Subtitles...

And yes, I survived the holiday. (Which, if you know me, just really isn't my thing. At all.)

But on to the important stuff. Like my obsession with subtitles. I love subtitles. A lot.

As in, I get sad when I watch a movie that doesn't have a subtitle option. Unfortunately, I can only read English, so having other languages as subtitles, while helpful to other people, just doesn't cut it for me. I even like when shows have subtitles. I have a theory (one of my many) on why I love subtitles so much. I believe it's because I love to read, so much, that even when I am watching a show or movie, I would prefer to read the dialogue, over watching. Plus, I think it adds to the overall affect of movies. For instance, if I didn't understand what someone said, I would almost always be able to catch it with subtitles. Without rewinding, or whatever we call it nowadays.

Basically, subtitles are fun. Can you dig it?

"I guess it takes awhile...

for someone to really disappear..." This is a lyric from a song, Goodbye, by Patty Griffin. I am, of course, listening to this song because I am sad. And sadness always wants more sadness. At least for awhile. Tonight, my heart hurts. Partially because I feel betrayed. Maybe just by life and circumstance. Mostly because when my heart hurts, I want to turn to one person that is not here anymore. I miss her. After almost 4 years, I still miss her. Especially when I need her, like tonight when the tears won't stop falling and all I want is to call Gram and tell her the whole story. And hear her advice. And stop the tears.

I miss her.

I am blessed by so many friends and close family who have loved and supported me in the almost 4 years that she has been gone. But it does not make me miss her any less. I still do. And the tears still have not stopped.

Study Break!

Tonight is an off night. No more studying. No more paper-writing. No more headaches, backaches and break downs...why did I decide to go back to college again?? Just kidding.

It hasn't been that bad. But I do need a break. So this evening I reserve the right to do nothing. I'll throw in some movie watching and a bath for good measure.

1 in 3 of my finals are done, and the next two are next Monday and Tuesday. I'll study this weekend. Let's hope that by Tuesday at 5pm I haven't pulled all my hair out/had a mental break down/threw tantrums because I'm super whiny.

That Sister-Thing

Until recently, as in the last 4 years or so, I had two sisters (half, but who cares?). And then I found out I also had a half-brother that I did not know about and have never met. And then my mom got remarried and Bam! Instant-Brady-Bunch-here-are-four-more-kids-to-add-to-the-craziness. And then, my dad decided to have another baby, so I now have another half-brother that is 23 years younger than I am. And out of all this mess, I love all of these kids. (This has also deterred me from having any of my own, big surprise) 

But, I can say that there is something about sisters......If you have sisters, you might know what I am talking about. Maybe it is that really, I was raised with sisters, and all of the others came when I was basically grown. Or maybe it's That Sister-Thing. Perfectly illustrated by this here picture. (It's an old one)

I would do anything for this one. She's a keeper. 

Am I Just Old-Fashioned??

So I might just be old-fashioned, but I am ALARMED at the new trend of people making their babies a Facebook page. I am definitely not trying to offend anyone, and no, I do not have any children. But a Facebook page for a 2 year old??? Really? It is one thing to post a ton of pictures and funny things babies do, I get it. It's easier for grandparents/aunts/uncles/friends to keep up-to-date with all the Baby Pat rolled over/took his first step/smiled moments. But do these babies really need their own Facebook page?? I can say that out of my 8 brothers and sisters (all 18 or under), the only ones that have Facebook are the ones that are in high school. Which is acceptable, in my opinion. I'm personally not okay with my 10 year old sister having her own profile, but if my mother let it happen, I could respect it. Now, I almost researched this here topic, but decided against overwhelming the masses with my plethora of statistics...but I'll leave you with one. 5% of all babies and toddlers have their own social networking account. (I got this little statistic from this here article...enjoy!)

http://www.sync-blog.com/sync/2010/10/when-is-it-too-early-for-kids-to-have-a-social-network-account.html

5% folks. That's a lot of babies and toddlers.

Oh Julius...

Here it comes. The gist on Julius. My adorable, awful, loving, and destructive kitten. Well, he's not really a kitten anymore, but I can still dream, right? He was born in April and I got him in May. He was only 4.5 weeks old when a lady I worked with sent out a mass email saying she had kittens that needed to go to good homes. How could I turn that down? So, the next thing I knew I had a new baby kitten who was soooooo cute. He still is. He's just not a baby anymore.

Right now, I call this phase the terrible two's. Because I'm pretty sure he's going through the equivalent of that. Pretty much every day he destroys/attempts to destroy something else. Yes, I have tried a spray bottle. It works marginally well. 

This list of Julius' Daily Destructions:

1. Sponges. He likes to get them and put them in weird places. Like my bed. 

2. Straws. He steals them from my drinks and chews them up. 

3. Yarn. He steals this too. Usually he hides a skein under my bed. 

4. Water. He is obsessed with watching water move. As in, knocking things over that have water or liquid in it so he can watch it spill. His favorite: the water dispenser. Flood on my kitchen floor daily.

5. Curtains. For about 2 weeks there, not a day went by when he didn't pull down my curtains. He's over that one. For now. 

6. Bread/Chips. I have little cabinet space, so I put bread and other snacks on top of my fridge. Except he can get up there now. One day I came home to bread, chips, oatmeal and apple cider mix strewn all over my apartment. What a nice present.

The list could go on and on, but I think my point has been made.

Here he is. Playing under my dresser at 2 am. Yes, he looks like he's sleeping. He's not. This is why I wear earplugs to bed. 

Ya, I like to read. Kind of a lot:)

Therefore, here are my top ten favorite books of all time. I'm not exactly sure how many books I have read in my life so far, but I can say that since the age of 10, I have been polishing off at least two books a week. And yes, most of them were adult books. Like Stephen King and Anne Rice. (I know, horrifying now to think that my 10 year old self read Bag of Bones in a week. Good book. My first Stephen King.)

1. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
2. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
3. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
4. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
5. The BFG by Roald Dahl
6. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
7. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
8. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
9. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
10. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The number one spot is absolutely my favorite book of all time. I've read it at least once a year since I first read it in high school. The rest of the books are in no particular order.

*Note: To make it to my top ten, the book has to draw me back at least twice. It takes a great book to influence people to read it over and over again. And these books are great. :)

The One Day Quest...a Literary Journey

Two days ago, I was reading something about one of my favorite authors, Stephen King. Yes, I love Stephen King. I think he's a genius. I have read most of his books, not all, but most. And I started reading him when I was about 10. (not much censorship in my childhood home) As I was reading, I came across a book that he first published under Richard Bachman, his pseudonym. This book interested me right away because it was no longer in print. Why? Because Stephen King had it pulled out of print. Why would he do that? Because it was indirectly linked to at least 3 high school shootings and/or hostage takings. Title of the Book: Rage. Of course, this meant that I had to find this book. And since I am not a teenager anymore, and my frontal lobe is fully developed, I figure it is definitely safe for me to read. Which brings me to my quest. I must find this book. And buy it.

Fortunately, the journey didn't take long. At the second online used bookstore I looked at, it was there for $5. And not only do I get Rage, I also get 3 more Richard Bachman books, all together in one!  So in a week and a half (yes, I'm cheap, I use economy mail) I will be the proud owner of the first four Richard Bachman books, one of which is no longer in print because of its potentially harmful content.

As a book lover, and a Stephen King super-fan, this is huge. Huge.

Thank you, McLean County Police

For reals. Because who other than me leaves their wallet on top of their car while purchasing gas and drives away? (For the second time in less than a year)  How a lone county policeman found my green wallet on the side of the highway minutes after I drive away is beyond me. But not even an hour later, a nice policeman shows up at my door with my wallet, not much worse for wear. Of course, I was not actually home at the time. That would have been way too convenient. But my friend, Kelly, was here. And she called me. (While I was flying all over the universe searching for my lost wallet.)

Thank you, nice McLean County Policeman. You kind of made my month. Or at least my week:)

Sorry for manhandling your pretzels. Not.

In the midst of being a student, I also have to do this unpleasant thing called Work. Work was not always unpleasant, but when you find yourself working part-time in that odious field (Retail), you begin to hate life. Well, at least work-life. And I reallllllly dislike retail. People, meaning the everyday, normal, average masses are super rude. And they are probably nice people, but not when they go into a store. See, it is hard to see someone in an ugly uniform as a person. I guess. But there are nice ones out there. Although I can honestly say only 1 in 10 is genuinely nice to me. So, the other evening, nearing the end of my shift, a young woman comes up to my register with bags of discounted Halloween candy as well as discounted Halloween pretzels. We're talking huge discounts here. Like 75 cents for a giant bag of Halloween pretzels. As I am scanning all of the items, this seemingly half-decent young woman says to me, "Be careful." At first, I did not pick up on her condescending, holier-than-thou tone, but I caught on real quick. She goes on to say that I was "squishing" her pretzels and that I need to learn to be more careful. I was SHOCKED. Really?? First of all, RUDE. Second of all, what this B*tch doesn't know is that those damn pretzels have been thrown around so many times by the stockers and customers, that they are probably all broken to hell anyway. And they are like 75 cents for a giant bag, full of little bags, so more than likely, she did not hear any pretzels breaking, she just heard a lot of plastic rubbing on plastic. I could not even respond to that without cursing her out. So I said nothing. But I realllllly wanted to. So here goes. What a B*tch. For real. I am so not even sorry for manhandling your pretzels. I wish I would have crushed them to pieces. MUAH!!!

Hello World!

This is my first blog. Ever. So I'm new to this. But I can already tell that I like it. I intend to put a little bit of everything in this blog, my experiences, funny anecdotes, and yes, even my rants. I promise I won't get too crazy with that. Maybe. So first off, introductions. I am in my mid-twenties, currently finishing up my last few semesters of college. I took a little hiatus in between there, so I'm a few years late, but that is okay. I have a cat named Julius. He's pretty cool, so more on him later. I just finished two years of Americorps service in Arkansas, it was a priceless experience for me, so I'll probably talk about it often. I tend to be sassy, and slightly unconventional, and if you know me, you know this is true!
Thanks for reading:)