Things I've Learned

I've only been sleeping in my new place for a few days now and I've already learned a few things about myself that I didn't quite know before. Someone (i.e. Travis) told me that living on your own would help you to learn new things about yourself...stuff you didn't even realize before. He's right. And its only been a few days, I can't imagine what I'm going to learn over the next couple of years while I live in my little apartment and finish my Masters. Anyway, so here is what I've learned...

1.) I hate dirty dishes. I mean I HATE them! I don't like them being piled up on my kitchen counter. My place isn't the neatest of places right now because I'm still moving and there are boxes piled up everywhere. I'm still trying to figure out where to put everything in my shelves and all that. But I loathe and despise leaving my dirty dishes sitting on the counter. I only have the one small kitchen sink, so washing dishes is kind of a chore. Mostly though, I leave them sitting out because I hate being wasteful. As much as I hate seeing those dishes sitting there, I hate even more thinking about wasting water just to wash a plate and a fork. So I wait until I have a good amount of dishes before I wash them. That takes awhile seeing as how I'm the only person living there. So I suppose I have to put up with the dirty dishes for awhile.

2.) I hate being wasteful. True, I am a little bit on the cheap side when it concerns some things, but mostly I just hate wasting. Case in point, I turn off my A/C (and I will probably do the same for the heat when winter gets here) when I leave the house. I like cooler temps, but I hate paying a high electric bill. This simply means that if I'm not there, then the a/c is not on. In the winter, I will actually keep my place a tad bit cooler than most people in order to save on heating costs. No worries though, if you come for a visit there will be plenty of throws lying around for you to use. I do this because like I said, I'm cheap, but also because I hope its a little better for the environment. That's what I tell myself anyway. I also have a tendency to re-use items that others throw out. For example, I bought a pack of plastic cups to use before I got my dishes moved up there. Those bad boys are lasting quite a while because I wash them like I would regular glasses. I'll do the same for disposable plates, eating utensils, and packaging. I even save my plastic shopping bags to use later. I feel like a Depression Era kid. Like I'm the little old granny lady that says, "Don't throw out that pickle jar. Wash it out. You can use it for something later." I'm not sure WHY I'm this way, but I figure it must be some bygone influence from my Grandmother (who really was a Depression Era kid).

3.) I'm not a neat freak, but I certainly like to keep things tidy. I think its because I'm a tad bit more aware of how people will view me if they stop by and see a messy house. I mean, I have a lot of stuff, but even with a lot of stuff, you can arrange it in a way to where it just looks "homey" and not cluttered. You would NEVER have guessed this if you had seen my bedroom at my parents' place. That thing looks like a tornado ripped through it. But for my apartment, other than the moving clutter, everything is kept pretty tidy. I'm even a little anal as to how things are put away in the cabinets. You know...cans go here, boxes go here, cooking stuff goes there, so on and so forth. I was a little shocked to figure this out, but maybe its not so odd. I mean, my Mom always said that my room looked horrible, but my sock drawer looked like an army drill sergeant had organized it.

4.) I hate silence. Maggie Jarvis came by to visit me one day and said something along the lines of, "I know how you are, April. You like people. You'll always try to have people around." Hmmmm...really? I always thought I hated people. No one in particular, just the general population of rude, loud mouthed folks that get on my nerves on a seemingly daily basis. However, Maggie may be right. I may like people better than I think. I guess its a Gemini trait. Anyway, I hate the silence of my new place. For now I have no radio or t.v. Truth is, I will have a t.v. but no cable. I hate spending hours and hours watching television when I could be doing something else. Something more productive. But I do LOVE music and I intend for my apartment to be filled with music all the time. Right now though, I don't have any music playing devices moved in, so its a sad and silent little place right now.

5.) I hate coming home to an empty apartment. Not that I want someone to move in with me. I actually quite enjoy knowing that it is all mine, but I will be very happy when I get my two little cats moved in with me, so that it doesn't feel so empty anymore. I can already hear Emmie's frantic meows when she realizes I'm home and she wants a treat. Or Bart's bothersome habit of trying to "fix" my hair whenever I sit down.

6.) I eat a LOT healthier at my place than I do at home. I'm not sure why this is, but I assume its because I do all the shopping. I mean, I bought my own groceries at home too, but Mom bought groceries for everyone, which means there was a steady supply of sugary treats hiding around the house. The only non-healthy stuff at my place is a pack of Vanilla Zingers on my counter and a pint of Ben & Jerry's in the freezer. But who can fault a girl for having zingers and peanut brittle ice cream. I mean, c'mon! Mostly though, everything is low-fat, fresh, whole wheat, and all that jazz and surprisingly, I also eat a lot less of it.

7.) Along the same lines of eating a lot less, I've also discovered that I can't sit still. I just can't. I'm not a lazy person anyway, but I hardly have time to do anything that would count as exercise. However, starting next month I'm joining the gym across the road. I had already made up my mind to do so, but after staying at my place a few days, I've decided that if I don't, I will go crazy. Its either join a gym or get a second job, because I can't stand sitting still for very long. I have cleaned that apartment so many times in the past three days that I'm sick too death of the smell of bleach and Lysol. I don't want to go out shopping because, like I said before, I'm cheap and I don't want to spend all my money. I could study...but who the heck wants to spend all their daylight hours doing that?! So, I'll join the gym.

So that's that, a few of the things I've learned about myself in just a few days.

Bye, bye Baby Girl

Today I finally got to move some furniture into my apartment. So exciting!!! I now have a kitchen table fitting snuggly in a corner of my green room (aka the "Baby Bop" room). I also have a bed sitting in my bedroom. I don't have my mattress just yet, but there is a good reason for this. Dad seems to think that the set of box springs that came with the bed are more that alright still (eventhough the bed itself is a bazillion years old, but more on that in a minute). So I decided to wait until I got word back from the house as to whether or not the old springs were good enough, before I go purchase a whole new set. I also got my two end tables moved and I bought a couch! Yay, me! (And thank you Ellen and Daniel Nalley.) BUT...I couldn't get the darn thing to fit through the door. I live on the second floor of the building and try as we might, the couch would not fit through the stairway door or the elevator. Good news though: Mom is going to trade me couches and her's should fit just fine. In the meantime, I'm sleeping on the couch cushions on the floor. Sad, I know, but I think it will make me appreciate my bed that much more.

On to the bed...

I'm really excited about it and here is why. First, I don't have to buy a new one. Yay, for saving money! But mostly I'm excited because the bed originally belonged to my Grandparents. My Mamaw Mae and Papaw Bob were the first owners of that metal frame and they passed it on to my Dad. I remember it in our old house and Mom and Dad used it up until we built the new place. So, it may not actually be an antique and worth anything to anyone else, but the sentimental value of it makes it priceless to me. We had forgotten about it being in the shed, but Dad drug it out the other day and it was still in good condition and I like it just fine. Dad told me today, "Now, if you get tired of that bed, you know you ain't to sell it or throw it out or anything." I told him, "Ummm....who do you think you are talking to, buddy? You know better than to think I would do something like that." He said, "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to mention it, just in case." Seems I get my sentimental side from my Father.

Regardless, its a bed. No mattress but a bed all the same and I'm very pleased with it.

Tonight I get to spend my first night in the apartment. Tomorrow I have classes all day and then I have to go straight to work. I'll also be spending Monday night at my new place and coming back to JC on Tuesday to load up more stuff to move. So hopefully by Wednesday I will at least have a mattress on my bed. That should be just lovely.

Anyway...

The title of this post? Well, today Mom was cleaning off my tables and getting them ready to be moved. She was dragging one of the end tables out of my Grandma's old house where they had been stored and they are really heavy tables, so she asked Dad, "You wanna help me move this last table out of the house?" Dad said, "Nope." Mom asked, "Well, why not?" To which Daddy replied, "Because, you are trying to move my Baby Girl out."

Awwwww.... :-)

The Thing About Ohio is....

So tonight (well, its 3 in the morning as I write this, so maybe I should say "last night") was the Kings of Leon concert at Riverbend. They put on a great show. I had a great time. But that's not the "fun" stuff from the night. I'll not bore you with a music review in other words. Instead, I'll tell you about my near collision and people watching.

First, the collision. I went to the concert with my cousin Emily and we were nearly to our exit. So close in fact, that Em was applying a fresh coat of makeup to her face when WHAM!!! I nearly slammed her through the windshield. Makeup flew everywhere. Why did I do this, you ask? Do I just enjoy giving my passengers whiplash? Should you never ride with me anywhere ever again? (Don't answer that last one.) WELLLLLL....

While driving across the bridge (this is the stuff I have nightmares about mind you), something happened to four cars in front of us. I'm not sure what exactly because it all happened VERY fast and I didn't see it too well. But here is what I did see: Three lanes of traffic going 65 to 75 mph down I-275 on the bridge. Alluva sudden, little green Cavalier directly in front of me, squeals tires, swerves towards the side of the bridge, comes to a sudden stop, and glass and fragments of car parts are everywhere. It appeared as though the Cavalier hit something pretty darn hard with its front end. There was enough damage to it, that I'm about 99% positive it was totaled. I'm still not quite clear on what it hit. Regardless, I came one ace of hitting it in the arse. And the car behind me? Same deal, only I would have been crunched in the bum.

Its amazing how things happen so fast and yet in slow motion when you wreck or even just witness one. Like I said, I was far enough back from the green car that I don't know exactly who hit who or any of the details. When we got around them, I saw that there were three other cars involved, one being a cop car. But for all intents and purposes, I swear it looked like the green car just smashed head on into some sort of invisible force field. Anyway, in a matter of seconds that seemed like they took forever...I saw the break lights of the green car, saw the smoke from the tires, heard the all too familiar sound of metal crunching, hit my breaks, saw the car behind me was going to rear-end me if I didn't do something quick, so when I hit the breaks, I turned towards the concrete wall of the bridge. I got stopped in the break down lane of the bridge with plenty of room to spare between me and the green car, and the car behind me managed to get stopped without rear-ending me. This was only due to the fact that at the last second I whipped it in the break down lane. Otherwise, I would have gotten hit the ass yet again. I looked in the rearview mirror to see the people in the car behind me high fiving each other on managing not to get in the accident. Personally, I was still trying to keep my burger down.

I swear, I've had nightmares of a) wrecking on the interstate, b) getting into a multi-car pile up, and c) wrecking on a bridge. I narrowly (we are talking inches here people) avoided all three of these things this evening. It was so close in fact that Emily was congratulating me and telling me how impressed she was with my "stunt car" driving abilities. She said, "How did you even manage to think to get into the break down lane?" Its simple really. I've been in enough accidents that now my brain is pretty much programed how to react automatically. In a matter of seconds here is what was going through my head: First, I can't swerve to the left because I'm on the damn interstate and in the far right lane. If I get in the left, I'll get hit. Even when breaking, I didn't just SLAM on the breaks because I knew if I did, I would lose control of the car. So I did hit the breaks pretty hard, but it was a steady pressure. I saw the car behind me was too close and knew I'd get hit by them when I did get stopped and it undoubtedly would have rammed me into the back of the green car, so...seeing that the break down lane was clear and the car in front of me wasn't blocking my way, I turned the wheel right to get over there. I was moving slow enough by that point that I knew I would be stopped before I hit the wall. Phew! See how fast a veteran car accident victim can think? Yep. That's how my mind works these days. I look for danger around every corner when I'm on the road. I always know where the other drivers are and try to telepathically link up to them to know what their next move will be (okay, maybe not that last part, but I wish I knew how to do that).

Anyway, I don't know if anyone was seriously hurt or not, but the green car driver was injured. He managed to get out the car and seemed pretty dazed and confused and there was blood. Not a lot but some. Regardless, I know how that dude feels, so I can sympathize and I hope everyone made it out of there okay.

On to the concert we went and that is where we met "Pigtails". I don't know the girl's real name, but she had pigtails and so that is what we called her. Of all the entertaining people we watched at the show, she was by far the most entertaining. She danced the entire time. It cracked me up, because it reminded me of how I dance when I've had a few too many. I swear, if she had broke out some clogging moves, we would have been soul sisters where it concerns our awesome dance moves. She never once finished a cigarette, but I swear she put away at least a case and a half of Bud Light before the night was over. Girlfriend could DRINK! But the best part of her shenanigans? She got in a fight with some dude. The guy was annoying as all get out. He kept yelling at the band "You suck!" and "Play a good song, you Douchebags!" Well, okay idjit, if you don't like the band, why are you even there? Pigtails must have read my mind, because after a few songs of listening to him in the background, she marched her drunk little butt up there and got in his face. I don't know what she said exactly, but it worked. The guy left. I mean, just left the entire show. Its okay dude, I wouldn't have wanted to mess with her either. She looked like she would be hard to handle.

Other than Pigtails, we also got to watch a girl do drunken cartwheels down the hill. That's always fun. We watched her friends dancing and quite frankly, I'm not really sure what they were doing. Maybe some of you men folk reading this can explain this to me...what is the purpose of dancing like a jackass while holding a cup of beer on the top of your head? Either way, it was funny as all get out to watch. We also saw one girl get packed out and another get so sick that she couldn't even move to puke. She just sat right down and puked between her legs. And to top off the night, we sat behind this group of teenagers: one girl, three boys. Obviously they were two couples. As one very drunken girl was getting lead out of the field, one of the gay boys threw a cigarette at her and yelled some sort of bad name. I'm not sure why he did that because that's not a good idea at a concert where people are wasted before they ever make it to their seats, but he did it all the same. When one of her male crew came over to confront him (aka. pick a drunken fight), the chick in the group steps between them and says, "It wasn't him a**hole. It was me. I called her a b*tch. What are you going to do about it? I'll f*ck you up!" The guy left.

So what have we learned from this concert? Two things: 1.) There are invisible force fields that randomly pop up in Ohio. Consider yourself warned. 2.) Girls that go to Kings of Leon concerts are bad asses and given enough booze, they will kick the ass of any boy they come in contact with.

Orientation...and the rest of my life...

I got up yesterday morning only to discover that there were some problems with my financial aid at UK. I'm sorry, UK, but I can not afford to pay my tuition without financial aid. I'm not that loaded. Hopefully though, I have that back on track. Now if I could only get logged into my student email account...

Anyway, so after doing my daily shenanigans at home, I headed out a wee bit early to Richmond. I had some running to do before my orientation. Dad doesn't have any checks yet (thank you slooooow check order people) and so I had to transfer some funds to my account so we could pay the bills. Oh joy of joys. I just LOVE dealing with the banks. I also managed to finally get over and get my cousin Ashlee's birthday present. I had meant to do that last week (you know, when her actual birthday took place) but as with everything else in my life at the moment, I'm a day late and a dollar short.

After all that I headed on up to Lexington.

Now, I've driven in Lexington before, but I like to keep it simple up there. I go from one shopping place to the next shopping place, but I never, ever, ever venture into downtown Lexington. I'm too big of a chicken. Sure, sure, I've driven in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Antonio. I've sailed through Dallas, Houston, Austin, Atlanta, and New Orleans. But for some strange reason, I get just a wee bit nervous at the thoughts of Lexington, KY. Go figure.

So after several encouraging texts and phone calls from friends, I made it to UK's campus. No accidents. No foul language. No threatening horn blasts from other drivers. All was well with the world.

After walking around helplessly trying to find the conference room I settled in with a really dry turkey sandwich and some fruit and waited for the learnin' to commence. A few hours later and a lot of blah, blah, blah, yakety, yakety, yak later, I was more than ready to hit the road and head on in to work. Trust me, getting the heck outta Lexington is much easier than getting the heck in!

I did learn a few things from my MSW Orientation though: 1.) UK charges ridiculous prices for crappy parking. 2.) Sadly, I did not escape "clinicals" when I dropped out of nursing school. I have to have three semesters of the social work equivalent of clinicals. 3.) Social work professors are super long winded.

I'm a Big Girl Now

Today I took my first step towards complete independence. Okay, okay...so really, if you want to get technical, I've been working every summer since I turned 12 and I've had a full time job every year since I was 17. Sure not all those jobs were ones that the government could tax (I work for cash, I have no shame), but it was still work. Technically speaking I've been paying for my own bills and buying my own food (except when Mom cooks, because let's face it, I don't care how old you are or how independent you become, there is nothing in the world like your Mom's home cooking - not if you are Southern anyway), for 11 years now.

It is a common misconception that just because I still live at home, my folks pay all my bills. This has been a bit of a sore spot to me through the years. I've always had part-time or full-time jobs while attending college and still managed to pull off a 3.5 GPA, thankyouverymuch! But people have made comments throughout my life that have caused my already usually ill temper to flair in a matter of seconds.

I don't like for people to think I can't take care of myself. So, for example, when someone suggested my Mom use my silver Cavalier several years ago without asking me first, because "you and Eddie pay for it anyway", it kinda rubbed me the wrong way...because, guess what? They didn't pay for it.

The only time my parents have ever been out any money on a vehicle for me was when I got my first car at 16. Dad bought my Aunt's 1987 Ford Tempo for $500. I drove the poop outta that car until I started paying payments on a 1999 Chevy S10. That's right. Me, myself, and I paid the payments on that truck. Paid the insurance too. Paid for it anytime it had to go to the car doctor (automechanic in non-April terms). Same goes for the silver Cavalier I drove (until I wrecked it) and the white Cavalier after that (until it completely gave out on me).

Sure, sure, Mom and Dad banded together to get the white one because after the silver one was gone I was car-less for about 3 months and I needed a way to get back and forth to school. But guess what? That $1,800 they spent on the car? Within a month, I had paid them back in full. And Cherry Darling (again...she died due to a wreck) and even Maisy (my current love), I pay for those as well. So all this amounts to is that it is a sore spot with me when someone either a) presumes to tell me how I should spend my money and b) assumes that someone else is "keeping me up."

BUT...the problem is that I still live at home. It doesn't matter how much land I am in debt for or how hard I've worked to get my little house fixed up. It doesn't matter if I help pay bills at the house or if I pay all my own bills. Because I still live under my Mom and Dad's roof, society doesn't see me as nearly as independent as I could be. Maybe society is right. Maybe not. I don't care much either way, but what I do care about is moving out on my own because I'm tired of driving 100 miles everyday to work. Yes. One Hundred Miles. 50 miles up there and 50 miles back from my family home. Five days a week. Plus, in a week or so I'll also add another three days a week to Lexington for classes.

Anyway, there are a lot of reasons to finally bite the bullet and move out on my own, but I've already gone off on enough tangents here and griped about enough things, so I'll not bore you with those. Instead, I will tell you about my new apartment. :-) Its small but I'm excited about it!!!

Its a one bedroom deal about five minutes from work and about two minutes from I-75 which will take me to school in about 30 minutes. Much better travel time than living in Jackson County. I have two large windows in my living room (which is the biggest room in the apartment), but not much of a view. I can see my bank, Wendy's, the bypass, and all that jazz from the windows, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. The apartment used to be an office of some sort. One of my windows still has the smudgy imprint of some random business name stuck to it. I'm hoping that the maintenance folks can get that cleaned off nice and pretty before I move in. Its carpet, so I'm gonna have to get a vacuum cleaner...especially with two cats moving in with me. I was tickled to be able to bring my critters. :-)

There is a small room with two doors that I am certain is really a closet, but I intend to make that the bedroom, because I don't want my largest room to have a bed taking up all the space. My living room is for entertaining and studying and all that jazz, not to have random people that have nowhere else to sit, putting their nasty feet in my clean bed. I'm weird about stuff like that. I'll let my hairy cats sleep in the bed with me, but Heaven forbid someone's dirty feet be under my covers. Ugh. Gives me shivers just thinking about it. Anyway, so the closet will become my bedroom. Its big enough I should be able to fit a full size bed in there and possibly a chest of drawers or something along those lings.

I have a tiny cute kitchen. No cabinets on the walls but plenty of cabinet space on the bottom. The cabinets need some contact paper or something put in them. I mean, they probably don't actually NEED it, but I feel like it needs it and I intend to put it there. Later, I may put up some shelves to sit glasses and whatnot on, but for now I'm not worried about it.

Beside the kitchen is a small bathroom with a door. The toilet and sink are in there. The shower (and here my friends is the tricky part) is outside the bathroom. Its in the middle of my dining room. Yeaaaaahhhh.

When you first come in the apartment, there is a small room and I intend for that room to hold my kitchen table. So its my dining room. The tricky thing is that when you open the front door, the door knob, if left to swing aimlessly, will actually hit the side of my shower stall. So...not only do I need a shower curtain, but I also have to put up something that will hide the shower stall a bit. Its weird, but I find it quirky (or at least that is what I'm telling myself), and so I guess it suits me fine. :-)

Just be warned...if you ever need to shower at my place, you need to either a) have a large towel or bathrobe handy to hide you from your walk from the bedroom to the shower or b) not be ashamed of your body.

Whichever works for you, works for me.

Party @ My Crib

As some of you may already know, I will be moving out in a few short weeks. (FINALLY!!!) I'm headed to the big city of Richmond (well, to be fair, anything is BIG compared to Gray Hawk) or quite possibly, Lexington. At the moment I am apartment hunting like crazy and already packing up for the impending move.

Don't get me wrong, I love my family and there are things about Jackson County that I absolutely LOVE with all my heart, but its finally come to the point that I really just have to move. Have too. I've been working in Richmond for over a year now and although the drive isn't the most pleasant thing in the world, I have managed it pretty well (I mean, as long as other drivers don't decide to run over top of me, which, mind you, has happend twice in my travels to work). The winter time is always a little chancy. I never know if I'm going to get snowed in at Gray Hawk or Richmond. I have family in both spots (and a few spots in between), but I hate feeling like a bum when I have to sleep on someone's couch. :-( But the main reason I have to go ahead and suck it up and move NOW is because I'm starting graduate school soon. I have classes three days a week in Lexington, plus my regular five day work week. Quite frankly I'm not willing to be on the road that much. I mean, I love to drive, but only when its somewhere fun. :-)

So, I've decided to find a little apartment of my very own. True, I have a house that I've been trying to fix up for a few years now, but I've finally come to terms with the fact that its not going to get finished anytime soon and besides, unless I can magically transport Adkinstown to the middle of Madison County, then its really not going to help me in my travel time either way. So...since I am terribly excited to finally pack up my belongings and my two cats (Bart and Emmie will be coming with me...and quite possibly so will Angus, so it may be three cats), I thought I would give ya'll a glimpse of what it will be like in my new Bachelorette Pad. Stop by for a visit anytime you like. :-)

Things You Will Find in My New Apartment:
1. A bean bag. Just one, but one is enough. Yesss, I realize I'm too old for bean bags, but I can't help it. I love them and its my apartment and dang it, I will have one if I want it.
2. The Sims 2 and my computer. Its the only video game that I really actually play. It entertains me on dreary days. I can't help it.
3. Books. Piles and piles and shelves and shelves of books. I intend for there to be books in every room and hidden in every corner possible. I love books.
4. Magazines such as "Bust", "Bitch", "Ms.", "Supernatural" (the show...obviously), "Progressive Farmer", and "Mother Earth News". Be prepared to be bombarded with feminist, environmentalist, farming, and fangirl wonder.
5. DVDs. Lots of DVDs. I like movies. You can come watch a movie with me anytime you want. Promise.
6. Beer. 'Nuff said.
7. Fresh flowers. All the time...fresh flowers.
8. Pictures of front (and back) porches. I love porches and apartments don't really have them, so I'll make do with what I can.
9. My Dad and my Aunt's cedar chests. I'll be using them as tables. They store stuff, they are antiques, and they are just full of awesome. They just are.
10. Other old family stuff. I have a picture of my Uncle Leonard and a white pitcher that are pretty old and will be making the journey with me. As well as an old afghan that some random family member of mine crocheted together way back when. Quilts that my Great-Aunt made and a couple of wardrobes that have been in the family for years. None of this stuff has any value to anyone else I'm sure, but they have extreme value to me. If I decide they have so much value that I don't want them in the apartment (you know, in case someone accidently ruins them) then they will be stored safely away back at the place they came from...HOME.
11. Pictures of family and friends. As well as pictures taken BY family and friends. I know some purdy talented photographers out there and I will frame their work and hang it on my walls.
12. A painting my mother did back in high school. Yes its some sort of Native American chief and I have no idea who it is or why she painted it, but I've kept it all these years and its time to finally frame that bad boy and hang it up somewhere.
13. Cats. As well as assorted cat items.
14. Did I mention beer?
15. A signed photo of George A. Romero. I don't have this yet, but I will get it in November and it will be framed and hung up for the world to see.
16. A framed portrait of Wonder Woman. Yes. I said Wonder Woman.
17. Music.
18. A treadmill. You know, cause everyone needs an overpriced coat rack. ;-)
19. A television without cable. I only need it for movie nights, folks.
20. Beer. Or did I say that already?

So see, the only thing missing is Y-O-U and I do indeed expect visitors throughout my time at my new abode. Stop by any time folks. As my welcome mat says, "We're so excited to see you, we don't know whether to pee in the floor or tear up the couch." :-D

Pre-New Year Resolutions

Everyone I know makes New Year's resolutions, only to break them around the second of January each year. This year, I've decided to make my resolutions a wee bit earlier. These aren't actually resolutions mind you, but things that I want to accomplish between now and August of next year. We'll see how it goes...

1. Give John Goodman a hug. (Because he just looks so huggable. This may not be too far fetched either, I hear he lives in New Orleans and I go there every year.)
2. Meet George Romero. (He's gonna be at Scarefest this year!!!)
3. Go to ComicCon.
4. Learn to crush a beer can on my forehead.
5. Learn to juggle.
6. Ride on a unicycle. (Even if its only for a few seconds.)
7.  Finish up a few semesters of Graduate School with at least a 3.5 GPA.
8. Go on a road trip all by myself and don't tell anyone where I am.
9. Go to Disney World.
10. Sky dive.
11. Bungee jump.
12. Move out on my own. (FINALLY!!!)
13.  Join a roller derby team.
14. Dye my hair completely blue.
15.  Babysit for each of my friends and family at least one day...for FREE!!!
16. Climb a tree.
17. Find a church that I actually like attending.
18. Get my bar tending license. (Even if I never use it.)
19. Get a few more tattoos.
20. Write a short story that is worthy of publication.

So that's it for now. No typical resolutions like losing weight or whatever. Where's the fun in that? Nope, these are my resolutions. I think I can manage.