IS THAT NORMAL?!

It's that time again! (Actually it's never been that time. What can I say, I miss Animaniacs!)

It's time for some link-up fun via Chalk in the Rain's IS THAT NORMAL?

Here goes nothing!

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1. Is it normal to lie about your age?

Don't think I haven't thought about doing this ... who doesn't? Do you think I could get away with being five years old? I could move back home and tell my mom it was all a dream.

2. Is it normal to have mistaken someone for the opposite sex?

Gender expression being as subjective as it is, I think it would be abnormal for someone not to have experienced this. I spent half the year one time having a crush on a guy in eighth grade only to find out later she was a girl!

3. Is it normal to go #2 in a public restroom?

I don't understand why this is a bug-a-boo ... but I find I cannot do even a #1 if people are freaking talking in the bathroom. Take the conversation outside, ladies!

4. Is it normal to sit RIGHT NEXT TO a stranger at the movie theater?

Probably not, but I always like the company unless I'm trying to get my mack on.

5. Is it normal to lie about your weight?

Well it depends. There are connotations surrounding certain numbers. 120 lbs seems to be the magic number for females to weigh whether they are 4 ft 6 or 6 ft 4! It's ridiculous. It's just one measurement. Who cares how much you weigh when it's all about inches?

6. Is it normal to sing and dance in the car?

Isn't it? Oh, is that why I get those looks at stop lights?

7. Is it normal to take self-pictures in public?

If MySpace never existed, I'll bet this wouldn't be an issue. Self-portraits are fun! It's like the only real fun Thelma and Louise ever had!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

8. Is it normal for women to have a gun license?

Odd question. I hope everyone wielding a gun has a license. Duh.

9. Is it normal to post pictures online of yourself in a bikini?

Hey, if I like the way I look, I'm going to post it. I don't have a filter!

Me, age 17. Boo-yah.

Then again, nobody has ever called me normal.

10. Is it normal to like the smell of gasoline?

Isn't it weird how common this is? I hear it's an additive, so we may as well enjoy it!

Well, what do you think? IS IT NORMAL?

Watched Pots

Trying to drown out the sound of my coworker snapping her gum, I picked up my headphones and switched on Arcade Fire's Kettles.

Kettles was one of the songs on the Funeral album that never resonated much with me. The lyrics didn't penetrate through the whistle of tea kettle permeating every note in the song. I guess I could forgive that. After all, there are so many strong tracks on the Funeral album that one or two are bound to skip my notice.

I first listened to the Funeral album many years after it came out. I had never even heard of Arcade Fire until that year because someone in some forum was arguing the superiority of Arcade Fire to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes in 2010. I figured it was smart to think for myself and listen to their album. I loved it so much that I went on a crusade that summer to win some tickets to their Merriweather Show. Successful, I became a fan ... and then subsequently forgot about them as the new latest thing caught my attention.

Listening to Kettles two years later, I not only love the song, but the song has helped me identify the solution to a problem concerning my career goals.

I can now identify my problem. I have been uncertain about the career I chose for myself. Social work seemed like the perfect field for me, but after a while I've learned it is a little bit depressing and overwhelming.

The key question was this: Did I really want to immerse myself in human suffering when I'm finally starting to get on my feet? Couldn't I close my eyes and just be grateful that I was able to change some things in my own life? I can't live everyone's lives for them. Others need to make changes to make themselves happy.

Then these lyrics penetrated me today:

All the neighbors starting up a fire burning all the old folks, the witches, and the lies. My eyes are covered by the hands of my unborn kids. But my heart keeps watching through the skin of my eyelids. They say a watched pot won't ever boil. Well I closed my eyes and nothing changed. Just some water getting hotter in the flames.

I was beginning to think that I could close my eyes to human suffering, but I can't. I won't. Maybe if I work toward a happier world I'll fail and feel frustrated. But what if I succeed?

I know for sure that if I don't try at all, if I close my eyes to the world around me and continue to live in denial, the world's problems will without a doubt continue to heat up and boil.

It is going to be hard work. Just to get my degree I have to somehow find a job that pays enough to get me through as well as lets me go to my internship for the next couple of years. Plus, I am probably not going to make a lot of money.

Once I do work in the field, there might be problems I cannot solve.

I have to at least try, even if I am afraid.

Eyes wide open,

My musings on: STUFF I PUT ON MYSELF: a makeup blog: Washin' Hair + Keeping It Washed

"STUFF I PUT ON MYSELF: a makeup blog: Washin' Hair + Keeping It Washed: I thought I would write about haircare today.  I don't mean to keep mentioning that I am writing stuff because I got requests for posts..."

Okay, I love Natalie Dee so hard ... why? Not only because she pens amazing comics, or because she's cuter than buttons (why do people say buttons are cute?), but because her beauty blog covers such basic how-tos for real slackers like me. If it was up to me I would never shave or do anything to be pretty and would lay outside in the mud all day.  Since I'm not a crazy mud layabout, I glitter paint my nails and sometimes wear dresses.

However, Natalie Dee doesn't allow comments on her blog and I just wanted to say something about her hair care routine, the one where it allows others to not wash their hair for most of the week. After using a bunch of products in the right way she can get away with four days without washing her hair, which is awesome. I can get on board with that kind of slackery.  However, I think it's very important to at least wash bangs (or fringe as it's called now) every other day. Seriously, that hair is all over the face and can lead to acne if not cleared of oils.  If hair is going to be up anyway the third day, why not pull bangs out of the shower cap and soap 'em on up?  Seriously, you'll smell so much better too.   I find that if I wash my bangs every other day I can get away without washing my whole head even longer using her routine.

I have different hair than Natalie, though.  It's thin and naturally curly.  I had a friend once who told me if I stopped coloring my hair it wouldn't be curly anymore but she was wrong--it just became a different color and still curly after a year of growing it out.  I find not washing it daily can be beneficial, but nothing is more gross than dirty, clumpy fringe.  Fringe should always be shiny and awesome.  Yay, fringe!

Bye, Weekend!

Weekend? Why do you have to go so quickly? I don't understand.

You were full of kitty snuggles:

There was also nail painting involved. Glitter nail polish, weekend. It was with this which you seduced me so:

Between the short ribs and mac salad from Whole Foods Market, to the all-nighters playing chess, to the Exes & Ohs marathon on our iPod, and the expeditions to IKEA ... how am I supposed to say goodbye to the last weekend of my twenties when you boasted such blue skies?

So far I've been quite benevolent about this whole turning thirty thing. My attitude has been I may as well carpe diem ... not everyone has diems to carpe.

When I say goodbye to my twenties, must I let go altogether? Or can I pull these memories close every now and then and feel good about doing things I want to do?

Don't leave me, weekend. All too soon there will be bills to pay and careers goals to achieve and your simple pleasures may be left in the dust of my scurries and obligations.

Thank you for giving me something with which to curl up with a secret smile.

Tour Of Our New Place

Welcome!

First things first, I want to thank Laura Barndt for doing such a great job with my blog redesign. I hope I make you proud with my entries, Laura! <3



Without further ado, would you like to see my apartment, already in progress?



Of course you do!

So it begins ...

I'm beyond excited. I'm sitting in my boyfriend's bedroom on his bed petting our cat and we just picked out my engagement ring!

We were sitting around wondering why our cat meows so much when I impulsively was looking at engagement rings online and the next thing you know money was exchanged and now we're just waiting for it to be sized! Wow!

I was all giddy about it and excited about what we chose. "I'm such a dork!"

"Yes, but I like dorks and you're my dork!"

We first decided we wanted to get married when we were 22, but I wasn't sure.  I've always been kind of a free spirit (read: chicken) and even though I knew I loved him I wasn't sure if I was ready to make that kind of commitment.

Every once in a while, though, I get a bug in me where I want to get the party started. For example, back in 2007 Greg wanted me to pick out a ring but I wasn't sure I wanted a piece of fancy jewelry I could lose. So I picked out a cheapo cocktail ring from Torrid and wore that for a couple of weeks until I misplaced it somewhere.

Then Greg got laid off and I got evicted and we had to move to these icky ghetto apartments for a couple of years while I paid off my credit cards and figured out what I wanted to do with my life.   It was really hard at first.  We fought all the time and were so unhappy with all the crime in the neighborhood and various bugs and vermin invading our space. So neither of us really wanted to get married then except for maybe health insurance.

Finally I went back to school and Greg got a job and we moved to a nice neighborhood near my job in Annapolis. We adopted our kitten, Annie, and I just feel really content here.  I'm turning thirty next week and I feel like I'm off to an excellent start.

Maybe I'm not ready to get married yet, but something just feels right about picking out a ring after all these years. :-)

I have nothing to say.

I will soon, though.