn that giving the best customer service experience possible is much more important than getting her commission.
Anyway, I got home, took photos (including a photo for ThinkGeek of my Firefly shirt), and decided I missed eating bananas. So I made a peanut butter and banana sandwich with a hilarious amount of peanut butter after taking a single Benadryl about 20 minutes before I started eating. Even with the Benadryl in my system, my tongue still swelled a little, and the roof of my mouth was a bit itchy, but it was nothing compared to how it would have been had I not taken the Benadryl. This also resulted in yesterday's rather special blog post.
Also, as briefly mentioned yesterday, I looked really good. I even took pictures. I even changed my Facebook and Google+ profile pictures to pictures of my face for the first time in months. (Well, first time ever for Google+.) Also, the hat I made for myself last summer now looks really good on me because my hair has grown enough that it no longer looks silly.
Woo! Well, anyway, the Benadryl made me very sleepy, which was kind of bad, since I was supposed to be watching the Toddler for S for a little while, but she got Girl Child to help me. Well, until Girl Child got distracted and went to her room, at which point I held the Toddler on my lap on the big chair by the TV so he could watch Sprout and I could sort of sleep - I'd wake up every time he moved, so it worked pretty well. Then S came back and I was able to sort of just sit and feel tired.
So that was yesterday. Today has been pretty uneventful, but I haven't been awake all that long, and the most exciting thing that's happened is that a door to door salesman showed up and made the dogs bark. There are links, though, because I'm tired of having a million tabs open on Firefox.
Links Round-Up
Someone had an idea of how to help fix the economy, except that we all know that no bank would ever do this, because they care much more about profits than about fixing things.
The nurse that did this was a moron, and I hope like hell that none of the patients affected by this caught anything from her doing this. Oh my god.
A woman who used to be a fashion merchandiser and is now a sociologist is committing to a year without mirrors, due to her fear that she will start having problems with her body image again. It's kind of interesting.
Michele Bachmann is making more gaffes than I think Sarah Palin did. This is one of the more idiotic things I've ever heard. Especially since no one's god should have a place in government.
How the ink industry really works. (Comic)
How Internet Explorer 10 should actually work, thus making it the best browser ever. (Image)
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.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Overheating, Rage Comics, and Links
I'm overheating really easily today. This is most unfortunate, because I can't move. If I move, I break out in a sweat and feel sick. So I can't do the laundry, or put the folded stuff away, or play with the Toddler, or do anything at all that requires any motion at all. Typing is almost too much. This is ridiculous. It's only 85 degrees outside, and it's about 78 in the house! (The A/C works unevenly - the bathroom and bedrooms feel fantastic, and the rest of the house is miserable.)
Anyway, I don't have the most exciting post ever here - not a whole lot has changed since yesterday. As an example of how weird my memory is, J was talking about me being stressed over what happened yesterday before he went to bed this morning, and I was completely confused. I'd forgotten about getting the boxes in the mail. He looked at me like I was stupid until I remembered. Wow. Just wow.
The Toddler has taken to grabbing books off the bookshelves around the house at random and trying to destroy them. He's already destroyed on of J and S's Robert Heinlein novels and S's copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. We gave him a trash romance novel to play with so he'd leave them alone, but it's not much of a deterrent.
Today, I made a rage comic. You should vote for it so it makes the front page.
I also have a ...
Link Round-Up!!
Florida forces welfare recipients to take drug tests, which backfires horribly, as only 2% of those on welfare tested positive. Wonderful job, Florida.
Here's another case of too much paranoia in the airline industry. As if terrorists will use airliners again. At least, the serious terrorists probably won't. I imagine they'll use some other means of major destruction to terrorize the government into removing more and more of our civil liberties. I feel so sorry for the guy in the article.
I posted awhile back about a guy who wants to create a libertarian island nation in international waters. I found an article with more information. It still doesn't sound very promising.
Oh god, oh god, we're all gonna die! Washington, D.C. had a minor earthquake. WE WILL REBUILD.
A 12-year-old boy delivers his own baby brother after watching many hospital shows on television. Is it a surprise to anyone that he wants to be a doctor when he grows up?
When a young Navy SEAL died, his dog was loyal to the end, even laying on the ground next to his casket at his funeral. When I first read the article about it, I was worried the dog wouldn't have anyone to take him in, but the best friend of his owner has stepped up and given him a home. Poor puppy, I feel so sorry for him.
Anyway, I don't have the most exciting post ever here - not a whole lot has changed since yesterday. As an example of how weird my memory is, J was talking about me being stressed over what happened yesterday before he went to bed this morning, and I was completely confused. I'd forgotten about getting the boxes in the mail. He looked at me like I was stupid until I remembered. Wow. Just wow.
The Toddler has taken to grabbing books off the bookshelves around the house at random and trying to destroy them. He's already destroyed on of J and S's Robert Heinlein novels and S's copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. We gave him a trash romance novel to play with so he'd leave them alone, but it's not much of a deterrent.
Today, I made a rage comic. You should vote for it so it makes the front page.
I also have a ...
Link Round-Up!!
Florida forces welfare recipients to take drug tests, which backfires horribly, as only 2% of those on welfare tested positive. Wonderful job, Florida.
Here's another case of too much paranoia in the airline industry. As if terrorists will use airliners again. At least, the serious terrorists probably won't. I imagine they'll use some other means of major destruction to terrorize the government into removing more and more of our civil liberties. I feel so sorry for the guy in the article.
I posted awhile back about a guy who wants to create a libertarian island nation in international waters. I found an article with more information. It still doesn't sound very promising.
Oh god, oh god, we're all gonna die! Washington, D.C. had a minor earthquake. WE WILL REBUILD.
A 12-year-old boy delivers his own baby brother after watching many hospital shows on television. Is it a surprise to anyone that he wants to be a doctor when he grows up?
When a young Navy SEAL died, his dog was loyal to the end, even laying on the ground next to his casket at his funeral. When I first read the article about it, I was worried the dog wouldn't have anyone to take him in, but the best friend of his owner has stepped up and given him a home. Poor puppy, I feel so sorry for him.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Dog Baths and Head Injuries
Today has been extraordinarily boring. Seriously, I've completely run out of internet. S made an interesting dinner that she pulled out of her ass that's sort of modified chicken pot pie. She made a ridiculous amount of it, too, so we're going to be eating it forever. It was actually pretty tasty, even if it did have peas in it. I hate peas, but I ate them anyway, because vegetables are important!
S and I are currently conspiring against the dogs to get them bathed tonight so they stop being such itchy puppies. I think we have to clean up the floor and vacuum and Febreeze first, but then we're dragging each dog into the bathroom and making them suffer the indignity of a bath. If S feels good enough, she's been in a lot of pain lately, poor thing. We're going to have to break out the crutches again soon and make her use them so her foot will finish healing already.
I am easily entertained. S and I just sat here making faces at each other for a minute or two.
The Toddler was a terror today. I was watching him for awhile this afternoon, and it wasn't pretty. I got his toy hammer for him, and he decided to hit me with it and wouldn't stop when I told him to stop, so I took it away. I was going to leave it at that, but then he started screaming and hitting me, so he got a time-out for that, which was punctuated by attempted head-butting and more screaming and struggling. Then, when I put the hammer on the bookshelf to take it from him for the afternoon (because of the hitting and screaming behavior when I took it away for hitting me with it), he started screaming and crying again and threw his cup across the room, so he got another time-out for that. This was in the space of five minutes. I also got my face crawled on today, but it was while we were playing, so I don't count those injuries as much.
I've gotten a lot of laundry done today, and should be almost done by tomorrow if I don't burn out again. I definitely need to get to folding, which I'm going to try to get done pretty quick here before we clean the living room and bathe the dogs.
Today, Girl Child got PJ pants in her size that are the same pattern as the ones I just got, because S promised she'd get them for her this week. It's a good thing I remembered, because there were only two pairs of those pants left at Wal-Mart, and only one was in Girl Child's size. She was thrilled, though. Of course, this will lead to lots and lots of mix-ups, just like with the lemon shirts. Maybe less so, because it'll be ridiculously obvious that the pants don't fit if she accidentally steals mine.
Uh.. other stuff that happened today... Well, the Toddler fell on his head while we were at Wal-Mart. He was really excited and running in the aisle we were in and ran right past S and around a corner, tripped over his own feet, and fell on his head so hard the floor reverberated. He was very unhappy about that. He also peeled a scab off his eyebrow and made the spot bleed all over again. (The scab was from when he used his face to go down the stairs on the playground when we went to take storm pictures last weekend.) The whole area is swollen all over again, poor baby.
I haven't really had the opportunity to play Final Fantasy X in about a week. I've either been too tired or the Toddler has been around, and it's difficult to actually play when he's up because of constantly having to stop him from getting into stuff he shouldn't. Plus, there's all that laundry.
So, basically, nothing interesting happened today. There's a cricket somewhere in the house making way too much noise. I hate crickets. I'm also scared of them because of the jumping thing. I just told it to die and it stopped chirping momentarily.
Today I decided I'm going to apply for a job at the Sara Lee plant. I hope I get it. At least it'll be a job, and if I manage to keep all my body parts and stuff, maybe I can find a job closer to home or something, unless it pays ridiculously well.
I have one link to share, so it's not exactly a link round-up. Cracked has an article about things that stopped people from committing suicide, and it was actually really cool. It was pretty sappy, too, but I like sappy. I almost cried on the last one. You should definitely go read it.
S and I are currently conspiring against the dogs to get them bathed tonight so they stop being such itchy puppies. I think we have to clean up the floor and vacuum and Febreeze first, but then we're dragging each dog into the bathroom and making them suffer the indignity of a bath. If S feels good enough, she's been in a lot of pain lately, poor thing. We're going to have to break out the crutches again soon and make her use them so her foot will finish healing already.
I am easily entertained. S and I just sat here making faces at each other for a minute or two.
The Toddler was a terror today. I was watching him for awhile this afternoon, and it wasn't pretty. I got his toy hammer for him, and he decided to hit me with it and wouldn't stop when I told him to stop, so I took it away. I was going to leave it at that, but then he started screaming and hitting me, so he got a time-out for that, which was punctuated by attempted head-butting and more screaming and struggling. Then, when I put the hammer on the bookshelf to take it from him for the afternoon (because of the hitting and screaming behavior when I took it away for hitting me with it), he started screaming and crying again and threw his cup across the room, so he got another time-out for that. This was in the space of five minutes. I also got my face crawled on today, but it was while we were playing, so I don't count those injuries as much.
I've gotten a lot of laundry done today, and should be almost done by tomorrow if I don't burn out again. I definitely need to get to folding, which I'm going to try to get done pretty quick here before we clean the living room and bathe the dogs.
Today, Girl Child got PJ pants in her size that are the same pattern as the ones I just got, because S promised she'd get them for her this week. It's a good thing I remembered, because there were only two pairs of those pants left at Wal-Mart, and only one was in Girl Child's size. She was thrilled, though. Of course, this will lead to lots and lots of mix-ups, just like with the lemon shirts. Maybe less so, because it'll be ridiculously obvious that the pants don't fit if she accidentally steals mine.
Uh.. other stuff that happened today... Well, the Toddler fell on his head while we were at Wal-Mart. He was really excited and running in the aisle we were in and ran right past S and around a corner, tripped over his own feet, and fell on his head so hard the floor reverberated. He was very unhappy about that. He also peeled a scab off his eyebrow and made the spot bleed all over again. (The scab was from when he used his face to go down the stairs on the playground when we went to take storm pictures last weekend.) The whole area is swollen all over again, poor baby.
I haven't really had the opportunity to play Final Fantasy X in about a week. I've either been too tired or the Toddler has been around, and it's difficult to actually play when he's up because of constantly having to stop him from getting into stuff he shouldn't. Plus, there's all that laundry.
So, basically, nothing interesting happened today. There's a cricket somewhere in the house making way too much noise. I hate crickets. I'm also scared of them because of the jumping thing. I just told it to die and it stopped chirping momentarily.
Today I decided I'm going to apply for a job at the Sara Lee plant. I hope I get it. At least it'll be a job, and if I manage to keep all my body parts and stuff, maybe I can find a job closer to home or something, unless it pays ridiculously well.
I have one link to share, so it's not exactly a link round-up. Cracked has an article about things that stopped people from committing suicide, and it was actually really cool. It was pretty sappy, too, but I like sappy. I almost cried on the last one. You should definitely go read it.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Laundry and Linkage
Today's been an okay kind of day. I spent a good bit of time just sitting around, being tired. J stayed up really, really late, so he was around for awhile.
I reorganized Girl Child's entire dresser today so everything will fit better, and I think I'm going to have to start putting her clothes away for her so things stay organized. I don't think she'll particularly mind, except if she wants a specific shirt. She and S are actually planning on going through her clothes this weekend and sorting out what doesn't fit and what she hates, so it will definitely be easier for her to get to her clothes after that.
I also lost my mind and decided to sort the laundry that still needs to be washed - I've caught up enough that there aren't a million loads of it anymore, so I'm finally able to wash the loads by type and color, and I've only got about eight or nine loads downstairs now. Of course, the household generates almost a load of laundry a day, so that won't last long, but I feel pretty accomplished about what I have done so far.
I've started biting my nails again, and I'm not very happy about that. I was doing great for awhile, and I'm not sure what happened. Hopefully I'll be able to stop again soon.
E talked me into creating a PayPal account today, and then sent me $25 as a "very very late birthday present". She's really wonderful, I love her to death. She's finally starting to work on getting divorced, too. God, I wish she'd just told me before the wedding, because it would have been so much easier on them both, not having all this time to tear each other apart. I guess I can't really focus on that regret, and neither can she. I worry about her, though. I can't imagine how poisonous her current home environment must be, and I really wish she'd just hurry up and move out.
Anyway, there's not really anything else to say. Girl Child is currently doing the dishes, and once she's done, I'll be able to start the load of laundry that's in the washing machine, I have a small load of jeans to fold, and I'm really tempted to go on the hunt for more dirty laundry. My life really does currently revolve around laundry, but at least if I maintain the system that I've set up downstairs, I'll suffer a lot less irritation, and probably be able to find clothing regardless of whether it's been folded yet or not.
So, on a less boring note, I have links to post about. I've been gathering them for two days.
Link Round-Up
Some idiot thinks that carrying babies facing forward or in forward facing strollers will damage their brains or frighten them more than necessary, saying that parents unnecessarily traumatize their infants every day. I can't believe this for a second, because every baby I've known has preferred to be facing forward, regardless of whether I was the one holding him or if it was his mother. (Every single baby I've ever taken care of has been a boy - my current count of children I've baby-sat is up to six, every single one of them were boys who were in diapers at the time. Half of them still are in diapers, actually.) Anyway, I've never seen a baby who was fearful about being in a forward facing stroller or being in a carrier facing forward, or even just being held that way. They want to take the world in, and they're more likely to be bored and bitchy if they can't see what's going on around them.
I found this article and the accompanying slideshow thought-provoking, a little heartbreaking, a little disgusting, and interesting. I've got very mixed feelings about the whole thing, some of which are just too big for me to form into words.
Apparently Tyra Banks felt the need to write a book. I attempted to read the first chapter, but it's so awful that I didn't make it past the first few paragraphs. Not even Twilight was this bad, and I thought the single chapter I read of the first Twilight novel was terrible. (I only read it so I could tell people that I had in fact attempted to read it if they challenged my criticism of the book, because I thought the concept sounded stupid right from the beginning.)
I don't normally post stuff like this, because it's more mundane than some of the other stuff I post, but the fact that Rupert Grint basically impersonates Kenny when he goes out in public to avoid all the publicity and attempt to live a normal life amuses me greatly. That and the fact that he is lovely, lovely eye candy.
I love this short little story about the antics that went on during the development of Windows 95. It's really kind of cute.
I stumbled upon the story of a neglected little girl while reading Fark a few days ago, and did some further research on her to find the original article about her. It's one of the most tragic, heartbreaking, and horrific cases of neglect I've ever seen. My heart aches for this little girl, and I hope the new family she has are able to do right by her.
And last, a ridiculous person who hates cursing.
I reorganized Girl Child's entire dresser today so everything will fit better, and I think I'm going to have to start putting her clothes away for her so things stay organized. I don't think she'll particularly mind, except if she wants a specific shirt. She and S are actually planning on going through her clothes this weekend and sorting out what doesn't fit and what she hates, so it will definitely be easier for her to get to her clothes after that.
I also lost my mind and decided to sort the laundry that still needs to be washed - I've caught up enough that there aren't a million loads of it anymore, so I'm finally able to wash the loads by type and color, and I've only got about eight or nine loads downstairs now. Of course, the household generates almost a load of laundry a day, so that won't last long, but I feel pretty accomplished about what I have done so far.
I've started biting my nails again, and I'm not very happy about that. I was doing great for awhile, and I'm not sure what happened. Hopefully I'll be able to stop again soon.
E talked me into creating a PayPal account today, and then sent me $25 as a "very very late birthday present". She's really wonderful, I love her to death. She's finally starting to work on getting divorced, too. God, I wish she'd just told me before the wedding, because it would have been so much easier on them both, not having all this time to tear each other apart. I guess I can't really focus on that regret, and neither can she. I worry about her, though. I can't imagine how poisonous her current home environment must be, and I really wish she'd just hurry up and move out.
Anyway, there's not really anything else to say. Girl Child is currently doing the dishes, and once she's done, I'll be able to start the load of laundry that's in the washing machine, I have a small load of jeans to fold, and I'm really tempted to go on the hunt for more dirty laundry. My life really does currently revolve around laundry, but at least if I maintain the system that I've set up downstairs, I'll suffer a lot less irritation, and probably be able to find clothing regardless of whether it's been folded yet or not.
So, on a less boring note, I have links to post about. I've been gathering them for two days.
Link Round-Up
Some idiot thinks that carrying babies facing forward or in forward facing strollers will damage their brains or frighten them more than necessary, saying that parents unnecessarily traumatize their infants every day. I can't believe this for a second, because every baby I've known has preferred to be facing forward, regardless of whether I was the one holding him or if it was his mother. (Every single baby I've ever taken care of has been a boy - my current count of children I've baby-sat is up to six, every single one of them were boys who were in diapers at the time. Half of them still are in diapers, actually.) Anyway, I've never seen a baby who was fearful about being in a forward facing stroller or being in a carrier facing forward, or even just being held that way. They want to take the world in, and they're more likely to be bored and bitchy if they can't see what's going on around them.
I found this article and the accompanying slideshow thought-provoking, a little heartbreaking, a little disgusting, and interesting. I've got very mixed feelings about the whole thing, some of which are just too big for me to form into words.
Apparently Tyra Banks felt the need to write a book. I attempted to read the first chapter, but it's so awful that I didn't make it past the first few paragraphs. Not even Twilight was this bad, and I thought the single chapter I read of the first Twilight novel was terrible. (I only read it so I could tell people that I had in fact attempted to read it if they challenged my criticism of the book, because I thought the concept sounded stupid right from the beginning.)
I don't normally post stuff like this, because it's more mundane than some of the other stuff I post, but the fact that Rupert Grint basically impersonates Kenny when he goes out in public to avoid all the publicity and attempt to live a normal life amuses me greatly. That and the fact that he is lovely, lovely eye candy.
I love this short little story about the antics that went on during the development of Windows 95. It's really kind of cute.
I stumbled upon the story of a neglected little girl while reading Fark a few days ago, and did some further research on her to find the original article about her. It's one of the most tragic, heartbreaking, and horrific cases of neglect I've ever seen. My heart aches for this little girl, and I hope the new family she has are able to do right by her.
And last, a ridiculous person who hates cursing.
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!)
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The Lazy Blogger and the Linktastic Post
Okay. I should write an update.
Things around here have been great. Really. Life is awesome, everyone here rocks. Girl Child finally came home yesterday afternoon, and it was great to see her. She's such an awesome kid. I really like it when she comes home after she's been away for awhile, it reminds me how much I love her and how great she really is, which I sometimes forget when I see her all the time.
Yesterday was S's birthday, as I mentioned in my ridiculously short post last night. My mother was nice and sent me some money so I could get some stuff that I've been needing that J and S can't really afford to get for me, and I spent some of it on S's birthday - I got her a Shoebox (Hallmark) card that has a dog birthday party, and the dog has just opened a present with a candle inside and the speech bubble says, "Butt-scented! My favorite!" I don't remember what the inside of the card says, but I was looking at noisy cards and happened to glance over and see that one and knew it was The Card. S liked it, I think. I also got her a new pack of white t-shirts, because the ones she already has are kind of dying, and she really likes wearing t-shirts.
I also spent some of the money on the kids - I got Girl Child a new shirt and vest combo that is terrific and will look wonderful on her for school, and the Toddler got a brown onesie that says, "My Mommy is exhausted," which I thought was very apt, since the primary reason S is always so tired is because of him. I can't wait for him to wear it, I'm so amused. I got some stuff for me, too, and am planning on ordering a pair of jeans that will actually fit me online from Old Navy this week.
In boring laundry news, I'm almost completely caught up. I have two hampers of laundry left that is dirty, plus the comforter that J and S usually use on their bed needs to be rewashed - Girl Child didn't check it when she brought it upstairs from the dryer, and it was still wet, and then it got on the floor. Yipee. I have a lot of folding to do, but I'm not terribly interested in doing that at the moment.
I cooked dinner last night because it was S's birthday. If you have back problems, you should not go on an epic Wal-Mart expedition and then try to cook a giant meal. I could barely walk when I got up this morning (hence my disinterest in folding laundry), and it took a hot shower to loosen everything up to the point that I'm able to at least move fairly well.
I'm going to be making tuna goop at some point today, which is a recipe of GM's mother's that I learned in 2004. I have also learned that usually when I make it, no one but me likes it. I think it's just wonderful. I'm planning on making curry soon, too, but definitely not tonight. Hell no.
Last night while I was cooking and singing very loudly, J and S rearranged the living room. J's desk is now against the wall the coffee table (cedar chest) was against, and a bunch of stuff in front of the fireplace has been moved to the corner where the desk was. It really opened up the room. The only downside I've seen so far (other than the Toddler constantly messing with J's desk and chair) is that I can't see the TV if J is awake because his chair is in the way - I'll have to move the chair across the room in order to see the TV from my spot on the couch at all, or else move to the big chair right next to the TV to watch anything, and since I'm pretty sure I've got some form of ADD, it'll be difficult for me to watch anything without having my computer, which can't be moved. (The battery doesn't work at all on this laptop, so if it gets unplugged, it immediately turns off, so I'd have to completely shut it down, transfer my entire TV tray and computer across the room, string an extension cord across the room, and generally create a hazard to have my computer in the chair.)
J's new work schedule is working out wonderfully for everyone - I can sleep in the living room without being disturbed on the nights he works, J is getting enough sleep and is much less grumpy, and he's up when we're awake more because he stays up until about noon and then gets up in the early evening before the Toddler goes to bed.
So I'm still experimenting with no 'poo, and it's weird. My hair feels kind of okay and kind of awful right now (I washed it this morning), and it's still damp, so it may turn out to feel great once it's all dry, or it may just feel like poop. It's a tossup.
I'm so glad the heat wave finally broke. It feels wonderful outside right now, and it's making me very excited for fall, which has become my favorite season.
Yesterday I wrote a summary of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for someone who hasn't read the books since Prisoner of Azkaban, but has seen the movies. (She asked me to explain what happened after the events of Half-Blood Prince after I expressed horror at her asking if Snape was Harry's father.) I condensed the entire book into four pages, and a little over 2,000 words. It took almost an hour to type, maybe longer. I also learned that the character cap for Facebook comments is 8,000 characters, so when you write something with over 10,000 characters, it will sort of explode. I'm very glad I had the forethought to copy the full text and paste it in a Google document before I tried to post it.
I have a lot of links to post, because I've been collecting them for days. And a good bit of them will require me to bitch quite a bit, because a lot of them make me angry.
Link Round-Up
According to this Senate candidate, welfare recipients are like raccoons. They want to get the easiest way to live possible, and of course there's no possibility that they just might not be able to find work.
Michele Bachmann is a really, really big hypocrite, and I'm terrified that she's going to make it past the primaries. I'm definitely voting for each election that I can vote in, to try to keep her ass from ever being President.
Truck drivers are seriously underappreciated, and this story really points out what it's like for truck drivers in this day and age.
Apparently what's happening with E and her marriage (she knew she didn't want to get married before the wedding but felt like she couldn't back out after all the expense and everything) is becoming a really common thing among women who get divorced. I still say she was dumb for not telling me she didn't want to get married before the wedding - I'd have stopped the wedding.
The fashion industry is sexualizing 10-year-olds now. Lovely. Poor little thing.
These people are assholes and their smug, snide attitude about what they did makes me so angry.
I find the concept of courtroom dogs very interesting, and it certainly would have helped me when I had to testify in 2001. Of course, because the dogs are cute, that will totally sway the jury to convict the defendant. I hate lawyers.
I can't imagine how it must feel to move to America from the country of your birth, live and work in America for over 20 years, and then be asked to be Prime Minister of your home country and live there for nine months as Prime Minister before going back to America and your cubicle at your job that you've had for 20 years. that must have been so surreal.
Apparently what you eat during pregnancy and while breastfeeding will affect what foods your baby will enjoy eating as they're older.
Things around here have been great. Really. Life is awesome, everyone here rocks. Girl Child finally came home yesterday afternoon, and it was great to see her. She's such an awesome kid. I really like it when she comes home after she's been away for awhile, it reminds me how much I love her and how great she really is, which I sometimes forget when I see her all the time.
Yesterday was S's birthday, as I mentioned in my ridiculously short post last night. My mother was nice and sent me some money so I could get some stuff that I've been needing that J and S can't really afford to get for me, and I spent some of it on S's birthday - I got her a Shoebox (Hallmark) card that has a dog birthday party, and the dog has just opened a present with a candle inside and the speech bubble says, "Butt-scented! My favorite!" I don't remember what the inside of the card says, but I was looking at noisy cards and happened to glance over and see that one and knew it was The Card. S liked it, I think. I also got her a new pack of white t-shirts, because the ones she already has are kind of dying, and she really likes wearing t-shirts.
I also spent some of the money on the kids - I got Girl Child a new shirt and vest combo that is terrific and will look wonderful on her for school, and the Toddler got a brown onesie that says, "My Mommy is exhausted," which I thought was very apt, since the primary reason S is always so tired is because of him. I can't wait for him to wear it, I'm so amused. I got some stuff for me, too, and am planning on ordering a pair of jeans that will actually fit me online from Old Navy this week.
In boring laundry news, I'm almost completely caught up. I have two hampers of laundry left that is dirty, plus the comforter that J and S usually use on their bed needs to be rewashed - Girl Child didn't check it when she brought it upstairs from the dryer, and it was still wet, and then it got on the floor. Yipee. I have a lot of folding to do, but I'm not terribly interested in doing that at the moment.
I cooked dinner last night because it was S's birthday. If you have back problems, you should not go on an epic Wal-Mart expedition and then try to cook a giant meal. I could barely walk when I got up this morning (hence my disinterest in folding laundry), and it took a hot shower to loosen everything up to the point that I'm able to at least move fairly well.
I'm going to be making tuna goop at some point today, which is a recipe of GM's mother's that I learned in 2004. I have also learned that usually when I make it, no one but me likes it. I think it's just wonderful. I'm planning on making curry soon, too, but definitely not tonight. Hell no.
Last night while I was cooking and singing very loudly, J and S rearranged the living room. J's desk is now against the wall the coffee table (cedar chest) was against, and a bunch of stuff in front of the fireplace has been moved to the corner where the desk was. It really opened up the room. The only downside I've seen so far (other than the Toddler constantly messing with J's desk and chair) is that I can't see the TV if J is awake because his chair is in the way - I'll have to move the chair across the room in order to see the TV from my spot on the couch at all, or else move to the big chair right next to the TV to watch anything, and since I'm pretty sure I've got some form of ADD, it'll be difficult for me to watch anything without having my computer, which can't be moved. (The battery doesn't work at all on this laptop, so if it gets unplugged, it immediately turns off, so I'd have to completely shut it down, transfer my entire TV tray and computer across the room, string an extension cord across the room, and generally create a hazard to have my computer in the chair.)
J's new work schedule is working out wonderfully for everyone - I can sleep in the living room without being disturbed on the nights he works, J is getting enough sleep and is much less grumpy, and he's up when we're awake more because he stays up until about noon and then gets up in the early evening before the Toddler goes to bed.
So I'm still experimenting with no 'poo, and it's weird. My hair feels kind of okay and kind of awful right now (I washed it this morning), and it's still damp, so it may turn out to feel great once it's all dry, or it may just feel like poop. It's a tossup.
I'm so glad the heat wave finally broke. It feels wonderful outside right now, and it's making me very excited for fall, which has become my favorite season.
Yesterday I wrote a summary of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for someone who hasn't read the books since Prisoner of Azkaban, but has seen the movies. (She asked me to explain what happened after the events of Half-Blood Prince after I expressed horror at her asking if Snape was Harry's father.) I condensed the entire book into four pages, and a little over 2,000 words. It took almost an hour to type, maybe longer. I also learned that the character cap for Facebook comments is 8,000 characters, so when you write something with over 10,000 characters, it will sort of explode. I'm very glad I had the forethought to copy the full text and paste it in a Google document before I tried to post it.
I have a lot of links to post, because I've been collecting them for days. And a good bit of them will require me to bitch quite a bit, because a lot of them make me angry.
Link Round-Up
According to this Senate candidate, welfare recipients are like raccoons. They want to get the easiest way to live possible, and of course there's no possibility that they just might not be able to find work.
Michele Bachmann is a really, really big hypocrite, and I'm terrified that she's going to make it past the primaries. I'm definitely voting for each election that I can vote in, to try to keep her ass from ever being President.
Truck drivers are seriously underappreciated, and this story really points out what it's like for truck drivers in this day and age.
Apparently what's happening with E and her marriage (she knew she didn't want to get married before the wedding but felt like she couldn't back out after all the expense and everything) is becoming a really common thing among women who get divorced. I still say she was dumb for not telling me she didn't want to get married before the wedding - I'd have stopped the wedding.
The fashion industry is sexualizing 10-year-olds now. Lovely. Poor little thing.
These people are assholes and their smug, snide attitude about what they did makes me so angry.
I find the concept of courtroom dogs very interesting, and it certainly would have helped me when I had to testify in 2001. Of course, because the dogs are cute, that will totally sway the jury to convict the defendant. I hate lawyers.
I can't imagine how it must feel to move to America from the country of your birth, live and work in America for over 20 years, and then be asked to be Prime Minister of your home country and live there for nine months as Prime Minister before going back to America and your cubicle at your job that you've had for 20 years. that must have been so surreal.
Apparently what you eat during pregnancy and while breastfeeding will affect what foods your baby will enjoy eating as they're older.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Laundry, Tattoos, Video Games, and Politics
So, this is kind of a boring post until after the links round up, so if you don't care about my daily life or what tattoos I want, just skip to that part.
I went crazy sorting the laundry last night and organized it by type. Girl Child and I now share a hamper for what she doesn't wash herself and all my stuff, the Toddler has his own hamper for his clothes and sheets and stuff, and J and S each have their own basket because a lot of their stuff dirty right now. I'd intended to combine it, but that was impossible. Today, I have washed all the towels in the house and all of the Toddler's clothes, and am currently working on a mixed load of sheets and other random household stuff, plus one of M's towels that S borrowed last night because we were out of towels. I'm such a slacker. I also folded a ton of laundry yesterday evening between the time J got up and the Toddler went to bed, so I also got to have loud music and lots of really loud singing. This coincided with Girl Child doing some dishes, so there was also presumably singing coming from the kitchen, so I can only imagine what the living room sounded like for J and S. Haha.
I just switched out the plastic drawer bin that has been the Toddler's toybox for the last several months for two of my totes that had all my yarn and crocheting supplies in them - now my yarn is in the drawers (the only thing that didn't fit was the pillows I still haven't made covers for) and his toys are in one bin, and he's currently in the other bin. It'll have his stuffed animals in it later, once he goes to bed.
I finally returned one of my library books today, and discovered that I can't use the self-check or place holds online anymore because of my fines. Fail. But I can still check stuff out, so long as I don't accrue fines, so I'm going to check to see if the hold on the Nora Roberts book I've been wanting to read is still intact, because I would be very upset if I lost my place in line. It'd be my own fault, though. (I just checked - I still have my position, and I'm in 17th place, so my hold should become available in a week or two, yay!)
I've been working on a list of things the Toddler is really quirky about lately. He can't stand having a door be open, for instance. If he finds a door that is open, he must close it. This is most unfortunate when it's the bathroom door when the doorknob has fallen out of it, because this makes the person using the bathroom unable to get out of it without assistance if they happen to forget to take the knob in with them. (Me.) He also has a compulsive need to close any drawers that he finds open, but he also needs to open my dresser and "rearrange" my clothing. This usually means that my clean clothes get put in the dirty laundry sometimes, or he'll randomly put dirty clothes in my dresser. Sometimes it kind of sucks to have my dresser in the hallway, but at least I have it at all. He also can't stand it when S's computer goes to a screensaver - he'll run over and move the mouse or hit keys until it stops. He also hates it when the laptops are partially open. He'll either try to open it (potentially flipping it off the TV tray), or he'll slam it closed. He's also taken to demanding that the baby monitor be turned off if he sees that it's on when he's not in bed, and demanding that it be turned on when he's about to go to bed.
Now, some of these behaviors can get really irritating sometimes, but mostly they're just rather hilarious, and they're interesting personality quirks that make me wonder what he'll be like when he's older. I love that kid.
Recently, I made a list of all the tattoos I want for a Facebook meme that I still haven't done - it turns out that I actually want quite a bit more tattoos than I thought I did! I designed a celestial symbol about two years ago that I want on my left arm, and I'm going to put a Jecht symbol right above it (Final Fantasy X and X-2). On my right arm, I'm going to get those Chinese symbols done that S reproduced for me, in right about that spot. On my back, at the base of my neck, I'm getting the sign of the Deathly Hallows, and below that, I'm getting the Royal Crest from the Legend of Zelda games. I'm getting an owl right above my right ankle, and S designed a viney thing for me a few months ago, but I'm not sure where I want it yet. I'm also thinking about getting a penguin to match my owl for my other leg, possibly some stars on my right foot, and maybe an ankh somewhere. Wow, tattoo-tastic!
I like making lists.
Today's been pretty decent. Girl Child left for her great-grandmother's this morning, even though the poor thing is getting her wisdom teeth in and is in a ridiculous amount of pain. I think she's pretty excited about it, though. Maybe. I got her to put her clothes away for me before she left, which makes me happy, because now I'm not going to be without a basket until she comes home. I also worked on her file for Final Fantasy X because she never activated the Celestial Mirror and was all the way to Yunalesca and was unable to defeat her. I've also gotten everyone but Kimahri in overdrive mode (I never, ever use Kimahri unless I'm being forced to), and leveled everyone up a little bit - I may run around a bit more for her later so Lulu will have Flare, because it's nice to be able to do non-elemental damage! The Toddler's been exceptionally obnoxious today, partly because his nap consisted of sleeping on me for about twenty minutes.
Honestly, I don't know if today was decent or just boring. It's mostly been laundry, video games, and temper tantrums. However, last night I discovered I can lift Girl Child over my shoulder and carry her around like I'm a fireman. She weighs about 130 pounds and is taller than me. I AMSUPERMAN SUPER WOMAN!!! Holy crap, I am strong. I had no idea. I still can't hold a gallon of milk in my hand very long, or do anything that requires wrist strength because I simply lack the muscles in my wrists, but my back and upper arms are very strong... apparently. (I discovered this after Girl Child was poking me incessantly, and decided to try to pick her up and carry her across the room and put her somewhere... and I could.)
I have a few links to post, and some of them have sparked outrage for me.
Links Round-Up
Okay, this makes me angry. Really, really FUCKING angry. This man is more concerned with making Obama a one-term president than he is in trying to fix some of the royally fucked up problems this country is having. Seriously, your primary goal is to get Obama out of the White House? What about raising taxes to get us out of this mess of debt? What about some true educational reform instead of this No Child Left Behind bullshit? I don't want fucktards like this running my country. He doesn't give two flying shits about the debt ceiling or the economy disintegrating before our very eyes, he just wants to get rid of a president that seems like he actually cares and wants to bring some true change so he can just keep his cush, two days a week job doing a bunch of bullshit and generally being a corrupt asshole.
Speaking of Congress being a two day a week job, Congress decided to go on a month-long vacation without doing anything about the FAA's complete lack of funding. A political writer and blogger wrote a speech he's dying to see Obama give to Congress for their complete lack of responsibility. I have to say, I quite agree with him, and honestly, I think the whole political system needs a complete overhaul. Just because it worked 250-ish years ago, does not mean it works now. I am really unhappy with politicians not caring what the people they're supposed to represent want, because I thought that that was what they were there for, not to pursue their own agenda. I say we get rid of Congress and all those other corrupt people and just have a lot of voting days where the American public gets to vote on the issues at hand and decide for themselves how they want the country to be. Seriously.
In other outrage-tastic news, Fox News apparently thinks giving battered women the help they will need to get out of those situations and providing easy access to proper women's healthcare is as frivolous as getting a pedicure. Really? Really?! I am so angry at these people.
I feel so bad for this girl, and cannot believe the school district is standing behind this. I hope she wins a big fat settlement and goes to an awesome college and becomes their bosses and fires the shit out of them.
I don't know who I feel more sorry for in this case, the little girl who was kidnapped and adopted fraudulently, the couple who adopted her that apparently didn't know she was kidnapped, or her birth mother, who has missed the last five years of her kid's life. (Also, the girl's adoptive parents are from the North Kansas City area, which was a bit shocking to me, as it came completely unexpectedly.)
And, for a palate cleanser, here are some awesome storm cloud pictures from Canada.
I went crazy sorting the laundry last night and organized it by type. Girl Child and I now share a hamper for what she doesn't wash herself and all my stuff, the Toddler has his own hamper for his clothes and sheets and stuff, and J and S each have their own basket because a lot of their stuff dirty right now. I'd intended to combine it, but that was impossible. Today, I have washed all the towels in the house and all of the Toddler's clothes, and am currently working on a mixed load of sheets and other random household stuff, plus one of M's towels that S borrowed last night because we were out of towels. I'm such a slacker. I also folded a ton of laundry yesterday evening between the time J got up and the Toddler went to bed, so I also got to have loud music and lots of really loud singing. This coincided with Girl Child doing some dishes, so there was also presumably singing coming from the kitchen, so I can only imagine what the living room sounded like for J and S. Haha.
I just switched out the plastic drawer bin that has been the Toddler's toybox for the last several months for two of my totes that had all my yarn and crocheting supplies in them - now my yarn is in the drawers (the only thing that didn't fit was the pillows I still haven't made covers for) and his toys are in one bin, and he's currently in the other bin. It'll have his stuffed animals in it later, once he goes to bed.
I finally returned one of my library books today, and discovered that I can't use the self-check or place holds online anymore because of my fines. Fail. But I can still check stuff out, so long as I don't accrue fines, so I'm going to check to see if the hold on the Nora Roberts book I've been wanting to read is still intact, because I would be very upset if I lost my place in line. It'd be my own fault, though. (I just checked - I still have my position, and I'm in 17th place, so my hold should become available in a week or two, yay!)
I've been working on a list of things the Toddler is really quirky about lately. He can't stand having a door be open, for instance. If he finds a door that is open, he must close it. This is most unfortunate when it's the bathroom door when the doorknob has fallen out of it, because this makes the person using the bathroom unable to get out of it without assistance if they happen to forget to take the knob in with them. (Me.) He also has a compulsive need to close any drawers that he finds open, but he also needs to open my dresser and "rearrange" my clothing. This usually means that my clean clothes get put in the dirty laundry sometimes, or he'll randomly put dirty clothes in my dresser. Sometimes it kind of sucks to have my dresser in the hallway, but at least I have it at all. He also can't stand it when S's computer goes to a screensaver - he'll run over and move the mouse or hit keys until it stops. He also hates it when the laptops are partially open. He'll either try to open it (potentially flipping it off the TV tray), or he'll slam it closed. He's also taken to demanding that the baby monitor be turned off if he sees that it's on when he's not in bed, and demanding that it be turned on when he's about to go to bed.
Now, some of these behaviors can get really irritating sometimes, but mostly they're just rather hilarious, and they're interesting personality quirks that make me wonder what he'll be like when he's older. I love that kid.
Recently, I made a list of all the tattoos I want for a Facebook meme that I still haven't done - it turns out that I actually want quite a bit more tattoos than I thought I did! I designed a celestial symbol about two years ago that I want on my left arm, and I'm going to put a Jecht symbol right above it (Final Fantasy X and X-2). On my right arm, I'm going to get those Chinese symbols done that S reproduced for me, in right about that spot. On my back, at the base of my neck, I'm getting the sign of the Deathly Hallows, and below that, I'm getting the Royal Crest from the Legend of Zelda games. I'm getting an owl right above my right ankle, and S designed a viney thing for me a few months ago, but I'm not sure where I want it yet. I'm also thinking about getting a penguin to match my owl for my other leg, possibly some stars on my right foot, and maybe an ankh somewhere. Wow, tattoo-tastic!
I like making lists.
Today's been pretty decent. Girl Child left for her great-grandmother's this morning, even though the poor thing is getting her wisdom teeth in and is in a ridiculous amount of pain. I think she's pretty excited about it, though. Maybe. I got her to put her clothes away for me before she left, which makes me happy, because now I'm not going to be without a basket until she comes home. I also worked on her file for Final Fantasy X because she never activated the Celestial Mirror and was all the way to Yunalesca and was unable to defeat her. I've also gotten everyone but Kimahri in overdrive mode (I never, ever use Kimahri unless I'm being forced to), and leveled everyone up a little bit - I may run around a bit more for her later so Lulu will have Flare, because it's nice to be able to do non-elemental damage! The Toddler's been exceptionally obnoxious today, partly because his nap consisted of sleeping on me for about twenty minutes.
Honestly, I don't know if today was decent or just boring. It's mostly been laundry, video games, and temper tantrums. However, last night I discovered I can lift Girl Child over my shoulder and carry her around like I'm a fireman. She weighs about 130 pounds and is taller than me. I AM
I have a few links to post, and some of them have sparked outrage for me.
Links Round-Up
Okay, this makes me angry. Really, really FUCKING angry. This man is more concerned with making Obama a one-term president than he is in trying to fix some of the royally fucked up problems this country is having. Seriously, your primary goal is to get Obama out of the White House? What about raising taxes to get us out of this mess of debt? What about some true educational reform instead of this No Child Left Behind bullshit? I don't want fucktards like this running my country. He doesn't give two flying shits about the debt ceiling or the economy disintegrating before our very eyes, he just wants to get rid of a president that seems like he actually cares and wants to bring some true change so he can just keep his cush, two days a week job doing a bunch of bullshit and generally being a corrupt asshole.
Speaking of Congress being a two day a week job, Congress decided to go on a month-long vacation without doing anything about the FAA's complete lack of funding. A political writer and blogger wrote a speech he's dying to see Obama give to Congress for their complete lack of responsibility. I have to say, I quite agree with him, and honestly, I think the whole political system needs a complete overhaul. Just because it worked 250-ish years ago, does not mean it works now. I am really unhappy with politicians not caring what the people they're supposed to represent want, because I thought that that was what they were there for, not to pursue their own agenda. I say we get rid of Congress and all those other corrupt people and just have a lot of voting days where the American public gets to vote on the issues at hand and decide for themselves how they want the country to be. Seriously.
In other outrage-tastic news, Fox News apparently thinks giving battered women the help they will need to get out of those situations and providing easy access to proper women's healthcare is as frivolous as getting a pedicure. Really? Really?! I am so angry at these people.
I feel so bad for this girl, and cannot believe the school district is standing behind this. I hope she wins a big fat settlement and goes to an awesome college and becomes their bosses and fires the shit out of them.
I don't know who I feel more sorry for in this case, the little girl who was kidnapped and adopted fraudulently, the couple who adopted her that apparently didn't know she was kidnapped, or her birth mother, who has missed the last five years of her kid's life. (Also, the girl's adoptive parents are from the North Kansas City area, which was a bit shocking to me, as it came completely unexpectedly.)
And, for a palate cleanser, here are some awesome storm cloud pictures from Canada.
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