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.