very bored. it must be meme time!

stole this from Jen.

Life Experiences

Bold the ones you've done..

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne.
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country [I've danced with a stranger FROM a foreign country; does that count?]
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge1
02. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived.
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life

life choices

ok, so, recently i've been seriously contemplating going back to school to get my Masters Degree in Education. i've been working towards getting my teaching certification in the state of Virginia, but there are just so many things left to take/get done. my old college has a graduate program that i can take that would allow me to get my certification and, with just a few credits more, my Masters in Education. i'm starting to think this is the way to go. the only problem is, do i really want to dive in to this? i certainly can't afford to pay for school on my own right now, so i would definitely have to look into grants/scholarships/student loans. i'm not that fond of having to get ANOTHER student loan (i'm still paying off my undergrad loans!), but at least the payments would be deferred. but will i have to be a full time student for that? being a full time grad student would only be 2-3 classes per semester, but with working full time, that's a lot! i took 2 classes this past spring semester at a local community college and that was rough. a full time job doesn't leave much time for anything else.

so... am i ready for the stress? the "grad school"? the loans? i guess it would be best to get all this done before i start having a family and all that (no plans for that in the immediate future, but it's always best to be prepared, right?).

in conclusion... i really haven't made a decision yet. i still have to work out money figures and stuff like that. but that is what has been on my mind recently. any thoughts?

the weekend bidness

ok, so i didn't get a chance to do the shoe thing this weekend, but i will get to it asap. not only was i busy all weekend, but i also forgot to take my camera home (which is in my desk here at work). anyway...

my weekend was fun; Friday night Dean & I went to a friend's house and played some poker (see the previous post). Saturday morning/day was spent doing laundry, doing dishes, cleaning up the kitchen, and making more of a mess in the kitchen by making chicken wings and a fruit salad for a picnic we were having with my best friend and her fiance. we were going to go to a little concert/picnic in Old Town, but upon arrival the sky looked like it was going to burst open any minute. we decided to hang out in our cars for a while to see if it started raining. and it did. a lot. it was one of those 10 minute downpours that Virginia always gets in the summer. it definitely dumped enough rain to move the concert to the auditorium of a local Middle School, so we decided to skip the concert. instead, we rented a movie and went back to me/Dean's house and had our picnic there. it was good time. we also played a round of Scene It, the Music version. boys vs. girls. i am not going to divulge who won. just take my anger and annoyance as a clue. :)

sunday was a nice day. it involved the Marriott Ranch, some horses, and a nice Trail Ride. it was fun. i hadn't been on a horse in quite a few years, though, so i am just a tad sore today. after the Trail Ride the group of us had a cookout and just hung out for a few hours. all in all it was a good weekend. atleast it didn't seem too short. :)

how did i ever used to do that?

so, last night, Dean and I went over to a friend's house for a poker game (some good 'ol Texas Hold 'Em). the night was good; good beer, good people, lots of fun. we played cards all night long. till 2:30am, to be exact. i was sooooo tired; it was way past my bedtime.

i remember a time, not so long ago, when 3am was my usual bedtime. when i would leave to hit the clubs/bars/parties at midnight. when i wouldn't get out of bed before 11am. this was also a time when i worked in retail and made $9/hr, but i digress.

after Dean & I got home and went to bed it was nearly 3am. i was up, but not quite awake, and out of bed at 9:30am. ugh.

strange habits

while i was working at the county fair last weekend, i got a pretty nice sunburn. stupid me forgot the sunscreen. anyway, now that sunburn is peelin' to its heart's content. and it's driving me crazy. why? because it's on my shoulders/back and I. CAN'T. REACH. IT. i can't reach it which means i can't peel it. yes, you heard right. i am a peeler. always have been. i love peeling sunburns; mine and others. gross, right?

what about you guys? do any of you like to peel, too, or do you get completely grossed out by it?

again with the stealing!

ok. the meme's? they are fun. and i? am huge dork. i know this. i accept it. got this one from weaker vessel who stole it from someone else.

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says: "Each swore she'd actually gotten dumber in the short amount of time since graduation, and there was no escape in sight. I might not particularly love fashion, but I'd sure rather do something 'fun' all day long than get sucked into a more boring job." --The Devil Wears Prada, by Lauren Weisberger. i love this book; reading it now for the 2nd time. the movie didn't do it justice.

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can...what do you touch first? my printer.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV? Last Comic Standing

4. WITHOUT LOOKING, what time is it? time to go home.

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time? not time to go home

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear? the A/C

7. When did you last step outside? about 30 minutes ago. had to walk up to the court house for work.

8. What are you wearing? khaki pants, blue tee, flip flops. yes, i'm wearing flip flops to work.

9. When did you last laugh? some time today, i'm sure. though nothing memorable yet.

10. Seen anything weird lately? not that i can remember...

11. What did you dream last night? i don't recall any dreams last night. i do remember being woken up by a thunderstorm, though.

12. What's on the walls of the room you're in? nothing but white paint. it's a sad little office...

14. What do you think of this survey? i'm a dork and enjoy these things.

15. What's the last film you saw? Pirates of the Carribbean.

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first? a house.

17. Tell me something about you that I don't know. i think tattoos and piercings are hot. i have a deep/secret love for punk guys. don't really know why... perhaps it's the "bad boy" image thing. i also secretly want to be punk myself. but that never quite worked for me.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, what would you change? intolerance.

19. Do you like to dance? not really

20. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her? Laila [Lay-la]

21. Boy? uh.... i haven't really thought about that one. lol.

22. Would you ever consider living abroad? absolutely. but it depends on where "abroad" turned out to be. England, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, France, Australia; definitely 'yes'.

jail time for chocolate?

my usual route home in the evenings takes me down 2 state highways [which are the main connectors between Ints. 66 and 95] and through one of the busiest intersections in the state. this means that i am frequently encountering semi trucks and trailers during my drive home. well tonight, on my way home, i passed a semi truck that i seriously wanted to hijack. i'm sure you've joked about doing this before; hijacking the beer trucks are common jokes. but this particular semi was one i had never seen before. and i wanted to find out what was in it. badly.

the semi truck? Russell Stover Candies.

yeah.

[side note :: i always see those billboard signs on Rt. 95 for the Russell Stover Candies Outlet and it always makes me want to stop in there and see it. sadly, i've never been.]

let's try this again, shall we?

yeah, i'm starting a different blog. you may remember me from insecure. or not. either way, this is my 2nd attempt at this thing called blogging. maybe one of them will stick. or not.

i think the reason i suck so much at blogging is because i am just that damn lazy. sometimes i am too busy at work and don't have time to post anything. but most of the time i just hate taking the time to log in, think of something mundane to discuss, and post the thing when no one really reads it anyway.

i've never really been an outgoing person in real life, and i think the same applies to my blogging. i've got bunches of blogs that i lurk at, read regularly, and occasionaly post on [as evidenced by the link list to the right], but rarely do i actually cultivate a blog-relationship with those people.

so am i doomed to be a blog failure the second time around? i don't know. but i do know that attitude is everything [cliche, i know, but i've come to learn that it's really true], so i'm gonna change it around this time.

let's get this party started, shall we?

this is a test

yeah, test.