Happy New Year's Eve

So, I've given much thought to this New Year's resolution business.... and have decided that my resolution is to not have a resolution.
I won't resolve to:

lose weight,
be more witty,
gain some grace and inner poise,
cut down on having inner dialogue then refer to it later even though no one knows what I'm talking about,
be less naïve,
be less pessimistic,
worry less,
spend less,
save more,
be less judgemental,
be less mental,
have less roadrage and cut down on yelling at other drivers, even though they can't hear me

I will try my best to be all that I can be and all that I can ever be: bittersweet Rose.



However....

Things I would like to leave in 2008:
depression,
all those petty fights/arguments,
those hours-long bouts of crying,
crap pay,
my illnesses



Things I would like to see myself doing in 2009:
I am moving to an area I enjoy,
I am making more money,
getting well/healthy,
enjoying great (and not-so-great) movies,
being able to hold a basic conversation in French and Spanish

Malaise

Sorry for the very poor lack of updates. I have no real excuse: lack of motivation mostly; I've been working/thinking up other projects.
That, and lazing about.

So, my endocrinologist appointment draws ever near and my feelings are somewhere between excitement, joy, nervous and fear.
Excitement - maybe I'll finally find out what's wrong with me
Joy - maybe I'll finally find out what's wrong with me
Nervous - maybe I'll finally find out what's wrong with me
Fear - maybe I'll finally find out what's wrong with me

There's two sides to this coin: they'll find out what's wrong and fix it/they'll find out what's wrong and can't fix it.

I'd also like a drop off in the amount of pills I have to take everyday.


My general malaise mostly comes from money..... or the lack there of.
I'm only living in slight comfort because anything that isn't a bill, is being paid with a credit card that's slowly getting maxed out. My eBay and Etsy sales are near non-existent. And my creativity had dropped of dramatically.

:/
But I'm alive, and that's the best I can ask for.

More nostalgia

I've got to say, I'm a bit nostalgic today.
Today is Fall Commencement at the university. And while it's not exactly a year from when I graduated, (that would be Sunday) I'm still get nostalgic feelings.
So, I thought the picture from my graduation would be appropriate.

Some news

Those that follow my Twitter are probably wondering what fantastic thing happened that I couldn't wait to share.
Well, I wanted it to be a surprise, but since there are delays, I'll go ahead and tell part of it.

I've embarked on a trip into the land of podcasts. Soon, I'll have pod-posts in addition to blog posts.

I've casted about the fantastic thing and soon you'll know too.

Also, an apology for recent lack of posts, current events have left me shunning most forms of writing. Ridiculous, I know.
Soon, things will be in working order.

Om nom nom nom nom

Some traditions are fun.
My Thanksgiving tradition is much like many others' traditions: stuffing myself full of delicious food and watching the National Dog Show.

Ohhh-ing and Awww-ing at many cute and bizarre breeds, especially the French and English bulldogs.
Adorable little happy beasts.

Growing old fast

Just received a spam-worthy e-mail with the title of: Over 40 dating.
Really? Is that acceptable? Am I considered over the hill?
I'm only 27!

Signs I'm getting old:
Grey... err..... blonde hairs.
Feeling stiff after sitting in the same position for a while.
Dislike of loud, disobedient children.
High appreciation for sale/bulk items.

Though some of these can be explained away:
Grey/blonde hairs are not only a sign of age, but a sign of stress. As I'm on meds for stress/anxiety, the hairs could be considered a sign of extreme and/or long-lasting stress versus a sign of age.

Dislike of loud, disobedient children..... I've disliked these since I was old enough to remember. So, not so much a sign of age, as much as it's an early sign that this chick is going to be a cat lady when she gets older. (I've already got two cats!)

High appreciation for sale/bulk items. With our economy, I think everyone's got the same appreciation.

I un-heart my V

Really, I do.
I know that's a no-no for the modern woman. But really, it's starting to piss me off. We are currently not speaking.

Oddness fact: when I'm looking like crap, all I have to do is smile, and everyone wants to talk to me.
I don't understand it.
I'm sweaty on a cool day (thank you malfunctioning endocrine system), my hair is covered by a hat, I threw on the closest clean clothes and I'm at Wal-Mart. Yet, everyone wanted to say 'hello.'

Why?

One guy even said, "Stay sweet."

Do I know you? Who the hell are you?!?! Do you stalk me?

Seriously, it was a bit of an ego boost: I can look like garbage, yet people still want to talk to me and smile.

Weekend recap

Friday:
While at work, I got a small cake, some loose tea, a hand-made mug and some chocolate.
After work, I got a book, two movies off of my Amazon wishlist

Saturday:
Drove 1 1/2 hours to attend a cat show and shop at a store that no longer exists.
The cat show was lovely. However, getting there wasn't.
The cat show was in a convention center... that many people in the town didn't know existed. AWESOME!
So, I used my excellent deducting skills and decided that the best people that would help who be of people of commerce.
To the Mall we go!
Which worked out, I got candy, did a little Christmas shopping and found out that the convention center did exist.
And was full of adorable cats and kittens. My favorites are the exotic shorthairs (like above). They are so sweet with their smooshie faces. And they always looked surprised or really sweet.

Sunday:
Drove to Jackson to visit the parents and my sister, who's birthday is the 10th.
Got some more presents and good food.

Monday:
Let's see what today brings.

So young and fresh looking

As of 8:14 a.m. EST, I am now 27 years old.... err.... young. LOL
So far enjoying the birthday very much!
I've received cards, texts, messages on various social websites and a few forums, monies, a mug, loose tea, treats and a cake! And it's only 1 p.m.!
And today is only the kicker, I've got the entire next week off. Tonight begins Rose's Week-plus-long Celebration! :D

On a ridiculous note, a follower at the Rose Happiness Project, has stopped following me once I expressed that Obama's win made me happy. Sorry, chica, but it's called the ROSE Happiness Project, not the SORE LOSER Happiness Project.

Beam me in, Wolf

Also crossposted in The Rose Happiness Project.
Here's a few signs of change that make me smile:

A comment from the HA website:
"....we truly are the America we are supposed to be. not the scary
fearmongering hating and overwhelmingly irony that has been since christians
and the right decided that they and their exclusivity represented America
better. Time will heal these tainted and misguided hearts. Free at last,
free at last, i'm a deep south white redneck and even I AM FREE AT
LAST!!!!!"

Also, on the cover of The News Journal in Delaware (as seen above) "Biden achieves highest office for a Delawarean." :D

Epic win

Incredible.
I'm not ashamed to say that I cried during Barack Obama's acceptance speech.
I'm on a political high and I don't know if I can come down. Has there ever been such a huge win as this before?

This night was crazy. Just got home from a nearly eleven hour shift. Although, to be honest, it didn't feel like it.

My entire night was full; especially once the polls started flowing in.
Once Delaware and New Jersey were declared blue, I started cheering.... which confused the co-workers that didn't know that I'm a Delaware girl.

Here's a comment from someone who posted on the HA comments:
"The fact that this man that came from a lower to middle class family, worked hard, got his educated as a half-black, half white american should show America, and the rest of the world that the American dream still exists. Let's unite America!"

To which I replied:
"It's an incredible win. As a multiracial child, this makes me very proud. As an American, this makes me very proud.
Thank you for your comment. :)"

It's nearly 2 a.m. and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get to sleep. I drank nearly two liters of Pepsi and I'm on a bit of a sugar high. O.o

Hop, skip and a week

Apparently, I do have to beat sense into people, and on a daily basis too.

So, Election Day is coming up; excited about that.

Halloween did not go exactly as planned:
Dresses as 1950s nurse, yet I broke the zipper, so I had to sort of...... tie up the side. It was funny, but I pulled it off and brought lots of smiles to co-workers.
Plans were to go out and have fun.
But after a restless week, I just wanted to relax with some good horror movies and popcorn.
Shortly after buying the popcorn, I fell asleep. And that was my Halloween.

Planning on calling my old Art History professor and talking to her about what being a Art History graduate student would be like.

Speaking of plans, my birthday is Friday and I plan on talking the whole week off afterwards. Talk about a birthday week!!
I've just got to get through this week first.

I heart Keith

Why do I like Keith Olbermann?
It's his little smirk. No, I don't like him because he's a 'crazy-rant guy,' because he is.
I like him because...... well, I guess I like him for the same reasons that I like most guys: pretty eyes and a cheeky smile.

So, the soup did not turn out alright at all..... D:
Blargh.

I've been on a bit of a downer lately.
With the crappy economy, it seems that jobs are starting to go down the drain..... and I'm worried about my own job. So, I'm thinking about going back to school.
Getting my masters in....... something, something, something......... something I'm good at, like...... eating?

And sweet crap people! Communism and Socialism is not the same thing! Do I have to beat the crap out of you, so that you will learn!?!

Soy soup

I'm making currently making soup. The kind that you're supposed to add milk to to thicken it up.

Easy right?

What I haven't told you is: I don't have milk. I have soy milk..... vanilla soy milk.

Hope it comes out alright.

Hate and politics

Sometimes, I utterly hate the fact that I work in news.
When I told my parents (back when I was still in uni) that I was changing my major from Film to Photojournalism, they were pretty confused.

"Aren't you the same one that refuses to watch the news with us? Because it makes your anxiety problem worse? Because it makes you paranoid?"

"Yes."

The conversation was similar when I told them that I just accepted the position I'm in now.

It's true, the news would(still does) make me utterly nervous and paranoid. My anxiety would go through the roof.

We've got several TV screens to view different stations, generally one for sports, one for local news and one for CNN.
So, there's news all the time.
Yesterday, I'm watching CNN and someone's at a rally for McCain/Palin and the people there are hideous.

And I don't mean in appearance.

They were shouting things like "Obama bin Laden!" "Don't vote for the negro!" "Kill him!" "Terrorist!"
There was even a guy holding up a stuffed monkey, and the monkey was supposed to represent Sen. Obama.

Really? Are you really doing this?

I'm not trying to pick sides, but are there people are Obama/Biden rallies doing similar ridiculous things? Not that I've seen.

This was in Ohio.

And people wonder why I hate the Heartland of the U.S.

I hate the fact that there are so many hiveminded people out there. I hate it and it scares me.
I also hate bigots, but that's common knowledge.

I have a column coming out this week. It's about being a decent human being when talking about politics. I'm sure I'm going to have plenty of hatemail.

I'll post a link when it's up.

God, I need a drink.

Scary Boob Month

October month of Breast Cancer Awareness and scary movies.
I make a point to watch lots of scary movies during October, and I'm behind. :(
This weekend is going to be 'Scary Movie Binge Weekend.'
I may go into a scary coma.

Movies on the itinerary include:
Red Eye (Korean film not American film of same name)
One Missed Call 1 and 2 (originals)
Cloverfield (while not a scary movie, it does have a monster in it)
The Devil's Backbone
The Orphanage

Possibilities:
REC (one hell of a movie), the Ring and Nightmare.


Picture very related, as is my costume for Halloween. Except, less scary.

Kittens: medicine for the soul

I've adopted a kitten and I've named her Murmur.
Why 'Murmur,' you ask?
Because, when I asked what I should name her, she said 'mur-mur.'
So, Murmur it is.

She is super affectionate for a hobo cat.
Someone at work found her in a used car lot and brought her back to work. She then cycled throughout the building, with noone wanting her.
And the end of the day, she slept in my lap as I typed and knew she was mine.

Kittens chase away the blues.
They could bottle kittens and sell it for tons of money.

Doctor: I need kittens, stat!

Good night, sweet prince

As you can tell from the altered image above, my ghost crab died yesterday.

No, I'm not going to get all depressed and start crying.
I'm OK, really.
But yes, I am lonely again.

I don't know if I'll get another pet to fill the empty tank and sits in my front room.

I'm downloading a free version of Ragnarok Online to help a little with the loneliness.

Sounds ridiculous, I know.

I know three people in town. They go to school, and I fear calling them up and bothering times where they could be studying and similar.
I know two people out of town. And I'm afraid to call them too. One's a teacher, she may be busy. One's living near my parents, she also may be busy.

And maybe I'm just coming up with excuses to stay acting like a hermit and wallowing in my self pity.

Anywho.


Nerd moment: did anyone else think of Watchmen when Tom Brokaw said 'the Manhattan project.'?

The language barrier

Words escape me as I scarf down some ginger licorice/liquorice and consider eating some apples and German honey. So, I'll just finally get down to posting my columns, starting with my language one. It's nothing big. Just an editorial on language and the effort or non-effort of people.

Lend a helping conversation
as seen in the July 3, 2008 edition of the Hattiesburg American

I applaud police officers learning the basics of the secondary language in their areas so that they can communicate with the non-English speaking community.
This extra skill helps with keeping the peace in all areas, not just English speaking areas.

I'm tired of hearing: "They came to our country, so they should learn the language."

Sometimes, you need to cut people some slack.

English is apparently the hardest language to learn as a second language. And just because someone is learning a language, doesn't mane that they are going to be automatically proficient enough to be able to communicate on a decent level.

I've learned Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese and French; this doesn't mean that I can just strike up a conversation in these countries.
Being able to greet people and knowing how to say my birthday only gets me so far.

And while I agree that one should learn the language of the country they are going to visit or live in, sometimes it's not just as simple as picking up a book.

Books give a lot of information, but no book can touch upon the insight a native speaker can give. And even finding a native speaker willing to help or tutor is not that easy.

Instructors, for either online or traditional classes, stress to all students that finding someone to 'talk' to is a huge step toward understanding, much less being fluent.
Every language class I've been in has stressed the same idea.

Although, I had to depend on fellow students since people fluent in other languages were hard to find. And there are very few cases where a person can achieve fluency without complete immersion in the country of the language they are learning.

Sometimes, classes offered for non-English speakers can only rely on unstable means and are not able to get the word out to citizens. Or worse, the area people are moving to does not offer classes.
Which leaves the immersion non-English speakers are exposed to whittled down to rude comments thrown at them by rude people and what they see on television.

So, before you're rude to someone because of their inability to speak English, why don't you turn that into useful energy and demand that the government, be it city, state or national, make English classes and language help available to everyone.
Or better yet, lend a helping hand... or in this case, a helping conversation.


And to answer questions that I got after publishing this article, and ones that may arise after this post: half of my family came over from different parts of Europe as recent as four generations ago: my family is French on both sides (I had a great-grandmother from France that didn't even speak English) and I had a great-grandmother who was Portuguese. So, I remember a little from what I learned. And I took classes at uni for Japanese and Spanish. The other half of my family that wasn't from Europe, is African and Native American.

I'm a mulatto/mestizo in the truest sense. But more about that in another post.

Good news for the years to come!

The Rose Happiness Project has been started!
Check it out here:
http://happycrazyroseplace.blogspot.com/

Completely nuts and teeth

Well aware that I skipped writing yesterday, but I have good reason: Pain and the blues.

I went for my teeth cleaning, which was a lot more..... stabbity then I expected. I don't think I've ever had a teeth cleaning before. At least not that I could remember.
Anywho, she told me I brushed very well and I had good teeth.... but also had a bunch of minor cavities due to my infrequent flossing. Very infrequent.

In fact, our initial convo went like this:

Doc: So, how often do you brush?

Me: Twice a day, mostly. Once, if I'm out of town or being particularly lazy. But I usually use mouthwash to make up for it.

Doc: Good. And how often do you floss?

Me: errr...... three or four times.... a year?

She tsk tsked.

Honestly, I'm wary of flossing. What if I pop out a tooth?

She assured me that wouldn't happen, but my gums would be sore until they got used to the attention.

After she tallied up how much had to be done and how much it would cost, my eyes goggled and, without meaning to, said:
Oi. Maxed out cards, here I come.

She then assured me that my insurance would take care of most of it. 80 percent, I believe. Which is nice.


After leaving the dentist, I proceeded to get bummed and started debating on whether or not I should get a second job.
After work, I suggested this idea to Manon and my mum.
Manon told me to sit down and stop worrying.
Mum told me that having a second job would turn me into a basketcase. .... well, more of a basketcase. And told me to stop worrying, and that things would be alright.

Yes, I worry a lot.

In fact, I'm worrying right now if I left the oven on...

No, it's off. Good. Safe.

Which reminds me of this:
(parental advisory, some cussing)


Love Eddie Izzard.


Also, there will be a new unveiling of a part of the Rose Happiness Project tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Currently listening to Tornado Man's stage from Mega Man 9. Go classics!!

Health bars

So, in addition to PCOS, the doctor isn't sure that's all that's wrong with me. So, I've got an appointment to see an endocrinologist about my condition. Hopefully all signs will point to me getting better.
On a related note, I'm slowly maxing out another credit card to pay for my meds and visits. While I'm used to the idea that I'll be paying bills for the rest of my life, I'm a little uneasy about this whole 'my condition makes me poor' thing.

Support our honeybees! Buy honey and honey ice cream. Yum yum!

I have developed a schoolgirl crush on Keith Olbermann. It's sad yet true.
I think it's the bushy eyebrows and pretty eyes that do it.

On political news, I'm off on Thursday, so I definitely plan on watching the Vice Pres. debate.
Go Delaware!! Whoo!!

Sideways

Currently writing (re: trying to write) a piece about political discussions, the how to's and don't's.
It's supposed to be witty and funny. :/
We'll see.

I got a letter from the government about my loans. I've got to call them to make some sort of sense out of the letter.

John McCain should not make air quotes. I can make air quotes--he cannot. Please, I'm not being rude, nor mean. But seriously, when you do the air quotes there's a good way to do it.
Give me a call, Mr. McCain, I'll teach you. Have your people talk to..... my... people?

The Dow closes at -777. That's a pretty bad jackpot.


Something people don't know about you: I frequent a paranormal/scary image board because I like reading/watching scary and spooky things.

P.S.:
Goat eyes are creepy.

Drainage

Funny MySpace Pictures


I enjoy this picture so much, I post it twice.

Anywho, I don't have the time to explain the whole of the Rose Happiness Project right now; I've got five minutes until I'm back for work.
But, one part of it is forcing myself to post something/anything after work, Monday through Friday, and once on the weekend if I miss one during the week.

I'm not going to allow this drain in everything in my life to affect everything in my life!!!
.... if that makes sense.....

Anywho, see you in a few hours.

Silver teeth

For those following me on Twitter, you noticed that I was out of town, got a new pet, was drinking a bizarre mixture and getting stabbed.
For those not following me on Twitter, here's what you missed:

- over the weekend I went to Pensacola, Fla., for my dad's birthday weekend celebration. While there, I went crab-hunting and returned victorious with a large ghost crab (looks like the picture above) that has yet to be named.

- Wednesday, I had two appointments. One, were I took a glucose tolerance test. I had to drink an mixture of stuff and looked and tasted like flat orange soda with a lot of sugar in it. Then proceeded to have blood drawn (re: stabbed) on the hour for four hours.
Then, later I went to the dentist to see what was up with my teeth/jaw, because I was having a hard time chewing on the left side of my mouth.
Results: I don't have diabetes but I did have a cavity which had to be filled.
The whole being stabbed and drilled in my mouth wasn't as scary as I remember it being.
I got a silver filling, so now I'm .5 percent silver or something close.

I'm considering making a contest to help me name my crab. Haven't thought what the prize would be though. It could be a combined effort to name my tattoo and my pet.

Explainations pending

To explain the 'message' twitter tweet:
Once a day I have to type up birthday messages to go into the records section for the next day's paper. We have a 'birthday line' where people call in and leave names, dates and messages. We ask that people spell out the person's name, because there are so many different spellings to one name, and because some people have really bizarre names.
There's a lady that calls in (she's called four times since I've worked there) and she insists on spelling out everything.
And I mean everything.
"Happy, h-a-p-p-y.."
The whole thing is like that. And she usually misspells too. Today, she misspelled 'may' (she spelled it 'mae') and 'you' (she spelled it 'yu'). If she insists on spelling everything, she could at least spell it correctly.
I was tempted to misspell it in the paper, and if she called to complain, I'd just explain that I spelled it exactly the way she spelled it out.
But I didn't. I guess I'm not that horrible of a person.

Testosteroni

Disclaimer: it gets weird and personal here, folks. If you're not prepared with your ear muffs and haz-mat suit, I would suggest that you do not enter.

My day has been both eventful and uneventful. It was a bit of a downhill slope: random fits of crying, screaming and crossing my eyes (for pure entertainment's sake) turned into playing Knights of the Republic II and squeezing Easy Cheese directly into my mouth (for pure drowning sorrow's sake.)

My doctor's appointment started out alright. I was fully prepared to hear that: yes, I have PCOS and yes, I would have to take medication and yes, probably have to look out for diabetes and insulin problems. But after some waiting, some fidgeting and some sobbing on my part, I got out with at least some of my dignity intact. But, I'll have to go back in for a glucose check within the next week or so.

Here's a little insight to some of the problems I've been having because of PCOS: (as posted from WebMD.com)

Most common side effects of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome are:

• Acne. (nope)
  
• Weight gain and trouble losing weight. (yes :/ )
  
• Extra hair on the face and body. Often women get thicker and darker facial hair and more hair on the chest, belly, and back. (<.<)
  
• Thinning hair on the scalp. (nope)
• Irregular periods. Often women with PCOS have fewer than nine periods a year. Some women have no periods. Others have very heavy bleeding. (yes :/)
  
• Fertility problems. Many women with PCOS have trouble getting pregnant (infertility). (probably, but don't really care)
  
• Depression. (:/ yeah)
• Cysts on ovaries. (probably, but I've never done a ultrasound)
  

I have many of these, which pretty much clued in my doctor to my having PCOS.
I got a blood test to rule out PCOS, and when it came back positive, they requested another testing (much to my chagrin) to make sure it's not a false positive.
Well, annoyingly enough, my results weren't in. So, I'm waiting to hear back on those. And, I got a Tetanus shot. :(

So, I've been babying my left arm like a petulant child all day.

Even though my second results aren't in, my doctor still prescribed some medication to help relive some of the symptoms. After filling it, I looked in on it. Apparently, it's medication for high blood pressure and heart failure. :/ Excellent.

The side effects of the medication are crazy too: increased breast growth in men, increased urination, drowsiness, rashes and.... my voice might get deeper O.o
So if you get a call from me and it sounds like a dude, don't be alarmed.
Though, I'm confused, if the medication is supposed to cut out my extra androgens (testoserone), then why would it make my voice deeper?

And I have been having a difficult time losing weight, much to my pissed-off-ity (if such a word existed.) So, maybe that'll help out a bit.

I've been stabbed

Just got a shot of Tetanus in my arm. It's sore and I've got to go and get some prescriptions filled.
Will explain later when I'm full of drugs and not quite so sleepy.

Ka-blargh

Many apologies for the lack of updates. There's many excuses, but I'll only bore you with the interesting ones. :P

Got another column in the paper. Although, that only makes two that need to be posted here. The newest column comes straight from this blog. Don't remember the date exactly. Am too lazy to look back. But look up the internet post from last year. That's the one!

Many medical and work-related things have drained my time and focus. I've written many a thing to post here. But my will to actually get in front of the computer and type was drained.

Hell, my will to do anything creative has been pretty down. On a good note, I finally stocked stuff in my Etsy store. Check it out at thecompassrose.etsy.com.

Anyone else find it a bit coincidental that there's a hurricane barreling its way toward the Gulf Coast three years (give or take a day) after Katrina? Work's on hurricane watch and so am I.

Not making any promises, but I'll try my best to start getting stuff going here again. Just gotta find that will.... it's hiding around here somewhere. Just need the right motivation.

The closet politico

Crossposted from my work blog:
(do keep in mind that this was posted Friday)

So, many signs are pointing to Joe Biden, D-Del., being the next vice president. And this Delaware girl's grin couldn't be any bigger.

Sure, there's going to be a lot of flack leading up to the decision. Like how you can accidently drive out of Delaware.

Sure, there's going to be a lot of flack if he does get the spot. Like how many people couldn't find Delaware on a map.

And if Obama and Biden make it to the White House, Delaware will become a buzzword/state. Great!

Delaware's a place with a big heart and lots of gorgeous beaches. And this closet politico couldn't be more excited!

P.S. I'm well aware of that hilarious Wayne's World scene. In fact, eight times out of 10, when I tell people I'm from Delaware, they quote that scene.

So, it's Saturday. And my grin is still here. :)

Muchos are salty and delicious

The reFrenching of Rose continues at a slow and steady pace: I can ask for things to drink, eat, tell you when my birthday is, ask about things, count, know days of the week, months, a few colors and hold tiny, trite conversations.

This shouldn't be too much of a problem, considering I apparently adore trite.

I found out the other day that a co-worker is bilingual in French. I thought this was fantastic and thought about asking her to talk with me to help along my French.

But I haven't asked her yet.

Why? Am I afraid she'll say 'no' and laugh at me? A little.

Mostly, I'm afraid I won't be able to have time for it.

I know how ridiculous this sounds. I have plenty of time on my hands, right?

I don't know, I can't be arsed to paint my toenails, how can I be sure I won't regret asking her to hang out and chat French?

Completely ridiculous, I know.

There must be something wrong with me.

My eyes!! They burn!

So, anybody else feel their childhood shrivel up when they found out about this roast of Bob Saget.

I was really confused about Mr. Saget having a roast. I was horrified when he said "balls."

What is going on here? He was the dad on Full House. He's supposed to be nice and quiet and understanding.

Then someone showed me the light: apparently, Bob Saget is the world's most vulgar man, ever! My eyes, my sensibilities, my everything!


But, on a less gross note, I was talking with someone about my pants problem. Come to find out, it might not be about weight, but about laundry. I have four specific pairs of pants that I wear a lot to work. They get washed a lot. And I've noticed that they were a bit tight after washing, but that they eventually worked their way back to normal... sorta.

Apparently, it comes down the times of washing and what's used. I use average stuff. And I wear/wash my pants a lot.

In closing, I'm not so much of a lard butt. Yay!


Things that make me rage: people that hold their phones in front of their mouths to talk. Dude, it's not a walkie-talkie. People like that make me want to take their phones from them, slap them, hand them a walkie-talkie and then clean/use their nice phone.

"...it made my butt blow up..."

I found this while perusing The Clairon-Ledger's website. It's a person's response to an article about Victoria Osteen, wife of megachurch evangelist Joel Osteen, and how she attacked a flight attendant:

"I read in a Yahoo type-up of this story that mentioned the flight attendent
was left so upset by this whole venture that she has suffered from
hemorroids ever since. I have been left livid by the actions of people in my
life, I have been emotionally scarred, upset and damaged for a time, but I
can never say that I have been so upset by someone that it made my butt blow
up nor do I know of anyone who can say they have encountered that."

I don't know about him, but I've been angry enough to make my butt hurt, LOL.

Two heaping double D cups of evil

...that's me!

I enjoy being plump. I have lovely curves, breasts that can be used as a deadly weapon and a vintage-y hourglass figure.
However, I think I'm getting a little too plump.

The average American woman's size is between 10 and 14, and i flux in between 12 and 14 depending on style and cut.
Yet, according to my BMI thingy, I'm easily 30-40 pounds overweight. Which didn't bother me until I tried to put on a pair of pinstripe pants I love. And I couldn't button them.

Then I grabbed a grey pinstripe pair, and they were.... well, a bit tight in the crotch. So, I grabbed yet another pair of pants, same size as the grey pair, and they don't quite fit in a different way. These are trying to fall off my hips.

The thing is, these two pair of pants are the same size. The grey pinstripe is from Old Navy and the latter pair is from Gap.

You'd think the fit would be the other way around.

Gap is all about lanky, stick figures and Old Navy has a bit more relaxed look. Yet, I'm uncomfortable in an Old Navy pair and I'm struggling to keep my Gap pants on.

This does not compute.

Also, a non answer is not an answer at all. You know who you are.

News: The Tudors will have a third season! Rock!

Where am I going with this?

Coke.
The Olympics big sponsor.
I enjoy the flashy, bright and colorful commercials with dragons and grizzy bears... but to tell you the truth, I can't drink Coke.

It's too bitter for me.

I'm a Pepsi girl through and through.

The occasions that I've had a Coke was when I was curious about their flavored ones:
Coke with Lime became bitter with an aftertaste of lime
Vanilla Coke became bitter with an aftertaste of vanilla
Cherry Coke became bitter with an aftertaste of cherry
and so on....

Speaking of flavors, I miss Lemon Pepsi. When I go out somewhere that offers lemons, I usually snag one to plop in my Pepsi or Root Beer. Disturbing to hear, I know.

I will admit that I do enjoy (and by extension, am jealous of) how some Coke bottles/cans have their names written in different languages.

I've even got a shirt, a Coke shirt at that, in Russian.

Where am I going with this? Just writing to amuse myself really. :)

Lovely lovely

Did anyone else watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics with their jaws nearly to the floor?
It was so pretty!

And I had a big grin on my face during the parade of countries. The outfits were so neat and everyone was so happy.

And how adorable was the little Chinese boy (his name escapes me)? I loved him. Thoroughly enjoyed the juxtaposition of 7+ foot Yao and little boy. Too adorable.


News: Doctor Who season 4 will be out on DVD November 18, a week and a half after my birthday. *hint hint*

What is this taste?

Got back from a "A Taste of..." convention thingy- a nice little perk of working at a newspaper. Basically I got to walk around and sample handout foods and gather lots of pens and random trinkets. However, after sampling a strange cheese dip, I probably shouldn't have wailed "What in the world makes this flavor?!?" while looking completely revolted.

Probably.

But it was really bad.

And I still can't figure out what in the world made that cheese dip taste like that.

Also, I still haven't named my little crab friend. That's him above.

I haven't named him yet...

Much like the old dare of saying "Bloody Mary" three times in front of the mirror, the word "Favre" has become an evil chant to summon my ire.
I can't stand that name anymore.

I work at the newspaper in Hattiesburg and ever since the Favre fiasco has started, all I hear is "Favre, Favre,Favre!"

Much like "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!"

The reason the newspaper has been in such a Favre uproar is not just because it's a big deal because of the sports thing, but because Favre lives in Hattiesburg.

So, everyone's been on Favre watch.

I'm not a sports oriented person. I like hockey and I like a little soccer now and then.

But the spectator sport I've always enjoyed is sitting back and watching my dad (a super, hardcore sports fan) scream and throw things at the TV as he watches sports. Any sports at all.
Even golf, a sport you're supposed to be quiet at.

Also, I went to Pensacola with my dad and sister and got talked into getting a tattoo: a teeny little crab I designed and had them copy. It's like I have a permanent friend with me. A tiny, one inch little friend.
I'll post a picture when Blogger's not rejecting all pictures.

Oh yeah, and if anyone says that tattoos don't hurt is a liar. A big, fat liar.

I'll always be young at heart

So, I found a character creator to play dress up with.

Yes, I realize this sounds silly and childish. I just like to think of it as being young at heart. I can't dress up in my Mum's dresses and pearls anymore (she doesn't really wear dresses anymore anyway.) So, I've got to play dress up somewhere. This way it's less hassle and I don't have to worry about changing clothes.

But really think about it:
If everyone, deep down, didn't like a form of dress up, would we have as detailed character creators on several video games.

In Oblivion, my character has the same skin color but has green eyes and teal hair. She's an elf and is excellent at archery. My eyes are light brown, my hair is dark brown and I'm not an elf. I also wouldn't be good at archery as I've got the arms of a T-rex.

In another game, who's name escapes me, I was a voluptuous cleric elf with flaming red hair. She looked a lot like me, except for the being an elf with flaming red hair part. And her hips looked much better than mine. Oh yeah, and I can't do magic healing spells.

Deep down, we want to wear something that interesting or in addition to just changing outfits, we can change our appearance. We can be lizard people, elves or muscled barbarians. We can have skills and jobs that we couldn't achieve in real life.

So, here's the character I created, I call her Crustecean Queen:

My body image idols

My body image idols are Crystal Renn and Natalie Laughlin. That's a pic of Natalie above.
They wear the same sizes as me: 12 to 14 and are beautiful and happy to be themselves.

Perhaps I can stop glaring at my hips now.

Here's a little article about them and other plus models: http://thetrendsetter.wordpress.com/2007/05/15/beautiful-plus-size-models/

I hate the term 'plus-size.' It gives the impression that a person is double the size of a normal person.

Newsflash people! The normal woman wears sizes 10-14. I could understand calling someone who wears sizes 22 and above a plus-size, because, technically, they are wearing a size doubled of the 'normal' size.

I don't mind calling them plus models, because they are A+ in my book.

The continued misadventures of an East Coast girl in Mississippi

This will also going to be cross-posted in my work-blog. The folks at work want the site to be more people friendly and have more personable things to read.

Sort of a 'If you post it, they will come' kind of thing.

If you're interesting in reading stuff at my work website, here's the link to my work profile: http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&U=cbd656ba4f1141deafbc1d78b74290f5&plckUserId=cbd656ba4f1141deafbc1d78b74290f5


So, upon moving here, I've learned that watching the weather channel is pointless.

The weather here is nothing more than a toss up of humid heat or humid rain.

Just make sure you've got an umbrella handy.

Tuesday, there was only a 30 percent chance of rain. Yet, by that afternoon, the sky had fallen in and there was flooding everywhere.
Thinking I was slick, I jumped over one puddle only to land in a much larger puddle behind it.

My shoes were completely filled with rainwater.

Yet, Wednesday, there was a 70 percent chance of rain.... and it was sunny all day.

I do not heart nurses?

Out of my experience, eight out of ten nurses are horrible beast women.

However, this was not the case when I went to the clinic yesterday:
The nurses were fantastic, they even made me laugh. Incredible!

On the downside, I am waiting with breath abated see if my blood results show that I have PCOS. Read about my possible illness here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycystic_ovary_syndrome.

So yeah, this week is a bit weird..... as well as having my shoes filled with rainwater. :/

Nerdgasm of the millionth degree

The huge grin on my face is ridiculous and won't go away.

Being born in '81 and being a lifetime gamer probably would explain what happened last night.

Something in my head snapped and I was speechless for about five minutes. Then I spouted complete gibberish and my eyes filled with tears. Then came the laughing. Slightly hysterical, yes, but happy nonetheless.

I felt like I was in my adolescence again. Where I sat in front of the TV, NES controller in hand and rocking out to mono vg music. Gnawing my lip while trying to get past a particularly tricky part.

My heart fluttered a bit. It seemed to ignore that hate wall it was applying mortar to and began to dance. Much like the Grinch's heart, mine grew a bit and I felt satisfied and really pleased.

I now NEED to get my hands on a Wii, PS3 or 360. Perhaps, all of the above.

What am I talking about?

Just watch:




Nerdgasm to all and to all a good night.

Blargh!!

So, I had full intentions of going to New Orleans today; there's a Huey Lewis and the News free concert going on. But due to lack of funds, high gas prices and the fact that I haven't won the lottery, I'll just be sitting around here for the day.

Hell, I've got just $100 to my name for the next three weeks. At least, I've got groceries and entertainment. And the bills are paid off.

On an annoying note, I woke this morning, not to the sound of an alarm, not to the sound of a phone ringing, but to the sound of a basketball hitting the ground over and over again.
Extremely peeved, partially asleep, I glare out my window to see a man running up and down the parking lot in front of my window and my neighbor's window, dribbling a basketball.

It's 8.30 in the morning, and someone's playing basketball, in front of my window.

And I couldn't get back to sleep. I'm that kind of person, the kind that can't sleep once awakened. And I hate it.

I could have vaporized that man with my glare.

The real Me?

Oooooh, a next day post! Surprise!

No, I'm not dying.... at least not as far as I know.
No, this is a purely selfish post.
There's been a lot on my mind - besides the raging, which is probably constant - kinda depressing kind of stuff.
I also worry that I'm filling this blog with trite stuff, so here's something meaty.

Don't run away, I promise to give an uplifting surprise for those that wade through my muck.... or just scroll to the bottom of this post. Either way.

Here goes:
Many a time, I think I'm a terrible person. Yeah, I said it. There's a lot of things I regret.

No, I'm not going to list them. It would make this blog want to cut its own wrists if it could.

I try to be a nice person, see the goodness in everyone and all that jazz. This makes me come off as naive.

I am told this all of the time. And I agree. I am terribly naive. I'm naive, I wear my heart on my sleeve and I try to please everyone.

Well, not everyone, but a good lot of people.

I'm judgmental too. Which makes me come off as bitter. I just think I'm a good judge of character.

Except when it comes down to people I'm attracted to. I'm not so good a judge of character then.

I'm kinda pretentious about certain things. I'm not pretentious about myself. It's hard and really deep to explain. Or maybe it's not.

So, I am nothing if not bitter and naive. A bizarre combination. And I don't see how it works.....

Oh wait.... yes, I do. It makes me look schizo. Perhaps I am.

I will be 27 in November. I will be in my late twenties and I don't really feel like a grownup.

I know that sounds silly, but it's true. I see people around my age, some of them mature, and I wonder if I will be like that when I get to that age.

Or will I just be as immature? Will I just feel old? Will I still feel like crying when it rains? Will I still get a big grin on my face when the sun's out?

Or is this all part of my permanent charm?

Anywho, as promised here's the good stuff:





Love that song. Nothing better than some cute cats to brighten up your day.

Kafluffle

Alright....
So, no excuses this time for not blogging... it just comes down to pure laziness. It's not as if I've had nothing to write about (because I have plenty), it's just..... I don't know, I can't describe it. Weekends have been a bit busy and after coming home from work, I usually make dinner and veg out in front of the TV, then hit bed.

Nothing special, nothing life threatening.

Updates:
-- still currently want to kill upstairs neighbor for being a stompy, tripe-spewing waste of life.
-- got Twitter, but can't get the text message part to work.
-- finally got the 2-foot hole in my wall patched up, a slow process for the maintenance guys... my baseboard is still disconnected.
-- going to see the Dark Knight tomorrow morning
-- I occasionally play Secret of Solstice, a silly and cute little online gaming thing.
-- French still going slow, but well. Or, bon!

I have nothing particularly interesting to write about other than another rage item:
Seeing bad grammar in a professional setting.
I can understand an occasional slip up here and there and I expect to see them in blogs and random writings.
But sweet crustaceans! If you work for the New York Times or similar, I shouldn't see 'your' instead of 'you're' in your column or article. Nor should I see 'effect' versus 'affect' and the word 'business' or 'restaurant' misspelled. I especially shouldn't see them all in one column, together, near each other.

She wasn't quoting someone, she wasn't trying to be funny, she wasn't using funny Internet lingo.....
It was just bad! Where was spell check? Where was her AP style guide book?

Why can't I have her fun, cushy job? Seriously, I'm funny (to myself) and I have proper grammar skills when I need to use them.

I realize that this is silly behavior, but I can't help but spaz out and roll around on the floor of my mind in a crazy, rage-filled tantrum. Then I stop thinking this lest people near me realize what I'm doing and call up the people with the straightjackets.

I've noticed that I write about my little rage things a lot. This makes me wonder and worry.
Wonder: if everyone thinks I've got an anger problem; I don't.
Worry: that all this raging if going to give me a heart-attack, ulcer or similar.

My unending fury; let me show you it

Visa, accepted everywhere….

…except Sam’s Club.

Nothing brings me more fury than something trying to come between me and some delicious croissants.

So, it’s been awhile and I have a few excuses to give:

Excuse #1:

My computer’s been sick. Poor little LancasterRose (yes, I name my inanimate objects) was sick. Vista’s being a bit of a bint.

Ironically enough, this happened shortly after I was making a big deal out of how Vista was causing no problems for me. Then a Vista update comes up that, after installing, promptly causes little LRose to vomit all over herself. I was in a complete uproar over the whole fiasco.

Calling for Bill Gate’s head was a few of the things that spewed forth from my angry head.

Using the internets was an impossibility, much less even getting LRose to turn on without crapping out shortly after that.

After a little finangling and threatening to downgrade to XP, I cured LRose…. mostly. There’s still a few hang-ups here and there and she occasionally gets a little sneezing fit now and then.

But I think we’ve got it under control.

Excuse #2:

Getting stuff published at work. That’s right! I finally got my name in print. I wrote an editorial column on language (which I will cross-post here as well) and now I’ve got the chance to have a semi-weekly personal column!

Actually, not completely weekly, but at least on a semi-standard basis–it all comes down to space constraints. The first of these personal columns will be coming out Thursday(which I will also post here.)

The countdown to my debut column begins!

Currently turning my fury towards Southern Living magazine. There’s an article online (possibly in their magazine too, I don’t know, I don’t read it) that I stumbled upon while surfing cnn.com. The article goes a little something like this (things added in bold were added for pure fury making pointing outing):

“I love discovering a unique place to stay--an inn with character, heritage, all the modern amenities, and a restaurant that makes me smile. The South boasts lots of these jewels, and one of my favorites sits in the Brandywine Valley of Delaware, land of the Du Ponts--and those guys sure knew how to live.”

-- Wanda McKinney, www.southernliving.com.

Oi! Keep your filthy paws off my silky shores!! (ok, that didn’t make sense, but anyhow…)

A quick and never-fail way to piss me off and to make me RAGE is to put somewhere I love (Delaware, my homestate) in the same sentence with somewhere I hate (the south) and then try and say they are related.

And I’m not just saying this because of my hatred of the south, because there are a few nice things about the south: the few nice people I have met, Morgan Freeman, red beans and rice, the Aquarium of Americas….. ummm….

What I’m trying to say is that it’s just plain false – Delaware is many things, a Mid-Atlantic state, an East Coast state, a Middle state. One thing it isn’t is a southern state; the line stops with Virginia, people! – it’s also stupid. It’s right up there with saying, “Hey, let’s throw New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania in the south as well.”

Things I’m looking forward to:

Batman makes the list twice with Gotham Knight and the Dark Knight.

The Tracey Fragments – it sounds interesting and the cover of the DVD is pretty neat.

Carla Bruni’s new CD – I’m very interested in hearing music by the First Lady of France.

Everybody loves a crazy girl...

... at least I hope so. Then there's hope for me yet.

So, it's been proven: Blackberry usage has increased surgery on thumbs.

Pure craziness.

I don't have a BlackBerry and I'm not sure I even want one. They're kinda cute and someone's likened them to portable laptops. O.o
Yeah, I know. Laptops are supposed to be portable. But truly, you can't cram a laptop in your pocket, but you can a BlackBerry.

But I digress, I think....

I enjoy technology. It entertains me, I thrive on it; but it also confuses me (not hard to do) and frustrates me.

I love emails. You've got friend in Europe and you live in the States? Phone bill's a bit high? Emails are the answer!

However, I'm not a big fan of texting. To be honest, I didn't make my first text until my junior year of university. I admit that they're convenient. You're on the other side of campus, there's a dinner party tonight and you want to invite a friend whose schedule is completely different from yours, so that you don't have a chance to see them until right before the party. Text them for a quick invite and answer.

Or, your bored at work and your friend texts you a joke, similar funny thing or a teeny ting chat that brightens your day.

Perfect, that usage of texting is fine.

However, ::insert dramatic music here:: I can't stand people having full conversations through text. It's pointless! It's a communication breakdown! Whatever happened to just talking to a person?

Look, if you want to carry a conversation with me, call me.

Besides, my brain does this thing were it inserts random things into what I'm reading and the context of the written conversation completely changes. I've gotten plenty of strange looks from this.


Quick little updates: I've added a link to a blog I frequent. I should really bulk up my linkie area. I'm just afraid of the monster I'd create. I'm also periodically reading over and adding to a few older posts that I thought needed some bulking up. (What's the the bulking?) I grew tired of limiting myself; worrying that "Oh noes! Someone might actually read this and get offended! Or worse, tell me I'm boring!"

Well, I'm currently over that. It's my blog. I'm going to do what I please.

Please don't hate me. (I'm ridiculous....)

Don't worry, this will still be worksafe..... mostly.


Still learning French: It's a slow process and I don't plan on getting really proficient with it. Just enough so that I can amuse myself and add even more pride to my extremely mixed heritage (more on that later.)


What am I currently doing? What I do best! Looking at pictures; this time it's pictures of pastries. Yum!

My illegalities....

... let me show you them.

So, we were talking about various illegal, immoral and similar things. The questions I agreed with were: have you ever snuck into a movie? and have you walked out on a meal ticket?

Movies:
I was a bit young, not old enough to watch a 'R' rated movie, I thought I was smarter than the average.... uh, ticket taker. So, I bought a ticket for random PG movie and then nonchalantly walked into aforementioned 'R' rated movie.
The second time, some friends and I wanted to watch something fun and ridiculous. So, we got tickets for 'Ghost Ship.'

I'll pause here for uncontrollable pitying laughter.

After 10 minutes, the pure idiocy of this movie got to me and I walked out..... and in to 'Punch Drunk Love.'

Ok, so..... not really illegal.... but, I thought so at the time.


Food:
So, the service was bad, they only bought out one of the five meals ordered and we had been awaiting nearly an hour. Don't get me wrong, I've worked in food before. I understand, there are reasons and excuses like: it's busy, there's no food, I'm the only one here.

But none of these things were going on. It wasn't busy, there was food, she wasn't the only wait staff there. You could see the cooks leaning around, eating, talking. One of the other wait staff was practically feeling up her boyfriend, who had come in to see her.

There were no excuses other than this: trashy trash was leaving Rose hungry. There's no excuse for that. Everyone else got up to leave, so did I.

I wasn't about to pay for everyone else's stuff.


Also, not only does John Oliver's voice make me feel warm and fuzzy, it's also his double dose of dimples. They make me purr like some sort of bizarre, person-sized kitten.


And, I've added the website for the newspaper that I work for because.... well, I'm feeling nice.

The trouble with Macs

I'm not good with Macs. Really I'm not. It's not like I can't understand them--I've taught other people how to use them, I've used them almost exclusively in classes. And to be honest, I almost bought a Macbook. It's like my dislike of math. I can do it, I can teach it, I'll get an A in the class--just don't make me do it.

The commercials really piss me off. A bit too pretentious for my tastes.

Really, I don't have too much of a problem with Macs and I think if I had my own, I'd be fine with it. But I won't be needing one for quite a while--my cute HP with fun vector art on it works just fine.


My happy thought of the year:
Have something you feel really good about doing, something that you think you're really good at. It doesn't matter what it is: it could be being really good at building towers of cards, you can spin around a million times and not get dizzy or the ability to diffuse a hungry situation. It doesn't matter what other people think--this is all about YOU. Now, find out what it is and smile when you think about it.

Get better at it. It doesn't matter what it is. And whenever you're doing it, smile. Whenever you think about it, smile.

And you'll find yourself smiling more.

Currently: trying to learn one of my native languages: French. Also, trying to remember what I do know in Spanish and Japanese.

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

Does anyone else remember that movie? I loved it and the cartoon that followed.

Quote of the day: "I like surprise cupcakes, not surprise tomatoes." --Me

Yes, I'm quoting myself. Quite cheesy, I know. But still, it's an appropriate quote for today's blog. I said this at work while a coworker and I were discussing the current tomato epidemic.

So, the FDA doesn't know how tomatoes were tainted. O_o I'm not pleased about this. I'm perfectly fine with me not understanding how it works. But, if just makes me nervous to think that the FDA doesn't understand.

I like how they refer to the tomatoes as "implicated."
"The raw red Plum, red Roma and red Round are implicated in the outbreak."

www.fda.gov gives a list of states and areas that tomatoes are safe to eat from; however, I have no idea where my tomatoes are from. And I only buy Roma tomatoes! There goes my tomato consumption, which was limited to begin with.


Due to the ridiculous gas business, mass transit it up--higher than it's 1957 peak--which is good for people that have reliable mass tran in their city.
It's a rare occasion that I even see a bus here.

I'm considering getting my bike fixed and equipped with a basket. I think it would be cute, fun and healthy. ...however, it would also be hot, sweaty and unhealthy considering how freaking humid and hot it is here. Not to mention the fact that drivers here don't realize that pedestrians have the right of way. It's like one big Grand Theft Auto map.

Get 5,000 points for hitting the old woman with walker. 10,000 points for babies in strollers. 20,000 points for clumsy college grad on bike.


DVD's I want that are out this week:
The Other Boleyn Girl, the Boondocks: Season 2, Otis


Current mood: disappointed--my name isn't that different from it's English spelling/pronunciation than in other languages. :(

I require nutrients of the chocolate variety

New list:
Voices that grate on my nerves: Rachel Ray, Adam Sandler....
I added the ellipsis because I'm sure I'll continue to add to this list.


Movie news:
The title for Transformers 2 is: the Revenge of the Fallen... or Return of the Fallen..... one of those two. My brain seems to not be functioning under these terrible conditions i.e. I haven't eaten yet.


Currently raging over: (when am I now raging over something?)
Also currently raging over the big commencement hype going on. Where was my big to-do during my commencement? Granted, I graduated in December, but that shouldn't matter. Why didn't Mr. Colbert come to speak at my commencement?
He doesn't have to be frightened of my youthful vigor, it was stolen long ago and replaced by a constant shifting mood between childlike naivete and bitter cynicism.
But seriously, I have been raging over the lack of fall commencement coverage for a long time. Long before I graduated, but shortly after I learned that I would be graduating in a fall commencement. I noticed the diminished amount of grad-related things and increased amount of people asking me about my 'spring' graduation that didn't exist. RAAAAAGEEEE!

Also, tomatoes and salmonella. Why? Why? But more importantly, what? I don't really understand the whole tomatoes being able to have salmonella. I was able to understand that chicken can have salmonella because.... chicken is inherently evil and they ooze evil from their pores. But how does a tomato have it? Have the chicken been conversing when the tomatoes? Should we be worried about a Poultry/Produce vs Human war?

My proudness, let me show you it

My mum bought a DS Lite Friday. My heart swells with pride.
She has come over to the gamer side.


A man was arrested for shooting a black bear in George County.... this is about two counties away from me. Granted, he gave false information, tampered with evidence and I don't really know the full story but.....
If something was trying to eat my face off, I'd try and defend myself too. Except, I would play dead like in cartoons.... and then I would probably be promptly eaten.


New wants:
Pentax Optio W60 underwater digital camera in blue, only $330.

College graduate =/= Millionarie

This morning consisted of ringing up the lenders that my student loans are through and asking about consolidation.
My grace period is up on the 15th and I'm most certainly not happy about this business.
Come to find out, none of my lenders are consolidating at this time. In fact, they've suspended any consolidation. I even called up my credit card company, since they also do loan consolidation. Oh! They have their consolidating suspended too.

Why, you ask? Because of the recession and the crap situation that the economy is currently in right now.

Thank you, government. To thank you, I wrote you a letter

Dear government,
I hate you so much.
Love, Rose :)



On a happier note, at the end of this month, I will have something that I have been without for about 8 years--health insurance.

Yes, health insurance.

These past few years, I've been trying so hard to stay semi-healthy: not breathing around sick people, constantly washing my hands, scarfing down vitamins.... I didn't want to catch that case of the deadness that been going around.



I read an interesting article the other day, in the Indianapolis Star. It was stating that job seeker's manners during interviews were in a "downward spiral" and that hiring managers were upset about this "deterioration" of behavior. That one would see alcohol, profanity and the use of cell phones during interviews.

Honestly, shouldn't that be something really helpful in finding people not to hire?

"Oh, this guy is drunk. And that guy has shouted 'f' four times into his cellphone. How about I hire this nice guy over here that can actually tie his shoes without the help of his mother."

The dangers of cats, puzzles and Moon Pies

A homeless man was arrested for allegedly attacking an 84-year-old man with a box of Moon Pies in Illinois. I'm not sure what the motive was... but I do know one thing: don't come between a person and their Moon Pies.