Thunderstorm Thinking

So it just started thundering outside. I honestly should be asleep by now because I've been awake since 2am and that was after only getting 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night. Pure craziness right there. But, alas, my mind is swirling with thoughts as per usual. Today has really demonstrated that life is short and we need to be as joyful for what we have has possible. I don't really want to get into it, but started my day with two separate, yet equally sad stories. At the same time, because I'm so utterly beyond exhausted, I'm questioning everything in my life right now and desperately wanting to just fall asleep so as to not have my mind go down the rabid rabbit trails. It's an unfortunate frequent occurrence (jeepers that is one hard word to spell; like it legit took me 10 times before I gave up and typed it partly into Google) when I'm overly exhausted. I second guess myself. I wonder if what I want out of life is really what I want out of life or just somebody else's plan for me. I question whether people care, which is just plain silly. And worst of all I waste time comparing myself to others when I'm my own unique person who is loved for being herself, not some fake person. I need to always embrace the real me and be aware of if I ever sense I'm changing myself to suit somebody else because that's just bad news bears right there. Part of me would no longer exist if I opted out of my true self. Honestly I don't know why I'm so caught up in people's opinions of me. They don't really matter in the long run; only God's opinion of me. And He wouldn't be too happy if I chose to attempt to be somebody else. I can't improve upon His perfect creation and I shouldn't try to morph into another creation just to suit somebody else's liking. I need to feel comfortable in my own skin. I only wish that day would come faster so I don't feel so awkward all the time. It's an uncomfortable feeling, always being unsure of yourself and questioning who you really are to yourself and others. I don't recommend or wish that on anyone (TOTALLY JUST JUMPED DUE TO LOUD THUNDER gosh that normally doesn't scare me, but it made me chuckle cuz I typed anywon originally rather than anyone). But I digress. When will I just feel comfortable being me and love all of my quirks (or quarks...oh how I miss Petey at times like this). But alas, some things fall apart for better things to fall together. I can't rely on people or their opinions. I can just love them where they're at and for who they are. No more of this trying to compare life stories to see who is better or worse off. Seems so much like that Icon for Hire song "Get Well" and I'm starting to drive myself crazy. I can't imagine how others feel, but I'm sure enough is enough.

Take home points from my day:

• Lots of rain means road closures due to flooding
• I make no sense when I type whilst exhausted
• Scottish accents amuse me
• There's a draft in my room, but I don't know where it's coming from
• I just noticed a vent in my ceiling, which is probably the source of the draft
• Tonight's post is probably making reader's question why they follow a hipster hobo's thought processes

Lost in Translation

Somehow my family's harmless dinner conversation took a slight turn towards crazytown the other night. It started out simple enough, discussing my one friend's wedding and how I am one of 7 bridesmaids. This somehow made my dad think of Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, which would have been fine and dandy, except he began to then think in German. My dad said some sentence in German that I didn't understand (surprise surprise) and he starts laughing. My mom and I of course asked him what he just said and all my dad could do was shake his head, which indicated that he wasn't exactly sure if he should repeat in English what he just said. Turns out it translated to The Snow Whore and the 7 Dwarfs, but of course we couldn't just stop there. My mom decided it would be best to change the dwarfs out for concubines, so we officially have a new version of Snow White entitled The Snow Whore and the 7 Concubines. No wonder I am the way I am. There's absolutely no hope for sanity, but I think I'm okay with that.

Take home points from my day:

• Running is a great way to relieve stress
• Laughter will forever be the best medicine
• Each day is time for a new adventure
• Don't always assume the worst and waste time worrying

I Survived!

Well since I'm able to type this, you must have figured out that I didn't die at the gym yesterday. Although, that probably had a lot to do with the fact that I opted out of the Olympic lifts and stuck to kettlebell deadlifts, kettlebell swings, dumbbell curls, and a core workout. My hamstrings are screaming everytime I walk, but I'm at least alive to tell the tale.
I also did meet an entertaining gentleman at Starbucks yesterday and did feel awkward sitting next to him as I read since he was wearing a suit and I so clearly was not dressed to impress. He apparently was preparing for a presentation at a conference on international civil societies. I told him that I work at a campground/river rafting place for 5 months of the year and volunteer with Samaritan's Purse in my spare time. I was amazed he had actually heard of Samaritan's Purse; I didn't expect a man with an Irish accent in a suit to have heard of the Christian relief organization, but it's nice to be proven wrong on occasion. We laughed at the enthusiasm of the workers at Macy's who apparently have a party every morning when they come in for work. Where can I sign up?
The rest of this post is dedicated to the fact that I can see God working in my life. I've got a Master's degree in exercise physiology and have had minimal luck finding a job in my field. A week ago I recommitted myself to working at the campground, which I think was set up by God. Why might you ask? Because today I just got a job offer in research (my dream) in the Bronx (a place that has strung me along twice). Since I prefer to honor my commitments, I kindly turned the position down, which some might think is against my better judgement. But I think it was God's plan all along to have me turn it down and go back to the place along the river to minister to those lost people. It's an eye opener to realize even more so that I'm meant to be there and maybe not necessarily in my field of expertise right now. I mean, if I took the job in the Bronx, that would hinder my ability to move to North Carolina, which is where I truly feel my home should be. And I'm beginning to believe that's where God wants me because He knew the Bronx job would come up and would hinder my path if I did not have a valid reason to reject the offer.

Take home points from my day:

• God is in charge of my life whether it's always apparent or not
• Doors will open to opportunities when you least expect it
• Loyalty is a quality everybody should possess
• If you take a bullet to the head, you don't have to worry about insurance or sheets for your bed...wise words from a Starbucks patron

Sticking Out Like a Sore Thumb

Picture it. Great Neck. April 2013. A lone female sitting in the corner of a newly opened Starbucks in red sweatpants, a gray long sleeve, and running shoes. I figured I would stick out in this hotsy-totsy neighborhood given my appearance, but luckily the barista figures I'm going for a workout this morning. We had some amusing banter about how she would have to get up at 2am to even consider exercising. She happens to be right about me and going for a workout. It helps that one of my friends is a trainer, but in all honesty, let's face it, the workout will probably kill me today. I mean, how the heck am I supposed to pull off Olympic lifting with my chicken arms and mile long legs? It's not like I'm in shape either, but I need to be in order to drag rafts, kayaks, and canoes all summer long. But I legit might not be able to move tomorrow after this workout. I've got 5 hours to mentally prepare, mull over my impending doom, or just figure out how to run away, but I know I won't do that. That wouldn't make for a good story. Me almost dying in a gym under some weights; now that'll be a good story.

Take home points from my morning:

• I found it amusing that somebody referred to a thunderstorm as Hurricane Sandy's daughter
• Everytime I show up, my one friend forgets how to function like a human being
• Do Super Atheists wear capes?
• Ironically my brother flew to Germany on National Sibling Day...way to celebrate by escaping dude :)

It's Funny Because I Thought About It

So last night I was out with friends at an Italian restaurant in Kutztown. It was a post-birthday birthday dinner extension whatever you wanna call it. Regardless, it was free food for me so I was happy, not to sound like a complete selfish jerk. I was super ecstatic to see a dessert called peanut butter explosion. Of course somebody had to be silly enough to ask me what it was and I promptly responded by saying it was an explosion of peanut butter...cue eye roll and a chorus of sighs. I then proceeded to entertain the waitress because I wrote something down on my hand to remember despite the fact that I had a notebook sitting on my lap. I told her it was because I wanted to remember it for later and I couldn't lose my hand unless somebody chopped it off. (Though that might be cool because I could be the female version of Captain Hook). The group's conversation then progressed into wondering whether or not you actually get drunker by drinking beer through a straw and the fact that Lu's family now has 15 beds for 4 people, which is the total opposite from her childhood. As she put it, "Four teenagers in the same room...I don't recommend it." We also got talking about the Train song "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" and how awesome it was and I pointed out the irony of a crappy purple Scion being parked in the parking lot behind us.

On a sidenote, I find it really touching that one of my friend's trusts me enough to text at like 1am to see if I'm awake and then proceed to spill out honest issues and truly ask for my advice. It means the world to me to be utilized by God in such a manner and being blessed with encouraging words to pass on via the Holy Spirit. Knowing that they could go to anybody else but opting for little me just makes me feel like I have a purpose. Sure, this person could have been talking to like five other people at the same time, but regardless, she still felt compelled to contact me and pour her heart out to me, and I'm grateful and blessed to have been able to assist the best I could.

To go off on another tangent, at 9pm tonight my brother is flying to Germany and will be gone until the end of July. I don't think I have allowed myself to fully comprehend the gravity of this. Not being able to randomly text him or hang out for 3.5 months will be a bit of a change. It just reminds me about how things in this life can change so fast. One minute you can be in the midst of a career and the next, you're  leaving that behind for a foreign country. In a sense, that's happened to me, minus the whole traveling to a foreign country. I fully expected to be working within the field of exercise physiology following the completion of my Master's degree, but that hasn't been in the cards for me. Instead, my life has been unemployment, temp jobs, Samaritan's Purse volunteer work, and realizing I'm heading back to my own personal Ninevah. And to tell you the truth, I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm definitely not doing what I thought I was supposed to be doing, but I think I'm on the right path. I have no bloody clue where that path is heading, but I'm happy to be on it and so utterly thankful for the people I've met along the way. I've discovered my true family in this process, which means more to me than any job or career ever could.

Take home points from my day:

• What came first, the cocaine or the brain aneurysm? 
• Paramore's new album is epic
• Everybody must read Sparkly Green Earrings
• It's best to laugh at life and yourself
• Reality can be painful and sobering, but must be accepted as is
• Accept all emotions from God, not just the good ones
• It's important to remember your life events
• The existence of the umbrella sword makes me happy inside

Five Hour Pancakes

Let me set the stage for you. I've been staying with a friend of mine who has a two month old; the cutest two month old ever, who is already a flirt. I see a budding mini Tony DiNizzo on the horizon. Needless to say, my sleep schedule and everybody else's in the house is a little less than normal because when the flirt wakes up, the majority of the house does too. This can make functioning throughout the rest of the day a little interesting to say the least.

Fast forward to about noon when Mama asks if we all would like pancakes. With a resounding yes, the griddle was warmed and ready for business! I opted to hold the little man while his ma ate her pancakes before I went to the kitchen for my serving of fresh pancakes. Papa was flipping over some pancakes when I got my plate of pancakes and returned to the living room. Mama insisted that I have seconds and to finish off the last of the pancakes so that there weren't any leftovers. Apparently she's realized the storage capacity of my so-called "hollow leg" and insists that I fill it to the brim with food. Once I had my fill of five pancakes, I chose to lay on the couch with the little man for the next four hours.

Four hours later, Mama walks into the living room clacking some hard brown objects together. She proceeded to tell us that I apparently did not ingest the last of the pancakes because she forgot about the four that were still cooking on the griddle and had been there for approximately five hours. Why we never smelled anything burning we'll never know, but chalk it up to some busy guardian angels! We also determined that five hour pancakes = not so instant hockey pucks. They also could be used to patch up holes in rusty car fenders, depending on your usage preference. Regardless, it makes for a funny story and Mama has since fired herself from working in the kitchen.

A little while later, the following conversation took place:

J: Can I go out on a limb here?

Me: Be careful!

J: Can I have an egg sandwich?

Mama: Now?

J: (insert sarcastic tone here) No, I'm putting in my order for tomorrow morning.

Me: Well, she figures it's gotta cook overnight (given the five hour pancake ordeal).

On a completely unrelated note, I opened the Sticky Notes application on my laptop and found some pretty awesome quotes that I typed from conversations I had with people. In no particular order we have:

"I used to be an altar boy. See I used to be close to God."..."Well what happened?"

"If you guys were in a sci-fi movie, you guys would be shot for noncompliance."

"The tank with no knees...sounds like a children's story."

"I'm not going for time. I'm going for don't break your ankle."

Take home points from my day:

• I got swayed, not suede the fabric
• Warning: if you go to grab the waffle box, beware of flying milk; it could knock you out
• Mama should attach smoke detectors to herself

Dessert Conversations

After the Good Friday service at church, my mom, brother, and his friend opted to go to a local restaurant for some tasty dessert. Turns out my brother had been there earlier in the evening, so the waitress was really confused. When she came up to the table she was like, "Weren't you here earlier? But you've since changed your shirt." Another waitress asked for my dad and my mom said he was out wandering, and the waitress said she'd pick him up on the way home if she happened to see him on the side of the road. Following this exchange, brownies, cannolis, and cheesecake were ordered along with some coffee, water, and milk. To be funny, my brother opted for using a straw with his coffee, but it turns out others have tried that in the past. I always avoid coffee because there is only a very small window in which it is drinkable. If you don't drink within that window, it's either scalding hot or too cool to be decent coffee.
Over dinner I recounted harrowing accounts of taking people down the river in the summer, explaining the fun joys of dealing with girls who, when told to paddle to shore, respond with, "What if we don't want to?" and another group involving people who really only knew Russian and two of whom were pregnant and I didn't know it. I guess a red flag should have been knowing they were part of a bungalow colony, but I'm not one who tends to ask questions. Maybe that should change in the future. I also shared about how I have been blessed with the opportunity to return family Bibles to two different families when deployed with Samaritan's Purse. It's amazing that these Bibles were even still intact, especially after the tornado and the demolition of the two homes, with the rubble getting piled along the road.
As we were getting to leave, we had a great conversation with our waitress. Apparently it'd been a really long day so she had opted for a Mountain Dew and two caffeine pills. We told her she didn't have to stand still since the ability to contain any movements would be too much to handle. She mentioned how her husband probably would be confused since she'd be so wired she'd wanna just go play Black Ops, rather than just passing out and sleeping immediately, which is what she normally does. Just to prove to her that she wasn't going crazy, we did show the waitress the collar of my brother's purple shirt to prove he was the same person as earlier. She commented on how it was very similar to an Easter egg, which was very fitting. She complained that she was stuck wearing all green, so I told her she was just like the grass in the bottom of the Easter baskets. Our waitress said she felt more like the Jolly Green Giant and said she should probably be holding be stalks of corn and trying to sell them to us. It was a rather random conversation, but made for some good laughs.

Take home points from my day:

• The best non sequitur when discussing weight distribution in a vehicle: and that's the same issue you'll run into if you don't compensate for added weight in a helicopter when breaking people out of jail
• Speaking of eating cats is another good non sequitur
• Apparently the only thing to do in Hdale at midnight is get inoculated for rabies
• There's great debate over whether to use "is" or "was" when describing a dead person's birthday
• Kodiak casserole = chopped bear
• We thought of behaving...well that ship's sailed

Pet Peeves and Personal Issues

I'm normally a rather calm and mellow individual. My feathers aren't easily ruffled because I've been blessed with patience, but there are still a number of things that irk me. For starters, I'm currently peeved at ESPN2 for lying to me and making me miss the first 7 minutes of the Spain vs Finland World Cup qualifier. The game was supposed to be televised starting at 3:40pm, yet the station opted to discuss college basketball and top picks for the NFL draft rather than allow me to enjoy the start of the game. I'm not sure what bothers me more the fact that I was technically lied to, or the fact that a sporting network clearly doesn't care about soccer. If this had been the NFL playoffs, there would be an uproar! Speaking of the NFL, what's up with that combine? Any exercise physiologist could tell you that the whole event is pointless and not at all sport specific. Since when is there an instance in a game where somebody has to repeatedly bench 225 pounds or sprint, unimpeded, for 40 yards? Why this is still utilized to evaluate the talent of a player is beyond me.
While we're on the topic of sports, let me ask you this: When did it become okay for March Madness to implement a monopoly on all of the channels I typically watch? This annoyance began last night when I settled in to enjoy my Thursday evening by taking in episodes of Big Bang Theory, Person of Interest, and Elementary. To my dismay, though, CBS was televising college basketball until the end of time. And they still are, might I add. To make things worse, March Madness has now spread to TBS and TNT, along with occupying CBS. Most shocking, though, is the fact that basketball will plague truTV, which typically functions as a crime/public idiot station. Maybe those in charge of the NCAA know something about those games that I don't and crime and public idiocy will still be viewed. Time will tell, I guess.
Another channel that has been irritating me lately as of late is the History Channel. It used to be my favorite channel because I could learn things by watching Histories Mysteries, Unsolved History, Cities of the Underworld, and lengthy marathons on the Gestapo and World War II, which is why I so kindly referred to it as the Hitler channel. These days, though, it's a rare time that I can find anything remotely historical being televised. When did Ice Road Truckers and Swamp People teach us about our past? I'm not looking for modern day nonsense. If I wanted to watch that, I'd flip on MTV or TLC. (It's funny that The Learning Channel is what has the most ridiculous things on that promote polygamy, toddler beauty queens, and Honey Boo Boo). The only redeeming shows on History these days are Cowboys and Outlaws, Vikings, and The Bible. I'm pretty excited that The Bible miniseries exists to grasp the interest of this ever secular world. My only complaint about it involves last week's episode that showed the Wise Men at the birth of Jesus. For one, it's not historically accurate, but more astonishingly, it's not biblically accurate. The Book of Matthew clearly explains how they arrived to visit Jesus close to when he was two years old, which is why Herod Antipas went on a tirade and had all the male children who were two or younger murdered. Sure, some might tell me not to nitpick, but the arrival of the Magi was portrayed in a fashion that did not make any sense whatsoever, and I really wish that more care had been taken in the presentation of this story.
Now for the more mundane and random pet peeves that I hold dear. For instance, I can't stand microwaves that don't stop beeping when you open the door right away. It's like they're insisting on getting the last obnoxious word in even though I've already retrieved my food from its interior. These microwaves really make me want to yell, "Enough already!" before promptly smashing them with a sledgehammer. Phone alarms that refuse to function also annoy me to know end. It's like they are out to get me and don't want me to be on time for important events such as church or driving my brother to the German consulate. If i could, I'd use electroshock therapy on them so they'd get their act together, but alas, that would only cause it to short circuit and really not function properly.
Last, but certainly not least, is a personal issue I have that has manifested into a pet peeve out of my own ridiculousness. In order to keep bottles of soda from losing their fizziness, I always insist on tightening the caps as far as they can go to keep the carbonation under wraps. The problem that arises, though, is my inability to reopen the bottle once I've tightened the caps in such a manner. I've worn my palm raw attempting to remove the plastic caps, which is really frustrating when in the midst of a 12 hour roadtrip. Thankfully I have become creative in finding objects to use for traction when attempting to free the carbonation such as strips from my lint roller or a towel.

Take home points from my day:

• Four packs of chocolate chips and muffin mix are not the same as four packs of chocolate chip muffin mix
• I need to get excited about March Madness
• The name Xavi (pronounced shah-vee) amuses me
• My cat seems to have gained weight despite being on a diet

Long Drives, People Watching, and Bookstores

I find long drives to be very therapeutic. It's just me (and occasionally a passenger) and the open road prepared to rock out to some awesome tunes as I absorb the beautiful scenery and zooming cars. Today I happened to have the company of my brother to headbang to some old school New Found Glory as we chatted on our way to the Big Apple. We both have a similar distaste for New Jersey and commented on how we could have sworn the smell of the air changed (which honestly isn't much different than when I cross the bridge by Walmart going from Stroudsburg to East Stroudsburg). I figure not much good can come out of a place that promoted the show Jersey Shore, which is really just based on a bunch of drunks from Staaaten IIslaaand. The only plus is that there are no moose to avoid on the roadways like Maine. Luckily I like to drive or else the traffic halting every 5 miles for no apparent reason would have really driven me crazy. The drive went smoothly enough as I looped Park Avenue a handful of times waiting for my brother to come out of his appointment. I almost did something really cool and had the opportunity to drive through the Helmsley Building via the Park Avenue Viaduct (Viaduct...why a no chicken?) but talked myself out of it. Instead, on the way home we drove through Times Square just for kicks whilst in search of the Lincoln Tunnel entrance.
Now on to people watching. If you haven't discovered the beauty of this form of entertainment, you are truly missing out in life. You'll miss seeing a man walking his dog, yet looking directly up at the sky totally preoccupied to the point that he jerks to a stop when the dog stops to sniff a tree. On top of that, you'll miss out being confused by a woman carrying a sippy cup only to discover the man behind her carrying a baby girl who the sippy cup most likely belongs too, although one may not want to jump to too many conclusions via assumptions...then you're just a total ass. It's also pretty cool to see a man pedaling a bicycle with his two children on the back. Made me reminisce about my childhood briefly. Now the added bonus of people watching is when they come close enough that you can listen to their conversations and get to play the fun game of stifling your laughter so that they don't realize that you find them absolutely hilarious. For instance, a couple weeks ago I overheard some elderly man sharing a story with two of his friends in a Barnes & Noble. All I heard was that saw naked Norwegian man with an axe waded into a river in order to chop the ice. Seriously, I can't make this stuff up! Today the people that shared the icecream shoppe with me didn't let me down, either. This woman was going on and on about a stroller and then said that it was a gift to push her cat around in from her in-laws. Apparently the year before they gave her the cat. I wonder what she'll get next year as a gift. A kitty car? She then changed topics and mentioned something about college kids in costumes chasing her daughter or some girl down the street in office chairs. Trying to quell my laughter after that was darn near impossible because I kept wondering what kind of crazy life she lead, though she definitely brightened my day!
If I wasn't living out of my car and on the floors, couches, and beds of friends, I think I would set up camp in a used bookstore. I become so engrossed in all of the possible selections and I absolutely love the smell of old books! It's also great coming across new authors or new books by favorite authors. So many worlds can be discovered within a bookstore, and there are plenty of ridiculous signs and titles to laugh at. I mean, seriously, who puts the romance novels and Christian novels in the same section next to horror? That makes absolutely no sense! What's better is when the labels don't correspond to the book genre. Then I just like to figure out the possibility of how those books could relate to the topic anyway. But, dude, I really was amused by the children's book cover that said This Is Not My Hat, which had a fish swimming with a hat on. I am slightly intrigued and freaked out at how this could possibly happen in real life. I've also decided I might start reading books by Douglas Coupland just based on the fact that the titles of his books are awesome. Who wouldn't want to read Girlfriend in a Coma and Hey, Nostradamus!?

Take home points from my day:

• It might seem like I'm mooching off my parents, brother, and my friend's parents 
• If I say I want pasta, it means I'd be cool with a can of Chef Boyardee
• When deciding between a can or a bottle, opt for a canned bottle
• Pablo = Luis Garcia...close enough
• Velociraptor runs like dolphin (Tolkien sounds like dolphin)
• If the pizza shop owner begins talking in Russian, it means we're obnoxious and should sleep in the garage
• Don't take my awakeness away!
• The groundhog either lied or was drunk

The Simple Life

Laughter is amazing! It can turn anybody's gloom into lighthearted happiness. There's no reason to take life so seriously; it's much better to question the social norms and come up with outlandish ideas and commentary. A talk about whether to home school a child and basing that decision upon living in an area that offers gatherings for homes-schooled children is much funnier given the prospect that gatherings are always near by if you live out of your car. That way you're always mobile and anything is possible! It could be the start to a great new trend, too. Why have trailer parks when one can have a car park? Gas is much cheaper than rent these days anyway. Also, why spend money for a smartphone when it would be way more fun to use smoke signals, carrier pigeons and migrating coconuts?
Life these days is just way too complicated. There's so much focus on what others have and do that nobody enjoys what they have and do. I love wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts, but when I noticed that people I'd gone to high school with and hadn't seen in seven years were coming into the pizza joint for a baby shower dressed in fashionable jeans and heels with children on their hips and another in a carrier, I felt dreadfully uncomfortable and out of place, desiring to hide my face and disappear. But when I think about it, I have nothing to be ashamed of and I don't want their lives. I'm content traveling around and volunteering and being able to wander around in my sweats. I don't do fashion and I definitely don't feel like I should be all settled down with a husband and kids at the moment. Maybe one day, but not now. And if that doesn't work out, then I can always hoard cats and be that crazy lady on a porch in a rocking chair with a pump action shotgun across her life. Whatever floats my boat, keeps me entertained, and is simple.
I have little time for having the confusion and complications of seeing if my life measures up to the people next door. I'm sure I could solve that problem really fast by just living in the middle of nowhere so I had no neighbors to compare myself to, but lets not go overboard into crazy town just yet. All I really need to do is fill my life with laughter because the happiness will follow and there won't be time for senseless comparisons. I'd rather sit around quoting Monty Python, The Marx Brothers, Eddie Izzard, and Mitch Hedberg than trying to determine who is best dressed, has the cutest house setup, or throws the best dinner party. I know I will never be queen of any of those categories, but that won't detract from my happiness at all. I'd much rather joke about how Hitler didn't play Risk as a child, witches weighing the same as a duck, hailing Freedonia, and determining it would be awful to get killed by an arrow because the cops most assuredly would walk away. And if you don't know what I'm talking about and just think I'm a crazy person, you're missing out on some classic comedy. It's okay, feel free to go back to your perfectly eloquent surroundings for your fondu party.

Take home points from my day:

• Cars that drive two only sleep one
• I'm not a high society girl
• You'll never go hungry if you know how to make mud pies
• It's okay to think of yourself before others on occasion

There's Always Room For Plan B

I get so frustrated by the need for plans. They are thoroughly and completely pointless because if they aren't meant to happen, they're bound to fall apart. Take today for exampl. I was supposed to go to NYC with a friend of mine from college, just like old times. We stood outside the bus station in the snow for about a half hour with no sign of the bus. It was running late and I was quite tired of the snow, so we started discussing alternative options. Once I heard that Silver Linings Playbook was playing at the movie theater, I jumped for joy at the thought of being able to see a flick I've been wanting and unable to see for months. We decided to commit to Plan B and began walking up the street, ironically passing the bus we had been so eagerly waiting for only a few minutes ago.
This new plan required killing two hours, but that was quickly solved by opting to entertain ourselves in an Irish beer drinking establishment given it's the day before St. Patrick's Day. Our options were The Porch and The Cellar. Given the latter's door was locked, we opted for Plan B: The Porch. There we were able to enjoy some chips, an overflowing Guinness, and have outlandish discussions about how to prepare for the zombie apocalypse (clearly by acquiring Bigfoot on a leash), trying to determine whether or not people from Wisconsin badger others, and the fact that there was a menu item entitled bangers and mashed.
On to Silver Linings Playbook. I'm totally a fan of this movie for so many reasons! The acting is great, it maintains your attention, but particularly, it's because I relate best to craziness and chaos and this movie really brings mental illness into the forefront of your mind. I think it's important for people to be aware of the mental struggles that some deal with on a daily basis, whether it be depression, bipolar, etc. The stigma needs to stop that it's bad to be "crazy," when for some, that's completely normal. It's a constant battle, and these people need support as much as anybody else who deals with any other illness. But back to the movie, I could totally relate to part of what Tiffany was dealing with when she spoke of feeling empty about helping so many people who never offered her anything in return. Now that might come across as selfish, but it's the honest truth. I won't sit here and tell you that it's easy to always be there for others. It can be mentally and emotionally draining over time. But I think one of my favorite quotes came from Pat at the very end of the movie when he said, "The world will break your heart ten ways to Sunday. That's guaranteed. I can't begin to explain that. Or the craziness inside myself and everyone else." It's so true! The world is a harsh environment with its own blend of chaos, and there's no solution or explanation behind it.
On another tangent, I've never been the biggest fan of Disney movies or the cookie-cutter suburbs because there's too much gloss and fakeness, not that that's even a word, but it is now! (If "bootylicious" can make it into the dictionary, anything can!) Anyways, I just don't like anything or anybody that's putting on airs and acting like everything in life is perfect and flawless. The truth of the matter is that anybody who believes that is delusional. Life is messy and chaotic and never goes the way you think it will. You can plan all you want, but it'll never function according to that layout. My point is, why lie about things breaking down and falling apart? We all have issues and dilemmas that we'd be much better off sharing, rather than masking and hiding. Nobody should be afraid to share their true self with anybody.
The moral of the story is that we should never let life get us down when it doesn't go according to plan. Look for open doors and opportunities and always be willing to keep your options open. You never know what kind of fun is just around the corner.

Take home points from my day:

• I dress like a hipster hobo
• I resemble an orange snow-cone
• Life's too short to not act like yourself
• Enjoy time with old friends
• As Billy Joel said, "You may be right. I may be crazy."
• There are some who prefer to drink alcohol separate from their food
• Managing to get Bigfoot on a leash would be nothing short of a miracle
• Trust that new friends want to hear all about you: the good, bad, and ugly