Monday, October 20, 2008
On the upside
If Obama is elected, which he will be, I can go to the inauguration. One of the few and far between benefits to living in Charm City.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Couldawouldashoulda
Damn it, this clingy-ness has to stop. If only I didn't like EVERYTHING that I read on the internet. It describes exactly how I feel.
Interesting fact: elephants can't jump.
Big myth: elephants are the only animals that can't jump. WRONG! The sloth cannot jump either. Not enough speed. Neither can the guinea pig...too much like a turd (yes, that was a throwback to Olive).
Interesting fact: elephants can't jump.
Big myth: elephants are the only animals that can't jump. WRONG! The sloth cannot jump either. Not enough speed. Neither can the guinea pig...too much like a turd (yes, that was a throwback to Olive).
Kristin Gore is a rockstar.
Seriously. Someone give her a Newbery. She'll make you giggle incessantly, I promise.
Rants and Raves
Raves:
I love working on crosswords with people. It's constructive and it doesn't involve restaurant gossip and bitching which inevitably makes you feel dirty afterwards (even if you are drawn to it initially, because you like observing drama).
I love familiarity. Old family friends and people like that. People who call your parents by their first names. Those are the kinds of people who don't forget who you are, because they always expect you to pop back into their lives eventually.
I love respecting people enough to actually take it when they tell me things that I am doing wrong and what I should be doing better. Lol, there aren't actually a super lot of people who I would take constructive criticism from without throwing a tantrum in my head...the funny thing is that more than half the people that I would listen to probably don't realize how much influence they have over me.
Canvassers that I can bond with because they magically know a lot about Ed Murray (ugh) and Dave Upthegrove (Yay!).
Feeling not alone. I have always felt carsick after eating apples. I thought I was alone in the world with regard to my apple-induced nausea. Turns out not. According to google, a huge number of people out there have similar apple allergies. I love it.
Buttermilk pancakes. Interesting trick: putting bacon inside your pancakes...no, not like pigs in a blanket...actually cooking the pancake with bacon in the batter. Yum. Almost as good as pancakes with strawberries and chocolate chips. I've been eating pancakes all weekend. Serving brunch makes me crave them, so I nip that craving in the bud by loading up on pancakes before I go to work on weekend mornings.
Rants:
People who are mean and then expect you to continue to be nice to them. Argh. Grow up and learn that karma is a bitch. Stupid bartenders.
Being forgotten. I thought South Africa was lonely at times (Josh, don't freak out, this is not a reflection on you, its a reflection on me being a foreigner there and not knowing anyone except family)...but Baltimore is worse.
Allergies. How can I be allergy free in Seattle and chock full of nature-induced stuffiness and sneezing in Baltimore? The west coast is so clearly superior it just kills me.
Mornings. I don't see anything nice about mornings. Maybe I would appreciate them more if I wasn't so sleepy then. Before noon just sucks overall in my opinion.
Working 11 hours in a row without food. Cereal doesn't count.
"We should all just quit together."
-Paul
I love working on crosswords with people. It's constructive and it doesn't involve restaurant gossip and bitching which inevitably makes you feel dirty afterwards (even if you are drawn to it initially, because you like observing drama).
I love familiarity. Old family friends and people like that. People who call your parents by their first names. Those are the kinds of people who don't forget who you are, because they always expect you to pop back into their lives eventually.
I love respecting people enough to actually take it when they tell me things that I am doing wrong and what I should be doing better. Lol, there aren't actually a super lot of people who I would take constructive criticism from without throwing a tantrum in my head...the funny thing is that more than half the people that I would listen to probably don't realize how much influence they have over me.
Canvassers that I can bond with because they magically know a lot about Ed Murray (ugh) and Dave Upthegrove (Yay!).
Feeling not alone. I have always felt carsick after eating apples. I thought I was alone in the world with regard to my apple-induced nausea. Turns out not. According to google, a huge number of people out there have similar apple allergies. I love it.
Buttermilk pancakes. Interesting trick: putting bacon inside your pancakes...no, not like pigs in a blanket...actually cooking the pancake with bacon in the batter. Yum. Almost as good as pancakes with strawberries and chocolate chips. I've been eating pancakes all weekend. Serving brunch makes me crave them, so I nip that craving in the bud by loading up on pancakes before I go to work on weekend mornings.
Rants:
People who are mean and then expect you to continue to be nice to them. Argh. Grow up and learn that karma is a bitch. Stupid bartenders.
Being forgotten. I thought South Africa was lonely at times (Josh, don't freak out, this is not a reflection on you, its a reflection on me being a foreigner there and not knowing anyone except family)...but Baltimore is worse.
Allergies. How can I be allergy free in Seattle and chock full of nature-induced stuffiness and sneezing in Baltimore? The west coast is so clearly superior it just kills me.
Mornings. I don't see anything nice about mornings. Maybe I would appreciate them more if I wasn't so sleepy then. Before noon just sucks overall in my opinion.
Working 11 hours in a row without food. Cereal doesn't count.
"We should all just quit together."
-Paul
Friday, October 17, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
People Who Annoy Me
1. These days when I hear "Nelly Furtado" I think "mid-life crisis". Its one thing for Madonna who has built her career on provocativeness and cone-bras since the beginnning to continue to be skanky and pop-ish. Ditto for Maria Carey. But it is quite different for the Indie-hip "I'm like a bird" singer to recreate herself with a hip hop album called Loose as soon as she nears 30. She's not that old, but she still seems to be pulling a Demi.
2. People like Christopher Hitchens are just fucking annoying. And no, its not because his atheist evangelizing intimidates me. Its because its hypocritical. He also thrives on the "I'm a bigger ass than you are" stratagem for popularity. Its like he gets a high off the idea of people reading his rants and being like "OMG moment, Hitchens did not just say that" just so he can snap his fingers at them yo mama style and say "in your face".
Apart from my annoyance with his attitude in general and his obsession with being uber provocative for shits and giggles, I think that it is ironic that Hitchens spends more time spreading his anti-Christianity gospel than most Christian missionaries spend spreading their Christian beliefs. Its one thing to define yourself by your belief in something. No matter what religion you are, there is something sort of honorable in committing yourself and your time and your life to your beliefs. But its just not so honorable to commit yourself to the destruction of someone else's beliefs. And lets be clear. That is what Hitchens' aim is. It would be one thing if he was trying to spread his positive belief in atheism, that there is no God. But Hitchens actually wants the destruction of Christianity, not the promotion of something that he believes in. He's like the political candidate who defines herself in opposition to the incumbent. That might be a strategy for getting some votes, but thats not a viable reason or an honorable motivation for running for office.
I thought that Lisa Miller's article in this week's Newsweek had a nice light and concise discussion of the issue. Particularly this bit:
"It struck me the other day, while watching Hitchens attempt to eviscerate another believer at a Templeton Foundation luncheon, that the battle between faith and reason can make enemies out of friends.
Submitting faith to proof is absurd. Reason defines one kind of reality (what we know): faith defines another (what we don't know). Reasonable believers can live with both at once."
Hitchens is like a Dan Brown reader who forgot to read the end of The Da Vinci Code. The part where they decide to not reveal that parts of the institution of Christianity have been a sham because of the hope that it provides to so many people. And because parts of it have been a sham doesn't mean that the core values and beliefs of Christianity are necessarily false. Yes, many bad things have been done in the name of Christianity. Maybe more so than any other religion. But bad things have been done in the name of the United States government too. It doesn't mean that the US should be "taken down" by terrorists. (Yes, I just compared Hitchens to a would-be terrorist...tee hee hee.) Governments can have bad representatives who damage their country's reputation, but it doesn't meant that the country itself is evil.
Essentially, with rhetoric like that contained in his book God Is Not Great, Hitchens has targeted Christianity for extinction and ended up merely grasping at the straws of the scarecrow that he attacked instead. Congrats, buddy. And to top it all off, he just can't resist patting himself on the back for all of his "successful" work vilifying "God".
3. Sarah Palin. This needs no explanation. As my mom says, "it will be a good idea to watch tomorrow's debate with a bin full of socks so that you can throw them at the tv screen whenever Palin says something stupid." And as my dad says, "then when you've used up all your socks, you can just throw up in it."
2. People like Christopher Hitchens are just fucking annoying. And no, its not because his atheist evangelizing intimidates me. Its because its hypocritical. He also thrives on the "I'm a bigger ass than you are" stratagem for popularity. Its like he gets a high off the idea of people reading his rants and being like "OMG moment, Hitchens did not just say that" just so he can snap his fingers at them yo mama style and say "in your face".
Apart from my annoyance with his attitude in general and his obsession with being uber provocative for shits and giggles, I think that it is ironic that Hitchens spends more time spreading his anti-Christianity gospel than most Christian missionaries spend spreading their Christian beliefs. Its one thing to define yourself by your belief in something. No matter what religion you are, there is something sort of honorable in committing yourself and your time and your life to your beliefs. But its just not so honorable to commit yourself to the destruction of someone else's beliefs. And lets be clear. That is what Hitchens' aim is. It would be one thing if he was trying to spread his positive belief in atheism, that there is no God. But Hitchens actually wants the destruction of Christianity, not the promotion of something that he believes in. He's like the political candidate who defines herself in opposition to the incumbent. That might be a strategy for getting some votes, but thats not a viable reason or an honorable motivation for running for office.
I thought that Lisa Miller's article in this week's Newsweek had a nice light and concise discussion of the issue. Particularly this bit:
"It struck me the other day, while watching Hitchens attempt to eviscerate another believer at a Templeton Foundation luncheon, that the battle between faith and reason can make enemies out of friends.
Submitting faith to proof is absurd. Reason defines one kind of reality (what we know): faith defines another (what we don't know). Reasonable believers can live with both at once."
Hitchens is like a Dan Brown reader who forgot to read the end of The Da Vinci Code. The part where they decide to not reveal that parts of the institution of Christianity have been a sham because of the hope that it provides to so many people. And because parts of it have been a sham doesn't mean that the core values and beliefs of Christianity are necessarily false. Yes, many bad things have been done in the name of Christianity. Maybe more so than any other religion. But bad things have been done in the name of the United States government too. It doesn't mean that the US should be "taken down" by terrorists. (Yes, I just compared Hitchens to a would-be terrorist...tee hee hee.) Governments can have bad representatives who damage their country's reputation, but it doesn't meant that the country itself is evil.
Essentially, with rhetoric like that contained in his book God Is Not Great, Hitchens has targeted Christianity for extinction and ended up merely grasping at the straws of the scarecrow that he attacked instead. Congrats, buddy. And to top it all off, he just can't resist patting himself on the back for all of his "successful" work vilifying "God".
3. Sarah Palin. This needs no explanation. As my mom says, "it will be a good idea to watch tomorrow's debate with a bin full of socks so that you can throw them at the tv screen whenever Palin says something stupid." And as my dad says, "then when you've used up all your socks, you can just throw up in it."
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Phoebe's Misadventures in Making Baltimore Friends
Did you know that on the Hills Lauren and Audrina did not become friends all by themselves? Audrina was actually auditioned to be one of the first of Lauren's "LA friends" after being spotted at a pool and approached for the role. If only someone would audition people to be my friends, because I am not having much luck on my own.
I am now working as a waitress in a neighborhood restaurant. I absolutely love it. Some days I don't make much money (my salary is $3 an hour so I basically need tips to make showing up to work worthwhile), but its all good fun. Anyway, I figured that the other people at the restaurant were my best bet for making friends. Unfortunately all the other girls seem to have rockin' social lives, and I didn't want to make the effort to horn in on someone's life if their friend list was already full.
So, that narrowed down the pool of potential friends to one busboy. He seemed nice. My only issue was that I definitely wanted it to be clear that I am NOT available and I only want someone to hang out with. It seemed like that was taken care of, though, because pretty much everyone at the restaurant knows about my boyfriend. And then, magically I didn't even have to do anything...the busboy said that we should hang out. I was suspicious and was like "as friends right...you know I have a boyfriend," and he said "of course, just as friends."
Ha! Little did I know that he was LYING to me. Filthy Baltimore kids. Next thing I know he is talking about how cute my toes are. Ewwww! I don't even like my own feet, so if some complete stranger (yes, he has been relegated in my head from coworker to stranger) is going on about my "hot feet" I know that they are a)super high, and b)trying to get in my pants.
And the horribleness continues. If Josh reads this he is going to freak the fuck out because I didn't tell him this yet. But seriously dear, I didn't want to make you upset, so I left this bit out. Anyway, next the busboy calls to let me know that I should dump my boyfriend because he could treat me so much better. I was like "bitch! You don't know my life!" But I didn't say it of course, because I never say what I think in weird situations. I need to be more like my little sister.
AND, even though I am made it clear that I was happy with my boyfriend and that I wouldn't be considering this kid even if I wasn't with my boyfriend, he won't stop! He pokes my stomach at work constantly. Seriously? Seriously?! That doesn't make me feel cute or flattered, it makes me feel gross like the Pillsbury dough boy.
Argh. Once again. Why is it always the weird ones???? I'm not that weird! How come weird people decide to get all up in my life?! I hate it.
Ew. And I hate that I am being mean and bitchy too. This poor kid probably doesn't deserve all the animosity I have towards him. It is just an inevitable consequence that occurs when people don't step off when I have given them ample opportunity to do so.
Hmph. Maybe the kitchen staff kid who tried to sell me pot will be my next friend target. Then again. Maybe not.
I am now working as a waitress in a neighborhood restaurant. I absolutely love it. Some days I don't make much money (my salary is $3 an hour so I basically need tips to make showing up to work worthwhile), but its all good fun. Anyway, I figured that the other people at the restaurant were my best bet for making friends. Unfortunately all the other girls seem to have rockin' social lives, and I didn't want to make the effort to horn in on someone's life if their friend list was already full.
So, that narrowed down the pool of potential friends to one busboy. He seemed nice. My only issue was that I definitely wanted it to be clear that I am NOT available and I only want someone to hang out with. It seemed like that was taken care of, though, because pretty much everyone at the restaurant knows about my boyfriend. And then, magically I didn't even have to do anything...the busboy said that we should hang out. I was suspicious and was like "as friends right...you know I have a boyfriend," and he said "of course, just as friends."
Ha! Little did I know that he was LYING to me. Filthy Baltimore kids. Next thing I know he is talking about how cute my toes are. Ewwww! I don't even like my own feet, so if some complete stranger (yes, he has been relegated in my head from coworker to stranger) is going on about my "hot feet" I know that they are a)super high, and b)trying to get in my pants.
And the horribleness continues. If Josh reads this he is going to freak the fuck out because I didn't tell him this yet. But seriously dear, I didn't want to make you upset, so I left this bit out. Anyway, next the busboy calls to let me know that I should dump my boyfriend because he could treat me so much better. I was like "bitch! You don't know my life!" But I didn't say it of course, because I never say what I think in weird situations. I need to be more like my little sister.
AND, even though I am made it clear that I was happy with my boyfriend and that I wouldn't be considering this kid even if I wasn't with my boyfriend, he won't stop! He pokes my stomach at work constantly. Seriously? Seriously?! That doesn't make me feel cute or flattered, it makes me feel gross like the Pillsbury dough boy.
Argh. Once again. Why is it always the weird ones???? I'm not that weird! How come weird people decide to get all up in my life?! I hate it.
Ew. And I hate that I am being mean and bitchy too. This poor kid probably doesn't deserve all the animosity I have towards him. It is just an inevitable consequence that occurs when people don't step off when I have given them ample opportunity to do so.
Hmph. Maybe the kitchen staff kid who tried to sell me pot will be my next friend target. Then again. Maybe not.
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