Sunday, September 4, 2011

Watch those peacock feathers fly

  I'm sure that many people could tell an interesting story or two about their mother, and I'm no different.  A recent happening inspired me to dedicate a post to my mother.  But before I mention the most recent story, I'll give some background.

  My mother has always had a lot of personality that is hard to suppress.  As I'm sure you've noticed, there are people who are pleasant but generic, and then there are people who really stand out and never seem to have uninteresting days.  The latter would be my mother.  She has a lot of attitude--but not in a bitchy way, she simply just doesn't take any crap. 

  Before she birthed me, she worked as a waitress at a southern place called Hal & Mal's.  There was a regular who came in probably once or twice a week, and he had told her that one day he, being a writer, would make a character to reflect her.  He brought a friend in once who had never been to Hal & Mal's, and he was kinda whiny.  He started off by attempting to order some bread pudding, asking my mother if it was any good.  "It's the best bread pudding in the south, sir," my mother said.  He said, "Does it have any raisins?  'Cause I hate raisins.  I once had bread pudding with raisins and it turned my stomach.  It better not have any raisins."  My mother responded with "Sir, if you find a raisin in your bread pudding, it ain't a raisin.  Now can I get you a bowl?"  Lulz were had.  She was a southern-style Flo.  She has also done many crazy things that we like to relive often.  Like the time a certain fast food place that has a redhead as the mascot, they gave her the wrong sandwich and refused to exchange it.  She went and sat down in defeat, and then decided she wasn't going to eat the damn sandwich, so she threw the sandwich toward the kitchen, catching the top of the door frame, causing mayonnaise and lettuce flak to spray into the kitchen.  Good times indeed.

  Her most recent endeavor has been an online dating site.  It's pretty entertaining to see her get excited about all the men that are interested in her.  "195 new matches!!" is something she liked to shout out.  She started off by reading all the advice columns on the site, trying to get an edge.  That was a month ago, but by now she's lost her enthusiasm.  Upon seeing a headline that read Do you know what men want?  Find out what they really want., my mother said "Huh...I don't give a shit what they want."  But hope is not lost, for she has found a friend in a southern gentleman...a very southern gentleman.  Cowboy hat, boots, jeans, and he owns 35 head of cattle and works as a trucker.  She was very tickled with him, and after she showed me a message he left on her phone, I can see why.  I'll give you a sample in southern format so you can get an idea of how he talks.  The message starts with Vury pretty...vury pretty.  Lawng legs, pretty blon' hair.  You the only woman in <state> that makes the peacock feathers fly!  Lord have mercuh, lemmuh say it again.  You the only woman in <state> that makes the peacock feathers fly!  That's a complemunt, not a come on.  Yeah, you try not to giggle when you hear it.

  That's all for now, but I'm proud that I've never once felt embarrassed with either of my parents.  I'm fortunate to actually have cool parents.  I certainly never take them for granted.

   Forgive any grammar/spelling errors, I'm tired of taking half an hour on posts trying to make sure it's perfect.  I'm not writing a novel.

Monday, August 29, 2011

I'm not sure if I want this...irregardless of the consequences.

  So this LPN program I'm enrolled in sucks a bag of dicks.  It's uber boring and the more I learn about the job itself, the less I want to do it.  I'm not trying to sound high and mighty, but I'm better than having some dumb-assed RN who barely scraped by tell me how much better they are and how I have to do what they say.  If I wanted that, I could join the military.  I'll try to make it through this semester, but if I still feel the same way at the end of it as I do now, I'm quitting and trying something else.  I honestly don't care about having some high-powered career, just as long as I make enough money for myself and enjoy the work.  If I can manage that, I'll be happy with my life.  Especially if it's a job that I don't have to work 60 hours a week at or something.  I need free time to waste on things like this blog.

  I'm not sure about my instructors either.  One is a Twatasaurus Rex, and the other is nice enough, but repeats herself all the time.  And they both say irregardless.  Fucking shudder!  I don't know who or what gave them the idea that irregardless is a real word, but it's not.  According to my Webster's Universal College Dictionary, irregardless is incorrect, and the definition is listed simply as regardless.  Irregardless is bullshit.  It's a double negative, like saying "I don't know nothing."  Sure, they may know medicine, but apparently English isn't their strong suit.  It's like a white suede suit.  You know, the ones that some black guys wear and it makes them look like a shit-mummy.  Or those powder blue prom tuxedos with the ruffles. *Cringe*

  The plus side is that I am learning how to take vital signs and how to cover my ass, because apparently that's all I'll be doing--making sure a person isn't dead and that I don't get sued.  As I've said before, I'm in the program with my lovely girlfriend.  She's hilarious, and gave me this insight into one class we took last week on the ethics chapter.  The instructor went on about different horror stories of ethical and legal violations, and everyone was Mmm-hmming and gasping.  My girlfriend told me afterwards, "It was like an episode of Maury in there.  Everyone was going 'Jayzus!' and 'MMM! Sweet Jesus!'."

  Yeah...there was a lot we learned in that chapter.  I guessed that writing a prescription for a patient's family member under the patient's name would be illegal--which it is--but I did not know that even taking someone else's 'scrip is illegal, even if it's only an antibiotic.  And according to twat face, "If I catch any of you doing something like that, you will be removed from the program and face charges, and then I'll personally beat you with my dangly tits and rape you with a dildo when you're in prison and open my thoracic cavity and the parietal pericardium and cryogenically freeze your soul with the chill of my heart like on Terminator 2 when they froze the liquid metal dude and then knocked him to bits."  ...True story.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

The Hate Group

  Despite what I say/type sometimes, I'm really a nice person.  I just bitch and moan about things as a hobby...and I hate people as a hobby.  It's not like I truly hate them, it's just a fun-loving, teasing kind of hate.  I guess that's why I like Louis CK so much.  I can relate to a lot of his views--not all, but a lot.  I also pick out people to hate when I'm waiting in line at various places.  It helps pass the time.  The grocery store is the usual place for me to start seething with hatred.  I usually target the method of payment people choose.  Like when some prick whips out a checkbook.  I sit there thinking That's right, caveman, chisel your signature into that slab like it's the fuckin' Stone Age.  I hope he gets gored by some horned beast.  Not like I'm in a hurry to go home and jerk off.  Don't you know that we're trying to save trees around here?  Pay with cash or debit and go the hell home.

  Another thing I don't get is when people pay for packs of gum or something with credit cards.  Whitey McCrackerson here is so afraid of being mugged by a black guy that he refuses to carry any money in his pocket and instead pays with credit.  What he doesn't realize is that he's being silently mugged by his card company because he's paying 15% interest on Strident.  And it holds up the line with him waiting to be approved and having to sign off on it and everything.

  Good news, though.  The dog I posted about previously has found a home.  My neighbor really liked her and decided to adopt her, which is fine with me.  I know he'll take care of her.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

What am I going to do with you?

Today started out rather odd.  As I go outside to get into my car, I notice that there's a pink shoe behind the rear bumper, and I think to myself why is there a shoe behind my car? Followed immediately by the thought Why is there a dog behind my car?  This girl was just hanging around when I went outside.  After taking some pictures and googling it, I found out that she's a Grand Bleu de Gascogne...thing.  From the looks of it, she's been abandoned.  No collar, and she has three wounds.  Two have healed up almost completely, but one has a couple of cracks in the scab that are oozing yellow shit.  If she had a collar and the wounds, I would assume she's lost.  But nobody would go to the trouble to get a purebred dog and then not get a collar for it and let it run away.

  I don't know why anyone would abandon a dog like this though..she seems about a year old, give or take a couple of months.  She is also very sweet and didn't even turn a hostile eye towards my cat or my yorkshire terrier Teddy.  She doesn't seem stupid either, which can be plenty reason to get rid of a dog.  Of course I'd always put it up for rescue, never just toss it out of my car and wish it luck.

  I'm now debating what to do with it.  I can't take care of another animal, not only because of money but because I won't have the time to walk her or play with her.  I would put up missing dog signs, but as I said, she's probably been abandoned and the only people who'd claim her are those who'd lie just to get their hands on a good dog and possibly mistreat her.

  I think I'll sleep on it.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

I've been Touched.

So, it looks like I'm officially in the LPN program and I'll start Monday.  Because of that, I now have an iPod Touch.  I didn't really want to get one in the first place because I don't need Jobs' flashy technology to ruin my life grumble mumble...but it's not that bad.  I suppose I really do need it because of this program, and it seems to be pretty neat so far...I'm still not impressed though *glares*. 

  I had a second orientation tonight with my "main support person".  It was mainly a foreboding message regarding how grueling and time-consuming the program is, how marriages and jobs have been lost, and how we'll crack under the stress without a network of people supporting us. Also, apparently, our pets will starve to death because we won't have time to take 2 minutes to pour food into their bowls.  Ice caps will break off and melt and the ocean level will rise until we're underwater and have to evolve a set of gills and eat plankton and shit.  You know, usual things you encounter when you have to study a lot.  At least they don't sugar-coat it.  And they gave out pizza, diet coke, and white macadamia nut cookies *mouth waters*.  They must have a file on me.  It was a friendly atmosphere around the place, though.  I figured it would be a boring lecture with a lot of tight-assed rules about not even breathing too loudly.

   I guess that's all I got for this post.  I really need to work on a better closing statement or signature.  Perhaps something wacky like "I'm outta here!  Homers are for suckers!" or something heartfelt angry like "Piss on this, I'll never blog again!"  Except I will, because that's what the point of this blog is.  Bonus points if you can find the reference to a comic in this post.

Monday, August 1, 2011

I'm Feelin' Froggy

Lately I've had no classes to take or anything, so that leaves me to sit at home boredom-eating.  I swear, it's like I'm either extremely busy or have nothing to do at all, which isn't good for me.  I'm recovering from years of non-functioning, so if I don't have something to do each day, I don't feel motivated to do anything.  I'm starting to feel like Foul Bachelor Frog.

  I did get accepted into a nursing program though...I'll know if I'm officially in within a few days when they get my paperwork verified.  That'll be dandy.  Healin' people and shit, making them feel all healthy and whatnot....yep.  Only mildly concerned about completing the program.  Anytime I start to worry, I just think about how freakin' stupid some of the people are who end up being nurses.  I'm more concerned with the bureaucracy.  The rules of this program are tighter than an owl's ass.  I had to email the instructor and forewarn her that I have some kinda quirk where I laugh when I learn new things about the body.  I first discovered it when I was around 8 years old and my mother told me how muscles become stronger and I started shaking uncontrollably.  It's not that I find it funny, I just start shaking with silent laughter for no reason.  I made sure she knew that so I wouldn't get booted for being "disrespectful".

  With hope, I'll be seeing my wonderful girlfriend tomorrow.  Without her, I'm sure I'd be foul bachelor frog personified at all times.  Perhaps we'll finally see that documentary we've been planning on watching.  I look forward to seeing how her dog Jack will be dealt with.  Punk-ass bit me when I was trying to put him up so he wouldn't bite the cable guys, isn't that ironic?  I started off trying to get him by the collar before he snapped, so I grabbed his mouth and held it shut before he could get me, but he slipped out and got my hand a bit, so I kicked him in the lungs as hard as I could twice....I haven't seen him since except for one time when I went over there the next day....he promptly hid in the bushes.  Smart dog.

  I may get a burst of inspiration for my blogging soon.  It'll give me a healthy outlet and perhaps interest a few people.  Interesting things are sure to happen once I start the program.  Until next time...

Friday, July 1, 2011

Just pretend it's the 22nd.

  I've been meaning to post something about George Carlin, considering the anniversary of his death was recent, but I've been busy.  So just pretend it's June 22, 2011.

  It's been 3 years since George Carlin died of heart failure after surviving 3 previous heart attacks.  When I heard of Carlin's death, it was the first time I'd ever felt sad about a celebrity dying.  My usual reaction is to just think Well, shit happens.  It made me sad because I had to deal with depression (still do, sometimes) for most of my life and when I found an online radio station that played comedy tracks (Go, Social Crime Radio!), it really helped me.  I would look forward to tuning in every day to yuk it up.  I became a comedy connoisseur, if you will.  I began mentally sorting which comedian/ennes were most suited to my sense of humor.  One day I came across one of Carlin's HBO specials and could not stop laughing.  I started looking forward to more of his material and later managed to get every special he's recorded.  I loved his to-the-point humor and observations on silly language and euphemisms that I had always questioned when I was younger.  I ended up updating Urban Dictionary with a couple of words from his Incomplete list of impolite words.  I could go on about how much joy it brought me to listen to not only his humor, but that of Louis C.K., Patton Oswalt, Robert Schimmel, Maria Bamford, Ricky Gervais, Eddie Izzard, and many others, but instead I'll just give you a few tips to keep people on their toes:
  • Go into a gift shop and ask for your gift
  • Next time you're at the photo mat, ask if you can buy the pictures of the other people. "How much for that heavy-set couple in the window?"
  • Stand in line at the bank for a really long time, and when you finally get up to the teller, just ask for change of a nickel
  • Go to the cleaners.  Ask the man if he can take the stain out of one pair of pants and put it in another.
  • Go into a laundry, hand them a shirt and ask them to rotate the buttons.
  • Go into a bakery and ask them if they can bake a cake in the shape of a penis.
  • Next time you're at a wishing well, ask for the manager.  Say "I've been coming here for years and none of my wishes have come true.  Either you give me my money back, or I'm shittin' in the well!"
  • In a bar, if someone asks if they can buy you a drink, say "No, but can I have the money instead?"
  • Back out of a drive-in bank
  • Walk up to someone and say "Pardon me, I have nothing to say!"
  • If someone asks you what time it is, say "Well...it's either 6:15 or Mickey has a hard on."
  I haven't tried all of these yet, but I recently I did have to buy some ammunition.  As the woman was ringing it up, I asked "Say, while I'm at it...where are your ski masks?"  She didn't think it was as funny as I did...

Sunday, June 12, 2011

The Downside of Exercise(and other ramblings)

  I've been worried lately about working out.  I can now run for 4 minutes without stopping at 7 mph, which I'm happy about, and I can leg press 300 pounds without extreme effort, and I'm down another 2 pounds...all fine and dandy, but I've noticed a change in my attitude.  I know that working out can increase testosterone in a guy, and either I'm getting stressed with other things--not a far-fetched notion--or I'm starting to get more aggressive with the boost in testosterone.  I'm hoping it levels out soon.  If not, then I'll have to start meditating or something.  I don't want to quit working out and go back to getting winded by blinking too much.

  I was at a pool recently with my girlfriend and saw what must have been one of the trashiest women I've seen in a long time. She had her hair in one of those ugly buns that sit on top of the head, and a swimsuit that was probably a size or two too small.  That's bad enough, but the worst thing was that she decided to sit in the pool and start smoking.  The fuck?   Excuse me, but this isn't a fucking ash tray.  I have nothing against people smoking on the deck near the pool, but don't shake your ashes into my damn swimming water.  Normally I would've just let it slide, but I felt more assertive this time...which isn't necessarily a bad thing, considering I have trouble asserting myself.  I was thinking in my head "I'll let this one slide, shithead, but I swear I'll splash you if you light another."  Fortunately, she didn't light another.  She was befouling the air in another way, as well.  She swore at this little black kid for splashing too much in the pool.  She was sitting in the kiddie pool (it connects to the main pool).  You're going to curse at a child for being a damn child?  I mean, sure, the kid kinda annoyed me, too.  However, I didn't take it upon myself to bully him for acting normally under the circumstances.

 Not sure if I want to go to that pool again on Saturdays...it was fine last Saturday, but this one blew.  If it's not smokers, then there's the bacon skanks who sit by the pool for hours spraying on sunscreen until there's a cloud of aerosol around them like they're trying to escape.  You can tan any-damn-where, please quit trying to show everyone how awesomely burnt your skin is, and don't say you aren't showing off, because it is so about flaunting.

  For the record, I don't have anything against tan people.  I just think getting a tan while being outside is a good way to tan, not forcibly subjecting your body to ultra-violet rays just to look "good".  It doesn't look good, it wrinkles your skin and makes it look like rawhide.

  I don't have a picture of the trashy woman, but I think you'll find that this illustration is spot on.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Let's Sweat!

I decided to go jogging for the first time in years yesterday.  I've been building my cardio with cycling.  I can finish a 7.5 mile ride with 6-7 hills (uphill on both sides) in 35 minutes, and I'm pretty proud of that.  I figured it's time to build my bone strength with the classic-but-effective jog.  I got my athletic pants on, a nice t-shirt, my running shoes and my mp3 player and got all pumped up.  I started out with REO Speedwagon's Take it on the Run and started my jog.  Oh, hell yes, I'm kickin' this street's ass.  I feel goood!

  200 yards later...

  Oh shit...I'm going to vomit.  I can't breathe.

  Yeah...didn't even finish the first song.  I thought that all that biking would've prepared me for jogging, but I thought wrong.  I had to run inside and go all OM NOM NOM on a couple of stuffed eggs and an orange and a few glasses of water before I passed out.  Don't judge, I was going to grill and had the eggs prepared for other people, I just couldn't help myself.  I just have to try harder.  I'll go out and try to jog again when I can.  I'm sure if I combine jogging with bike riding and my pushups then I'll see my weight start to drop again.  I've lost 14 pounds since I started my plan at roughly..March 25 or some time around then.  I've been stymied at 231 though.  Things are looking up, however.  I've already lost a good bit of weight, and I feel great and have been eating well.  Just have to try a bit harder so I don't lose steam. 

  Note: The tootsie roll above is not me, but it's how I felt when I finished

Let's See You Top That

I was browsing idly on the web recently and came across this video about a proposal.  It was really amazing, with the guy actually making a movie trailer of him asking the woman's father for his blessing, then him racing dramatically to the theatre where she is watching the trailer so he may ask her to marry him.  Her family and friends are also hidden in the audience. My only complaint is that it might cause women who see it to expect something that spectacular.  You can watch the video Right here.  Warning: it may cause tears.  I would've set it up on this page, but youtube is a bastard and won't let you watch the entire thing on my blog grumble mumble.


  I'd like to do something really special for my lady someday, but I don't have the money for anything big.  I'll just have to be creative...I have plenty of time though.  We've both agreed that we love each other enough for marriage, but we're waiting a couple more years until we're financially stable (love doesn't pay the bills, ya know?)

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

I Pine to Play

I love games.  I really do.  It's what I'm really good at.  Possibly what I'm best at, but that sounds pathetic.  I've always had a natural talent for ass-kickery online.  I've played a lot of video games, from text-based ones to RPGs and FPS..s.  I'd say action shooters and role playing games are tied for my favorite.  Two games that I was destined for were World of Warcraft and Battlefield 2, but I've done well on all Battlefield games.

  On World of Warcraft I played as a night elf druid, Chameleond (don't mind the 'd', it was a mistake) on the Greymane server.  If you know me, give a shout :D  Man, I loved that.  I lived for PvP, but I was one of the few players that enjoyed the sport of battling other players respectfully rather than "OOOO just pwnd ur ass noob! QQ 2 yo mama! I's so 1337! i friggin whuped yo ass even though i ganked u while pickin' herbs and i had 2 uther guys with me! u gotta suck so much."

  But I won't deny, I was goooood.  I inspired some of the people I fought in battlegrounds to make druids, that's how good.  What I really enjoyed was not only the fighting, but meeting the good players and discussing strategy.  This human mage named Yomshlom was probably one of the best players I've ever met on WoW.  He inspired me to make a mage, that's how good he was.  We first met on the battleground in the 50-59 bracket.  This was only about 12-18 months after WoW came out, before any expansions.  We made a great team and usually had to carry the rest of the team, which is why we rarely won.  Especially against the guild Stacked.  Bunch of Horde buddies had made a guild almost strictly for PvP at the time.  Even if players individually suck, if they listen to each other and work as a team, they'll usually win.  It's just how the BGs work, and I'm not talking about how I want to put on my my my my my boogie shoes, that's an acronym for Battlegrounds.  I made friends with that guild Stacked, too.  Oddly enough, one of the members was so impressed with how I almost beat him and a friend of his that he created an Alliance character so he could message me.  He was 4-5 levels higher than I was and his friend was 1 level higher(not trying to brag, it's just part of the story).  I killed him, then when I almost killed his friend, he came back from the graveyard and got me  We became great friends, and I ended up playing the Horde side, too.  I, of course, made a tauren druid.  I don't play anymore though.  I quit shortly after they announced Cataclysm.  I just got tired of Blizzard pandering to new players and making it hard for anyone to play without the best armor and weapons.

  I know this sounds very long-winded--and it is--but I really miss gaming.  I quit gaming in the harsh December of 2009--not counting online games that I can stream(puzzle games ftw)--and I really miss it.  I've tried playing Warhammer online with their endless free trial, and I do like it a good bit.  My only complaint is that the interface is pretty laggy and the combat text is too small.  It's hard to tell how much damage I'm taking and everything I do seems to have a delay.

  I'm looking forward to Battlefield 3 coming out later this year.  But until then, I may have to continue my search for a suitable game.  It will be an arduous search and I may perish, but I shall try.  I shall regain my gaming strength and return even more powerful than when I was struck down by Darth Vader!! SO HELP ME GOD!!

...Too dramatic?

Saturday, May 21, 2011

The Hunt Begins

  Well, I've been job hunting now for the past couple of weeks.  Nah, I'm kiddin ya.  I've been spending time with my precious angel.  She makes my life whole.  Anyways, I'm hunting for a job now and I may have already found one.  A friend will see about recommending me to work at a "Mental Healthcare Home" or something like that....loony-bin is what I heard, except it's not an asylum.  It's more like a nursing home for crazy folks, old and young.  I don't mind though because I've had plenty experience with mental illness myself to last a lifetime.  Perhaps I'll do some good there, assuming I do get the position.

   In other news, I'd just like to say that I felt some serious embarrassment last night.  I was coming home late and had to stop at a gas station to put in $5--that's why I need the job, don't be judgin'--and saw this big ol' woman in flip flops *bleeds from eyes*, a black skirt and blue shirt rolling like a blueberry across the parking lot calling to some dogs.  I try to ignore it and go pay for the gas, but when I come out, the scene is even more horrifying.  She's now talking to some fat mother fucker in shorts and nothing else.  I threw up a bit in my mouth.  I don't know what was on his mind that told him it was acceptable to stand barefoot and shirtless in a dirty gas station parking lot.  He had a beat-up truck in the bed of which his dogs were sitting happily.  And he was hairy.  Austin Powers hairy.  If he were gay, he'd be labeled a Bear.

  I'd like to say that I don't judge fat people, because it may seem like I do from the earlier statements, but I've been down that road myself and know how it is.  It's when fat people think it's fine to emphasize their fat and make themselves look even nastier than they could be.  Besides, even if he weren't fat it'd still be nasty.  Mostly naked in public isn't attractive in my book, no matter what gender or level of fitness.  Fortunately, most people around my area aren't like that, but the few who are make me feel very embarrassed to live here.  I felt annoyed that he would help perpetuate the stereotype of the South--whether he meant to or not.

             I don't have a witty closing for the post, so I leave you with this seal of approval.

Friday, May 13, 2011

I'm Free!

  And freedom tastes of reality...Yes, I am free for now.  Now I just have to start job hunting over the summer.  But before that, I will enjoy my spare time and go riding on my bike when the sun starts to go down...too hot to do it now, I'll probably have a heat stroke.  Nonetheless, I will go out shopping for groceries and enjoying myself as much as possible and prepare for a date this Saturday with the most beautiful and angelic lady who has ever graced this unworthy planet with her presence.

  It's nice to be able to do nothing though...my stress is definitely down.  I stopped biting my fingernails :D  Perhaps they'll have a chance to recover from the abuse soon.  And as I said before, I can ride my bike again.  I have been neglecting it for the past 3 weeks or so because of the heavy workload, but now I can get back on the road and drop some more pounds.  I lost 10 pounds over the past month or maybe 6 weeks just by watching what I've been eating.  Once I start riding again I'll get down to a healthy weight again and hopefully stay that way.   I've discovered that riding a bike is a great way to transition into jogging.  My cardio was so terrible before that I could run about 30 seconds and then fall out wheezing.  That, and I weighed so much that it would kill my knees unless I ran on soft grass or something.  But I recently had to dash to a building to be on time and I felt good after all that running, even though I haven't exercised in weeks.  Only downside is that a bike is kind of expensive.  Still, my mother had a bike when I was a kid and it was of a lesser quality than mine is and it has lasted her almost 13 years and seems to still be going strong, even though it needs a tune-up and perhaps new cables.  So the money is a good investment...it's lots of fun and good exercise.

  Having a fun thing to do for exercise is really important.  If I'm not having fun, then I just can't exercise...too damn boring.  Anyways, that's enough rambling for now.  I'm just excited to be finished with my...business.  Yes, let's call it that.  With hope, I'll have something interesting to write about in the near future. 

Monday, May 2, 2011

The End is Nigh

Forgive the lack of posts, everyone (literally, just one person so far).  I've been very busy with medical-related stuff.  In a couple of weeks I'll have a good deal of time spare to write more things.  That, and I'll hopefully have good material.  I just don't see the point in typing useless crap every day just so I can stay current.  Might as well make my posts worth it, ya know?  I have to punch out in a little bit, but I'll leave you with a handy book review.

    The book Wake, by Lisa McMann, has a pretty decent story.  It's about a poor girl who discovers that she can enter the dreams of others, regardless of whether she'd like to.  I'm not going to get all high and mighty and start pointing out the tiniest flaws.  I enjoy books quite a lot, but I'm not really a critic, nor do I want to be.  Personally,  I thought it was...decent.  It is classified as a teen read/young adult book, and it does fit the description.  The plot is really interesting and has a lot of potential, but my grievances are directed toward the flow of the book.  McMann seems to assume that other people know exactly to whom she's referring, and thus leaves out the names of characters (not always, but it lead to some confusion).  For example, the character Janie meets a guy named Caleb.  At one point in the story she hears him come to the door in the middle of the night.  She was just thinking of him, so I'm guessing McMann doesn't need to put his name on the person coming inside.  I can't remember the exact quoting, but the general gist of it is Janie is thinking of Caleb so on and so forth blah blah.  And then a few lines after mentioning his name it has something along the lines of...His footsteps sounded on the walkway.  He knocked on the door.  Came in.  She was happy to see him.  Like I said, I'm not quoting, but you can see that it has a bit of a flow issue and it doesn't name "Him".

 So, aside from the minor flow problems and choppy dialogue--and the fact that the first book (it's a trilogy) ends right when it gets good--it's a good read.  I enjoyed it, and the book in paperback was 6 dollars, so it's a bargain as well.  Especially when you--meaning me--read it in the store over the course of a few days to avoid the risk of buying a book you don't like.

 I hope to be able to post more often and with more interesting material in a couple of weeks, but for now I'll be mostly AFK.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Southern Hospitality

  Living in the southern U.S., I often get stereotyped for being dumb, drunken, and poor (and for some reason, most people believe southerners don't have shoes...), but there's at least one thing I do like about my community: If someone invites you to a party or to your house, they make damn sure you have a good time.

  I went to a crawfish boil at my neighbor's house for their daughter's twenty-hrmmrmrm birthday, and grabbed a plate of crawfish.  I was asked at least 5 times if I was satisfied with the food and that I was comfortable and so on.  It made me feel very welcome, of course, but after the 6th time, I was saying "Yes, it's very delicious."  While I was actually thinking Yes, it's fuckin tasty as hell, why would I shovel crappy food into my mouth?  Perhaps they want to make sure I'm not just being polite, which is like a code of honor around here.  I wanted to get a second plate but I didn't want to impose or seem greedy, because even though most people have decent manners, I'm perhaps too mannerly and reserved.  I tentatively reached over to get another plate when Junior, the head of the household and posterboy for rednecks, urged me on.  "Go 'head n' git some them damn crawfish! Whya using ya hands?  Here, take this plate n' scoop it up like that.  Hell yeah, now ya cookin' with the gas on," said he.  While I do understand what he said just fine, I have this internal translator that kicks on when I talk to my people.  The translated version of what he said to me was, "Don't be timid, I certainly don't mind you taking your fill of our delicious food, and might I suggest you use this empty plate as a scooping device?  It's far more efficient than using your hands to get the boiled crustaceans onto your dish.  That's the ticket, old boy."  Perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration, but I'm sure you understand my version a bit better.

  The gist of the story is that while I don't necessarily blend in with the other people in my neighborhood, and I certainly don't love everything about the south,  I still do appreciate having a neighbor that I can trust and enjoy, and that will always welcome me like family.........It wouldn't hurt for some of you to drop the prejudices about southern people, either.  One woman at the party wasn't wearing shoes..but she was eating, then she had to leave and she put on some damn shoes, so take that.

Monday, April 4, 2011

The Loathsome Lexicon

I'm sure there are plenty of you out there with words or phrases that irk you.  I certainly do, and so for my entertainment (and to see if anyone shares my dislikes), I've compiled a list of words and phrases that make me want to vomit.  Feel free to add to this loathsome list.
  • Hubby
  • Just joshing you
  • Humdinger
  • Overuse of the word "like"
  • Squash
  • Fartblossom
  • Dumpling
  • Fabulous
  • Saying "That's hilarious" when it really only induces a chuckle or two--I'll explain this one.  Once you say "That's hilarious" about something that is really only a tiny bit funny, you've basically limited yourself verbally.  The next time you see something that's truly hilarious, what will you say?  That's right, nothing.  People tend to overuse superlatives all the time and it's rather irritating...anyways...
  • Umpteenth
  • Cougar
  • News articles that mention the "secret" to something (e.g. Weight loss, ripped body, etc.)
  • Calling me "Bro" when I'm not your mother fuckin' brother.
  • Referring to women as "bitches", regardless of whether it's an appropriate title or not.
  • Explaining obsession with kids as "Well, I just love my children!"  No shit, Sherlock.  Big fuckin' whoop, you love your children.  You're supposed to love your children.  You want an attaboy cookie or something?
  • Tinkle
  • Rural--and no, it's not because I can't say it! *shifty eyes*
  • omg and actually saying "omg" aloud because you're too lazy to speak like a normal person
  • PIN number...if you can't figure out why that phrase sucks, then you suck.
  • ATM machine--See above.
  • FedEx Express.
      I do realize that some of these are closer to pet peeves than words, but they include words and phrases so it counts.  That concludes the list for now, but there will almost certainly be a part two...and perhaps a Lovely Lexicon as well, full of words and phrases I do like, just to prove that I'm not completely grouchy.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Idol hands...

So I read this article about the absolutely offensive remark by James Durbin on American Idol.  I just have to say that people are too sensitive these days.  All he did was make a joke about Michael Jackson's hair catching on fire during a Pepsi commercial in 1984...which is hilarious.  But apparently Michael's poor, tragedy-stricken family got all offended and so were wiping tears away with Benjamins because apparently James was taking a stab at Michael Jackson and dragging his good name and reputation through the dirt *cough*.

    A family representative was quoted saying, "We were shocked to see this. It's nothing to make light of and everybody should be focusing on who was responsible for Michael's death."  Are you freakin serious?  What's funny is that "news" articles like those make it out as if the public is outraged, when really only a few douchebags who want more attention get offended by it.  I thought the quip was hilarious and so did a lot of people apparently, based on the comments on the story.

    It was funny, however, watching Ryan Seacrest swoop in and say "American Idol sponsors Coke."  Or something like that...I can't be bothered doing more than copying and pasting a quote and it wasn't in the text, it was in the video.  Either way, it was funny watching the awkwardness from him. 

  And just to show that it really is funny when somebody's hair catches on fire, I've included this cute picture.  Yuk it up.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

I see what you did there.

I remember about 6 months ago I was helping my girlfriend move into her dorm room.  She was feeling depressed that she would be stuck there for a semester with all these bacon-colored-upward-inflection-speaking "white" girls.  I felt her pain, too.  You know the types--Bleached blonde hair, beef jerky tan, running shoes and shorts that might as well be panties they're so short to give the illusion that they are fit but all they really do is overeat and take the elevator everywhere. The only reason we were about to take the elevator is because we had a whole lot of luggage.

  So anyway, I like watching people.  It's my hobby and it's free (which is good news because I'm broke).  The way people behave in public is so bizarre to someone like me.  This story is about one of these Slim Jim girls who lied about something that doesn't even matter. So, me and my wonderful girlfriend are waiting by the elevator.  It fills up to capacity and we wait because we know we can't fit on it.  The door shuts and just as it shuts this girl runs up and presses the up button, causing the already full elevator to open.  The elevator passengers were mildly confused that they hadn't gone anywhere, and started looking accusingly at the girl who pressed the button.  She blushed and said "I didn't press it."   What the hell?  You're going to deny responsibility for pressing a button just so you don't get the evil eye?  I think not.  I said,"Yes, you did!"  My girlfriend shushed me, but I wasn't going to take responsibility for that girl's impatience.  Take the stairs, lazy ass.  You have gym clothes on after all.

Trite Gingery Goodness

I recently heard an ad on the radio for Seagram's ginger ale.  I despise it.  Not the ginger ale, I've never tried that...but the ad.  It starts off by saying this woman never imagined having kids but now she freakin loves being a mother of twins.  She apparently works part time at some dead-end job and "overtime as a mommy" *pukes on keyboard*.

  Then it goes on to mention that the husband is looking after the kids and she's having a good ol' Seagram's in the tub trying to relax, and the husband is busy looking at internet porn and so the twins want to get in the tub with her and she's all "Oh ya found me, I love you guys" and apparently the Seagram's ginger ale makes having her body mutilated and her life force sucked away worth it.

   I don't know about you, but if I had to work part time and be a mostly-stay-at-home mother, I'd be pretty annoyed that the one bath I get to have to myself is interrupted by my stupid kids, I wouldn't be glad to have two little boys get into the tub naked with my already naked woman self.  I ain't Michael Jackson, and that's creepy.

     Why is it that people think naked children are cute?  I think it's horrifying.  Like watching the larval stage of something walking around all slimy and shit.  That's not cute....but the ginger ale does sound nice...

    

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Mysterious Malady

Now I'm not a doctor(yet), but I do know a few things about diagnosing certain ailments.  I love to watch Mystery Diagnosis because I can usually guess what the patient has before the big reveal.  Sometimes it's nothing out of the ordinary, but some other illness masks it, other times it's just really rare, and every now and then it's just doctor incompetence that causes an illness to go unnoticed. 
  
    For example, this one baby had been born with open hands rather than curled fists.  It had hip dysplasia, concave sternum, and it doctors were all "Hmm, that's odd.  Oh well, I have to go be a sexy doctor that makes out with the nurses."  When the kid got older, he also had abnormally long fingers, was much taller than other children, and had a stretched face(you know, like John "Why the Long Face" Kerry).  I could've told them right then that the kid had Marfan Syndrome, but it still took a couple of years after that to come up with a diagnosis.
 
     I hope to be an excellent nurse and catch on to the minor symptoms that could belong to either a harmless illness or even the rarest of conditions.  But I'm just paranoid that one of my patients would end up having the rare illness and so I'm prepared.  O_o

Insert Fanfare *Here*.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the grand opening of my new blog.   While I'm sure you came seeking lobster-related information, I regret to inform you that lobsters will most likely not be involved.  This will be a random collection of stories and musings that may or may not interest you, but I hope you enjoy yourself.