BLOGGING ABOUT BLOGGING

So I haven’t had much to blog about in a little while and that is pretty okay with me. I just haven’t been felling it. I just decided that when something came to me I would write about it and when nothing did I wouldn’t force it. Plus, it’s the summer and while that should mean that I have tons to say about all the hot ass messes in Chicago that think they are doing something cute when they walk out of the house in the morning it doesn’t. Maybe I would have people to comment on if I carried a camera with me all the time, or maybe if I had a USB cable so I could plug my camera into a computer…maybe.

My sister has started to beat me at wordtwist. I find this slightly depressing. I think I may have to step up my game, maybe try to type properly for once or practice a ton. I don’t like my sister to beat me at things. I don’t care if my friends do but they aren’t my sister. Actually, I am just glad that I have another challenging person to play with. It would be better if I won more than I have been though.

Anyway, the thing that got me thinking I needed to blog was my blog. I opened my email this morning and got a comment from someone named Stephen saying I blogged about him and I was pretty confused because I don’t know anyone named Stephen. Then, I went to the post and it was the one about that VH1 show “The Pickup Artist” and Stephen was the guy Spoon that I thought was pretty awesome and was sad to see leave the show cause he was a pretty chill dude. This also means that he was googling himself, which shows me that he is a very normal guy. He also has the prettiest dog ever. Monica, go to his myspace page and look at his dog. It will make you die. Tony wondered that if Spoon invited me to be his myspace friend that he was maybe going to try his Pickup Artist skills on me. I kind of doubt it...dude has hella myspace friends.

That is all. I will reveal songs. I have no idea how long they have been there but I suppose it is long enough. Crap, I can’t find my list. I’ll do my best.

1. She feels like/ A stranger has come in the night/ And stolen her life/ And left her with this. Something I’m too tired to look up by Man Man.

2. Looking at the devil/ Grinning at his gun/ Fingers start shaking/ I begin to run. Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself, Sly and the Family stone

3. Oh so long/ For this night I’ve prayed/ That a star/ Would guide you my way/ To share with/ Me this special day. Ribbons in the Sky, Stevie Wonder

4. I love the time and in between/ The calm inside me/ In the space where I can breathe/ I believe there is a distance I have wandered to touch upon the years of/ Reaching out and reaching in. Something off Fumbling Towards Ecstasy by Sarah McLaughlin.

THE RETURN OF THE ADDICTION

Tony’s new job has him working late a lot and it has left me home alone many nights. It took me a little while to decide what to do on these long nights alone. Sure, my apartment could use some serious cleaning (I did one room so that is better than nothing) but that isn’t going to keep me inspired. I have a jigsaw puzzle that needs some serious attention but the thing is all the same color and I can only handle that for so long. I can watch food network all day (and I do) but it is better for background stuffs and I can’t devote my full attention to it. I couldn’t think of anything.

Then it came to me. Last Friday I went to Monica’s house for tacos. They were delicious. She reminded me that I had been asking her for the SIMS discs back and she gave them to me. My addiction has come back full force. I LOVE SIMS. I haven’t downloaded any custom content yet so I just have the basic ones. I am having such a good time with them but no one is getting kidnapped by aliens and I am a little bummed about it. The joy I am experiencing with this game makes me wonder why I stopped playing in the first place. Then I went back and read this old post that explained it really well. I suppose in about six months or so that could happen again.

I then read this other post where I had entertained the notion of making a blog from the point of view of a SIM. It was a little bit funny. I then realized that my old posts were much funnier and had a larger dose of cracked outedness than my recent posts have had. I must be running out of ideas. Maybe I will have SIMS guest blog for the rest of the week. Even if the world was bored I think I would be entertained. Keep your eye out; I think the next post will come to you courtesy of Magdalena Hottentot.

1. Well they say that birds do it/ Bees do it/ Time the freak Money B gets to it

2. If the music make you move/ Cause you can dig the groove/ Groove on/ Groove on

3. Six o’clock in the morning/ You’re the last to hear the warning/ You’ve been trying to throw your arms around the world. Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World, U2. Identified by Katrina.

4. Went down to the mountain I was drinking some wine/ Looked up in the heaven Lawd I saw a mighty sign

5. What’s the matter/ Why don’t you answer/ What’s the matter with me

SHE THINKS I'M COOL...OR NICE

So, apparently a person who I spend quite a bit of time with (proportionately to other people at least) thinks that I am a nice person. It’s good to know. For most of my life people who I spent a lot of time with thought I was more of a raging asshole mean bitch than a nice person. Don’t get me wrong, they liked me just fine. We were friends and in many cases still are. They just wouldn’t have used the words nice to describe me. Maybe I have grown up or maybe it is just because some people wouldn’t necessarily recognize her as nice either (even though she is) so she understands what I go through.

So, thanks, Friend. For knowing that deep down under all the snarky comments and hating on all that is generally lame that I am a nice person. It is refreshing. As far as passing this along goes my lunch is about over and I must get back to work. I figure everyone that reads this blog is probably pretty nice so I pass it to all of you nice folk out there.

1. Dear I thought I'd drop a line/ The weather's cool/ The folks are fine/ I'm in bed each night by nine

2. Sitting down by my window/ Looking at the rain/ Sitting down my window/ All around I felt it/ All I could see was the rain

3. I’m a poor boy born in a rut/ Some say my manners aren’t the best/ Some of my friends have been in a whole lot of trouble/ Some say I’m no better than the rest

4. They say some days you're gonna win/ They say some days you're gonna lose/ I tell you I got news for you/ Your losin' all the time you never win

5. A wannabe gangsta/ Thinking he’s a wise guy/ Rob another bank/ He’s a sock em in the eye guy

GOOEY GOODNESS

Apparently I said I was going to write a post about sandwiches today. In all honesty, who doesn’t love a good sandwich? I firmly believe that the sandwich is one of the more perfect foods out there. In fact, one of my first, and favorite, posts was about sandwiches.

I’ll call this sandwich Gooey Goodness because I like things that start with the same letter yet describe the product. It is important to be catchy.

• Four thin slices of sourdough or other delicious bread with a nice crust
• 1 large cap Portabella mushroom
• ½ Zucchini
• 2 slices Red onion
• 1 Roma Tomato
• Sprouts
• Brie cheese
• ½ tbsp butter

1. sauté the mushroom and zucchini in a tiny dab of butter until cooked
2. Put the rest of the butter in a pan and melt
3. Rub the bread, on both sides, in the butter
4. Put a layer of Brie on two slices of bread and cover with mushroom and zucchini then cover with other slice of bread
5. Press together with spatula
6. Cook over medium/low heat covered for a few minutes and flip
7. Repeat process until bread is nice and golden and cheese is gooey
8. Remove from heat
9. Open sandwiches and top with onion, tomato, and sprouts (in that order so as to avoid slippage, a successful sandwich is all in the layers)
10. Close sandwich and enjoy the gooey goodness

I suppose a Panini press would also work in this situation but who has one of those? Not I. I had a green apple with this sandwich and it was delightful. Green apples are so good with Brie. As I was typing I think a super thin layer of Dijon mustard may have complimented this sandwich as well. MMM Sandwich.

1. I love you/ Completely/ Please I don't want you to go/ Though you are not content here with me and you feel you must go

2 You've got a bad reputation/ That's the word out on the town/ It gives a certain fascination/ But it can only bring you down

3. They got a committee to get me off the block. Cause I say my rhymes loud and I say them non stop

4. On the corner/ We talk away/ Everybody’s older these days

5. I’ll light the fire/ You place the flowers in the vase that you bought/ Today. Our House, CSNY. Identified by Mom.

YOU WANTED AN ESSAY, I'LL GIVE YOU AN ESSAY

Although I have been subtly plugging Huey Lewis here and there for some time on this blog I have been hesitant to pull out all the stops and explain fully why Huey is so important. Until now there has only been a facebook page but I don’t spend enough time there to truly attempt to fuel the fire from that site. No, this blog is where much of my online efforts go. The website existed before but consisted of nothing more than a picture, although a good picture it was. Sure, the site isn’t brimming with information yet. I don’t even see a post about the essay contest…maybe it’s over. Needless to say, Lewisnews08 is now a reality. You can all be a part of the movement.

Why Huey? Why not. Do I like Huey? Not particularly. Do I know any Huey songs? Only from my in-depth knowledge of the mind of Patrick Bateman (wasn’t American Psycho great?). So why do I care? Why is it that every time I pick up my cell phone I feel a sticker, smile, and think of Huey? It’s because this may be my chance to make a difference to the world. This movement, the bringing back of Huey Lewis and the News for 2008, is a chance for us all to unite and see if mere word of mouth and suggestion can change the course of musical history.

You might say that there is a much more important movement afoot in 2008 what with the elections and all. You would be right. However, the country will never unite behind one candidate. There are too many differences for that. At the same time, it is possible for everyone in the country to get behind Huey. They don’t have to like his music, they don’t have to know any of his songs, they only have to believe in the dream. Join us. You know you want to.

How do you join? It’s easy. Just let Huey into your life. Bring him up to people in passing. It doesn’t take much. Simply ask them if they know that 2008 is the year for the resurgence of Huey Lewis and the News. They will probably say they didn’t. So tell them that it is. That there is an underground movement set on this happening and all they have to do to help is tell a friend. We get enough people doing this and soon when you randomly ask someone if they know that 2008 is the year of the Huey that random person will say, “Yes, I did”. We will have achieved greatness.

Take the first step, join the movement. Get on facebook and check out the Huey Lewis is a Golden God group. You can request marketing materials; we’ll get them to you. People see enough stickers that they don’t understand with a website listed they’ll check it out. Think about it, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all working together to bring about change. This could be the thing that brings understanding across this great nation of ours. If you’re in a Super Tuesday state don’t forget to vote today but, while you’re at it, don’t forget to mention Huey. We can do it.

Yes, We Can.

1. I love you/ Completely/ Please I don't want you to go/ Though you are not content here with me and you feel you must go

2. Coming out the slums/ It's the hoodlums/ I'm pulling my gat out on all you bums. We Ain't Goin Out Like That, Cypress Hill. Identified by Ern

3. You've got a bad reputation/ That's the word out on the town/ It gives a certain fascination/ But it can only bring you down

4. They got a committee to get me off the block. Cause I say my rhymes loud and I say them non stop

5. On the corner/ We talk away/ Everybody’s older these days

WEEPY WEEKEND

Apparently my post on Friday was my 300th post. Neat. I totally had no idea.

I had every intention of going to Jamie’s to watch the Super Bowl. Then I slept really late and felt pretty lazy when I woke up. Then I looked and saw it was going to snow at some point during the game. I decided to stay home. I really had no interest in the game either so it made the decision a little easier. Regardless, I am kind of a bad friend. Sorry. Instead of Super Bowl, Tony and I watched The Karate Kid. I had actually never seen the entire movie and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I also made some of the most delicious sandwiches ever but you’ll have to wait until Friday to hear all about them.

Speaking of movies I watches this weekend, I really have to recommend The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters to everyone. It is a documentary that chronicles the epic battle between Billy Mitchell and Steve Weibe. Who are they you ask? They are the best Donkey Kong players around, duh. Although I had heard wonderful things about the movie I was a little skeptical about the entertainment value of a documentary about guys playing old school video games. Why? I have no idea. It was brilliant. There were shady dealings, bitter rivalries, and aloof masters of the joystick throughout. Even if you don’t care a thing about Donkey Kong or, like me, have never made it past the first board (or maybe second but apparently most people never make it past the third) you will enjoy this movie. Get it get it get it.

We also watched Pride. I can’t get enough of movies about sports that are “based on a true story” when there is racism involved it is even better. Pride is the one about the Black swim team from Philly. There were only two references to the whole “Black people can’t swim thing,” which I thought was interesting in some way. I never thought I would be typing this statement but here it goes, Bernie Mac was brilliant! He was just hilarious and delightful and made the movie. Terrence Howard wasn’t too bad himself but that is more expected. I mean did you see Hustle and Flow? He was so awesomely dirty. Like any movie about underdogs and racism it got me teary and Tony laughed at me. Whatever, The King of Kong made me a little teary as well. So did The Karate Kid. I just cry. I ain’t ashamed. Whatever.

1. I love you/ Completely/ Please I don't want you to go/ Though you are not content here with me and you feel you must go

2. Coming out the slums/ It's the hoodlums/ I'm pulling my gat out on all you bums

3. You've got a bad reputation/ That's the word out on the town/ It gives a certain fascination/ But it can only bring you down

4. I’d like to be/ Under the sea/ In an octopus’s garden/ In the shade. Octopus's Garden. The Beatles. Identified by Jenn.

5. Wow/ You sure got to climb a lot of steps to get to this capital building here in Washington/ Hey/ Who’s that sad little scrap of paper?/ You really want to know? I'm Just A Bill, Schoolhouse Rock. Identified by Janeylynne.

EXPECTATIONS

Is a really good song. Oh man, Monica, I need those Belle and Sebastian CDs so much.

Urban Chick passed on a meme that asked only one question, what do you expect from your blog?

I thought it was a rather easy question to answer. I expect absolutely nothing from it save that it entertains me. If other people are entertained as well that is simply a bonus. I like cataloging all the random thoughts, happenings, and mindless drivels that I encounter on a daily basis. It is something to do and it makes me smile. Plus, I like to talk about blogging and blogs with people who also blog and like to talk about blogging and blogs. It is yet another piece of things to discuss and for someone who is socially awkward an increase in potential topics is always a good thing.

There are some people who expect a lot from their blogs. They expect that they will get a book deal or a huge readership or quoted in some random media thing. If those things happen for those people it will not only be despite huge odds against it but it will cause more people who want to blog for reasons other than self-gratification to belly up to the keys and churn out tons of mediocre attempts at being deep. I’m sure someone will read their stuff though and stroke their ego and maybe one of them will make something out of their blog. If so I think that is great for them.

I like having readers, it makes responding to comments a much more enjoyable experience than if no one stopped by. That being said, would I blog if no one commented? Probably, I mean how many posts did I do about Figure skating before someone other than my mom really seemed to care? I still enjoyed writing them.

I’m not going to tag people, tagging is totally 2007. I’m just going to say it’s an interesting question to ask yourself and if you want to answer it feel free.

Monica, answer all five of these songs right now.

1. It’s over/ You don’t need to tell me/ I hope you’re with someone who makes you feel safe in your sleep. No Distance Left To Run, Blur. Identified by Jason.

2. Laid back in an old saloon with a peso in my hand/ Watching flies and children on the street. Mexicali Blues, The Grateful Dead. Identified by Monica

3. I/ Was gazing in your eyes/ Seeing butterflies/ Melting on the wall/ Strangest thing I saw . Will You Come and Fetch Me, of Montreal. Identified by Moncia

4. Streets like a jungle/ So call the police/ Following the herd/ Down to Greece. Boys and Girls, Blur. Identified by Monica

5. Your butt is mine/Gonna take you right/ Just show your face/ In broad daylight. Bad, Michael Jackson. Identified by Jenn

MEME MADNESS

I got three tags the other day so here they go.

The first is an oh so flattering Rockin' Girl Blogger award from The Thinker

How cool is that? I also get to tag five rockin' ladies with it. I am going to tag some awesome ladies.

1. Mrs. Loquacious because she is a real nice lady who tends to ROCK out a bit. Plus, she was the first person I didn't know who left me a comment and that rocks.

2. I got to give one to my dear friend Monica because she always tells me about rockin' bands to listen to and she just ROCKS in general. Without her my instances of leaving the house would be even fewer and that would be quite scary.

3. I'm going to throw one to Blondie, and since Clark St. is real close, she might even catch it. She made me feel less nervous about turning 30 in a few years with her recent chronicle. Cheers to that, it ROCKS.

4. Mood Indigo was gone for a long time doing incredibly important work with The Africa Project but I am selfishly happy she is back because she ROCKS!

5. I also want to send one to Blog Antagonist because she writes one the three or four "mommy blogs" that I enjoy. She doesn't just post stuff about her kids that no one cares about. She has important and interesting things to say. She also recently took her eldest to a Fall Out Boy concert because they really wanted to go and that kind of move ROCKS.

The second is from Memoirs of a Fat Girl
INSTRUCTIONS: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so.
Classy & Fancy
[Cherry] Ride/
5of9erAiram
Memoirs of a Fat Girl
Almost Interesting Musings on Life

Select five people to tag: You, You, You, You and...uh...You

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I had just graduated from High School and was working at Learner New York (now NY&Co). I hung out with all the friends I knew I would keep forever (and now talk to very few) and switched from saying pop to saying soda because I didn’t want to get made fun of.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
I was finishing up my wonderful contract working with DCFS youth and getting ready to be the temporary Volunteer Services director. I am now again the temporary Volunteer Services director. If I am doing the same thing next year I might die.

Five snacks you enjoy:
1. cheese
2. popcorn
3. guacamole
4. yogurt w/various cereals and/or fruits
5. hummus

Five songs that you know all the lyrics to:
1. The Humpty Dance, Digital Underground
2. Sunshine Superman, Donovan
3. The Circle Game, Joni Mitchell
4. Disseminated, Soul Coughing
5. Tender, Blur

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
A million isn’t as much as it used to be so it isn’t going to last me very long. Maybe by millionaire they meant multiple millions? I took it literally. It's a little selfish but I give back every day at work so screw it.

1. Pay off my debts
2. Buy a lofty 3bed 2 bath condo
3. Buy a Smart Car
4. Take a year off to travel with Tony
5. If I have anything left (and there won’t be much after that vacation) invest it

Five bad habits:
1. cracking any joint that I possibly can
2. being a total slob
3. making decisions
4. finishing projects that I have started
5. not taking as good care of myself as I should

Five things you like doing:
1. cooking/eating fun and exciting foods
2. road trips with good people
3. sleeping in
4. all kinds of movies/ TV and video games
5. nothing

Five things you would never wear again:
1. culottes
2. sneakers with a heel (the maroon ones with a big sole don’t count)
3. shiny lycra (I’m talking about skating here people and maybe a few other times)
4. scrunchies
5. the crazy blue horizontal striped dress (but I’ll still wear it in the house)

Five favorite toys:
1. iPod
2. PS2
3. Cable
4. Scrabble
5. Monopoly

I was also tagged by Not Fearing Change for the 8 random facts meme. I think Monica tagged me with this or something like this but since I used her facts it wasn't quite right.

Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8.
Players should tag 8 other people and notify them that they have been tagged.

I am tagging the five "Yous" from above and also You, You and...um...You

Just the (Random) Facts
1. My second toe on my right foot is longer than my big toe but on the left foot the big toe is longer. I think if I can figure out why this is I will unlock my mutant toe power.

2. I am 5ft tall but think I am much taller. When I see people my height walking around I am always struck by how small they are.

3. Right now I am relatively damp because I ran across the street in a torrential downpour an hour and a half ago.

4. I used to have a severe SIMS addiction. It stopped because the downloads I had didn’t work with Nightlife and I got annoyed because new SIMS had bad hair.

5. Most of the time I would rather be sitting at home.

6. I have only 400 pages left to read in War and Peace thus completing my reading of the books on my bookshelf...I think.

7. I have just folded 50 brochures about my customer service training

8. I love lamp

This post has taken me about five hours to actually finish. I am too tired for random songs.

THE BIG 200

I have reached my 200th post. In a way I am really surprised. I started blogging simply because I was bored and couldn’t log into my myspace account. I had very low expectations for the whole blogging thing. I thought I would get bored. I thought I had “Nothing Interesting to Say” rather than being “Almost Interesting”. I thought blogs were kind of stupid. I kind of understood why people wrote them but I had no idea why people read them. I thought my friends and family might occasionally read mine but was utterly mystified by my first comment that wasn’t from Monica. The comment was left on my third post, Let’s Talk About Stupids, dated 8/2/06 and was about the Mel Gibson rant. The commenter was Wobbly*Bits and I just sat there mouth open wondering how she possibly found me and why she would have though to leave a comment. As surprised as I was, it made me smile.

When I hit 100 posts I made a big deal. I took sentences from all hundred posts to create some crazy mega post that almost kind of made sense. It was a blast to do. However, as I came to 200 I thought about it and decided I didn’t need to do all that mess. Post 100 was like a 21st birthday. I wanted to party and have a grand old time. 200 is more like 28. I’m glad I made it. I am happy with where my blog has gone and, while it may not have a lot of direction, it is a happy blog.

I feel really glad that people read and enjoy what I have to say but, unlike at post 100, I think I would be ok if as many people weren’t reading. I would still be happy with what I produced and just knowing that I bring a smile here and there would be enough. 100 posts ago I would have wondered why people weren’t reading and thought about what might want to do differently. I thought about if my posts were too long or too short. I thought about if they only would appeal to a select group of people or have a wider audience. I cared a lot about my statcounter. Now I only go there to read hilarious google searches and get excited when I find out things like my blog is the #1link when you search for “hilarious racism”. I find that to be incredibly rewarding. I do think about the types of people who search for hilarious racism and hope they are the types that want to hear funny stories about racist moments and not funny racist jokes. I like to think they are the former.

I’m not saying I don’t want readers, of course I do. Readers are part of what makes blogging fun and exciting. I’m just more secure in the fact that if I feel like writing about something and others don’t really care that it is ok. I realize the blog is about me and what I feel like saying, not what people want to read. It’s just an extra bonus when what is on your mind jives with those around you. I look forward to seeing where I go from here and how the blog changes. It seems it has almost developed a mind of its own.

It’s time for the three random songs; a segment that has been with me from day one. Random lyrics, although a later addition, is cooler.

The House Song, The Beta Band- “Put in you pocket for a rainy day,” what an applicable lyric for a blog that started as a rainy day activity. As the song gets funkier, so does the blog. Or so I would like to think.

Lost In A Crowd, Rusted Root- This band will always remind me of this guy Adrian who I met my freshmen year of college. He was the quintessential Rusted Root listener. You can picture him. He had drums, long hair, a beard, and was an all around nice guy. I haven’t thought of him in ages. It’s strange what music can do.

I Was Made To Love Her, Stevie Wonder- Is it possible for this guy to make a bad song? Of course it is. This isn’t one of them. I will say that I really dislike Ribbon in the Sky, which is almost forbidden in Stevie World. Oh well, if it sounded more like this I would like it.

WHO IS LAKEIYA?

As some of you may know, because I talk about her so much, I have an awesome co-worker named Lakeiya. She is my favorite co-worker to talk to about politics, people, racism, and general complaints with. She is my favorite co-worker to walk with to meet Monica for lunch. She is hilarious and adorable. Sometimes she even leaves me comments. She brought me my first taste of Americone Dream. At the end of the summer, she will be leaving me to go to Georgetown Law. What a jerk. Anyway, she wanted to participate in the interviewing that was going on around the blogosphere and she didn’t have a blog. Because I love her so much I agreed not only to interview her, but also to put her answers on my blog. As you read them I think you will realize why I adore her so much. Cause she is freakin awesome. So, without furtner ado, I give you five questions from me, to Lakeiya.

1. You have a wonderful youthful energy that radiates from your person. Even when upset, you swing your arms around and smile as you throw tantrums. What makes you so gosh darned jolly and adorable?
The thing is, I have a pretty low tolerance for pain, both emotional and physical. I just can't bring myself to be unhappy for long periods of time. I think that's why I get so frustrated and indignant sometimes; I need all the emotions to come to the surface and just be able to get them out so I can be done with them. The weird thing is that I spent a lot of time as a kid unhappy. I didn't really have an unhappy childhood but for some reason, I just wasn't happy. I used to believe that no one in life could be truly happy; you just had good moments, and the memories of the good moments sustained you through the long and unpleasant unhappy times. But I've earned that being unhappy is tiring and draining and that I don't particularly care for it. I've found that, for me, it's easier to be happy. I'm naturally sort of easy going and strange and optimistic. So put together my low threshold for pain and my refusal to expend the energy to be anything other than what I am and you get someone who skips down the hall at work and performs mini dance routines in the middle of the office when she thinks no one is looking. ::shrugs::

2. What, other than me, will you miss about Jobs For Youth when you leave. I realize this may be a really hard question as I have taken away the greatest thing about working at this place (me in case you forgot) for an answer.
While I'll definitely, definitely miss my coworkers, I think what I'll miss most is the place I've kind of made for myself here. I feel like I've sort of found my place here and it took be a while to do that. I've learned what I'm good at and how I can contribute and I like that. I like being helpful and being good at what I'm good at. I think I'll miss that the most: being able to contribute to a place and feeling like what I do makes a little bit of a difference. I enjoy working w/ my clients (most of the time, anyway) and I love the feeling of being able to help them and knowing that I'm something positive in their lives. I also work in a department that works really well together and I enjoy contributing to a team that creates that type of synergy.

3. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be and how would you maintain variety in your diet?
That's a hard question because I'm torn between choosing potatoes or bread. And though the discovery of sourdough bread changed my life, I think I'm going to have to choose potatoes. They're yummy and easy to cook and versatile; you can have them mashed or cut up into strips and made into French fries or however you cut them to make them into hashed browns. And I'm counting sweet potatoes as potatoes also because they have the word potato in their name, so that opens up a whole 'nother world of possibilities: baked sweet potatoes, sweet potato fries . . . .

4. If you were magically transformed into an animal what animal would you be and where would you want to live?
This is probably completely unoriginal but I've always had a fascination with dolphins. I would want to be a dolphin and live off of the southern coast of Africa. I got to see dolphins swimming near the coast in South Africa and there was something almost magical about it. I also love that they live in groups and that they're highly intelligent. They're seen as friendly and playful but people often underestimated their dangerousness. That friendliness mixed with fierceness appeals to me.

5. If you were to get fired tomorrow would you secretly be smug and happy or would you be out in the open with it.
I'd be secretly smug and happy. I'll admit that I have a bit of a vindictive streak but I always end up feeling guilty about being mean so for my own sake, I try to curb it. Plus, I think there's something to the idea of leaving graciously. Despite some of the craziness, I've had a fairly good experience here and, at this point, I'm content to leave quietly with that thought and leave all the craziness behind.

1. I wanna reach out/ And touch the sky/ I wanna touch it/ But I don’t need to fly. Supernaut, Black Sabbath. Kind of sort of identified by Kiyotoe

2. Love/ Used to be a stranger to me/ Love/ was so disappointing/ I was waiting for a sign/ I was looking for some company/ So I took a walk outside/ MMMM what a lucky day

3. Through the warmest cord of care/ Your love was sent to me/ I’m not sure/ What to do with it/ or where to put it

4. I’ve been living to see you/ Dying to see you but it shouldn’t be like this/ This was unexpected/ What do I do now/ Could we start again please

5. It was a cold and wet December day/ When we touched the ground at JFK/ Snow was melting on the ground/ On the BLS I heard the sound. Angel of Harlem, U2. Identified by Johnny Yen

IN WHICH MONICA ASKS ME QUESTIONS

An interview meme as been making the rounds. People volunteer to be interviewed by various bloggers and then are emailed a set of fun questions to answer and post on their blog. Monica has interviewed me. I will interview the first five people that tell me they would like to be interviewed, and Monica because she asked.

1. What is the best thing about you? Would others agree?
The best thing about me? That is not an easy question at all. I would have to say that it is that I can be an incredibly good friend and really try to make my friends as happy as I can. Of course I have had arguments with friends before, that is part of friendship, but even when I am upset with someone I think that I still love them and want the best for them. i help them out when I can in whatever ways they need and truly enjoy doing it. Would others agree? I would like to think that they would. Since I tend to keep truly good friends for a while I would assume that they do.

2. If you could be great at one instrument, what would it be?
I would love to be great at the kalimba. The first time that I remember seeing one was at my Uncle Jimmy’s and he played it. Uncle Jimmy was always the epitome of cool and I thought that it was an incredibly cool instrument. It would also be something highly unusual to be truly awesome at. I would enjoy that. I bet you could use a kalimba player in your fake ass band. Ok that was mean, sorry. I know you guys are real.

3. If you had to pick between saving Cho Cho or your mix tapes from a fire, what would the choice be?
That is an easy choice. I would quickly forget all about how much I loved mix tapes in a fire. The first things I would grab would be Cho Cho, my college photo album, and my diaries. The mix tapes would be way down on the list.

4. What do you get out of making a blog?
I get a lot out of making a blog. Sometimes I get headaches from thinking about things to write and that reminds me of a time when I actually had to think produce things. I like that feeling and had missed it. I also really enjoy the greater blog community. I enjoy the voyeuristic aspect of peeking in on peoples lives. I have always been fascinated by people and what makes them work and blogs are a great way to enjoy that fascination without being totally intrusive and creepy. With a blog people put themselves out there and you don’t have to pull information from them. I also enjoy writing. Blogging gives me an excise to write about nothing and everything and I get some sort of validation from having people comment on and seem to enjoy the random things that are in my brain. Initially, I thought it would be a good way to waste time. It has become more than that.

5. What movie or book is the most like your life? Why?
I have been thinking of an answer to this question for a long long time (well the three hours since i read it). The most valid answer would be Bonnie’s Book of Beliefs (once it’s finished) because it is loosely based on my life. However, that is a total copout of an answer. To be absolutely accurate I would have to say Naive Super by Erlend Loe. One of the things that really struck me was the main character’s obsession with time and if it really matters or not. I have a strong obsession with, as well as an aversion to, the concept of time. Our main character couldn’t find any meaning in his life and was desperate for direction. Although I can find meaning here and there in my life, anyone reading this blog will see that I too am desperate for direction. He finds solace in childish games like the hammer and pegs and a rubber ball, I find solace in children’s books. I flipped through the book to see if I could find something that really explained how it summed me up; luckily I had taken a pen to it so that made finding good stuff easier. I found this, “And while dawn breaks, I sit there thinking that I’m a really good guy and never mind space and time and all the rest of it.” The thing is, he can’t help but mind space and time and all the rest of it. Neither can I.

The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice, Jimi Hendrix- I love how Jimi Hendirx has all this music that comes out periodically. He is like 2 Pac. He wrote this song a long time ago. It was released a fairly decent time ago as well but some people will get the joke.

Master of Puppets, Metallica- UUHHHH UUHHHH this didn’t just happen. Please strike this from your memory

The Gambler, Kenny Rogers- The Muppet Show with Kenny Rogers as the guest contains a skit to the music of this song. It is relatively terrifying. There is an eerily human Muppet as the Gambler and he of course dies and then gets all ghostly and sings songs. Creepy.

THE AWFUL MEDIA AND A NICE INTERVIEW

Why does the media insist on making my life horrible? I am usually ok with the media. Sometimes the media pisses me off but I understand it is a godless-lack-of-information-machine set to only deliver half the news. I am aware of this and accept it. However, when the media trespasses on my good fortune, I have serious problems.

Case in point, the current North Side expansion project on the CTA was blasted all over today’s Redeye paper. For the past month, we have been told that on April 2 the 2-year expansion project will start and it could as much as double commute times. People have been bombarded with messages to leave early, leave late, take alternate routes, etc.. I was not looking forward to this.

Yesterday morning I got up at my regular time and left at my regular time. I wanted to see how awful this expansion was and would then adjust accordingly if need be. I got to work 5 minutes earlier than normal. The train was far less crowded than usual (which doesn’t matter to me since I live far North enough to always get a seat) and people seemed calm and relaxed. On my way home I left at the normal time and arrived home about 10 minutes late due to some sitting, no biggie. The train was much less crowded and people seemed calm and relaxed. I thought the golden age of transit had arrived.

As you can tell, I did not post about this phenomenon yesterday. It would have fit in well with the whole branch theme (branches of transit) but I wanted to keep this glorious redline change a secret. I have a few readers in Chicago and, while I love you guys, I didn’t want this good news getting out. Selfish yes, stupid no.

This morning as I am taking my leisurely ride on my incredibly un-crowded train (it was a brown line car with fewer seats than the red line ones and nothing filled up until Sherridan) I began to read the red eye. There were two separate articles on how great the commute was on the train. Are they trying to ruin me? If people find out that the trains are great now they will stop taking alternate routes, leaving late, leaving early, and the commute times will double. It’s not smart to advertise things that will cause problems. I fully expect my 15 minute early arrival this morning (despite leaving at the normal time) to be my last. Tomorrow all those people who read the articles will be back on the trains and I will be late to work.

On a happier note, Sandra of Sunshine Scribe has been sending interview questions out to various bloggers and I wanted to post our interaction for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.

1. What is the first concert you ever attended?
The first concert I was at was technically a Yanni concert. I don’t know why my parents were there. They generally have pretty good taste in music. I was a small baby and cried until they had to leave. The first concert I remember was an outdoor Stevie Wonder concert. That was really awesome.

2. If you were recouperating in a hospital, who would you want in the bed next to you, excluding your relatives?
It really depends on what I am recovering from. If it was a surgery on my abdomen I would need someone not very funny, if it was for any other reason I would need a funny person. Tony doesn't count because although he is not related, he is family. I would probably say Brooke, my partner in crime from the college days. She can make me laugh or talk about the deeper philosophies of life. she probably wouldn't make too much fun of me for being in the hospital, but she might. Not to mention she plays a mean Monopoly.

3. What is your least favourite word?
Being a lover of linguistic expression I honestly can’t say that I have a least favorite word. I think every word expresses something and was put into the language for a reason. Even the words that incite riots and wars are important to me. I may not say them, but every loaded word elicits some kind of emotion and that is what living and expressing yourself is all about. Part of what makes life so tragic and so beautiful are the bad things in it. We couldn't laugh without pain. Everything has its place.

4. For what do you think you would be willing to lay down your life?
My sister is the one thing that pops into my head immediately. I have a real protective thing with that girl and hate to see her in pain. While political causes and social justice are important to me, I think that I can effect more change in those areas alive than dead (at least in this day and age). My life is pretty darn important to a lot of people.

5. What reality TV show would you kick butt on?
America’s Next Top Short Plus-Sized Model. This show obviously doesn’t exist. I don’t think I would be all that good on any reality show. I tend to have a relatively dry sense of humor and I don’t know if it would really translate well to a wide audience. I also tend to be a jerk sometimes and it would probably get me kicked off pretty quick. Once this girl dragged me along to a casting for The Real World and they asked me what I would do when embarrassed and I said I didn’t get embarrassed (which at that point was actually kind of true I made a fool of myself often and didn’t much care) because nothing was that important. A girl next to me said something about walking into a wall in front of a cute boy. I said I would get over that (I had a big habit of doing stupid things in front of a particular “cute” boy who got less cute over time) and I was telling the truth. They thought I was no fun and I got no call back. Then again, I would assume few people do.

1. What happened to/ The world we knew/ When we were dreaming, scheming/ Whiling the time away.

2. Megan/ She don’t eat bacon/ She never killed a sweet innocent little piggy to get bacon.

3. And she was lying in the grass/ And she could hear the highway breathing/ and she could see a nearby factory/ she’s making sure she isn’t dreaming. And She Was, by Talking Heads. Identified by hospital buddy Brooke.

4. It's a hard world to get a break in/ All the good things have been taken/ But girl there are ways/ To make certain things pay

5. I’ve got a delicate mind/ I’ve got a dangerous nature/ And my fist collides/ With your furniture. Regrets, by The Eurythmics. Identified by Dad (much better than Yanni)

YOU THINK, THEREFORE I WIN

Danielle nominated me for the thinking blogger award. I was a little surprised because, while I have post here and there that may stimulate thought, I trend more to the mundane. Maybe it is the true thinking posts that got me nominated rather than the silly drivel that I tend to spout. Either way, I was honored. Here is what she had to say.

Last but not least Natalie a young aspiring teacher from Chicago has reminded me of the necessity of fun in the blogosphere and life. Natalie offers her views on the planets and unfunded schools with a dose of Smokey Robinson, her views on Obama with a touch of Violent Femmes and a recipe for middle eastern eggplant and garbanzos is served up with a side of Tori Amos. I stole the random lyrics game from her and sent her a virtual box of band aids for biting her so hard. Natalie has definitely made me realize that fun is an essential ingredient in life and incorporating levity within serious discussion lightens up the scene.

The rules of this award (if you choose to play along) are that you pass it on to five people that you think deserve it. I wanted to do it a little differently, since I don't think I am a traditional “thinking blog”. I want to honor people that make me laugh. I think comedy takes a special kind of thought, particularly in writing. Not everyone can be funny. That isn’t to say that their posts don’t make me "think" as well, because they do. They just also make me laugh.

Here Comes Johnny Yen Again- Johnny Yen has mastered the art of hilarity in the face of rough conditions. He finds a way to relate the happenings of daily life to the broader human condition in a seamless way. His political posts are informative, entertaining, and never fail to make me chuckle. I always look forward to his posts

The Ramblings of a Crazy-Monica is the one that got me blogging in the first place. I was a bit intimidated by her blog due to its absolute wonderfulness. Monica is easily the funniest person I know and part of her extreme funniness is the fact that she is highly intelligent. Some of the sentences that she puts together should be inscribed on a mountain for all to see. I can’t remember any right now but they are good.

Almost Infamous- Dark Damien’s diatribes really get to me. He takes current events and comments on them in a quick witted and often dry manner that has me rolling. His dialogues between idiotic criminals are simply hilarious and make me laugh. Plus, I am partial to him because he has biracial children. Call me a jerk but I am biased to my brethren.

Memoirs of a Fat Girl- Although her humor isn’t as obvious as the others, MFG (as I like to call her even though it reminds me of Girbaud jeans) has a very honest look on the world and I think balances the tragedy and comedy of daily life very well. She is straight-forward and her posts come straight from the heart. Although she has been a little more serious than funny lately, she always makes me smile. She has a big heart and isn’t afraid to share it. She is probably the biggest technical "thinker" of my bunch.

The Wonderful World of Nothing Worthwhile- Although Michael C certainly doesn’t need anymore smoke blown up his ass as he has a plethora of blogging awards on his sidebar already. I can’t leave him out because he makes me smile and chuckle on a daily basis. He is part of the rare breed that can be both consistently sarcastic and not boring and repetitive. He makes me think of the absurdity of daily life and informed me of the fact that yesterday was make your own holiday day. How awesome is that?

To those I have chosen: Should you choose to participate, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think, Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' (see sidebar if I can get it to work) with a link to the post that you wrote

Thanks again, Danielle, I guess it is time for some celebratory random songs.

Battle of Who Could Care Less, Ben Folds- This song goes out to whichever one of my nominees cares less. Personally, I have no idea which one that is but I am guessing it could maybe me Monica. I told her last night I was going to give it to her and she was all confused and wondered why. Then I explained the whole humor concept and she was less confused but still didn’t care.

Postcards From Italy, Beirut- I am secretly really in love with the Gulag Orkerstar album but then I forget about it. That is why it remains a secret. I listened to it this morning and kept thinking that the first song would be really good ice dancing music. Someone is in withdrawal now that the Figure Skating season is over.

Route 66, Guitar Wolf- I can’t understand a word of this song so I can’t say anything about it. I need to take a few things off my iPod.

NO BUSES SHOULD EQUAL NO SCHOOL

Arne Duncan is my nemesis. He has ruined my valentines day for the sake of education. It goes like this. Where I work, if Chicago Public Schools (CPS) close for a snow day then we get a snow day too. I was really hoping for one yesterday but it didn’t happen. We did, however, get let out of work early and since I took the bus home to avoid walking 7 blocks in the insane snow doubled my commute time. But it was ok. I was still home earlier than usual. I settled in for a nice cozy snowy night with hopes that the downfall would continue and turn into a snowed in Valentines Day. No such luck.

This morning I awoke to plenty of snow. I turned on the radio and heard that the buses for CPS were down. I got really excited. If there were no buses there could be no school, right? Wrong. They encouraged children who couldn’t go to their regular schools because of lack of buses to simply go to their neighborhood schools. I am not even going to begin to tell you how wrong this seems. You can’t just show up at some new for school for a day and expect to learn something. Even with schools teaching for tests more than ever you can’t expect every school everywhere to be teaching the same thing on a given day. The teachers wouldn’t know who any kids were and the kids who were at their regular school would probably pick on the visiting kids just because kids are mean. Plus, it’s Valentines Day. You know if a kid shows up at a neighborhood school they won’t get any valentines in their bag. They will just be extra left out.

Yesterday I heard they kept schools open because there are so many single parent families or families with two working parents that kids would be safer in schools. That made a bit of sense to me. I suppose that logic holds true even more today with the just put your kids in any school so they won’t be home alone theory.

On the other hand, kids love snow days. Can’t you give a kid a break and give them a snow day every once in a while. I don’t think they close CPS for less than two feet of snow. I may be exaggerating but I really can’t remember a snow day at all since I have moved to Chicago and it has snowed plenty. I understand that they have to deal with a little criticism for closing schools that, on average, aren’t doing so well in the first place but I really think a snow day is a great part of being a kid in a place where the weather sucks. You have to get some benefit.

So here I am at work, sucking on a heart shaped lollipop wanting to be home on a snow day. There is something so romantic about being tucked up in a blizzard with someone you love. The house is stocked with all needed supplies and it would have been a great Valentines present for a couple who has absolutely no plans whatsoever. That is why, Arne Duncan that you are on my shit list.

Julie had a meme yesterday just asking people to talk about why they started blogging. Then Eve also wrote about it. I figured I would weigh in on the subject. If any of you read my first post, you would know I started because myspace was down and I was bored. Monica had been telling me to blog for some time and since I had nothing to distract me this blog was started. It used to be called I Have Nothing Interesting To Say ---Read Me. I kept blogging and realized that I really enjoyed it. I could come and say something interesting and relevant or talk about absolutely nothing at all. Something just felt right about it. I guess that’s why I kept going. Eventually, I changed the name of my blog to I Think This May Have Gotten Almost Interesting because it was better than I thought it would be and then settled on the current title Almost Interesting Musings on Life. I decided I was comfortable with the fact that people seemed to be reading and responding and they weren’t all people I had known forever so this had to be somewhat interesting even though I was certain when I started that I had nothing to contribute. I guess that means my blog helped me to accept that even though I’m not in school anymore and writing papers that fascinate me (even though maybe no one else) I could still put something relatively interesting together. Plus, I didn’t have to worry about Ogunyemi correcting my poor grammar and spelling. So that is why I blogged and why I kept blogging.

Burning, Fugazi- There was this kid in high school who I thought was hot and listened to Fugazi. He made me wonder who this Fugazi was and why he seemed so cool. I didn’t care enough listen to Fugazi until much later though.

Skips on the Record, At The Drive In- This is one of those bands that I like a lot more before they start singing. I guess that makes me not so punk rock.

Alfie From The Bronx, Toy Dolls- Once I made a mix tape with songs that had various boroughs in the title for a co-worker who was moving to NY. I downloaded a bunch of songs and then picked ones that I liked. This song kind of reminds me of Denver The Last Dinosaur theme song. It's really good.

WAIT FOR TOMORROW- THIS IS LAME

Because I am mindless and dull and Michael C already wrote about people driving into railroad tracks because their GPS told them to and thusly effectively stealing my thunder I had to steal the thunder of others. Hence, I stole a Meme from Morgen, a blogthing from Janna and a... nothing from anyone else. Damn, I thought I would be cleverer than that. Oh wait, I am cleverer than that. I just remembered that I wanted to write about Obama’s responses on the hesitance of Black folks to get all excited about his presidential bid. However, I think I’ll do that tomorrow; it’s too much work for today.

A- Available or single? Wait, aren’t available and single the same thing?
B- Best Friend? Tony, how cheesy is that? It’s true though
C- Cake or Pie? Cheesecake please
D- Drink of Choice? I suppose water; I really like cold water, especially with cucumber to make me feel fancy
E- Essential Item? Phone
F- Favorite Color? Purple
G- Gummi Bears or Worms? Worms preferably of the sour neon variety, I particularly like the blue and pink ones
H- Hometown? Minneapolis, MN
I- Indulgence? TV
J- January or February? January because by Feb I really really really hate winter
K. Kids and names? No kids, fish: Maybe, Mr. Snodgrass, Count Desdemona, Bunsen, (Beeker just died L but that’s what fish do sometimes I guess), Jet Screamer, and Dash Riprock
L- Life is incomplete without? Happiness
M- Marriage Date? Some enchanted evening (or afternoon) I suppose
N- Number of Siblings? Sisterhead AKA Shoshana is the only one
O- Oranges or apples? Depends on the day usually apples because I am too lazy to peel an orange
P- Phobias/Fears? Loneliness, critters
Q- Favorite Quote? I generally forget quotes except like the litany of fear from Dune. I am the biggest nerd ever. I must not fear, fear is the mindkiller, fear is the little death that brings total obliteration, I must face my fear. I will let it pass over me and through me. And where it has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. (I think that’s pretty much right)
R- Reason to Smile? I smile a lot, sometimes for no reason at all
S- Season? Sweater weather
T- Tag three people! You, you and you
U- Unknown Fact About Me? Who cares? Everyone knows the important stuff
V-Vegetable you hate? I pretty much love all vegetables if they are prepared properly
W- Worst habit? It is a secret only Tony knows.
X- X-Rays you’ve had? Teeth, lungs, arm, maybe more?
Y- Your favorite food? I’ll go with Indian food for now, I love Indian food so incredibly much that I would marry it iff (yes I did that on purpose, let your true nerd shine) I were PeeWee Herman and it was the 80s.
Z- Zodiac? Gemini, the twins, the dual personality, the indecision maker, the total nutcase.

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convincing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Now wasn't that fun? It wouldn't be a Natalie post without music stuffs so here we go.

Simply Beautiful, Al Green- I really like Al Green, listening to any songs by Al Green reminds me of Friend. Friend came to visit Jamie the other day and it was nice to see her. We did something really silly but I don't remember what it was, I think our foreheads may have been touching. I know we were on a couch.

Lupe Fiasco, Lupe Fiasco- Typically, I think when people write songs named after themselves both they and the song promise to suck. That is not the case. I am sure I have said it before on this here blog and will probably say it again. This guy makes me smile. He has kicked and pushed his way into my heart.

Jive, Cibo Matto- Cibo Matto will always remind me of Belmont apartment although I don’t think we really listened to it all that much. Something about the two just makes sense though. Maybe it is the high-pitched girly squeals of fun.

I AM MARY POPPINS

Mary Poppins, she seems to be surrounding me these days. In the windows at Macy's that I walk past every day on my way to work. In the conversations I have with people that lately seem to turn to musicals more often than usual. I love Mary Poppins, she is a sweetheart. She is the kind of person that I inspire to be. she is sweet, intelligent, imaginative, kind, caring, and selfless. I am certainly not selfless but I do aspire to be...kind of...sometimes. The woman is, as you may recall, "Practically Perfect in Every Way". Apparently, according to a recent personality quiz I took, so am I.

Almost Perfect- INFP 26% Extraversion, 86% Intuition, 33% Thinking, 20% Judging

So, you want to make the world a better place? Too bad it's never gonna happen. Of all the types, you have to be one of the hardest to find fault in. You have a selfless and caring nature. You're a good listener and someone who wants to avoid conflict. You genuinely desire to do good. Of course, these all add up to an incredibly overpowered conscience which makes you feel guilty and responsible when anything goes wrong. Of course, it MUST be your fault EVERYTIME. Though you're constantly on a mission to find the truth, you have no use for hard facts and logic, which is a source of great confusion for those of us with brains. Despite this, in a losing argument, you're not above spouting off inaccurate fact after fact in an effort to protect your precious values. You're most probably a perfectionist, which in this case, is a bad thing. Any group work is destined to fail because of your incredibly high standards. Disregard what I said before. You're just easy to find fault in as everyone else! Luckily, you're generally very hard on yourself, meaning I don't need to waste my precious time insulting you. Instead, just find all your own faults and insult yourself. ***************** If you want to learn more about your personality type in a slightly less negative way, check out this. I love being an INFP. From the research I have done only about 1% of the world population falls under that category. I like to be different. It makes me fell more special. Like if someone knows me they will be likely to not know to many other people who are very similar to me. It took me a long time to fully embrace my INFP personality. I spent a lot of time being down right evil. I’m not entirely sure why I enjoyed being evil so much but I did. I still find evil things rather funny at times. I think I get it from my father. He is an incredibly sweet and loving person too. But his sense of humor certainly borders on evil. Maybe the evilness was more of a defense mechanism to hide my inherently do-gooder personality. In retrospect, it makes a lot of sense. See, it isn’t particularly cool to be all touchy feely and loving as a child. In my youth I also tried to reject my introverted personality and really wanted to have lots of friends and be liked by everyone. It took a lot of energy for me because it isn’t how I am. I always liked being alone with my books or my imagination as a young child. However, between the ages of about ten and sixteen I really didn’t want to be that kind of person. How many people those ages really want to be the quiet kid in the corner? To avoid that I made lots of acquaintances, I never had lots of friends. I hung out with “cool” or “tough” kids as often as possible and I developed a pretty hard exterior (at least as hard as a tiny short person that always gets described as “cute” could really be). I was pretty proud of that exterior and always valued it as a part of who I am. My inner personality seemed too weak to have in the forefront all the time. That, combined with my evil sense of humor has gotten me labeled as a pretty evil person for a long time. Monica once told me that I was utterly evil yet really sweet and that she didn’t understand why that was. I guess a few people have told me similar things. Rather recently I have grown sick of being such a conundrum I have embraced my true nature and let a lot of that evilness go. I’m not afraid of being seen as weak and easy to take advantage of anymore. Probably because I’ve learned that being a caring giving person doesn’t always mean you are a pushover. Don’t get me wrong; I’ll still laugh at you if you fall down. I’ll just check to see if you are okay first. 1. Tell em I’m driving and it’s all right turning on this wheel turning on headlights. 2. In the right light study becomes insight but the system that dissed us teaches us to read and write. 3. After all the jacks are in the boxes and the clowns have all gone to bed. 4. Your hand on his arm, the haystack charm around your neck. Needle in the hay, Eliott Smith. Identified by Monica 5. Oh well uh you might think I’m crazy to hang around with you or maybe you think I’m lucky to have something to do. You Might Think, The Cars. Identified by Monica

I ENJOY BEING A GIRL

So to make myself feel better after yesterday's dismal blahness I decided to put up some girly blogthings to brighten my day. Also I coulnd't think of anything particularly good to write about.

The first was, "What Kind of Beauty Are You?"

You Are a Natural Beauty!

You're the kind of beauty that every guy dreams about... One that looks good in the morning - without a stich of makeup That's doesn't mean you're a total hippie chic though You have style, but for you, style is effortless

What Type of Beauty Are You?

What being a natural beauty means is that you are a lazy bum who doesn't wear make-up and you don't care. This is just about true. However, if they want to call lazy bums who have no idea how to wear make-up natural beauties it is fine with me.

Ok, after looking at how wonderful and beautiful I am, I decided to take things a step further and check out my inner Goddess

You Are Aphrodite!

A total shining star with a ton of admirers And no wonder: you live life to the fullest! When things get bad, you can easily take off to a happier place But occasionally, you need to deal with problems head on

What Goddess Are You?

Ok, so I am all about love, beauty, and sexual rapture (If I remember my mythology correctly). That's pretty good too. Don't you all want to by my friend now?

Well seeing we all know how wonderful and pretty I am, I decided to see if I am girly as all that would suggest.

You Are a Total Girlie Girl

You love looking good, and wooing men with your womanly ways. You're so feminine, men are in awe of you ... which is a very good thing.

How Girlie Are You?

Obviously I have a problem. Then again, the fact that I only own three pairs of pants (one being jeans) could tip someone off to the fact that i am a little girly. The multitudes of heels in my closet can't hurt that fact either.

I then decided to discover my inner rock chick. Something about this should take me off the complete girly track. See, I'm not all as girly as things say I am. Seeing as I can't sing but certainly like to rock out at times, this looked good to me.

You Are Ani Difranco!

Honest, real, and well liked. You're not limited by any boundaries. "And you can call me crazy But I think you're as lazy as white paint on the wall"

Who's Your Inner Rock Chick?

Wow, Blogthings has never been this nice to me in my life. Ani is the coolest. She is a superhero, I only used to be one.

I decided to go for one final glory label. What could be funnier than this?

Your Celebrity Boob Twin:

Scharlett Johansson

Who's Your Celebrity Boob Twin?

I am glad she is my boob twin, she is ok and has good boobs. Plus last I knew she dated Josh Hartnett. One time, when he worked at Mr. Movies in St. Paul, I talked to him about Don't Eat The Pictures, the glorious Sesame Street at the Met show. I wanted to rent it, they didn't have it. He was a nice guy.

Ok it's time to go. Love and fun girly stuff to everyone. It's time to go home so back to the music tomorrow.