holiday

In honor of Willie and in memory of my days at Nordstrom, I have to point out that today is Raw Nahashnah.

Another life question...

Why is it that when I'm curious about you, I pay a penny for your thoughts, but when I have an opinion, I pay you two cents to listen to me?

Oh, the irony...

This is not a new development, but today I was struck by the irony. What does a person do when they are allergic to allergy medication?

news

I went to the doctor on Monday for a physical... they did basically exactly what they did in June except that I had no symptoms of anything except allergies, which I told the doctor. And he said, "What do you do for your allergies?" and I said "Grin and bear it," mentioning that in extreme situations I take a children's dose of Benadryl or a half dose of Sudafed. So they called with my bloodwork results on Wednesday.

"Dr. Bain says your bloodwork results show you have allergies."

REALLY??? LIKE, OMG!!

Why I love 99.1

This is my local radio station. I get tired of them and turn them off, but then I always come back, because of things like this:

1: They've come out with a new study that says if you keep a bowl of candy on your desk at work then your coworkers will see you as a warm, friendly, and inviting person
2: Johnny while we're talking about this, can I ask you to have something other than Mary Janes and lollipops in your bowl?
[general agreement from the other morning show radio hosts]
1: haha! I'll just turn off your microphones! Now you can't bother me!! Haha! Nope, no one can hear you, your microphone is off!
[He turns it back on so one of them can do the weather report]
Her: Today, its going to be partly sunny, with clouds that look like marshmallows. Highs 76, lows in the 50s. Rain this weekend so you're going to want to grab the chocolate.

scents and memories

Its funny the things a smell will evoke. Sometimes its a strong memory, or a nostalgic feeling. Smells can make us happy or sad, or give us really bad headaches.

Today, I watched the funeral procession leave. Then some of the ladies from the church stayed behind and began to set up for the repast. As the smell of burnt coffee wafted down the hallway, I had a brief memory of Nordstrom before realizing that it was not "Nordy" quality coffee but something more fitting for a church-sponsored event. Then I smelled store-bought coffee cake, and that combination mixed with the lingering smells of embalming fluid and old people from the morning's events reminded me of a reunion of my dad's geneology group. After that I began to smell catered ziti, the kind that float in a pan of water with a heat candle underneath it. And for some reason, that smell made me feel panicky.

I cannot remember what happened involving ziti and a dangerous situation, but some part of me associates that smell with danger. It is a strange thing, the way the brain makes associations. But that panicky feeling is what made me start thinking about all the smells and the memories, and this distinct lack of a memory intrigued me.

Thats all. Just a comment about how weird the mind is.

Miley Cyrus Rant

Ok, I was trying not to. Honestly. I like the "good girl" image, and her connection to the purity-ring Jonas brothers (even if they broke up). American youth need role models who are not telling them to go have sex before they are emotionally and physically mature enough to comprehend the consequences.

But my friend posted a youtube video to her blog... and I watched it... and could not refrain from a response.

The song is called "7 things" and the "7 things" are a reference to the seven things the song writer hates about her boyfriend or ex-boyfriend or whoever he is. The song ends with her stating the 7 things she loves about him as well. My first thought when the song started was, "Oh wow is that really Miley Cyrus singing? She looks about 13 but her voice sounds like she's 27." It was a bad youtube video, so it looked lip-synched as well. Honestly, I'm not crazy about the voice of whoever sang the song, Miley or not.

Secondly. Miley Cyrus cannot count. The song is called 7 things. But I count more than that.
1-2-3 "You're vain, your games, you're insecure
4-5 You love me, you like her
6-7 You make me laugh, you make me cry
8 I don't know which side to buy
9 You're friends, they're jerks <- you're friends?
10 When you act like them, just know it hurts
11 I wanna be with the one I know
And the 7th thing I hate the most that you do
12 You make me love you"

Granted, I know which seven lines are MEANT to be the "7 things" but quite obviously Miley has not experienced life and heartache enough yet to know that each of those 12 things on their own are possible reasons for hating someone. Except #11, which makes no sense at all. Maybe I'm also inexperienced and just don't understand #11.

Anyway. Got that out of my system.

Perspectives on Death

Today when I walked into the bookstore I was informed that the church from which we rent (they are in the same building.) would be holding two wakes with a funeral tomorrow. Thus, there would be a body lying in state for the whole day but "Don't worry, he's in heaven." What does that mean? That if he's not in heaven I have something to worry about? Zombies? Ghosts? What?

At around 11, a customer walked in and said, "You know there's a dead guy over there?" I said that I had been informed of the days events, and the customer said, "Yeah well, the door is wide open and there's no one in there, he's just lying there and the door's not shut." Both the "door wide open" and the "no one in there" indicates this person believes a dead body should be watched and if possible, barred from getting up and leaving the building. (In case you were wondering shutting the door does not block a person's view of the room; the double doors are glass, as well as a floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door, and 50% of the walls are made of glass.)

To appease the customer, I went up to the church office to ask Emily if we could close the doors, even if they were still waiting for the flower arrangements to come. She said that there was, in fact, someone "watching" the body... watching it for what I am not sure... but it would not be a problem to close the doors.

At 2, when the wake was just starting, a customer came in crying because she dropped by to pick up a book and had not been informed that this man was dead. He'd been the best man at her father's wedding in 1953 and she came in in complete shock that he was now dead.

When Lakshmi came in, she looked at me and said, "There's a body over there." I was tempted to respond, "Huh... wonder how that got there." But I didn't. Unfortunately for Lakshmi, the kitchen and lunch room are down a hallway directly adjacent from the pulpit, which is where the coffin was. She braved it and went to get some water.

Thinking over the whole day, though, it seems to me that I've become somewhat desensitized in some ways. I've been to so many funerals that it doesn't really phase me to see a dead body, and honestly, I've had scarier nightmares. I can put on soft, peaceful music to match the mood of the service, but I can go right on suggesting books for people and filling out order forms just like every other day. I wonder if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Trisha Yearwood

"When you go to sleep and you can't find a dream, won't you try me? A place you can whisper the secrets you keep, that's what I'll be. When you've given up and there's no one to trust, come and find me."

Haha which kid is worse?

According to an article I read, Lindsay Lohan once wrote that she wanted to "release a politically/morally correct, fully adequite [sic] letter to the press ... simply to state my oppinions [sic] on how our society should be educated on for the better of our country."

Now, since I don't follow the tabloids enough to call her LiLo, nor do I know what she has been up to since she got out of jail, if she was in fact in jail, and I most certainly don't know what got her in trouble, or what her next movie is going to be. But I find it extremely hilarious that the person who wrote the above quote offered to publicly endorse Obama. The article goes on to say that she encouraged her fans to make voting decisions based on facts and to vote for Obama. What's wrong with her? Doesn't she know that if she has fans they are 13? Did anyone tell her that 13 is below the legal voting age? Is SHE even old enough to vote?

In other news... I had a family come into the bookstore today.

Kid: Mom Mom I want a webkin!! Mom, get me a webkin!!
Mom: Sorry honey we are here to buy your sister a confirmation gift.
Kid: but mom i want a webkin!! get me a webkin!! she's going to have more than me if you don't!
Sister: no i won't, mine all died, i don't have any.
[Mom is focusing on the confirmation gift instead of the boy and he's getting impatient. He grabs the animal and rips the tag off]
Kid: "there! now you HAVE to buy it."

And she bought it.
And I am thinking: I can recommend a really good parenting book if you'll just follow me.

Smack that kid upside the head!

Um, what?

Customer: Do you have those bracelets that have all the major saints on them?

Me: Yes, right over here in the Catholic section.

Customer: Oh good, I want it for my friend who just had a premature baby and y'know I thought about one of the saint medals but I don't want it to be too specific because, y'know I don't know if the baby is going to make it and I don't want it to be a morbid medal or anything like that so yeah, I guess I'll go with the saint bracelet because if you have the priest bless it, it brings you good luck.

Yeah. Think about that for a minute. Luck: a mystical force which explains a person's fortunes without ascribing a deity or intelligent mind to said force. Priest: an ambassador or intermediary between a deity or deities, and humans.

Keep thinking until it makes your brain explode. I did.

discoveries

According to the standard thought of massage therapists today, the Eastern theory of Reflexology is pretty acceptable. (The thought that sore points on the hands and feet correspond to ailments in other parts of the body.) Observing a huge knot in my hand, I googled a reflexology chart. When I narrowed the search down to large images only, I came across an Iridology chart. This is a less accepted theory that subtle changes in eye color indicate generally the same things that a reflexology symptom would indicate. Another similar theory is that sore points on the ear also indicate the same things. What I discovered today that I didn't know is that there is yet another theory like all these involving teeth.

Apparently, the meridians in the body run through the teeth, so cavities and fillings disrupt the health of the body via the meridians. Most of the teeth only cross one or two meridians, but the wisdom teeth cross 3 or 4. When I read that, I thought, "Oh ok, no wonder I feel like this." I would assume that getting wisdom teeth pulled would wreak havoc on your body.

My wisdom teeth have been slowly coming in for the past two years now... so I'm wondering if maybe they've been having an effect on my body. It might explain a few things. Currently my upper left wisdom tooth is poking a hole in my lower jaw because its slightly off kilter. That can't really be good for the teeth or my mouth, much less the rest of my body.

In other news, I discovered worms in my hot chocolate. Halfway to finishing it off. Yummy.

"The Tradition of Tailgating"

[Taken from the Rutgers Alumni Magazine.]

"Rutgers Stadium has been the site of spirits and celebration for centuries.

"Beer isn't served at Rutgers Stadium, but a recent excavation revealed that plenty of ale was consumed near the south end zone, which was once the location of the Rising Sun Tavern during the 1700s. All the makings of a fine tailgating affair- wine bottles, cutlery, and ceramics- were discovered, as were remnants of the building, during the construction of the expanded football stadium. The tavern was part of the Raritan Landing settlement, a community that predated the New Brunswick settlement."

Just thought that was cool. So our reputation as a party school is not a new thing.

Why my mouth hates me.

(Click the picture for a better view.)

I wasn't gonna...

I was going to ignore the date. I was going to sit down and watch a movie. I was going to have a normal day.

I wasn't going to sit and watch people die on home video on the History Channel. I wasn't going to remember what I was doing when. I wasn't going to remember three years of nightmares about bloody bodies, demons with ugly eyes, and pools of blood. I wasn't going to remember sending care packages to war zones.

But I did.

Thank you

Three posts on Saturday. Thank you all for being patient while I posted about nothing much. It was raining, I couldn't get any work done in the garden on my day off, and Jack was meowing like it was MY fault it was wet outside. We were all a little stir crazy, and after our internet came back, I ended up just posting as much as I could.

Tropical vacations

In other news, I am thanking Hanna for bringing the Caribbean to me. I can't really afford to go there right now.

Maybe thats why God created tropical storms.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Don't know what this is, but it better be good luck!


What do you do when your model isn't paying attention?


Make her take the picture all over again... and again and again...


Irish, Christian, moderately red-headed... what more do you want? Oh. Freckles. Oh well...

lopsided

So, yesterday, my favorite Christian radio dj came into the store and bought a tie and gave me his card. That same evening my second favorite Christian radio dj came in. Then in between those two a woman came in and said I looked like a nice Christian girl, would you like to date my son? then today, there was nothing exciting at all. Its weird how they stack up.

Pwned!

Ok honestly, I do not use the word "pwned" nor do I used the word "owned" in the same context. But in this case, it seems appropriate, merely because the word traces its roots back to a certain class of people who tend to know a whole lot about computers because one or more of their hobbies requires either a super fast, or super cool computer.

My brother was trying to get his desktop computer to run a little faster, or even run at all, instead of the ambling walk to which it was accustomed. To do so, he borrowed my computer and installed the operating system on his hard drive using my boot disk, rather than his, which was not cooperating. While doing so, he discovered that my version of XP is installed on my computer twice, due a computer problem I had over a year ago. When booting up, I always have to choose which version of XP I want to use, the first one or the second one. He offered to fix it for me. When I turned my computer on today, instead of the usual selection, "Microsoft Windows XP" or "Microsoft Windows XP," I got to choose between "Microsoft Windows XP" and "Select this if Dan owns your computer and is cooler than you."