It's A Strange Condition

We went on our annual (or monthly, depending on how things are going) trek to Kansas City for steak.

It started Friday, and it was lovely. We went to their beautiful Zoo on a pretty day, we had dinner at a restaurant we used to have here that closed, then we went to their new Power and Light district and caught a concert from some dude I've never heard of.

It was a gorgeous night, they had the heat lamps on, so it was great catching a concert outdoors and drinking cheap beer. My boyfriend never wants to do things like that here, so it's nice to get out sometimes.

It all started falling apart Friday night/Saturday morning when I literally got no sleep. And not because I was up late doing something fun (in a hotel) but because I am the world's worst sleeper. The people next to us had their TV on (not loud, I'm just sensitive), the air conditioner was loud, cars were driving by, etc. When the sun came up I got out of bed and just read until my boyfriend woke up.

We drove 45 minutes outside of KC to an old asylum that now houses a psychiatric museum. It was all about psychiatric treatments pre-modern medicine. So, it was kind of creepy anyway.

There was a group of people there that were all a little off. I don't know specifically what was different about them. One I think was autistic, but that's not really the point.

An older lady from the group started following us around, which was a little weird, but whatever. She said hi to us, asked us how we were. We politely answered, then quickly walked away. She kept following us around.

Finally she came up to me and said "I have angels that talk to me and keep me safe"

I said "Oh, that's nice"

Crazy Lady- "They're telling me you need to get an MRI"

Me- "um... okay...."

Crazy Lady- "Or a mammogram"

Me- "I.. Um.. yeah..." (I just went to the gyno, I'm comfortable with my breast health)

Crazy Lady- "Do you have a mole by your left breast?"

Me- "No..."

Crazy Lady- (VERY loudly and angrily) "Oh, well I guess the angels are wrong then, huh?"

Mike starts pushing me out of the room.

She kept yelling after me about how I need to listen to her or I would die.

I made Mike leave then, so we didn't see most of the museum.

It was the goddamn creepiest thing I had ever heard. I'm glad I don't have a mole near my left breast, or I probably would be at the hospital right now undergoing a battery of preventative tests. I'm pretty sure my insurance wouldn't cover those tests, considering my only reason for needing them was because the lady at the asylum told me I need them.

I was pretty shaken up we left, considering the lack of sleep and the already creepy environment. We stopped to get gas before heading back to KC, and a guy in overalls and a Tweety hat (with the bill turned up) was yelling at everyone who walked past about how Barack Obama wasn't really a Christian and he was, in fact, a free mason. We stopped to listen to him for a few minutes.

The moral of the story, is St. Joseph, Missouri is a crazy ass place with crazy ass people in it. Seriously, stay away.

The rest of the day was more pleasant, we went to the Nelson-Atkins Museum and the Kemper Contemporary Art Museum, followed by dinner at Houston's.

This is where we made a logistical error, as it's not super comfortable to drive four hours after eating a steak and loaded baked potato dinner.

You live, you learn, you repeat it again in six months.

Hate Is A Strong Word

So, I don't tend to get controversial here. I'm a fairly neutral person, and I try to let people live the way they want to live without passing judgment.

But people on Twitter are really starting to aggravate me

I know social media is what you make of it. I always have the option to unfollow people on Twitter (and trust me, I have been recently). But some people are totally rad like 80% of the time. I don't want to unfollow them, but more and more I've been tempted.

Maybe I'm just over Twitter.

The Top Five Irritating Things You're Doing On Twitter (yes, you.)

5. Multiple blog post announcements- This one doesn’t really bother me that much, but I’ve seen other people complain. I I follow you on Twitter, I probably already have your blog in my feed reader, so one announcement on Twitter is more than enough. But when you have the feed being announced from four different sources, it’s pretty superfluous. Maybe you could scale back?

4. Hashtags- Okay, they’re not all bad. Some can be helpful; some are downright funny (like Michael Ian Black’s #fuckitlist.) But it’s completely unnecessary to put a hashtag after every tweet you have. And kinda douchey. Not everything you say needs to be indexed.

3. Blip.fm- This is the newest irritant. I don’t mind the sporadic “Rocking out to Taco- Putting on the Ritz” tweet, but you can listen to a lot of music during the day. We don’t need to know every song you listen to. In fact, that’s what Last.fm is for. People can go on their own accord to see what you’ve been listening to, without it being crammed down their throat.

2. Live tweeting television shows- Sure, it’s one thing if there’s something big going on, like a political debate. I’ll even allow for award shows, even though it’s still irritating. But we do not need to know your every thought, feeling, and reaction to what Simon said to that contestant every Tuesday and Wednesday, and then your reaction to the bachelor and to who Donald fires. Its fine to have the occasional “Wow, BSG was frakking amazing tonight” or “Man, Sheldon just doesn’t understand social customs. Poor Leonard, it must be rough being his roommate. ” comment, but seriously. Please stop. If people care that much about American Idol, they’ll watch it and have their own opinions.

1. Twitter parties- This is by far the most obnoxious, irritating thing I’ve seen yet. Good lord. Seriously, get a fucking chat room. It is really galling to completely flood and overwhelm Twitter for your own intents and purposes. Twitter is for everyone, not just for you.


What irritates you on Twitter?

Take A Bow

I thought I was prepared. I knew Watchmen was going to be long. I knew it was going to be dark, and serious, and all that. I knew there was going to be lots of blue penis.

I should point out, I haven't read the graphic novel. Or any graphic novel. And I'm not usually a fan of the superhero movie, unless it's really good. Or Funny. (like The Dark Knight, or Iron Man)

It definitely had it's good parts, it was beautifully shot, well acted, dark and moody, and all that good stuff.

But this movie was ridiculously, unbearably long. I thought it was going to be okay, because I kept reading reviews on how awesome it was. And I think it could have been a really good movie if someone would LEARN HOW TO EDIT.

It was unnecessarily long. I guess the point was to keep it as true to the novel as possible, but the thing is? With a novel? You can put it down and walk away, and unfortunately you cannot do the same in the movie theater. I mean, yeah, you can walk out, but I would have been waiting alone while Mike finished watching it.

I want those three hours of my life back.


Take A Bow - Muse

But For Now We Are Young

Do you ever feel like the world is crashing down on your head? And you try to push through the rubble to find a bit of sunlight and air, but when you do push through you find there's just more rubble and darkness?

I try to be a positive person. I try to look at the bright side. I enjoy lightness and humor. I try to help when I can, and even when I can't.

But goddamn, what a sucktastic few days.

It started early Saturday upon hearing of Lisa's passing. One of the reasons I felt connected to Lisa was because of our shared mantra, it is what it is. I've always tried to live by that standard, as a way of not over reacting, of accepting life and all it's quirks and complexities. I keep it close to me and repeat it as necessary throughout the day.

Then a good friend was in a car accident and is still hospitalized with a punctured lung and lots of broken bones.

Then my boyfriend dropped a bombshell on me on Sunday that I cannot even begin to fathom and absorb, that I'm nowhere near being able to discuss, or even comprehend. I don't know what it's ramifications and implications will be, but my guess is that they will not be positive (and no, he didn't cheat on me)

Soon after that, we found out his grandma has intestinal cancer. It's still early, so we don't know details or the prognosis or anything.

Then I found out a good friend was dumped by her boyfriend when she told him she was pregnant. Upstanding fellow, yes?

So what do I do? I try to push on. I missed class Monday morning, because putting on clothes seemed like an awful lot of work. I spent all day cleaning and moving furniture, because that's better than thinking, and sulking, and processing.

But I don't work again until Thursday (Thank you, economy) so I have a lot of free time to sit around, and only so much furniture to be moved.

So what do I do tomorrow?


In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel