September 15, 2011

So even one has one TV show they love that they really don't really want to admit to watching, it's their guiltiest pleasure.  One of mine is South Park.  I like it because some of the episodes are actually rather smart with a lot of low ball humor worked in.  ( one of favorites is one explaining the origins of the Mormon religion)

If you have ever watched South Park then you know about the teacher named Mr. Garrison.  He ends every sentence with the word ok.  But it's not really "ok", it's more like M'kay.... and drawn out.  

So in one of my classes this term, I have  teacher that says that.  and not only does he say it, but he says it often.  The other night, we counted the occurrences over a 15-minute time period and then extrapolated the data.  If we were to count for the entire class, we believe he says it about 684 times.  Literally, 684 times.  After about the first 15 times, it gets pretty annoying, then giggle inducing then eventually annoying again.  My big question is, how I phrase this in the evaluation at the end of the term to get across just how annoying and distracting it really is?

September 14, 2011

So every once in a while  in life, you get lost.  When this happens, its important to remember what simple things bring you joy and return to them.

Saying that, I have to tell you, I freaking rocked double coupon day today at Copps.
In case you are not sure of the rules, you are allowed up to 5 $1 off coupons to be doubled.
So today, I got several products for super cheap or free.  The first item are the delicious warm and serve rolls from Rhodes.  I had found coupons on the internet ( note to self: print more before they are gone) for $1 off a package.  They retail for $2.59, so when you double $1, I only paid 59  cents for each pack.  SCORE!! I love them.  So that was 2 of my coupons ( I got 2 packs).  My next score was this breakfast thing made by Pillsbury.  It was eggs scrambled with vegetables and potatoes and then you just microwave it.  They were on sale for $2 a package this week - but wait I had a $1.00 coupon that was doubled so it was FREE!!! another sweet score.  I will spare you the rest of the details, but I will say I got hamburger helper for 50 cents a box and Jack's pizza for $1.33 each.  I am so good at this when I try.  LOL  If only they didn't limit me to 5 coupons.

August 29th, 2011

Well, I suppose I should start by apologize for the long gap since the last entry, but I've been really busy.

So I officially work from home and I am a firm believer that home can be anywhere so I probably only was home about 15 days out of the last 8 weeks with the exception of one whole week I was home.

I know you are probably thinking I saw a lot, I should have been blogging.  The truth is, I did see a lot, I just spent all my computer time working.

There are somethings I saw that really stick with me - driving through the outskirts of Joplin, MO about a month after the tornado, two separate fatal car accidents, a double rainbow, oh and fireflies.  When you drive past the corn fields at night and they are starting to come out and you see hundreds of them lighting up, it is awesomely cool.

So, in short, I did not fall off the face of the earth.  There will be more in the days to come.

May 1

So all though I promised not to turn this into my big rig adventure blog, there are so many funny and interesting things that happen along the way, I really hope you enjoy these stories too.  :)

So a few weeks ago, we were parked at a smaller truck stop, sleeping behind the curtain. 
There are some things in the trucking industry I should probably bring you up to speed on before I go any further.  There is a concern-able amount of crime that occurs to trucks while their drivers are sleeping or not in the truck.  People can try to steal cargo, harm the truck or even steal the fuel ( this becomes more of a problem as fuel prices go up).  Normally we stop at truck stops in better areas and this day was no exception, I mean we were at a small truck stop actually in Wisconsin and it was daytime.

We're laying there and talking and all of a sudden we hear the weirdest noises outside the truck, to me it almost sounded like sawing metal and we were like, " what the hell?" So I go through the curtain ( without getting my hair stuck in the velcro this time  - a whole other story) and look out the window.  Turns out what we were heard, were pigs squealing.  There was a whole truck of pigs next to us on the way to market.  Now that's something you don't see everyday.

So about the velcro - the truck has these fantastic leather curtains that provide privacy for the sleeper as well as block out sunshine and keep the heat in.  They have super dupper velcro that you use to keep them closed.  The problem I run into is often when I really have to go the bathroom, and I just want to duck out quick, go to the bathroom and then come back and go back to bed.  I must get my hair stuck in the velcro once a trip.  Luckily it comes out pretty easily.  I mean, it's not like gum.  LOL

April 30th

Now, just so we're clear, I don't plan on every blog having a topic related to the big rig, however, there are some things that happen that are really annoying me and I would like to talk about them.
I would like to start by saying, people are flipping stupid.  Now I know for a lot of people it's been a long time since they have had a basic science class and many people probably haven't had physics and don't understand lays of inertia in real life but come on.
People like to pull in front of the big rig and then slow down.  Here is what is wrong about that -- do you have any idea what it takes to slow down a loaded big rig? It's like 80,000 pounds.  That's like 10 times what your car weighs, even if you have a big ass SUV.  Many times, it requires a lot effort not to hit you, please think about that as you are maneuvering big trucks on the highway.

April 29th

Now as you may be aware by now, I have traveling the country lately via big rig. And honestly, it's a whole lot nicer than I would have imagined.  First off all, it's like an RV, but without the bathroom.  The upside to not having your own bathroom with you all the time is one, no one has to dump the sledge and no one has to clean the bathroom.  The downside is that sometimes you really have to go and there is not one there.  Other than the bathrooms though, we have most of the luxuries of home including a cozy bed, a microwave, a TV/DVD player, little fridge like thing and internet almost everywhere we go.
My favorite part is taking a nap while we are moving, especially at night, especially if it's raining. The truck travels in a nice rhythmic fashion and it is so soothing and awesome, especially since the bed is so comfy.  You can nap for an hour and then be awake and ready to go for many more hours of talk radio of someone else's choosing.....

My second favorite part of the big rig travel is when the truck first starts.  As it warms up, there is a moment when it gets very loud and sounds like an airplane about to take off.  I see now why little boys get so excited about big trucks.

April 28th

So have you seen this crap on the news lately about the birth certificate of our President?
I have a couple thoughts on this - first of all - there have been so many questions surrounding this for the entire time he has been president and running for president, why are we finally resolving this issue now?Also, does anyone else get the feeling like this is act one of the re-election campaign, which is a huge joke because he was never stopped campaigning in the first place.
Now I have great respect for the office of the President but there is a huge difference between the office and the person.

Thursday, April 14th

So I easily live within 15 minutes of like 7 or 8 grocery stores and I go to anyone of them on any given day depending on what I looking before because they each offer something different.  Today I went to one of the fancier ones because I was looking for some specific to that store.
I know that I am easily annoyed and today is no exception.  They were giving away free trees if you spent $25 dollars in honor of earth day.  I spent $24.73 and was not given the option of a free tree.  I know that you have to set limits, but seriously, I have already paid more for my purchases than any normal person should  and they couldn't have given me the tree because I missed it by 27 cents.  I know what you are thinking, you live in an apartment, why are you all bent out of shape about a tree??  It was tiny.  I was going to put it in a pot for the next several years until I finally a house that comes with a husband, ummm, I mean until I find a husband and we move into a house.  LOL

Tuesday, March 15

So I'm taking this class called management cases.
In it, we had a case all about Facebook and it's competition Twitter.
During the talk of Facebook and the obscene number of friends people have been accumulating one of my class mates said that his group of friends sometimes have "unfriend Friday" where they each delete a few people that they aren't really friends with.
I like this idea.  I mean, sometimes in a moment of weakness, I do accept a friend request from someone I went to high school with but have not talked to since.  I don't really think I care what's going on in their life today since I haven't talked to them or seen them in almost 20 years.

So I think on the first Friday of each month, we should take a minute, go through our friend list and maybe delete one or two.  I think it will be surprisingly cathartic.

Sunday, March 6

Well after another exciting day with my family, I have brought home another imagine my good fortune story....

So in honor of Jamie's birthday, I made taco dip.  I put it on a pizza pan, all layered up with vegetables and cheese and set it on the back seat.

So I get to there, unload everything else from the car, have about 4 bags in the my hands and open the last door to get the taco dip out and it is no longer on the seat.  I was immediately concerned that I would be cleaning up a nasty mess off the floor.  Instead, this is where I found it:

My taco dip was wedged in the slot in the door.  I felt this was going to be an even harder mess to clean up than the floor mat.  But here it comes - imagine my good fortune when I pulled the securely wrapped tray out and this was all the mess that was left behind:

 It only took 2 sheet of paper towel to clean up and the taco dip was, much to my sister's delight, still edible.

Does it get any luckier than that?
Oh wait - I also won $1 on a scratch off lottery ticket yesterday. 

Wednesday, march 2

So my friend Jason IM's me this morning and it goes like this:

Jason: I know what would make your day even better.
jfo7407: what is that?
Jason: A blog update!
jfo7407: LOL
Jason: People probably think you are dead.

So rest assured, I am not dead, I have just been busy with exciting adventures such as a road trip to Target and attending a VIP event for the Grand Opening of the brand new Target super close to my house.  I must say, those Target people really know how to show a girl a nice time.  The dixie cups of trail mix were never ending.  You could walk laps through the store and at every turn there was another table with snacks.  Other than my fear of escalators, it was a pretty nice night.

Have I ever mentioned my love of Target?

Sunday, February 6

Well, now that the super bowl is over, we can move on to more important things, namely Valentine's day.  While everyone has their own set of expectations and fantasies, I think mine are quite simple:

1.  I would really like to see the person I "like" on valentine's day.

2. I like the idea of a card that was painstaking picked out with their name written inside and maybe some more if I'm really lucky.  This card will then be stowed in my one of my drawers until one day when you have angered me and I find it stowed away and at that point, I will forgive you for not putting the toilet seat down or whatever your infraction was ( within reason)

3.  I would like to have some flowers here just once that I didn't buy myself.

Now I know that men think Valentine's day is a made up holiday, but here is the deal, women just want to feel special and thought about.  Since men aren't very good at the " just because flowers,etc" this holiday and it's advertising bombardment was created to help men.  They just don't see it.  :)
 

Friday, February 4

I would just like to start today by apologizing to anyone I might have offended with my blog about the Packers.

Now, with that out of the way, I would like to make fun of the way people hoard groceries before a winter weather event.  This past week, we were forecasted to a significant amount of snow.  Like over a foot.  

I live in a city and I go to the grocery store up the street that is mainly the choice of other city dwelling people - it's not a store that draws traffic from rural areas that surround us.  I went there on Monday and people were hoarding stuff like there were never going to be able to get out  again.  Now i know what you are saying, but you were there too.  I was, but that is because I usually grocery shop on Monday or Tuesday. 

So here's what I want to know-- what is about snow that makes people eat bread?  By the time I went to the store about 6 pm, the bread was picked over in a way that I had not seen in a long time.  So do these people only bread because it was going to snow?  Would they still have eaten/brought bread if it wasn't going to snow?  Where they going to make snow sandwiches?  I just don't get it.

Thursday, January 27

Now I know that what I'm about to say could probably get me beaten up, but please read it all before you throw that punch.

I'm kind of annoyed that the packers made it into the Superbowl.
There I've said it.

Here is why- any normal Sunday, Packer fans are over zealous about their dedication to the green and gold and that is putting it mildly.  But now, the Super bowl???

I can't even imaging the variety and green and gold baked goods and other products that will greet me at the grocery store over the next two weeks.

Further more, I can only imagine the amount of snow sculptures that will be created with some kind of Packer theme over the next week should be have any new snow fall.

Now I understand that it's the dead of winter and everyone needs something to look forward to, but seriously, I have one word for your people: MODERATION.

Ok, I've said my piece.  Now I'm off to practice making cakes in the shape of a football.

Wednesday, January 26

So if you read this with any regularity, you may remember a post a bit ago about a guy I was dating "Pete" and a whole incident involving smoked meat.

What I like best about him is that he brings humor into my life.

So last night he calls me and he's heading out with his load ( he drives a big rig) and tells me this story about how he is driving along and he hears this loud bang.  He starts looking around, thinking something fell over in the truck or maybe he even blew tire.  So he gets ready to pull over so that he can check his tires, looks in his side mirror and sees a wing flapping at him.

Apparently, the loud bang he heard was a bird hitting the trucking and wedging itself between the mirror and the truck.  This poor little birdie hit with such impact that the mirror was moved and it took incredible force to remove said bird from the accident site.

Now I certainly am not about cruelty to animals, but seriously, it's a little funny, don't you think?  I mean, birds can fly, they have many different ways to travel to avoid these types of accidents. I think the poor bird did it on purpose.

So I write this as a cautionary tale.  Watch out for birds trying to kill themselves and then blame it on your vehicle.  Apparently it's the new thing.

Tuesday, January 25

In this day and age, it's very easy to take things for granted.  This morning, I was woken up by a friend of mine who called 3 times in a row.  We all know that is never a good thing.

She was calling to let me know that a man we had both worked with and adored was killed in a car accident yesterday.  He left behind young children and was just a really great fellow.

What I found amazing was that even though this happened in North Carolina, the news spread like wildfire amongst those of us who knew him through out the day.  In this day of internet and cell phones, you no longer have to wait for the newspaper to bring you day old news when these sorts of things happen.

I found myself looking at his Facebook page tonight and I have to say, it was a neat thing.

You can keep scrolling back and see pictures and posts, glimpses of his life over the last years.  It's like he's still there.  And then from today, the posts of sadness and prayers from his friends, grieving his departure.

I know that some people don't get Facebook and think it's a waste of time, but today I think it surpassed what it's creators had envisioned for it.  Today, it connected people who all feel a loss and in the process, left something pretty cool for his kids.  When it comes time to say good bye to our loved ones, what could be better that a snapshot over time of their life, in their own words and own way?

Saturday, January 15

So this week I started a new term at my "grown up " college.  Now there is a reason that I put grown ups in quotes.  The first night, this is what I encountered.  The guy who sat to my left brought his laptop and spent most of the class manipulating a spreadsheet that was clearly not related to the class.  I said most of the class because at about 9:00 pm, he packed his stuff up and left like he couldn't take it anymore.  We finished at 9:30 that night.  On  my right was a young kid who sent and received text messages from his iPhone all night.  Now don't get my wrong, I love text messages as much as the next person, but there were only 13 of us in the class, so it was pretty obviously.  I like how they think they are so clever and do it below the face of the table, like everyone doesn't know what they are doing.  Maybe I'm getting old, I just found this behavior rude.  It's not like we have to be there, we all choose to go to school there.  The same night, this guy showed up half and hour late with a pen.  Just a pen, no folder, notebook, paper or book.  I ended up giving him some paper to take notes on because I luckily got in my group.  ( imagine my good fortune).
On night two, guess who shows up like 30 minutes late? No paper boy and since we had met the night before, he sat next to me , where of course, I again provided him with paper for notes.I just don't get it.  It's not like you woke up in the morning and decide, I'm going to go to school tonight.  you have to register ahead of time.  You would think that time would allow for the purchase of a notebook.  

Thursday, January 6th

So recently my mom had some abdominal surgery and each of us girls took a week of helping her.  So I came home for a few days this week to do my "shift".  I no longer have a room here, so when I stay at their house, I have to sleep on the couch which is in the middle of all the activity in the house.  My dad works second shift, so he comes last night and I was awake and trying to find something to watch on the TV to fall back asleep.  He looks at me and goes, "try channel 545" so I do only to be greeted by a movie called "Group Sex". Obviously it was not his intention to direct me to soft core porn, but it happened and was appropriately awkward for a moment.  I quickly changed the channel.

Tuesday, January 4th

You know, as we get older, we realize that things are not always as they once were.
As the times change, people now feel free to talk about things in the open that were once taboo.
In some cases, these changes are good and in same cases, it should have just been left alone.

Sometimes, I watch TV during the day.  During day time TV, they have commercials that are obviously more pointed towards women.

Falling under the category of things that should not be talked about is the commercial for Northern Toilet Paper where they talk about how not only TP should clean your hinder, but also keep "you" clean as well.  Seriously, who talks about this kind of stuff?  I can tell you, my friends and I don't.  We don't go out for lunch and compare toilet paper how it works.

I miss the old days where some things were taboo.

Monday, January 3rd

Well, here it finally is, the wonderful 100th blog entry.

It took so long to write because I wanted to make sure that I found just the perfect topic to write it about.

After much thought, I have decided to profile 3 of my regular readers.  If I missed someone, I'm sorry.  But I think that there are only 3 of you.

First and Foremost, there is my mother.  Like any good mom, she not only reads my blog, but encourages other people do so as well, specifically my aunts.  I don't know if she does this because she really finds my blog funny or to put me on notice to be careful what I write about them.  I would now like to share a recent exchange between my mother and I.  ( please note this was before her recent surgery, so she can't blame it on the percocet)  In middle December I realized that I was starting to look kind of pasty, so I embarked on a vigorous routine of self-tanner and exfoliating my face to find the perfect balance between a healthy glow and smooth skin.  While home over Christmas and excited about this new routine, I came out of the bathroom one morning and I asked my mom if I looked tan.  Used to my mild bouts of hypochondria, my mom looked at me and said, " No, the only way you would look tan was if you were in liver failure"  Apparently  my self tanning was not working as well as I hoped.

Secondly, there is J-HO.  He not only reads my blogs as soon as they are posted, but also regularly gives me shit about then I skip many days in a row of posting.  Although the reminder is annoying at times, it is nice to know that someone other than my mom reads this on a regular basis.  He also sometimes calls me with follow up questions and infers things from the postings that may or may not be there.  He must have read chapter 4 in my English book from last session on "reading between the lines."  Now I know that he would be disappointed if at some point here I did not refer to him as awesome, because he is super humble.  LOL
So, just for the record, J-HO is awesome, mostly because he was once willing to go to the driving range at 8 am on a Saturday morning when it was 4 degrees below zero ( they have heaters, it wasn't that bad)

Lastly, there is my friend Jen K. ( I know it's not K any more, but to me, you always will be)
She reads my blogs in bunches and then always lets me know.  She leaves me thoughtful little messages on FB with comments and always tells me she misses me after she reads them all.  And that was the whole point of the blog....it's like a little piece of me everyday when you don't see me.

I am sure that there are others of you who actually read this and although I didn't single you out, I can't be sure who actually reads this anymore but love your feedback if you do.