Dying to attend

Good 'ol Dr. Jack Kevorkian was scheduled to speak on campus today at noon.

I was actually quite interested in attending but neglected to mark my calendar.

Darn it. Maybe there'll be a next time...

* I apologize for the over-the-top cheesy title.

Hmmm... I think I'll keep my coat on.

Ever forget to put on deodorant in the morning?

I would say I forget about once every few months.

Don't know why. Just slips my mind.

Today, I forgot.

It is a weird feeling indeed.

Looking for love?

Wow. There's definitely something for everyone out there on the Internet nowadays.

Have you heard of Purrsonals.com?

I hadn't before this morning. Apparently, it's a site "where cat lovers greet and meet!"

I don't know what else to say about this.

Saving the world one egg at a time

Word on the street is that some insanely wealthy person just purchased a porcelain egg for $18.5 million.

Makes you all warm and toasty inside, doesn't it?

I mean, what better way to show you care about the world...

Happy Birthday C!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful bro, C!

Hope you and the 'rents are having a wonderful time out there in sunny Cali.

Hope this is your best year yet!

(I can't wait to meet Alejandro!)

Love you.

A thick fog

Ever feel like you're living in a big fog?

For whatever reason, it just won't seem to lift.

I feel like I'm on something lately.

(To my knowledge, I am drug-free.)

Seriously. Can a girl get a "fog" day please?

Wonders of Wireless

I'm currently sitting in my class. Online.

This is a whole new educational experience for me. Not once at WMU did I peruse the Internet whilst in class.

As a professor, I'm pretty sure I'd hate the students who bring in laptops. Yup. I'd say only half are actually paying attention and taking notes.

In related Internet news... I'm pretty sure I'm quite addicted to being online. I. Really. Must. Show. More. Restraint....

Yes. This is a master's course.

Behold the tree.

This was a project I did in my "Advanced" Desktop Publishing course.

You could make anything you wanted as long as you used three distinct Photoshop tools.

(I was apparently feeling the holiday spirit... and wanted to leave as soon as possible.)

I cannot express to you how glad I am that I'm not paying for this course.

If I had to spend my hard-earned cash, I'd be quite upset.

I was really hoping to learn a bit.

Making you think...

Have you ever wondered just how old some of the gum is that you pass on the sidewalk? Exactly how long ago did some lazy, disrespectful joe spit it out of his mouth and onto the general walking path?

Six months? A year? Longer? Ew.

Thanks to my coworker, F, I will now always ponder this question.

Sibling love

C, I don't know how often you read this 'ol blog of mine, but I just wanted to send a big thank you.

I REALLY appreciate being able to talk to you.

Love you so much and can't wait to see you for Christmas!

Has this happened to you?

There I was. Peacefully working out in our quaint little gym at our apartment complex. Alone. Watching a chick flick on the USA Network when all of a sudden some dude comes in, completely out of nowhere, and says, "Hey, can I change the channel?"

In my head I was thinking "Are you kidding? I was here first! I know it may not be what you want to watch, but aren't there rules to this whole situation?!"

My mouth said, "Sure. No problem."

For the last half of my once blissful workout session I had to watch ESPN. Er.

Did you partake?

Did you partake in Black Friday shopping?

We passed a Best Buy around 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving evening and there were already a number of folks in line, in tents. I found this to be absolutely ridiculous. No TV, computer or any other electronic apparatus is worth that much to me.

We went to the mall for dinner. (Classy, eh?) But, I did not do any holiday shopping.

Understanding

I'm so blessed to still have three of my four grandparents in my life. At 27 years old, I know it's quite rare. I love them all so much and get a kick out of seeing them whenever I hit Mayberry.

My Grandma T., though, continues to get more senile everytime I see her. On Thanksgiving, it seemed even worse. From not hearing a word that was said to making up her own versions of stories to going on racist tirades, I found it very difficult to remain in my seat.

Frankly, it scared me. Both in the way that she's changing every day and in the way that I couldn't be more understanding. I don't want to remember feeling this way around her. She deserves more from me.

She is, after all, Granny Goodrich. :)

* She ALWAYS has lifesavers in her purse for us. ALWAYS.

Feel free to call me Martha

Although I haven't yet made it, I can tell you right now that my green bean casserole is going to be the hit of the day.

Why wouldn't it be? I plan on following the recipe on the onion can.

I know. You're jealous of my amazingly awesome culinary skills. I get that a lot.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Thank Goodness for Insurance

A got in a fender bender last week with my Jeep. He was one of eight cars involved after one driver forgot to brake in heavy traffic.

Fortunately, we have car insurance. The whole rear hatch had to be replaced along with a variety of other things. The grand total for new parts and repairs came in just below $4,000.

Life lesson learned.

* As a side note, I would just like to say that I'm going to miss the little red rental car I was driving last week. I really enjoyed it.

Happy Birthday Jo!

Happy Happy Birthday Jo!

Hope your day is everything you'd hoped it to be!
I'm so pumped that you're back in Ann Arbor!
Can't wait to see you soon! (Hopefully over Christmas?)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy (early) Thanksgiving to all of my devoted blog readers.

I am so thankful for you, my friends and family, and feel so lucky to have you in my life.


Have a wonderful day celebrating all things that make you thankful.

Choose your own adventure

How do you feel about Choose Your Own Adventure books?

Personally, I loved them back in the day. They allowed me to experience a whole new, well, adventure, every time I read them.

I used to read the same book like four times just to see what else could have happened.

Perhaps that's why my favorite movie is "Clue." Same theory I suppose.

Five years later...

Herald Reunion 2007 was a huge success.

Hanging out with the old gang sure brought back some wonderful memories. I feel so fortunate to have such unique, hilarious friends.

I will always love Kalamazoo.

How many can you guess?

Speaking of the Christmas spirit...

... What is this world coming to?!!!

SYDNEY (AFP) - Santas in Australia's largest city have been told not to use Father Christmas's traditional "ho ho ho" greeting because it may be offensive to women, it was reported Thursday.
Sydney's Santa Clauses have instead been instructed to say "ha ha ha" instead, the Daily Telegraph reported.

One disgruntled Santa told the newspaper a recruitment firm warned him not to use "ho ho ho" because it could frighten children and was too close to "ho", a US slang term for prostitute.

"Gimme a break," said Julie Gale, who runs the campaign against sexualising children called Kids Free 2B Kids.

"We are talking about little kids who do not understand that "ho, ho, ho" has any other connotation and nor should they," she told the Telegraph.

"Leave Santa alone."

A local spokesman for the US-based Westaff recruitment firm said it was "misleading" to say the company had banned Santa's traditional greeting and it was being left up to the discretion of the individual Santa himself.

* Story on yahoo.com

Must. Be. Patient.

I would like to preface my next statement by first saying, no, I don't think Christmas items should hit stores until after Thanksgiving.

That said, I cannot wait to put up our Christmas tree. Something about the holiday season just makes me absolutely giddy.

Just like the fall leaves rule in my office, though, I'm told I must wait until after I eat Thanksgiving dinner...

(Seriously, tell me that picture doesn't make you happy somehow.)

It never gets old

I'm not sure why I'm so pumped about this but, as of today, I am just one degree from both Sean "Diddy" Combs and Oprah.

That's right. Just one degree.

Today, I spoke with Diddy's personal assistant and Oprah's PR person.

By degrees, that also means you're now two degrees from them thanks to yours truly.

Seriously, how cool am I?

Mark my words...

... Someday, I will own a ridiculously expensive - but absolutely perfect - pair of designer jeans.

Someday...

Rolling the dice

I put my life in the hands of multiple bus drivers on my weekend excursion. (One driver was actually a really big jerk, but I digress...)
I'm all for public transportation but, when you actually think about it, it's crazy how much faith and trust you have to put in the person behind the wheel. I'm really not all that comfortable with it. For all I know, he/she could have just downed a couple of forties.

Chi-Town

I had an awesome time visiting M and C in Chi-Town this weekend. Every time I go to the Windy City, I'm reminded of how much I love it. The diners, bakeries, grocery stores and pubs around every corner really make it feel more like a quaint community than a big city.

I don't think I (nor my checkbook) could handle the pressure of always dressing in the newest trends, though. Everyone is always so incredibly stylish and unique. I'd be way too tempted to try to keep up with the Jones'.

Thanks M and C for letting me visit. I love you guys!

Technological Kinks

I love email. I really can't imagine life without it.

Today, though, I wanted nothing more to do with email. With technology. With anything of the sort. Ever. Again.

Why you ask? Well, when I got to work today, I realized, by the plethora of spiteful, angry emails that the email I had sent to 7,500 people yesterday was STILL being sent.

Yes. Some people received the same email 1 time. Some 5 times. Some up to 12 stinkin' times!

We found out that it was apparently a server issue. This realization, however, did not make the day any easier.

I spent my day replying apologetically to angry, pissed off alumni.

Errrr.

Tweener crush

My new tweener crush: Penn Badgley of "Gossip Girl"

(And yes. I'm slightly embarassed about the whole "Gossip Girl" thing....")

A new era

A was telling me earlier about a recent finding regarding cell phones and home phones. Apparently, the number of households that have cell phones only has surpassed the amount of homes that have home phones.

Interesting, huh?

We don't have a home phone, but I always thought it was something I'd want someday. Once I become an adult maybe... I'm sure they won't exist by that time!

Assistant to a celebrity

An alumna of WSU recently won a youtube contest to be Sean "Puffy" "P Diddy" "Diddy" Combs' assistant.

Made me think... If I could be a celebrity's assistant, I think I'd want to be Ellen's go-to-gal. (And, I mean that in a strictly professional, non-sexual way.)

What celebrity would you want to assist?

I hate phone companies

Period.

(I'll elaborate at another time.)

Congratulations Ms. Benz!

... On PASSING the Bar!!!!

Woohoo!

You are amazing!

Welcome to my world

Last night, my dream sequence included:

- Going to marching band practice

- Meeting my friend, N, at band practice and then going to his pool

- Meeting Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in N's pool

- Going to Owen and Vince's place

- Flirting quite a bit with Owen and Vince

- Leaving their place on rollerskates

- Crossing the street with mom mom (still on rollerskates)

- Arriving in Paris (still on rollerskates)

- And then walking (rolling) down the stairs in a parking garage

What does it all mean!

Am I crazy?