E-Dating; The Devil's Brew

I'm going to come right out and say I have never actually tried e-dating.  No Match.com or eHarmony.com or YouKnowThere'sSomeoneOutThereYouJustHaven'tLookedOnTHISSiteYet.com  Frankly my dear, they scare me.  Not in the Craiglist-they'll-rob-you kind of way, but in the people-lie-to-your-face-how-much-worse-can-they-be-over-the-INTERNET kind of way.

Oh sure, there's always the friend of a cousin that has found their one true love on an internet dating site, but that's the 0.5% that you hear about.  That ONE person you have heard of that it's actually worked for--the hope-fodder.  For the most part all I get told is it's either a bunch of first dates with nothin' to show for it or terrible, terrible matches.

My poor sister is one of those "guess who just WINKED at me?! Ewwww!" ones.  At least she's trying though, so kudos to her.  At this point though I'm not doing any worse off then her NOT using the dating sites then she is actually using them.  I've actually saved myself a lot of aggravation.  At least I will keep telling myself that until my sister gets married, then I'm getting a cat.

Small Town Shenanigans

I live in a relatively small town.  I say relatively because the population isn't under a thousand or out in the middle of Nowheresville, but you could walk from one end to the other in under two hours.  In fact, most people bike to get around.  That should tell you something.  Other then the fact it is a college town, there's not a lot happening from day to day.  Sure, there's the Farmer's Market twice a week and the occassional rummage sale at the Rotary Club...but besides campus events...eh. 

We DO however have two sets of emergency responders.  There is a police and fire department for just the college and another one for the town.  I feel a little bad for them.  The majority of police calls are to frat parties and citing cyclists running stop signs and not having bike lights (seriously, you can get a ticket for that!).  The majority of fire department calls are to the Chemistry building when someone has burned a bagel in the toaster (yes, that happened).  You know they're bored.

So that's why this morning I was not surprised when I passed two cop cars and two fire trucks on the side of the road (they travel in packs).  What were they there for?  A tree branch had fallen over the bike path...  Thanks for keeping is safe guys!

Black Belt Special Powers

Getting a black belt is an odd thing.  You spend years training; sweating, bleeding, pulling muscles, getting bruises and blisters, being disappointed in your technique, being slightly happier with your technique, being disappointed in your technique again, washing uniforms in special laundry loads, and buying ice packs, ibuprofen and sports tape by the truck load.  But no one is ever impressed with what leads up to a black belt.  They just hear you are a yellow belt, or a blue belt or red-black belt and say, "Oh, that's nice...when are you getting your black belt?"  

I understand that a lot of most people do not know anything about martial arts.  Most people, if asked, will know these things about martial arts: 1) Bruce Lee, 2) The Karate Kid movie, 3) Chuck Norris, 4) You break boards and 5) Black belts are the top of the pyramid.  And any time you mention that you do martial arts they automatically assume it is Karate because of #2 or Kung Fu because of #1.  Thanks, Daniel-son. 

All that being said, what do you mean, "When am I getting my black belt?"  It's not the belt that matters!  Ok, yes, the belt is sweet, it has certain bragging rights because there is a expectation of coolness that comes with it, it's a reminder of how hard you worked to get it, but the belt itself does not give you super powers.

On the day you first wear it you are not suddenly a better martial artist.  You can't spontaneously do the Van Damme splits, jumping spin heels like Chuck Norris or turn invisible like a Ninja.  It doesn't work like that (although it would super cool if it did!).  You are no better the day you get your black belt then the day before you got your black belt.

You know what getting a black belt means?  More training.  Why?  Because you are never going to be perfect.  Never.  No matter how many years you train, buckets of sweat you drip or black belt degrees you have.  You. Will. Never. Be. Perfect.  That doesn't mean you won't get better or that you shouldn't try.  It's the striving for perfection that pushes us.

Anyone who is training for the right reasons isn't training for a belt color.   You could just as easily show up for class in yoga pants and a tank top and the training is just as valid if your mind is in the right place. 

As my Hapkido Master says, "You will never be perfect...and that should be freeing!"
 

F-!!

Funny story from a friend.  My friend, let's call her "Marie," is a veterinarian.  I saw her today at lunch and asked her how it was going.  Her response?  "I wish I could separate the animals from the owners!" 

Why you ask?  Every animal that is sent home is sent with a "discharge report."  This is basically a list that tells the owners how the animal was tested, procedures done, if any meds were prescribed, etc.  This particular owner just MAILED BACK her discharge report with a big, fat F- (yes, it was in red) on the top of it and apparently some slander about how much she hated "Marie." 

Wow.  Thanks for the constructive criticism.  Now, I have been friends with this vet for closing in on 10 years and I am not underestimating when I say she is SUPER nice and VERY smart. 

I therefore hate this unknown lady and calling her mean names.

If she was that unhappy with her service she could have asked for another doctor.  Stupid.  People are stupid.  I run into this problem all the time.  *sad face*

Times They Are A-Changin'

Ack!  It's been...4 months since I have posted anything and they have changed the layout of Blogger.  Holy rusted metal, Batman!  Razzin-frazzin...

I seriously need to start taking notes on things to blog about.

Also, my sister has suggested switching blogging sites, but I can barely get through my current one.  She says she "gets more traffic" there...meh.  I don't really have any "traffic" now to speak of, so...

Anywho.

I could take suggestions.  I like suggestions.  But there's that whole "traffic" thing so who would be doing to suggesting?  Anybody?  Bueller?

Help a sister out.

Trixy Spiders

I am actually not really scared of insects in general.  Seeing a pincher bug crawling around in my bathtub (seriously, HOW do they get in there?!) doesn't send me screaming for cover, flies don't make me weep in fear, mosquitoes just annoy me, butterflies are prrrrrretty.

Spiders though...spiders freak me out a little.  If I see the little sucker in advance, ok, no problemo, grab that thing with tissue, squish it, flush it.  Hasta la vista baby.  The problem with spiders though is you almost never just spot them, they sneak up on you. 

You're minding your own business, trying to fall asleep in bed and wait...what's that?  There's something...crawling...up your arm.  You're getting in the shower and one darts past your hand down the shower curtain.  You're playing with your sister's nunchucks and one pops out of it's egg and leaps at you (that one's for you Amber).  I am pretty darn sure they do this on purpose to humans just to mess with us.

You ever notice that they are really hard to kill?  That's why I don't just squash, I flush 'em.  Because one time I squashed and just tossed it in the toilet without flushing and when I came back later that frakin' spider was ALIVE and making a valiant attempt to free itself from its watery grave.  THEY ARE NOT IMPRESSED WITH YOUR PUNY ATTEMPTS TO SQUASH THEM STUPID HUMANS.  They bounce back and then...oh then...they seek revenge. 

Spiders are part of what the Italians call La Famiglia.  Yes, there is a spider mafia.  Yes, they will send out reinforcements to attack you if they find out their Cousin Vinny has been hurt.  That's why you flush them as fast as you can before they can send out a distress signal.  Because God help you if the call goes out...and it's answered by the enforcers of the family.  You think that spider you killed in your bathroom was big?  Just wait.

Stupid Yappy Dogs

Oh, I know, they look all cute and innocent.  Until you hear their annoying high-pitched yapping.  At that decibel I don't think you can call it "barking."

My new neighbors whose living room windows face my parking spot have two of these little guys.  And EVERY morning they freak out when I'm walking to my car and try to get me through the windows.  What?  I'll throw down with you little midget dogs.  Bring the funk.  Bring the noise.  I'm not scared.   I will punt you to the Rose Bowl. 

Disclaimer: I wouldn't have a problem with them if they weren't so annoyingly loud.  I love dogs.  I don't have a problem with little dogs unless they are yappy.  Except chihuahuas, I just don't like them on principle.

Winning With a Sprained Finger

 

A couple of weeks ago I was swimming and went to grab the lip of the pool at the end of a lap and slipped off.  Yes, that's just how I roll.  In the process I tweaked my finger.  It would get better and then hurt, and then get better again.  I thought I was just re-spraining it.  

Yesterday it started looking all sad and swollen again and developed at nice lump on the left side of my knuckle.  My friend at work thought I had dislocated it and convinced me I needed to see the doctor.  Awesome in a can.

I get in to the doctor and at first she thinks it may be a dislocation because it looks like it has "torque" (never a word you want to hear in reference to your bones) and sent me down to X-ray.  She then reviews my X-rays and says it looks like I have a bad bone bruise (a lot of blood) and it may be cracked.  But the radiologist would review it too.

So I have to wear a splint for 2 weeks.  Fine, I've been splinted before.  Then they bring out this splint with prongs on it and proceed in using half a roll of tape to bind it.  By the time the nurse is done my finger looks like the back of a stegosaurus.  

Awkward.

I just got the radiologist review.  No fracture.  So it's just badly sprained and bruised (so I was right all along!).  But I still have to wear the splint for 2 weeks!!!!!!  Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh.

An Excess of Citrus

You ever buy or are given so much fruit you actually have a hard time eating it all before it goes bad?  What?!  Me too! 

It's one thing to get apples or peaches or...well, pretty much anything but citrus.  You can eat apples until they are coming out your ears and when they start going bad you can make pie.  You can eat peaches until you're sick and when they start to get mushy you can make cobbler.  What the frak are you supposed to do with lemons and oranges?  Yes, I know you can zest them, but really, how much zest does one person need?  You can juice them, but who wants to use oranges that have dried out for juicing? 

It's the excess of citrus principle, there will ALWAYS be more oranges then you can eat.  I don't care if you buy two at the grocery store, they will multiply when you aren't looking and all of a sudden you will be thinking the same thing as I am, "Crud...what am I supposed to do with them NOW?!"

Physical Therapists are Sadists

Since I am broken...all the time...I have been to the PT more than once.  For more than one body part.  Repeatedly.  It's a gift. 

Currently I am going to the PT for my hip.  I developed quite bad bursitis and--just to put the cherry on top--messed up my IT band.  Yeaaaaa...good times.

At my first appointment my PT was basically doing the maneuver in the picture above, rotation my leg around in the hip socket. Then, WITHOUT WARNING, he yanked it straight and popped my hip out to "release tension."  I yelled.  Really loudly.  Yes, it hurt like the dickens, but it also surprised me.  Warn a sister.  Ok?

Then on my last appointment I had another PT and she literally rolling-pined my IT band (owwww) and then found knots in my IT band and massaged them out with her full body weight with her elbow.  When I (may have) whimpered, she told me I was "lucky" because she "could have been meaner."  Uhhh...

I spent the rest of the day limping after that appointment when before going in I was doing fine.  Thanks guys.

The sad part?  I go again this week.  I guess if PTs are sadistic, I'm masochistic...

Freaking Technology

Ok, so, apparently iPhones can be hacked.  Through the freakin' iCloud...maybe I should have realized this possibility before, but I have been living in the land of "My iPhone is cooler then YOU" for a long time now.  It still is, but...

Hacking happened to me today.

First it sent a "hey sexy" text to my Mom.  Frankly, I thought that was funny, but it freaked me out a little because I had not sent that text and I didn't purse-text with autocorrect (you know that crap happens) because at 11:46am when the text was sent I was sitting in a dark room where there is NO service, at a microscope, reading slides. 

So I tell my friend at work, we have a good laugh about it...it's funny, but not harmful.  Good thing my Mom has a good sense of humor.  When I told her I didn't send that she was like, "yeah, right...hahahaha."  That goes to show what kind of humor we both have I guess.  LOL 

Then I got this awful feeling...what if that wasn't the only person "my phone" texted?  So I looked back through text history (because I didn't have any new text alerts) and lo and behold...one of my really good friends was also texted.  "I" requested a picture from her, and when she was like "why are you crazy? I'm seeing you in a week for dinner." the hacker responded "fine, cancel dinner then."  Well, there was stuff in between, but thankfully no profanity.  Then I get a Facebook message from her telling me that she thinks my phone was stolen because she is getting these weird texts with really poor grammar from "me" and she knows it can't be me.  Bless her little heart, she knew it wasn't me because of poor grammar.  You know someone knows you when...LOL

I have now turned off iMessages (which is texting between iPhones that apparently goes through the cloud, and I will be turning off iCloud syncing), so there.  Take that advanced iPhone mechanics.

I think the Cylons are trying to take over...

Ah, Back To Normal

I go to a small gym in my town, but the big plus is that it has a heated swimming pool.  That's actually why I ended up switching gyms, I wanted to swim in the Master's classes in the morning.  I thought it would be better for my poor broken body, what with the no-impact cardio and all.

So starting sometime last Fall I began dragging my butt up at 5am to go to the hour long class Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Let me emphasize I am NOT, repeat NOOOOOOOOT a morning person.  Never have been.  And I'm going to go ahead and say it, I never will be a morning person.  Don't try to convince me otherwise.  I don't believe in mornings for anything other than sleeping.

I drive the 7 minutes it takes to get to the gym at 5:30 in the morning, go into the small locker room to change out of my sweats (I wear my bathing suit underneath), put on my goggles and cap, wrap a towel around myself and then go brave the cold.  Because despite the fact the pool is heated, it is not indoors, so it is fraking cold outside.  Your best bet is to banzai into the water and start swimming as fast as you can to warm up.  I have found no other way.  Pansying around and dipping your toe in first is not the way to go, trust me.

When I am done with my swim I run into the locker room to change and head back home.  Starting on the first day and every single Tuesday/Thursday after that, I have opened the door to the locker room and have been confronted with a naked woman.  The same naked woman.  Right in front of the door.  Free bird.  I realize that it is a locker room and of course people change in there, there are even showers.  I just wasn't expecting blatant nudity just hanging out right at the entrance.  Like, the lady just chills in her birthday suit and greets people.  The first couple of times was a bit shocking, but then after that I just found it hilarious and it sorta became part of my routine.  Get up, go swimming, see a naked lady, go home and shower.  Morning accomplished.

It got to the point where she would greet me when I came in.  She now recognized me as a regular.  One time she even asked me to make sure the door was shut on a windy day...NOT because she was afraid it would blow open and give everyone a peep show, but because it was "creating a draft" (her words) for her unclothed self.

So then about 2 months ago I really messed up my hip and I wasn't able to swim until last week.  Tuesday and Thursday I go swim, no naked lady.  WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TO?  It threw off my routine.  I didn't know where I was, or what I was supposed to be doing anymore.  Then this morning--ah...back to normal--I opened up the locker room door and there was my naked lady to greet me.  The world has righted itself once again.

She has V.D.?!

But let me give some background here.

I work in a lab with a lady who is from Mexico and although her accent is very slight now (you're welcome for all the tutoring) this wasn't always so. 

Way back when I stared working here miscommunication was much more frequent (and much more fun!) either because of the accent or because of translation mishaps. Now, I am usually very good with understanding accents, but when you work in a loud lab (white-noise from equipment), you aren't paying close enough attention, or the other person is facing away from you...things happen.

After a particularly hilarious episode in which I was trying to explain "Chick-Lit" (ex. Bridget Jone's Diary) to her and she thought I was talking about the gum "chiclets" we have henceforth dubbed all funny misunderstandings by yelling "chiclet!" and giggling like school girls afterward. 

Then there was the time when she told me that her son (who at the time was about 6) was dressing up as a "ninja" for Halloween and I swear on all that is holy I thought she said "midget."  I was like...well...he's still small...so I guess that will work...but it's a little avant garde isn't it?  Is it a social commentary?  The poor kid, who is now approaching his teen years (almost) is still called "midget" to this day.

The latest misunderstanding didn't even involve us directly, but two different people in the labs.  But it was still awesome!!  Said Mexican lady was home sick with food poisoning issues.  Someone else asked where she was and the other lady in the lab told them (in a complete over-share) she had V & D (which would be vomiting and d---, you guessed it).  The response to this was, "SHE HAS V.D.?!" Which was then answered, "NO!  I said V AND D, not V.D.!!"  At which point we all turned on our hearing aides...  But, I gotta say...this made for a much funnier conversation.  Chiclet!!  *giggle*

The List

 

I am a list-maker.  It's what I do.  Typically, on any given day, my list looks something like this little guy's.  Sad but true.  Usually I have more than one list going at once and that is because I think of more things to do when I don't have the original list on me.  That's when the Post-It notes come into play.  Post-It notes are like manna from Heaven for me.  What?  I have a thing about office supplies.  

I just ordered my new Franklin Covey planner pages for the new year and I am inexplicably happy about it.  Why?  Because I can organize things with it!  I know, I know, it's all part of my OCD.  Hey, at least I am not a candidate for Hoarders...that show scares the crap out of me.  I watch it, and then I have to clean something.  So really...good motivation.

Tonight is the first night I will actually be home to accomplish things on my to do list.  I need to be productive tonight.  Plus, it will be a good night to be indoors considering it is supposed to be 100 degrees out today.  Happy Summer Solstice! 

Maybe, if I am really good, by the end of tonight my list will look like this...

Safety First

I just couldn't resist this little guy running for his life while his arm is on fire.  STOP. DROP. AND ROLL.  Dude, didn't you learn anything in kindergarten...or college?

So we had to have "safety training" for work last week.  Three hours of mind-numbing explanations like "if you smell smoke, pull the fire alarm."  Really?  You don't say.

The only way I could stay awake for the whole 3 hours was to 1) bring coffee and 2) pretend to take notes while really making snarky comments on the back of the agenda.  They are as follows:

Time into the meeting: 0 minutes

OMG!!  This is going to be 3 hours?!?  Kill. Me. Now.

Topic: Safety/Injury Prevention
-"Hi, my name is Bob and I am a safety engineer."
   -Me: Hi Bob.  What exactly is a safety engineer?  Do you have a degree in...something?

-About workman's comp; "Serious injuries are expensive."
   -Me:  That is, don't get your arm chopped off, it will cost us a bundle.  Thanks for caring.

-Recommendation for safety: "Stretch before going to work."
   -Me: What the hell?  What am I, a yoga instructor?  I work in a lab!

Time into the meeting: 45 minutes

Topic: Fire Safety
-No matter how big or small the fire, call the fire department to come out and check.
   -Me: They are bored.

-Don't wear loose clothing.
   -Me: Uh...you want us to wear skin-tight clothing?  That doesn't seem professional.

-Compressed gas cylinders are very large projectiles if damaged.
   -Me: Rocket maaaaaaaaaan...

-If you smell smoke, pull the fire alarm and call 911
   -Me: Unless it is BBQ day at work, in which case you will be told by the dispatcher to stop being a  
    nervous ninny and go get a hot dog

Time into the meeting: 1.25 hours
I think my butt is going numb...


Topic: Emergency Action Plan
-There are 3 types of evacuation;
   1) Horizontal (Me: sooo...you move down a hallway...hopefully out the door)
   2) Vertical (Me: WHAT?!  Why the hell would you go UP floors on a building when you want to get  
      out?!)
   3) Stay-in-place (Me: I'm sorry, how is this an evacuation?)  


-Our evacuation place is a grassy knoll outside the building  
   -Which is surrounded on all 4 sides by other buildings...excellent...fire death trap


Topic: Ergonomics
-Contact safety services and they will respond in 2 weeks or less
   -Me: What if it's been four MONTHS? (true story)

10 minutes break 
Upon returning they made us stretch, no joke


Topic: Bio-safety Officer
-What's safe for some isn't safe for all
   -Me: We are not all created equal...


-If you work with dangerous toxins, you are only allowed a small amount at once
   -Me: Creating havoc a little bit at a time.  Wait...is this like the 3 oz airplane rule?


-Wear appropriate safety gear
   -Me: Key word=appropriate.  Lab coat?  Yes.  Face shield?  No.  And I will laugh at you if you wear 
    one.

Time into the meeting: 2.25 hours

Holy frack, I need more coffee...

Topic: Hazard Communication and Laboratory Standard
-It is required you have a "responsible person"
   -Me: Not it!


-Wash your hands, you "could be contaminated and not know it!"
   -Me: Uh...speaking from a microbiological standpoint, you're always contaminated.  Just wash your 
    hands you nasty people.


Our motto: Think safe.  Act safe.  Be safe.


I hope this helped.

BBC's "The Big Read" Top 100 Books

 Well, I must say I have done much better in the book department then the movie department.  They are once again, almost all classics.  I have crossed out those I have read...43/100.  I find it funny that 1) Harry Potter 1-3 were listed, but not 4-7, there are a LOT of Terri Pratchett and Roald Dahl (as many as Charles Dickens) and absolutely no Shakespeare...huh.  Funny BBC.  There is some other classics list out there where I am in the high 80s or 90s/100...that made me feel better about myself.

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

And Ye Shall Know It's a Co-Op By The Smell of Patchouli



Don't get me wrong, I love a good Co-Op.  Who doesn't like the smell of patchouli and unwashed hippies?  I mean, come on!  It's like a Whole Earth Festival with a better cheese selection. 

Being from California, I always kinda assumed we had the mother-load of hippies along with all the hard-core Co-Ops.  I was wrong. 

I am visiting friends in Boise, Idaho right now and we went to the Boise Co-Op where it suddenly occurred to me that...now this is deep...a Co-Op is a Co-Op, no matter where you go. 

It's like Wal-Mart, go into anyone, anywhere and you will find hicks and dirt cheap stuff.  Go into a Co-Op anywhere and you will find hippies...and well, dirt.  And fruit like this:

This may look like a mutated artichoke on the outside, but it's a fruit from the Andes called a "cherimoya."  Where on earth would you ever find something like this besides at a Co-Op?  The Andes.  That's it. 

Co-Ops: making the world a more diverse place one weird fruit and tub of fertilizer worms at a time. 

101 Movies You Must See Before You Die (According to Roger Ebert)

Obviously most of these are older, "classic" films and while I have seen many classic films, apparently they weren't all the right ones...25/101.  Meh.  In all honesty, there were a couple I haven't even heard of...I guess I need to brush up on my "must sees." 


2001: A Space Odyssey
The 400 Blows
8 1/2
Agguire, the Wrath of God
Alien
All About Eve
Annie Hall
Bambi
Battleship Potempkin
The Best Years of our Lives
The Big Red One
The Bicycle Thief
The Big Sleep
Bladerunner
Blowup
Blue Velvet
Bonnie and Clyde
Breathless
Bringing Up Baby
Carrie
Casablanca
Un Chien Andalou
Children of Paradise
Chinatown
Citizen Kane
A Clockwork Orange
The Crying Game
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Dirty Harry
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoesie
Do the Right Thing
La Dolce Vita
Double Endemnity
Dr. Stangelove
Duck Soup
E.T.
Easy Rider
The Empire Strikes Back
The Exorcist
Fargo
Fight Club
Frankenstein
The General
The Godfather
The Godfather part II
Gone With the Wind
GoodFellas
The Graduate
Halloween
A Hard Day's Night
Intolerence
It's a Gift
It's a Wonderful Life
Jaws
The Lady Eve
Lawrence Of Arabia
"M"
The Road Warrior: Mad Max 2
The Maltese Falcon
The Manchurian Candidate
Metropolis
Modern Times
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Nashville
Night of the Hunter
Night of the Living Dead
North By Northwest
Nosferatu
One the Waterfront
Once Upon a Time in the West
Out of the Past
Persona
Pink Flamingos
Psycho
Pulp Fiction
Rashomon
Rear Window
Rebel Without A Cause
Red River
Repulsion
Rules of the Game
Scarface
The Scarlet Empress
Schindler's List
The Searchers
The Seven Samuri
Singin' In the Rain
Some Like It Hot
A Star Is Born
A Streetcar Named Desire
Sunset Boulevard
Taxi Driver
The Third Man
Tokyo Story
Touch of Evil
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Trouble In Paradise
Vertigo
West Side Story
The Wild Bunch
The Wizard Of Oz

I Think Therefore I Geek

So, for reals peoples, if you are a nerd/geek/fangirl/whatever and you have never heard of ThinkGeek you need to go there NOW.  Or like, yesterday.













It has amazing cool stuff that you need. Not just things that you would want, things that you need.

I, for instance, just bought samurai sword chopsticks.  But, wait...not only samurai swords, but also light saber chopsticks!  Ohmygaaaaaaaaaaaah!  

You know you're jealous.  The amazing thing is you can get these too!  I will share my find!  What can I say?  I'm a giver.

P.S. I also got free zombie blood in my shipment.  Convinced now?

P.P.S. No, I do not work for them or get any compensation for plugging them...but I would like to! ;)

Blogs I Follow

Out of sheer curiosity today I was looking at the blogs that I follow on this thing.  There are currently 21, 10 of which are book blogs, one is my sister, a couple are friends, a couple are random people I have found via other blogs and the rest are geeky science stuff.  I am not sure if 21 is a lot to follow or not enough, or if it really even matters.  There are also some blogs I follow (more book stuff; authors I like) that are not on Blogger, but have their own websites (this is why I like Good Reads because it allows me to stalk...uh...admire...more authors).

I always say "I should blog more" but then I...well...forget...so there are huge gaps that I feel bad about.  Not that I would be disappointing many people, it's not like I have a cult following like The Sassy Curmudgeon, whom I love by the way...can we be friends?  :)  I guess I should just start small and try to actually remember to blog...I think every day might be a little much right now, but at least once a week?  That's a compromise, right?  Other people seem to be so much better at it then I am though!  Anywho, enough about my inadequacies.  They are a-plenty.

Are there any blogs out there I should be reading that I am not?  Thoughts?