Jen's Music of 2009

As the year comes to a close I started to realize how much music I had purchased/received this year. I finally made my own iTunes account this year, which probably explains how it got out of hand. It's not much compared to some people, but it's a lot compared to my music purchase history. So here's my music purchases in review:

Biggest surprise:
MewithoutYou's "It's all Crazy..." - It's so unique and has brilliant allegories. I never liked WMY until this album came out. Then I had to check out their other albums. I like :Brother, Sister" a lot. The others I can't get into yet.

Biggest Disappointment:
Apex Praise Band's "Live" album. Simply because they had to re-record all the vocals...not making it very "live".

Easiest Addiction:

Relient K's "Forget and Not Slow Down". I didn't realize much I missed these guys. I tend to associate their music with my high school days and stopped listening to their stuff, but their new album is indeed great and I haven't stopped listening to it in my car since I bought it.

But it wouldn't be fair if I didn't include Jon Foreman's EPs, because I can't stop listening to those either.

Took the Longest to Love:
MuteMath's "Armistice". I hated it. It didn't sound like MuteMath to me. Now I love it.

Best Soundtrack:
Away We Go. Touching, emotional movie. Touching, emotional soundtrack.

Best Song to Sing Along:
Arcade Fire's "Wake Up"

Best Single:
"How He Loves" by David Crowder Band (although many have told me other versions are good). This song got me through so many tough times this year.

Best Female Artist:
She & Him. I love Zooey's voice. And there are such sweet lyrics about that special someone. I made this category because I'm really pick about females singing.

Favorite Artist I Discovered This Year:
As Tall As Lions. Like, woah. Who knew I'd like the opening band for MuteMath so much!

Here's a list of all (of what I can remember) of the music I either purchased or received as a gift this year:

Anchor & Braille - Felt
Apex Praise Band - Live
Arcade Fire - Funeral
As Tall As Lions - As Tall As Lions
As Tall As Lions - You Can't Take It with You
Away We Go Soundtrack

Coldplay - LeftRightLeftRightLeft
David Bazan - Curse Your Branches
David Crowder Band - Remedy
David Crowder Band - How He loves (single)
Dustin Kenrue - Please Come Home
Feist - Let It Die
Feist - The Reminder
Jesse Remnant - The Human Cannonball
John Mayer - Battle Studies

Jon Foreman - Fall EP

Jon Foreman - Winter EP
Katy Perry - Hot N Cold (single)
Landon Pigg - Falling in Love At a Coffee Shop (single)
MewithoutYou - It's all Crazy! It's all False! It's All a Dream!
MewithoutYou - Brother, Sister
Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
MuteMath - Armistice
Ocean's Eleven Soundtrack
Okay Lindon - Everything in Moderation
Relient K - Forget and Not Slow Down
She & Him - Volume One
Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack
The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
Thrice - Beggars

The Thoughts Journal

For a while I have been visiting a particular park, walking down a particular path and finding myself sitting on the same particular bench. And I'll think. I'll pray. And I'll just take in the outdoors, marveling at how big this world is and how small I am.

About a week ago my friend told me that the very bench I've been visiting opens up and holds a Thoughts Journal. For over a year random people have written their thoughts inside. Oh friends, you do not understand the joy I felt learning this! The very next day I went to that park and had to hold myself back from running to the journal. It is totally English Major Geek of me to be so excited about a journal. However, if you didn't know, I've kept a journal since I was 12-years-old, so journals just have a special place in my heart. Well, writing in general does.

So back to that day I went to visit the journal. I walked down the path, and even though no one was around, I held back from running. As I quickly walked, I saw my familiar bench and sure enough, the journal was inside the bench. I sat and read all the pages, finding it funny that this unique journal today, was what people did a lot more before the Internet. It was like a blog. But with pen. And paper. Imagine that. I saw my friend's entry and then I began to write my own. Of course, it being the last day of November - it was a bit cold outside - so the pen's ink froze or dried out, I guess. So mid entry I had to stop writing. I had to go all the way to my car, get a pen (a journalist always has a writing utensil) and then go all the way back to the bench to finish. It was humorous.

This journal made me realize two things. One, I hope things like writing with a pen and paper never leaves our world. There's something beautiful about the literal written language and as awesome as computers are, they are stealing that beauty sometimes. Two, the excitement I felt when walking toward that journal is similar to the excitement that has been building up inside me as I anticipate heaven. I can't wait. It's something I haven't had in years and I'm so glad God has been instilling that feeling in me. I want it to be where I can't hold back any longer, that my joy and love for Jesus just runs free.

Life Without Social Networking

A recent letter from Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook declaring the recent growth of his famous social networking site shared that soon new changes will be coming to Facebook. I'm telling you now, Facebook Users, so I don't have to hear your complaining status crap later. Because let's face it, Facebook users hate the changes at first, create a million groups declaring hatred toward Zuckerberg's changes, and then eventually completely forget what Facebook used to be like.

Anyways, in my cranky, "I've got a stuffy nose" mood, I thought to myself and tweeted how I will stop Facebooking if Suckerberg keeps changing. For one thing, I get tired of statuses talking about the changes (That's why I tweet my Facebook complains. HA.) and for another thing, the changes just get tiring in general for me.

Then I noticed a few of my friends tonight were tweeting their growing hatred toward Twitter.

And I got to thinking about how maybe we've all just got the social networking blues and maybe we all just need a break.

And then I got to REALLY thinking and I got to wondering what would happen if all my friends stopped social networking. What if there was no Facebook. No Twitter. No MySpace for you weirdos that still use it frequently.

And I smiled. Seriously. Alone in my room and I smiled at the thought of no more social networking.

Here's what would happen...

• My cell phone would ring way more often.
• Face to face interaction would have twice the value.
• Running into someone would have a purpose. You'd no longer have that awkward, "Oh yeah, I know already. I saw your status update a few days ago."
• If you wanted to know how someone was doing, you would have to ASK instead of just seeing what lyrics they had put up lately reflecting their mood.
• People would probably use photo albums again because you couldn't just stalk all their photos on Facebook albums.
• The amount of gossip would probably decrease significantly as its harder to get it around by word of mouth without the sites.
• People would have to actually eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner with me in order to know what I look like when I stuff food in my mouth, rather than just see the ridic photos I tweet. HA.

Oh man. It'd be great.

But it won't happen. And it's okay. I'll admit that I am a social networking addict. I don't like to go more than a day without checking up on everyone. It's convenient. It's fun. And it's easy in a very chaotic world to lose touch with people and social networking helps us keep in touch and encourage one another.

However, it was a nice thought. A life without social networking. Gee, that was like...ten years ago.

PS. Fun fact. I was "labeling" this post and when I typed in Facebook and Twitter it automatically guessed and linked my labels. It didn't recognize MySpace. Oh snap.

Also. Any other thoughts on what our world would be like if we all stopped social networking?

Dear Guy at Bar

Dear Guy at Bar,

You smelled like an Abercrombie & Fitch store when you approached me. Undoubtedly you were hoping that would cover your true odor, but a masked odor is just as bad as a nasty odor. I just wanted to thank you, though, because you taught me that a woman truly can size up a man in five seconds. Perhaps it is not fair to you, but I was not interested in you from the start. However, your interest in me was evident as I kept my back to you, yet you still found it necessary to strike up a conversation. Perhaps you are unable to read non-verbal cues. No biggie, I will give you a verbal clue. Remember when I got up from the table and I said, "It was nice to meet you?" Then remember how you said, "Well, I didn't even really meet you. What's your name?" Yeah, if you didn't even get my name, I'm probably not that into you.

Anyways, take care and good luck on the next new young lady you meet. Lighten up on the aftershave and next time, ask for the girl's name before she gets up to leave you.

Jen

Group Projects

This fall I revisited the Community College I had once adored and came face to face with what may be the devil itself: group projects.

Let me tell you something, readers of my blog, nothing makes or breaks a class like a group project.

The best experience I had with a group project was in a Religion & Film class at the University I attended. I had two good friends in the group (that I actually met in the class) and it didn't matter how well we did, we had FUN. We involved eating/giving out food during the presentation, we learned some stuff and we laughed A LOT.

I've come to the conclusion if you want to have a successful group project, three things need to happen:

1) It needs to be assigned after classmates have gotten to know each other.

2) The classmates need to be able to pick their group members or their topic.

3) The professor has to give good guidelines on what they expect from the project.

The project I'm doing currently did not have any of these three. Thus, it sucks. I didn't get to pick my classmates (not that it would have mattered, the class meets once a week and no one knew each other when it was assigned), I didn't bother figuring out what kind of topic I would have wanted to present on so I just went along with whatever, and the professor has made the assignment so lenient, I think we could burst into song during the presentation and it'd be okay. Actually, that's not a bad idea...

So despite a few good first few weeks, this class has broken into a disaster and I have a final and presentation next week that can't come soon enough so I can move on with my life.

It's really too bad. I was hoping this class would be a motivation to go back and get my Masters. Instead, it was a gentle nudge of a reminder telling me getting a degree is no walk in the park...especially if you have to deal with ridiculous group projects.

Apology to Panera Bread

Dear Panera Bread,

Unless you follow my Twitter, you may not be aware of the bitterness I held toward you for approximately two hours this evening. I came upon your location in Kettering with high hopes of dunking one of your delicious Nutty Chocolate Chipper Cookies in your savory unlimited refill coffee. To my dismay, as I came upon your vast array of bakery delights I saw no cookies. None! Except some kind that looked healthy and scared me away. So I tweeted how you, Panera Bread, failed. Failed. Failed. Failed. I sat in your store wondering why of all the Paneras in the world, I ended up in one without the cookies I wanted. You somehow must have figured out that I was disappointed, because as I left, one of your employees offered me a free loaf of cinnamon raisin bread. That is so nice! Thank you, Panera Bread! I apologize for my bitter feelings toward you. They were not necessary. You are awesome and I will continue to spend way too much money eating your glorious cuisine.

Sincerely,

Jennifer

Starbucks Etiquette

Tonight I found myself at Starbucks. I had just left Panera Bread. Panera closes at 8 p.m. and they offer unlimited refills on coffee. Thus, I left with a full bladder and a need to continue working. So I went into Starbucks welcoming its lovely big bathroom and better music. (Because on a side note, Panera was playing TERIBLE music this evening.)
Here's the thing. After ordering my tea and settling in, I'm busily working on my laptop (albeit crappy laptop) with my iPod blaring in my ears when this metro guy walks up to me. He asks if he can sit across from me. I was in one of the comfy chairs. I pull out an earbud and go, "What? Uh. Yeah."
So he sits and proceeds to call someone on his cell. The someone must have not picked up because he shook his head disgusted and sat there for a minute.
Okay. Was I supposed to strike up conversation with this guy?
First of all, he breached the "This is my space bubble" rule by sitting across from me. Everyone knows if there are other available seats around, there's no need to burst someones personal seating bubble. Second of all, I was clearly busy working.
Yet, somehow, as I saw him get up and leave the coffee shop I wondered if I had been rude?
You tell me.

It's all coming back now...

Class four was this week and it's all coming back. This. Is. School.
I had a cold so my enthusiasm was lacking and I started to remember what it felt like to sit there day in and day out listening to crap and getting pulled into doing stuff in class that you didn't want to do (like sit in a circle and pretend to care what the other students were saying).
So I decided to share with you how my friend used to keep me entertained my senior year of college (because by then, you really need a friend like this.)

Meet Victor and some of his doodles that kept me laughing in class:

We often sang that song back and forth to each other, so he turned it into a drawing.
I don't really remember how this came about, but it was humorous nonetheless.
A new Harry Potter movie had just come out, so Victor made his own HP movie title.
A kid in our class named Patrick seriously asked our professor if we could have more homework. Thus, he got a cartoon named after him. Also, our professor was obviously a bit overweight.
One of my favorites. I somehow got Victor to take a World Music class with me. Our professor looked like a gnome. He hated the class. This is the drawing that resulted from it.

I'm thankful I had someone like Victor to keep me laughing and occupied during some very boring lectures. I may have missed a few Power Point notes, but looking back, I think it was worth it.

Back to blogging

Apparently going back to school makes me feel like blogging regularly. I have somehow started blogging each week after my Wednesday evening class.

So week three of class was today. It kind of hit me that I'm in school and will have to start studying eventually. Needless to say, I was not as excited this week about showing up for class as I was the previous two weeks. However, nothing boosts your confidence like getting called on by the professor and knowing the answer to the question she just asked. Score! (Kids, reading your textbook and taking notes DOES help you in class sometimes. Fascinating.) Unfortunately, I often forget to take my own good advice and am already finding myself slacking.

Something I have realized is that while I was in school working on my degrees, I liked to space out in class. I'd write my friends random letters. Or I'd doodle. Apparently this is why I would sometimes not do well in class? Tonight I spaced for like five minutes and was like, "Oh wait. I guess I should listen to this useful information..." Funny how taking a year break from school reminds you how to be a student again.

There's also nothing like group projects. Today we were assigned our groups. There was one person in particular where I just knew God was telling me, "Jennifer, she's going to be in your group." Sure enough, she was. It should make for an interesting quarter. I've had some good experiences with group projects. I've also had some lame ones. Let's hope this is a good one.

On an entirely different note, I'm currently reading Look Me In the Eye and I love it. I forgot how much I love memoirs.

Reflections after Class #2

When I was working on getting my Associates Degree I had a friend who would have to occasionally stop taking classes at the college. So often when I was in school and she wasn't she would exclaim how much she yearned to be in school. I thought she was crazy. She kept saying how she missed college and taking classes and having homework and I'd gawk and say, "Hey, you want homework? Do some of mine, ya weirdo."

Three years later I finally understand what she means. As you know, I have now returned for one night class at my local community college to keep my brain growing. I haven't been in school in over a year and hadn't been to the community college since I graduated from there in 2006.

The night immediately following my first class, I had a dream that I forgot to turn in my homework. Not 24 hours go by and I'm already having this dream? Seriously?

On Sunday, the pastor at my church mentioned a quote by the President of a nearby Christian college. He said, "Learning is a holy activity." That got me thinking a lot...

God designed us to learn. He wants us to continually grow. So learning and bettering ourselves is indeed a way we glorify Him and thank Him for the brains He has given us. This kind of explains why, like my friend, I was starting to yearn to want to be in school again.

Also, I know a few of my friends who are currently in a state of not wanting to be in school. And they probably gawk at me (just like I did to my friend years ago) and say, "Gosh, Jen, you wanna learn? Do my homework!" From a Christian standpoint however, I have to say that being in college is one of our greatest outlets of sharing the joy of Christ. We can do that anywhere, yes, but college is a very unique atmosphere...especially a community college. You have every age under the sun to talk to on a regular basis and share some of that joy. You don't even have to talk about your faith; it should be enough that while everyone is going through the day to day grudge of classes, they'll notice something is different with the joy Christ brings you. You have so many opportunities to listen and hear different life situations that you can learn from as well offer wisdom. And you can always find new ways to network - whether with other people in the work force who are taking classes or with professors or even full time students.

Yeah, mosthomework sucks and some professors are ridiculous - I know that. But sometimes I think we all need to look outside the box and realize the various opportunities we have in a college atmosphere.

Funny how life works

As I walked into the parking garage with my friend I remember thinking, "This is it. I'll never come back here again. I'm done with community college forever."

So I graduated from the school and went on to receive my Bachelors at a nearby University. I honestly hated the University. I would return to that community college to see friends during my first year at the University, but of course it was never the same. I knew that part of my life was over, no matter how much I tried to return to it.

Yet fast forward to today... here I was three years later walking down the halls of the community college with a course list in hand. I had registered for a class this fall because I wanted to grow and learn more. How sick is that? The funny part was, I was still nervous. Even after all the schooling I had taken and the real life world I had experienced, going back into the classroom is a frightful thing.

The first class jitters are always a high. What's this teacher gonna be like? Are my classmates gonna be lame or eager to learn like me? Am I gonna be able to stay awake in an evening class?

Those were all thoughts that raced through my mind as I waited outside the classroom. That's another hilarious thing to observe...the students who all awkwardly wait outside the classroom before class begins. You all KNOW you're waiting for the same class, but no one really wants to talk. (Except my friend Victor, who immediately started up a conversation before our dreadful Jane Austen class a few years ago.) Anyways. There was no "Victor" tonight.

So I walked into my two hour and 45 minute class and immediately (because it was a Communications class) got to start talking with other students and remembered why I love school. Plus, within one hour, I spotted one student asleep at her desk. Classic. Then, within one and a half hours, I wanted a nap myself. Luckily, we got a break and after I walked around I was fine.

I'm excited, though. I forgot how much I LOVE community college students. They're all so...clueless. Haha. And I'm honestly in the same place. We're all there taking classes saying, "Is this something I wanna do with my life?" I mean, I know what I want to do primarily. But I want to see what other directions I can take with my talents. Another great thing about meeting students at a community college level versus at a university is that the students all have incredibly different lives to live (like the Mom I met tonight with 5 kids - four of whom she adopted. Awesome.) You wouldn't find that at a University.

So all in all, in case you were wondering, it's nice to go back for a class. I don't know if a Masters is something I'm up for yet. We'll just see how I handle these next 12 weeks....

What I would have updated during my Twitter hiatus

Last week on August 6 the unthinkable happened. Twitter got hacked, Facebook was slowed down tremendously, and Livejournal was hacked. Social network junkies everywhere went insane.

I was fine. I just continued to update like nothing went wrong.

Thus, in honor of this back-to-school season instead of writing a "What I did on my summer vacation" essay, I will have "What I would have updated during my Twitter hiatus."

10:45 p.m. Facebook is being stupid and slow this morning.

10:50 a.m. Stupid Internet won't let me get onto Twitter.

11:04 a.m. Friend just told me Twitter is down everywhere. Claims its because someone hacked into his account and he's getting even.

11:13 a.m. This is useful. www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com. Good to know. Twitter is def. down.

11:30 a.m. Oh. This is terrible. Yet hilarious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtMRddAIHx0&feature=email

11:43 p.m. TWITTER GET BACK. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT ASHTON KUTCHER AND MILEY CYRUS ARE DOING.

11:58 p.m. I love sarcasm. http://www.cracked.com/article_17677_if-sarcasm-ruled-world.html

12:15 p.m. Fine. I'll admit it. I feel like I'm missing out on the fun w/Extreme Makeover being in town and I'm not there.

12:24 p.m. Some Washington Post columnist thinks having FB going slow and Twitter being down is good for us. Pssh.

12:25 p.m. Ha. This is even better. AP says in the 21st century, good to ask whether world will collapse when social networks go down.

12:27 p.m. Whoa. LiveJournal is down too? Kinda creepy. I don't care what you say AP author, I will not spend time on MySpace instead.

12:30 p.m. Oh! Twitter is back up. Ain't that nice.

Since then, Twitter has gotten hacked into again (on Aug. 12) for a short period of time. Both times I noticed and was slightly perturbed. I was perturbed that it happened and perturbed that it bothered me so much.

That's So Shway

My favorite band MuteMath has a new album coming out Aug. 18. They just released a video of them playing live in Tokyo. The hilarious part is the first second. I think the leader singer is yelling "sh*t" at the beginning? I hope not...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xclFRJfZdEw

Hello Captain Obvious

I'll be the first to admit that growing up can become overwhelming, if not outright scary, sometimes. There's something about learning how to balance relationships and money and knowing what's right or what's wrong that can just be a little too much sometimes. However, I'm enjoying the ride to adulthood. Especially when I get letters from important people - like my credit card carrier - that are hilarious.

My credit card provider decided to write me a letter in snail mail about this "Important Account Price Change Notification". I was a little worried that this would effect me. It doesn't. They're raising prices on...

-APR on cash advances (I don't do cash advances.)
-APR on any balances that have a penalty rate because of a late payment (I don't ever pay late.)
-the late fee

The best part is after they say "We are increasing the late fee" they say:
"Please remember that you can avoid late fees by paying on time."
Well, hello Captain Obvious!
I'm really sad if people actually don't understand the logic of how to avoid a late fee. But it makes me happy to know I may be pretty naive about some "grown up" stuff. But at least I get how to avoid late fees.

That's So Shway

Dave Egger's new book, Zeitoun, is awesome.
It really explains the horror of what went on during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
Go buy it. That is all.

Bookstore Therapy

Something comes over me when I am down and in the dumps. I don't know why or how this began, but when this something happens I have no other solution, but to go to a bookstore. Sometimes I buy and sometimes I don't, but today was a buying day. There is probably a connection between how upset I am and how much I'm willing to buy. Today I bought a lot.

I started at Border's because they emailed me today with a coupon. They email me about every other day with coupons and I always have some reason to use it. Today's reason was that I wanted to buy Knuffle Bunny. Yes. A childrens book. I fell in love with this book a few years ago with its fun story but especially with the illustrations which uses black and white photographs and colored illustrations on top. There is a sequel, Knuffle Bunny Too, which I will buy next time I need Retail Therapy. I was hesitant to buy it, so I did my usual process of walking throughout the entire store and having multiple employees ask me if I needed help finding something. "Yes, my sanity." I should have said. I just always smiled and said "No, thanks." Because part of bookstore therapy is just reading the sleeves of multiple books, smelling the books, flipping through pages and realizing you're so small and have so much more you could learn.

When I finally was done browsing and decided the one book I wanted was Knuffle Bunny, I asked for help because I wasn't sure where to find it. I don't know if the sales person thought I was weird as I, a twenty-something asked her, "Do you have Knuffle Bunny?" I didn't give a reason for why I wanted it. Because honestly, I couldn't come up with a good one. I didn't think telling her, "I'm just in one of those moods and today's mood will be lifted if I buy this book." She'd think I was weird. And no one needs to know that truth.

(On a side note, I've seen You've Got Mail probably 73 times and today reminded me of the scene when Meg Ryan's character, Kathleen Kelly, is in the children's section of the big bad Fox bookstore. Kathleen sits down and overhears an employee being asked what the "shoe" books are. Of course the employee has no idea. Kathleen tells the person working who the author is, as she fights back tears. It's one of my favorite scenes. And you can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UZ3t1iQuTo It starts at about 6 min. in. Anyways when I was at Borders today, the girl working didn't know Knuffle Bunny even though it's right there at the big Caldecott Award Winning display. I was very upset she didn't know. I should work at Borders. Seriously.)

After I left Borders I decided to just go to Half Price Bookstore because I needed a new journal and they always have cute ones for $5. So in I went wanting to spend $5. Then I remembered wanting to buy Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger. The last time I was there, they had nothing by Salinger. Well, today was my lucky day. They had Franny and Zooey, Catcher in the Rye and In Search of JD Salinger. I decided against Catcher in the Rye but got Franny and the biography on Salinger because he is so fascinating to me (The fact that he's alive yet no one knows anything about him). I am excited to read what this guy that researched Salinger discovered. It was published the year I was born, so I suppose it won't be the most updated version. So I left Half Price $17.06 poorer but ten times happier. And I think my bookstore therapy did just the trick.

Junk in the trunk

There ain't any junk in my trunk, but there sure as heck is some junk in my desk.
Apparently, I have a trend that I've had all my life, but only just now realized.
Ready for it?
I always have a junk drawer.
In my room, I have a dresser and in the bottom drawer is nothing but junk. It started one night many, many years ago when I didn't know what to do with the drawer, so I put some random stuff in so as not to have it all over my dresser. It's only grown from there. If you looked at it, it would be junk. To me it's random stuff that has loads of memories and meaning to me. For instance, the drawer might contain the movie stub to my first rated R movie, random BFFs and Friends Forever necklaces and bracelets from my childhood, pictures that never made it into a photo album, etc. I thought it only existed because I don't have enough space in my room to showcase all my fine junk treasures. I didn't think there was more to it than that.
Then I'm sitting at work yesterday and I open up one of my desk drawers for a piece of candy. Apparently that junk drawer habit has now continued into my work space. Not only is there candy in that drawer, there's other random stuff. It's not the same kind of sentimental junk as I have at home, but it's none the less a miscellaneous, "Why the heck is there a parrot magnet in here?" drawer.
I guess it doesn't really matter. However, I can't help but slightly worried that when I have my own home, I'm gonna have an entire junk room.

That's So Shway

When I'm really bored, I watch this series on CollegeHumor.com called Jake and Amir (http://www.collegehumor.com/jake-and-amir). Amir cracks me up! And I'm not ashamed to still be visiting collegehumor.com daily even though I've officially been done with college for an entire year.

My latest favorite poem

You can thank Helen Fielding, or you may know her as the author of Bridget Jones Diary, for renewing my love for poetry. In Bridge Jones: The Edge of Reason, Bridget is given a poem by Mark Darcy titled "If" by Rudyard Kipling. The entire poem is put in the book and it's wonderful. It really does a good job tying up the theme of the book, I think. Bridget is learning how to be satisfied as a Singleton and is also becoming independent and getting to know herself as a person...something I believe is definitely needed before tying yourself down to someone else.

My favorite line has to do with waiting...something I'm learning a lot about right now.

Anyways, this is the poem and I bolded my favorite lines.

"If" by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

That's So Shway

My friend posted this on my Facebook. It's a typewriter that plays musical notes for each letter. That thing would entertain me for days.

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=135877103312&h=bnsfE&u=7f-vh&ref=mf

Times!

Remember being a kid and you'd play tag or something and sometimes you'd get tired and yell out "Time!" or "Times!" or if you had a full breath, "Time out!"

Well I had forgotten till I was at the pool today. This one girl kept saying it over and over again while playing tag in the pool. And I thought, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could have that?"

Time out, life. I need a breather.

I also remember having "bases" where we were safe from the person that was "it". I'd like to have some bases in my life, too. Sometimes you get so caught up in everything, you need a place to run to and be protected from everything that is getting shot at you.

I suppose in a way God is my base. He is who I run to when things get to be too much. But I think I'd also like a beach or a mountain that is so serene that I can run to and escape. Maybe I need to move to a place closer to one of those...

That's So Shway

With the recent death of several famous people including Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, the media world has been busy getting as much hype as they can from it. This illustration I found comments on the TV world's approach to covering deaths. It's dead on.

http://picturesforsadchildren.com/blog/famous.png

MURDERER!

I made that title to get your attention.
I am, apparently, a murderer. A bunny murderer.
Here's what happened.

My brother always mows the lawn. If he can't, my mom does. If my mom can't, my dad does. Well, all three were busy, so I was left with the job. I actually willingly took it, because I thought it'd be good exercise and I wanted the sun on my legs (which are deathly pale). So I began my mowing the lawn journey thinking little of it...until my allergies attacked me with a vigor I had never known before. Apparently I'm allergic to the cottonwood trees which had sprayed cotton all over my lawn. And apparently I'm allergic to freshly mowed grass. Needless to say, halfway through the job, I was sneezing every minute. Literally. I had to stop countless times to go inside and blow my nose. It's a wonder I even could see whether I was mowing in a straight line.

So flash forward to a few days ago and my mom reports a dead bunny is in the backyard. I think nothing of it and watch my dad scoop up the dead bunny with a shovel. Gross. Next day I hear two more dead bunnies are found in our backyard, with barely their skeletons remaining. Grosser. We think, "Gee, some cat out there is going crazy!" Or else...

Yes, now everyone believes there was a bunny nest in our backyard, we didn't know it, I couldn't see from sneezing and that I. killed. the. bunnies. Tragic. And super gross. And if that's the case, it wasn't cotton sticking up and down my sweaty legs...it was bunny hair.

That's So Shway

To lighten up the mood I bring you this post-it note project which is awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpWM0FNPZSs

I'll blame H1N1

I'm gonna blame the lack of updating in a month to the pig flu/H1N1 flu. I didn't have it. I was just so sick of the media covering it that I didn't even have the strength to write in my blog. Tragic.

When I haven't blogged in a while, it's hard to remember what is "blog worthy". When you start to get into blogging, your brain starts to come up with ideas like, "Oh, that's funny. I'll be sure to blog that." But I haven't had that mindset in a while. However, I did remember something significant that happened to me, that I feel is necessary to share with the whole world.

About a week or two ago, for the very first time in my 20 some odd years on earth, I dreamt that I died.
Or at least, I think I died. It's hard to say, because as soon as I was supposed to be dead, my dream played out as though I didn't. It was like one of those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books where you get to the point where the character dies, so you go back to the previous page and change it so they don't. Anyways, I died on the highway, which isn't odd considering I used to be scared of driving the highway when I first got my license. In my dream, I was on this entrance ramp and the ramp continued going up and up and it was more like a ridiculous roller coaster. And suddenly I could see myself from a distance (It was like on Mario 64 where you could change the camera angles) and I saw the car in front of me lose control and so I did too. So my car falls off the ramp and then I just fall out of the car, knowing as I fell through the air that I was going to die when I landed in the forest below me. So I pulled out my cell and as I'm free falling (it was a long fall) I text "love you" to my mom before I died. It was the most I could text before I died, I guess. T9 only helps you so much.
Then before waking up, I had my alternative dream where I was telling everyone about my experience and how I didn't die, but "Wasn't it nice I texted my mom?" and then saying, "Now that I think about it I wished I had time to text _______ too and tell him I loved him." I won't reveal that person's name.

I always get really confused when I dream about loving certain people that I don't love in real life. At least, I don't THINK I feel like that towards the certain someone.

Anyways, so the dying thing wasn't so bad, fyi. I mean, if you have time to text your mom first, how bad can it be?

That's So Shway

It always amazes me when people have the patience to do these kind of things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ky6vgQfU24

Pig Flu

Almost every day I visit at least three or four different newspapers online. And I can almost always pick out the big story of the day.
Today is Let's Talk About Swine Flu day.
Let me begin by saying that I had never heard of this flu until today. So when I first saw it on the front page of my local paper I thought, "Sucks to be you."
Then I get to work and I see the story a million times and how it's now in Spain and I guess I was sad to hear it, but it didn't really hit me. Then I see this photo: "How to catch Swine Flu":



























People, it took me four hours to realize that this Swine Flu comes from pigs! I felt stupid...especially since I have an obsession with pigs in the first place. I think my blonde color in my hair is getting to me. It woulda been so much easier if they just started calling it "Pig Flu".

That's So Shway

I'm sorry, but it's funny.





















This link is fun too...I love when people make art out of food: http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2009/04/pasta-monster-and-other-strange-food.html

What I should've blogged about but didn't

I know it has been a while since I've updated on here. Life has been chaotic.
Here's what I have been wanting to blog about but haven't had the chance, so it's gonna be one list:

1. Public Bathrooms. I have so many thoughts about public restrooms while in them that I think I should start blogging about them.
2. That guy on House who got killed off because he's gonna start doing politics with Obama. I think this is cool because I feel like most people would rather be in Hollywood and famous rather than doing politics where you're more behind the scenes. Good for him.
3. The twitter tweets that I never get out. I have been programed since Facebook to start thinking in terms of "Jennifer thinks these bangs better fix themselves soon or I'll chop them off!" Or "OW OW OW OW OW, what is in my eye?" Because those are tweets in my head that never get tweeted.
4. New York Times did a story about Disney researching boys so they can better tailor toward their interests in TV. Which led me to...
5. I'd like to research some guys too because I've been confused by them lately.
6. Rebounds. You get out of the relationship and you immediately rebound to a new person. Is that healthy?

That's So Shway

I wish I had as much power as Colbert. He has a treadmill in space named after him. Haha.

Don't judge me. Judge my haiku.

An encounter with a ridiculously good looking Starbucks barista inspired me to write a haiku because, well, even though I majored in English I've never written one. (Sidenote: I'm not really sure how good looking this barista was, since it was the drive thru. It might have just been the good mood I was in that somewhat blinded me.)
Here we go...


I asked for some tea
And you made it perfectly.
See you tomorrow.

I also wrote...

I went to Starbucks.
Your great smile caught my eye.
A good day, indeed!

I dunno if those are any good. But I'm no poet so that's as good as it's going to get.

That's So Shway

My friend Audrey shared this song with me, which is why I decided if I can't write a song I'll write a poem. The song is called Taylor, the latte boy. It's hilarious.

Feeling naked

I'm going au natural, people. Well, at least on my face...a little. Okay, lets back up. Here's the typical morning for me:

Get in shower.
Get out of shower.
Put on facial moisturizer.
Turn on my laptop.
Check weather/email.
Decide what to wear.
Get dressed.
Put goop in my hair.
Dry my hair.
Put on blemish cover-up thing on blemishes. Ha. AKA zits.
Put on liquid foundation.
Put on a bit of powder foundation.
Put on Benefit's Dandelion powder (gives you a bit of color).
Curl eyelashes.
Put on eyeliner.
Put on Mascara.
Put on chapstick.

Well, everything is the same until you get to dry my hair. Lately, after that step I've skipped everything but Dandelion and curl my eyelashes. I'm going au natural.

I've had an insecurity about my acne since I was, like, 12 so this is a big deal for me. I don't like going without foundation because then you see my face's flaws. Actually, you could still see them with the foundation but somehow I felt like I could hide behind that. If you think I'm insane, I'm not. I remember an Oprah show I randomly watched a long time ago where she had every audience member go without make-up. I think they had all been challenged to go a week without makeup and then their last day they got to see Oprah. Like it was a prize or something. Then Oprah had people on the show who have worn make-up since they were, like, 12 (sound familiar?) talk about how naked and insecure they felt without makeup but Oprah made it better and showed them they shouldn't have to hide behind the powder and gunk. I remember watching this when I was young and thinking they were ridiculous. Only problem is that's pretty much how I was all through middle school, high school and college. Thankfully, things have changed lately and now that I am away from the school/peer pressure atmosphere I've been able to lighten up a bit. I still wear it when I'm going out and want to look pretty. However, for the first time I can go out without all the gunk on my face and be comfortable. I wonder if Oprah would like to hear my story.

That's So Shway

Sticking on the Oprah kick this post suddenly took on, I got a letter from her yesterday in the mail. Well, not Oprah personally. More like her people that run her magazine, O. So they'll give me 12 issues for $12. Sweeet! I don't even read her magazine but $1 an issue is a steal. Plus, she has good book recommendations.

Grapes of Wrath Revisited?

It was one of those days where I had to indulge my needs. In college I bought ridiculously unhealthy coffee drinks all the time because classes were so depressing I needed a pick-me-up. In fact, during one semester of college I had class in the library's basement, which conveniently sold Boston Stoker coffee. Thus, I got in the habit of buying a tall Cafe Mocha and a blueberry muffin every Tuesday/Thursday morning before my Religion and Film class.
Well, today I was tired and it was a rainy day, so I felt like revisiting my college days so I stopped at Starbucks after picking up the fire reports for my work. While waiting for my Cafe Mocha to be made, I glanced at the newspaper rack where the New York Times is sold. On the front cover of the paper was this photo:

The caption read: "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday that a homeless encampment in Sacramento would be moved."
Immediately my mind flashed to the Grapes of Wrath. Wasn't it that book where the people were living in the depression and they lived in these homeless camps in like tents and stuff in California? Crazy. It was weird how that entire book came back to me just from this photo. So I read the story online and apparently they call this area in Sacramento the "Wastelands" (which reminds me of T.S. Eliot, but that's just the English major in me) and all these news people (like Oprah) are giving the homeless press. And I guess the homeless will be moved to a better area. So that's good. It's just freaky, right? I think so often we think poverty is in other countries; you don't think it's so bad here in this country. But it is! This is exactly why I get so frustrated when Christian missionaries think they have to go overseas to serve when there's so much in this country we could do. *sigh*

That's So Shway

I love the Onion. You know that. But have you heard of CAP News? I haven't seen their website, I just follow their twitter and it's pretty funny. Their latest tweet is...
"Former President Bush announces plans to publish his memoir as a pop-up book.
http://tinyurl.com/cap032009".
Hilarious.

I have balls

I think that in my previous life I was a man. Yes, if I believed in reincarnation (which I don't) I had to of been a man in my past life. Because man oh man, looking back on what I did after graduation took some balls.
I've been listening to all my friends who are graduating in a few months and realizing how stressed they are about getting a job. I was too at this time last year. But they keep saying, "Jen, you don't understand. The economy is even WORSE than when you graduated."
I nod my head and pretend to understand because I'm not sure that I do. I'm pretty sure the newspaper industry sucked a lot last year as well. I was kind of desperate. Then again, was I? Because the first newspaper job offer I got ... I turned down. Doesn't that take some balls? Considering how bad the newspaper industry was? I was just banking on the fact that the other interview at the local paper was gonna offer me a job, too. Which they did...but I had to turn down the first offer before that happened. I had to say, "Sorry, I'm not interested." Then I had to sit there and pray that I was gonna get offered the other job. That's kind of risky. I could have easily not gotten it. Then I would have sat there pretty upset. Thus, I'd say it took some balls to turn down that newspaper job offer in a dying newspaper economy.

So with that said, I really don't have advice to my friends who are searching for a job except to say if you have the balls, don't just take the first job you can get if you don't think you'll like it. I know it's tough in this economy, but you'll probably (I mean, it's different for everyone) but PROBABLY enjoy living in your parent's basement more than moving out and working at sucky job.

That's So Shway

My iPod is dead. Recharging as we speak. So you know what's lovely? Pandora Radio. I have to listen to music while I write, so Pandora is doing the job. Thanks, Pandora.

Why I don't want to be a writer

In high school I thought literature classes in college would be easy. I mean, how hard is it to go to a class, read a book and then talk about it? I mean, why wouldn't I be an English major? To me, it was the easiest major I could pick.
Then I got to college. Sure, some literature classes were easier than others. However, what was most difficult was swallowing the truth of the lives of the writers I was learning about. Virginia Woolf? Kills herself in the river. Ernest Hemingway? Killed himself. Author of "The Yellow Wallpaper" Charlotte Perkins Gilman...killed herself. That's pretty much what I learned in one of my first college Lit courses. And it creeped me out. Writers were suicidal.
Suddenly the idea of writing novels and becoming famous didn't sound so glamorous. Surely that career would make me want to kill myself.
So here I sit being a journalist. I had kind of forgotten about all that suicide stuff and I really became a journalist because it fit my writing style better.
Then I read the New York Times today that confirmed my fear.
A story caught my eye because it was regarding Sylvia Plath. The story on Sylvia Plath (a great writer I studied at UD) killed herself (go figure) and I just now found out her son just killed himself recently.
Apparently Sylvia's son, Nicholas, hung himself in his home in Alaska. I also learned that Sylvia stuck her head in an oven to kill herself years ago. Sylvia divorced her husband because he was cheating on Assia Wevill. He eventually married Wevill. "Ms. Wevill, who had helped raise Nicholas and Frieda after Ms. Plath’s death, killed herself and her 4-year-old daughter, Shura. Ms. Wevill styled the murder-suicide in the same manner, using a gas stove."
That makes my stomach turn. Totally upsetting.
Many of them suffered from depression. I guess it ran in the family. I realize a lot of people probably commit suicide, but isn't it still kind of weird? Why are writers so depressed?

That's So Shway

This Onion article is hilarious. It's exactly how I feel when actors come into the audience during a performance.

Basketball, LOST and the Irish

You know what's funny? Finding out what the President has picked as his Final Four in the NCAA bracket. I'm not sure how that got on the front page of Chicago Tribune, but it did. Obama cares about basketball, too, I guess. Turns out we share one of the four in common: Memphis. The rest differed. He knows more about basketball than I do, though.

I'm preparing you now that I will be super annoying soon. My work is putting together a video segment on our website called LOST at Times. We'll be doing video every week of us discussing the TV show LOST. Someone that owns our newspaper was actually in the show, LOST, so we may someday have him on the show as well. We need reader/viewer feedback, so I'll be asking all my friends who watch LOST to join in, sending in questions about the show and so forth. We record tomorrow, so yeah, be ready. I will promote the heck out of this if I like how it goes tomorrow.

That's So Shway

The St. Louis St. Patrick's Day Parade. That's shway. Or maybe it was just the combination of beautiful warm weather in March with people I like. I'm not sure. I'm not Irish, though, and I still had a lot of fun. Anytime people dress ridiculously and make a good time out of nothing is my kind of fun.

Sweet dreams

Sometimes it isn't until something happens that I remember my dreams. Like today, for instance, someone at work brought up my one and only column I had written for the paper. I rarely talk to this guy, so it was interesting that he brought it up. He knew from my column that I had graduated from UD and had asked me when I went there. That's when I zinged to my dream I had last night.

I was at some crowded YMCA or something and I think I was being chased? So this person is chasing me and asks for my name. And I say Jennifer and before I can get to my last name this random woman who works there yells out my name and random facts. I was like, "What? How do you know?" And this woman, who was big and black, was like, "Honey, I read your column! It was good. You should write more."

So I took my dream and that guy from work as a sign that I should probably write more in a column. Because even though it seems like no one is reading it, it's probably not true.

So I turned in a column today that was about how much technology we have, and yet we can't get a vending machine to work. Ridiculous. My editor also thought I was ridiculous for writing it, but I think it will bring some smiles to the readers. And that's all I care about.

That's So Shway ... or not

Okay, my brother and I saw this infomercial yesterday and we started cracking up. It's probably a decent product, but the infomercial makes the girls look silly in some of the clips. The best part is when they have three girls all with big hair looking at the camera. It's called a Bumpit and it's for your hair to puff it up. Go to the website and watch the video they have on there. http://www.bighappiehair.com/

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss

If I believed in horoscopes and such- which I don't - I'd probably believe being born on the same day means something - but it doesn't. However, Dr. Seuss and I share a birthday today and I've always felt that was special. I love Dr. Seuss. I love how he was able to keep pressing on and asking people to publish his ridiculous rhyming books. I mean, he almost didn't. He almost gave up. But a friend got him to try one more time and he finally got his books published. And look where he is today. Dead. No, just kidding. I mean, look at how popular his books are today. I went around to preschoolers reading classic Dr. Seuss books and the kids loved it. It was awesome. The school also had Dr. Seuss birthday cake, which was amazing because I got birthday cake in the morning - that's a first for me, but definitely not my last. Anyways, it was cool to be apart of Read Across America. If there's anything I'm passionate about, it's about getting kids to read.

That's So Shway

It's my birthday. 'Nuff said. No, not really. I was born on a leap year. I was almost born on Feb. 29. Can you imagine? I'd be, like, celebrating my fourth birthday today or something. Ha. Also, in the 20th century, the year I was born has the most roman numerals. Thanks Wikipedia for that fun fact.

He's Japanese, is that okay?

Today I met a woman who wants to hook me up with a guy. He looks like Keanu Reeves she says. So he's part Japanese, is that okay?

Let's back up. I've never met this woman before. Yet within an hour of meeting her, she asks me if I'm dating anyone. I'm sorry, do I look lonely? Do I look like I'm constantly looking for Mr. Right? I sure hope not. However, this lady seemed to think so. She understood I was having a hard time, just out of college, to find someone. So she has the man for me: A Mr. Reeves look-a-like. Fantastic.

And no, lady, the fact that he's part Japanese doesn't bother me. However, having some stranger hook me up with him, does.

That's So Shway

I renewed my driver's license and my photo looks good. That's pretty shway.

PS. I'm being a lazy blogger today, can you tell?

But what about my bookmarks?

There's always some new technology out there threatening to kill my two loves: ink and paper.
We already know the Internet is killing my newspapers, but today I watched Jon Stewart and read the NY Times about this new thing called Kindle, which is threatening to kill my books.
So Kindle is talked about all over and I'm probably behind the times, but the new Kindle 2 just came out, so we'll just pretend I'm talking about the new version. The new version will read aloud to you. Woo hoo. It's a nifty idea, really, to have all your books on one thing that is easy to read and has a long battery life.
I tend to over pack when I travel. I bring too many jeans. I pack too many shoes. I even take along too many books. So I suppose something like the Kindle would help me. I can read whatever I feel like on a thing that's only a few ounces instead of packing several books that can weigh down a bag.
Of course, every article I've read on it asks, "If things like the Kindle make it big, is this going to end good 'ol fashioned books?" I think a more important question is, what about all the fun bookmarks I've collected over the years? If we start using this new technology, I might have to throw out my bookmarks. You probably think that's no big deal, but pssh. You don't know me. I never use bookmarks, it's true. But it's the idea of having some special, pretty thing to hold my place. True, I use pencils or random scraps of paper, but I like my bookmarks. They scatter over my bookshelf saying, "I'm here if you need me."
If we use things like Kindle instead, you can still use that abandoned bookshelf for nick-nacks. And books you bought before technology can make nice kindle for the fire. However, bookmarks leftover...what do you use that for? What now, people, what now?

That's So Shway

I love the movie Hot Rod, with Andy Samberg. Andy is on SNL and teamed up with these other geniuses to make www.thelonelyisland.com. They make fun of rap songs (look for "I'm on a Boat") or things like MTV reality shows with 3D affects. If you're bored, just check out the site. I guarantee it's good for some giggles if you're into that kind of humor.

Monday blues

Some days I'm just not that creative. And one of those days is today.
I've got to admit that I think I have the Monday blues. Or I'm just tired. Either way, that forces me to be positive. Or to have a pity party. I'll go with thinking positively. So here goes:

-I get to meet a famous chef tonight. She has worked with Emeril. Maybe I'll learn some nifty cooking tips.
-My birthday is in a week. I get to celebrate with friends. A lady never reveals her age, so keep guessing, buddy.
-My friend is puking all day. I am not. That would have really made for a disgusting Monday.
-There are only two nights until another new LOST episode. That show breaks up my week and keeps me happy.
-I have a friend who performs improv. I saw him perform last night. That said, I got to laugh a lot. I love laughing. Who doesn't, though?
-I got Girl Scout Thin Mints yesterday. Who can be said when you have a whole box of scrumptious comfort food.

Okay, that's enough.

That's So Shway

Sometimes what you need is a random quote to brighten the day. So here's Colbert brightening my day with this...

"Let's agree to disagree with anybody who disagrees with me."

The Power of Craig

The best part of my job is I get to read the news. I read lots and lots of newspapers reporting lots of so-called news. Twitter makes it convenient, as it provides top newspaper headlines that grab my attention.
One of today's tweets from CCN involved Craig's list and a kidney. Now I've heard of people using Craig's List to meet new lovers, to find roommates, to find jobs or find a couch. But never had I heard of someone using it to find a kidney. However, that is exactly what these girls did for their father who was in desperate need of a kidney. The awesome part is the dad did get a kidney thanks to Craig. Who knew?
It's making me wonder how else I could use Craig. Like, if I asked for a lunch, could someone provide?

Speaking of lunch, I didn't get one today. So I resorted to the vending machine. The vending machine is funny, because it provides these green stickers that say what is a "healthy" choice. Now, I know healthy, and there was nothing that healthy in there. In fact, I decided to find out what Weight Watchers thought of my snack, so I took my "healthy" choice bag of chips made with "real vegetables" (as opposed to fake veggies?) and asked Weight Watchers how many points these chips were going to cost me. Keep in mind that for my size and weight, I should technically only have 19 points in a day. A snack like this should be only 2 points. My bag of healthy chips? 5 points. Pssh. I ought to sue that vending machine.

That's So Shway

I love people that spend time to blog about ridiculous things. And that's what this girl did. She blogged about the most popular photos guy put up of themselves on Facebook. It's genius. Check it out: http://www.2birds1blog.com/2008/04/20-male-poses-of-facebook.html

I thought you sounded hollow

So Dayton is empty. Deserted. Hollow.
Or, at least, that's what Forbes wants us to believe. It states, "Cities like Detroit and Dayton are casualties of America's lengthy industrial decline." I suppose that means things like the nearby GM plant closing.
When I was interning for a different paper, I was one of the people that had to to do the "Word on the Street" type piece and ask people their reaction on the plant closing. I went to one lady who had no clue about what was going to happen. She was in shock. I was in shock that she was so upset...until I realized that I had just broken the news that her husband would soon be out of a job. I felt terrible.
I think Forbes should feel terrible, too. I don't think it is as bad as they claim. I mean, I don't know much, but I was just talking to a WSU professor this morning who believes all we need is a positive spirit like he does and we can turn this city around in no time.
Or maybe he was just full of himself.

That's So Shway

There's a new show on Comedy Central called Important Things with Demetri Martin. I think you should check it out. Demetri has a different kind of humor, but does a good job making an entire 30 min. show out of it. It's on at 10:30 EST after South Park. You can watch it and tell me what you think.

Sorry, Jane

Hi Jane,

Did you hear the news? One of your classics is being turned into a zombie novel. You think that's bad? It's also being turned into a movie. It's called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

I'll be the first to admit that I have read some of your novels and loved them. But I also got tired of some of them too. I blame the terrible professor who turned a seminar on you into the least interesting class ever. Anyways, the point is, I don't care how boring I thought some of your books was, zombies do not belong in them.

Please come back from the dead and swat these people on the behind.

Thanks,
Jennifer

That's So Shway

I will now be adding a segment to the end of my blogs called "That's So Shway". Shway is a word my friend uses in place of "cool", "awesome", etc. I'm not sure if that is how she spells it. But none the less, I like how it sounds.

Today, I found a Twitter site that is from the first person perspective of an orange. Its got humor, drama and more. It's so shway. Check it out: http://twitter.com/aNorange

That's My Job

Being a newsroom, it makes sense that we'd have a television on to keep up with the news. However, after thirty minutes of news at noon, my group immediately turns to other stations. Needless to say, watching shows and talking about shows is how we pass the time at work.

The Young and the Restless

After the noon news, my group immediately turns to the Young and the Restless. I'm not sure what's really going on. But apparently a guy named Victor has been on since my dad watched it in college. And there's an actor on the show that used to be on Gilmore Girls. One time the station was having issues and we couldn't watch the show. My group almost had a meltdown.

What is this LOST show?

Every Thursday morning my boss and I discuss LOST. Of course, it being a complicated show, we also talk about it almost every other day too. Finally, one of the other editors asked, "What is this show you're always talking about?" I suppose it's probably annoying some people by now.

The Bonnie Hunt Show

One time someone that used to work for us was on The Bonnie Hunt Show. We didn't even know Bonnie had a show. The first time we saw it we decided it wasn't very good. So we turned it on the next day to critique it again. Then we turned it on again the following day as a joke. You get the idea. Now we're hooked and have decided Bonnie has made her show much better and we can't get enough of it. We really like the shows when the "Just Ask Alice" segment is on. Alice is Bonnie's mom. And the fact that they use a web cam to talk to each other is humorous.