It's a tough choice for me but if I were president, the first thing I would do is either pass a law that everyone must do one charitable thing every year or legalize gay marriage.
Oh, and to those of you who voted yes on Proposition 8...why, why, why would you ever want to deny others of love and the official act of expressing it away from people? You should feel horrible.
If you were president, what's the first thing you'd do?
Goodbye Fall. I will miss your breathtaking colors, your crisp air and that comforting feeling that can only come from your time of year.
But...
Hello Winter! I've been anxiously awaiting your arrival.
As I sit in the Barnes and Noble cafe with my 6 foot 6 inch boyfriend, him with his books- The Encyclopedia of Earth, Trees and Forests, and Animal Life and me with mine- Vogue, Marie Claire, Dogs in Arizona, and Acrylic Painting for Beginners, I begin to realize just how different the two of us are. The only similarity we had in that moment just by looking at us was our drinks. We both had mochas, mine hot, his cold. It seems that this notion, that is the difference we have between the two of us, has been brought to my attention a lot recently.
There are many attributes besides the obvious, our drastic difference in height, diet and lifestyle, that by comparison are counter opposites. The one that sticks out the most to me recently has been our complete difference in communication which is, of course, normal but nonetheless frustrating. Pop culture would have us all believe that men are from Mars and women are from Venus and the more I think about it, the more I believe in this statement. This seems obvious. But the challenge still remains despite how easily accepted the statement may be.
When one attempts to successfully engage in a relationship with another, it is inevitable that the two will discover frustration with the things their partner does but doesn't understand. When I bring up something that has been bothering me, he shrugs it off as if it isn't a big deal which leaves me feeling like he is undermining me. He doesn't get why I would bring up such ridiculous, nothing things and feels I'm being over dramatic. I know this type of scenario will always be hard for us.
But when I look at this picture, I can't help but to smile and appreciate all the things that make the two of us different. Our differences have helped me learn things I wouldn't have otherwise encountered and they have also helped me to grow as a person despite how frustrating that can sometimes be. It's fun to compare ourselves sometimes even if it is just our pinkies or the books we read while sitting in front of the fireplace at Barnes and Noble.
But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.
Me: Obama just took Pennsylvania!
6-6: Sweet!
Me: Of course Arizona is a red state. Gross. One day I would like to see it painted blue.
6-6: But we've pretty much got COW right?
Me: COW?
6-6: Yeah, the west coast. They're always blue aren't they?
Me: You call the west coast COW?
6-6: Yeah! California, Oregon, Washington! You've never heard that before?
Me: Um, no.
6-6: I've heard that my whole life.
Me: You weird east-coasters with your even weirder acronyms.
6-6: Well, what do you call it?
Me: The west coast.
I logged into my Google Reader tonight for the first time in about, oh, a week and said, "AAArrrrrghhhhh!" Which is pretty much the same thing I say every day when I'm at work now because I was recently promoted. I've been working at this place for a little over two months now and loving every minute of it. I guess my enthusiasm paid off because now I'm what 6-6 calls a big wig. I'm now in charge and head of all accounts payable, accounts receivable, human resources (eeee!), official mailing, notary services, per diem checks and other things I still don't know about yet because the promotion just happened last week. Next week, our chief financial officer and human resources director are coming up from Phoenix to spend a few days with me. Just me!
It's nice to finally be listened to and have my ideas actually taken into consideration. As many of you probably know, 20-something-year-olds have a hard time being taken seriously no matter what industry they are in. This is a huge career opportunity for me and I'm excited. It has been hard to get used to though. The long hours are especially tough and the blogosphere has been hard for me to keep up on because now when I get home, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of a computer. My Google Reader has taken the brunt of this attitude as I noticed when I logged in to see over seven hundred new items. How can some of you blog 25 or more posts within a week!?
So my life has become a stream of what seems like negative things: I'm too busy, too tired, too stressed, too pressured, too responsible...yet it doesn't feel negative. It feels great!
Me: Do you even know what a cadaver is?
Friend: Isn't that a car part of some sort?
Me: No
Friend: Well, what is it?
Me: It's a dead body that is usually meant to be dissected. The ones I saw didn't have any skin so you could get a good look at the muscles and other stuff inside.
Friend: Oh
(Pause)
Friend: Gross
I'm doing X-Ray Sunday today. But this time, I didn't take the photos.
My friend, Cori, did.
It was weird to be in front of the camera when, more often than not, I'm the one behind it. My friend Cori is pretty into photography as well and I think she might even minor in it currently. She was assigned to do an outdoor photo shoot using props in one of her classes this semester and she asked 6-6 and I to participate. So, we decided that because we both love music and because music is the catalyst for discovering the spark we had between us, we would use musical props.
The drumsticks actually belong to 6-6 and so does the guitar. You've seen it before. I can play the guitar but I will have you know that I most certainly CANNOT play the drums. I've only been able to master one beat and let's just say, it ain't good. That would be why I look so awkward holding the sticks in the above picture.
There's nothing awkward about this hunk though. This is just pure cutie cute.
And this is just pure absurdity.
Hey blog readers. I'm sorry I haven't been posting. I'm house sitting until Monday and don't have regular access to the internet like I do at home. I'll try to make a trip or two to my apartment to keep you updated, but I can't promise anything. I'm watching five dogs! Bowie is included in that number but still, four extra dogs is a big job.
Speaking of dogs, my adorable Bowie is featured over at Who's Your Dachshund? today. Check it out!
Back soon!
I've been living alone since July of this year and prior to that, hadn't lived alone since 2006. I forgot how much I enjoyed it especially now that I have a sweet little doggie to keep me company. Despite my liking of my own independence, I often find myself distracting the silence that can arise from being on your own. Whether it be plugging in my iPod for some music or watching videos on the internet or even putting on the TV which is always my last resort, lately I've been making sure that Bowie and I aren't the only noise makers in the house. This is unusual behavior for me because my whole life I always enjoyed being on my own. In fact, when I lived by myself before, I didn't need a distraction from any silence because I had my own imagination. So, I'm not entirely sure what has made me so fearful now.
My method of distraction recently has been Seinfield. A friend lent me a couple of the seasons which I usually put on 'play all' straight after my arrival from work. I don't just sit there watching it and do nothing else. I just have it on as a background noise while I teach Bowie tricks, do the dishes, write, etc. The show is used as noise to distract me from how quiet things can be.
The other night I hopped in the shower with the show still on it's 'play all' feature. At the moment I turned the water off, there was absolute silence. I went out into the living room area and saw that Seinfield had played through all the episodes on disc 2 and was now back on the main menu screen. There was no 'play all' to play anymore and therefore, it was silent.
At that point I remembered how nice it can be to have no noise around you at all. I was stopped in my tracks remembering that a lack of noise can be a good thing. I didn't need to have the TV on anymore to turn me away from my own imagination. I think that it is easy to forget how comforting moments of silent solitude can be especially when we live in such a busy buzzing world today. So, I challenge you the next time you're home to sit in silence and do something you like. Read, do a crossword puzzle, bake with no music, no media. Maybe just the noise of your crazy neighbors or of your dog chewing a rawhide. Remember that there are other noises out there that should be heard and while we continue to play over them with man-made distractions, we'll never learn to appreciate them.
Try it.
