For my Birthday tonight!

For those of you coming....

I'll have tortilla chips, salsa, queso (Velveeta mixed with salsa and hamburger meat), cokes (Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, Mountain Dew), and popcorn (if we watch movies or if someone wants it). If none of that sounds appetizing, then you can bring a tasty snack to share or whatever works for you. Just know that your stomach will be filled.

My dogs will be there, but don't worry if you're not comfortable around dogs because Mungo and Lucy will be upstairs for the night.

I hope to see everyone there!

Oh what a World

We all have our moments. Sometimes they can be overwhelmingly stupid. I had one of those this past weekend.

My older sister, Retta, had a surprise birthday planned by her boyfriend, Thomas, and her good friend. I surprised her as well, and it made for a great weekend. Until the overwhelmingly stupid moment. This was the first time that I was able to drink as much as I want without puking at some point. Apparently, as much as I wanted meant the ability to pass in and out of consciousness. That kind of drinking never ends well. It definitely didn't for me and two other people. I wish I could change what happened, but I can't.

I have to learn from this experience and maybe that will be all the difference.

twisted my ankle and sprained it

I thought I was going to have a lot of fun in my Intramural Volleyball team. I went to our first practice last night at 7:30 and sprained my damn ankle not 30 minutes into practice.

The problem was that I didn't realize I hurt my ankle. I hurt this same (right) ankle my sophomore year playing tennis with my step-mom. It's been crummy ever since: it will randomly roll our from under me and cause me to crash. Usually I walk it off and I'm fine. That was my plan Thursday night. I told my team to keep practicing and let me sit for a while. I'd be fine.

I got up to play and it still hurt (like it normally does), but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I was used to that kind of pain. I wasn't going to go running after a ball though. I left practice about ten minutes before 9:00 went home to eat and then go to bed.

Throughout the night my dog, Mungo, regularly goes on and off the bed while I'm sleeping. I'm so used to him doing this that sometimes I'll wake up in the morning and he's stretched out alongside me and I don't remember him moving there at all. Late Wednesday night he was doing this, as usual, but he plopped his big doggy ass right on my ankle. I yelled. It freaked out Mungo. It hurt very badly though, worse than it normally does when I hurt my ankle. In fact, if this had been a typical ankle problem, it shouldn't be hurting anymore.

Then, closer to morning, I'm rolling over and smack my injured appendage into the wall. It wasn't a simple tap either. It was a hard smack right on the top of my swollen ankle. Again, screaming. I got up as soon as it stopped hurting, but I could barely put any weight on my foot. Since I do not have a primary care physician in Clarksville, I had to drive to the ER (it was not fun) and pay the damn $75.00 copay.

If any part of this can be funny or fate's way of coincidences, then this next part could be ironic, I'm not sure. As I arrive in the ER at 7 AM there is an elderly man being escorted into triage for a sprained LEFT ankle.

SIDE NOTE: If one ever has to go to the ER try to aim for the early morning hours. By all means go at 2 AM if you have a life threatening problem or injury, but if you can wait, hold off until 5-7 AM. I was in and out of the ER in less than an hour. I'm talking after initial triage and room assignment, Dr. consultation, X-rays, and payment. Under an hour. When I went at 8 PM back in July when the Drs. thought I had meningitis, I didn't get home until 11. So, early morning is the way to go for a speedy ER visit.

We have an elderly man with his ankle, then when the nurse sees me and my form she gives me this quizzical look and checks out my ankles. I think she actually doubted my injury until she saw my obscenely swollen joint (I'm copyrighting that for an, as yet, unwritten Romance novel euphemism). Then she sighs (not in any mean way) and asks me to hobble back towards triage. (You're not supposed to walk on sprains, right????) Apparently there were two other ankle sprains (besides the old man and me AND someone had hurt their hip. It was a busy night for the orthopedic Dr.)

Anyway, so I made my sprain worse/more aggravated by still playing Thursday night. I should have stopped playing then and there and put ice on it and kept it elevated. I didn't, so now I'm paying for it by missing my first game with my team (GO GREEN TIGERS) and another practice.

Travis

Travis is very good with words and he's witty. It makes for a great combination. This was his response to a bulletin post on Myspace about "Men's Rules".

His response to each item is in the parenthesis. Read this all the way through. You won't be disappointed.

-----

We always hear "the rules" from the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side. Finally!! So these are OUR rules! Please note... these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE! (The author can't count?)

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. You can handle it. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down. (This is just being polite and considerate for her benefit - it won't kill you to lower the seat. If it does, she's better off)

1(2). Sunday = sports. It's like the full moon. Let it be. (By "sports" you mean "American Football." Stop living your adolescent fantasies of being the QB hero and mow the lawn.)

1(3). Crying is blackmail. (and stoicism is extortion)

1(4). Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one. Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it! (Clear communication is good, yes, but hinting is part of the game - it shows you pay attention and care about the things that matter to her. Oh, and CLEAR COMMUNICATION means telling her how you feel. toughen up - share with your girlfriend/wife).

1(5). Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question. (What do you want for dinner? "No." How was work today? "No." How's the project at work coming along? "Yes." People ask questions to get to know you - OPEN THE FUCK UP.)

1(6). Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for. (Holy shit, here's an idea - LISTEN. She came to you because she wants to share it with you, not be solved. She's smart enough to solve it on her own - she want sympathy and understanding from her man. Jesus...be there for her.)

1(7). A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor. (Maybe if you weren't so selfish in bed to begin with she wouldn't develop a psychosomatic problem in the first place. She can orgasm, too, dickhead.)

1(8). Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days. (Really? Is that because you're too stupid and careless to remember what you do or because you just don't care about her beyond sex? DIAF, prick)

1(9). If you won't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap opera guys. (Be a bad actor? She just wants to feel connected to you - like you're her friend and her lover. Open up to her and maybe your sex life will expand. Or you could stop being a stoic John Wayne wannabe and FUCKING TALK TO YOUR GIRLFRIEND)

1(10). If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us. (She knows her body. The question is 'Do you think I'm pretty?' or something similar. When you blow it off you're ignoring a subtle question she wants an answer to and ignoring something that matters a great deal to her. Insensitive jerk.)

1(11). If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one. (If you said something stupid and upset her, genuinely and honestly apologize for it. Take responsibility for what you said and when you say 'I won't do it again." PUT FORTH REAL EFFORT TO DO JUST THAT, asshat.)

1(12). You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself. (Because you've never asked a coworker/friend/brother/random guy to do something for you and then told him all the ways he fucked it up? Shut up and take her advice. You're not perfect.)

1(13). Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials. (God forbid she interrupt a show you can catch at a later time or a game you can read about later with human conversation. Be involved with her, dumbass. She loves you and is trying to show it - do the same)

1(14). Christopher Columbus did not need directions, and neither do we. (And he got fucking lost and killed off an indigenous people. Get some directions or a map and shut up.)

1(15). ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach,for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is. (Though many men are colorblind to a degree we can still see in the vast spectrum of light the world has. Learn the names or admit you don't - don't trivialize her enjoyments because you're a primitive monkey turd. Mauve is a pale lilac-lavender color. Now you know.)

1(16). If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that. (If it hurts, people cry. HUMANS DO THAT. And no one wants to see you scratching your whale eye. Go to the bathroom. Jesus.)

1(17). If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle. (And you deserve to be single. CARE ABOUT HER. Try and find out what's wrong. If she doesn't want to tell you, JUST BE THERE WITH HER. Sit in silence, hold each other's hand and wait. When she's ready she'll tell you. Trust me.)

1(18). If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear. (Because you've never asked a question you didn't really want an answer to? Bad news isn't easy to take, thus the "bad" part of it. Maybe you could stop fucking up and she won't have to ask if you picked her mother up at the airport today.)

1(19). Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or monster trucks. (She takes an interest in what you like, you do the same. Besides, life is more than baseball, football, which is strangely homoerotic, and monster trucks. Take a walk, read a book, watch something GOOD on TV. Jesus, anything but baseball or cars.)

1(20). You have enough clothes. (And you have enough cars/computer shit/paintball crap/porn/loser friends/bar buddies -whatever. That sort of thing works both ways. Unless her spending is ruining your COLLECTIVE bank account, shut your mouth.)

1(21). You have too many shoes. (No, she honestly doesn't. Women's shoes work differently than men's shoes. I swear - they just do. Accept this and be happy when she finds a pair - it's a lot harder for girls to buy shoes than you think.)

1(22). I am in shape. ROUND is a shape. (You're fat. Emulate those sports you like so much and run a mile every few days, piggy. Maybe the headache she has will disappear)

1(23). Thank you for reading this; Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight, but did you know men really don't mind that, it's like camping. (Hmm, sleep on a small lumpy couch alone or sleep in a comfortable bed with the woman I love. Yes, I think I'll be a dipshit and sleep on the couch. Wait, no. Bed for me, please.)

But I got an A+ on the Teen Charm Quiz

You Are Batman

Billionaire playboy by day. Saving the world by night. And you're not even a true superhero. Just someone with a lot of expensive toys!

What Superhero Are You?

You Are Rogue

You're reluctantly special. In fact, you long to be normal. You consider your powers to be a curse, and something you can't control. Powers: absorbing other people's memories and abilities, weakening and killing people with your touch

Which of the X-Men Are You?

Your 80s Theme Song Is:

Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2

What's Your 80s Theme Song?

Your Movie Buff Quotient: 82%

You are a movie buff of the most obsessive variety. If a movie exists, chances are that you've seen it. You're an expert on movie facts and trivia. It's hard to stump you with a question about film.

Are You a Movie Buff?

Your Famous Last Words Will Be:

"I dunno, press the button and find out."

What Will Your Famous Last Words Be?

Took the water from the toilet

Mungo has discovered the source of eternal water, the toilet bowl.

Lord, help me. It's probably one of the most disgusting habits a dog can have. My German shepherd, Muddy, that I grew up with had the same habit. It was intense. Your wondering how a dog can have an intense habit towards a toilet. At one long point in pet history with Muddy, he would only drink water from the toilet.

It's a foul habit. Anyone that owns a dog can testify to this. I don't care that my dog licks my face. It's cute until you realize he's drinking where you do your morning business (or your afternoon/evening business... different strokes for different folks). We all know the damage that's done in the porcelain god and no one wants another look at it on their face.

As my dog mauls yet another stuffed animal into trashcan oblivion, spreading its fluffy white innards across the carpet, I realize that he doesn't give a damn. He's completely copacetic with drinking poo residue and wiping it on my face. In fact he's probably confused when I push him off me because all he wants is to make me happy... and food. Well, mostly food. I know the "making me happy" thing is at least number two on the list of things dogs want. Although I'm sure making me happy takes a quick third if there is something rank to roll in. Never mind, dogs are selfish.

Anyway, it's not that I like poo-face in the morning (lets keep that rumor from circulating), but it is the endearing part of a dog, their [semi]constant need to make you happy.

The toilet bowls in the house are now firmly shut. I hope his next step is not learning how to open them. I promise he has enough water. He just loves it. Maybe I shouldn't let him play in the bathtub. He might be obsessed with it, but that's a completely different matter.

fingers crossed behind your back

I've been doing some thinking. Not a lot, mind you, but some.

I don't think I'll ever get married. I don't mean that in a "I'll never find the right man" kind of way, but more like "I just don't see myself being married". I don't. I don't mind hanging out with guys, but when it comes to actually having someone in my life like that, I cringe.

Maybe I'm too much of a loner. I need a loner boyfriend/husband.

Maybe I'm too cynical of love.

I need an arranged marriage, a marriage of convenience. I would do very well in that situation. I need to marry for a reason, not an emotion. I need to have children or a combined bank account, not love. What's it for? What is it? If its caring for one person, then I have it in spades. I care for my family. I want them to be safe. What more is love than that?

I sure as hell don't know, but is it important? Do we need it? As babies we need to be held and touched, but is love a touch? A caress? Would a child sense love in an embrace? Would a child whither and die because he or she didn't feel love behind that pat on the head?

Does love matter? It is a word. A word that people use for many different emotions or feelings:
Compassion
Empathy
Caring
Kindness

Are these love's true meanings? We can see love through these words/actions.

Is love a façade?

Every morning I wake up...

I could say that I never wake up on time, but that would be dealing with an absolute and who can ever be so sure of oneself?

I can say that I planned to be up very early this morning (3:30 AM) for work, but it didn't happen that way. Most of my shifts are opening shifts. These start at 5am. It's not too bad as long as I get 7 - 8 hours of sleep the night before. Last night I didn't get that. No matter how hard I tried to will myself, it didn't work. I had such detailed dreams that when my alarm went off I didn't hear it. I slept right through it. I think it's mostly because my alarm sounds so similar to the music I sleep to. It can be anything, but mostly its Classical or Celtic types stuff.

Ugh.

It's awkward what can happen in the woods with your pants down.

I work at Starbucks. I love it. Its fast paced and it keeps me busy. It's exactly what I want from a job. I always felt a little intimidated about working at Starbucks before because of learning how to make the drinks. I don't know why it did, but I guess I thought it was so complicated. It's not.

Cold Bar (the frappuccinos) is very easy. The drinks there are either coffee, creme, or a juice base. Then, according to cup size, you have your add-ins (syrup, powder, or chocolate chips). The espresso bar was just as daunting, but again more of the same. All the drinks need espresso (hopefully that's not too hard to figure out) and according to cup size or if its on ice you figure out all the add ins. The most important part of the espresso bar is keeping up with the amount of steamed milk. Milk is your number one concern. If you don't have it ready and your shot of espresso sits there, the shot goes bad. It separates and becomes extremely bitter. All you ever wanted to know about Starbucks at your fingertips or eye level. Whatever.
-------------------------
School's almost out! Then I can spend all my work time between babysitting and Starbucks. My goal is to start saving money. I have Mungo and its a good idea to have money saved for him, just in case, and because he's getting neutered very soon. Yes, turned 6 months back on April 13. I can't believe it. He's very big now, but as lovable as ever.

Summer is almost here. Do you know what that means? I can read what I want! Anything. I already have a stack going (Jane Austen, Douglas Adams, Armistead Maupin, Emily Bronte, and Edward Rutherfurd to name a few) not to mention some of the books I've already finished (the end of the years slows down the normal workload).
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I don't know if anyone out there knows this, but I love scary stuff. The zombie genre (sub genre of horror?) is the one that really creeps me out. I think it could happen. Laugh all you want, but if Mel feels the same way about vampires then I can about zombies.

Zombies = Scary. We have an understanding. Well I love zombie movies. That's where they came to life if you think about it (George Romero, duh.) and that's how I was introduced. If a zombie movie is out there I will watch it. Even some of the cheesy flicks from the 70's and 80's. I'm not ashamed. The intentionally funny and new generation zombie (think 28 Days Later and Shaun of the Dead) flicks are amazing.

There has been one drawback to the abundance of zombie horror. I'm desensitized. The opening trailer to Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead scared the hell out of me. That little neighbor girl jumping up like a ninja, at the beginning of the trailer and film, made me jump out of my seat. Now I watch most of my zombie movies for the "good parts" then I turn them off. There has been a reprieve.

I like to read. It never occurred to me to find zombie fiction, until now. This is a new frontier in my congenital need to scare the bejeezus out of myself. I'm excited. It all started when Sam found a book that was perfect for me: The Zombie Survival Guide. It was in the humor section of BAM and it takes a detailed look at surviving zombie attacks on several scales (local, state, worldwide, etc.). That was awhile ago, and it never occurred to me to look for a more fiction based novel.

Then I hear about World War Z (also by Max Brooks) and put it on the back burner until I'm looking to buy a book while at Borders. I wasn't sure of it at first because the style of the book was a little different. It tells the story of a global infection of the undead ten years after worldwide "peace" (all except Iceland) is declared. A journalist compiles narrations leading up to, during, and towards the end of the crisis. I wasn't sure if that was a good idea, but I read a bit in the store, and decided to give it a try. I wasn't disappointed. The book is very organized and centers around a specific group of people (maybe 10-15 separate accounts). It was a great read. It scared me, not all the way through, but certain narrations were were definitely bone chilling.

I also found David Wellington's Monster Nation (sequel/prequel to Monster Island). I grabbed it because:

1. It had zombies, and
   
2. Even though it was a sequel I could read it by itself.

I should have read more about the first book. The first book deals with survivors of a global scale zombie infestation coming to New York and finding that the zombies are controlled by two supernatural zombies. Psychic Zombies. I can't buy that. I like realistic zombie stuff. I know some will question that statement because "zombies aren't real" (fine, but when they walk the earth and bite your ass don't complain when my blunt instrument smashes your head open). To me, supernatural psychic/magic is just too far.

Now, the beginning of Nation simply opened with a zombie being cognizant. She knew that she was dead, but had no recollection of her previous life. That was cool! You know, "the undead perspective". Then it meandered toward that supernatural stuff and it didn't lose me, but it definitely didn't thrill me. Also, the guy has a thing for the word gobbet. I don't know why. At first I wasn't sure if it was a word or not, but then he used it so often that I yearned for "chunk" or "lump".

(I think it's awesome that some writers carry a thesaurus around in their hip pockets, but just because they know different, possibly exciting new words-of-the-day, doesn't mean they need to use them in excess.)

I didn't like it, but that did not deter me from finding more zombie books. I found this pretty comprehensive Zombie Book List that's been very enjoyable.

I found my new high, so to speak.

Just one more deep breath...

I haven't been this sick since my 16th birthday. I was so sick when I turned 16 that I didn't have a birthday party or blow out any candles and sing "Happy Birthday" with my family.

My little bro Blake decided that since a perfectly good cake was sitting there he'd just go and slice right into it. My step Mom failed to see the problem with this.

Now, that horrible, emotional turmoil combined with how I felt then does not compare to what I feel right now. I'm pretty sure I have the flu, and I've tried to stay away from others and wash my hands every chance I get. I don't wish this on anyone. I'm achy and I have a fever with chills... not to mention the worst dry hacking cough. It feels as though I'm going to shred my throat and all of the other important parts in my neck. It sucks.

It started with no warning on Thursday evening and I'm still feeling it. Sam convinced me to go and get some new medicine since the kind I was taking wasn't effective. It's the Theraflu that is made like hot tea.

I love hot tea.

This stuff looked promising because it is like tea, and has an apple-cinnamon flavor. This stuff works, but I'm glad I can't taste anything because even in my taste deprived state I can tell this medicine tastes horrible.

I'm glad for it though!

I apologize for the whining. My family tends to whine when we are ill.

In other news... I'm done. I want a hot bath (it helps a lot with the chills and fever) before sleepy time.

There is one good thing about being sick. I get all the rest I want. I have to if I want to get better!

It's What I Do

I wrote this long piece about hating what Valentine's Day stands for, and I was completely annoyed with myself (there's a big surprise). Rock on whoever has someone special to spend it with, and all us single peeps should have one big love fest of our own. Seriously, we could plan a huge get together and make all the coupled people cry for want of a better Valentine's Day.

If we believe it, then we can achieve it.

Anyway, I may have a job. Well, I know I do because I haven't committed any crimes or picked up a nasty coke habit (well I have, but not the powdery kind). I'm going to be a housekeeper at a hotel in the downtown area (we'll call it the Inn for all you clueless people). The interview consisted of the housekeeping manager telling me what she expected (I knew because I've been a housekeeper in a hospital, and they like it clean) and the shift hours. No joke. She didn't ask a single thing about me or my previous jobs or experience.

I like to think I am the cream of the crop when it comes to employment, but the managers at Wal-Mart made me sweat more about their interview than Ms. Manager at the Inn. Funny, huh. I'm not complaining. I want a job where I don't have to think. That's all. I want to come in, clean, and leave when I'm done. Plus, I like to clean. I don't do it all to often at my place, but I do like it. When I get on a roll, watch out, I'll likely clean and organize everything and then you won't be able to find your belongings. :) It's what I do.

I also got another call from Pizza Hut, but I told her I decided against it since I found another job that wouldn't run my already used car into the ground.

Another Internal Noise... please stop hurting children

Last Friday, Sam and I saw Hannibal Rising. I honestly didn't want to go, but she dragged me to it anyway. I've never seen any of the "Hannibal" movies: Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon, or whatever the third one is. I'm not into the whole:

"I'm going to eat you now, [insert witty comment about eating you now]," says Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.

Yea, definitely not into the cannibalism and wit gag.

Basically I'm not into the cannibalism. I like witty remarks, just not the eating of people.

(I'm going for the world record of how many cannibalistic references I can make in a post.)

In the movie, young Hannibal witnesses his younger, extremely cute sister eaten by some hunger crazed Eastern European looters. Now, I realize that cannibalism was "popular" on the Eastern Front of World War II, but it doesn't sit well with me when:
1) The little sister's name is Micha. A family nick name that I have known since I was that little girl's age,

and 2) I didn't feel too hot when I realized what was going to happen to little Micha. Imagine my horror when I realized she looked almost identical to the sweet baby girl I've babysat for since she was born and is now about Micha's age.

Now, not only is the act terrible, but I see the little cutie pie up there. It made me so queasy I almost left. Ugh.

I'm reading a lot of young adult books in my Adolescent Literature class. One of them is about some young guys in Vietnam. I'm sure everyone is aware of the events during that war/massacre, whatever you want to call it. The guys in this particular squad are on one of the "peace" missions in a local village. One of the guys wants to make a doll for some kids that have strolled into the village with their "mother". As our guy walks over to hand the doll to the kids, the woman picks up one of the kids and puts him into another soldier's arms.

The kid and the soldier explode into tiny pieces. They kill the woman and the other child blows up. Our soldier guy drops the doll and walks away.

I read this not a day after Hannibal Rising. Then another baby dies in another book I'm reading for the same class.

I definitely do not like this string of events. I would like whatever cosmic joker, who is pulling this off, to stop. No more dead babies please. It's depressing and horrible.

Give a girl a break.

Talk Nerdy to Me

I am currently taking a grammar class at school. I'm an English major and I know basic rules of grammar, but I want to know the little, minute details because someday I might be a teacher.

Soon after discussion of Nominal pronouns started, we all were cracking jokes about other ways to speak English properly, but are not in common use. "It is I" sounds like something right out of a King Arthur flick, but it is spoken correctly even though it sounds archaic. Basically the class got down and nerdy. It was a lot like when I tried to explain double negatives to Sam on the way to Chili's. She said she understood the idea for math purposes, but she didn't get how it worked for words. I tried to explain it to her from a logical point of view, but I confused myself in the process: fun to do, but always too easy.

I have to do teacher observations for my Foundations of Education class. I still haven't gotten the teacher. I only have to observe for 10 hours, but I want to get started right away. Hopefully I'll get my teacher on Wednesday so I can complete my hours very soon!

Alright, nothing else to blather on about.

.Gag.

Friday was amazing. Here are some pictures of Mungo playing in the snow. We had a blast!

Mel, Sam, and I had a great time too. We went to Chili's for Sam's dinner and my dessert. The girls tried a margarita each, and I had a glass of milk with my dessert. It would have been a funny picture, but Sam and I forgot to bring our cameras and Mel thought she wouldn't have to because Sam and I had ours. The waitress was nice and had fun with us. Toward the end of our dining experience Mel took her orange slice from her drink and held it over the rest of my milk. Sam wasn't looking Mel's way and Mel couldn't put the orange slice in without someone sharing in the hilarity of her concoction. When I looked away Mel made eye contact with the waitress and the waitress gave her a slight nod. I was seconds away from taking a big gulp when I noticed the orange bobbing in the milk. Everyone laughed at my expense (bastards).

After Chili's we drank beer and played Uno and Phase 10 at my parents' place. It was a bunch of fun. We finally took a few pictures to immortalize the evening and headed off to bed at a absurdly early hour. The one thing I will take from Friday evening: I can not stand beer unless I am already buzzed from alcohol.

I really can't. I guess it numbs my taste buds enough to bypass the gag reflex. Ugh, I really dislike beer, especially Guinness.

New Year, New Heartaches

I rang in the New Year while babysitting. It was my choice and I was more than happy that I did. I was paid very well, and I got to play the Wii after the kids went to bed. It was definitely a fun night. Aaron and I talked to each other as New Years hit, so it was a great situation even though I didn't go with Mel to party down in the country with friends or see Aaron.

Aaron and I broke up. It happened the day before his mom went into surgery. First of all, I wasn't sure how it happened. We got to talking about why he never got mad at me and it snowballed from there. In the end, I wasn't on the same page as he was in the relationship. I couldn't recognize that and still date him in the end. He may think I'm a cold person, and maybe I am, but like I said, he will be better off without me as a girlfriend. He's learned from the relationship, like I have, and that has made him an even better person. He doesn't need me around, with my all of my problems, to see it everyday.

In lighter news, the snow I've been waiting for this year has finally come! I was angry at the weather people for giving my area a weather advisory and then nothing happened. I thought that "The Weather Channel Desktop" didn't really know where I lived because there was absolutely no snow when I woke up yesterday, Thursday, for those of you who can't figure that out.

Today is very different. There's at least 3 inches covering the ground and Mungo wants to go outside every few minutes. I woke up early (5:30 am) to feed him so he could play in the clean snow, but I've created a monster. I have to go let the monster out now.

I hope my plans for going home this weekend aren't ruined. Hopefully the snow will melt enough for Mel and I to make it from our respective schools and still meet Sam back home. They both turned 21 this week, Mel on January 29th and Sam on February 1st, and I told them I would be the designated driver (DRINK RESPONSIBLY).

Alright, now I have to let the beast out.

Meeting New People, Playing New Games

Tonight Lyn and Aaron came into town to visit their friend, Clint, who lives down the road from me. They went to the same summer camp together for almost 15 years. At camp, Aaron developed the nickname, Pickle and Lyn, Relish. Clint did not know their real names until four years ago. That is amazing. I wish that I had the chance to grow up with friends like that. If I ever have children I want to provide that for them.

As a child that moved from place to place most of my life, I know what it is like to be the new kid in school and in the neighborhood. It's never fun. I ran the risk of being an outsider, the weird kid, or, if I was lucky, accepted into a group. More often than not I was the outsider because I was quiet. I listened when others spoke. I took it all in, but was never actually included. I spent the most time in one school halfway through my freshman year until the end of my junior year. I was quiet, but I had enough time to grow on others and be included as the "nice quiet girl". Then we moved again and I faced torture again at the worst possible time: my senior year.

Again, it's not that people were mean to me, I wasn't the weird kid, despite what some of you may think. I was quiet and the other seniors didn't get it. I had a group that I hung out with, but I wasn't exactly into the same stuff they were, so It was awkward. I'm glad that I moved to Tennessee. I do wonder what life would have been like back in Texas. I had plans like most Seniors do. Get my paramedic license and work through college at Dallas Baptist University, and become a nurse. Who knows where I would have been?

If you have a tight group, though, it offers so many opportunities. You are confident because your friends know you and your quirks and most importantly, you belong. If anyone is true to themselves, then you can all vouch for that. Belonging, whether to a circle of friends or a team, somewhere outside of your family makes you feel OK with everything else life throws at you.

Now to the fun part of the evening. After we ate at Ruby Tuesdays (Well, Clint and I did. Aaron and Lyn had dessert and appetizers.) we went bowling. It was a lot of fun. I haven't bowled since Hollywood Video Guy took me out. Both games I scored a 69. No joke. How funny is that?

After bowling we went back to Clint's place and played two card games: golf and Texas Hold 'Em. Golf is like its namesake, you want the lowest score at the end. It's hard to explain, but if you know me you should ask me to play once. It is fun.

Texas Hold 'Em was even better. I have never played poker in my life. I've tried a few times, but I was either drunk or the group was playing a difficult version of poker and I didn't understand the explanation. Playing with Aaron, Lyn, and Clint was great because Aaron knows what he's talking about and was patient in explaining, even when I stopped game play to ask questions. I won! Technically, Clint and Lyn still had some chips left, but we stopped playing because it was late and I had the most chips! It was a good last hand. I beat Aaron! Again, people were playing nice so it's not like it was a real game. I want to play more!

Tomorrow I promise to update about some funny stuff that happened after the New Year.

Peace.

Christmas goings.

This holiday season has been a blast. There have been some mishaps with the shower curtain and Bowie, but all in all, I've loved every minute of it.Christmas was filled with family (Aaron's and mine) and lots of FUN!Two days before Christmas Sam, Mel, and I exchanged gifts. Sam got Mel and me some pretty cool stuff from Papyrus. Mel got Sam a pretty candle and my gift to Sam was the best. I can say this without a doubt because I know Sam and she loves me. She has to... I know where she sleeps.

I got her Cranium. We played a bastard version of the game, and it worked out well. At one point Mel was asked who played Dr. Spock on the original Star Trek TV Show. She struggled with the answer because she knew what he looked like, but couldn't remember his name. She sang this weird, random song "It's life Jim/But not as we know/not as we know it/It's life Jim/But not as we know it/not as we know it" with her index fingers on the side of her head like horns while bobbing her head back and forth.I haven't laughed that hard in so long! I laughed so hard I cried and could hardly breathe. It was a case of the gigglies. That was the beginning of the end for me. We were playing so intensely that I got a major headache and stopped playing.

I'm not normally like that, if ever, but my head hurt really bad. I went in a dark room to calm down while Max, Sam's little brother, finished out the game with Sam and Mel. He cheated. In Cranium, you get the card to look at as long as its not a spelling question. When Max got his cards to look at he held them up in the light to read the answer on the back.

All three of them are dirty cheaters anyway. I don't know why Mel and Sam complained. Playing cards with those two is horrible.

Christmas Day rolled around and opening the gifts was a lot of fun. We all got money this year, so Connie and Dad got us all some really cool stocking stuffers to open Christmas day. I went to Papa's house, Aaron's granddad, and spent time with his extended family and his mom, dad, and sis. It was a lot of fun and there was a lot of food. It turns out that Aaron's cousins, they're all older, know the lady I babysit for. She was their counselor at church camp, and her grandmother lived around the corner from papa. Small world, huh? Aaron's mom, Freda, gave me a great present. She's helping me with knitting! She got me some yarn and told me to pick a pattern and she would help me through it! I picked up knitting awhile ago, but got stuck when I finished my first blanket square. I don't know how to connect them or tie off the last line. I'm looking forward to her knowledge and expertise. I've seen pictures of this amazing blanket she made Aaron for Christmas. I can't wait to be able to do that kind of work.

After Christmas lunch Aaron and I went back to my house to hang out with my family until dinner. We played Boxers or Briefs (I bought this game for Shannon's Christmas gift), which was a lot of fun. Aaron did really well considering it was a game trying to guess true or funny things about an individual, and it was the first time he met my family. Grrr. Sometimes I get too competitive, but how is life fun without a little competition?

After dinner Aaron and I watched My Super Ex-Girlfriend with Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson. It was OK, but I am glad I didn't pay to see it in a theater. It wasn't worth $8. Aaron went home after the movie, and I thought I was going to bed after, but Mel and Shannon had other ideas and we went out to a movie. Mel and I saw Blood Diamond and Shan and her friends saw The Holiday. Both movies were very good. BD was very good. Everyone should see it. Leonardo DiCaprio has come a long way from Titanic.

That was Christmas. I didn't get Aaron a gift right away. I'm horrible at gifts. I really am. Last week we went to Hastings and I bought him a Pink Floyd music DVD that he's been looking for. He got me two things: Book One of The Walking Dead and he carved a pine tree from wood and painted it to look like it was covered in snow.

TWD is the continuing saga of Rick and his family and friends in a post apocalyptic world of zombies. Those of you who know me, know that I love Zombie movies. I love them. I would love them even more if they further examined life after the initial outbreak and this is exactly what TWD does. It focuses on the people and how they change to survive. It's also got some amazing artwork. It's so cool. He's really sweet.

(Side Note: Gentlemen, buying your girlfriend a zombie comic or any other type of comic that interests you may not always be the best idea. Aaron got lucky that I enjoy Zombies and Comics. Be warned.)

I'll post more about the New Year later. I'm bored with this.

Peace.