Things that are occupying my time (a.k.a. excuses for not blogging.)

1. My job. We've been really short staffed, so I've been working a solid six days a week. I like my job, I like getting paid, but fuck. It's wearing me out. Standing eight hours a day, nine or ten days in a row takes a lot out of you. On the positive side, I think I'm actually losing weight. I walk around in circles through our huge store over and over, so I guess that's doing it.

2. School. This is a really hard semester for me. I'm taking two classes that I've dropped before because they were too much work for me to do while also working. I'm not an architect. I've never wanted to be an architect. And yet, I have to take an intensive architecture class. It's going okay, I guess, but I spend a good deal of my time working on my floorplan.

3. My boyfriend. We've gone from seeing each other five or six days a week to maybe three if we're lucky. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be, but things should calm down at work soon, and next semester will be way easier.

4. I've suddenly developed a personal life. Today, for example, I went to a wedding shower. I spent all afternoon talking to women I hardly know and playing awkward games, and I actually enjoyed myself. What's up with that? Afterward, I had dinner with my boyfriend, his brother, and his brother's fiance then watched Slacker Uprising. We also hung out with them Saturday night. I worked all day Saturday day, then we had dinner with my boyfriend's family. Then the four of us drove to a mall that's almost an hour away so my boyfriend could get a certain kind of Dr. Pepper (Dublin- It's in a glass bottle and made from sugar cane), then drove across the whole town to get to a certain ice cream place. Then we caught up on the new season of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (which is totally funny again.) This is a really busy weekend for me. Usually my weekend involves a rented movie and dinner with my boyfriend.

So what have you been up to? What's been occupying your time?

Take a picture of yourself right now. Don’t change your clothes, don’t fix your hair…just take a picture. Post that picture with NO editing. Post these instructions with your picture.





Things I would have fixed were not for this meme:
1. My arm fat roll
2. Cropped so you couldn't see the mess of my nightstand
3. Cropped so you couldn't see my mismatched pj's.

This is going to be a two parter.

First up, updating you on my brother. Thanks for all your comments and tweets previously.

He had a second surgery last Wednesday. They cut him open from the top of his rib cage to eight inches below that. He's a lot taller than me, I think my whole torso is eight inches. He's been in a lot of pain, but they released him yesterday and he seems to be doing okay. He's able to walk up and down stairs, he hasn't taken any pain pills since he got home, and he can eat whatever he wants.

It was so bizarre seeing him in the hospital. He was just so out of it. I've never even seen my parents in the hospital, so my brother was especially weird to see.

The surgeon thinks they got the whole tumor this time, so no chemo is necessary. But that could change, God knows.

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Round Two: Avitable's Meme


My favorite age: 23... ha. I don't know, anytime between 21 and now

My best friend: Cheesy, but my boyfriend. Beyond that, Josh, and my boyfriend's brother and his fiance

My celebrity crush: Ryan Reynolds, Anderson Cooper, Gavin Rossdale, Kristen Bell, Isla Fisher, Megan Fox

My defining characteristic: Physically? My eyes. Or my boobs. Emotionally? Lordy. I think my sense of acceptingness. That isn't a word, but you get the drift. If we're friends, I don't care what you do, I'll still love you.

My most evil moment: Hmm I don't know. I honestly can't think of anything. I try to live peacefully

My favorite food: Fries, pie (apple, pecan, pumpkin), a really good filet, crab, lobster, asparagus

My grossest injury: My tooth went through my lip during a figure skating accident. It was the one and only time I needed stitches

My biggest hatred: hypocritical people (i.e. My family is off limits unless I'm parading them across the stage for my benefit)

My most illegal activity: speeding and giving alcohol to a minor. I don't commit a lot of crimes. Oh I sold cigarettes to freshman my senior year at a marked up rate.

My need for justice: Is fairly non existent. Pedophiles, rapists, etc obviously.

My most knowledgeable field: Art and design. I know a lot about color palettes and furniture and whatnot. I also know a lot about American History, for whatever reason.

My life's goal: Love and travel as much as possible

My mother's influence: unconditional love, willingness to lend a hand (although these also describe my grandma), concern and compassion for all

My nerdiest point: Huh. I don't know, I'm really cool. We tried to go to a midnight release party for one of the Harry Potters but there were too many people so we didn't stay

My oldest memory: Falling in the gym at my preschool and hitting my head. Also hiding under the table in the hallway at my preschool so I didn't have to go to school (clearly, my habits haven't changed all that much)

My perfect date: exploring something new. seeing a movie. good food and good conversation.

My unanswered question: There's many God related unanswered questions

My random fact: I'm really double jointed

My stupidest decision: Many. I suppose taking time off between colleges.

My favorite television show: Currently on air? Gossip Girl, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, Pushing Daisies, 30 Rock. Of all time? Gilmore Girls and Friends.

My style of underwear: Depends on what I'm wearing. Usually Victoria's secret v-string bikini (for example: and yes, I look just like that when I wear it), but I do wear thongs if necessary (this is a lie, if a thong is needed, I just don't wear underwear. I do own thongs though.)

My favorite vegetable: Asparagus, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower

My weakest trait: I'm impatient and easily irritated

My X-men power: I'd like to be able to heal myself like Wolverine

My strongest yearning: To love and be loved

My moment of Zen: Mine's almost the same as Avitable's: Driving fast at night with the windows down and music blasting. For me, my boyfriend is the one driving, but I'm sitting in the passenger seat. Picture that Volkswagen commercial with Pink Moon.

What do you do when you see a friend making a big mistake? Do you speak up? Or are you just the supportive friend in the aftermath of the mistake?

(I'm going to go on the record saying these are hypotheticals. Ahem.)

Say, for example, if a friend of yours is getting married, but she's only twenty. Her wedding will be the summer between her junior and senior years of college. Clearly, you can't speak up here. You can't say, "You're way too young." You can't say "If he really loves you, he'll still be there in a year, after you graduate from college." You can't do these things because it's her life to live. It's her mistake to make. And who's to say it is a mistake? Maybe you're overly cynical about marriage and commitment. Maybe she really is in love and it will last. So instead, you help her pick out a wedding dress, you proclaim to love the location she's chosen, and you of course agree to be a bridesmaid.

Now (again, hypothetically), what if a different friend was thinking about getting back together with an ex. An ex who cheated on your friend, and left him crushed and even more untrusting. Say that this ex then went on to trash talk him to their friends, blame everything on him, and generally act like a not nice person. This friend of yours tells you about his possible intentions towards his ex. Do you say something here? You don't want to be the jackass that talks badly about the ex, and then they get back together, and all your friend can remember is what horrible things you said about the person they love. Also, who's to say the ex hasn't changed? Maybe she's turned a new leaf. Maybe you're again being over cynical. But you also don't want to see this person make the same mistake twice. After all, it doesn't hurt any less the second time around. So do you say something? Or do you grit your teeth and say good luck?

I second guess everything in my own life, I suck even worse at advising other people how to live theirs. I'm all for giving people space and letting them choose their own path. If it's right, it's right. I'm not going to be the person to talk you out of making a mistake, but I will be the one there afterward, holding your hand. These mistakes we make shape us into who we are.

The moral of the story is, I suck at giving advice.

I'm fairly self sufficient. I can change a tire, rewire a light, etc. On the other hand, I like it when doors are held for me and to be told I'm pretty. Do these ideas oppose each other?

I've been thinking about these things today after a conversation with a coworker. She suggested that I have the guys at the auto repair store install new windshield wipers, which she assured me they'd be happy to do if I played the damsel and batted my eyelashes.

This was appalling to me. I don't understand how in a society like the one we have now, someone could still hold the belief that playing the damsel is still the best way to get something done. A woman was placed in nomination to be the president of our country, and I'm still excepted to bat my eyelashes and play the helpless female to get what I want?

Then I realized the hypocrisy of my disgust. It's not like I've never used my "wiles" to get what I want. I'm not above wearing a low cut shirt and leaning on the bar a certain way to get the attention of a male bartender (or female- whatever gets me the vodka quicker). In 7th grade I didn't do one project in shop by myself. A certain guy was willing to help me out (meaning: do it all) for a smile.

But where do you draw the line? What's right, and what's wrong?

I think for me, I do what I can for myself. I can install my own windshield wipers, but I can't make my own drink at the bar. I won't rely on a man, or anyone, to something for me that I can do for myself.

This is not to say I don't enjoy a bit of chivalry. I do like to have the door held open for me, I like it when a guy buys me a drink.

I think this is what we call a double standard.

I try not to talk about politics a lot. But everyone's been talking about the very important election, so it's hard to ignore all the buzz and drama.

I've seen dirty politics, I've seen attempts at bribery. I'm shocked at the begging and pleading, and cheap attempts to win votes

One candidate has risen above the others, and is the clear choice for me. He's a man that stands on honor and integrity

He'll also send you a picture of his balls without provocation.

Yes, that's right. For me, Adam Avitable is the best choice for the Hot Male Blogger calender. Go here to vote, and help make history.

How was your weekend?

Mine was crazy fun. It started early Saturday when we drove up to Springfield, IL (4 hours round trip). We went to the Obama/Biden rally. It meant so many different things to me that it's hard to describe. The sense of community, the feelings of pride in a candidate, just the sheer excitement were almost overwhelming. People were truly moved by what these candidates had to say. In all reality, I was voting for Obama one way or the other, but it was still nice to hear the speeches in person (even if it was one billion degrees outside)

After we made the trek back to St. Louis, we went to a housewarming party for a friend who's in college. We were the oldest people there, which is a great feeling. I know I'm kind of a loser, but I haven't really been to that many college parties. My boyfriend and I spend most of our time watching movies, we don't get out much. So it was interesting to see the dynamics between drunken coeds. Oh, and my boyfriend spent most of the time in my friend's bedroom, fixing her computer. He's a party animal.

Sunday we spend part of the afternoon at my favorite lunch place. It's a meal that drags on for a long time (in a good way!. We split the cheese and sausage platter, then got dessert. We're nothing but healthy.

We spent the rest of the weekend curled up in bed watching Joan of Arcadia and Dexter (season 2). (Which we're no where near done yet). Then we went to the movies and saw The Rocker, which was so-so. It was super predictable and average, but I didn't hate it. I love Rainn Wilson and Teddy Geiger, so it's all good.

What'd you do this weekend?