Woo hoo!!

I'm leaving for [the general vicinity of] the airport TODAY! I can't believe I'll be in Oregon tomorrow! Hooray!

Update (for those who were alarmed).

I got so many messages of concern regarding the possible coronary in last Friday's randomness post (okay, not really - what's wrong with you people? Weren't you worried?) that I felt I should post an update to the situation.

I may have made light of it, but I was really weirded out. Seriously - when does your upper rib cage hurt (on the left side in the front)? How do you even pull anything there? Well, who knows, but evidently I did. Still hurts like a bit** too.

Super cute PT-man examined the injury today (ouch!), as he noticed me grimacing during our session, and informed me that I had indeed pulled something. Ya think? I am an idiot. I really am - since I think I did it during last week's fall. Falling down would have been way cooler if I hadn't pulled an intercostal.

So you can all sleep easy now - no myocardial infarctions here.

I feel like I gotta.

Ten things I want to do while I'm in...

M-F / Walla Walla:

1. Eat at La Casita

2. Buy produce at Andy'’s

3. Peruse shops on Main St.

4. Count how many random high school people I run into

5. Burn wedding pictures

6. Visit the Walla Walla YMCA

7. Eat [fake] sweet and sour chicken at the Modern

8. Bake with my mom

9. Go to the Green (I've never been, so leave me alone)

10. See old friends

Portland:

1. Have game night at Trash's

2. Visit the lil ones from my past

3. Eat at La Terrazza

4. Have a drink with my fun Alaskan friends (and their cute dog)

5. Walk through Pioneer Place, down 23^rd, and around downtown

6. Get Mexican hot chocolate at Moonstruck

7. Go to happy hour in the Pearl

8. Get pizza at Escape from New York

9. Shop for baby stuff w/ the prego

10. Eat at Thailand

Images: the easy way out.

After a brief pep-chat from the prego, I've decided I need to stop feeling guilty about procrastinating [today]. Today's particular lack of writing is not my fault and there is nothing I can do about it, so instead I will blog. As it's officially the holiday season, I've decided to post my own holiday-themed image survey.

Favorite Christmas Movie

Favorite Christmas Cookie


Favorite Holiday Beverage


Favorite Holiday Activity


Favorite Place to Spend Christmas


Favorite Christmas Carol


Favorite Holiday Weather

The symbolic end of an era.

The jeweler called today to inform me I can come in and pick up my rings. Plural. Meaning my engagement ring and wedding band, which had until today been fused. I think it will be good for me to see them apart, as two... and to give the band to the B-man's mom :) (Seriously - what am I going to do with it? The engagement ring, on the other hand, is beautiful and very non-traditional looking (thus wear-able at some later date).)

During the same visit to the ex-in-laws I will be returning the various material goods one accumulates when you share your life with another person. I'm not looking forward to pilfering through everything, especially the wedding-related items. I feel as though I got the short end of the stick on this front, as everything is at my parent's house I am forced to do this instead of him. On the plus side, it is highly unlikely that the B-man even remembers everything that we own and will be unaware of what doesn't make it to his house. Oops. Good stuff, welcome to my house.

On a happier note, the fact that I will soon be forced to do this means I will be at home, surrounded by the people I love, and who love me. That is a too-rare occurrence right now, and one I am looking forward to tremendously.

The fact that it's Christmas isn't really playing into my excitement, which I am attributing in part to my feeling awfully adult-ish this year. The importance of true friends and a supportive family has made itself clear to me over the past few months, and this year I can honestly say that the holiday season has new meaning - in a very good way.

Friday randomness.

It's Friday and I'd rather be at home (or finishing my Christmas/holiday shopping), so I have decided to protest with a blog entry - just your luck. Since I don't have one, full-length topic in mind, I am jumping aboard the mythical bandwagon and writing on nothing. Here's to you, Ash.

First off, my fantastic Australian friends are celebrating their tenth anniversary today (cheers!) - hat's off to them, no? It's not often I meet a couple and truly adore both halves, but you should meet these people! Start with two wonderfully bright, enthusiastic, and thoughtful individuals, then add in the accent and ridiculously fun Aussie vocab and you have quite a good time in the making.

I will be in my home state in 6 days and 23 hours. Can you tell I'm excited? The crazy winter wind storm currently wreaking havoc on the area should be gone by then. I hope. While home I get to see my now-visibly pregnant sister-in-law. Since this is the first baby in the family, I'm pretty excited about it. You should see the cute presents I have for him (and parents)!

Speaking of Christmas (or "gimme gimme presents day" as it was once referred to), I've discovered that Christmas lights on palm trees make me inexplicably happy. It's very odd. Seriously. I can't figure it out, but I love it nonetheless. I also love the word nonetheless. It might be in my top 5 current favorite words. No one else has a list like that, do they? I'm never sure when to admit things like that.

Do you think it's possible I'm having a myocardial infarction? I've been having this weird chest pain for the last two days that I've never had before. It's freaking me out a little bit. If I die, I'd like someone to blame it on my new prescription and profit from the loss (well, it would be devastating, no?). I'm so American.

Speaking of, I've been informed that even though the rest of the world hates Americans, foreign nationals would like me (something to do with being from Oregon and not Texas). I take this as quite a compliment (thank you, "Amber").

I gave my neighbor an icy glare today. I'm so mature. While making fortune cookies last night (yes, you read correctly) I was tempted to make one for #12, and have the fortune read something along the lines of "too much loud sex may make nice neighbor angry". But I didn't. Maybe next time.

My other boy dilemma lives on as well. Will someone tell me whether or not I should answer the phone when the B-man calls? I told him no talking! Several times! I feel as though answering the phone (albeit to tell him to stop calling) would still be a victory for him. However, I also want the money he owes me, and would rather get it without involving the state of Oregon. Thoughts?

I fell down on Tuesday. You should have seen it - it's not often an adult falls down. In my defense, it was during tennis, and I made a sweet save. I did fall down, however. During my class. Yeah... it was awesome. Especially since I just lay there for a minute and then yelled "I'm down!". You should have been there. Ahh, the memory.

This is turning into quite a post. If only I could write this much on my academic paper. You know, the one to complete my degree? Yeah - I'm a huge slacker. You'd think I'd want the $40k in tuition to actually mean something and try to finish. Nope. That would make too much sense.

Okay, I'm officially out of nothing to talk about. Happy Friday to all - please send some motivation my way over the weekend.

What is wrong with me this week/month?

pro·cras·ti·nate

transitive and intransitive verb

Definition: postpone doing something: to postpone doing something, especially as a regular practice

[Late 16th century. <> procrastinat-, past participle of procrastinare "put off until tomorrow" <> cras "tomorrow"]

I know everyone is waiting, so here it is.

I went to New York on Friday! Hooray for me!

The weekend got off to a rather bad start, however, when I didn't get out of work early enough. Mind you, the airport is an hour and a half away, and I needed to park my car at one of those shuttle places, so I should have left at 1:30 or so for my 5:00 flight. Well, that didn't happen. I pulled out of the G'ville gas station at 2:30 and started to panic. And of course, there was traffic. In G'ville! When is there traffic here? And at 2:30?? Come on, people! I felt as though I was being punished for my late start. The traffic gods laughed at me the entire way to JAX, actually, as everyone thought it would be fun to block me in while driving under the speed limit. I'm normally a patient driver, but the Bacilos concert was in jeopardy! So I got a little too close to some cars to remind them that the left lane is for people in a hurry, namely me. So I pull into the fantastic valet car park/shuttle place (for $4.00/day!!) at 4:25... I've never missed a flight before, and I was pretty sure that was what might happen. Alas, we took off 1 minute later (thank you, King parking!) and I arrived at the check-in desk, looking rather sheepish, at 4:35. The woman at the counter held back her reproach and told me I should probably head right to security (ya think?). Anyway - I made it! Thank you for the 10 minute delay, JetBlue, thank you.

On an aside - I love JetBlue. If only they traveled to more of the destinations I frequent. Free TV in every seat? Who wouldn't love that? And normal sized snacks! And the entire can of soda! I mean, come on American/Delta - you really can't swing for the entire can? The little plastic cups hold about 3 swallows of liquid once they pile in the ice. Combined with the four pretzels you're offered, it's a choking hazard in the making. But not JetBlue - no choking on their flights. Well done.

So JFK has a sweet lightrail system that hooks up to the LIRR - it's relatively new and very nice. Almost worth the $5 fee each way. $5 - really? I miss Portland. I digress. AirTrain + LIRR = Penn Station for $10, and takes only 45 minutes or so, which I thought was pretty good. One cab ride later I was looking at the ridiculously large lit-up tree in Rockefeller Center (One more digression - is anyone else sad about them cutting down these beautiful, 100 year old trees every year? I couldn't help being a little peeved as I looked at it).

So my crazy friend V and I meet up under the tree (which would have been very romantic if she'd been a boy) and make off for Time's Square. A slice of pizza and one large beer later, we're waiting in the VIP line at BB King. What kind of concert starts at midnight? Crazy Bacilos. We're ushered inside at 12:15 (SO, SO cold outside) and the show starts an hour later - ahhh, hora latino. But you know what? It was so worth the wait. I rank it #2 on my "best concerts I've ever been to" list, right behind.... Bacilos (2002 - Guayaquil).

Two hours and one picture with the drummer later, we head off on the next leg of the adventure: last call, of course. Who knew that there's not a lot to do at 4:15am in NYC? The 20 degree weather also put a damper on things, so we made our way to a 24 hour diner, to the delight of the wait staff. Around 6:00 we went to V's friend's to crash on her [super cold, hardwood] floor for an hour.

V and her friend were heading home for a few days, so I was on my own and headed back to Time's Square for a bit. About this time I was feeling a little yucky, having been wearing the same clothes for to many hours and without access to a toothbrush. Still fun though :) I walked from Time's Square to Penn Station/Madison Square Garden and caught the LIRR back to JFK. It was FANTASTIC.

One fun fact about the trip was that I took absolutely no bags. No backpack, no purse, nothing. I felt very liberated by this accomplishment. Mittens, hat, phone, money - it was great! I definitely recommend it for all travelers.

Anyone?

If any of my dedicated readers (hee hee) happen to see the B-man, could they ask him to stop calling me? Seriously.

Thank you, JetBlue.

Random recommendation for the day:

It is ideal to arrive at the airport with more than 20 minutes until your flight departs.

A tribute of sorts.

In honor of the upcoming concert, I have compiled one of my favorite things, a list!

My ten favorite Bacilos songs (and reasons for said selections)

10. Contigo Se Va (Final single - so good, yet so sad)

9. Odio el Silencio (For the romantic in me)

8. El Edificio (Just plain good)

7. Viejo (I want someone to walk the streets of a city all night simply because they know that I'm there)

6. Besela Ya (Makes me smile and dance every single time - plus the video is pretty darn good)

5. Pasos de Gigante (Goodness, how I relate - I feel ya Jorge, I feel ya)

4. Feliz Conmigo (Fantastic "like me for who I am" bottom line, and Jorge growls - what more could you want in a song?)

3. Mi Primer Millon (So fun + they mention Guayaquil, AND I can make out the subjunctive)

2. Caraluna (Mancora, Peru (and/or Guayaquil, Ecuador) + cute, Latin boys singing to me = good times.)

Drum roll, please....

1. Tabaco y Chanel (This is the song that taught me to grab my 20's by the balls - thank you, Bacilos)

There should be a cartoon lightbulb above my head.

As I pushed my grocery cart to my car yesterday evening I had an epiphany. That's right, an epiphany. If I were a cartoon character (what kind of messed up cartoon would that be?) there would have been bells dinging and a lightbulb flashing - it was that kind of epiphany.

Grocery shopping has the potential to suck for single people, circumstances depending. No, that's not the epiphany, but it's related. I decided that someone needs to design a 21 and over grocery store - forget (or, even better, in addition to) sample stations: SHOT STATIONS! That's right, I firmly believe that the grocery shopping experience could be much more pleasant with the addition of a small amount of alcohol (keep in mind we will have to drive home with purchased items). Seriously - how fun would that be? Leave the produce department head toward frozen food and have a shot of tequila on the way. I love it.

I realize there will need to be some sort of system for monitoring the number of drinks provided (one upon entry, tickets, etc)... these details bore me. Singles will agree, though, that the concept is appealing.

My Christmas conundrum.

It is officially the holiday season. I love the holiday season; I might not love the traditional meaning of Christmas, but I love the season nonetheless. This year, though, things are difficult. It's time to decide if I should embrace the season and decorate my apartment. What should be a simple decision is ridiculously complicated for me this year. Will spreading "holiday cheer" in my home really make me cheerful? Or will it just draw attention to the fact that I am celebrating the holidays alone (for the first time)?

I know what you're thinking: "You're going to be with your family for Christmas!". True, but we all know that Christmas is much more than a day. It's the entire month of December, no? Already we are bombarded by commercials and advertisements for sales and Christmas goodies. The ads are full of families and couples celebrating each other and togetherness. Uuggh. And the stupid jewlery ads - they're driving me crazy this year! I hate you, Zales. I hate you, Kay (and no, you are NOT responsible for every kiss, thank you very much).

And so, do I get a tree? Do I set out red candles and garland and ornaments? Or do I take shelter in my cozy apartment and wait out the season? I've got to decide soon - December begins tomorrow.

Friendly advice for Rick Hunter.

1. It's not nice to call someone - especially someone you don't know - strange.
2. "Rick Hunter" no es nombre latino, so get off your soap box.

Useless info about me.

Randoms
[Relationship Status]- Single
[Shoe size]- 9
[Parents still together] - Yep
[Siblings] - 1 (+ a sister-in-law)
[Pets] - Jack & Rex, super cats

Favorites
[Colors] - Green or brown
[Number] - 23
[Drinks] - Mt. Dew, Crystal Light fruit punch, Sam Adams Light, frozen margaritas
[Book] - If I have to choose... The Sex Lives of Cannibals
[Flower(s)] - Lilacs, lilies, hydrangea

Do You
[Color your hair?] - Nope
[Twirl your hair?] - Sometimes
[Have tattoos?] - Yep
[Have Piercings?] - None that are still functional
[Like roller coasters?] - Absolutely
[Wish you could live somewhere else?] - Depends on the day (today - no)
[Like cleaning?] - Oddly, yes

Have You Ever
[Been in a fist fight?] - Nope
[Considered a life of crime?] - Uh, no.
[Been in love?] - Yep
[Used someone] - Just recently, actually
[Been used?] - Probably
[Stolen anything?] - Perhaps in middle school? I'm such a rebel.
[Held a gun] - Yep. I'm from M-F, people.

Currents
[Current favorite clothing] - New-ish jeans/Hopkins hoodie
[Current mood] - ... is it 5 yet?
[What you currently smell like] - Good question... baby powder/almond?
[Current hair] - French braid + bun... I'm so capable these days!
[Current thing I ought to be doing] - Reading "Communicating science to the public: MMR vaccine and autism"

Lasts
[Last book you read] - The Ambler Warning
[Last movie you saw] - Casino Royale
[Last thing you ate] - Fresh veggies
[Last person you talked to on the phone] - Carol I

Do You
[Believe there is life on other planets?]- Undecided
[Remember your first love?]- Yep
[Read the newspaper?] - Lately, not so much. I'm a CNN.com addict, though.
[Do well in school?]- Yep, though motivation is lacking at the moment
[Have a best friend?] - Yep (shout out)

Love...
[First crush] - Travis Winky? First grade baby - we kissed in the tires.
[Do you believe in love at first sight?] - Undecided, leaning toward no.
[Do you believe in "the one?"] - I thought so
[Too shy to make the first move?] - Yep

Are You
[Sarcastic] - Yep, though it takes some time to reveal itself
[Shy] - Depends on the day
[Talkative] - Not so much

More late night fun.

Let's replay last night:

11:30pm: I finish a Grey's episode and fall asleep.
2:04am: My eyes fly open as I awake to abnormal sounds.
2:04am: I say aloud "you have got to be freaking kidding me" as I realize what's going on.
2:05am-2:20am: I lay with a pillow over my head and pray for it to end.

Okay, seriously. I am open for suggestions now, as I do not want to listen to my neighbor and his girlfriend in the throws every night (literally 3 feet from where I sleep). What do I do? Because let me tell you, being woken up 3 hours into the night's sleep by a bed thumping and a girl moaning can only go on for so long. I think I may go crazy soon.

I feel somewhat selfish, as it is his right to.... you know, in his own home. But really - it wakes me up from a dead sleep and I'm forced to lay there and bear witness! Can you say awkward? I would assume for all involved, but who can really say?

Help!

Extra! Extra!

Travis and Ashley are having a boy! I'm going to have a nephew!

Bandwagon, here I come.

An abbreviated list of things I am thankful for this year:

1. New beginnings
2. A supportive family
3. Friends I can count on (and discovering who they are)
4. My own good health, and that of those I love
5. A job offer
6. Passing my MHS comprehensive exams

Turkeys beware.

Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

As a vegetarian, I find Thanksgiving somewhat difficult.
I also find this cartoon extremely amusing.

Update to yesterday's post

The #12 issue lives on. Last night I was awoken to conversation intermixed with giggles and shrieks at 1:06am. Does this guy not have to work this week, or what? It was Monday night, for goodness sake. So after listening to this for 20 minutes without reprieve, I decided to knock on the wall (I'm so brave, no?). It worked! There was immediate silence followed by hushed conversation. So there!

Except... an hour later I woke to the sounds no one ever enjoys hearing from a neighbor and his girlfriend. Do you think he knows I can hear them? Do you think he cares? These are the questions of the day.

End result of last night's fun? I'm tired today. Stupid #12.

Number 12 - not so cute anymore.

So I have this neighbor. The type you think may be a fun neighbor to have (i.e. really cute, my age) - we'll call him #12. It looked promising for a few months. And then, a few weeks back, the truth was revealed: #12 is not a fun neighbor, #12 is a loud neighbor. Only one thing is worse than a loud neighbor: a loud neighbor and thin walls. Guess what kind of walls I have.

This first came to be while I had a friend visiting (shout out, K-nut)... a pleasant night's sleep interrupted by goodness knows what (group wrestling perhaps?) at 3:00am. Yes, I realize it was a Friday night, but still - silence to screams/thuds at 3:00am is not fun, no matter what the day. Let's talk about my walls again: PAPER THIN, evidently. An example of the thinness can be seen in the fact that K-nut and I were privy to every word of the group's conversation that night (mainly one really drunk, stupid girl - sidenote, very educational experience in the harmful affect of the overuse of "like"). Since the noises went on for quite some time that evening, I was eventually forced to walk next door and attempt to speak to #12 (mind you, I'd been asleep for several hours and was looking quite fetching). Those who know me will attest to my lack of confrontational skills... I hate confrontations. I hate looking mean and boring, also, so this was a fantastic experience. Only topped off by the fact that #12 was too much of a baby to talk to me himself and sent a friend down instead. Come on, #12.

We're still not quite sure what was going on next door that night... Possibly risqué, probably unusual, obviously loud.

I bring this up today because the #12 saga lives on. There have been several similar nights of fun since then, including last night (SUNDAY night, for pete's sake!). Never again will I wonder if my DVD (on the quietest volume setting, mind you) is too loud - never again! #12 and I are not friends, and his cuteness has severely diminished over time (though he's still pretty cute, darn it).

All of this could have been avoided, K-nut and I determined early on, if we'd simply been invited to the... festivities. We probably wouldn't have gone, of course, but it would have been much more enjoyable to listen in knowing we could have partaken. And so, a tip to those of you who may be loud - invite the neighbors.

Another update!!

M-F won! They (and their mohawks) beat LaSalle 1-0 for the state championship!

They ended the year 18-0-0. The perfect season ran their unbeaten streak to 36 games; the last team to defeat them was in the 2004 playoffs when La Salle scored a 1-0 win (LaSalle went on to win the championship that year). You'd think those are the only two teams in the state, wouldn't you?

Well done guys. But can we lose the stupid haircuts next year?

Blogger's block

I don't know what it is, but I can't for the life of me come up with something to post. But to appease my... fans (for lack of a better word - and because it humors me), I must blog! And so, I'm creating another photo survey. I figure it's what started the blog in the first place, so perhaps it will get me through this rough patch (that and a lot of alcohol - though not right now, because I'm at work... if only I had the flask).

Favorite Flower


Favorite [Visited] City


Favorite [Resided in] City


Favorite Cookie


Favorite Ex-President
(for comical reasons only)


Favorite Fruit(s)



Favorite Season

Update to a somewhat eclectic post, part 2

M-F won 7-1 yesterday! Take that, Marist. The state championship game is Saturday in Wilsonville... you know I'd be there if I still lived in Oregon, but living in Florida just isn't conducive to my attendance. They will be playing LaSalle, the team they beat in last year's championship game - should be good.

The best sentence I heard all day.

"Fetching woman seeks trysts." I love it - well done Sally.

A somewhat eclectic post.

1. I saw another gator this weekend. Florida is weird.

2. The M-F high school boys soccer team is doing very well this season. Add that they were last year’s state champs for their division, and you’ve got quite a story. I bring this up because it’s not often that one hears anything good about the M-F high school (and because I’m a big fan of the coach). For those interested, the next game is at home Tuesday – if they win, they’ll play for the championship again. Well done guys (and you too Jose).

3. I’ve decided that one of my biggest pet peeves is being ma’am-ed. I HATE IT. I realize that it’s actually very polite/courteous/whatever, but I still hate it. The Jiffy Lube guy ma’am-ed me literally 7 times during our 4 minute exchange. I was tempted to respond with a “just don’t call me ma’am again” when he asked if there was anything else he could do for me, but I figured that might throw off his game. This is also commonplace at the supermarket. Publix loves to ma’am, and there it’s usually done by 16 year old boys, making me feel quite old. I don’t feel like a ma’am. I’m not sure if and when this transition will occur, but until it does – please don’t ma’am me.

I'm disappointed in M-F.

For the fifth straight time, the citizens of M-F decided yesterday to reject the school bond levy. I should point out that all three of the town's schools are horrifically out-of-date and somewhat unsafe/unhealthy. But no, heaven forbid they take responsibility and dish out some tax dollars to do anything about it. Education? Nah.

To quote a friend...

I have decided to grab my 20's by the balls. You heard correctly, by the balls. I'm not sure what kind of balls my 20's have, but I enjoy the expression tremendously nonetheless. All who read this are aware of my plight (stupid marriage and all) - I have never dated! Ever! Or really done anything youthful and spontaneous, perhaps more importantly (except those glorious months in Ecuador... ahh). And so, I will grab my 20's by the balls ( I can't get enough of this expression - thanks, Sally!).

The adventures will revolve around travel, I have decided. Y'all know how I feel about traveling (that's right, y'all). I started things off with trips to Minnesota (crazy fun!), Alaska (I love you Bowden!), and the Dominican Republic (Gofer!!) - things are really starting to get interesting now. In the next 6 weeks I will find myself in Richmond Virginia (the capital of fun), New York City (this one should be especially good) and finally in Oregon and Washington for the holidays (it really doesn't get better). Finances permitting, I am planning a 2007 pilgrimage back to Ecuador (where I first grabbed my 20's by the balls).

I am incredibly excited about my plans, and feel I have earned a few indulgent trips (NYC, namely). I could find more self-destructive means to mend, but feel this is perhaps the more responsible route. Heaven forbid I find myself following K-nut in "her old ways". Man, I love inside jokes in the blog - sorry to those out of the loop.

Addendum

For the record, as I've been made aware it is somewhat unclear on the previous post:

stephanie = anti-organized religion.

For those of you in favor - fantastic for you; I respect (though don't completely understand) your decision. My view, however, does not make me a bad person.

This one's for you, K-nut.

How receptive do you think people might be to a church for people who don't believe in a god? Seriously. I've been thinking about this recently, and had a conversation the other night with a friend who has similar feelings on the subject. I'm all for a gathering place for 'good' people. I just don't quite know how I feel about God. Or people telling me how to think/what to do. See where the traditional church and I differ?

Some associate church with morals. I like morals. I like people with morals. I just don't like the fact that going to church automatically means you have them (to some). I also don't enjoy being told that I am without morals for not going... is this something a truly righteous person should think/say?

I've recently been informed that church is a good place to meet men. In theory, I accept this. However, do men go to church alone? And do you think men who go to church alone will appreciate the fact that I have unclear feelings on the whole church phenomenon? And more importantly, are the men who go to church men that I want to know/date? This makes me think perhaps the "meet men at church" piece of advice is one for me personally to pass on.

But just think of it, lock-ins and mixers, spaghetti feeds and community service: all good. I'll all for those things; I would just love to be able to do them in a deity-free environment. Any suggestions?

The dangers of Halloween.

CANDY!!

Miniature/fun sized candy is free-flowing this week (and last week, and probably next week too). Now let me say up front, I love candy. Not as much as the next girl: more. I am a sugar-aholic. Screw drugs/alcohol, it's sugar for me - anyone who knows me can vouch for this. I digress. That having been said, this time of year is a bit dangerous for me (and everyone else who loves candy). There are several contributing factors (as you know, I also love lists):

1. Candy is on sale!

I (and all Snyder/Irving women) love sales (and again, I also love candy)!! Who can pass up clearance priced bags of your favorite treats? I know I can't.

2. The perilous miniature size.

The logical part of me knows that miniature candy is a good idea. However, it is incredibly easy to convince yourself that two or three (... or more) miniature pieces are still better than a regular sized item. Why, I do not know - but can anyone disagree?

3. The guessing game.

Trick-or-treating is dependent on many things: weather, neighborhood, eager-to-appease parents, etc. For a girl in a new community, this means I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how many children may come to my door. Again, a logical person may say "buy some candy, if you run out, stop answering the door", or something to that nature. Sounds good, but instead I use this as an excuse to buy more candy! I have to be sure I have enough, right? So now, I secretly know I will have leftovers... and I live alone. One possible solution is to buy candy you do not particularly like... but who does that?

I think I'll stop now - I have some DOTS to eat.

A word for strangers who make comments.

You know who you are. Seriously - why would you EVER comment on a stranger's personal life? I like to think this person was trying to be nice... but that's a stretch. So I'll just come out and say it, to set the record straight: anyone who is 25 and divorced does not like that fact to be pointed out to them by strangers. They already know, believe me. HOWEVER, I am not ashamed of the position I am in, and have been getting the feeling from MANY people (friends included) that perhaps I should be (or at least embarrassed). Do I feel good about it? No. But anyone who really knows me knows that I did not rush into my marriage, did not rush out, and made the right choice by ending it. So strangers be warned - I will not be so nice the next time you insult me.

Another short post.

Yes, I have a personalized flask. I've recently gotten quite a bit of grief on this subject (you know who you are). So in my defense:

1. It's SUPER cute (small, pink, and personalized - who wouldn't want one?)
2. It was a gift
3. I have yet to actually use it

So there.

Weekend fun.

My friend "Kitty/Sally" and I discovered the wonder that is Bath Junkie this weekend. I'm hooked. Seriously, seriously hooked. Who knew that cinnamon + vanilla + red apple = fall goodness in a bottle?? I just may leave the public health world to open a franchise. Those who know me are aware of my passion for bath/lotion products. Perhaps it's meant to be.

Check it out @ http://www.bathjunkie.com

A quarter of a century.

It's true, as of 5am this morning (or so) I have existed for twenty-five years. How can that be possible? I definitely don't feel 25. Where did the last seven years go? Oh that's right, education/failed relationship (well, at least I'm educated - hahaha). On that note, this is the first birthday since my 15th that I have not been with Bryce. That's right, my 15th. I'm trying not to focus on that today, but it's hard. It's not that it makes me sad, per se, but it is somewhat daunting. The logical part of me realizes that 25 is not old, and that the majority of people my age are also single, but this isn’t where I envisioned myself. I had a plan, darn it.

So back to the fun part – it’s my birthday! Hooray for birthdays! I still don’t quite know why, but I have always loved birthdays (more so than most people): mine, of course, but other’s also. I love celebrating people and gift-giving (and receiving, I’ll admit it). I love the anticipation when you’re young, the tacky fun parties. It saddens me when adults choose not to acknowledge or celebrate their birthdays. Growing older is not automatically a bad thing! Sure, adulthood doesn’t have the same innocence of childhood, but being an adult has its own perks. I hope I continue to feel this way as the years pass. Remind me, if I don’t.

Decisivness - who needs it?

So I've decided to change the topic of my MHS essay. That's right, the one I was supposed to be working on during my internship, the one that's due in a couple of months. I discovered early on that the topic I was originally assigned didn't need the analysis done, so I needed to come up with something else (this happened August-September). I decided on the analysis of a subset of data my boss needed analyzed, but (as cheesy as this sounds) my heart was never really in it. The topic is interesting on the surface, but not interesting enough to want to spend months of my life researching. And so, I have a new topic - and there's no time to change again, so this is it!

I will now be conducting a review of vaccine risk communication in the United States in the last decade. And while I realize that might not sound fascinating to anyone else, it SO beats comparing survey responses of MDs and DOs. My boss and I had decided to do this review for publication in a relatively new journal last month, so it works out perfectly! And I get to be first author! That means nothing to most people, does it? I bet Rita's excited for me, though :)

I'll let everyone know how it goes; I hope to have a draft in before Christmas (because who wants to be thinking about an essay when they can hang out in m-f carefree instead??).

My husband has a girlfriend.

Catchy title, no? To be fair, we are almost divorced. And so, I am attempting to come to terms with this new development. I know - to my core - that I do not want to be with him, so in theory it shouldn't be a big deal (right?). Except that it is. Especially since it is very important to him that we remain friends (and to drill this point across he insists on calling me almost every day). Most days, I am not ready to be friends with him. Though I am flattered that he cares for me, it was just months ago that I envisioned us growing old together; it's difficult for me to make the marriage-to-friendship transition so quickly.

On a related note, this development has shown me the evils of Myspace. That's right, Myspace. The girlfriend is on Myspace (with lots of photos involving alcohol and some very amusing misspellings, I might add), and I am finding it incredibily difficult not to look at her page. WHY??? I cannot figure this out.

Florida may be growing on me.

I had never wanted to live in Florida. In fact, I was politically opposed to the idea. I have recently learned, however, that sometimes you don't have a lot of say in where you end up (geographically or otherwise). So now I live in Florida - though people say that my particular town is not "really" Florida because of the diversity brought in by the university. And guess what: I almost like it here.

Several factors contributed to this realization:

1. Outdoor tennis is now a year-round activity.
2. People who do not live in Florida, or other warm environments, are likely to visit mid-winter.
3. SO MANY TREES (as opposed to Baltimore, not the Northwest).
4. Gator mania is amusing as hell.

So while I miss my geographically-scattered friends and family, I think I'll probably be alright here (for awhile, anyway).

Those working in vaccine safety do not deserve hate mail.

So I have recently come to the realization that most of the people in my life don't actually understand what it is that I do. Or, for the most part, public health in general. This led to the brilliant realization that I could use my blog to disseminate relevant information (to the 5 people that may actually read this, most of which do not require such information...). For example, my boss had an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association earlier this week (JAMA), and the story has been receiving nationwide coverage. I should mention (since he won't point it out) that JAMA is widely regarded as the foremost journal in medine and public health. Just so we're clear.

I have included various links to related information (I hope they work). If not, google pertussis/whooping cough and exemptions.

JAMA Article
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/296/14/1757

UF Coverage
http://www.news.health.ufl.edu/story.aspx?ID=4281

NY Times Editorial
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/12/opinion/12thu4.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The point of sharing this information with you was to make sure you had the background information when I began to rant (now). People are dumb. I believe my sister-in-law made this point a few weeks back, and now I must concur. My boss and those he works with get a lot of crap from people who don't understand what it is they do, and/or science in general.

For example, it is because of Neal Halsey that thimerosal (a type of mercury used as a preservative) is no longer in vaccines. Was this necessary? Verdict's still out, but probably not. Was it the right thing to do given the government wasn't sure if it was harmful? Clearly. Dr. Halsey, however, was WIDELY criticized in the scientific community for acting before he had conclusive scientific evidence. He acted because he is an advocate for vaccine safety.

That being said, you'd be amazed how many critics he has. Anti-vaccine advocates have no idea what happened with the thimerosal issue. They accuse Dr. Halsey of working for vaccine manufacturers and pushing harmful vaccines on children. Stupid people.

The actual point of this was that my boss got several hate-type letters after the publication of the above-mentioned article. One even compared him to Dr. Halsey (heaven forbid).

So to set the record straight, my boss and I (and those he works with) are not opposed to vaccine exemptions. However, I agree with him that it should not be easier to exempt than to be vaccinated. Those who exempt must be doing so out of firmly held beliefs reached after careful consideration of impartial scientific evidence, not just because they don't want to take their kid to the doctor. People are dumb.

The time has arrived.

My sister-in-law is a blogger. A good one. One of those people who makes you want to write as well as she does and share your well-written thoughts with the world. I, however, am not (so we'll see how this goes). She recently posted a fabulous survey, of all things, and because of it I decided to take the plunge into the blogging world. Look out readers - here I come.

Below are my answers to the above-mentioned survey. The images suit me well, thus I have decided to share them with you.

NAME

PLACE OF BIRTH



FAVORITE FOOD



FAVORITE DRINK

FAVORITE BAND

Image survey part 2

FAVORITE SMELL

FAVORITE SHOE

FAVORITE TELEVISION SERIES



FAVORITE COLOR

FAVORITE VACATION DESTINATION