innocuous dabble

Say What?

2009-05-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

Quote of the day:
“Vegetables are to be eaten by rabbits and liberals,” wrote Mr. Weiss, a lawyer who lives on the Upper West Side, “and the only form they should take is the fourth ingredient in a condiment.”

Read where it came from here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/dining/06burg.html?em

What a drag it is getting old

2009-04-13T20:24:00.001-07:00

Is it really though? I find myself pondering this idea quite often. Sure, The Stones made a great song off the idea. And our society definitely plays into it. Nowadays you can smooth age away with creams, suck it away with surgery or you can just Botox those wrinkles to bloated, younger-looking skin.

I used to dread my birthdays. I still do. Would I drink from the fountain of youth if such a miraculous spring existed? Hell yes.

Society puts pressure on us--mainly women--to look young. Why in my early twenties do I feel like I'm shriveling up? This should be my prime. This is my prime, right?
These questions remind me of a line from "Just Friends." (Yes, I've seen that movie. You can smirk all you want) At one point Ryan Reynolds insults Amy Smart by saying she's the girl who 'peaked in high school.'

That line still gets me.

What I find hard to swallow is that I've already been on this planet for 23 years. True, I am proud of a lot of stuff I did. I feel like my presence has made a difference. But at other times, usually when I finish reading someone else's story, I feel like I have little or nothing to show for my time. Christ, even Lil Wayne was getting press at 16.
Now I'm not looking for consolation or affirmation that my life is worth something, I know it is. It just amazes me that aging perplexes me so. It's surprising and depressing to think how quickly time flies by. I've lived in Gainesville for nearly three years, but I still feel like I'm just getting to know the place.

I'm not really sure how I can ease my mind on this whole aging thing. There's a part of me that can't wait to see what the future holds, but I don't want to rush it. For such much of our lives we're just preparing for the future. With all that prepping, how can you enjoy the present?

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
-John Lennon

Tune In

2009-04-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

So already I'm starting to slack with the blogging upkeep. We'll fix that now. To play catch up, let's see what's happened since my last entry...
Work sucks, still. The new manager is frustrating everyone with her sour attitude and incompetence. I'm trying to stay optimistic, but that place is going down like the Titanic.
I've been applying incessantly to jobs all over Gainesville. I've had a few nibbles, but we'll see if I hook any. Most of them are receptionist or office jobs. They offer decent pay, and I'd really prefer to be out of the food industry. The only terrible thing about finding a new job is leaving all of my beloved scooping pals. I know we'll still hang out, but it won't be the same.
My mom is coming for a visit in a few weeks. I'm really excited! I haven't seen her since Christmas break. We'll most likely go to the Butterfly Rainforest, but I'm not really sure what else she wants to do. We'll eat at some of my favorite places like Reggae Shack, Mellow Mushroom and Bento for sure. Maybe I can even get her to try sushi. I recently went to Buddha Belly with Jessica and the food was incredible so we could check that out too.Their peanut curry was amazing and the best part is you can choose how spicy (or plain)you want your meal. I like some heat and 5 was perfect.
Another idea for us involves pie. There was/is some pie festival/contest in Celebration, FL that I wanted to go to so that's a possibility too. My mom and I both love to bake and who doesn't love pie? It would also be really fun to take her to a show at the Hipp. Hopefully something intriguing is playing.
Her visit will be a nice break from work for the both of us, I'm sure.

Make your move

2009-04-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

I've always wondered what Texas was like. I always had assumptions that it was where people attended rodeos and rocked cowboy boots with spurs.

Beginning in August, I will discover the truth behind these thoughts. A few days ago I was accepted to City Year San Antonio. For a year, I will be dedicating my time and effort to an organization aimed to make a difference in local communities and schools. I first learned about City Year after being rejected by Teach for America. Funny how life works like that sometimes.

I was attracted to City Year because it involved more than just working in a classroom. I'd also be working in the community. That was intriguing because the community is where the heart is. It's where you get to learn about the little things. You learn where to get the best slice of pizza, where to go for a first date. You meet all types of people--not just the kids. I am excited about mentoring students, don't misread that. But I'm also curious about the rest of the population that inhabits the city. I want to know who to go to if I'm having car trouble, or if my dog needs a playmate. I also want people to know who I am, and that I have something to offer. It's people and the connections you make and experiences you share that make life worthwhile.

Back to San Antonio. I've never been there, I don't know anyone who has, and I don't really know anyone who lives there aside from my soon-to-be buddies with City Year. Although it is a little intimidating, it's extremely exciting. I don't know what to expect, and that's a good thing. There will be challenges and I'm sure sometimes I'll wonder if I made the right decision, but how much would I really learn, or grow if it was easy?

I'll update later once I receive more details about my training, moving date, potential living situations, etc.

Until then, check out this. Looks promising!

One more time

2009-04-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to try this whole create-a-blog-and-update-it-frequently thing. I've had a rough relationship with blogging in the past so I can't make any promises.

What's on my mind now:

I don't understand the obsession with Twitter. I don't fully understand the concept of the site. Is it really just a constant status update? It just seems like a new social network that makes stalking acceptable.

Don't get me wrong, I take interest in what my friends and family are doing. But do I really need to know whether they 'just got out of the shower' or are 'headed to Publix for the third time today. Forgot the TP!'?

Whatever happened to TMI?

Apparently our society has evolved past leaving some things to the imagination. Between the scandalous photos posted and the hourly updates, people don't really need to communicate face to face. You can simply add a friend, and then follow their every move, learn their every interest and track their every step via internet access.

Forget personal phone calls or a friendly letter in the mail, just check my status. That's how we'll keep in touch.

On the road

2009-01-24T15:21:00.000-08:00

So today was an interesting day. I had a hair appointment at 10 am at the mall. Decided I wanted bangs. As cliche as it might be, I'm one of those girls who does something to their hair during/after a stressful time. Check.
Anyway, after two hours I feel like my hair looks like a wig. I like the bangs, don't get me wrong. But the way the stylist dried it with my layers and angles curving in around my face I can't help but think I look like a mannequin. It will take a little getting used to.
As I was headed home on 75 I passed my exit. I passed all of the Gainesville exits. I ended up driving to Ocala and for no particular reason. I was listening to Head Automatica, it was a beautiful day and I felt like driving. I think the only reason I turned around was because I had to get off an exit to pee.
Driving on a gorgeous, sunny days while listening to music is one of my favorite things. It's a great way to just relax and clear your head, assuming there's no traffic.
I talked to Pete the other night and we're planning a road trip. He's going to fly to Florida, drive with me back to Arizona where we'll hang out for a bit, drive back to Florida, and then he'll fly back to Arizona. Not only is he a great friend, but he also loves road trips which is fantastic. He also informed me that he has a portable hookah. That should be fun.
I've always wanted to go on a cross-country road trip. Another bonus is that we can stop off in New Mexico where I can observe whether or not I could actually live there. If not, there's always New York.
While I was driving back to Gainesville I saw a pickup truck with its back panel airbrushed. I could vaguely see a ship on waves and what seemed to be a pirate. My attention grabbed, I accelerated to get a closer look. To my disappointment it was a ship with a captain, who was being guided by Jesus. Jesus had his arm around the fellow, pointing him in the right direction. The caption below read: In God We Must Trust.
It made me wonder why Jesus didn't help out the crew from "The Perfect Storm."
Oh, but before my little road trip I went by Forever 21 and bought another anchor necklace and pink zebra-print flats. Cute.

New Year's resolution?

2009-01-12T20:32:00.000-08:00

Too bad I don't actually follow that nonsense. I guess some people need an excuse to make a promise that they're just going to break with more excuses.
Anyway, I'm going to try and write more. Now that I have this fancy-pants journalism degree, perhaps I can put it to use, if only in an unpaid blog form.
I've officially been back in Florida and free from school for a week. Graduating was exciting, but also terrifying. Now I'm supposed to know what to do with my life. I still have about a week left until I find out about whether or not one option will work. If that falls through I'll have even more options. I guess I could do whatever I want. Sounds nice.
Depending on my mood, the day, the hour, sometimes it's relieving to know that I've completed four (and a half) years of college. It feels like a huge accomplishment. At other times, I panic. I start analyzing the time that has already passed and what is to come. I think of what I could have done in that time and what I should be doing now. Wasted time is a terrible thing.
I've realized this post is quite a downer. I'm really not that stressed right now. Work is easy the majority of the time, friends and family are good, and I have some entertaining plans this week. I haven't been to a live show in a while. This week I'm going to at least two, possibly three. We'll see if Reggae Tuesdays is attractive tomorrow. If not, Thursday and Friday should be quite fun. Perhaps a trip to the Atlantic for Indie Dance Night will follow Thursday's show. Dancing is a great stress reliever. It's fun regardless.
Takoda is chewing the shit out of his bone and it's making me crazy.
Until next time.

Find Me Somebody to Love

2008-11-23T22:14:00.000-08:00

Don't let the title mislead you. I'm not desperately looking for the attention of some strapping young fellow. The more appropriate Queen song to use as a title might be "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy" because I can't help but daydream about an overly romantic guy who sweeps me off my feet.
As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a sucker for all that romantic crap. Flowers on a regular day or a surprise lunch date are always appreciated and desired. I would literally melt if a guy serenaded me. It's happened once for real and then I've had a few guys jokingly sing to me.
The question I've been pondering lately is why guys aren't more spontaneous and romantic. Maybe they are and I just haven't met them. I would think that thanks to all the romantic comedy movies and dramatic chick sitcoms that guys would have a clue by now. I just wonder what's holding them back. Are they scared of rejection? Does it embarrass them? Or are they really just clueless?
I dated someone for nearly six years and while I loved the sweet things he did for me, they didn't come as often as I would have liked. Does this make me selfish? Is it so bad for a girl to want flowers on any old Tuesday? Even a CD compilation of romantic songs. Hell, even a song dedication in the car would put a goofy smile on my face.
I don't want to be too hard on guys because I know this might all sound and be high maintenance. I'm sure guys would love surprises too. I used to leave secret notes for my ex-boyfriend after a visit, thanking him for a wonderful time. I made him quite a few CD mixes of songs that reminded me of him and songs I thought he'd like.
Ideally,my guy would be the ultimate romancer, but it would be sincere. The following are a few things that would make me weak at the knees.

- A serenade of a Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra or Beatles song. I'd blush, get the chills and turn to putty.

- Flowers on an unexpected day. Enough said.

- A surprise visit. Whether you stop by work or randomly knock on my door, it's always great to see you unexpectedly.

- Secret messages. Send me an email during the day telling me I'm all you're thinking about. Before you leave my place, hide a little note somewhere. You have no idea how much power such a simple gesture can hold.

Maybe I need to wake up from my dream world or maybe I should lower my expectations. Or maybe, just maybe, there is a guy out there who would be more than happy, more than willing to do such things for me. For now, I'll watch old black and white movies and sigh at what it'd be like to actually live those movie moments.

Why you're here

2008-10-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't really answer that question. Maybe you're stalking me. Maybe you're bored. Maybe you want to read my blog so you can judge my grammar and laugh at my pointless posts.
As the name entails, this blog is dedicated to anything I feel like talking, or really, writing about. It might get a little personal, there could be a few rants (no surprise) and maybe some advice. Look out!
Really this blog is just an outlet for what is going on in my life. Since I don't have time, or really the motivation to physically exercise, maybe I can relieve some stress by breaking a mental sweat. Oh, how clever I am.

Check back soon.