25 November 2006

Where's my inspiration?

Nowhere near. So in lieu of a proper post, I give you Monty Python.

24 November 2006

The day after

I'm sitting in the cafe at Hastings right now, waiting for the boyfriend to get off of work (25 more minutes...can I make this blog last that long?). A jerk just walked in with a Starbucks cup in hand. Hastings makes a better mocha than Starbucks, hands down. Plus it's a few cents cheaper. Pinch your pennies!

I went shopping today with my mom. It was definitely a crowded day, but not quite as bad as I thought it'd be. Could have been that everyone in College Station had travelled to Austin for the Lone Star Showdown (aka Longhorns vs. Aggies), or it could have been that everyone had finished their shopping by the time we got there. We didn't arrive to our first store until after 9, serious shoppers that we are. I didn't do as great as I wanted, but such is the life of someone who lives from paycheck to paycheck.

Does anyone else find it odd that there is a TV show on ESPN and several magazines dedicated to Fantasy Football? Look, I realize that fantasy football is a big deal with some people (many people, apparently), but it just doesn't strike me as something that I'd want to spend my time and money on. What ever happened to good old fashioned betting? Why can't people just stick with the secret office pool and call it a day? Maybe I just don't want to take the time to understand all of the intricacies involved with it.

I can't BELIEVE the Aggies beat the Longhorns.

23 November 2006

Remembering

Oh no. It happened again. At the beginning of this month I completely forgot to post an entry. I mean, I thought about it a lot that day, but nothing happened. Granted, internet access was spotty there, but geez, right? Well, I have no excuse for yesterday. I came to my parent's house last night. My parents who have wireless internet. My parents who listened to me talk about my blog (well, my mom). I even uttered the words, "I need to remember to post an entry tonight." But I also couldn't wait to go to bed. Friday nights (or in this case, Wednesday nights) are usually nights that I crash into bed. It could actually be any night; all I need is to know that it's the end of the work week for me, and I'm racing for my pillow as soon as I get home.

Anyway, the sad fact is that I forgot to post. And since I use blogger, I have no idea how to cheat and date this for the 22nd. And why would I? I'd lose a whole paragraph of my entry (see above)!

Lately it seems I've had a hard time remembering things. I found out today that I've forgotten to pay my Lerner (or New York and Company, whichever) credit card bill for TWO MONTHS. How does one forget to pay a bill for TWO MONTHS? I've come up with an explanation. The last time I paid, I thought to myself that I should just pay the whole thing off. It was only around $50 at the time, but it was a tight month (aren't they all?). So I ultimately decided to just pay $25 and finish it off the next month. The next month came and went. As did the one after that (this one). I am flabbergasted. I just can't believe that I didn't even think about checking it.

My mother, the person I love with all my heart, seemed to be afraid that this would reflect badly on my credit rating. And she's probably right. But to be completely honest, I just can't make myself care too much about that. I realize that having an excellent credit rating can make life a LOT easier for you down the road, especially when you want to buy a house or a new car or what have you. But my credit rating was really good before this, and I just don't think one little slip up will cost me anything big later in life. Plus, I'm so sick of the thought that we're constantly working for something that's so abstract--money. We might as well be using Monopoly money, because there isn't enough gold in the world to make all currency worth anything.

I digress.

As I was lying in bed around 6:30 this morning (damn you internal clock!) remembering that I'd forgotten to write a post yesterday, I thought this entire entry out. I somehow came to a conclusion that talked about how I didn't really like child actors. It stemmed from saying that I was constantly searching for a perfect haircut, which is a universal search for women, I believe. I don't know how I got to that, but I really believe it, so I'm putting it in. Then I thought about Project Greenlight and how when the hopeful writers were pitching their movie they kept saying that it had a universal theme. And then I started thinking about how that whole project didn't last as long as it could have, mainly because the movies weren't that great. The first one (if I remember correctly) had child actors. And, as stated above, I really don't like them. They don't yet know how to act, so they always end up looking like someone's whispering in their ear, "Ok, now look sad. Oh! Now you're surprised!" There are exceptions of course. Haley Joel Osment was adorable ( look at him now!!), and that Dakota Fanning is cute enough to eat with a spoon. She's good, too.

And that's how the post ended in my thoughts. And then I went to sleep. So even though I've missed a day, I hope I've provided enough to make up for it.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

21 November 2006

Score one for a Baptist minister

Now, if you know me, you know I've grown less and less religious as I've grown older. I'm not sure what exactly started my departure from the church, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with me not agreeing with something being taught. Once my personal belief system starting conflicting with that of the church's, I just didn't want to be a hypocrite and continue attending services. At this time, my beliefs have wandered so far away from religion's or the church's, that you'll not find me around either until my mother makes me go.

That being said, I just read this article called "When Religion Loses its Credibility." Now don't get up in arms if you're religious; this is not at all an attack on religion. It's rather a statement on the narrow minds that today's churches are littered with. It's written by a Baptist minister, and it concerns the erroneous belief by most (I said most! not all!) church goers that homosexuality is a choice and should be punished.

*A side note: I have a few friends who attend church regularly and are not the type to want to wipe homosexuality off the face of the earth. So I am by no means assuming that every religious person is a jackass. I'm glad I have religious friends; otherwise my opinion on religion and the church might be lost forever. I'm also glad I have homosexual friends, because those are the coolest fools you'll ever meet.*

Since I don't read the Bible regularly and never really did, I'm just going on faith (ha! get it?) that this Baptist minister knows what he's talking about when he quotes from it. I respect him for gathering up the courage and balls (I mean really, he's a Baptist minister talking about how homosexuality should be accepted! because it's predetermined!) to write this article. I only wish that this was required reading in all churches that preach against homosexual relationships.

I see that churches provide a family and support system, and I see that they can do more good deeds for this world than people could do alone, separate. But if religion wants to keep its numbers from dwindling, I think people are going to have to start realizing that nothing should be taken literally. That's the easy way out, and it's caused a lot of pain and suffering for so many. I feel that people should use religion as a guide, and should use the church as a charitable being. Neither should decide who gets blessed and goes to heaven and who doesn't. I may not remember much from my church days, but isn't that supposed to be God's decision?

20 November 2006

Rebuilding Year

In the process of trying to figure out what I'm doing with my life, I've decided to take the GRE in the hopes of one day getting into graduate school. At this point, I've got an idea of what program I'd like to enter, but that's so far ahead in the future that I just can't lay any bets on it right now.

When I began studying for the GRE, I had high hopes. I figured that it couldn't be too terribly hard; surely I haven't lost ALL of the knowledge I'll need to at least take a good crack at even just the practice exams. Of course, I was wrong.

The verbal section wasn't too bad, and I know exactly what I need to work on to get better (antonyms, root words). I thought the quantitative section wouldn't give me too much trouble, because in school I'd done pretty well in math once I learned all of the formulas. Little did I know that I would have to basically re-learn everything. That means I'm starting from the ground up. And if there's one thing my brain doesn't handle well, it's having to scrap all previous beliefs (the belief that this wasn't going to be too hard) and begin anew. I'm stubborn that way, and I don't like the idea of having to admit that right now any junior high student could probably give me a good run for my money on the quantitative section of the graduate entry exam. How sad.

I realize this will eventually become easier for me, and I'll look back at this time of the studying as a necessary means to an end. I mean, it sure wouldn't mean much if I didn't have to work for it, right?

I've always felt that things came relatively easy to me but that I was still only mediocre in everything I did in life. Most people have at least one thing that they can excel at, but I've always been average or a little above in my pursuits. I'm hoping to find something other than making copies that I can kick ass at.

19 November 2006

Rambling from a couch

I've recently had to begin to come to terms with the fact that I don't have that many people in my life. I have a good number of friends, sure, but I'm really not the type that randomly calls people to hang out or has people calling me to hang out (at least not as often as people call my boyfriend). My boyfriend and I are two separate people when it comes to that. He has a lot of different friends who will call him just wanting to grab a drink. I have a few close friends that I plan to hang out with, but it doesn't usually happen spontaneously.

Part of this could be chalked up to the fact that I have moved to a new city and had to make some new friends, while he is getting ready to move and is still surrounded by people he's known for a long time. But to be fair, I'm just not the type to have a huge group of people that I hang out with. I've had moments in my life when that was the case, but I would always end up clinging to a best friend or a boyfriend and alienate everyone else. This is basically why my senior year of college was a rebuilding year of sorts. It was my first college year alone, single, and I had to realize that I'd previously based all social activities on my ex-boyfriend. I had one friend that stood by me (sorry I don't call much anymore, Kevin). I slowly made new friends and became social again, and eventually met my current boyfriend and was introduced to his circle.

And then I moved. I knew a few people in Austin and was living with my cousin, but everyone already had their groups formed and I was going to have to find my own. I have met new people and have definitely found a very small (for now) niche in this town. But I still find myself sitting alone on the couch most nights. And really, I can't blame anyone but myself. I either forget to call people just to say hey, or I just don't find myself wanting to do something at the end of the eight hour day. I'm not sure how exactly to remedy this, or if it's even something that needs to be remedied. Is it necessarily a bad thing that I'm a bit of a loner at this stage of my life? I don't always want it to be this way, because I do enjoy seeing my current group of friends (both in Austin and Huntsville) and I always feel good after hanging out with people. But it's difficult for me to initiate social activities with others.

Having a small group of people surrounding you isn't a bad thing. But at some point I've got to remember to reach out to everyone so that my small group doesn't turn into just me.

And my god, the Cowboys beat the Colts. Romo, you crazy kid, you pulled off the best upset of the year.