I Have A Crush With Eyeliner

Michael Stipe said it best: "She's a sad tomato". Enjoy this installment of grunge.

Buon Pomeriggio!

Day One of Italian class is complete, and I think it's going to be a success! The class is full of middle aged wealthy people who "Want to learn a few phrases" before their vacations to Tuscany, but I think it will be a good time. There is, as in every class anywhere, the one student I absolutely can not stand who seems to think she knows everything and is much smarter than every person in the room. My favorite moment was when she tried to translate something the teacher said out loud to show off and was wrong. Completely wrong. I couldn't help but giggle like a kid. My friend who is taking the class with me and I have already decided that we are going to be the "bad kids" of the class, and it didn't help that we went for a margarita (or two) beforehand.

I got on Amazon tonight to buy a workbook for the class, and ended up spending 100 bucks impulsively on books I probably don't need. No, definitely don't need. I'm most excited for "Fuck This Book", a collection of photos of signs vandalized with the word "Fuck", and I also bought another book from Post Secret. Jen-nay turned me on to the website/blog and I instantly loved it. I've decided I'm going to start my own collection of the books.

I have more stories to post about a current temporary roommate but don't have the time/energy to post now. Stay tuned.

Manic Monday

Tales From The Crypt

Well, I've made the voyage back to my parents house to visit for the weekend, and in my 15 short hours at home it's already been quite an interesting experience. Last night when I arrived, my parents and I decided to go to dinner to this small restaurant close to their house. I have always liked going to this place and the food is very good. It used to be a speakeasy during prohibition and the decor of the place has changed very little since then. (literally) When we got there, around 8 or so, the bar area was already full with the local drunks, which is always a highlight for me. Halfway through dinner my dad started to regale me with stories of his drinking days with "Birdman", a shifty looking man halfway sitting on his stool. And how he and "Birdman" and "Smoker" and "Chunky" used to come to that very bar well before their legal drinking age. (Which, coincidentally, I too can remember imbibing at this bar before my legal age). Then a man named "PeeWee" bought our table a round of drinks, and no one really seemed to know who "PeeWee" was. Ok, thanks for the beer PW!
At some point after arriving home my whole family feel asleep in front of the TV, and I woke up to a Marlon Brando movie at midnight.
Flash forward to this morning. My grandpa and I went out for breakfast at the town's one and only restaurant. The place is always filled with locals for breakfast, usually my grandpas age. Mixed in with our conversation I couldn't help but overhear other table's conversations which included topics such as how a black Muslim or a woman would never be good enough to run our country, the obscene number of abortions that happen and what needs to be done to stop it, and how the cold is really "doin' a number" on the local farms and cows. NOW I remember why I wanted to move far, far away. I also had the opportunity to listen to a conversation between the man who used to drive the bookmobile when I was en elementary school and his friend about flat chested women. Oh, and I forgot I had to park my car (with anti-republican propaganda bumper stickers) in between a large truck with a gun-rack and bumper sticker that said "I am the NRA and I support the President and the troops" and a small pick-up with a "G.W. Bush again in 2008" bumper sticker. Um, I'm getting the hell out of here. Now, I must say although the majority of my morning had to deal with hickish rightwinger bullshit, it's not usually the case the entire time. I guess it was just my lucky day.

My Body, My Choice.

Today is the the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, making abortion legal. Although not a huge fan of killing babies, I do like personal rights and am, therefore, an evil "Pro-choicer". Today would have been a good day for Jen-nay and I to make our tour downtown to harass the pro-lifers with their toddler children holding signs with pictures of abortions on a busy street. (Which shows complete concern for the welfare of children) Let's keep in mind that this important court decision represents more than just abortion rights, and let's vote out the bastards who want to change it. Happy R. v. Wade Day!

Manic Monday (Un Jour Enretard)

Silence Is Golden

As of the beginning of the year, a young couple with a two year old daughter moved into the apartment above me. They have not stopped jumping up and down and slamming cupboards all night, and their daughter has been running back and forth in the living room for one and a half solid hours. If it doesn't stop in fifteen minutes, I'm going up there.

Manic Monday

Stuff

• This week began my second week in a series of 25 full 5-day weeks at work with no break. As most of the people in the working world go "big fucking deal" , it is to me, and I'm wondering just how it is I plan on staying sane throughout the upcoming weeks. Although I love my job, and recently switched from French to Spanish, I foresee several "mental health days" creeping into my schedule. I hate to complain, since I do get almost three months off a year, but a few long weekends here and there would be nice.

• As I was flipping through the channels this afternoon, I happened upon the Jerry Springer Show which bore the title "Pregnant Gals & Mimes". My first reaction was "how does this show stay on the air?" Then I realized it's because it has shows with titles like "Pregnant Gals & Mimes".
• I've been working through my stack of books that I've taken upon myself to consider required reading. I like to try to consider my self quasi-cultured and somewhat well read (although I'm not at all). I've worked through "Siddhartha" and my biography of Che Guevara, as well as "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac which I picked up back in October almost out of obligation because everywhere I turned it was praised because of it's 50th anniversary release and I'd never even considered reading it. My next endeavors are "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand (recommended to me by Mikey and also, strangely enough, my mother) "Hunger" by Knut Hamsum and "End of the Night" and "Death on the Installment Plan" by Louis-Ferdinand Celine. This reading list will, of course, take me an unreasonable amount of time to finish since I prefer to pick up my copy of "I Am America and So Are You" by Stephen Colbert or The Onion's "Our Big Dumb World". Both of which I personally consider required reading also.
• A big HOLLA to Julia for getting a job before she even graduated from school! Congratulations!
• I enrolled today for beginning Italian classes at my local community college campus. It was a total impulse decision, but I'm completely psyched about it. I've always wanted to learn Italian, and I figured "hey, what the hell". I also am going to sign up for some classes through my district's IU which seem pretty cool. One is the history of music, which includes a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and another about the history of Pittsburgh's South Side which includes a trip to there as well. Should be interesting, I'll keep you posted.
• I saw a bumper sticker on my way home from work today that read "Hunt With Your Kids Not For Them". This puzzled me and made me wonder when exactly Kid Season is and what kind of permit you need for such hunting. This sticker rivals "Charlton Heston is MY President" as favorite bumper sticker ever.
  

There's just a quick run-down of some goings on in my life. Stay tuned for more!

Manic Monday

Update

My new progression alarm clock seems to be working great so far. It's been putting me in a half-way decent mood first thing in the morning since I'm not jolted awake by an annoying buzzer. Instead I've been waking up the the sounds of birds chirping and the smell of "Calm and Stress Relief" aroma therapy. Much better than hitting the snooze alarm after the beep.

She Don't Use Jelly

It's that time again. More 90's rock. This jam comes from the Flaming Lips. Enjoy!

Ahh So Soothing

As promised, here is a picture (which is a good candidate for a 'food and finger' picture) of the maiden use of one of my gifts from Jen-nay and Julia;
a lettuce knife (along with some other fun kitchen gadgets and a nice cookbook). I used it this evening to make a semi-homemade meal of lettuce wraps and brown rice with beans.
I found a lettuce wrap filling in the organic section of my grocery store, and decided it try it out. It was quite yum-mo and sort of like the coveted "Soothing Lettuce Wraps" from P.F. Changs! Happy New Year, by the way, to all my readers!