2010: The Year I Tried to Blog

I Hate My Building

2010-02-12T19:27:00.002-06:00

There is an inherent problem with apartment hunting. When someone visits apartment buildings, they do so in the daytime.... when none of the neighbors are home.

I've lived in my current apartment for about two and a half years. I thought I had hit the jackpot. I love the area that I live in and I was able to get a special that brought down the price of a two bedroom almost to that of one bedroom. I was close to work and my complex even has a pool. What what! What I had not yet discovered was the downside... my building has paper thin walls and my neighbors suck.

The first thing I noticed were the people that lived below me. It was at least two guys and although I have no physical proof (because I refuse to interact with neighbors) I believe they were students. Why? My circumstantial evidence is pretty damning:

1. My apartment constantly reeked of incense. And I don't think I need to explain that any further.

2. They played video games VERY LOUDLY. This point threw me for awhile. I originally thought it was their stereo, but finally figured out they were actually playing Guitar Hero when my friend brought the game over and I knew all the songs but couldn't place where.

3. The one who had a girlfriend also had the bedroom below mine. And she certainly did not use language appropriate for an older lady. Or any lady really. Actually she was pretty demanding but you gotta respect a woman who knows what she want.

Then came the family that moved in across the hall from me. They had a little girl (not more than two although I'm a terrible judge of children's age so who really knows?) who had the bedroom right next to mine and there was a good two months where she could not sleep through the night. At the beginning I felt bad for her and her parents. It sounded like she was having some pretty bad nightmares and really what could they have done. By the end of the 2nd month though, it was getting pretty bad for me. I started sleeping on my couch and was seriously considering saying something to them. (Which if you know me, you realize just how big a deal that is) However, she slowly started sleeping through the night and I slowly let go of the hatred I felt for anyone in pigtails.

About a year ago, the guys downstairs moved out. They apartment wasn't filled for a few months and it was AMAZING! But then.... BUT THEN... came the family of white trash. A mom and 2 boys. The oldest in junior high and the younger maybe in 5th grade. They moved in during the summer and I have no idea how they did it, but they somehow made the outside step directly below my living room window the gathering place of ALL the LOUDEST children in my complex. Oh, and did I mention that the oldest smokes? With his mom? Outside said window? Actually, since it's gotten cold outside, they've started smoking in their apartment which of course drifts into my place. I guess they are also physically incapable of simply shutting their door and walking up their stairs to the front of the building. THEY MUST SLAM AND STAMP. This literally shakes the walls in my living room.

I believe it to be appropriate to say F my Life.

The Reviews Got it Right!?!?!

2010-01-30T10:25:00.004-06:00

Last night I bit the bullet and saw Avatar. I wasn't all that excited but I had a strange compulsion to see it. I didn't buy into all the hype surrounding it and to tell you the truth I'm not a huge fan of Pocohontas or Dances with Wolves so I wasn't really convinced I would enjoy Avatar. On the other hand, it must be doing something right. It has made billions of dollars and people do keep seeing it over and over.

All the reviews I've read have said that the plot is predictable, the dialouge is contrite, the characters not developed... but it didn't matter. The visuals were amazing and while the characters still needed to be fleshed out, the setting of the alien world Pandora was completely realized. This interested me. How could a movie be so bad on paper and still win Picture of the Year at the Golden Globes and be positively reviewed?

Wanna know something? The reviews were 100% right. The plot was flimsy and I had seen all of the characters before, but I didn't care. I didn't look at my watch once or think "When is this stupid thing going to be over?". I was completely entranced by the visuals. Pandora was a character itself. It was also by far the most realized and original one in the movie. The 3D effects were not overwhelming and didn't resort to cheap gimmicks. There was nothing that jumped out at you. The 3D enhanced the world and drew you in. For most of the film, I forgot I was watching something 3D, and just enjoyed the clarity and depth.

My recommendation? See Avatar in the theatre and if possible, in 3D. The movie is not going to translate to DVD very well. It is truely an experience to go to the movies for.

Correct Length?

2010-01-23T15:48:00.003-06:00

So let me ask you all a question... what is the correct length of jeans?

I have probably 7-8 pairs of jeans of various sizes and fits. There are a couple that seem like a little long. They drag on the ground and get wet if it's rainy. However, I also have a few pairs that seem like they're too short now. Like I've somehow shrunk them or perhaps they were always a bit too short and I'm just now noticing it. These pairs hit my foot right above the ground when I'm barefoot, so when I put on shoes it just seems like I'm waiting for the floodgates to open.

And don't even get me started on the different fits! You know how each retailer that sells jeans has different fits and types? The Limited has those different numbers, Old Navy has the flirt and sweetheart, etc... I wish someone sold The Courtney. I wish I could just walk into a store and know exactly what to buy.

Oh jeans!!! I both love and hate you so much!

Did I mention? I have some weirdo dreams

2010-01-21T09:50:00.003-06:00

I had a super weird dream last night. Even as I type this, it's fading from my mind so the details are getting a little fuzzy...

I believe I was back in high school and I was best friends with a girl who I cannot place in my memory now that I'm awake. She was one of those perfect girls in high school that you know must have spent a ridiculous amount of time getting ready every morning but somehow makes everything look effortless. Anyway, she was complaining about her weight and I remember saying something about how I was at least 20 pounds heavier than she was. Then she whips her head around and starts laughing at me and grabbing people walking by to tell them that I was fat.

I remember looking down and I was wearing one of those loose fitting shirts that make any girl look pregnant unless she's a size zero. So I pulled it tight against my stomach and asked her, "See is this fat? I'm not fat. I'm just not a size 2." To which she responded, "Umm.. yeah you are fat. That (here she pointed at my stomach) is fat".

And here comes the best part... I started choking her. Something snapped and I reached out and started squeezing. In my dream, I quickly let go but when I woke up I could still feel the adrenaline pumping through me from the anger I felt towards her.

Now, I suppose I could interpret this dream a myriad of different ways. Perhaps on some deep level I'm uncomfortable with the way I look. Or maybe I care more about people's perception of me than what I let on. However, I will take one thing from this dream... If you cross me, I will blow up and sometimes will just have to choke a bitch.

Brisket in the Crock Pot

2010-01-16T09:16:00.002-06:00

My mother gave me a crock pot cookbook and I'm slowly working my way through it. On Thursday I decided to try a brisket... and... it was delicious!!

Two quick things..... I was unable to find a brisket that was less than 3 pounds so I'm pretty much going to be eating this thing for the next week. And those things are expensive, yo!

A Walking Contradiction

2010-01-04T21:36:00.007-06:00

On the left is my complete lack of any common sense in regards to cooking or anything located in a kitchen.

Two of my friends would always bring pigs in a blanket to get togethers or trivia nights. They moved across the country (to what I'm convinced is Dumpsville, USA) and I thought the only silver lining to this sad situation is that now I can take over the pigs in a blanket appetizer as my official contribution to all things pot luck. Not so hard, right? Just crescents, little smokies, and cheese. Just wrap and bake... Well, the first time I made them, I rolled the little crescents the wrong way and as everything was baking, everything unrolled. I had an entire baking sheet of a gooey mess. The second time I made them, I didn't spray my baking sheet so all of the rolls stuck to the pan.

And this is only one of example of my kitchen incompetence. (Don't even get me started on my multiple attempts at making Italian food....)

On my right is my complete fascination with everything cooking and kitchen related.

As I write this, I'm watching one of my favorite channels... Food Network. In fact, if I were to track my television watching I'm convinced I would find that I watch food related television more than any other. Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, 30 Minute Meals, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, Good Eats, anything on in the morning of Food Network (that's when all the cooking shows are!), anything on during the weekend mornings and early afternoons of PBS, Julia Child, Paula Dean! I'll watch and love it all! I asked for Pyrex, tupperware, and a knife set for Christmas. My next big purchase (besides the new iPod I have my eyes on) is going to be pots. I'm obsessed! I have vegetarian cookbooks, "easy recipe" cookbooks, appetizer cookbooks, weight loss cookbooks, and all kinds of loose recipe cards.

I've found only one way to reconcile my cooking ineptitude and obsession: the crock pot. (Yes, I do have a crock pot cookbook). You literally throw a bunch of stuff in a pot, add low heat, and 8 hours later you have a great meal!! If I could meet 3 people in heaven one of them would be the inventor of the crock pot.

And so with all of that in mind, I have decided to make my attempts at cooking and my crock pot dinners a part of this blog. Get ready folks because, yes, it is happening.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T19:27:00.003-06:00

I found a couple minutes to stop and say Happy New Year everyone! Stay safe and don't forget... a new episode of Jersey Shore is on tonight! I can think of no better way to ring in 2010 than with The Situation and Snooki. I can always count on them to make me feel better about myself.

Falling Back in Love

2009-12-30T20:19:00.010-06:00

Since high school, U2 has been my absolute favorite band. In fact, while in high school, I became obsessed with them. I memorized not just their albums but all of their b-sides and side projects. I bought books written about them, recorded everything about them off TV, became a very active member of quite a few chat rooms and message boards dedicated to them (not proud of that one), and generally lived and breathed U2.

Then I got busy. I couldn't just sit in my room and listen to their music for hours. I worked and went to school and had homework and what felt like a million things going on at once. Don't get me wrong. I still bought their new albums and went to their shows anytime they came through town but my obsession wained.

I am a bit ashamed to admit this but U2's last record No Line on the Horizon was released back in March but I didn't even own it until my brother gave it to me for Christmas last week. I finally had the opportunity to hear it all the way through in my car tonight while I was running errands. I was able to actually listen to U2's music like I did in high school. I had time to play it through twice and think about lyrics and digest the sound. It was positively amazing. I had forgotten what it was like to get lost in something so completely. I felt like I was sinking into the sound and the lyrics were wrapping themselves around me, pushing and pulling. It was strange. (Too Alice Sebold? Ok, I digress... Also, yes I was driving the entire time. I'm not what one might call an observant driver....)

Tomorrow I'll be taking a mini-road trip and driving for a little over five hours by myself. I have decided to load up all the U2 cds not yet on my iPod, cue up everything I do have on my iPod and get back in touch with music I once felt so passionately about.

For all you non-believers out there... I dare you to find a lyric more lovely than:

I've found grace inside a sound

I found grace, it's all that I found

And I can breathe

Breathe now

Or music more pleading and soulful than this..

Food for thought.

Stupid Healthcare

2009-12-29T17:15:00.006-06:00

Well I did it. Tell your friends. Tell your Representatives. I figured out what is wrong with the healthcare industry. I am.

Well, actually what has happened to me the last few months this year is one example of the many things that are wrong with healthcare.

I am a completely healthy twenty-eight year old woman, but within the past three months I have spent almost $600 in health related expenses that were completely unnecessary. Ladies and gentleman of the jury...

Exhibit One:
At the beginning of October, I had some mild discomfort in my lower right side. Let me stress (as I did to my primary physician's receptionist) that it was only discomfort. It was not pain. In fact, it was barely discomfort, just a feeling of something not being right. I called his office on a Friday morning to try and get an appointment to have it checked out. I figured the peace of mind was worth the $20 copay. Instead, his receptionist said he had a half day, wouldn't be able to fit me in, and asked for my symptoms. After I explained my situation she (in her non-medical opinion) said it sounded like it might be my appendix. She would tell the doctor my symptoms and get his recommendation. After waiting at work for about two hours, she called back. His recommendation? Go to the ER. After wavering back and forth (I don't even feel bad. He didn't even speak to me directly, let alone examine me. How does he know the situation is serious enough to warrant an ER visit?), I decided to do what I had been taught my entire life. Trust my doctor. I went to the ER where I was stuck in a bed for over four hours. I received a CT scan, was examined by a triage nurse, triage doctor, another nurse, another doctor, the CT scan team (3 different people) and discovered... absolutely nothing was wrong with me. No one out of that entire group of people were able to give me a reason for my discomfort. I received no prescriptions, no recommendations, no nothing. I just left feeling stupid for wasting all those people's time and about $520 lighter in the wallet.

Exhibit Two:
Two weeks ago I went to an eye doctor for my yearly exam. During my examination, the doctor found something that she thought might be a hemorrhage in an artery near my optic nerve. She took pictures (price about $35), was unable to make a clear diagnose and recommended me to a retina specialist. Today I went to that specialist where I dropped a $35 copay and after about two hours was told... nothing is wrong with me. Yes, it was a hemorrhage, but apparently what I have is very common and clears up by itself. My retina specialist actually was surprised the eye doctor did "an examination extensive enough to find this in someone not complaining of vision problems or pain".

I am extremely grateful I have the health insurance to be able to visit all of these doctors and not go bankrupt. I will be the first to tell you that $600 is a drop in the bucket of what healthcare costs to an average American, and I feel lucky that this is the only out of pocket health expenses I have had the last few months. However, I am angry. I am frustrated. My insurance company is going to have to pay thousands of dollars for these two visits which were completely unnecessary. This drives up the cost of insurance and makes it less affordable for families.

I walk away from these experiences having learned a lesson. I need to ask more questions and be more invested in my health. I should have asked to actually speak with my primary physician instead of just accepting that the receptionist would relay my symptoms accurately. (Come to think of it, why was I even talking to a stranger who was not a doctor about my health anyways? Dumb move). I should have asked more questions about how common hemorrhages were and what would be the course of action if I did or did not have one. I should have played a more active role in my healthcare and not just allowed myself to be swept away and overwhelmed by my doctors. I know they have my best interest in mind, but let's be honest. They see me for maybe a half hour once a year. How well do they know me? I should have trusted myself when I thought a visit to the ER was excessive and a visit to a retina specialist when I had no eye problems extreme. Now I know.

P.S. I'm also about 80% sure my coworkers think I'm a hypochondriac... so ... that's awesome.

The Vicious Cycle

2009-12-28T18:59:00.002-06:00

I live within a vicious cycle. I am pulled between my desire to save money by eating at home and my intense hatred of doing dishes. And when I say intense, I mean the same intensity with which Don Draper delivers a sales pitch to Lucky Strike.

When I toured my current apartment complex, I was sold. I love the area. The price was good for as much space as I was getting, the landlord was flexible with my move-in date, and she offered me all kinds of deals to get me in the door. One of the hiccups? If I wanted a unit with a dishwasher, it would be an extra $30 a month. I remember actually saying, "You know, a dishwasher isn't that big of a deal to me. I can do my own dishes, and I'll just save the money. If you have an apartment available without a dishwasher, I'll take it." This coming from a woman whose last 2 places did have a dishwasher. It is absolutely true that you don't realize what you have until it's gone.

I didn't fully realize what I had done yet. I was still in the honeymoon period with my apartment. And by honeymoon period, I mean the economy and subsequently my finances were such that I could afford to eat out the majority of the time. Then came a little thing called Lehman Brothers, and I had to start saving some cash. Author's note: I am in no way associated with the financial industry nor have I ever invested much money in the stock market, but I like to blame Lehman Brothers for most things that go wrong in my life. Papercut? Lehman Brother's fault. Bad hair day? That stupid Lehman Brothers always screws my life!!!

I began to cook more (and by cook I really mean heat stuff up because lord knows I can't cook to save my life) which resulted in more dishes. In the good old days, I could get by doing dishes once a week. Now if I don't do dishes at least every other day, everything builds up and, to say it delicately, my kitchen gets out of control. During these times (mostly Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays) I rue the day I made the decision to pass up a dishwasher. It is seriously undermining my thrifty ambitions.

LEHMAN BROTHERS!!!!!!!

Preparations

2009-12-27T20:12:00.000-06:00

I made the decision to give blogging another shot in 2010. I have tried to start at least two blogs in the last few years and lost interest in each, damning them to the eternal nether regions of the Internet. In preparation of my new 2010 ambition, I'm beginning to write early. My thought being that writing the majority of the week before the big 1-1-10 will get me in the habit and allow me to fully commit to the process.

I am not exactly sure what I want this blog to be yet. TV reviews? A personal reflection from a normal almost thirty-year old living in the Midwest? A review of how Jersey Shore is actually the seventh sign of the apocalypse and we should all be running to church to prepare for the coming of Christ? A sounding board to complain about things that bother me? Hopefully something will take shape within the coming weeks and I'll have a direct to shoot for.

In the meantime, thanks for reading and I hope you decide to continue.

PS. JJ Jersey Shore! You know I am addicted to you and have already gone on Facebook and discovered my Jersey Shore nickname (C-Poww). Although, if I'm being honest ... it does make me feel like I've caught a VD just watching the show.