Already the middle of May. Seriously, 2008. Slow the fuck down.
Today one of my friends texted me to say how bored he was at work and how he didn't want to do anything. Man, I felt the same way. I had a "case of the Mondays" this morning, but then work picked up this afternoon and I was busy again. I texted him back on how jealous I was of the stupid college kids and their summer breaks. Enjoy it while you can, assholes. I have to say that even though vacation time is severely shortened out here in the "real world," I'd much rather have the 8-5 days, guilt-free evenings, and no tests :)
Today I was working on a problem at work, and I figured out how to do it fairly quickly (I'm not trying to be a show-off, because the problem was pretty easy). But even though I knew I had the right process, I couldn't make intuitive sense of it. So I doubted myself and spent awhile trying out other solutions. Nothing. I put the problem away and went to run an errand at the TCEQ office. I came back, looked at the problem, and figured out in a minute where I'd wrong: my original math was right, just my justification for it was off. I was frustrated at how easy the problem actually was, and I how I'd made it so much harder by overthinking it. Two lessons: I shouldn't doubt myself when I know the math is right, and I should just put the problem away next time and let my subconscious work it out.
The run today was good. 5 sets of 400/200s. The 200s kick my ass. I like running as fast as I can for the first, but it gets harder with each successive one. The weather was cool, so that was nice, at least. (Well, the weather was probably around 70 degrees. Living in Texas for 14 years has warped what my sense of cold weather is.)
This weekend I went home for Mother's Day, of course. How can I spend Mother's Day without seeing my mama? I got my mom some lotion from Victoria Beckham's line. My mom loves Victoria Beckham so it was an ideal gift. (My mom is really bad with remembering names, so sometimes she'll call her "Rebecca Buchman." Hee.) It was nice to be home, and I had a good time with my family. My mom always makes me a nice Italian sauce, and my dad will usually make some sort of barbeque dish, and I take the leftovers from that too. See, I don't even live at home anymore, and I still manage to eat all the food. Ha!
This weekend I went to see Iron Man with Pat. The theater was so packed (at 11:45 am on Saturday!) that we had to sit in the 2nd to front row. (Obadiah Stane's head looked extra huge from that view, let me tell you.)
I really liked this movie. It had a great plot, really good acting (except for Gwyneth Paltrow's apparent inability to act in front of a green screen, but she was tolerable in other scenes), the sarcastic humor that I like, minimal romance that would otherwise suck the life out of an action flick, and good eye candy for me (seriously, this movie makes you see RDJ in a new light). I like the character's name too ;)
Um so I have three days to finish my two stories before the writing contest's submission date. Hey, it's just like college!
Wow, I have written entirely too much for one post. Time for me to call it a night :)
1. Eldest children really do have it harder. Please pity me :) Birth-order studies always interest me, because I find they are fairly accurate when it comes to Patrick and me.
2. I'm going to enter a writing contest. Yeah! I entered about a year and a half ago but I felt the story I submitted was a dud. (I didn't win, obviously). I think I will enter two stories this year. I wrote one of them during my creative writing class last semester. My teacher gave it a good review; I don't think it's great, but it's not as bad as the one I submitted last time. I'm writing another story to enter. I think it has a good premise, I just have to do a lot of cleaning up. I've written maybe 25-50% of it. Writing short fiction is hard! You have to condense so much into a certain word count, make the plot interesting and engaging, and really make those characters jump off the page. I just have to make my character believable, since we don't have similar backgrounds and life experiences. I hope I succeed; there's nothing worse than reading stilted writing.
3. So today someone complimented by driving. I know, right? I was about ready to start laughing too. She's a coworker and it turns out she lives in the same apartment complex that I do, so she was following me in the parking lot. "Wow, I'm really impressed by how you actually use your signals," she said. "I don't see a lot of people here who do that, good job!" I'm surprised she was complimentary, because as I was driving, I was so sure that she would be cussing me out. In parking lots, I drive like an 80-year-old grandmother on Quaaludes (parking lots + parking garages = Jenny's worst enemies). But hey, I'll take any compliments I get :)
This is a favorite of mine. Of course, I'm referring to the Simon and Garfunkel version-I like to pretend that the others, like Clay Aiken's, do not exist. This song isn't THE favorite, but it's definitely one I can listen to repeatedly and still have love for. It's just such a soothing, relaxing song. I've read that Paul Simon regretted letting Art Garfunkel sing the solo, but I can't imagine the song without the solo. It's so powerful.
 |
|
|
|
When you’re weary, feeling small, When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all; I’m on your side. When times get rough And friends just can’t be found, Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down. Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down. When you’re down and out, Sail on silvergirl, Like a bridge over troubled water |
I am obsessed with getting mail. Ever since I was little, I have loved checking the mail and seeing if there is a letter for me. Doesn't matter-postal mail, email. I love it. It's a shame that email has taken over all methods of communication, because it used to be so much fun to have pen pals and get letters. Even now, I happily check the apartment mail box or my hanging file folder at work to see if I get anything. But besides my magazine subscriptions, the only mail I ever get is spam asking me to move to another apartment, or bills. Exciting.
But to be honest, as much as I like checking my mail, I'm not too sure how I'd feel if, say, there was a letter from a serial killer waiting for me. Apparently Bill Geerhart had no problem with it. A pop culture historian, he pretended to be a ten-year-old boy soliciting advice from celebrities and serial killers, and published the results in Radar Magazine. The results are hilarious for reasons that will make you feel slightly guilty when you laugh. You can read the letters here. I promise that the results are very entertaining. The Unabomber is the only one with any sensible advice. As expected, Charles Manson's reply makes no sense and is scary. Richard Ramirez intersperses his attempt at making conversation with the repeated request to send pictures (he even has his own Nightstalker stationary! Creepy).
"Greetings. Received your letter. Glad to hear my letter to you in '99 made a difference. When do you graduate? Yeah, get me a subscription to Radar Magazine. What is it about? Know any Asian girls willing to correspond? Send pictures. You can photocopy 5 on 1 page or send 'em singular. Nothing scenic though. Send some of girls in bikinis."
For those of you put off by reading letters from serial killers, "The Billy Letters" also include correspondences with Dick Cheney and Arnold Schwarzenegger (that letter is hilarious, because Billy asks for Arnold's advice on what to do after pinching a girl's bottom, since "you do it all the time." Not surprisingly, all he received was a form letter in return.)
This collection of letters is bizarre, but undoubtedly very entertaining.
Waking up early on weekends is great. I woke up at 7:45 because I had to bring Pearl Jr. in to get some work done (that's early for a weekend!) And now it's only 12:30 and I feel like I've accomplished so much with my day. I need to remind myself this on weekdays, when I am loathe to get out of bed. The first five minutes suck, but then you feel better for it. I can never get back to the way I was in high school, when I'd wake up at 4:45 to go running. That's a little crazy. But you kind of need to wake up early on weekends here if you want to beat the crowds and get anything done. I left my apartment at 8:30. In my hometown, at 8:30, if you venture out it's like the aftermath of a nuclear war-no one is in sight. Here at 8:30, there were already cars lined up at the stop lights. What are you losers doing up so early? Go back to sleep.
I headed to Target to pick up some bath items. Get this- I didn't spend more than $25 at Target. That's amazing. I'm being so good with my budget and not letting myself wander around, because it's so easy to zone out at Target and find useless shit you don't need. In the $1 aisle, I found cute little things to decorate my cube with. Yes, after nearly four months on the job, I have finally decided to decorate my cube. It's so boring and plain, and some people have really awesome, personal little workspaces. I pulled out some pictures to decorate with but I'm unsure of whether or not I want to use them. I find that I'm fairly private with my personal life (believe it or not, I don't post really private stuff on this blog, just the funny or more mundane aspects of my life.) So I don't know if I want to be plastering pictures of myself, my family, and my high school friends (since I've gone digital with my photos in the past couple of years, the only hard copies of pictures I have are from high school and early college).
Looking at the high school pictures made me feel a little nostalgic. I've lost touch with one of my best friends from then. She's in Canada now. We were such great friends and then we drifted apart. I realized looking at old pictures of us how much I miss her and her friendship. I wish we can be as close as we were back then, but I think there's too much of a rift now. We're friendly with each other on Facebook and everything, but it's not like it was. I don't feel that way about all of my friends from that time, because everyone moves on from high school and grows up and apart. But I'd like to reconnect with this old friend.
I told my mom I have a blog, and now she reads it. Hi, Mama! If you think I should be concerned about my excessive use of the EFF word on this blog since my mom reads it, then you will be mistaken. My mom used to get on my case for cursing, but I think she gave up because Patrick has no qualms about letting the curse words fly. I don't really curse around my parents too much (I still feel kind of weird doing it), but Patrick has no problem. Once a couple of years ago, I was playing XBox with everyone online, and at some point I said, "GET OFF THE GODDAMN SHED!" like from the Will Ferrell skit. Everyone started laughing because they understood where it came from, but my mom hadn't seen it. So she said, "Jenny!" in a really scandalized, almost hurt voice. It was so funny. Anyway. My mom likes the design I use (she thought I did it myself, I wish I had that talent), and she says the profile picture I am using now is much better than my old one. Thanks, Mom. Patrick has a Vox too now, but he hasn't added me to his neighborhood yet. Douche.
Well, off I go. The weather here is absolutely gorgeous. Have a wonderful Saturday! Here is my parting gift:
- A delicious dinner (Carbonara!)
- 1 wine cooler
- Creamy, decadent ice cream (I got the HEB brand because the others are too expensive...it's actually really delicious!)
- Laughter with loved ones
- Watching a favorite television show (Friends)
- Listening to good music and realizing I understand the lyrics of an Italian song I'm listening to
Mix these elements together and you should feel your spirits rising in no time.
I've written book reviews on this blog in the past about books I really liked, but what about the really terrible books that aren't worth a second glance? In this volume, I'll tackle the overrated classics. Obviously this post contains SPOILERS, so don't whine to me like a dumbass if I ruined the ending of a book you happen to be reading.
1. Where the Red Fern Grows
Why does this book suck? Technically, it doesn't. It has a decent story-a little boy buys two bloodhounds and raises them as his own. But it's a terrificly awful book to read as a fifth grader, when the two dogs you become all attached to throughout the story die sad and miserable deaths. One gets disemboweled by a mountain lion, and the other dog dies of a broken heart. How heavy is that? I mean, Wilson Rawls, couldn't you have killed off only one dog? But no. I was stuck reading this crap in both the fifth and sixth grades. I would have to say that the second time was worse. By then I actually had a red little puppy, Max, and would think about him as I read the book, effectively making it much more depressing. So since this book made me cry and has a twisted ending about dead dogs, it sucks.
2. Gulliver's Travels
This is one of the few books I didn't finish in a high school English class. I was supposed to read this book for my senior AP English class. That class was such a joke. My teacher used to bitch about how much we students talked too much and never did our work, and after her bitchfest, she'd walk to the back of the room and flirt and talk with the boys for the rest of the period. As for this book, I just physically could not make myself turn another page. It is one of the most boring books I have ever attempted to read. The day before the test, I got the Sparknotes and read them frantically. I got an 85 on the test. Thanks, Sparknotes! For some reason, I thought it'd be a good idea to tell my teacher that I was able to pass her test solely off of Sparknotes. Cue a lecture to the entire class about how irresponsible it is to read Sparknotes instead of the book and how you're cheating yourselves from the actual story. Cheating myself out of what, Mrs. C? INSUFFERABLE BOREDOM?
What gets me is that everyone else I talk to professes their love for this book.
3. Grapes of Wrath
You know, this book didn't actually suck...only the first 300 pages did. In the first chapter, every other word must have been "dust." Okay, we get it. There is a lot of fucking dust.
4. Jane Eyre
I can sum up Jane Eyre in one sentence: "Oh Mr. Rochester, blah blah blah, I love him, blah blah blah." There's a lot of nonsense in that sentence for you to get the gist of what I'm saying, right? That's how the how the entire novel is.
5. The Great Gatsby
Maybe this book sucked only because it had been listed as the 2nd greatest novel of the twentieth century. Take it from me-it isn't. What a letdown.
6. A Tale of Two Cities
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." To be honest, I can't say whether or not this book sucks, because I never got past the first sentence.
Now it's your turn-what were the books that you couldn't get through in English class?
Holy hell, how is it already Wednesday? And almost May, at that? That means that there's a little more than two months until I turn 24 (sigh). January and February were so slow, but March and April just shot by.
Today was a good, random day. I started off my morning by making a dumb driving mistake. It was nothing dramatic, I mistakenly went before my turn at a 4-way stop sign. I texted my brother and asked him if he'd ever done that before and he said that he had...just this morning! Isn't that funny? I'm sure it will warm my parents' hearts to know that their children do not know how to wait for their turn at stop signs.
At work I got assigned to do a small research task for a project we're working on. It has to do with bioremediation, which is right up my alley. I don't care if my task is just a small part of the project. I've been doing a lot of support work for the infrastructure group lately. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the work there and I'm learning a lot. But remediation is my baby, so I'm happy that I'm getting work in that department as well.
Today I drove all the way downtown and was all ready early for the meeting that we'd had scheduled. I got antsy when it was five minutes till the meeting was supposed to start and no one had showed up. I knew that I'd gotten the right place and time, so I called my coworkers. Turns out they had canceled the meeting that morning and conveniently had forgotten to tell me. I'm not upset because the mileage and $2.50 I spent for the parking meter is reimbursed. I'm going to mess with them the next time I have to attend a meeting. "Are you sure you all aren't going to cancel this at the last minute and forget to tell me about it?"
The run today was AWESOME. Today's run was the first time in nearly four years that I finally felt closer to being the runner I was when I was nineteen. I didn't finish last, and instead of using the recovery time to walk, I kept running. I pushed myself and was doing really well for the first two laps; I just have to work on having a strong finishing lap (which has always been my weakness). Everyone is so encouraging, cheering you on at the end. What a great group of people. Like my dad says, "Have you ever met a runner who is unhappy?" There was a bit of a commotion today as there was a rattlesnake on one of the trails. He was all curled up, luckily, and not shaking his rattler. I had advance warning and I thought he was a small critter, so he didn't really bother me. I thought it was kind of cool, actually, as I'd never seen a rattlesnake in person before. Some other people were freaking out over him though. Now if he had been bigger and had that rattler going, THEN there would be problems.
I'm enjoying it here so far. I've been here for three months and I finally feel like I'm making a life for myself here. I'm meeting people and doing things that I enjoy.
Man, I scratched up my leg today after the run. I scraped my leg against the pavement. It looks like I've been clawed. Will I ever have ladylike legs? They are constantly bruised.
I came up with a story idea today. I think I will work on it. It's an idea for a kid's novel. I think it has potential if I develop it more.
Volleyball double-header tomorrow. James is now the team captain. This ought to be interesting.
I want to read a bit before bed. I never want to fall asleep, and I never want to get up in the morning. It has been this way since I've been a baby. Night, y'all.
I was looking at an old gas receipt from last week, and already the price of gas has risen 10 cents per gallon since then. This is the only, only time I wish I drove some death trap of a vehicle, because you want to know how much I spent filling up only half a tank? Fifty dollars. For half a tank. Yay for gas-guzzling trucks. Sigh.
This weekend was fun. I watched There Will Be Blood. I liked it, it was really good. Caveat: if you are expecting an action-packed film, this is certainly not the movie for you. It unfolds slowly but it has a really good story. And it certainly wasn't as slow as some of the movies I had to watch for my film class, like The Claim, which was so terribly boring (was that really two years ago already?) The performances in this movie were really good too. I can see why Daniel Day-Lewis won an Oscar. I think Paul Dano should have gotten at least nominated, because he also did a really good job. Even the kid actors were talented and weren't hammy and annoying like some kid actors tend to get.
I am so thirsty. I need to get some water. I went for the run today and forgot my stopwatch :( It was a short workout, a little over mile that was split into a 500 m sprint and two 200 m sprints. I felt like I was having an easier time running faster, but who knows, since I didn't have a stopwatch to confirm this.
So I finally have business cards. I feel terribly official now. I put my title as "Graduate Environmental Engineer" which is unnecessarily fancy. But I didn't want to put "EIT" because even though I passed the FE, I'm still waiting for the dumb certificate to come in and I didn't want anyone to look me up in the database and think I was lying when my name didn't pop up. So far I have only given my business card to a friend at work, my parents, and my hairdresser, who I've known since I was in high school. Her name is Rocio and she is adorable. She is really proud of me and always gives me dating and life advice, and no one does hair like her (not at the good price she charges, at least). Anyway, Rocio was so excited about my business cards that she took several. I have yet to give my cards to a client.
I need a new schedule. It will commence tomorrow. I think.
Ok I really need to get some water and start winding down.
Dear Woman Who Cut Me Off on the Freeway,
Well, I can't say that I haven't made my share of dumb mistakes when driving, but at least I have the brain capacity to know that texting while driving, especially on a freeway, is so fucking stupid that you should be incarcerated for being that dense. I guess sending an "Im on teh freeway now, lolz!" message takes precedence to safe driving habits, which is why you not only cut me off, but were going maybe 15 mph slower than I was when you did. Hey, getting into a collision at 30+ mph was fun enough, so I can't imagine all good times in store if I had rear-ended you at 70 mph. Thanks for that adrenaline rush-I just love slamming on my brakes, especially on a freeway. Thank you for reminding me why I stopped speeding months ago, because if I had been, your car (and mine) would be totaled right now (at the very least). Might I make a friendly recommendation? Please do not operate heavy machinery or make any life-altering decisions until your IQ raises at least another 15 points.
Not sincerely,
Jenny
