The end of "retirement" is near...

One month from tomorrow, I will be at the airport with everything I can fit in two suitcases waiting to board a plane to Paris. Almost three years ago to the day I was also at the airport with two suitcases boarding a plane to Paris. That time it was for school for three months. This time it's for a job - I'll be an English teaching assistant - and for seven months.

Although I've been slacking in writing this blog, I will be starting a new blog while I'm in France. Which I will devote time to. I swear. I will.

I've got my ticket and my visa so I'm good to go. I just have to find a place to live. Minor detail.

Exfoliation Overload

For my birthday I got a gift card to a spa. I had read about this full-body exfoliation, which sounded nice and relaxing and perfect for the beginning of the summer to get rid of dry skin from winter. Let me preface this with I hate when my hands are dirty or sticky or anything. Overall, I don't like being dirty.

So I go into the room and there's a regular massage table with a clothe over it, except there is plastic laid over the clothe. The woman started using the sea salt mousse scrub with warm water, which did feel nice. Then I realized that I'm soapy and wet and it felt like I was laying on saran wrap that was clinging to me. Not relaxing.

I take a deep breathe and try to ignore that my hands are covered in suds and salt and that my legs are sticking to plastic and just think okay I'll feel much better when I can rinse all this business off of me before she puts on the moisturizer.

Guess what? The shower I had expected turned into a wash cloth getting rid of the leftover salt scrub. Followed by the moisturizer. Followed by me having to put my clothes back on, get in my humid car and drive home - hands slipping on the steering wheel from the lotion.

Note to self: Next time, stick to a saran-wrap-free spa experience.

Why I Never Let A Movie Review Stop Me From Seeing Said Movie

Sex and the City 2. It got awful reviews. I hadn't read a single positive review before going to see the movie that I got worried it would actually be that terrible!

But ohh were they wrong.

Entertaining? Check.
Funny - sometimes even Laugh Out Loud funny - ? Check.
Fabulous shoes? Gorgeous, Edgy, Risky, and sometimes down-right Ugly clothing? Check and Check.
The same lovable characters from the series? Definitely Check.

So I don't see what all the disappointment was about. SATC2, just like SATC1 and the entire series, is not some deep, insightful, serious movie where actors prepare to deliver their most ground-breaking performance. Anyone who has ever seen an episode or trailer for the movies knows it's supposed to be a *fun* movie.

So if you want to laugh, cringe at what some deem "fashionable" and become envious at the luxurious lives these four women somehow lead, then go see this movie. Just beware of the extremely corny karaoke scene. But hey, at least I warned you.

Team Wake Up Call

I woke up at 6:30 this morning. (yes, on Memorial Day - a day off from work.) I showered and was in the car by 7. By 8 I was at the starting line of the annual Ridge Run 10K in Beverly, Chicago. By 9:13 I had finished 6.3 miles and have never sweated more in my life. It was 88 degrees this morning and beyond muggy. But I did it! And so did Chase and Terry, who finished before I did, which was nice I had my own cheering section to give me that extra boost before crossing the finish line.

This was my second race and you know what I really like about the races? People like to stand along the side to cheer and watch and most people bring their adorable dogs, too! Which I enjoy thoroughly. On mile 6 while I was struggling a bit I still noticed all the cute dogs I was passing by and even told a man that his chocolate lab was beautiful as I passed by.

It was strange running in 88 degree weather when the first race I ran it was 35!

And now the pizza has arrived, which I deserve to enjoy after my morning!

What Not To Read

Angelology by Danielle Trussoni.

This was the latest book I've read and I was extremely disappointed by the ending. The beginning started out interesting enough. Then the majority of the book delved into the past that would help explain the present-day storyline. Trussoni kept my interest with her fictional history of angelology and her detailed account of what had happened so many years ago that was necessary to know in order to appreciate the importance of the present-day storyline.

The last few chapters of the book came back to the present and I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to know how it was all going to pan out. I tend to read quickly when I'm really into a book and just about to finish it. I could feel my heart beating because the protagonist was caught in the middle of a compromising situation. I wanted her to come out on top (no one wants the main character to not make it.)

And then everything came to a screeching halt when I read the last page of the book. It was the worst ending I've read in a long time. I was shocked that Trussoni had chose this way to end her novel, because the rest of the book was so well organized, creative, well-written and obviously thought out. It was as if she wrote the ending on a whim and never looked back.

I can't say the entire book was a waste of time. But the ending definitely left me disappointed and hoping there is a sequel that will make up for the abrupt, uncreative and, in my opinion, unpopular ending.

Did I Run?

Wouldn't you like to know...

Yes. Yes I did. Woot.

This Blog Post Brought to You by a Request From a Friend

Lack of self motivation.

It can happen to anyone. And it can be about pretty much anything. For me it's been with making myself go running. I was doing really well for a while, but after my first 8K I fell out of my routine pretty quickly. I was giving myself a few days off ( 1. I was sore 2. I was tired 3. I deserved it gosh darnit!) but a few days turned into a week and you know how it goes from there. There are no excuses. We just stop caring about certain things for whatever reason.

Maybe it's been ingrained in our minds that instant gratification can be our only motivation. For example, I could go running today, but I really wouldn't feel the benefits of it until a few weeks of running consistently. Whereas if I go shopping or take a nap I reap the benefits instantly. Or do I?

If I go shopping, sure I'm excited about whatever object I buy, but in reality, that excitement fades, my wallet is a little lighter, and let's say I've missed my chance to go running that day, thus decreasing my energy and not helping my health in the long run.

The way we should be thinking (and by we I mean me) is "Hey, I should run now, get it out of the way, so then I can go shopping and not feel guilty for not running." That way, we exercise, thus promoting our health, stick to a routine, and at the same time on our day off from running we can go shopping or do whatever it is we wanted to do in the first place. I'm not ruling out instant gratification, but I'm suggesting pairing it with positive results that we will see over time.

Easier said than done. But I think it's all about controlling your mind. It's about tricking ourselves into doing something we don't really want to do and learning how to reap the benefits.

It's 7:17 as I'm sitting here writing this. I came home from work and got into comfy clothes right away. Now I could go see what's on TV and relax like I want to do. OR I could put on some gym shoes and go downstairs and run on the treadmill. See, I wouldn't even have to leave the house! So while I finish up this post, I'm going to think of ways to trick myself into thinking that I really want to go running right now.

I really want to go running. I really want to go running. I don't really want to go running....but I should want to go running...

A Haunting...in My House

Yes. It's true. There is a ghost in our house. Or was. It all started a week and a half ago. I got home from babysitting and was the only one home. I went to use the bathroom upstairs and I heard foot steps in the hallway. They were so real I thought my mom must have been home but I didn't know it.

She wasn't home.

I stayed downstairs until my mom actually did come home and told her what I had heard. She had heard the same thing a few days before. Same footsteps. Same hallway. No one was walking in that hallway. No one we could see, anyway.

That night I went to sleep, putting the footsteps out of my mind. Until midnight, when I woke up hearing two knocks on my bedroom door. I froze. I didn't know what to do because I knew both my parents were asleep. I barely slept the rest of the night.

A few days went by and I hadn't heard anything strange so I convinced myself that what I heard really wasn't someone (or something) knocking on my bedroom door. That is, until I talked to my dad last night. We had told him what we had heard but he was pretty skeptical, not believing in spirits or ghosts or anything of that nature. His mind changed two nights ago at 4:45 a.m. He was in bed, awake, and distinctly heard two knocks on his bedroom door. The door was ajar, so he could see no one was there. But he said if the door was closed, he was so positive that someone was knocking on his door that he would have gotten up to open it and check.

So there you have it. Even the non-believer in our house thinks something is there.

And the Slacker Award Goes To...

Me. For neglecting my blogging duties. Let's see, let's see lots of random thoughts on my mind. Where to begin.

Well I need to update the name of my blog seeing as I'm no longer 22. I feel like a kid still but at the same time am wondering how time flew by so fast that I'm already 23.

The Facebook "poke." I'm surprised this feature is still around. And I wonder what the person was thinking when they thought it would be a good idea to include a virtual poke on Facebook. Not saying I've never poked someone (I'm currently in a poking war) but even though I do it I don't really know why. It's not like I poke people in real life. That would just be weird. But on Facebook it's not. Unless you get poked by someone you don't even know. Now that's weird.

Life news. I'm moving to France in September to teach English. My little cousin knows that Belle from Beauty and the Beast is from France and thinks I'll be going there to visit her. I wish. Ever since I saw that movie I've wanted a huge library in my house with ladders. I still maintain the fact that I will have a library with ladders in my house when I'm older. Much older than 23.

Hurt people hurt people

Hurt people hurt people. It’s true. When we’re angry we find ourselves taking it out on other people. It makes sense that when you’re hurt, you tend to inflict the same upon those around you, whether you are aware of it or not.

I saw the movie Greenberg tonight with Ben Stiller. This was a serious role for him and I was pleasantly surprised at his performance. I expected to keep picturing him playing Zoolander throughout the movie, but I didn’t. I never forgot that it was Ben Stiller, but he played his character well. I think a mark of a great actor or actress is when you forget who they are and only think about who they are playing. Tom Hanks. Meryl Streep. Kevin Spacey.

Anyway, “hurt people hurt people” was a line from the movie. Roger (Ben Stiller) was hurting inside, for an unknown reason, and you could see him hurting those around him. Lashing out. Pushing people away. And then he would feel bad. But it would happen again because the hurt never went away inside of him.

He is just out of a mental hospital in the beginning of the movie, but we don’t know what he was in there for or whether he is actually “better” or not. It’s hard to say because it’s obvious he still has a lot to deal with.

There are a lot of themes/storylines/whatever you want to call them that could have been delved into further. But my verdict on the movie is that it was different, sad, funny at times and something that made me turn my head to the side and go “Hm” at the very end.

I shuffled like I never shuffled before!

Well, I did it. I'm alive. And still in one piece. I ran my first Shamrock Shuffle 8K this past Sunday. My goal was to run it in an hour. I was hoping (really hoping) it wouldn't take longer than that. But to be honest, I was really worried. Buuuuut I ran it in 54 minutes and 30 seconds! I am very happy with my time and now when someone says, "Oh, you run?" I can proudly say, "Why yes, I do!" and not be lying this time. Ha.

To end this short short post, I will share some funny moments from babysitting:

"Who's that?" (pointing to the T.V.)

"That's Justin Beiber."

"Oh. He's a beaver?"

"Big Maura, what are you gonna be when you grow up?"

"Well...I'm kind of already grown up..."

"Oh. So you're gonna be a garbage man?"

Ooh the things 4 year olds say.

Hmph.

Listening to the radio this morning, I almost called in because I was so mad. The topic of conversation was unemployment, receiving unemployment and people taking advantage of unemployment they're receiving and not job searching.

For the man who called in, and anyone else who thinks the same as he does, for starters "there are plenty of jobs out there, people just aren't looking" is NOT true in all cases. Yes, there are some jobs out there, but so many people are applying that it is very difficult to actually get an interview.

"People are living off their unemployment and using it as an excuse not to job search." Well buddy, college graduates do not receive unemployment just for graduating. College grads who are job searching do not have any income at all. So no, that is also not true.

And lastly, "anyone can get a job if they look" is just not true in this economy. Please don't assume I am lazy, receiving unemployment, and planning on relying on tax payer dollars while I sit back, relax and coast through life.

I am an unemployed college graduate and cannot wait for my job searching to pay off so I can finally begin my career!

Okay, rant over.

What's your name?

So I've started babysitting. Some of the things kids say are just hilarious. One girl I'm babysitting has a baby sister named Maura. This confused the heck out of her until she made up a new name for me: Big Maura.

"Big Maura! What's your favorite color?!" and so on. As if one new name wasn't enough, out of the blue she told me that I'm Mickey Mouse and she's Minnie Mouse.

"Mickey Mouse! What school do you go to?"

I was helping out at her friend's ice skating party, so I'm sure people were intrigued by this Big Maura/Mickey Mouse person.

And to top off this hilarious experience, one of the other parents thought I was the mom of two kids. Aaaah.

Cars BEWARE

It seems that I am bad luck for cars. Or the cars I drive are bad luck for me. I haven't quite figured out the logistics of it all, but the bottom line is that cars and me don't mix well.

-a car died on me completely an hour away from home

-a car decided to start leaking antifreeze everywhere an hour from home and then again while at home.

-i was pulling out of the garage and knocked off the side-view mirror the day we were supposed to give away the car to my cousin.

-nearly got stuck on the highway with a steering wheel that wouldn't turn and a screen inside blinking "Check battery."

I'm worried for whatever car I eventually buy on my own. I'm worried for its well-being, and if it will sense that I have not had good luck with cars in the past. Oh well at least I haven't had a severe car crash (knock on wood.)

And no, none of the cars I've driven has been a Toyota.

FAIL. FAIL. Fail?

For lack of a better term, I've been training for the Shamrock Shuffle in March. You can either walk 3 miles or run 5. I usually walk with my mom but this year I decided to run with my dad. For those of you who know me, I am a dancer, not a runner. Dancers are built differently. So running has been hard for me to get into. I still don't like it. But I do it. I even have new running shoes so now I feel official.

As I was running on the treadmill today, about 10 minutes into my run the treadmill stopped and started flashing FAIL at me in bright red letters. I was so shocked I didn't know what to do. What? I'm failing at this run? My own treadmill is yelling at me? I shook off the shock of it all and restarted my run. About 10 minutes later my treadmill shouted FAIL at me again! This time I just had to laugh.

I finished the rest of my run without any more signs of failing, but as far as I know, no one else in my family has ever been judged by our treadmill.

Two more

Here are two more videos that have made my list: the cutest whistling dog ever & something that no one can help smiling at.

The song in the second video is called Praan by Garry Schyman. The words are actually taken from a poem by Rabindranath Tagore called "Stream of Life."

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day
runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.

It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth
in numberless blades of grass
and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.

It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth
and of death, in ebb and in flow.

I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life.
And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.

Enjoy.

Dance dance dance

My friend just posted a YouTube video of old clips set to the Passion Pit song "Sleepyhead," which got me thinking about some of my favorite videos from the Internet. Here is the Passion Pit video:

This next video immediately came to mind. It's old footage of men doing the Charleston set to a

Daft Punk song. Pretty sweet. Click here to see it. I never knew the Charleston could look so cool.

Brave New World vs. 1984

I just finished Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I remember some of my friends reading it for a class in high school, but I never got to read it. So it's been on my list for a while. I thought I would like it because 1984 by George Orwell has the same futuristic utopian setting and it's on my list of favorite books. But, in fact, I did not like Brave New World.

Huxley's utopia was very creative and I'm sure hippies of the '60s were fans of his idea of sleeping with as many partners as you liked and taking soma tablets to "get away" when you started feeling anything but happy. So in that regard, his utopia has some future reality to it, especially because it was published in 1932.

1984 was published in 1948 (pretty easy to remember since the last two numbers just switch) and I think I liked it more because it focused on rebellion of the main character who was trapped inside the utopia. BNW has a main character whose thoughts somehow survived years of mental conditioning, but he is not the one to rebel. It is an outsider of the utopia who is brought inside and rebels. Not very surprising for an outsider to rebel to the backwards ways of the utopia. I thought Huxley lacked creativity there.

Who knows, maybe I liked 1984 more because I read it first. Maybe not.

Woops.

I value the sake of my well being, and the well being of those around me. Therefore, I will not be giving up chocolate, sweets or cheese for Lent. Believe me, you will thank me later.

Anyway, I subbed yesterday for my mom's third grade class. Cute kids. The highlight of the day was in Religion. I read the Creation Story to them and had to ask them how they would take care of God's creation. Little Paddy raises his hand. This is the conversation that followed:

Paddy: Well, first you take care of Number 1. Then, you take care of Number 2 and-

Me: Paddy! I don't think that is appropriate for Religion class!

Paddy: But, wait, no I didn't mean it like that - I meant first you take care of Number 1 meaning yourself. Then you take care of Number 2, which is other people. Then you take care of the Earth.

Me: Oh. Right. Yeah that's a great answer...

All the other kids to me: You thought it was about the bathroom! You thought it was dirty!

Woops.

Necklaces, bathrooms and crocheting

Is it just me, or has anyone else ever noticed in movies when someone tears a necklace from someone else's neck that it just comes right off? In countless movies I've seen this done. But never in real life. So I tried pulling off a necklace I was wearing to see if it really is that easy. It's not. It doesn't work at all. It just hurts your neck so I'd advise against trying it yourself.

I saw this in the movie Wolfman today. It was pretty good. I jumped a lot. But it doesn't take much to make me jump. And the movie was really loud so I plugged my ears to make it seem less scary. And I squinted a lot to avoid seeing tendons and whatnot being pulled out of people as the wolfman attacked them. I guess you could say I wasn't seeing or hearing most of the movie...but I still liked it. Overall it was a semi-predictable story with a couple twists and turns that kept your interest because a wolfman was on the loose. Anthony Hopkins sure does know how to play a creepy role.

I think I've seen too many horror movies. If I'm the only one in a large, public bathroom I get freaked out. There are just too many movies with bathroom scenes. The main character will go into a bathroom. It appears that they are alone. Then you hear a dripping noise like water falling onto the tile. The main character turns around and sees a little girl standing there in a nightgown with long hair, obstructing her face. The character thinks "Oh it's just a little girl" then BAM the little girl is evil and dead or a ghost and kills the main character. This is why I get scared when I'm the only one in a bathroom because, for a minute, I think maybe I'm not the only one in there.

I think I need to take up a new hobby. Something different to spice up my days. I was thinking calligraphy. But I'm not sure yet. My mom suggested knitting or crocheting to which I replied no thanks, I'm not an old cat lady. (No offense to anyone who knits or crochets, it's just not the kind of hobby I'd like to pick up at the moment.) Any suggestions would be welcome.

P.S. I love...chocolate

I forgot to mention the other way you could be spending your Valentine's Day: You could be bidding on spending it with Lindsay Lohan. Yes, she is, in fact, auctioning herself off for Valentine's Day. Apparently the bidding is expected to go up to $150,000.

I mean if she's going to steal my idea, she should at least give me some credit for it.

Ha.

I love...chocolate

I went to the store today to look at Valentine's Day cards. I like picking out cards. I'll stand there for 30 minutes if I have to until I find the card that's just right. My favorite ones are the Hoops & Yoyo cards.

If you don't know what these are, go to hoopsandyoyo.com. These cards make me laugh out loud. So yes, I was the girl in the busy card aisle today at Walgreen's opening up every hoops & yoyo card to hear what they said. (Oh yeah, the cards are talking cards.) I probably annoyed people but I didn't care because the cards were making me laugh. The funny part is that I didn't even end up buying one of the talking cards. I also realized that chocolate covered heart-shaped marshmallows are impossible to pass up. So I bought one for myself.

I saw the movie Valentine's Day today. It was your typical cute romantic comedy. Worth seeing though. And for those of you who can't stand Valentine's Day anything, there's a scene involving Jennifer Garner bashing in a heart-shaped pinata with an X through the words 'Happy Valentine's Day.' It was during an annual 'I Hate Valentine's Day Dinner' her friend throws. I thought it was pretty creative. I mean, who wouldn't want to sit around eating a bunch of chocolate then getting to pummel a pinata only to eat more chocolate? I know I would.

No matter what your views are on Valentine's Day, enjoy the day in whatever way you do. If you planned a romantic dinner for two, enjoy. If you are now grabbing your car keys to go buy a heart-shaped pinata and a baseball bat, have fun :)

What to do...what to do...

Well here I am. I've had the idea of starting a blog ever since my brother had one while he was home for an 8-month "retirement." Retirement is an option. Unemployment is not. Ergo, I have now replaced my brother as the retired child in the family. It just sounds better.

Anyway, I've been home for a while now and I've hesitated starting a blog. Why? Well, for those of you who used to read Bren's blog, it is a hard act to follow. For starters, I don't have an unnatural obsession with yogurt. Therefore I can't write an entire blog post about how I calculated the amount of yogurt I eat per day/per week/per year and then figure out how much money is spent on said yogurt. I do love cheese though...

Also, our dog Jazzy is no longer around. She provided some amusement for Bren. Well, actually maybe just someone to check on, seeing as she would sleep a lot and couldn't hear so she'd jump awake when you checked to see if she was still breathing. Plus, dogs are cute. Everyone loves dogs. Unless you're a cat person, in which case I strongly urge you to reconsider your animal preference.

I do not have a goal to slam dunk. So no, I will not be purchasing jump soles and videotape myself practicing. Nor will I take up violin lessons. And end up quitting after the first one due to a pinky injury.

So thanks Bren for providing me the intro to my first post. I'll probably mostly talk about books (I read a lot), music and whatever pops into my head. Like how today I realized that when I shop alone I talk to myself. For example, I'll pick up a shirt, study it, then say whatever I decide about it out loud. "No that won't go." "Ehh no." "Hmm this could work...maybe...meh...I don't know (sigh)." I also noticed that no annoying sales people approached me to see if I needed help or was "finding everything okay." No one wants to talk to someone who's already talking to themselves I suppose.

Plus side of this realization: No annoying sales people bother me.

Downside: I may have become "that girl."