Today’s things

While taking a break from doing homework, I found some awesomeness I couldn’t not share. To save all of my FB friends the trouble of wading through posts about things they don’t care about, I’ll post them here. A good reason to revive this baby. It’s been since January? Yeah. Wow, January.

Also, the official video for “Next Girl” by The Black Keys. Hilarious video that includes hot chicks and a dinosaur. There is no lose, no fail.

 

New Year Happy

The year has started off fairly well. I’ve decided to be more involved with the people at work, so that helps out a lot. Actually speaking to the people I work with isn’t as bad as last year me though. Last year me was plagued with serious anxiety, though. I didn’t want to leave the house, much less be with people I didn’t know at work. Not to mention the last time I made friends at work, really bad things happened. That won’t happen this time. I’ll have my guard up before I get that close to anyone again.

Jon, Seth, and I also started volunteering with Feliciana Animal Welfare Society. We did the first adoption day on the 15th, and volunteered to foster and socialize two kittens they believe will be adoptable once they are socialized. On the 15th, we also adopted a two year old grey Siamese mix. We named him Augusten, after the one and only Mr. Burroughs. We call him Gus (and goose). He’s adapting well. I’m not sure if he’ll ever relax and stay from under the bed for a whole day, but he seems to like us. He’s playful, happy, and soft. We’re very happy with him.

In March, I just found out, I may be going on a business trip to L.A. to a media convention. I’m pretty excited about that and hope nothing changes regarding those plans.

Nah nah nah nah nah nah!

I think I may have to give up on the Morganville Vampire series. The author forgot what color one of her character’s hair is. Wtf? I remember. Why can’t you? Now, if this was some online bit by bit storytelling, sure, make a mistake. But you have a book  deal. And people to read over your books after you do it. How was this missed? I feel disrespected. Hmph. And the main character and her boyfriend are still dry humping for the sake of morality. Riiight.

My heater didn’t come on in my car this morning. I really hope it’s a one-time thing because it just got FREEZING outside. My toes (not encased in shoes, of course) were numb by the time I got to school. I could see my breath the entire 45 minute drive. Yeah. Miserable.

Love those shoes! Like a Keds/Oxford hybrid? I’m not sure I could pull off the color, but I’d definitely wear those in black or brown.

Also, this awesome, real life Katamari!

Free Time

I just found out the deadline for the next issue isn’t until tomorrow at midnight, so I have a little time to waste, and honestly, that’s what I’m best at.

I’m back to work full part time now. So that means I’m coming in more than 3 hours this week. I’m not that miserable about it. The vacation was nice. I was thinking that today would be miserable because I’ve had these awful stomach pains the past couple of days. Like. AWFUL. Sunday, I only got out of bed for 30 seconds. Well, that and when I tried to have a smoke with Jon. I put it out after smoking half of it and went back to bed. If I keep getting these (this is the second time in a couple of months), I’m going to have to see a doctor about it. I don’t wanna be poked by doctors (ehehe, I mean…what girl doesn’t wanna be poked by a doctor, but that’s a story for another day). So I’m hoping this isn’t going to happen again anytime soon.

I’ve been reading these cheeseball vampire YA novels. The Morganville Vampires. I can’t stop. Rachel Caine has sucked me in, and I don’t know how. What can even be called a plot in her books is poorly executed, and the characters are shallow and stupid. I have to deal with the main character and her boyfriend dry humping throughout the whole series (so far. I’m on the third book) because , OMG, they made a promise to her parents they wouldn’t screw. Seriously? As if that would ever happen. Let’s get real for a minute, Ms. Caine. The guy and girl LIVE IN THE SAME HOUSE with ZERO adult supervision. Are you kidding me? Yet, I keep reading. I’d never read them in public, though. I don’t want to explain that one. “Yeah, I’m doing a book report for my little sister. She’s real swamped with homework.” The Weather Warden book was WAY better, but I can’t seem to get my hands on the second one of that series. I finished The Girl Who Played with Fire, and I want to hold off on 500-page crime novels for just a little while before I move onto the next one. Cheesy vampire novels it is!

Also, I will be the proud owner of these boots ASAP. Love love love!

Vacation is Over

The super awesome do-nothing vacation is over. I already want to plan a Summer do-something vacation. Today is my first day back to work and just like most days at work, I am here alone. There’s not really anything to do, so I’m just kind of preparing for going out of town Friday. Jon and I are going to work a cheer competition a couple of hours away on Saturday. Life will be back in full swing in two weeks when school starts.

Over the holiday, I had a goal of reading 6 books. I beat that number by a few. Yay!

Pen/O. Henry Prize Stories 2009 (Various)
Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race (Jon Stewart)
A Very Simple Crime (Grant Jerkins)
Soulless (Gail Carriger)
Changeless (Gail Carriger)
Hex Hall (Rachel Caine)
Ill Wind (Rachel Caine)
The Clearing (Heather Davis)
The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things (J.T. Leroy)

I’m currently reading The Girl who Played with Fire and Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. The Girl who Played with Fire is mostly bring and has way too many characters with names I can’t remember so far. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk is hilarious and one of a kind. My favorite chapter has so far been The Toad, The Turtle and The Duck. HILARIOUS. Love David Sedaris.

Also, Jon and I beat Little Big Planet on two player and I beat Katamari Forever. Other than that. Nothing. Best holiday.

Here Be Dragons

Here Be Dragons is a free 40 minute video introduction to critical thinking. It is suitable for general audiences and is licensed for free distribution and public display.

Most people fully accept paranormal and pseudoscientific claims without critique as they are promoted by the mass media. Here Be Dragons offers a toolbox for recognizing and understanding the dangers of pseudoscience, and appreciation for the reality-based benefits offered by real science.

Anyone care what I’ve been doing?

I recently moved, and I don’t have the internet at my new house. Turns out, the major cable company and satellite companies either don’t provide service there or don’t provide internet in their services. I must admit, I enjoy the quiet of no internet. We’ve never been big TV watchers, so that’s no difference. We watch things on DVD. Sometimes, a girl just needs to check her email or submit a homework assignment, though.

I’ve been trying to get back into reading more since I have so much quiet and so much time to think. I finished the Hunger Games trilogy. Read a couple of short stories collections. A history of horror book. Now I’m reading a collection of short horror stories. Most of them are pretty good. Twilight Zone type stories. Really weird and leaving you feeling creepy.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Mason Jennings and Ben Sollee. Ben Sollee is a new addition, and I LOVE his album, Learning to Bend. I listen to it every morning. It’s folk, with not-your-average instruments and a slight political side. I’ve also been listening to Skeptoid. It’s a critical reasoning podcast that tackles popular beliefs, such as foods being poison and fluoridation.

Also, I have kittens living under my new porch. They belong to my neighbors, but I don’t believe they want them, really. No one has come looking for them and it’s been a couple of days. The mom and 3 kittens are living under there. So cute. I may need to be finding them homes if their owners don’t want them. We’ll see. Until then, I’m just enjoying their presence.

This is going to be long, English assignment

Photo of someone controversial, with a character question underneath & 300 word character assessment. This is what happened. This is why I hate my English class.

Would you let this man borrow your car?

Would I let George W. Bush borrow my car? The answer is no. I would not let this man drive my car, because I feel that he has no respect for others, even the people that are most important to him seem to mean nothing to him, so I can not imagine that he would take care of my personal belongings.  George W. Bush’s character is flawed. There is not much reason to respect his authority because he had no respect for the people who are most important to him.

As former President of the United States, George W. Bush should have had instant respect from citizens of the U.S. This is not true. George W. Bush rarely acted as a distinguished leader of a powerful country, instead choosing to make jokes and avoid real questions from the press. Because of his actions and obvious disrespect for the citizens of the U.S., George W. Bush had the lowest final approval rating of any president since the final approval rating began to be recorded over 70 years ago.  The rating was 22 percent. (CBS) That means only 22 percent of Americans thought George W. Bush deserved their respect. Since the American citizens are the most important people when it comes to respect for the President of the United States, I think this proves his lack of authority.  A person in his position with that low of a rating has certainly lost his position of authority over the United States.

Sorry, George W. Bush, but you cannot borrow my car. I don’t believe that you would return it the way you borrowed it. I think there would be mud in the carpet and French fries under the seat.  You are going to have to find one of the 22 percent of Americans that thought you were deserving of their respect.

Click more for responses

Response to The Daily Reveille’s resident asshole

My English Paper (Rhetorical Analysis) response to THIS article:

 

Chris Guillot, a writer for Louisiana State University’s official campus newspaper, The Daily Reveille, has recently written an article attacking an arrangement made between Baton Rouge Community College and Louisiana State University that will allow students in certain majors, including business and the sciences, to transfer more easily from BRCC to LSU to obtain a bachelor’s degree. He makes a weak argument that is supported by nothing but his ego and his own warped opinions.
Guillot’s article,”‘ Bears 2 Tigers’ insults LSU’s hardworking student body,” claims that BRCC students are not good enough to attend LSU, much less be given a less complicated way to transfer there. He states that BRCC students could not handle the classes at LSU, and that BRCC students don not work as hard at their college careers as LSU students. Guillot uses his summer class at Delgado Community College and quotes from former BRCC students to support his claims. Guillot’s reasons are weak, and his argument seems to be fueled by prejudice and arrogance.

 

A Road Metaphor

 

Chopwell – Path to the river

Originally uploaded by immarkcz

It seems like everyone I meet feels the need to explain and then defend themselves.

I want you all to stop spending so much time defending yourselves. I want everyone to just be who they are and not have to fight to do it. I want every single one of you to think about what life would be like if we all stopped doing that. If we all knew what we are (and even if we didn’t and knew we were trying to figure that out) and knew that it was ok, and that we weren’t going to be looked down upon for our differences, how awesome would that be? I’m not asking that you like what someone is or what they are becoming; I’m asking that you let it go. Yes, I’m asking that you don’t give a shit either way. I’m asking that you “do you” and don’t care what everyone else is doing to the point of interfering with their journey. I’m not asking you to shut up and keep it to yourself, but I’m asking that you do so when it comes to always thinking you are right. Constant defense of the path you choose to take will not get you any closer to where you’re headed.