Kindness

While I was stuck in traffic that literally moved at a snail's pace for 30 minutes, I saw several acts of kindness on what is otherwise a very unfriendly freeway. People drove slowly and cautiously. They paused to let one another move lanes since we all had to merge from six lanes to one. People nodded and smiled at one another and there seemed to be no rushing or rudeness. Several people cleared a path and several more jumped out of their cars to help push when an older vehicle stalled from all the idling. I still don't know the extent of the accident we passed, but I know that 4 fire engines, 4 ambulances, and several police cars usually isn't a good sign. Neither is a slow moving ambulance and a red tarp on the freeway. I prayed for those involved and for their families as I passed. I was touched by the small acts of kindness I witnessed today.

So... I didn't get everything done on my list last week. Such is life. I did go to the mountains and it was beautiful! I took a handful of photos, but I kept forgetting my camera when my mom and I went for walks. I'll post them when I get my camera cord back from my brother. My mom wanted to go to every single antique shop and boutique in town so we did that quite a bit. It was a nice mellow weekend. I knitted a hat for my new niece that's waaay too big and my mom crocheted a border on a fleece blanket for her. I'm going to redo the hat. I'll check my gauge first next time. I finally found a nice girl to take my lease and will be out by the 30th. I'm moving things over slowly but surely; I've put a lot of my shifting on hold and have been helping my mom get ready for Thanksgiving. There will be 21 people tucked into her pretty little house and she works full-time so my unemployment has actually been coming in handy. She gave me a to-do list and I've been running all her errands for her. I took my three year old nephew, Cheeks, with me to the big produce market and he was so cute helping me pick out all the Thanksgiving veggies. He counted the pears for me, picked out the carrots and the celery all by himself, inspected the broccoli, and loved putting everything in the cart. At the end, I told him he could pick out a treat and he walked along the shelves full of homemade candy with his little hands behind his back going, "Hmmm... hmmm?" So cute. The little sweetie finally picked a bag of candy that he could share with his brother. I would've taken pictures of him with all those greens but the place was SWARMING with people and he didn't want to ride in the cart so I had to stay on my toes to make sure he didn't get run over. I have to say, living in a place where a lot of elderly people come for the winter is dangerous. I really do like elderly people, but I have encountered some of the meanest old people here. As soon as the temperature changes everywhere else, the roads become death-traps here. The owner of the produce market was killed in a hit and run by an elderly person in the parking lot of his store a few years back. Just because you're at your winter condo doesn't mean you can stop being civilized. I was irritated that so many old people scowled at the little darling I had with me instead of smiling. Old stinkers.

So... remember how I'm unemployed? Yeah. Since the economy is in a craptacular state, I haven't had a single call back from any of the places where I've applied. Pray for me! Trolling the internet for jobs and watching Lifetime Movies is getting OLD.

So... you know how I don't set New Year's resolutions? I'm not going to again. Mwah ha ha!! I'm not. But I am going to start a photo project in January. I'm going to call it "Person of the Week." It's going to force me to socialize with people who aren't my family. My family is great, but hanging out with them all the time is too easy. Every week I'll post the photo of someone who either did something great, was really quirky, made me laugh, made me grouchy, or just looked supa-fly/crazy, etc. They can be the "Person of the Week" for any reason I come up with. I was going to start a "Man of the Week" segment and post a photo of me with a new man every week, but I decided that would be too much work. And that it might lead to a recurrence of bad habits. I started to get flashbacks of my days in Provo and my roommate having a little talk with me that went something like this:
Ritz: So, I've noticed you've been doing a lot of cuddling this week.
Me: Indeed.
Ritz: Like every day this week.
Me: Yup.
Ritz: There have been five different guys here this week.
Me: That's how I roll.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Let's not go back there, okay? Thanks. I do need to get back out there and date again, but no one needs be involved in the kind of serial lovin' I had going on back in the day. As soon as I find a man with hair as shiny as Elvis, I'll send you a wedding invitation.

psycho babble

Can anyone make sense of this? My sister and I found this crazy man's profile while perusing an LDS dating site for fun awhile back and were amazed at the nonsense that this man spewed out when asked what he is looking for. What on earth? No wonder he's still looking. Doesn't he know nobody's perfect? I'm sure he's not. I just had to post it here. Judge me if you want, but I just can't help it - outing ridiculousness is a guilty pleasure of mine.

This will be direct*. I seek someone who is well educated, refined, unpretentious, unassuming, active/strong physically and mentally, a strong personality, her own person. My personality traits include patience, tolerance, gentleness, and am very slow to anger. I seek the same. I am in good shape, well built and slender, and seek the same in my companion; "fit" matters. A balanced healthy lifestyle is important to me. If you drink soft drinks incessantly, or pursue other unhealthy habits daily, this will be a strong sticking point for an intimate relationship. We all seek charisma and beauty. But they must have enough savvy and discretion to prevent beauty from becoming a liability, and that seems rare. Romance/sensuality have a strong place in my life. Hedonistic abandonment does not. I have zero tolerance for drugs or substance abuse of any kind, present or past. I won't put that risk in my life or the life of my children. Dishonesty and lies will destroy trust and preempt any relationship. Please don't ruin this foundation by misrepresenting yourself here. I am unencumbered from bad lifestyle choices and past relationships; please travel light. Once was that women brought dowries... today, crushing debt. I prefer a woman vestured in fiscal discipline rather than a fancy wardrobe (dowry not required). I have a solid understanding of the LDS faith, in spirit and in truth, and have lived it all my life. I find a sincere and thorough church study with a prayerful search, brings a peculiar discordant dissonance with the answers. I expect my companion will also know this schism and has found how to relieve the tension this dichotomy produces in church membership. High standards and etiquette are impressive; pomposity...odious. Please know the difference. Bad experiences beg a word..., please consider. Vulgarity, coarse language, light-mindedness, rudeness, flatulent jokes, and gross childish actions should have sloughed off your personality in Jr. High. If it cleaves to you still, then I cannot. I don't preempt friendships based any point above (except honesty) so please feel free to approach me regardless if we match. I am not for everyone, but perhaps ucyibd14u.

* The above appears to elicit strong reactions both positive and negative. If so, lets chat. If you want to just "hit and run" please invest yourself elsewhere. Best wishes.

Warning: I have seen this man at institute. He walks around giving people the creepy eye while shoving food in his face. Beware.

Conversation

Bank Clerk: I love your earrings!
Me: Thank you!
BC: You got them at Mervyn's?
Me: No, I got them from a local artist.
BC: (Gives me a quizzical look.) A what? Not at Mervyn's?
Me: (Returning the quizzical look.) No. A local artist made them and I bought them from her.
BC: Oh. That's odd. They're pretty though.
Me: Thanks?

Fight fire with fire

I have a neighbor across the parking lot who watches every move I make. It's annoying. I know he's harmless, he just seems like a bored old man, but I find it terribly rude. I hate being leered at all the time. He seems to pay special attention to when I go to church and will be out there like clock-work when I walk out my door all dressed up. So I decided to put an end to these shananigans. For the last few weeks I've turned the tables on him by looking directly at him standing there on his balcony minding everyone's business but his own. I make it a point to immediately look up when I walk out as opposed to pretending not to see him as I've done in the past. If I'm in the parking lot or on my porch for any amount of time, I watch him. Well, for the last week, he goes inside as soon as I come out. If I look up, he looks somewhere else. No leering. Because he apparently doesn't like it. That's what I thought, sucker!

26 Miscellaneous Facts

1. I take good care of my hands and nails. I rarely paint my fingernails. And when I do, I start hating it immediately.
2. I don't take quite as good care of my feet, but my toenails are always painted.
3. I'm fascinated by faces, especially noses.
4. Facial plastic surgery bothers me. See above. Leave your face alone!!!
5. I LOVE my feet even though they are hard to shop for. (Small, wide, high arches, high instep.) I think they are strong and pretty. I love high heels, my feet love flip flops.
6. I dance around my house while I get dressed in the morning. I have to make sure my blinds are closed.
7. I feel sexiest when well-moisturized and freshly bathed.
8. I say I know I'm beautiful, but I am always surprised when perfect strangers do double takes - but I like it. A lot.
9. I love gardening. And cooking. And reading. And none of these things are related.
10. I sometimes worry that people think I'm shallow and it hurts my feelings when people treat me as such.
11. I realized recently that I obsess over beauty because my Grandmother put a lot of emphasis on it and subsequently my Aunts do too and they have always been my role models.
12. I believe that my family are disappointed that I'm fat because they think that beautiful is a responsibility.
13. Maybe I think this and project it onto them. Maybe not.
14. I think faux is tacky. Nails, hair, eyelashes, fur (real or fake), etc.
15. I wish I could be a true vegan, but I love cheese. And pork chops. And leather shoes. And butter on my buttermilk biscuits. I'm allergic to all of the above except the shoes and the pork chops. And I'm sitting on a leather couch typing this. But I am trying to be more socially conscious.
16. I have not colored my hair since Fall 2004, but someone asks me at least once a week whether I've just colored my hair. Maybe it changes like people's eye color? Yeah right. I always think it looks the same - because it does.
17. I never used to wear white, but now I wear it all the time, even though I don't have to anymore for school. I love crisp white trousers and breezy white skirts. I look best in off-white.
18. I have a freckle on the side of my nose. I have 3 freckles resembling Orion's Belt on my abdomen. They start just above and to the right of my navel and end on my right side just under my rib cage. I've always had them. And I love them.
19. I renovate my own clothes a lot. I removed an offending ruffle from an otherwise great pale-tangerine linen skirt but left the sweet pin-tucks, and cut a pair of boring white linen pants into charming bermudas. I'm in the process of sewing a bold ribbon along the hem of a blah skirt. Lately I find that the clothes in the stores have too many details all at once, or not any. I'm all about balance. Yes, I will tell you where I got it, if you ask me nicely.
20. I'm obsessed with the pajamas Angelina Jolie was wearing in the first Tomb Raider movie when she was flying on her bungee thing. They look soft, silky, and fluttery and I really want some. Does anyone know where I can get some?
21. I don't sleep on sheets that aren't white. This is a relatively new OCD thing - as of about a year. But I find that I'm calmer and sleep better this way. I gave all my colored sheets away.
22. I wear less make-up now than I ever have in my life. And when I do put it on, I miss my skin and want to wash it off immediately, but I tell myself that I look better with it and so I leave it on. But I really do look better without it... I'm rambling.
23. I think I'm getting better looking as I get older. Maybe I just like myself more.
24. I love checking my blog stats. I've lots of visitors from the other side of the world. I just wish they'd leave comments. Strangers are welcome here! As long as you leave nice comments!
25. I love Audrey Hepburn movies & caper movies, like To Catch a Thief and Ocean's 11 & 12.
26. I'm an avid people-watcher. And I recently joined a website that my sister told me was like an LDS Myspace, but it's really an LDS dating site! Scary! I use it to people watch and to find old friends. Online dating is a frightening prospect. I keep getting messages from weird guys and at least once a day my sister and I can be found shrieking with laughter/terror while trolling the site. It's loads of fun. It's a great way to people-watch because you won't get caught staring.

That's plenty for now. I'll leave it at 26. 26 is a good number. And I have less than 2 months of 26 left, so I better represent.

I'll tell you what Brown can do for me...

My sister/roommate does a lot of online shopping. I feel good about it. The only thing is, I'm the one who is home when the UPS guy comes (at least once a week). It's always the same guy. And he always ogles me in my pajamas. You'd think that the sight of my wacky mop piled on top of my head, my mismatched and solidly unflattering pjs, and my no-makeup face and sometimes as of that hour un-brushed teeth, would put him off. Nope. He always gives me the eye and smiles his skeevy smile and thoroughly creeps me out. He always calls me by my last name and I always lock the dead-bolt after he leaves. I think from now on I'll just let him take the packages to our apartment office. Because I'd rather deal with the office managers, Miss Cuckoo and her sidekick Nutsy, then make sure my blinds are closed and that I've brushed up on my kung-fu every time a package is expected. Sheesh.

My guilty pleasures?

Conspiracy theories...
Seriously. I'm hooked. I always take them with a grain of salt and when the clerk at my farmer's market started telling me about this documentary, I had to see it. I love that kid. He always starts the most controversial and inappropriate conversations in the check-out line. He's one of my guilty pleasures. I always try to get in his line because there's no telling what'll come out of his mouth. But he's recommended some of the most delicious foods to me cuz he knows what I like, since I'm in there twice a week. He needs a raise. The film was fascinating. You can watch it on the website. Check it out if you like this kind of thing. If not, remove the stick from your hind-end and watch it anyway. Hee hee.

...And shoes
I'm on a shoe spree. But I'm so happy about it. The leather on these babies feels like butter and they're really comfortable. But then again, any heel under 4" feels comfortable to me. 4's and I don't get along so well. These are much more delicate and finished looking in person. I wear them whenever I'm not at school. Because I'll only wear these at school, no other shoe is worth the pain. I don't care how beautiful they are. I'm waiting for these to come in the mail and I'm buying these mammas next.

I was right....

I feel fine today. I always feel great when I get 10 hours of sleep. There's a guy in my ward who I started crushin' on 3 weeks ago, but today there was a brunette with him. I always back off when there's a brunette involved. Because I usually prefer brunets, so I understand the sentiment. But this guy is blond. Maybe that's why I didn't care when I saw him with that girl. Because blond men are expendable. I didn't even bother to look at her face to size up the competition, because it was a 3 hour crush. Meaning, I've only crushed on him for 1 hour-ish, 3 three times. I forget all about him during the week. But then I re-noticed this really attractive brunet man as I was leaving today. And I pointed him out to my brunette sister, but she prefers redheads. So I'm gonna try to sit by him next week.

Note to world: "Rumor Has It" It has the worst acting I've seen in a long time. Jennifer Aniston was so bad she even managed to make the talented Shirley MacLaine, Kathy Bates, Mark Ruffalo, and Mena Suvari look bad. Kevin-Dances With Wolves-Costner (thenceforward known as K-DWW-C) was boring as usual. I think that Rob Reiner must have directed them to act to Jennifer's deficiencies. She was a horrible caricature. Her scenes with most everyone sounded like they were just running lines with her. It was soap opera acting at its worst. Every expression on her face was overly affected and I ended up not even caring about the story line because I was so busy watching the train wreck that was her acting. If you like train wrecks, fast forward to any and all scenes with K-DWW-C and then the scene toward the end where she's riding the elevator down after getting rejected by Ruffalo. It's truly painful. It's like watching a bad episode of "Friends." Oh wait, they were all bad.

Observations

Whenever I go to the grocery store and a man bags my groceries, he will put everything in one bag. Because he thinks that logically, he's doing me a favor. If it all fits in one bag, I only have one bag to carry. And he's usually really proud of himself and will even say something like, "There you go, I made it easy for you, have a nice day." But if it weighs 75 pounds, I can't lift it. But thanks tho'. How 'bout you make it convenient for you to carry and then carry it to my car, drive me home, and take it in my house and unload the 2 weeks worth of groceries that you somehow managed to tetris into that one bag, and then give me a pedicure? Now that's service.


On another note... Everytime I hear Josh Turner sing those notes in that very low register, I get butterflies in my stomach. There's just something about a man that can sing like that. It's the whole Barry White thing. It's crazy sexy. If you can sing that low, call me. Seriously. I'll marry you just for that.