I Made My Own Laptop Case!

Once upon a time, I had the same laptop for 5 1/2 years.  I bought it a few months before I moved to LA, and it was a very good computer for about 4 1/2, 5 years.  And then it realized how old it was, I guess, and started to act its age.  Wouldn't turn on unless it was plugged in, didn't like to connect to the internet, ran reeeeaally slow and pretty much didn't run at all when more than 2 programs were running.  It was awesome.

So after a few months of trying to deal with that mess, I decided to use my tax return this year to get a shiny new computer.  I picked a refurbished 11-inch MacBook Air with the extra memory and hard drive. It's super cute, works great.

But after I ordered it, I started looking around on the internets for a case for it.  The options were bleak.  Not a lot out the for such a small computer, mostly ugly/plain neoprene cases.  There are some really cute sleeves on Etsy, but a little pricier and never quite what I wanted.

And then I came up with the perfect solution: make it myself!  I own a sewing machine, and an ability to follow instructions.  So after a few minutes of Googling, I found what I needed to make the perfect case.  I combined this pattern and this one, using the felt-and-flannel materials from the first one and the pattern from the second one.

I don't know if I've mentioned before, but green is my favorite color, so of course I used green flannel as the inner lining and green thread for the blanket stitching detail.  I wanted a flap for the case, instead of a button closure, so it was easy enough to cut a longer section of fabric.

And, ok, full disclosure here - I'm sometimes not great with the sewing machine.  I know how to use it and everything, but I sometimes jump the gun with the sewing, and forget to set down the little foot thingie.  Which results in a rather crooked stitch, until I realize my mistake.  So, maybe that's what happened when I sewed the first side of the case.

But! The great thing about that blanket stitch, is that it covers the sew line (is that the right term for it? Eh, you guys know what I mean), so you can't even see the crookedness!

So now, I have a very pretty green and grey laptop case, exactly like I wanted, and for a fraction of the Etsy prices!

The Joys of Painting Pottery

In early February, my family gathered in Prescott Valley, AZ to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday.  One of the activities we did while there was going to a studio for pottery painting.  I had just been approved for an apartment, and wanted to choose something practical for my new place, so I decided to paint a napkin holder.

And then i found this sunburst-shaped sponge, and I knew how I would paint my napkin holder.  Because this sunburst sponge looked just like the sunburst from Tangled, one of my all-time top-5 favorite movies. I decided to paint a Tangled sunburst napkin holder.

I found some green speckled paint - I'm sorry, glaze - for the base color, and some dark purple glaze for the sunburst (yes, i know in the movie it's a yellow sunburst with purple background, but I like green, so there.  Also, light colors on dark backgrounds don't really work when painting pottery).  For the other side of the napkin holder, I decided to paint the scene with the floating lanterns.

It's hard to tell what the final product will look like based on the painting you do, and unfortunately it takes about a week for the pottery to get glazed and fired and finished.  Since we were visiting, the products wouldn't be finished until after we'd all gone home.  Thankfully, Granny picked them up once they were finished and mailed them to us.

I really like the finished product.  It's an adorable spot for my napkins.

Let's Get Creative!

So, obviously I'm not so great about updating this with what's been going on my life lately.  But you know what I am kind of good at?  Baking!  And the occasional crafty endeavor!  I think I'd do well taking a few minutes every week to let you know what I've managed to create.

So these first little cuties are some cupcakes I made... almost a year ago I guess.  I made them to take to work for my birthday, these adorable owl cupcakes.  Pretty easy to make, low effort for the amount of cuteness you get.  I started by making my favorite flavor of cupcake (chocolate with vanilla frosting). Then I split oreos (well, grocery store brand oreos) in half and stuck them to the frosting.  3 M&M's for the eyes and little owl beak, and done!  Adorable and delicious birthday treats!

Some of My Dearest Friends

I love to read.  I will read almost any thing I can get my hands on, provided it’s a work of fiction.  I’m not too good with the non-fiction stuff, but novels, screenplays, short stories, or fairy tales… oh man, I can’t get enough.

So imagine my delight when reading through Letters of Note today, I came across this entry of letters about libraries.  I haven’t gotten a chance to check out the full collection of letters at the Troy Library site, but even the four letters on the post had me reaching for my phone with intentions of tweeting my favorite lines.  Thankfully, I saw the folly in that course of action, and decided instead to share here.

A couple of my favorite snippets:

From the Isaac Asimov letter: “It is a space ship that will take you to the farthest reaches of the Universe, a time machine that will take you to the far past and the far future…”

I also loved the entirety of the E.B. White letter, but especially “Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people---people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.”

Seriously, if you haven’t taken a look at the entry yet, please do so now.  It will change your life.  (Okay, maybe not, but you definitely won’t regret it.)

And what post about books would be complete without mention of the book I’m currently reading?  Well, most recently finished I guess.  That book is A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle.  I may not have mentioned my obsession with Ms. L’Engle, but seriously, if I haven’t read a book by her, it’s not from lack of trying.  Her young adult novels have taught me more about science and faith than 4 years at a private Christian school ever did.

I don’t know if I’m just in a sentimental mood today or what, but a lot of what I read tonight really stood out to me, and I just had to share some of my favorite bits of this book.

“Prayer was never meant to be magic,” Mother said.
“Then why bother with it?” Suzy scowled.
“Because it’s an act of love,” Mother said.

“How do you pray for someone like that?”
Grandfather held out his open hand, palm up. “There are many different ways. I simply take him into my heart, and then put him into God’s hand.”

“Perhaps holding Binnie while she died was a cross prepared for you at the foundation of the world.”

“Vicky, this is my charge to you. You are to be a lightbearer. You are to choose the light.”
“I can’t…” I whispered.
“You already have.” … “I will say it for you. You will bear the light.”

If you’ve never read anything by Madeleine L’Engle, go to the library, or $1 bookstore, or Kindle store, or whatever, find one of her books, and start reading.  Start with A Wrinkle in Time, if you can, that’s kind of where it all started, and just go from there.  She’s brilliant.

An Easter Story

Oh jeez, I'm really bad at this posting consistently thing.  I should like, make an appointment on my calendar for writing in this, and then maybe I'll actually do it.

So, here's a fun Easter memory from when I was a child.  I don't know how old I was, probably 3 or 4.  I also don't remember the exact setting, it was either some family friends or a petting zoo type of situation.

What I do remember is a big box of little baby chicks.  And a bunch of children gathered around to hold the chicks.  I remember getting my chance to hold a chick, but after only a few seconds several adults took it away, and they all seemed very concerned about something.

I was just sad that I couldn't hold the chick for very long at all.  All the other kids had ample time to hold and love and cuddle their adorable little babies.  I, for some reason, couldn't.  It was very upsetting and I never forgot it.

Years later, probably when I was in my teens, I mentioned the incident to my mom, expressing confusion as to why my chick got taken away so quickly.  She laughed and told me that I was holding that chick so tight, they thought I was going to squeeze it to death.  She said it's eyes were bugging out.  They took the chick away because they were concerned for its safety.

So there you have it.  I was a chick squisher when I was a toddler.  Happy Easter everyone!

The Mind Wanders

A few thoughts I had while covering a desk with a non-working computer and nothing else to keep myself busy today:

I could totally zip line from my office building to my apartment. Best. Commute. Ever.

Hey Spiderman IV, I can see your green screen from my office.

Remember when Spidey Alley was Berlin c. 1985 and Cincinnati c. 2011 on the same night? Maybe I'm the only one who noticed.

All the cars are perfect "toy car" size from up here.  I was never really into playing with cars, but I really want to pick them up and play with them now.  Probably because I'm just so bored.

Why does that one soundstage not have a curved roof like the rest of them? Is it even a soundstage? I'm trying to remember the layout of the lot to figure out which stage it is. And failing miserably.

Aaand I just realized my fly has been unzipped all morning.  Awesome.

Thankfully I was able to go to lunch before I had any other thoughts.

So this is the New Year...

And once again months and months have gone by without a word from me.  If I made resolutions, keeping up with this thing better would be one of mine this year.  Along with running more consistently and eating better.  But I don't make New Year's resolutions, and all of these are things I've been trying to do for the past, oh, 5 years at least.  I feel as though I'm off to a good start though!  It's only the 3rd and here I am already, getting you up to date on the past 4 months of my life!

So, here are a couple of anecdotes/reasons why I've been so unforgivably late on posting.

~ I've been getting steady temp work for the past several months.  Most of the jobs have been interesting and enjoyable, with a few frustrating  episodes thrown into the mix.  My current assignment, which I've been at since the beginning of November and will continue through February, keeps me rather busy during the day.  This is actually pretty unusual for me, and though it is nice to have the days go by fairly quickly, I can't say I'm enjoying this particular time of work.  But that's all I'll say on the subject.

~ I have a boyfriend now!  That's right, ladies and gentlemen, after 26 years of mostly singlehood, I have managed to snag myself a man.  We started dating in September, survived a harrowing 3rd date in which one's keys were locked in one's car while the car was still running, and became official boyfriend and girlfriend (as in, facebook official) in early November.  So, yeah, that's another pretty good excuse for my infrequency of posting.

~ I took my shiny new boyfriend to my grandparents' for Thanksgiving.  It actually went pretty well, with only one (half-joking) comment from my grandpa at the end of weekend warning the boyfriend "not to give him any reason to come to LA and find him."  Also during the weekend I made a blanket out of all of my t-shirts from college.  That was quite a task, but it turned out great, and also gigantic.

~ I ran a half-marathon with my mom.  It was somehow harder than the full marathon we ran a couple years ago, probably because of the 3 straight miles of steady uphill grade and my bleeding little toe.  But we finished in better time than the marathon, so that's something.  If I'm successful in my attempts to run more this year I might attempt another one.  We'll see.

~ I spent a delightful 2 weeks of Christmas vacation in Nashville and Michigan with family.  It was my first time home for Christmas in 4 years, and my first time seeing Henry in about a year and a half, so it was pretty amazing all around.  And it snowed on Christmas day!  That was a pretty great Christmas present.

~ Oh yeah, and because of the boyfriend I had someone to kiss at midnight on New Years, for the first time ever.  That was pretty great.

So... that's pretty much it.  The busy job is still going on, and the boyfriend is still around, so I can't really say how good I'll be at keeping up with this, but there are always interesting things going, so hopefully I'll find time to share them with you.

Quarantine

Tuesday morning I woke up with a kind of sore throat.  No big deal, I thought, I'll drink some tea and I'll be fine.  Cut to four days later, and this is the first time I've ventured from my apartment for more than a few minutes.

The sore throat turned into a big deal.  By Wednesday morning sore throat had recruited it's friends congestion, soreness, and exhaustion.  Thankfully I did not have work scheduled for this week, so I was able to spend the entirety of my illness on my couch.  Watching Pushing Daisies and My Boys.

It was actually a pretty nice week, besides feeling like crap.  But it was nice to have an excuse to just lay around all day.  It's not like I don't ever do that, but at the end of the day I usually end up feeling guilty that I haven't gotten anything accomplished with my free time.  But when you're sick, no one expects you to be productive with your time.  Most people would actually prefer that you stay at home rather than spread your illness to the general population. 

It's pretty great freedom.  Sleeping and drinking tea and watching TV.  And people checking in to make sure you're feeling any better.  So what I haven't seen outside in 40 hours?  Every part of me aches when I move, so why do it?

Only problem with 3 full days of laying around, feeling icky?  The boredom.  Once you watch that Netflix disk of My Boys and finish that season of Pushing Daisies, TV really loses its powers of distraction.  Read a magazine?  Already looked through it three times.  Book?  Haven't been to the library in weeks, and can't muster the energy right now.  I guess I'll just take another nap.

So when on Friday you finally wake up with the ability to breathe through your nose and it doesn't feel like swallowing razors to talk, it's so much better than feeling better.  You're ecstatic at the prospect of being able to get out of the apartment!  See sunshine, and friends, and maybe even do a little cleaning!

A Life With Music

I grew up with music.  It's always been a very important part of my life.  That's not to say I grew up in a musical family.  The extent of my family's musical achievements were many of my mom's made-up songs and a few attempts at instrumental lessons that mostly ended miserably for me.  But we did listen to music a lot. 

Any car trip, no matter how long or short, we'd have the radio or a tape playing (CDs later, of course).  Christmas Eves and mornings were incomplete without music in the background.  And even while my sister and I were doing our schoolwork (we were homeschooled), we almost always had the radio on.

Music still plays a very important role in my life.  I fall asleep to music almost every night, I hate to drive anywhere without music playing, even as I sit here and type I've got my iPhone on shuffle.

But it's not just having music playing that makes it important in my life.  Some songs have special meaning to me.  Death Cab for Cutie's "Passenger Seat" is one of the most romantic songs I've ever heard.  I know what song I'm going to play at my wedding for the father-daughter dance (Kendall Payne's "Daddy"), and I'm not even in a relationship.  There are some songs that I have to repeat a few times before I can move on to the next song on the playlist (Saving Jane's "Autumn and Me" and the accompanying hidden track and Jon McLaughlin's "Questions" are two big ones). 

A lot of times certain songs really speak to what I'm going through in my life at the time I hear them.  Sometimes I'll hear a song and wonder if the songwriter knows me, because there is no way this song isn't about me (deep down I still think Jon McLaughlin wrote "Praying to the Wrong God" about me).

I also love to sing along.  I can't really sing on my own to save my life, thanks to an annoying little combination of tone-deafness and complete lack of rhythm.  But when I'm singing along, I do alright.  I almost can't not sing along when a song I love is on.  Sometimes I'll cut off a conversation with someone to sing along with a song on the radio.  Yesterday I was shopping with a friend and a great James Taylor song came on over the store speakers, and I found myself quietly singing along.  It's one of my favorite things.

Despite how much I love music, I'm not "good" at music.  I'm pretty much useless when it comes to finding new music to love.  If someone gives me a few dollars to pick some music for the jukebox, I'll usually pick one song, get overwhelmed with the choices, and have someone else pick.  I have mostly my sister to thank for most of my current music library.  She knows music.  She knows good music.  She'll be telling me about her new favorite band, and then a month later they're everywhere (Fall Out Boy, the Fray, Kings of Leon are just a few bands she's done this with).

So every few months I'll find out from her what her new faves are, and I usually love them all.  I have a few other friends with great taste, that I can always count on for some great suggestions.  It's been about a year since I've had a significant music library update, so I'm feeling a little out of the loop right now.  Any suggestions of can't-live-without songs or artists?

Thinking About Earthquakes

I grew up in the Midwest, where the most severe natural disasters were tornadoes and blizzards.  Even so, the closest I ever got to a tornado was repeated viewings of Twister (and nightmares, but that's a whole other blog post).  My knowledge of and experience with earthquakes was limited at best, closer to nonexistent.

I can think of two instances in my childhood that might be considered earthquake encounters: a book I read when I was about 12, in which the main character was in San Francisco during that big earthquake in like 1870 or something; and an episode of Adventures in Odyssey where Eugene and I think his name was Tom were in LA during a road trip and were in an earthquake.

As you can see, many of my childhood experiences were facilitated by fictionalized accounts via film, radio, books, and tv.  And you wonder why I want to work in this industry...

Anyways, I never really cared about earthquakes besides entertainment value, because I lived in the Midwest and those like, never happen there.  And then, three and a half years ago I moved to Southern California and earthquakes became a very real possibility in my life.  I was actually kind of excited.  I wanted to experience an earthquake!  I mean, who wouldn't be pumped to feel the earth shaking?  I couldn't wait for an earthquake, despite everyone telling me that we were due for "the big one."

The first "real" (meaning it wasn't one of those 2.5's that you think is a large truck driving past your apartment) earthquake that I experienced was a 5.2 while I was working on the 10th floor of a 15-story building.  Now, buildings out here are built to withstand earthquakes, specifically, they're built on rollers so as to roll along with the earth in the event of a quake.  Which means that the building will continue to sway, back and forth, for several minutes after the earth stops shaking.

I was unprepared for the swaying building.  I was also unprepared for the inescapable movement of the earth.  I wouldn't say I flipped out, but I did not do well keeping it cool once the shaking ended. There's just no describing how it feels to have everything around you shaking and there's no getting away or stopping it, no matter how small the shaking is.  I definitely was pretty shaky myself for about a half hour afterwords.

Another weird thing about earthquakes is how the earth shakes differently sometimes.  There are rumbly ones that really are just like a large truck driving past and you barely notice the slight rattling of the window panes.  And then there's the kind of jumpy ones that will bounce you around for a few seconds.  My favorite was the jerky one, at 4am a couple months ago, that felt like a giant tugged on the ground under my apartment a few times.

That one was cool, but also kind of annoying, and I've discovered this is true of every quake I've been through, because when an earthquake starts, you never know how bad it will be.  Will it be that little rumbly guy?  Will it be just a few giant tugs and then be over?  Or will it keep going, and growing, until buildings and roadways begin to crumble and we're living like refugees among the rubble?

Because everyone is always saying, "the Big One is coming! We're overdue for the Big One! Only a matter of time before we fall into the ocean!" That's the thing about earthquakes, you never know if it's going to be the Big One. And that's why I'll probably never fully enjoy one, even though they seem like a fun concept.

Some Reasons Why I'll Probably Never Be a Spy...

Despite the fact that it's really all I've wanted to do since I was about 18.

1. I've never had any discernible upper-body strength, and probably never will.

2. It is literally impossible for me to learn a new language. Four semesters of French in college and... j'ne sais pas more than a few phrases.

3. Claustrophobia.  It's a bitch, but according to quite a few recurring stress-dreams, I definitely suffer from it.

That's really all I can think of, but probably enough to disqualify me from the most exciting life I can think of.

A Whole New Wardrobe

I love cute dresses.  And cute tops paired with cute skirts.  I love cute clothes.  I just can't afford them.  Every girl goes through a season in her life when she is completely dissatisfied with most of the clothing she owns, and all she wants is an entirely new wardrobe.  I am going through that season right now.

And then I find the website modcloth.com. They have some of the cutest dresses, tops, skirts, and accessories ever.  And of course I can't afford most of it.  So my solution is to make wishlists.  It's just like shopping, only I don't actually get any of the things on the list.  But if I ever have an extra $30 to $80 (the average cost of a dress, with a few reaching the hundreds of dollars), I can just go to my wishlist and pick a dress I've already pre-selected as cute.  It's a great system!

Only one problem: after a first sweep of adding all the dresses I found cute to my list, the grand total came to 399 dresses.  That is way too many to choose just one from!  And that's just dresses, not even including tops (130), skirts (41), accessories (150) or shoes (17).  The good news is, a lot of the dresses are very similar in style and color.  I went through the list and narrowed down all of the dresses in the same style, same color, same pattern, or just way too expensive.  I managed to get it down to 220.  Still a ton of dresses, but at least it's not more than one dress a day for a year and couple months.

I will probably never end up buying more than a few of those dresses.  If any.  I'm not much of an online shopper.  I prefer to be able to try a dress on, or at least see it in person, before making the commitment of paying for it.  I also hate to pay shipping.  If ModCloth had a physical store, I'd be all over that.

I'm also more of a bargain shopper.  My first stop at any store is the sale rack, and if a cute piece of clothing is too expensive, it immediately loses it's cuteness in my eyes.  But the site also has clothes on sale.  One of their cutest pieces, a vest dress, is on sale for about half it's original price.  Still slightly more than I can afford right now, but I'm seriously considering it.

Maybe one day I'll own each of those items on my wishlist, but I'm not holding my breath.  A small percentage would be enough to completely revitalize my currently boring wardrobe.  But a wishlist is just that, a wish. Not holding my breath.

Apartment in Transition

I've lived in the same apartment almost since I moved to LA, over 3 and 1/2 years now.  I've gone through about seven roommates and a puppy.  Earlier this year my roommate and I realized that we were embarrassed about the state of the carpet. It hadn't been changed since at least a year before I moved in, and 3 years, 7 roommates, and puppy can really wreak havoc on already-old carpet. So we decided to ask our landlord about changing it.

We caught him a good time, right when he was trying to rent out the empty unit next door and realizing that people like hardwood a whole lot more than carpet.  My roommate and I are two of those people who love hardwood, and jumped at his offer to hardwood the entire apartment.  A month later, the disgusting carpet was a distant memory.

Not long after the flooring was finished, we found out that our apartment building (which had been on the market for the better part of 6 months) was "in escrow."  Neither of us knew what escrow was, but presumably it meant it had been sold.  As evidenced by the parade of inspections that happened over the next 2 weeks.

And then two more weeks went by, and we didn't hear a thing. And then on a Wednesday night, my roommate noticed our sink had been leaking and then we found a cockroach, and it became imperative that a landlord come IMMEDIATELY and take care of the situation.

So the next morning I call our landlord and find out, he doesn't own the building anymore.  Now, we had never received anything telling us that we officially had a new landlord and who that was and how to contact said landlord in the even of a COCKROACH INVASION. So former landlord gave us the number for the realty company, who gave us the number of the new landlord, who was told he wouldn't become the landlord for 2 more days.

But it turns out that our new landlord is AWESOME.  He came over to fix the sink and rid our world of evil that takes cockroach form, and also to let us know all of the great ideas he has for the place and see what our thoughts were for possible improvements.  And his ideas were AMAZING (insulation and a new a/c unit to keep place cooler in summer? Yes, please!) and he seemed fully willing to do our ideas as well and basically, our apartment is awesome now.

It all started with a fresh coat of paint, and my roommate's friend who is an amateur interior decorator.  The fresh coat of paint was joined by two dark gray walls, rearranged furniture, a few new lampshades, and a couple of strategic new pieces of furniture.  Add to that new shades and curtains and some art on the walls (instead of full-sized movie posters), and it looks like adults live here.  I love it.  We're probably going to have a house re-warming party, because it literally is like a whole new apartment.

All that's left is to include my room in the apartment update.  I already rearranged and got rid of a papazan chair I love but doesn't fit in the room anymore.  But I'd like to add some color to the walls, put a few things on the walls, and generally make it look like a room I've lived in for 3 years and not some place I'm crashing for now.  We'll see if the budget can cover that kind of makeover.

Bottom line, I love my practically new apartment!

Food Blogs

I love food blogs. Especially dessert blogs. Pretty much anything with pictures of delicious-looking and adorably designed cakes or cupcakes or pies or cookies, I'm a sucker for it. I look through the photos, imagining situations in which I would use a cake decorated like a happy cloud with a rainbow scarf, or cupcakes with cartoon character faces on each one. I look at the incredibly beautiful, intricate, and creative wedding cakes and try to decide which one I want at my wedding some day. I imagine that I can decorate something that beautiful, and even seriously consider taking a cake decorating class, just to see if would actually be able to pull it off.

But, there are some cakes and cupcakes that, though I appreciate the artistry, I don't think I'd ever be able to enjoy them. Those cakes decorated to look like non-cake food, such as egg salad sandwiches or hamburgers or steaks on the grill, never ever look appetizing to me. Even if they're made out of the sweetest, most delicious cake ingredients in the world, I still wouldn't be able to bring myself to eat it.

Mostly, probably, because of how realistic they all look as whatever food they're not. If I want to eat delicious, sweet cake, I don't want to be putting what looks like mashed potatoes and peas in my mouth. Conversely, maybe I see a mouthwatering hamburger, and when I take a bite, it turns out to be cake?

It's all a matter of not getting what you're expecting. And I don't like that. One time in Sunday School some girls offered everyone a choice between Sprite and Club Soda, but had switched the contents of the bottles. They were trying to demonstrate that people tend to go for the bright, flashy outside instead of what's on the inside. But I know I like Sprite, I was expecting Sprite, and it didn't have anything to do with the out appearance of the bottles. So when I asked for Sprite and got the nasty surprise of disgusting club soda, I was pretty pissed. I didn't get what I was expecting.

And its the same with those cakes. Even if someone were to say, "Look at this cake that looks like steak on a grill, would you like a piece?" and I accepted, still, somewhere, in the back of my mind, when I'd take a bite I'd be expecting it to taste like steak. That's just too weird for me. So, just a tip, if you want to bake me a special cake, don't make it look like dinner food. I won't like it.

Creepy Spiderman

You might not realize this from the title of this blog, but my name is MJ. This really shouldn't be that big of a deal, but for some reason it's a huge deal to comic book fans. I mean, I understand that Spiderman's girlfriend Mary Jane generally goes by MJ. I just don't understand why whenever a fanboy hears my name they automatically think of her.

Three times today, three times, someone said my name and then mentioned Spiderman in some way. One of the guys even had the audacity to tell me that he is Spiderman. Gross!

Kind of got me thinking about cheesy pick-up lines though. Now, I am extremely oblivious to being hit on. Not that it happens very often, but usually what happens is this: a guy will initiate an awkward interaction, and I'll try to be polite while wondering why this person is being so awkward, and then later I'll tell a friend about the interaction, and they'll explain to me that I've been hit on.

The most common sneak-attack flirting is some comment on my name (besides Spiderman, I often get Michael Jackson or Michael Jordan, because, you know, I look like a dude?), or they'll see my (sterling silver) ring and ask if I'm engaged. To which I'll reply, no, and then they'll semi-jokingly ask, well why are you wearing a ring on your left finger if you're not engaged? And I'll sometimes answer and then they'll just kind of awkwardly leave.

I think my life is made up of one awkward interaction followed by another followed by another. Maybe it's not the guys that are awkwardly flirting, or failing at the pick-up lines. Maybe it's me that's failing at... not being awkward. Ah well. I have fun, and usually have some great stories!

Tattoo Thoughts

I have a tattoo. I got it almost 2 years ago, but I didn't write about it because I didn't want my family to find out over the internet. But now they know, and I don't think they know about this blog, so here we are.

My tattoo is a small blue flame behind my right ear. I got it because of the Madeline L'Engle quote "We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light so lovely they want with all their hearts to know the source of it."

I heard that quote in church a few years ago, and it quickly became my favorite. It perfectly summarizes what I feel my mission is. When I decided to get a tattoo, I wanted to get something that represents that statement, especially the "light so lovely." What better to represent that light than a flame? So that's what I got, and I really don't regret it.

This past weekend a friend of mine was trying to decide what tattoo he should get next month. We didn't come up with anything that he wanted, but I had a few good ideas. I don't plan on getting any more tattoos (those things HURT!), but if I did, here are a few that I'd seriously consider.

Now, the way I came up with these was because I suggested coming up with a favorite quote, Bible verse, or life motto and tattooing based on that. So, yeah, the ideas:

1. A small piece of cake on my hand below my thumb, almost on the wrist. (Because one of my life mottos is "everyone deserves cake on their birthday")

2. A grocery list on the underside of a forearm. (No deep meaning for this one, I just think it'd be clever)

3. Another forearm list - "Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly." (Based on Micah 6:8)

I think I had one more good one, but I can't remember it now. Anyways, since I'm not planning on using any of these, if you loved one of them, feel free to mark your body forever with it!

Holiday Weekend

I had a great holiday weekend! I went to the beach, helped bake patriotic cupcakes, watched an amazing fireworks show with some great friends, slept laaaate on Monday, played sand volleyball, and went to the premier of a short film I pa'd. I'm so tired today, and a little sore from volleyball, but it's already Tuesday! Thankfully it was beautiful all weekend, warm and sunny, because today it is cold and drizzly and awful. All I want to do is take a nap. But I'll try to be productive with my time.

1 Year

It's been over a year since I last updated this thing. Yes, I've been busy. I've also been supremely lazy when it comes to creativity. This needs to change. I'm hoping returning to this, and being intentional about keeping it up, will boost the other areas in my life that are lacking creativity. Or at least give me something to do for a few minutes every day.

Some things that have happened in the past year:
* I quit my reception job
* I took a month-long trip to TN, KY, OH, MI, and GA
* I was mostly unemployed for over 6 months
* Henry went to live with my sister in Nashville
* I started a running group with some friends
* I cut 12 inches off my hair and gave it kids with cancer
* I joined a homegroup that I LOVE
* I became a tour guide at WB, a job I've wanted to do for years, only to discover I'm not very good at jobs dealing with the general public. I got laid off after 6 weeks.
* I got fired from background work
* I'm back to temping at WB

Hopefully in the future I won't have to update you with bullet points. I will keep up with this. I will.

The End of An Era

I'm watching the final episode of ER right now. I haven't watched the show in probably about 7 years. Maybe one or two episodes here or there, but once I went to college I dropped my dedication to the show for my higher scholarly pursuits (such as Gilmore Girls, the Simpsons, and Futurama). But there's something sentimental about a show I literally almost can't remember not being on coming to an end. A show that I was dedicated to during my four years of high school, despite that being only a blip in the life of the series.

Every single major character that I loved and knew at that time is no longer a regular on the show. Some of them are dead. Some of them are only here tonight, an homage to the roles many of us fell in love with years ago. I don't even know these new characters. I know the actors from their other shows (John Stamos from Full House, Linda Cardellini from Freaks and Geeks, etc.), but I have no idea the characters themselves nor their relationships, personalities, nothing. Maybe one day I'll catch up on those 7 years. Probably not.

Some thoughts while I watch:

1. Rory Gilmore is a med school intern?!

2. What happened to Laura Innes' (can't remember her character's name) crutches?

3. Have those two admin guys been on the show for the whole 15 years?

4. John Stamos was a grown-up when he was Uncle Jesse. How old is he now?!

(The preview for the Hannah Montana Movie just came on, but the scene with my feet in it is first and I always miss it til it's over.)

5. Lissel!! Lissel is totally front and center in this scene!!

6. Remembered Laura's character name: Kerry (only because Dr. Carter said it.)

7. That baby is totally not crying. Definitely smiling.

8. Horrifying. Further confirmation that I will never have kids.

9. Do John Stamos and Linda Cardellini's characters have teenage children?

(Woo Wolverine trailer!)

10. Crap, this is going to go on for another hour. Can I stay awake?

11. Wow, crazy that I walk past that ambulance bay nearly every day. I wonder what they'll do with it now?

(LOVE this new Hulu commercial with Seth McFarlane)

12. Thandie Newton is British?

13. Alright, we're at 1:26. Where the hell is George??

14. Wow, this episode is turning me off of having children, growing old AND getting married. Thanks ER. Thanks a lot.

15. Crap, she's going to break up with him. Or ask him to marry her.

16. Wait the woman that just died isn't the woman who broke her arm at the beginning? They can't have have two older-than-death women on the same episode.

17. Only 5 minutes left, and they've got an explosion coming in? I guess we're going to end on a high note.

And that's the end. Good show. I don't they could have done a better job.

You Never Know

Yesterday was probably one of the weirdest days I've ever had. Despite getting nearly 9 hours of sleep, I could barely get out of bed when my alarm went off. By the time I did get up, I was running late and spent the morning rushing around to get ready and out of the apartment in time for work. Ten minutes before 9:00, I was out the door and hurrying through the rain. Thankfully it's a short walk, and I can usually make it in 10 minutes, it just doesn't give me time to get my coffee or breakfast once I get there.

So, as I'm walking to work, talking to my mom on the phone, a bus drives past me, through a puddle, and sends a wall of water showering onto me. I was soaked. I'm pretty sure I screamed into the phone, but then I just started laughing. It was all I could do. My coat had absorbed most of the water to my upper body, so really just my jeans and boots had it worst. My mom asked if I needed to go home and change, but I was already late and by some miracle my feet were dry despite my sopping boots. So I continued to make my way to work.

Once I got to work, I started getting the chills from my wet jeans and just all around wasn't feeling well. I began to rethink my decision not change into dry clothes and nearly called it a sick day and went home.

But I stayed, and around 10am I got an email the rallied my spirits a bit: Joseph was asking me to read the scripture in church in 2 weeks. Well, that's one thing that I love to do and don't get the opportunity often, so I was pretty happy about that.

And then, around noon, guess who walks into my lobby? You'll never guess (unless you're one of my book club girls and got the email I sent as soon as he walked in). It was, wait for it, Jason Mesnick. That's right, the Bachelor (or Bastardachelor as I like to call him... but not to his face) walked into my lobby 2 days after "the most dramatic After the Final Rose Special in history!" airs! I was flipping out. I really wanted to be rude to him, but I knew I couldn't because that would probably get me fired. So I just pretended I didn't know who he was. Probably the nicest thing I could do, because he said he's getting harassed by everyone these days. But the best part was that Bonnie was on tv while he was waiting and she talked about him the entire time. Amazing!

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, but the morning was eventful enough for the whole week. Frachel and I were planning to run after work, but decided not to because of the rain. We still wanted to hang out though, so I ended up helping her make dinner then she, her boyfriend, and I had dinner together and ended up hanging out and watching shows til past 10. It was so much fun.

Also, this afternoon at lunch I saw Drew Lachey.