A List Of Things, Part 2

Things I Don't Have Enough Of:


1. Dollars
Everyone says this. Everyone wants nice things; some people just want nicer/more expensive things than others. I'm not one of them. I don't need any fancy electronics or new cars. I just want to pay off my loans, be able to get new shoes when I need them, and have a working car so that I can go do things like buy groceries. I would like to not live paycheck-to-paycheck any longer. I would like to have some savings again. I would like to maybe take a small trip somewhere. Nothing lavish. Sometimes I feel like I did everything right, but all for naught.

2. Days/Hours
I need at least two more days per week, and at least 6 more hours per day. Can you get on that, please? There has got to be a way to slow the rotation and orbit of the earth to do this. Then I could find time for all the things I want to do. Or for a second job.

3. Cats
Haha! Just kidding... but, seriously...

While I recognize that I do in fact have the Crazy Cat Lady gene, I am all topped off on cats. Got enough. Thanks.

4. Pants, etc.
I have way too many tee shirts, but not enough other clothing. I need to do a swap or something. I can always find a tee shirt to wear, but sometimes I can't find pants. No one wants to see me not wearing pants. Mostly because I also don't own any cute undies. I could find some way to make all those extra tee shirts into pants, maybe. Or skirts. Skirts would probably be easier.

5. Liver Cells
Because I'm burning through those bitches like there's no tomorrow. Hell, it won't be long before the survivors figure out my master plan and flee in droves. They can only regenerate if there are some left, right?

6. Courage
They gave it all to that damn lion. Didn't save me any. I mean, I'm not a total pansy. I don't wet myself when something is scary. I don't pass out at the sight of blood. I guess what I mean is that I'm one of those shy people. I'm a lot (A LOT) better than I used to be, but sometimes I wish I was one of those extroverts who can just come out and say what they think, ask for what they want, and all that good stuff. This would make things like the stupid crush I mentioned in the last post easier. I could just say, "Hey, I think you're neat. Wanna hang?" and get on with it if the answer is no. Or get it on if the answer is yes.

7. Social Grace
Jeebus, I'm socially awkward (see above). I'm pretty good at embarrassing myself. All because if I'm not making a joke, then I don't have much to say. Or rather, I'm no good at saying it. Now, if it's an F-bomb-laden rant or a guffaw-inducing double entendre, I'm golden. A wink-nudge play on words? Yup. I'm punny! But hell, stick me in a room with people I don't know or in front of a crowd, or make me talk to a boy I like or have a serious discussion, and my brain stops communicating with my mouth. I'm lucky to remember my own name and chances are slim that I'll remember anyone else's. I might drool. And I'll totally accidentally drop another F-bomb.

8. Motivation
I know this is a shock to some of you, but I'm not the go-getter type. This is the perfect example: I should be finishing the furniture rearrange I started this past Saturday night. But instead I'm sitting here tossing word turds at the internet. I wish I was the domestic goddess other girls my age (aka women and/or real adults) are, but I hate doing dishes. I am not a real adult. I am easily distracted. I have no desire to fold my laundry when I can sit and read my book instead. And all those unfinished projects I mentioned in Part 1? Yup. I just can't get going on them. I suppose you could call me lazy, but I prefer to think of it as a difference in priority. Those dishes aren't going anywhere (hell, I don't have food to put on them anyway!), but my VHS player might stop working tomorrow and I still have six tapes of old The X-Files episodes to watch!!

9. Photos Of My Food On Facebook
This is the thing to do now, apparently. Every day, I see what a good sized chunk of my friends eat. It's like they're trying to prove something. What it is, I don't know... who eats the most? Who eats the weirdest stuff? Who isn't anorexic? Who cooks vs. who goes out? Either way, I better get in on it or I won't be in the Cool Club anymore. Maybe I'll do extreme close-ups and have people guess what it is. Maybe I'll only post photos of the most mundane of foodstuffs like cheese and crackers or cereal. Maybe I'll post photos of my cats' meals. Maybe I'll post photos of what my meal looks like 8 hours later... you just never know.

9.5. Backrubs
I always want a backrub. Always.

10. Manfriends
Well, I just want one. Not friends who are boys. I got lots of those. And why I'd want just one of them around a lot is sort of mind-boggling because they drive me nuts. But still. It'd be cool to have a special buddy around again. It's been a hot minute, I've had my fun, and wouldn't mind taking another shot at finding something more meaningful. Problem is I can't find someone I'm that interested in (with one exception. See #10 of Part 1). I know some cute guys, and some nice guys, but there either really isn't any real chemistry or they're taken or gay or not into me or or or ad infinitum. I also tend to see only the same group of people over and over again. I know some friends who have had luck with the internet thing, but that's not my style. Whatever. I'm no spinster yet. But I'm no spring chicken, either. I'd kinda like to get on with this whole "life" thing and have someone to share it with. There's gotta be at least one dapper young gentleman out there I can trick into thinking I'm the bees knees, right?

A List Of Things, Part 1

Things I Have Too Many Of:

1. Tee Shirts
Yes. I own more tee shirts than any one person should. Especially since I'm a 30-year-old woman (?). Note: The question mark is not to reflect my questioning of whether or not I am female. I am for sure one of those. It's the "30-year-old" part that boggles me. Where did the years go? How do I qualify as 'functional adult'? What the hell is going on?? And that's my point. Look in my closet. You'll find zero power suits. Only a couple fancy dresses. No nightclub duds. And a stupid amount of tee shirts. Really. Is that the wardrobe of an adult? How did I sneak into that club?

2. Molars
I still got those pesky wisdom teeth. "Wisdom Teeth". What a load of crock. They make their presence known to me pretty much every day at this point. And they do not make me wiser. They make me cranky. Recently I had a dream that I went to have them taken out, and they decided they were going to take out my front teeth, too. Then they gave me braces and moved the outer incisors to the center, which made me look even funnier than I do now.

3. Pint Glasses
It must really look like I have a drinking problem. Open my cabinet and before you are somewhere between 35 and 45 pint glasses. On the one hand, this comes in handy when I go anti-domestic and let the dishes pile up. Or when I get a little beverage-happy and change the type of bevvie I'm sipping on 6 times in 3 hours. On the other, it's a lot of glasses. Hey! Maybe I have them for all those parties I have! Oh, that's right. I can't remember the last time there were more than 5 people here at one time. More than that and I'd probably freak out.

4. Stupid Crap
You know this stuff. The things that just materialize. Knick-knacks and tchotchkes that get set somewhere, then somewhere else, then put in a box, and then just seem to multiply on their own. One day you look around and BAM! you have stickers and buttons and keychains and branded luggage tags and a rubber Hot Wheels watch (that still works) on the bottom shelf of your coffee table. Time to go.

5. Books I Want To Read
This isn't really a bad thing. But is but one counterpoint to an item that will follow on another list.

6. Cats
Haha! Just kidding.... But, seriously...

7. Bills
Who doesn't? Fuck The Man, I say. Of course, I only say it because I do enjoy things like shelter and food. I could stick to just that, but then my prissy ass also enjoys such luxuries as indoor plumbing (including hot water!), garbage pickup, and mobile connectivity. Living large has its cost.

8. Unstarted Projects/Unrealized Ideas
So many things I planned to do, so many (like, all of them) undone. The flip side are the ideas I have where I can't get the details worked out. I want to arrange my furniture in an aesthetic manner, but have not the eye for such tasks. Same with decorating. I can't match my clothing. You think I can pony up some tasteful decor??

9. Activities I Want To Do
I like bowling. I also like trivia. But they happen on the same night! I like roller coasters, but can't make it to Atlanta for a simple fix, let alone to the Trifecta Of Fun in Ohio. Speaking of Ohio, I want to eat some Skyline really should visit my family in Cincinnati. I would like to go to the beach. Or to another country. I would like to, for the first time in my entire life, take an honest-to-FSM for-real vacation. I want to play with the Athens Symphony, and rejoin the Northwinds Symphonic Band. I want to take some sort of artistic movement class (but I don't want you to watch because you will laugh). All of these are also a counterpoint to more than one thing that will be on a subsequent list...

10. Crushes
First off, what a funny word! Second, by saying this, it would seem that I have a crush on anything that is at the very least not fully decomposed, but this is not the case. I am not one of those girls who 'crush' on every cute guy they see. I actually pretty much never have them. And that's ok. Because I think they're a pain in the ass. Up until recently the only crush I could claim to have had for a long while could be classified as the "Thirteen Year Old Schoolgirl" variety, wherein I admire from afar but have no actual desire to pursue it further. I'd rather just giggle and gawk and move on with my night. So that one doesn't count because it doesn't pop up in my head any other time. No, now I'm speaking of an actual crush. It's only one. And that's too many. I will elaborate on this soon (I need to write more anyway), but long story short, I don't have time for this stupidity. All it does is invade my brain when I don't need the distraction, render me unable to say anything interesting or clever when the opportunity for interaction arises, and make me obsess on what is wrong with me since it doesn't appear to be mutual. Which is frustrating as all hell. Boys are stupid, and crushes are stupid, and I'm too old for this crap.

It's Saturday In Athens, Georgia!

And I am not watching football. Again.

Labor Day = Lazy Day

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Ovaltine? No? Well, I'm coming out. I love me some Ovaltine. Chocolatey malty milky goodness. I swear I could drink Ovaltine all damn day. That kid in the commercial knew what was up... he was down with it. "More Ovaltine, please!" When I get to the bottom of the jar, a part of my heart breaks. When my milk jug runs dry, life becomes unbearable. For just a moment, at least. If forced to choose between giving up Ovaltine or beer for life, I would need some serious time for consideration. And I'd probably keep Ovaltine. It's almost an addiction. Yeah. I love Ovaltine.

BREAKING NEWS: I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT FOOTBALL

Really. I don't.

I went to UGA. I went to every game for five years. Ok, that's a fib. I went to almost every game for five years. I didn't get to to go to the Aloha Bowl in 2000. And I missed one LSU game and one Kentucky game. Because they didn't take the whole 400+ person marching band to these three games and I was still a freshman and not a member of the Derbies pep band. But I went to every other game. Every. Game. I wore a uniform that was made of 100% wool, with pants that were actually overalls (bibbers is what they're called) and a thick-ass coat that generally cut off half of your breathing ability and the upward range of motion for your arms, and which was topped off with a stupid hat with a feather plume on top (called a shako) that smelled like feet. You sweated your ass off, literally, most of the time. (The bosses are benevolent, though, and let you remove your coat in the stands when the outside temperature is over 90 degrees.) Or you froze your ass off: no other coats allowed, and sweatshirts would not fit underneath the uniform. No biggie, you'll feel your fingers and toes tomorrow! Or you were wet and soggy. We had official raincoats for a bit, but they got moldy and some got lost, and after two years there weren't enough non-moldy ones for everyone, so no raincoats for you, don't worry, that horrendous 'wet dog' smell will only take 4 days to scrub off your skin.

Yup. Every game. Playing cheers that were announced by the drum major making hand signs like a baseball coach. Hearing "Glory" until my ears bled (hopefully... meant we were winning).  Having drunk 50-year-old fans of the other team call me unspeakable names and throw half-eaten chicken wings and cups of soda at me, or maybe just a 30-something, 6' 4" dude with a little boy call me a 'fucking bitch-ass cunt with a dog face' and attempt to shove me out of his way. (I stood my ground on that one and threatened to bean him with a cymbal before the drumline tech stepped in and told him to fuck off).

So you know? I like it when they win. But I don't follow it, I don't know the players' names or stats, I don't know the schedule without looking at it, and I don't get my sandy panties in a wad when they lose. UGA is not a bad team, but they've pretty much never been an amazing team. They're really good at the last-minute let-down. Been doing it for years, they have. Every now and then they pull something awesome out of their asses at the last second and someone saves the day (see Outback Bowl 1999 or Auburn maybe 2002? it rained and was freezing and we won on an amazing pass in OT), but that's a rarity. I can't understand how some people just lose their shit and seriously mope for days. It's a game, stupid. Like Monopoly or strip poker. And at least in strip poker you might actually get something that's a direct benefit to you.

I also can't understand the vitriol that is spewed in the direction of whichever coach happens to be employed at the time. All he can do is tell them what to do, he can't play the game himself or control what they do out on the play field. And he's not their papa, either. Some football player acted the fool downtown and got himself arrested on a drunk and disorderly charge? How the hell is that the coach's fault?? He's a FOOTBALL COACH, not a nanny or life coach or omnipresent god. He's got his own shit to worry about once he's off the clock. Is it his fault that Damon Evans had to hold that poor girl's red panties for her, too? Gah. How about the team just isn't perfect, and is populated with dumbass 18-22 year old boys that act stupid just like all the other 18-22 year old boys here on campus?

In other news, I went thrifting with Brandon and Josh today. We went to America's Thrift Store and Goodwill. I spent a total of $40, which normally has me freaking out. But I did get five albums, five movies (including Tank Girl and Blacula), one pack of disposable tupperware, two skirts, and four dresses. So I guess that's ok. Tomorrow we're taking a trip to J&J Flea Market. Somehow I've lived in Athens since 1999 and have never been to J&J, so I'm pretty pumped. Hopefully I'll score some neat shit.

Take your stinking paws off them, you damn dirty ape.

Fucking bastard. I know it's someone that lives around here because they are obviously watching them just as closely as I. Two more are gone just days before I was to pick them. Just like the first time. They've gotten four; I've gotten none. It's really a bummer. They probably think it's funny. I think it's mean. I thought those were the last two that were viable, but I saw today I have one that needs a week or so and two that are babies yet.

I've been trying to decide how best to make it known that I am watching for them.  I considered just ripping up all the vines and putting them in a pile with a sign that read "Here. Why don't you just go ahead and take the rest of them and get it over with, jerk.". I also considered simply putting out a sign with just a sad face or middle finger or the phrase "If I Find Out Who You Are, I Will Break Your Fingers". (The first time this happened I printed a sign but didn't put it up. It said "Yes, I noticed. Yes, I am sad. Yes, you suck.") I also have thought about being an asshole right back and booby-trapping them. Somehow. I'm not really sure what I could do to them that would keep them alive long enough to get stolen yet make them nasty or something. But wouldn't it be fun to put a sign up the day after it disappears that informs them that their new melon was mulched with my own poo?

It really pisses me off and honestly makes me sad. It's less about the watermelons themselves; I actually don't eat them much but was excited to see that I could grow something fun. I was excited to share them with my friends. So what upsets me and gets me down is that someone I haven't done anything to is perfectly alright with destroying something I made and something that isn't theirs, and they don't care enough about someone they've never met to leave just one. All I need is one. I was going to give the others away anyway. I just wanted to have the chance to do so. I am really sick and tired of being shit on by other people for no reason. I guess that's what it really comes down to. Why do people just shit on everyone else? 

For some reason I never thought about bugs just up and dropping dead like people sometimes do, but I saw the aftermath of it Sunday afternoon. My friend Brandon and I walked to the Co-op to get some brunch particles to put together. On the way back up my street, right over the sidewalk and at just about eye-level for most people, was a dead spider. Hanging from a strand of silk attached to (most likely) her leg. Just blowing in the wind. Nothing wrong, no missing pieces or dried out in the sun or anything like that. Not even crunchy yet, so it must have been fresh. Hanging there. I guess she was up in the tree limbs or the power lines, just going about her business weaving herself a nice fresh new web, and then BAM. Whatever it is that happens to arachnids when they stop living... I tried to get a photo but without a decent background couldn't get the camera to focus. We took her down, and Brandon decided he wanted to keep her. I almost felt like we should give her a little memorial, but since I never met this particular spider I'm not sure I'd have thought of anything to say.

Social Networking- Rage Fodder Extraordinaire

Seriously. I just need to rebrand this blog as a "WTF is this stupid shit on the internet" blog. I do less ranting anymore, but lots more "OMG lol Look what Facebook put online". Because it is STUPID. Yes. Stupid. Except, I suppose if only I just think it's absolutely retarded then it really is just me ranting as per my blog's promising tagline... So yeah. This is stupid:

From a glance, this doesn't seem all that bad. The stupid part is that there is a 'Like' button underneath this shit. No, I do not like it. Unless it's to support the glaring fact that Hollywood is completely out of original ideas. "I know! The 80's are popular again. Let's remake all the 80's movies! We can make them 3D! Everyone will lose it for 3D!!". Dudes... LIFE is nothing but 3D. Ain't no thang, peeps. Last thing I want to do is go to a movie theatre, pay nine bucks for a movie I've seen before (and can see anytime I want on Netflix), while not only sitting in a seat that a thousand asses have farted in before me, but also wearing some dumb glasses that make my eyeballs vomit and could possibly give me lice or maybe scabies or a face fungus. Not to mention the soda and small stale popcorn that costs a week's salary and the idiot people sitting in front of you who won't get off their goddamn cell phone. And it's cold in there. So fuck that. Adding "2011" to the end of the movie title doesn't mean it's an upgrade. It's not a car or a Windows product.

And be sure to note that this movie is "terrifying". (air quotes needed here). 

1985 called. It said "Get your grubby unoriginal paws off my campy vampire movies!" It also requests that you leave those stupid huge-framed glasses and Cosby sweaters alone, too.