Things Santa Forgot to Bring Me

Dear Santa,

Overall, I thought I was a pretty good girl this year. Despite a couple of times when I might have been a better candidate for the naughty list, I think I made up for it in the end. However, there are some things you forgot to bring me this year. What's wrong? Did your sleigh break down and you lost some packages? I know we don't have a fireplace, but that's never stopped you before. In case you might have lost my wish list, I'll go ahead and send it to you again. Here are the things you forgot to bring me this year:

• Rosetta Stone, Spanish Levels 1, 2 and 3 with the Audio Companion



• A diamond eternity band, any brand will work



• A new job


• Tickets to the sold out Kings of Leon concert
• A Nintendo Wii (with Mario Kart)

If you forgot my address, just let me know and I can give it to you again. It's ok Santa, everyone makes mistakes. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Oh Vegas, How You Rocked My World...

Can I first say how happy I am that all of the Christmas gayness and glee is over! Man, I didn't think I was going to make it there for a minute. But, here I am, on the other side of "the holidays", looking forward to the next chapter.

During the week that would normally be spent wandering the crowded shopping mall amongst the hyperactive children and Emo kids, I decided to introduce myself to the majesty of Las Vegas, Nevada... and it was beautiful. I loved every second of Vegas, well aside from the hangovers, and the $86 bar tab, and I can't wait to go back.

A' and I landed in Vegas on Wednesday and about an hour after we arrived at our hotel it started pouring snow. Yes, snow in the desert. Everyone in the town was freaking out. Driving like morons, canceling school, even closing the airport, but we didn't let it stop us. Actually, it was warmer there than it was when we left Kansas City that morning, so we kind of enjoyed it. Some people told us it was the first time Vegas had seen snow in 5 years, others said it was the most snowfall since 1979. In the end, nothing really accumulated and it just looked like it had rained but by that point we were already exploring the town and all of it's glory.

Our first night there we experienced a $30 buffet at the Rio, beers were another 5 bucks a pop. I wouldn't really mind paying $30 for a buffet if I ate even half of what they offered but unfortunately I don't eat seafood, crab legs, sushi, or anything fishy. Don't worry, I made up for it at the dessert bar. After dinner we played the bar for a little bit and met this really interesting couple from Palm Springs. John and Judy. These two were something else!

John and Judy had to have been in their 70's and had the stories to back it up. These two have been everywhere, seen everything and knew everybody! They had stories of everyone from Clint Eastwood to Mohammad Ali. Not to mention, John is nearly best friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger and had so many hilarious stories about their friendship. On top of all of their great stories, John and Judy were just great people. They are Vegas regulars and shared tips on the best places to go and things to see and do. Not only that but they were definitely the VIP high rollers in every casino, you could tell they have spent a lot of money at those places.

From the casino bar we went to a couple of other bars inside the casino then made our way over to Bally's to dance the night away with this awesome band. Judging by their dance moves, you would have thought J&J we're teenagers!? They were awesome! And I'm not talking your grandma's dance moves. John later told me that he frequently wins dance contests.... hip hop dance contests. No lies.

At the close of our drunken evening J&J told us to meet them at Caesar's Palace the next night and they would take us to the VIP lounge for dinner and drinks. We stumbled back to our hotel and crashed for the night.

The rest of our time in Vegas only got better from there. Caesar's Palace, New York New York, Moon @ the Palms (*amazing*), Fremont Street light show, Stratosphere, and so much more. I plan on writing more Vegas adventures but if I cram it all into this blog it will be exhausting to read. To sum it up, it was great. You should go.

However, it did put a huge dent in my Christmas shopping, but I managed to get it all in somehow (I finally finished all of my gift buying at 4:30 on Christmas Eve). And now we're counting down to the New Year! I'm pretty excited for 2009, it can't be much worse than 2008! More to come...

Awkward...

Why is it that at work functions everyone feels obligated to laugh at your manager's stupid jokes?  If one of your friends or your brother were to make the same joke you would probably just stare at them, or change the subject.  So, why do people act so stupid around upper management?

Last week was our annual "Holiday Luncheon" for my department at work, and it was awkward from the start.  The first order of business was deciding who would be riding together.  Instead of inviting myself into one of my coworkers cars and having to sit on half chewed Cheerios between two car seats I decided to go solo.  Plus I didn't feel like clearing out the months worth of junk in my backseat to make room for someone's awkward small talk on the way to lunch.  Therefore, I hightailed it to the parking garage and told everyone I'd meet them there.  

The next awkward moment involved the bread plate.  Everyone sees the bread sitting there, starring at me, mocking me, next to the sparkly plate of oil and hummus.  Why is everyone so horrified to take the first piece of bread?  Waiting... waiting... waiting over awkward small talk ... salivating..... FINALLY... my manger makes a break for the first piece.  Whew.... now we all cleared for takeoff.  

A few minutes later we're down to the last piece- again- everyone just ignores the lonely piece of bread as if it weren't even there.  Man, I want it bad... I'm real hungry... but if I take it I'll look like a rude fatass.  So I ignore it.... there it sits... all alone... waiting for me to eat it....

Over lunch we're all chatting, mostly about work, which I hate by the way.  Why do we always talk about work, even when we're not at work?  Yes, I realize that work is what we all have in common but come on.  I'm sure we can find other things to talk about.  We can talk about the weather, or how horrible the Chiefs are this season, I don't really care, as long as it's not about Barbara who called you this morning and was angry because her shipment was misdelivered.  Who-Cares.  

It was during our awkward lunch that I realized just how stupid people act around their managers and coworkers.  I've noticed it in past lunches and meetings before, especially the ones where the vice president of our department attends, but today it was over the top.  Every story, remark or comment that either one of our managers made was followed by an uproar of laughter.  Everything was funny.  Every question had an answer and every opinion was supported.  There was one point during lunch when something really dumb was said and everyone cracked up like it was soooooo funny.  It wasn't funny at all!?  You would have thought we were dining with Eddie Murphy.  

Is this how everyone acts around their managers?  Why do we act like this?  They're just regular old people.  It's not like we're kissing ass because that's totally unnecessary in my department.  I just don't get it.  

I'm Funny...

Remember when I started this blog and said I was going to try something new everyday and blog about it everyday?  Hahaha!  I'm funny.

Why Christmas Sucks Part II

Update on the car wreaths: My #1 amiga, Meg, informs me that she has already come in contact with cars fully decorated in Christmas lights and garland. Gag me with a spoon.

You wanna know another thing I hate about Christmas? Santa hats. Unless you're A) playing Santa for your 5-year-old niece, B) working part time at your local mall as Santa, or C) dressing up as naughty Mrs. Claus for your boyfriend you should not own a Santa hat.

Nothing evokes more crazy stares from me than seeing some crazy old lady at the grocery store wearing a Santa hat. WHY!? You're not cute. You're not clever. You're weird.

As I was walking through the parking garage on the way out of work the other day, some strange, portly woman drove past me wearing a Santa hat. I just don't get it. It was a random Thursday!

So please folks, let's just leave the Santa hats on the Wal-Mart shelves where they belong and maybe try a scarf, or a headband instead.

(ps- the lady pictured wearing the oh-so stylish santa hat is not me. i can assure you of that.)

An Open Letter to the Tooth Fairy

My mom called me today to read me a letter she found stuck in between some old VHS tapes or something.  Enjoy...

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I went to the dentist today and he pulled two teeth, but those teeth were rotten, so I could not keep them.  His helper gave me one fake tooth but I want to keep that one, so I am writing you this letter for two dollars because he pulled two teeth.

Love,

Kate

A)  I've never had a fake tooth, ever.

B)  I'm obviously trying to con the tooth fairy into giving me $2 instead of $1.

C)  Why did I sign "love" Kate?  It's the tooth fairy, not my Grandma.

D)  My mom assured me that I did get my $2 after all.  

The First One of the Season

So, it's Christmastime.  Blah, blah, blah.  I used to really like this time of year.  The changing of the seasons bringing the first winter snowfall.  Christmas parties with friends and family.  Great food and company.  Time off of school.  I could go on.  But now, I'm not a big fan of "the holidays".

There are several reasons, some petty and some depressing, as to why I could do without all the hoopla that comes with Christmas, but I'm sure it's mostly just because I'm getting older.  Bah humbug.

Nevertheless, I was reminded today of why I would prefer we just skip from Halloween right into New Year's.  This reminder came in the form of one of the strangest festive decor that has some how become acceptable in these parts.   That would be the car wreath.

The only thing that comes to mind when I see one of these hideous disasters is "why?!".  Why, why, why, why, why!?  Oh, and the desire to rip off your entire front grill of your car.  Wait, it's usually a van.  Does this phenomenon occur in other areas of the world, or is this just another gem of the Midwest?  

What's even worse that fastening a car wreath to your precious grocery-getter is a car wreath that's been rigged with lighting.  Now, I'm no mechanic, nor am I a car wreath expert (thank God) so I have no idea where the light generator comes from.  Are they battery operated and do you have to turn on a switch every time you cruise around town so that everyone can see your sweet light show?  And when you get home do you have to remember to shut off the switch so that you don't run out you're double A's?  Or is your lighted beauty hooked up to your car somehow and automatically turns on and off on it's own?  Fancy.  

Car wreaths, I hate you.  You are one of the tackiest Christmas decorations I have come across in my day  (that includes that air pump operated merry-go-round that gets blown over and rolls into the street).   If you cross my path I can't guarantee you'll be safe, because I want you in the trash.  Or at least on a door where you belong.  And if you are a culprit of this seasonal eyesore, I'm not afraid to tell you that I hate you too.... and so do your kids, they're just too embarrassed to tell you.   

Bueller? Bueller?

I've been noticeably absent lately. Absent in blog and absent in life.

I'll try posting tonight... maybe after a bottle... or two... of wine. We'll see...

IH8TEWE

Lately, I've been getting more and more irritated with vanity plates. You know, those stupid, cheesey license plates that people personalize for their cars. I guess I just don't get the point. I remember when I first turned 16 I thought it would be cool to have one, but I don't have a nickname or anything clever that I could have put on mine so I didn't bother. Plus why would I waste the money? Well, I'm glad I didn't get one, because now I make fun of those people.

There are several reason why personalized license plates bother me. One, I don't get the point. If you're going to put your name on it, the only people who know your name probably already know the car you're driving so what's the point in putting your name on your plate? Plus, those of us who don't know you could probably care less what your name or cutesy nickname is. Two, I just don't understand for the life of me why people put inside jokes on their license plate. Occassionally you'll see a license plate with some stupid saying or word on it that clearly nobody would understand unless you knew the person. I don't care about your inside jokes so how about you keep them inside? Third, and probably the most annoying, the word or phrase that people usually want on their plate is more than likely already taken, so they have to settle for some ridiculous version of the original word. You know like "CATLOVER" is already taken so your dream of having that phrase on your license plate now becomes "CTLURVR". Dumb.

The reason they are increasingly bothering me is because I keep seeing more and more stupid ones. When I see the stupid plate it makes me want to look at what kind of person would want their license plate to display this encryped message that is usually never self explanitory. And the best part about it is the person generally looks completely unrelated to the message!?

Yesterday on the way home from work, for example, I was following some stupid red car with personal plates that said "MRS LEVY". Aw, how cute, right? No. The person driving was clearly not Mrs. Levy, but a Mr. Another annoying example is a friend of mine, who is now in his very late 20's, still has his personal plates from high school which proudly displays his last name and high school football number. Come on pal, isn't it time to retire that number?

The best example of all has to be a few weeks ago when I was yet again, following another stupid vanity plate that I could not seem to get away from. The plate was supposed to read "CUTIE PIE" but that was obviously taken, so they had to settle for some weird and ridiculous version of "CUTIE PIE" which looked something like "QUETIEPE". Ugh... what does that jumble of letters even mean? Oh... cutie pie. How precious. What kind of 13 year old Hannah Montana fan wants to put cutie pie on their license plate so badly that they settle for that rendition? I gotta see this. So I pull up next to the "cutie pie" and it's some dude!? What the hell is wrong with you? If I were a guy I would not feel comfortable driving a car with "QUETIEPE" on the license plate. Sigh...

On an unrelated note, I was at the gym last night, doing a little running on the treadmill and watching some tv, when an ice cream commercial came on. It looked delicious. They showed an extreme close-up of someone slowly scooping it out with this spoon that made a sweet little texture in the ice cream and curled it up into a smooth little ball ready to be devoured. I was like, "Man... that looks delicious. Screw the gym, I'm going to the store after this to buy some of that ice cream!" I kept waiting through more close ups and slow camera pans for them to show the logo or at least tell me what kind of ice cream it was. After what seemed like the slowest skim of the top layer of ice cream ever they finally showed the logo.... it was butter.

I'm a fatass.

What's in a "Lap"?

I was lying in bed this morning and for some reason I started thinking about what a "lap" is. You know, like when someone sits on someone's "lap". If you really think about it, it's weird. A lap is really just your thighs, right? I think it's the only part of the body that we call a different name depending on what it's doing. If you're just standing up it's not a lap is it? It's just your legs or your thighs, but if you're sitting down, all the sudden it turns into a lap. Who even came up with this? I'm so confused....

Dictionary.com defines a lap as: the front part of the human body from the waist to the knees when in a sitting position. When in a sitting position?! Why don't we call our arms something else when we're sitting? I think I'm going to start making up my own words for similar situations. For example, when you sit in a cross-legged position, your legs are no longer "legs". They will now be referred to as "franks". When your tongue is in the resting position in your mouth while not talking, your tongue will be known as a "domino".

Weird.

Potential Career Change

Why is it that men feel it necessary to talk to women at a bar? I don't know if I'm weird, or different from most girls, but when I go out with my friends it's not to pick up guys. Sure, if I'm obviously starring at you, or giving you some indication of interest feel free to hit me with your best shot, but in most situations I don't want you to talk to me.

Wednesday night I was enjoying some hot wings and frosty beers with two of my best girlfriends. We were having a great time drinking, laughing, gossiping, you know the drill. Towards the end of the evening the table next to us filled up with some older gentlemen in suits. Let me preface by saying that the establishment we were at is not a "suit" establishment. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about going straight from work to the bar, but it was awfully late to be leaving work.

First, they were obviously starring, and when your tables are about 8 inches apart from each other it makes things a little awkward. Mid-conversation our conversation is infiltrated by one of the suited lads. He doesn't even say "excuse me" or "I'm sorry to interrupt" just barges in and proclaims,

"It's not very often you see a brunette with blue eyes."

A little caught off guard I respond, "Yeah... it's all natural too." He comes back with,

"Wow! Really? Man.... you and my wife are the only ones I've ever
seen like that. Twenty years ago you would have been in trouble. Man..."

...as he shakes his head and walks off. My internal response went a little
something like this,

"First of all, if you've only seen 2 blue eyed brunettes in your entire life I think you need to get out more. Second, when you have to say 'twenty years ago...' you probably shouldn't be talking to me. And third, I don't think I would have been the one in trouble twenty years ago because chances are if you would have tried hitting on me twenty years ago this probably wouldn't have been an internal response. Sorry pal."

He goes back to his table, 8 inches away from us, we have a laugh and are back to our conversation. About a half an hour later, we're getting ready to head out and suit #2 slides from his seat, to a seat at our table. Great, what now? This guy literally doesn't even wait for a moment of silence to start talking, he just butts right in, and here is his pitch.

"Listen, I know you get this all of the time (as he shoves his business card in
my hand) but I own an advertising agency and I think you would be great for
modeling or voice work. I've been watching you, and listening to you, and I just
want you to know that if you ever, EVER considering doing any sort of work,
PLEASE don't hesitate to call me. "

Uh.... thanks? He leaves the table and I get a chance to check out his business card. It's an ad agency I have never heard of and trust me, I've spent plenty of time researching ad agencies. When I graduated college I think I sent my portfolio to at least 33 different agencies in the greater Kansas City area and this one was nowhere on the radar. My friend then makes the observation that the card and the name of the company slightly resembles that of a porn agency, not an ad agency. Well, it wouldn't be the first time I was propositioned to be in a porn. Maybe I'm on to something here...

... my life in a blender...

I'm just tired. I'm wearing slippers to work today, that's how much I care. I've had a lot on my mind lately and it's taking a toll on me. I would prefer my mind be empty, but it's clearly the opposite. Some things...

• In my 2nd attempt at supporting a homeless guy's drug addiction I got called "sexy legs". How reaffirming.


• I'm in the process of getting over bronchitis which is no fun. What's even less fun is waiting in line for 10 minutes to sign in at the CVS Minute Clinic and having some old man blatantly cut you in line. I made sure to cough on him.


• In 6 days I managed to eat an entire, 41 ounce bag of Skittles. If you're like me, you have no idea how much 41 ounces is. Let me tell you, it's a lot. As a result, my mouth is very mad at me. For some reason when I eat Skittles the insides of my cheeks get sores and it feels like my cheeks swell up. Eventually, as I keep shoveling Skittles down my throat, i scrape my teeth on my swollen, sore cheeks creating even more pain. It's a vicious cycle, but it doesn't stop me. I love Skittles. I need Skittle rehab.


• This morning when I got to work the office was pitch black. I didn't even bother turning any lights on either. I'm pretty sure this is what hell feels like.

I've lost all faith...

Today was a sad day.  Today I lost faith in all mankind.  Humanity, if you will.  Today, I was embarrassed to be an American, a human being for that matter.  I was embarrassed to be living on the same Earth with the people that I do.  Let me explain.

I don't want this to come off as a big, preachy, political blog because what it really boils down to is having respect for one another.  I have a friend I work with... let's back up... I wouldn't call her a friend.  She's one of those people that you're friends with because of work, outside of work you probably wouldn't be friends with this person.  I'm pretty sure she was brought up as the little princess who always gets her way and is never wrong and these traits have carried into her adult life pretty clearly. 

I noticed a few weeks ago that she is sporting a fancy red bumper sticker on her car that reads "Read My Lipstick, Sarah Palin for Vice President".  Ok, I am all for freedom of speech (I was a journalism major for God's sake) and I understand you can have your opinions but something struck me as odd in this situation.  I really wanted to ask her why she is supporting McCain but I have come to find that political conversations can quickly ruin friendships.  So, I let it go.  Until yesterday when Palin's $150,000 wardrobe got brought up in our conversation we were having through instant messenger.  This opened up a very large and ridiculously idiotic can of worms which I will now paraphrase for you...

Small-Minded Idiot:  ... the only reason I'm really not voting for Obama is because he believes or agrees in late-term abortion and that makes me really mad that you could be 9 months pregnant and just have an abortion instead of giving it up for adoption.  Makes me sick to my stomach thinking that (her niece and nephew) might not be here if (her sister-in-law) didn't want them.  Plus, the huge tax increase that I can't afford.  Believe me, I was all for Obama until I compared the record and the plan.

Kate: First of all, Obama doesn't believe or agree with late-term  abortion.  He has said specifically several times that he completely supports the ban of late-term abortions.  Second, it's my body and my vagina and nobody, especially some government official who doesn't know me, is going to tell me what I can do with my body.  Third, if your sister-in-law felt that she needed to have an abortion you have absolutely no say in the situation, it's not your baby.  And lastly, he's not going to raise taxes unless you make over $250,000 a year, and I know damn well that you don't so that last statement was just dumb.

Small-Minded Idiot:  Yeah, I guess... I really don't get into politics (yet, let's remember that she has a Read My Lipstick bumper sticker on her car...) I do agree with some things that Obama says but for the most part he doesn't have a lot of experience and the whole "terrorist" thing freaks me out too.  The questions still hasn't been answered on why he started his political career in that guy's (William Ayeres) living room.  I still think that's really odd.  Keeping in mind that this guy wanted to bomb our country and was involved in terrorist acts.

I'm not really sure how I responded at this point besides laughing.  And I remember being pretty angry because of how ignorant and uneducated some people can be.  I felt like at this point it was useless trying to talk to this girl and our conversation kind of tapered off from there.  Until I came into work this morning...

I am not even half-way through my morning coffee when Small-Minded Idiot sends me another  instant message saying how bored she was and how she's sending me an email.... a "Muslim" email is what she called it.  My initial reaction was that she just found something funny online, a forward or a YouTube video, until my "New Mail" icon popped up and the subject read "Can Good Muslims Be Good Americans".  Good Lord are you serious!?  She was NOT giving up!  Even though she's "not into politics".  Before I even opened this ridiculous email I messaged her back to inform her that contrary to popular small-minded, idiotic retard belief Barack Obama is in fact NOT a Muslim.  It was her response which led to this post....

Small-Minded Idiot:  Yes he is... look at his middle name.

Oh...... my...... god........... my response:

Kate:  Oh my God, are you serious???  I could name my child Hussein if I felt so inclined, would that make him Muslim?  Is it a law that in order to be named Hussein you have to be Muslim?

I was flabbergasted.

She didn't really say much after that, probably just pretended to be too pre-occupied with work to continue our conversation.  So, I decided to open up this email and see what sort of propaganda had made it's way into her tiny head by, more than likely, her narrow-minded, Bible-thumpin' parents.  (Ok, in fairness, I don't even know her parents.  But judging by her beliefs and the comment her mom makes in the forwarded email, I can confidentaly say that my suspicions were correct)  Thus reads the email...

This is very interesting and we all need to read it from start to finish and send it on to anyone who will read it.  Maybe this is why our American Muslims are so quiet and not speaking out about any atrocities.  Can a good Muslim be a good American?  The question was forwarded to a friend who worked in Saudi Arabia for 20 years.  The following is his reply:

Theologically- no... Because his allegiance is to Allah, The moon God of Arabia

Religiously- no... Because no other religion is accepted by His Allah except Islam (Quran, 2:256)(Koran)

Scripturally- no... Because his allegiance is to Mecca, to which he turns in prayer five times a day

I can't go on.  It's just too much nonsense.  The email goes on to list other reasons why a "Good Muslim" can't be a "Good American" but to be honest I didn't even read the whole thing.  However, I did notice a note at the end of the email that said:

Perhaps we should  be very suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS in this country.  Call it what you wish it's still the truth.  You had better believe it.  The more who understand this, the better it will be for our country and our future... And Barack Hussien Obama, a Muslim, wants to be our President?  You have GOT to be kidding!  Wake up America!  Obama even says if he wins the election, he will be sworn in on the Quran ---not the Bible!  He was sworn in on the Quran for his current office and he refuses to pledge allegiance to the United States or put his hand over his heart when the National Anthem is played!  

There really aren't enough words in the English language for me to describe how this forward made me feel.  I was embarrassed to be living among people who honestly think the things that were said.  Sad that people are automatically stereotyped just because of their religion.  I felt sorry for the people who read that email, believed it and forwarded it on without doing any fact checking at all.  Mad that these people are taking some stupid email that someone's "friend" who the people reading the email don't even know as law.  Entertained at the thought that I could just write an email like this and forward it to a few half-wits and people will believe it.  The list goes on....

I never understood why people (ahem.. Blinds) got so passionate about politics, but I realize now that it's because I was only looking at the big picture.  I never realized that it's about people's beliefs and the things that their lives stand for.  I am just realizing for the first time how seriously hurtful some people's narrow-minded and uneducated opinions can be.  It's this that I am just embarrassed to know that it is 2008, yet we still have people who can't accept other people despite their differences.  It's times like these that I think maybe I should move out of Missouri, but I'm sure they're everywhere.  Maybe the only way to get away from people like this are to just live off of the grid.  Instead, I take the high road.  I know that the things I said to Small-Minded Idiot today are weighing on her mind.  I know that after I disputed every single one of her nut-job claims that she questioned her "facts".  And sometimes, that's the victory in itself.  

Cold fingers

I'm having a hard time finding downtime in my life.  Trust me, there are plenty of things I could cut out of my life, but I guess I'm kind of selfish.  For instance, if you interfere with my spin class/yoga sessions every Tuesday and Thursday night I'll probably be pretty irritable.  However, it takes up 2 hours of my night.  I could probably ask A' to help with the dishes and laundry, but I'm a little bit of a perfectionist and chances are I would have to go back and do things my way in the end.  It's a vicious cycle.

Because of this I haven't had much time to work on my portfolio.  It seems like something I could just sit down, spend a few hours and it's done.  That's definitely not the case.  For me, you can't just force creativity.  You think that will be a problem with me in the future.  Haha, I hope not.  Plus, I need to do some research before I can truly delve into the process.  The good news is- I'm off work tomorrow!  Not only is that awesome news because any day off is great, but I will also have some time to work on this book.   Yes, I do have a hair appointment at noon, and already have a commitment to help some friends make their Halloween costumes (beer box robots anybody?) but I also have on my agenda to get something done on my book.  Alright, onto some other topics...

• If you've never seen Ace of Cakes you're missin out.  I love this show, maybe because I love cake.  You have no idea how much I want a cake from Charm City Cakes.  So, I told A' he should get me one, just because I'm so great (uhh, hasn't anyone heard of Sweetest Day?  Well, it's Saturday... hint hint...)  Not that I could really have a cake from Charm City considering that it's over 1,000 miles away, but I thought it wouldn't hurt just to check out their website... in case I'm ever in Baltimore... ya know?  Come to find out the cheapest cake they will even make is $1,000.  There goes my dream.
• While listening to the radio the other day I learned that you're not allowed to say "menstrual".  Believe me, I don't want to hear this word more than anyone else, but really?  I mean, who are they protecting my blocking this word, children?  I'm sure they're going to learn what it means eventually.  Weird.  I think that one day nothing will be censored anymore anyway so let's just get to it.  
• Tuesday night in yoga some lady decided that her 9-year-old daughter needed to join our class.  I didn't want to pass judgment and automatically assume that this little girl was going to ruin my hour of zen so instead I tried telling myself that maybe this was an encouraging sign that not all children are fat and lazy.  Well, I was right about the former... she ruined my hour.  I really tried hard to ignore her once I heard her mother shushing her and disciplining her in the middle of down dog, but I couldn't.  Every time I saw her out of the corner of my eye she was either laying on her back, rolling around, laying on her stomach wilding flailing her legs behind her or walking around.  Then she left.  Just walked out in the middle of class.  Don't worry, she returned about 10 minutes later only to pick up the free weights that are stored at the back of the room and proceed to do bicep curls for the remainder of class.  What I'm trying to say is don't bring your children to yoga.  Please.  Do me a favor, spare me the hour that I just wasted and either a) leave your child at home where you know she wanted to stay in the first place, b) drop her off at the gym's kid zone so someone else can watch her perfect her curls, or c) enroll her in kiddie yoga and let her waste someone else's time.  Thanks.

Tomorrow, I'm getting a hair cut and color.  I haven't colored my hair in years but I'm bored so why not.  Oh, and did I mention I get to sleep in?  Tomorrow will be a great day, Happy Friday!!

 

somebody's got a case of the mondays...

Today I woke up without a problem. That, in itself is a problem. You see, I love sleeping. I will choose sleeping over almost any other activity. I love my friends, I love going out, I love tv and I love the gym, but above all of those I will almost undoubtedly choose sleep.

This morning however was a different story. The reason I'm even upset about not being able to breeze through the snooze button 10 times like I normally do is the part that makes me the most upset. I was dreading work today. Don't get me wrong, I dread work everyday- sad, I know- but today I was really not looking forward to it. Friday honestly had to be the worst day of work ever. Just horrible. Basically, if something could have gone wrong, it did. If there was chaos that could have been created, it was. It was not fun. And Mondays are usually worse than Fridays around here.

Thus.... I will finish my portfolio this week. Fin.

Wacky Wednesday Edition

I've realized that I have a pretty hard time sitting down and writing if I can't find a quiet place to concentrate. Right now I'm at work, listening to the guys next to me pondering what exactly a hot crossed bun is, so excuse me if this post is scattered. I also just realized that I'm over this font....

Ok, I feel better now. So let's get down to business:

• Today is the last day to register to vote in Missouri. Are you hearing this? I'm actually encouraging people to register and vote! It is amazing, but over the past few weeks I have actually gotten into to this whole 'election' thing. A' and I have even been having debates on important issues instead of whether to watch The Hills or Troy. (I won by the way, we watched The Hills) I have been watching the debates, something you would never catch me doing in the past, and I was actually interested in it. Don't get me wrong, there is still a TON of stuff I don't understand but who knows, maybe this is the beginning of my ongoing political education.
• I finally got some things done that I have been putting off for a while. It's not exciting at all but boy did it feel good to get them done. We finally picked up a huge amount of clutter around the house, including our nasty, moldy inflatable pool that's been mucking up the backyard all summer. Whoever thought it was a good idea to buy a kiddie pool from Big Lots this summer was an idiot. Ok, it was my idea. And in my defense it had cup holders! The only problem was that we rarely used it and when it didn't get used, it wasn't maintained and it got really gross. Then we were just too lazy to go deal with the mess. Anyway, it's done now, whew...
• I sat down and wrote out thank you notes to my family for my lovely birthday party. I send cards all of the time but for some reason the concept of thank you cards are a little beyond me. I know that they're thoughtful, but to me a phone call or simple "thank you" would suffice. All I know is that when I get a thank you card I say to myself "Hm.. well, you're welcome." Then I usually throw it away. Either way, I thought it would be a nice gesture. I had a hard time coming up with different things to say to each person I was sending cards to, but in the end it felt pretty good. I have heard from most of them since they received the cards and they, in turn, thanked me for the card. Haha, what a thankful cycle it has become.
• I was in Wal-Mart the other day and decided to impulse buy (as usual) some Nair Shower Power because let's face it, I'm lazy. I've tried Nair in the past and I wasn't too impressed, plus it smelled awful, but I decided to give this new product a try. The perk to this product is that supposedly you can put it on and shower, then rinse it off instead of just sitting around and waiting on it. I'm all about multitasking. So I lube up my legs and yes, it still stinks- not quite as bad I guess. You have to wait a couple of minutes before getting in the shower, oh and you're not supposed to let direct stream hit your legs, which is kind of difficult if you're in the shower. So I wait, then I get in, and immediately it feels, and kind of looks like all of the lotion is just coming right off my legs. How annoying. I tried to avoid the "direct stream", and the directions did say that "some" rinse off is normal but I was still annoyed. When it was finally time to rinse off there really wasn't much left, but I did it anyway. My legs were super slippery, and it still felt like there were spots that were completely missed. Apparently if that's the case you're supposed to leave it on for longer. Well, I didn't feel like it so I just scrubbed the hair like hell. In the end my legs were pretty smooth and really soft. The appearance of smooth legs lasted for probably 4 or 5 days however it still felt like I needed to shave like normal. I'm not sure how that happened. I tried it again a few days later and left it on a little longer and I think it was a little more successful this time around. Overall, it was a pretty good purchase. It's nice not having to shave your legs everyday and really, there's only going to be one person rubbing on my stems so if they feel stubbly but look smooth I'm ok with that. Oh- also- the bottle says not to use on your lady parts. Trust me, don't try to be the tough guy. Listen to the bottle!
• I just have to say how much I hate people- generally girls- who go to the gym and talk on their cell phone the entire time they're "working out". I hate you. I hate you even more when you're casually walking on a treadmill that I could be running on. I hate you. Cancel your gym membership already and get off of my machine.
• I recently tagged all of my photos on MySpace. A little loserish? Yes, but for some reason it feels like I've checked one more thing off of my to do list. Ahh....
• And lastly, I would like to recommend Altoids Dark Chocolate Dipped Mints to everyone who will listen. They are delicious, addictive and I'm in love. If you like mint/chocolate, think Junior Mints, you will love these tasty little breath fresheners. I'm going to eat 1 right now. (and by 1 I mean 13)

I guess I'd better do some work today while I'm here. Or maybe not. I'll think about it. I promise to post again very very soon!

things that make me laugh...

I'm new, Ok?

Dear Friends, it has been too long. I have had full intentions of writing but things keep coming up. I'm still getting used to this habitual blogging thing, I'm new, ok? One day I'll have it down. Until then, let's dive into the recent happenings of my life.

First I'd like to preface by saying don't buy Kinoki foot pads. I'm glad I tried them, sad they don't work, and want my 20 bucks back. I only used them 3 times, and A' thought it would be funny to try them out too. He put one on his chest, the other on his butt cheek and wouldn't you know it- not a damn thing happened! He woke up the next morning and the pads looked like he had just taken them out of the box. They weren't dirty, dark, hard-nothing. Weird. Anyway, I don't care enough to continue them (I'm an immediate results kinda girl) so maybe I'll put them on Craig's List Free Stuff section.

Second, the past week has been a little crazy. First birthday antics, then I had some stupid, stupid boy drama (thank god that's over) and this weekend one of my good friends from work got married. We had such a good time. The drive home the next morning was not such a good time however.

Aside from my life that keeps getting in the way of this little experiment of mine, I have been diligently trying to make myself more politically educated. With the upcoming election looming around the corner it's hard not to be bombarded with political propaganda everywhere you turn (I was an advertising major for god's sake) I've never been into politics of any form. My parents and both my brothers are deep into politics but it has never interested me. It doesn't help much either when your college political science professor tells you not to vote because "your vote doesn't count". Very encouraging professor.

Even though I'm not so much interested in politics, I've always envied people who could discuss political matters at length. Please don't get this confused with people who get emotionally involved and ARGUE political views- those people I do NOT envy. These people I think are a small bit crazy. Maybe it's my fault for not having anything that I'm that passionate about... except maybe my stance on smoking, which we'll surely get to at a later post.

The first, and probably most frustrating, hurdle I've found when trying to gather political information is trying to find reliable, non-biased sources. There is SO much information out there, but is it truely information, or misinformation? Or is it in fact uselful information that is endorsed by the party it is supporting making everything positively reflect the candidate in question. It's overwhelming.

I've been spending a lot of time reading both the hard hitting facts and the smut, and I still don't feel educated at all. I don't understand how people get into this stuff. Maybe I should talk to my brothers- although that would be highly biased. I just have a hard time focusing on politics when I would much rather be reading non-sensical celebrity gossip or updating my myspace. Sad, I know. But, that's part of the reason I'm doing this little experiment. I'm striving to be a more well-rounded person. Not only will I be able to tell you the names of all of Britney Spears' dogs, but I can also tell you about off-shore drilling and foreign policy (or at least I'll try!)

I'm going to continue my research this week, maybe I'll even talk to some folks on both sides of issues and see why they are voting for the candidate that they are and not the other. Also this week I plan on sitting down and working on my creative portfolio! This has been a LONG time coming. I actually set a deadline for myself to have it done by October 1st, but I'm not so sure that will happen.

Last, and certainly not least today, I'd like to wish a Happy 6th Birthday to my favorite puppy in the whole wide world- Cooper!!! I see a large, juicy bone in your future!

I've been a bad, bad blogger...

Hello to my 2 faithful readers!  I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post, but our Internet quit working :(  However, I think it back on track... 80% on track.  Hopefully it will stay strong.  So, over the past few days I haven't really been focusing too hard on trying new things (don't be mad at me) but I have been trying out being 25.

Yes, Saturday was my birthday, and I had a great time.  All day I got texts and phone calls from friends and family.  I couldn't believe how many people remembered my birthday.  I even got 2 random texts from numbers I didn't know... strange.  That night we hit the town and needless to say, I'm obviously getting older.  For starters, our group seemed a little smaller than in past years.  Oh, and not to mention I realized while starring at everyone in my drunken haze, that really only 1 person there was MY friend.  Everyone else was a friend of A's.  I know that when you're in a relationship his friends are my friends and vice versa but man... that seemed depressing.

Don't get me wrong, most of my friends don't live in town, one was sick, one had "car trouble", but it still seemed kind of sad.  Whatever, I got over it after about 9 shots.  At that time I also realized that I was getting older because there was no way in hell that I was heading out to the next club we had intended on.  I-was-wasted.  All I wanted to do was dance, but instead I ended up starring down a dirty bar toilet making sure there was no puke on my hot pink heels.  Nope, I was good.  Now hold your head high and act sober.  Well, I found out over the past few days that I wasn't fooling anyone, oh well.  So as I watched the younger half of the bunch head off to another bar I was being carried out to sit on the curb, drink my water, and wait for my mom to pick us up.  Yes, my mom picked us up from the bar.

Now, I've been drunk in front of my mom several times, but I honestly don't even remember the ride home at all.  She told me the next day that I was pretty entertaining (supposedly I left some pretty nasty voicemails for the no-shows of the group during the ride...oops)  She showed up just as the bar we were at was closing and picked me up... no literally... picked me up from the curb and shoveled me into the backseat between my 2 best friends.  Oh, what an evening it was. 

Sunday morning I woke up still drunk and craving some biscuits and gravy and good company.  Over breakfast we shared stories, all of which I don't remember, and pictures that were taken the night before, all of which I don't want to remember. After breakfast it was family time.  Now, I don't know if you remember my first post where I mentioned that I had been neglecting to call my Granny?  Well, she was at the family birthday party.  Thanks for letting me know everybody.  Had I known Granny and her must-leave-a-negative-comment-about-anything-that-anyone-says self was going to be present I would have made it a point to call her beforehand.  But instead, there I was, face to face with her, and trust me, she hadn't forgotten that I still, after (oh, 4 months?) called her back.  I assured her that she was on my list of callbacks, and that it was terribly long.  She kind of rolled her eyes and said that if I wasn't going to call then I would just have to come by and visit.  Don't worry, I'll call.

Family birthday parties tend to become lamer as you get older, but this year I was pretty impressed.  Pizza, my favorite chocolate cake and some GREAT gifts.  Aside from the Sex and the City complete series box set that A' got me, a great John Mayer CD the bestie got me and some other random treasures, my family all pooled together to get me a brand new iPod nano and a speaker set that goes with it.  I won't bore you with the details of this sweet little gem, so let me just give you one feature of this new nano that might blow your mind the way it did mine.  If you don't like the song you're currently listening to simply SHAKE IT and it shuffles to a random song for you.  Yes, shake it.  Are you kidding me?  I'm in love.  

The night ended with a fantastic dinner with the soon to be in-laws.  Great food, great company, which all made for a great night of sleep.  Overall, I had a great birthday.  There were a few good friends, in their defense, forgetful friends, who forgot to call me, my coworkers forgot to pass around the generic card that everyone signs, but I think it all made me realize how unimportant the little things are. 

Alright, so enough about the birthday, back to the purpose of this blog.  Yes, I've been slacking, but I think I have a plan.  Many of the things I want to accomplish will probably take more than a day to execute (I mean, who can learn how to play a guitar in 1 day?).  So I think i might aim for a new goal each week.  Sure, I can throw in some other random acts on certain days if I'm feelin it, but I think once a week might me more reasonable.  

Ok friends, off to bed.  But not before I stick on my 3rd application of Kinoki foot pads- which so far appear to be a total scam because I feel no different at all.  Goodnight! 

Foot Detox: Fact or Fiction?

So, I'm not entirely sure yet, but I think I might have been scammed.  It's not often that I fall victim to those addicting infomercials but this time, I did.  I've been seeing commercials for the Kinoki Foot Pads for a while now and from the beginning I thought it was a load of crap.  It wasn't until I saw my local CVS store carrying them that I thought maybe they weren't entirely crap.  

If you're not familiar with the Kinoki Foot Pads, or any other brand for that matter, let me give you a quick rundown.  The Kinoki Foot Pads are essentially "detox" pads for your body.  They are small, herbal patches that you apply to the bottoms of you feet at night and while you sleep they are supposed to pull out the toxins in your body.  Sounds impossible, yes, am I a sucker, yes as well.  So I shelled out the $20 to give it a whirl.

Last night I opened the package and read the instructions.  The first thing that surprised me about the foot pads is they aren't actually a simple pad you apply to your foot, but rather a 2 part pad you have to assemble, then place on your foot.  It comes with a gauze patch and the herbal packet.  Another thing I found interesting is that you don't have to apply these to your feet, you can put them anywhere.  I'm contemplating trying them on my butt cheeks next go round....

First step: wash and dry your feet.  Second, you pull off the adhesive strip on the gauze patch and open the herbal packet.  Place the herbal packet in the center of the gauze patch and apply to the bottoms of your feet (or ass cheeks)  You have the option of either applying one patch to one foot each night, alternating feet, or one pad on each feet every other night.  I decided to take it to the limit and use one patch on each foot last night to see where that would take me.  

When I woke up this morning and removed the foot patches the herbal packets did turn dark like the infomercials promised.  What I found weird was that not only were they dark, but they were hard too, which kind of grossed me out.  I removed the patches and went on with my day, hoping to feel refreshed and rejuvenated like the commercials promised.  Well... that wasn't exactly the case...

I did wake up pretty easily, which is NOT the case for me, ever.  I could sleep all day long if someone would allow me, but this morning at 5 am I was up and at em.  As the day wore on I was insanely dehydrated.  I have no idea if it was a result of these foot pads or not but man... I seriously drank probably an entire water tower today.  I also felt sick to my stomach for a good majority of the day.  I didn't eat anything out of the norm or do anything strange so again, I'm not sure if Kinoki is to blame or what.  Overall, I have to say that one night was not enough to gauge the effects the foot pads had on me.  You are supposed to use them until the discoloration wears off, so I will continue to use them as I am supposed to, hoping for something miraculous to happen.

I did some research today from consumers who have tried Kinoki Foot Pads in the past and I was pretty embarrassed.  Most people just said it's a scam, the pads turn dark from water on the patches, it's a placebo, etc.  This may be the case, but I would have never known if I didn't try it.  I'm going to use them again tomorrow and I'll keep you posted.  I'm sure it's a scam.... I'm such a sucker.  As for now it's off to bed with my crazy kitty, Bingo.  Tomorrow's Friday!!!!  Goodnight!

Something's missing...

Some people don't even own a cell phone.  Others could live without it.  Me on the other hand, I'm obsessed with my phone.  I am a compulsive texter and constantly have my phone on me.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that either, sometimes I take it to the bathroom with me.  Sad, I know. So today I decided to turn it off- all day.  In fact, it's still off.  And I must say, I'm not enjoying it.  

When I woke up this morning I immediately turned my cell off.  It felt weird but I tried to reassure  myself that maybe this would take a little stress out of my day.  I did tell my mom and A' that my phone would be off so they wouldn't worry if they tried calling, but aside from them nobody else knew.  

On the way to work I was bored and instead of calling someone I was forced to listen to lame morning radio programs.  It made for a boring ride but I was still trying to be open minded.  When I got to work I already had a missed call from A' on my work phone.  I thought for a second that something was wrong.  Why would he call my work phone before I even got to work?  I wanted to turn on my cell to see if he had left me a voicemail or sent me a text but I resisted.  I called him back and everything was fine, he just wanted to chat.

Once work started things were going better than expected.  I really felt like not having that distraction there or even the temptation to take a break and text someone made me more productive and even a little less stressed out than when my phone is on.  I did, however,  find myself going through some of the usual mannerisms I would if my phone were on.  When I came back from meetings I reached for my phone to see if anyone had called or texted.  There were countless times today that I reached for my phone wondering what time it was.  I never really realized how much I relied on my phone as a watch (which I guess would explain why I never wear a watch)  

Several times throughout the day I thought of things that I needed... ok, probably more like wanted to tell people.  Usually I would just send someone a quick text but not today.  When I did talk to A' on the phone I had to try and remember all the little things I was going to tell him, half of which I forgot.  I needed to ask my sister-in-law something and realized I didn't know her number!  It got me thinking... who's numbers DO I know?!  When I stopped to think about it, it was pretty sad how few phone numbers I have memorized or even written down somewhere.  I realized that I really only have a few numbers memorized.  My mom, A', my best friend and one other friend, only 1 of my brother's (sorry Chaz- I don't know your number!) and that pretty much sums it up.  It was pretty sad.  I think after that realization I'm going to write down all of the numbers in my phone just in case.  

So, I made it through the work day.  I wasn't happy, but by this point I had kind of gotten used to it.  The drive home was awful because I was stuck in rush hour traffic with no phone.  When I got home I used the landline phone (which I pretty much forgot we even had) to make a call.  As the night wore on I kind of forgot about my phone and was busy doing other things, but it was still weird not to have it in my hand everywhere I went.

Overall it was a very odd day.  I felt out of sorts, like I forgot to put on pants or something.  I think it's pretty sad to rely on my cell phone that much, but that's just how I am.  It really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but it definitely wasn't easy.  I can't wait for tomorrow morning to turn it on again... I'm sure I'll only have like 1 missed call, zero texts :P

Tomorrow I'm trying a new product from one of those crazy infomercials that I've always wanted to try. Hopefully it turns out as cool as it is on TV and not a sham... guess we'll have to see!  Goodnight. 

Lame Day Tuesday

It's Tuesday.  And I've been pretty lame today.  I've typed 3 drafts to this post so far and I've deleted them all.  Here's to starting over.  

Today I learned:

• 5:30 is too early for me to wake up
• sleeping in makes me late to work, therefore no time for coffee
• my job is even lamer today than it was yesterday
• my managers don't really care what we have to say
• crying at work is really stupid and makes you feel like a pussy
• finding happiness in others is an easy solution to your unhappiness
• little things, like seeing A hiding from me behind his truck, can make me forget everything from 5:30 am on
• falling asleep in yoga class is great
• coming home to someone you love and a sweet, snuggling kitty is even greater
• going to sleep knowing tomorrow is another day and knowing you're not alone- is the best.

Tomorrow is Wednesday, and although work is sure to be dreadful, I promise that I have a new experiment up my sleeve.  I think this one's going to be pretty hard for me to do, but it's only 24 hours, what do I have to loose.  Goodnight.

Mission Impossible: Bum Hunt

Being that this was the first day of my try something new mission, I wanted to start off with a bang.  I quickly realized that I didn't have many "bang" ideas.  Well, I think most of my ideas sound like cool things to try out, but I don't think they would translate into anything worth reading that's for sure.  Either way... I woke up this morning, refreshed, no not refreshed, I can never get enough sleep, but eager to try something out of my element.

My first thought was vegetarianism.  I could just try being a vegetarian for a day, I mean, I've got friends and relatives who do it for years surely I can handle a day.  Then I realized there was turkey in the fridge I wanted to eat before it went bad, plus the chicken salads at work are great.  Scratch that idea.  Onto plan B. I can call long lost friends and relatives that I've been putting off and catch up with them.  Well after talking on the phone for 8 hours at work that idea sounded like hell so I moved to plan C.  Considering that half my day was over I realized that this feat was going to have to be something that wouldn't occupy more than a few hours, maybe something that was quick hitting but still effective to my point.  Then it hit me.  Why not give some money to a homeless person!

Let me preface.  If you know me, which I'm sure none of you do (ah, who am I kidding, nobody is even reading this)  you would know that I have a strict stance on homeless people that can be summed up in 3 words: get.a.job.  I know there are always situations and things are always more complicated than they seem, yadda yadda yadda, but I also watch Intervention on A&E and I know that a lot of homeless people spend their money they get from charitable strangers on booze and drugs.  Now, I'm not saying all of them do, but I think I have had one too many encounters with the no good ones than the good ones.

For example, my sister-in-law used to work at a restaurant in downtown KC.  After work one day she was walking to her car with a huge piece of cake she had taken from work.  As she sat down in the driver's seat and tried to shut her door she was greeted by a dirty, smelly, giant bum who had taken it upon himself to barricade her into her car by standing in between her door and the car.  Scared out of her mind she asked the giant homeless fellow if she could help him.  He, naturally, pulled out his usually repertoire, "Oh, I'm so hungry... my baby... lost my job... I'm a veteran..." nonsense.  She, being the kind samaritan that she is, offered up her delicious chocolate cake to the scary man hoping this would suffice.  He thanked her graciously and went on his way.  Scared out of her fucking mind, she quickly shut her door and drove off.  As she rounded the corner she glanced at the bum in her rear view and saw him smell the cake and toss it over his shoulder onto the ground!?  I guess chocolate cake doesn't buy you a speedball these days.

I digress... so based on my preconception of homeless people, I thought I would try to set all of this aside and give them a few bucks.  After all, for some miraculous reason I was carrying cash today anyway, why not.  I figured this would be so simple.  I work downtown and drive past at least 5 prospects everyday.  Of course, they all must have been in a meeting today because I didn't see a god damned one.  I get home from work, disappointed but still think that maybe I'll run into one in this quaint little suburb I live in.  

What better place to cruise for bums than Walmart?  Actually, I didn't go looking for them, I had to drop off some film to be developed and on the way back to the car I finally saw one!  But I panicked!  I didn't know what to do.  He wasn't begging.  He was just chillin in the parking lot with his grocery cart full of shit.  I didn't want to just offer him money if he wasn't asking, it seemed condescending.  So I made awkward eye contact, almost tripped over my feet and speed off to my car.  Dammit!  Missed opportunity.  Ok, I'll find another one before the night is out.  No.... not a single one, ANYWHERE.  This town was dry.  It got so bad that I think I started profiling people as bums in hopes that I could just throw some crumpled dollars at them to make myself feel better.

Eventually I gave up.  I was heading out to meet A, my fiance, and some of his buddies for a beer when I started thinking of ways to write my failed attempt at helping the homeless today.  I could talk about my attempts to hunt them down only to be disappointed with the outcome.  I could maybe even talk about how the homeless are dwindling away from Kansas City, after all, I was a beautiful day for pan handling and not a single one in sight.  And then there he was.  I saw him standing under a tree near a busy QuickTrip holding a sign.  I was a little thrown off by this guy because he didn't look like your typical bum.  In fact, he had a dog, and was propped up against a truck.  I couldn't make out what his sign said so I decided to pull into the QuickTrip and check it out on the way out.  I ran inside and grabbed a water, anxious at what was about to happen. It sounds so dumb but I was seriously nervous!?  What was I supposed to say?  "Uh, here ya go, good luck."  or "I worked all week to give you a couple bucks."  or "Hope you enjoy your Milwaukee's Best, I know I won't."  I had no idea.  

I hopped back in my car and slowly turned out of the parking lot right next to the man with the sign.  As I slowed down at the stoplight and rolled down my window I got a clear view of the sign he had scribbled on an old piece of cardboard.

"NEED GAS MONEY TO GET HOME.  ANYTHING HELPS.  THANKS."

The man came charging to the window, he genuinely looked appreciative.  I leaned over to the passenger's side window and handed him the only 4 bucks I had in my wallet.  "Thank you so much, thank you.  Thank you." And I smiled back and said, "You're welcome."  And that was that.  I turned onto the highway and I was on my way.  But how ironic?  All day I have been searching for a homeless person and in the end all I could find was a man, with a home, but no means of getting there.  Is this what our society has come to?  We can't even afford to enjoy the homes we have worked so hard for?  I wonder where he was headed.  I wonder why he had his dog.  Hopefully not as a ploy to get animal loving ladies to give him some spare change because it definitely worked.  

Let's hope tomorrow is a little more promising.  Goodnight.