Thoughts on American Horror Story epi 10

Typing this while I'm watching, so it's going to be very stream of conscious-y.

Holy crap, Tate!
I'd be pissed if someone was serving greens and cornbread for dinner, but that's no excuse for breaking the dishes! ...just makes a mess.

Drugs... really?

That's a nice coat. Wait.. what are you... STOP DROP AND ROLLLLLL

Do institution rooms really look like that? Thankfully, I've never been in one.
But...really? Can't be. Am sure that's done for looks and creep factor.

That's some pretty low blows there, Constance.

Oh Tate, you seducer, you.

ewwww... flies

Damn, Constance keeps bringing on them low blows. "...courseness.."
Oh no... no, you didn't. 'sup, puppies...

Ouch! Really, Tate! Was that necessary?!
Granted... I'd be a little offended if the pest guy was terrified of me... actually, what was he freaked out over?!?!?!

So... anyone else think Tate looks nice all wrapped up in that suit?

Awww, Travis is sweet with the OH MY GOD
ow ow ow ow ow that's just
ouch
This isn't... ok, it's rude but, I'm all itchy just looking at them.
OH HI MOM

Little diluted there, Barry?

DUDE FIGHT
Ben, the zipper! Zipper!
ouch... was that marble?

That lawyer guy's cute. He can buy me Starbucks anytime. well.. maybe not at night. You know what I mean.

.like Romeo and Juliet.. wut
whoa whoa whoa... wut
wait... STOP RUNNING IN THE HOUSE

"Why am I running around like a crazy person?" -- I ask myself this everyday, Violet.

oh gross, Violet! Close your mouth... flies will get in.. NEVERMIND

ok, Barry. Sometimes, I have a hard time disconnecting you from your True Blood character. And right now... I'm thinking you're up to some vampire tricks...
or not. You're being all "paying for my crimes."

Like from a cookbook

The first picture on this page over at New York is actually pleasant looking until you realize what you're looking at. What I thought was a harmless head of cabbage is actually a placenta.

At one point in the article, a professional placenta preparer says, "It's the freshest placenta I've ever worked with!"

Horrified, yet fascinated, I continued reading and found this nugget:

"I was prepared to wrestle it from the nurse's hands."

Apparently, you get a rush from all the nutrients and everything else that feeds the baby while it hangs out in your abdomen.
It's a strange thing to me, but it's another one of those that comes down to it being the choice of the people involved. However, I believe I'll have my next meal sans placenta, please.
(Come on now, did you expect anything else from the girl that's extremely wary of the idea of being pregnant.)

Art update

For those of you that have been asking, here's a few things that I've been working on.
For the MS Paint Adventure Homestuck fans, start your squealing. That's right, I decided to do some headcanon troll silhouettes. I've finished lineart on six trolls so far: Feferi, Gamzee, Kanaya, Tavros, Terezi and Aradia.
Stay tuned for more!

In the defense of magnets

When doing any sort of PR work, whether for yourself or others, one generally things of business cards, flyers and stickers.
But what about something that works as all of the above? What about magnets?

Being incredibly versatile, magnets can be shaped like business cards, handed out like flyers and peel off like stickers. And the best part, they stick on any metal surface with minimal fuss. Door, car, fridge - as long as it's metal, you just slap it on and you're good to go.

I've been thinking of heading up a small campaign of my own to get my photography, writing and art out to a wider audience. So, of course I've been toying with the general things that come to mind: business cards and flyers to hand out or leave on coffee shop tables and boards and slapping stickers about town.

As I was racking my brain for more ideas, I was stumbled upon a quirky idea: magnets!

Abstract art magnet via magnets.com

As luck would have it, I came across www.magnets.com and drooled over the customization options.

I was fortunate to get a sample pack from the company and tried them out. I actually got rough with them, especially with the outdoor magnet. It's weather resistant, but is it Rose resistant?
The answer was: yes, the magnet still lives.
The magnets are slick and brightly colored. You can upload your own art and give instructions on EXACTLY how you want your magnet to come out. You get free proofs. And they even offer a price guarantee!

There's a variety of styles, sizes and shapes. There's even a Save the Date category, perfect for weddings, baby showers, family and class reunions.
If you're thinking of getting the word about your business, event or gathering, I highly suggest you check out magnets.com.

You can't really forget about a website, business or special occasion if it's looking you in the eye every time you open your door.

Work log 62911

Rose has been banned from popping popcorn at another workplace.
She only set the timer to two minutes!
Yet, when she checked on it, there was smoke steaming out the sides. Thinking to quickly remove the offending burnt offering, she opened the microwave... and then quickly shut it when billows of yellow smoke started pouring out. The branch will smell like burnt popcorn for the rest of the day.

Thankfully, Rose gets off early today.

Work log 62811

You know how chickens, turkeys and cows have that loose, waddle thing under their chins?

from Northrup.org

Yeah, this customer has one... and I can't stop staring at it.

Rose has no idea why this woman is being rude. Perhaps it is because she has no neck and her forearm looks like a ham.

from littlefrugalista.wordpress.com

She should donate her arm; she could feed a starving family of cannibals.

Rose has an hour and a half until lunch, so she passes the time by doodling her friends, Nels in particular, and deciding what to have for lunch. She's thinking of having a baked potato and soup or sandwich and soup. She's addicted to McAllister's chicken tortilla soup.

Rose found out two very interesting things today: her column is being published and that it's apparently frowned upon to actually take the 15-minute break allotted you and use your cell phone in the break room. However, it's A-O.K. to use the office phones for long, personal calls of a mediocre nature.

Published!

My column summarizing some of my racially-charged experiences in Mississippi is out!
Check it out at JacksonFreePress.com

Work log 62711

Random thing I started writing the other day. It's written in third-person, which makes me giggle.

Rose woke up before her alarm, with Murmur greeting her as soon as she sat up.
She checked her messages and teased a friend about how he wasn't "THAT stupid."
Rose's mom made her special crispy waffles which Rose gobbled up. She had a small teacup of coffee that had a splash of chocolate in it.
She was disappointed that Homestuck wasn't updated but anticipated exiting ones to come. She felt too lazy to take a shower, so she picked out a red wrap shirt and grey trousers to wear.
Rose fed the cats, ran her hands through her hair, made sure she put on deodorant and dashed out the door.

Every morning at the job she despises (due to boredom, lack of creativity and general annoyances) starts out pretty much the same. Some inane passive-aggressive comment is made and she does her best to ignore it. Between intermittent customers, she stares outside, spacing out while listening to birdsong and doodling. In particular, she worked on a picture of Jacob kayaking, which is hilarious to her because she describes him as, "that 40-foot-tall guy." She also worked on a tattoo she's designing to go on her left wrist.
She scolds herself on the sheer amount of clothes she has that she doesn't wear.
Before lunches begin, she asks her supervisor if she can switch hours because she has a migraine. Her supervisor thinking it'll be busy, so she has to stay. During her lunch, she eats of cucumber sandwich and popcorn and downloads some game to her phone, half of which she gets bored of and deletes.
Back from lunch, her migraine lessens in pain but begins to affect her speech and reactions: math comes quicker, but conversation that requires her to think slows. She feels her expressions look nearly drunk and words are slurred. She doesn't feel as passionate about things as she normally does... perhaps migraines release her inner Gamzee (to use fangirl terminology) but in reverse.
One of Rose's coworkers laughs at something she says.
Rose's response was, "If you thought that was funny, just wait. The more this migraine continues, the more weird it's going to get."
Her bad hearing gets even worse and so does her hunger.
A gentleman came in wearing an ivory straw hat and bright pink suit. His reasoning was, "You gotta look good when you come [into the bank] to get money."
At Rose's work, aerosol dust cleaners are frowned upon because various people have allergies or respiratory infections. Rose wishes that rudeness was frowned upon because she has an allergy to assholes.

Responses

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CARTER SMITH

GQ June 2011

My imagined response to seeing this in real life:

Oh! Well, hi there, Mr. Skarsgard.

What's that? You need me to tie that tie for you? No problem!

My realistic response to seeing this in real life:

Stare him down while slack-jawed, then pull one of these:

And THEN tie the tie for him.

I got skills, yo.

On a sidenote: True Blood season 4 comes out June 26. Get your necks ready.

Refreshing fashion

Since Nerds 2 or E3 2011 summary will have to wait since someone got called for jury duty, I decided some refreshing fashion will have to tide us over...
or at least just some pictures of outfits I find cute.

I'm loving the casual feel and the striped socks

How cute!

Who love calivintage.com? This girl! Was just introduced to it today and immediately fell in love.

How adorable is this? I love browsing curveappeal on tumblr.

And remember: smiling is ALWAYS in fashion.

NERDS or E3 2010 summary

My good friend, Mr. Cheese, is into video game coverage in a way I can only envy.
I don't have the attention span to go the distance that he does.
But I am lucky. I get to have the coverage summarized for me in his usual wit and prose. And this time, he has consented to me sharing nerdgasms with you.

To bring you up to speed, I give you:
Mr. Toasters Cheese's E3 2010 summary:
(the text has been altered to leave out answers to my goofy questions... unless they're hilarious;
also, lack of punctuation and grammar is kept for realism)

Last year Microsoft showed a bunch of "awesome" first person shooters and then "wowed" everyone with their new Kinect bullshit. They wrapped up by revealing their BRAND NEW CONSOLE which was an Xbox 360 with built in wifi, something it should have had since the start


Will Microsoft be a big of a screw up as they were last year?
Can't really say, no one has revealed what they will be discussing at their conferences really. What is to be expected: more kinect, more HALO, more GEARS OF WAR, more YAWN

Hillarious thing from last year that I hope happens again: when they paused for people to clap, no one clapped

After Microsoft, Electronic Arts will be having their press conference. Last year EA talked about all their SPORTS GAMES (whooooooo) and how you can WATCH OTHER PEOPLE PLAY THEIR GAMES! Just like watching

real sports

Purchase a game just to watch people play the game?

aw-right.

This was followed by a like 5 minute video talking about how people live their lives or some bullshit while talking about Sims 3.

THATS RIGHT, SIMS 3, A GAME THAT WAS OUT OVER A YEAR AGO, IS NOW COMING TO ALL CONSOLES.

The big reveal!!!!!!!!!

ALRIGHT!!!!!!

SIDE NOTE: gametrailier's live E3 stream fail

theres no sound

and yet people are still talking to each other

After EA we're going to have Ubisoft.

Not going to lie, don't remember much of all about Ubisoft's press conference last year. Let me try to piece it together.

The first part was them showing off a bunch of games they showed off at the Microsoft Press Conference earlier that morning.

I almost stopped watching here but I continued.

Rose says: for the good of all of us

I remember seeing the badass trailer to Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Which only made me want to play the series more, which I finally got to do. I saw a bunch of games they were working on including a Rayman game! Holy crap Rayman!

And then the finished up telling everyone to "beat it" with a live performance of a bunch of people dancing to Michael Jackson's Beat It

At this point Ubisoft was doing best.

Which was kind of sad.

But that's ok, we had Sony coming up, surely they could beat everyone else after the fuck was going on during the morning.

sidenote: lol they randomly showed the wrong camera

some random chick sitting at a desk looking bored as fuck with some guy working on cue cards

Rose says: ::thumbs way up::

SONY E3 2010!!! THIS WAS GOING TO BE SWEET.

The Playstation move. Yeah so it's kind of like the Wiimote but there's this giant huge gay ball on top. It's way more precise than the Wii wihch makes it better. 

Oh but don't notice we have NO MENTIONABLE GAMES for the playstation move yet.

And instead of watching game trailers, lets watch commercials. Yes. Commercials for games that are going to be coming out.

Rose says: >_<

But you know our amazing ad campaign for PS3 that you all seem to like with that comedy dude? Yeah well we found a little kid that's like exactly like him. So we're going to use him for a PSP ad campaign

that we will UNDOUBTEDLY drop after 4 months because no one likes him

Oh hey look it's Gabe Newall from VALVe. Portal 2 and Steam for PS3 is your big announcement? Gigantic fuck you to everyone hoping for Half Life Episode 3.

Trollface.jpg

So what about this year for Sony?

They couldn't fuck up any more than they did last year right?

Rose says: wrong

Oh what about their security? Storing everything on plain text! Nice! Not only did the Sony PSN get hacked, but another sony website got hacked too. Because everything was stoed on PLAIN TEXT YET AGAIN.

They're going to have to pull a lot more out than "hey there's an optional monthly fee for PSN to make it even better"

YEAH BIG FUCKING DEAL, next please

the big N, next day. Nintendo is always on a separate day. Everyone went into Nintendo thinking it would be as bad as the previous years, at least based on the fuck ups from the first day of E3.

Wii Music

xfd

Instead, people were greeted with

Rose says: bees

DONKEY KONG COUNTRY, MARIO, ZELDA SKYWARD SWORD, KIRBY, KID ICARUS, METROID

while not all of these games succeeded as much as they hoped

They hit what the fans wanted from Nintendo. Sequels of all of Nintendo's big things instead of shitty family happy games

Then Nintendo was like lol Nintendo 3DS. It's a 3D game console with no glasses!

And then they revealed a TONNE of more games that people wanted to play on Nintendo consoles and tonnes of games that people would love to play in 3D

What about Nintendo for this year?

The successor to the Wii is supposedly going to be revealed. More powerful than the PS3 or Xbox 360. A lot of promises, but it might not be as good as expected. (It's rumored to have 8 GB of a HDD. uhhh ok)

Nintendo is the biggest to watch right now though.

All Microsoft has is Halo 4, Gears of War 3, and

...........................

...........................

.................................

and Sony has security issues which they probably need to address because just showing a ton of games isn't going to cut it

thats my summary of 2010

and what to expect for 2011

and

FINALLY

my major disappointments

of both 2010 and 2011

the lack of new games

aka

not sequels

Overheard in the breakroom

Overheard in the breakroom:

Me: -with head in fridge- Where's the brownies?
J: Oh, I took them home.
Me: -looks up- What? Why?!
J: Well, I didn't want to leave my Pyrex dish.
Me: I was just going to eat the brownies. I wasn't going to eat the Pyrex!
J: I'm sorry!

Don't come between me and some good brownies, yo.

Twinkle toes returns

I've always been interested in ballet.
It's graceful.
It's beautiful.
It's elegant.

However, I'm built less like a swan princess,

and more like a belly dancer.

I see belly dancing in my near future.

Do I spy a David Tennant?

The Fright Night remake looks quite promising.
And I'm not just saying that because I think Colin Farrell is a hunkbox.
'Cause there's also vampires. And vampires usually equal strong, sexy, deadly types.
So, we have a strong and deadly hunkbox. Not quite enough to make me watch something...
Oh... is that a David Tennant I see?

Vampires, hunkboxes and David Tennant?
Yeah, I'll definitely be watching this.

How I try to not be naked at work

No matter where I am, I need a bit of paper and pen/pencil. I feel a bit naked without them.

Especially since my head likes to forget things: what I was supposed to be doing at that moment, people's names, basic etiquette...

 

So, I try and carry a notebook everywhere... including work.

I should say especially at work; that place is a plethora of ridiculous things. Which I have recorded for my enjoyment or just to get some rants off my chest.

Here's one from April, written the day after my most recent stomach episode:

To make us feel more responsible for the branch's success, my manager asked each of us what we did the day before to help the branch.

My answer: I stayed home so that I wouldn't projectile vomit on customers, thus getting us a low customer service score.

My manager paused, nodded and said: You have a point there.

First article

With a silly sense of pride, I give you my first printed article for the Jackson Free Press:
http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/tori_thompson-davis_042711/

Overheard in my head

Sometimes I'll replay things that I've said or heard or saw throughout the day.
Back when I had a serious problem sleeping, I seemed to have an incredible ability to retain the most minute things in daily life.
Eventually, I got to the point where I would replay everything before going to sleep. This actually seemed to 'cure' the sleep problem. Perhaps, by replaying the events, my brain was tricked into thinking my day was a lot fuller than it actually was.

However, this replay ability has its faults.
A good example of this would be when I would attend a funeral or other such somber event and the most ridiculous thing would pop in my head at the most ridiculous time.

So, if I say, "I just thought of something funny."
I'm not lying. Chances are, I'm finally understanding a joke someone told me a few days ago and now can't stop laughing.

Which brings me to the point of this post: I'm going to post 'Overheard in...' a random assortment of posts about random things that I overhear. Be it in my head or from the next stall over.

Today's Overheard in...

"Oh gawd! Why does everything suck? It's like my life is o.... holy crap, are those strawberries?!"

Half of Miss. Republicans think interracial marriage illegal

I take a month off to reassess, to restructure, to regroup...
I had hoped to come back with great news, great ideas, great things.
And I'm not empty-handed. But first, I've got to address something. Something sinister. Something so stupid, so backwater that you would question which century you're living in.

Let me build a a nice little backstory for you:
I'm multi-racial. And proud of such. I've been asked more times than I can remember, more times than I can even IMAGINE, "What are you?"
Which to this day, is a phrase that friends and I mock, much to our nostalgic enjoyment.

This question was encountered ONLY after my family moved to my dad's native Mississippi.
I was born in Delaware and lived in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. I'm an East Coast girl through and through.
We move, and suddenly, people had to know what I was.
My initial answer was, "Umm... a freshman?" I had just started high school, so I assumed this was the correct answer.

I had never been questioned about my race before unless it was on some sort of medical sheet or what have you.

And now, people had to know what my race was. And now, people had to hate me because I wasn't what they were. And now, I irritated people because I didn't fit into their labels. I ruined their idea of what the world is.
Needless to say, high school was a bit rough for me. Not only because I was somewhere new. But also because I was somewhere that I wasn't wanted.

Now, Mississippi isn't all bad. The weather sucks, but there's some good food and some good people.

And then the New York Times runs this article.
Imagine my pride.

Puffing up my chest proud, in fact. Not too much puffing though; my chest is big enough.

The 2010 census was the first time I had done the census myself and was proud and thankful to be able to mark myself as mixed. In fact, I believe the 2000 census was the first to have the mixed-race option.

Do correct me if I'm wrong, though.

This article was certainly eye opening: Mississippi, of all places, has the highest growing multi-racial populations - up 70 percent between 2000 and 2010.

Granted, that's still a single digit percent of the population. 1.2 percent I think.

So, this article raises my feeling of Mississippi a wee bit.

However, that pleasant feeling didn't stay.
And while 80 degree weather in the middle of March causes a constant frown for me, it's not the reason behind this post.

This monstrosity is the cause.
I couldn't sit still after reading just the first paragraph. It was one of those that I had to come back for several sittings. The revulsion was.... I couldn't finish my breakfast.

It's always awesome to know that my parents' marriage and my entire existence is illegal in the eyes of nearly half of Mississippi Republicans.
I had gotten vaguely comfortable with the place that I'll be living until I can find somewhere to work and live that's not here.

That's gone now.
Utterly. Completely.

I'm not surprised that there are people that still think that. Come on now, I live here. I've seen these people.
I'm surprised at the amount. I'm surprised that it was large enough to fit into the newspaper.
I'm surprised that people can even begin to think that they can try to explain it away.
I'm surprised that people can even defend, to think that they can defend such... stupid, closed-minded behavior.

I'm English, French, Portuguese and second generation American from my mom's side.
I'm African American, Native American and creole French from my dad's side. (also possibly Armenian)

I'm constantly asked if I'm Hispanic, Italian, Greek, West Indian, Hawaiian...
This does not bother me. I think it's pretty cool that I can change my race, my heritage, my appearance with clothes, a look and the lack of any sort of accent. It's fun! And sometimes, people guess close enough.
They'll say, "European?" Close enough.
And while this is fun, it doesn't help when looking for love here.
I've had two boyfriends kicked out of their homes because their parents didn't approve of them dating a girl that wasn't white.

Whatever happened to marriage being about two people in love?
Whatever happened to love being about what's on the inside not what color someone's skin is?


Edit: I love this quote:
 "I believe God made us a different color for a reason and should be honored by not marrying outside of the race that God picked for me, however the color of one's skin does not make him/her better than another color."
Didn't we all start in the Middle East?

We were all the same color, then traveled to different areas and took on the characteristics of the area.

She must think that humans began right before her parents' birth.

The dreamy one

I LOVE this dress.
The color, the cut, the floaty flowing dreaminess of it.

via Mod Cloth

I love ogling Mod Cloth.
However, I don't love that too few of their pieces would fit my curvy frame.
According to their size charts, I fit their XL/1X sizes, depending on whether I'm having a chubby day or not.

heehee

Sadly, the above dress' largest size is L. ::pout::

Maybe someday, as I am currently being a lot more determined about losing some weight.
I'm cringing as I'm typing this... but to be perfectly honest, I admit that I am on the other size of 200 pounds.
I've been told that I don't look 200+. I assume it all matters in how and where people carry their weight.
But it's not healthy.

I want it gone. I don't want to see 200 ever again!
I'm not asking to be a size 2 again. I felt so awkward and lanky.
I want size 12... 10 tops!

But at the end of the day... and the beginning and the middle: I'm a girl with polycystic ovarian syndrome.
It's incredibly tough to lose weight when you have PCOS.
I've used medication to lose weight. Medication that I can only take for three to six months without having serious repercussions. So I'm giving it a try again.
I'm going to have to do.. well, you can call it weight management for the rest of my life if I don't want to continue gaining weight.

It's going to be tough.
Wish me luck!

Sorry

My sympathy goes out to Japan.
And though it sounds really trite, I don't know what else I can say.
Watching the news, staring in disbelief at the images filling the screen. I thought I was watching one of those "end of the world" movies.
Sadly, it was Japan's reality now full of hurt, pain, confusion, chilled water and angry earth.

I felt almost guilty that the first thought to come to mind was something along the lines of, "Holy crap... I'm so glad Nick (my brother) left Japan a few weeks ago."
It's true. My brother was stationed in Japan, not too far from Tokyo I believe.
He came back to the States not but two weeks ago-ish, to his new stationing closer to home.

Guilt, relief, shame.
Disbelief, sorrow, grief.

Japan's given us some pretty cool stuff.
I think we should give a little back.

I'm donating to the American Red Cross, which is sending relief efforts to Japan.
Will you be donating? If so, where?

A question on the pets

I was asked about the situations presented in the previous post, specifically the pet situation.
I can honestly and sorrowfully say that I have witnessed pet punishment, even when someone was trying to impress me.

And when I say punishment, I clearly mean torture.
Let me explain.

A few years back, I had gone to dinner with a man whom we will call BH.
BH seemed like a nice catch at the time.
We were introduced by a mutual friend. And, though my first impression had him tacked as a flighty and flaky guy, I was willing to get him another shot because I believe that people deserve second chances despite the fact that my first impressions are usually spot on. A flake doesn't deserve my disdain, but I don't deserve to put up with more than my fair dosage.
And our second meeting went great - talked for hours on his couch while I played with his dogs.
So, when he asked me to drinks, dinner, movie, I accepted.
He may be a flake, but he may also be fun too. And he has pets!

BH seemed like a nice catch at the time. Kind, witty and funny, he was cordial with the wait staff. And he had chosen a great place: a well-known Mexican restaurant that was also the town favorite. And they had great cheese dip.
A++ in my book.

Then, we went back to his place to watch a movie.
We were greeted at the door by his pack of dogs - all of whom were incredibly sweet and lovable.
As we watched the movie, my attention was more on the dog laying its head on my knee.
I had already seen the movie, so I was more than fine with chilling with this sweet pup while BH and I discussed actor choices and great scenes.
And I use the term 'pup' loosely as the 'pup' in question was easily 30 pounds and at least 4 years old.
Things were going fine, until the pup hopped onto my lap.

Let me build a scenario for you: you've heard of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, right?
Well, someone let Mr. Hyde out of Dr. BH.
He flew off the couch, knocking over sodas and snacks as he grabbed for the dog.
He hoisted the pup up, gripping his neck and shaking him.

I'm not sure what he was screaming at the poor thing as I was in a state of shock, fear and speechlessness.
I jumped up as he shoved the dog away from him. He stopped me from rushing over to the pup and I obliged because I didn't want to be hoisted as well.
He tried to explain away his actions, stating that he had been training the dogs not to jump on people.
My retort was as the dogs were used to being able to sit on the couch, it's not their fault. And that his actions scared me, the pup, the other dogs and was totally uncalled for. He apologized and said he rarely got this angry with them.
For the rest of the movie, we sat in near silence. Well, he talked and I made noncommittal noises while glancing at the pup.
I swear he fixed me with eyes that said, "Get out while you can."

And I did.
But not until after a few more olive branch attempts, his flakiness infuriating me and another rage attack against another of his dogs.
I had got it into my head that I could somehow help cool his anger and save his dogs. He blamed his anger on his treatment in a past relationship. I didn't quite think this was the whole story. And this 'saving the pups' didn't quite work out.
We hung out infrequently and he eventually moved away.

I can't understand someone getting so mad at something that loves them unconditionally.
Sure, pets can break stuff and poop on the floor. They're smart, but not as smart as humans, ok?
It's not like you see people treating babies the same way for doing the same thing.

Hmm... considering the tone of current events, that's not really a good analogy.
Ugh...

Stylish according to Rose

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -- Maya Angelou

Want to know, at least in my opinion, what's the most stylish thing you can pack in your personal arsenal?

The number one guarantee that will cause an increase in genuine friend and admirers?

A great personality.

Hands down.

Pepper in some charm, empathy and etiquette and you've got someone that most want to be and everyone wants to know.

You don't have to pour on the charisma. It will cause people to believe you are not sincere... or are a door-to-door salesman.

Nothing tickles my fancy more than a guy with a bit of charm.

Except for chocolate-covered strawberries.

In fact, give me a guy that's got a bit of charm holding chocolate-covered strawberries and I'll show you a girl that'll eat out of his hands, literally!

Don't worry. 

The charm that comes so easy to some and so difficult for others is something that can be grown within you and doesn't require a lot of work or instruction manuals.

The easiest way for me is to just smile at people.

Now this is something that's been partially programmed into me from years of employment in retail and sales. At least I can say I got something out of it!

The other part came from my ability to laugh and laugh and laugh. It's something you could say I was born with. And it's stayed with me all these years despite relationships that threatened to smother it and an illness intent on destroying it.

A smile, a laugh can go along way. It's something that people remember.

Another easy way is to be aware of your surroundings and act upon them. Kindness goes along way.

Now, this doesn't mean giving the shirt right off your back. 

This may lead to you getting arrested for indecent exposure and that's not really our goal here.

Hold the door for someone, allow someone to cut in front of you (especially if they have less items than you), lend some change when the person in front of you is short.

The possibilities are endless.

However, the possibilities are also endless to hinder that charm you're working to establish.

At the top of the list, here's a few things that I've found to be immediate turn off and possible situations where I was genuinely scared:

 - Being rude to the general public/wait staff (they're there to serve and help you, not get trashed and yelled at.)

 - Getting furious/lash out at animals, specifically pets (they love you unconditionally and are not humans. Don't expect them to understand everything.)

 - Getting malicious pleasure at an innocent person's expense (notice I said 'innocent.' Sometimes, people do have it coming.)

There's no magic wand I can wave and make you amazing. 

If I had such a thing, I'd have used it on myself years ago.

But with a little confidence, a pinch of self worth, a great smile, an easy laugh and a fun attitude can get you a lot farther, sincere-wise, than just a pretty face.

Some people have it easy.

It just takes a bit of work for the rest of us.

But it's certainly something to work toward.

Less mehing, more posting

Eeeesh...
I've let a whole week get away from me.
Not that it was a particularly good week to serve as a growing area for productive interests. Pretty terrible week, health-wise, if you ask me. Not really sure what was going on. But I AM sure that I don't want a repeat anytime soon. Or ever, if I had my choice.

Luckily, during this downtime, I came up with some great ideas and managed to get a few down on paper before the thoughts flitted from my mind. Look to see some of those implemented soon.
I've also fixed the Photography tab. It's not quite up to my exact specifications, but it'll do for the time being.

In news, Monday was my last official day as an apartment dweller. Keys were turned in, electricity was shut and goodbyes were said. This past month as a parental home dweller has not been too shabby. I suppose that as long as you have a certain relationship with your parents, things can work out. That and making sure that all parties are on the same page.

Also, I've narrowed my choices for universities down to two: University of Southern Mississippi and University of Southern California. I'm still hesitant to pick one. Perhaps because I'm unconsciously holding out for something AMAZING to come my way. Not to say that these two choices aren't.

Or

I'm just afraid that I'll make a choice I, my future life and my check account will regret.
Yeah, I'm thinking it's the latter.

It's ONLY the biggest step in my career plan.
Yeah.
Seriously.
No biggie.



Ugh...

Giveaways du jour

Geez... February seems to be the month for awesome giveaways.
Here's a few that I'm entering and you might want to take a peek!

Good luck to all!

Beauty by Sam is giving you a chance to win some gorgeous porcelain (yes, porcelain!) jewelry from Vintage Creations by miki's secret. Giveaway ends February 24.

Misadventures with Andi is doing another Parispalooza!
You have the chance to win five(5!) French related items. Giveaway ends February 25.
Note: this is one of the easiest giveaways I've ever taken part in!

Family Fashion and Facts is giving away this quaint and minimalist heart ring by Heather Gill of Cherry Creek.
Giveaway ends March 9.

Whatever happened to romance?

This post originally appeared in 2007 as a blog post, which got resurrected as a column that ran in the HUB section of the Feb. 12 edition of Hattiesburg American in an edited format, which was rerun (again) as a blog post February 14, 2009. 
Here it is, presented in it's unedited format.

Whatever happened to romance?

I realize that we live in an immediate gratification society, where everyone is trying to beat everyone else to the punch. Where lightning fast internet and up-to-the-minute news still isn't fast enough. Where competitiveness is a national sport and a much sought after personality trait.

Myself, I prefer a nice smile, a great sense of humor and almost lightning fast internet... that's probably why I would never make it as a retail manager or in any sort of competitive based job.

But, I digress...

Whatever happened to slow, soft kisses and holding hands?
They seem to have been replaced with hurrying to stick one's tongue down the other's throat and jumping into bed within minutes of meeting someone.

Call me old fashioned, but it takes more than three dates at allow someone to see the holiest of my... well, you know.

Is chivalry dead?

Women blame it on men; men blame it on women.
Honestly, I think it's both. Men think they can get away with things because there are women out there who let them. And the men who act like gentlemen are shunned by some women into acting... well... ungentlemenly.

Valentine's Day has become a bane to couples and singletons everywhere.

Couples fret over what to get their sweethearts and singletons want to vomit at the sight of couples attached at the lips.

Here's a tip for couples:
Handmade gifts are incrediblely sweet. Remember that old saying: It's the thought that counts. And while jewelry, flowers and other pricey gifts are great, they are almost the easy way out and can require little thought. A gift made from your own hands shows the thought you put into it.

And for you singletons:
Grab a friend or two and head out for a night on the town. Valentine's Day isn't just about lovers. Celebrate the day in your own way, on your own terms. Send valentines to your friends to show that you're thinking of them.

Drink a toast to singlehood, a toast to friendship or a toast to life!


Looking for love in all the wrong places.

I like walks along the beach, sitting around in pajamas eating ice cream and watching movies, hugs, shy glances across the room, roses(who knew?), soft-sweet kisses, more hugs, talking for hours about nothing at all, snuggling and, of course, romance.

Hello, everyone.
My name is Rose and I'm a love-aholic.

Rose Pendleton is a love-aholic looking in all the wrong places.
All roses, chocolates and poetry can be sent to rnpendleton@hattiesburgamerican.com. rosetheninja@gmail.com or rose@laviederose.com

Love

In lieu of Valentine's Day, I'll be reviving some love-centered posts.
This gem was originally posted February 14, 2010.

Happy Valentine's Day, to all!
Valentine's Day isn't just for the romance between lovers, but for love as a whole.
Saint Valentine was cared for by a blind, peasant girl while he was in jail. Valentine prayed for her health and on the day he was to be executed, her sight was restored.

Caring for someone is what Valentine's Day is about, even if that someone is you.

So, I hope that everyone enjoys Valentine's Day in their own way: hang out with friends, be with your love, watch movies, etc.... but make sure to love one another and always remember to love yourself.

image by tanni7.wordpress.com

How much of a 7th grader do I sound?

How much of a 7th grader do I sound if I said that I would be completely in love with the idea of having a secret admirer?
Not that I have one, mind you.
And not out of not wanting to have one. hint hint

But, seriously, if I received a valentine tomorrow signed, "your secret admirer," I would be over the moon.

Literally.
You think I'm joking, but I would flip the hell out. In a good way.

Hell, if I got any romantically-inclined valentines tomorrow, I would happily flip out.

However, I couldn't be won over immediately. That would be too easy.
There would have to be some sort of battle of wits, agility and strength.

Or just give me something shiny and cute.

image from aliexpress.com

Either way. You've got to prove your admiration.


Though, I wouldn't be completely naive. (naive, yes. completely naive, no.)
Not to be a downer, but a little bit of me would be worried that this imaginary secret admirer would be... oh, I don't know, possibly your average, run-of-the-mill creeper.

shloobykitten.tumblr.com

Just my luck. 

Sweet, sweet zombie love

So, I may not have gotten a job at Hallmark, but that doesn't mean I can bust out with some great sentiments:

Happy Valentine's Day!

If we were zombies, I would totally share my kills with you.

I'm not....

I LOVE corny things. The cornier, the better.

Dogs barking, can't fly without umbrella

So, there's an update on the nerd front.

It was recently pointed out that I could probably get away with cosplaying Urd of Ah! My Goddess! fame with minimal monetary involvement.

Not this outfit though. That's just a boobarmageddon waiting to happen.

White wig, purple contacts, cute dress and I'm covered!

Look at this bag!

That color is amazing!

Click on the bag for more amazing flickr photos.

And here's a few contests I'm entering.

Luck to everyone who enters!

Tabitha Emma is hosting a Japonicas coupon contest which ends Monday, February 14.

Previously Owned is hosting a Hinterlands Vintage contest which ends February 23.

Over 9000 Rose points to any of you that know where this post's title comes from.
Hint: It's a gas, gas, gas.

Hoppy New Year!

Cheezy... I know
It's a bit late, but Happy Chinese New Year!
To celebrate, I caught you a bunny.

I've got to work on my resume

Wow.

I just read an amazing resume.
With a cover letter titled "Fine, don't fucking hire me, you can't handle my shit" you know it's got to be good.

Listed under "SHIT I HAVE DONE" you find:
-When I was 8, a frisbee flew into my backyard and I blew it up with my mind.
-My brother is the Eiffel Tower
-Direct descendant of Beowulf

It puts my paltry "Accomplishments" section to shame.

oh Christian!

I got this amazing Christian Dior scarf as a going away present from one of my co-workers.
It's lovely!

And to continue on this thread, here's some lovely Dior pieces from the Spring 2011 runway.

images from Style.com

Lovely~

The full inbox

My inbox is full.
While this isn't new, I'm starting to get very annoyed at the amount of random job offers that take up a good percentage of these emails.

Look, unless you're an amazing job and pays way more than I already get paid, allows me to be on vacation/sit on my butt doing fun stuff more than actual work and IS REAL (this one being the most important), then leave me and my inbox alone!
I have other things to do... like pet my cats, read a book, sleep or drown myself in chocolate covered strawberries.

LOST!

To catch everyone up: My transfer came through and I've relocated.
Monday was my first day at my new job. Looking for a faster, more efficient way to get there, I took my dad's advice of a short cut.

My Tuesday morning went a bit like this:

Dad: Try this short cut to work. I bet it'll cut down on time. --insert directions here--

Me: - ten minutes after leaving the house - Wow! This is faster! :)

Me: - ten minutes after that - Hey, it's kinda pretty out here. ...wait a minute... is that a cow?

Me: - fifteen minutes after that -  Aaaahhh gaaaaaawd! Is that the same cow? Where am I?!?

Turns out I took a left instead of a right.
I took my dad's route again this morning. Turning right this time and got to work in record time!

image from best-horror-movies.com

Bad apple

Just got an email from Apple reminding me that my one year warranty on my iPod nano is nearly up.
Great, just what I wanted to hear.
I'm already expecting it to explode a minute after the warranty runs out.

I'm moving

I don't know, little kitten, I don't know.
I hate moving. So much.
But I must. I want to save money to start working toward my masters degree and move to California.
But, I hate moving! I hate packing!

Evil liver is evil

Ninja skills

Literary jewelry

I love a good book.
Sometimes I'll carry one around with me for little moments where I can grab a sentence or two.

Turns out, the creator behind Littlefly took the idea of carrying a book with you literally.

Jeremy May laminates hundreds of pages to make one piece; rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces.

Pretty amazing.

Apples

So there's apparently an iPhone case that has a bottle opener attached to the back.
Yeah, 'cause people really need to down beers AND answer the phone at the same time.
I can't roll my eyes any harder without making my brain explode.