Because I've been posting too many angry socialist things lately, here is:
An ANTI-RANT!
aka, listing of things that make me happy. ALWAYS.
1. The Office. This show = amazing. The uber short scenes make it incredibly enjoyable to watch, and the characters mix well together. Unless your favorite character is someone really obscure (ie, Todd Packer) you'll get to see him every day. Furthermore, every character has so much heart to him/her, it's hard not to fall at least a little bit in love.
2. What Not To Wear/How Do I Look/Extreme Makeover/every other makeover show ever made. Okay, seriously. What girl doesn't dream of gettin 5,000 and have a personal stylist tell her what makes her look hot, and what doesn't? Let's be realistic here.
3. Shoes. Though I have not bought any for many months. Oh, shoes. . .
4. Orlando Bloom at the end of Pirates III. Drool. May I reiterate: drool.
5. I bought shoes five weeks ago.
6. Phone calls at midnight from old friends that I used to be wildly in love with. Okay, not wild, and not in love, but let's just say: a great affection existed.
7. Finally being able to see the one, cheesy episode of Charmed I've always wanted to see. Don't judge me!
8. My dream last night was about books. No, seriously, that was it. I was setting up a Bed & Breakfast with Satan (Milton's Satan--if you don't know, don't ask) and I was in charge of decour. Upstairs was this huge, beautiful, worn old bookcase that held--get this--750 books! Gasp! I had Satan carry it down for me (Talk about a turnon) and then went out and bought three more bookshelves, claiming that "an adequete library is necessary for an effective ambience in a B&B" and then spent the rest of the dream organizing the bookshelves by genre and author. AMAZING. There was also the hint that Satan and I were more than just business associates. He brought me green tea with honey at one point, which was a bit odd, but sweet all the same.
9. The Witch Story. Few of you know what this is. The world is better this way.
10. PIctures of my friends in Europe. Oh Europe, where have you gone? THat's right, you haven't moved, I just haven't either. Pity.
And that is all for today! I continue to look for a job, and to avoid being a homeless person. Not that there's anythign wrong with being homeless. . .except that I like to have a bed.
-J
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
All I Want for Christmas
What a great song. Too bad it's
IMPOSSIBLE.
Sorry. Prepare thineselves for a rant to end all rants on the most random of all random topics: TEETH. And dental care. Which PISSES ME OFF.
Guess how much, total, it cost to fix my teeth after knocking them out? This is two teeth, keep in mind, not a million, nor a thousand, nay, not even a mere hundred. Two. This includes an initial trip to the dentist (to stick them in my mouth), a secondary visit (to take off the braces), a root canal from the friendly neighborhood endodontist (graduated from UM, woot) and a final visit to the dentist for two fillings.
Well, I actually don't know for sure, because insurance covered 80% of the costs at all sites. What did I pay? Close to a $1000. Now, I've never been good with math, but if 1000 is 20%, then I'm pretty sure that other 80 comes out to an exhorbitant amount.
Who can afford that????
Answer: Affluent, suburban families. I now understand, better than ever, why so many of the homeless and impoverished suffer from poor teeth. A regular visit to the dentist is 80+, something which many can't afford. Let alone any filling, plug, drill, etc. etc. It's obscene!
And it's dangerous. Two weeks ago a 12 yr old boy died in Ann Arbor because he had an untreated cavity. His family couldn't afford routine dentist trips, and he seemed healthy. Then, abruptly, he grew incredibly sick, fever, etc. and they took him to the ER wher it was discovered that an infection caused by the cavity had gotten into his bloodstream and eventually to his brain.
That is not acceptable. That is not fair.
Do you know how most people in the world treat decaying teeth? Pulling them out, hoping that the root comes with, and thus avoids a potential life-threatening infection. No teeth are better than death, I suppose, but that's just ridiculous.
Granted, the dentist pays to keep the practice open, to pay all employees, to keep up-to-date on techniques, procedures, and equipment. THe price is still too much. My dentist's office has satellite tv. Cut it. He gets paid bookoo bucks. Cut it. Fifteen magazine subscriptions. Cut them.
NOBODY should ever die because of poor dental work. NOBODY should be forced to pull out a tooth because he/she can't afford treatment. Why are the homeless obsessed with white bread, forgoing the more positive calories in multi-grains and wheats? Because, quite simply, they don't have the strength in teeth (or the teeth period) to chew anything. And that is wrong.
Imagine getting a job with no front teeth. Yeah, probably not going to happen.
Well, anyway, that's my rant for the night. In other news:
Pirates of the Carribbean in one minute:
Where's Johnny Depp? There he is. And there. And there. WHEEE!! Best movie ever! Geoffrey Rush is my lovah. Why is Keira Knightley fighting people? WHat, pirates meet in a conclave? Who's on whose side? WTF is going on? Keira's a pirate king? WTF? NOrrington! Norrington = hot! NOrrington is talking about. . .honor? WHAT HAPPENED TO MY LOVE? He died. Tragic. AWESOME SWORDFIGHT/MARRIAGE. BEST MOVIE EVER! Oh, suspense, will Johnny sacrifice eternity to save Orlando? Answer: yes. So NOT surprised. But wait. . .undead Orlando = UBER HOT. = Better than NOrrington! HOller. What? Setup for a fourth? NOOOOO. Shit.
And. . .that is all she wrote.
Oh, the Office rocks my balls, and I am mildly in love with John Krasinski. And Garrett Hedlund.
IMPOSSIBLE.
Sorry. Prepare thineselves for a rant to end all rants on the most random of all random topics: TEETH. And dental care. Which PISSES ME OFF.
Guess how much, total, it cost to fix my teeth after knocking them out? This is two teeth, keep in mind, not a million, nor a thousand, nay, not even a mere hundred. Two. This includes an initial trip to the dentist (to stick them in my mouth), a secondary visit (to take off the braces), a root canal from the friendly neighborhood endodontist (graduated from UM, woot) and a final visit to the dentist for two fillings.
Well, I actually don't know for sure, because insurance covered 80% of the costs at all sites. What did I pay? Close to a $1000. Now, I've never been good with math, but if 1000 is 20%, then I'm pretty sure that other 80 comes out to an exhorbitant amount.
Who can afford that????
Answer: Affluent, suburban families. I now understand, better than ever, why so many of the homeless and impoverished suffer from poor teeth. A regular visit to the dentist is 80+, something which many can't afford. Let alone any filling, plug, drill, etc. etc. It's obscene!
And it's dangerous. Two weeks ago a 12 yr old boy died in Ann Arbor because he had an untreated cavity. His family couldn't afford routine dentist trips, and he seemed healthy. Then, abruptly, he grew incredibly sick, fever, etc. and they took him to the ER wher it was discovered that an infection caused by the cavity had gotten into his bloodstream and eventually to his brain.
That is not acceptable. That is not fair.
Do you know how most people in the world treat decaying teeth? Pulling them out, hoping that the root comes with, and thus avoids a potential life-threatening infection. No teeth are better than death, I suppose, but that's just ridiculous.
Granted, the dentist pays to keep the practice open, to pay all employees, to keep up-to-date on techniques, procedures, and equipment. THe price is still too much. My dentist's office has satellite tv. Cut it. He gets paid bookoo bucks. Cut it. Fifteen magazine subscriptions. Cut them.
NOBODY should ever die because of poor dental work. NOBODY should be forced to pull out a tooth because he/she can't afford treatment. Why are the homeless obsessed with white bread, forgoing the more positive calories in multi-grains and wheats? Because, quite simply, they don't have the strength in teeth (or the teeth period) to chew anything. And that is wrong.
Imagine getting a job with no front teeth. Yeah, probably not going to happen.
Well, anyway, that's my rant for the night. In other news:
Pirates of the Carribbean in one minute:
Where's Johnny Depp? There he is. And there. And there. WHEEE!! Best movie ever! Geoffrey Rush is my lovah. Why is Keira Knightley fighting people? WHat, pirates meet in a conclave? Who's on whose side? WTF is going on? Keira's a pirate king? WTF? NOrrington! Norrington = hot! NOrrington is talking about. . .honor? WHAT HAPPENED TO MY LOVE? He died. Tragic. AWESOME SWORDFIGHT/MARRIAGE. BEST MOVIE EVER! Oh, suspense, will Johnny sacrifice eternity to save Orlando? Answer: yes. So NOT surprised. But wait. . .undead Orlando = UBER HOT. = Better than NOrrington! HOller. What? Setup for a fourth? NOOOOO. Shit.
And. . .that is all she wrote.
Oh, the Office rocks my balls, and I am mildly in love with John Krasinski. And Garrett Hedlund.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Sunshine and Summertime
Actually. . .not so much sun, and definitely doesn't feel much like summer at this particular moment.
Just biding my time until I jet off to NYC. THings are falling into place so nicely now. My mother asked me, when I went home, whether this kind of feels like it was destined to be--that something which once seemed to difficult is now falling into place so nicely. My response to her:
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS DESTINY!!!
Which I firmly believe, although I'll admit that at times like this, it does seem like life is a big puzzle. But that's a frightening thought, because it means the picture is already decided. One thing I would like to point out, however: as a human with very little patience, when completing puzzles I sometimes get frustrated. And you know what: it is possible to fit the wrong pieces into holes, and when they don't fit, you can always cut off corners. Yes, I have done this. So even if there is a "right path of life" I would just like to point out that one doesn't have to take it. Sure, the picture might not be as pretty in the end, but it's just as complete for all of that.
Thank you.
On a completely different note, Lost had an AMAZING season finale last night, though I was able to predict a large portion of it--mildly disappointing in that aspect, but incredibly engaging and risky, proving yet again that for all its faults, it is still far and away the most ambitious television programming available to view at this point in time. Plus. . . Sawyer is really freaking hot.
Much writing has been going, and the witch story is quickly reaching epic proportions. Which, yes, is kind of tragic in its own way.
The twins graduated from high school. This frightens me. More frightening: Brian is going to Japan. Brian, the most uncultured, disrespectful, foreign country-hating person that I know. Woe upon all of the little Asians--I pity them.
And. . .Pirates came out yesterday. Perhaps I will go see it over the weekend. After all, nothing like a good sight of Johnny Depp to beat out the rainy day blues.
J
Just biding my time until I jet off to NYC. THings are falling into place so nicely now. My mother asked me, when I went home, whether this kind of feels like it was destined to be--that something which once seemed to difficult is now falling into place so nicely. My response to her:
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS DESTINY!!!
Which I firmly believe, although I'll admit that at times like this, it does seem like life is a big puzzle. But that's a frightening thought, because it means the picture is already decided. One thing I would like to point out, however: as a human with very little patience, when completing puzzles I sometimes get frustrated. And you know what: it is possible to fit the wrong pieces into holes, and when they don't fit, you can always cut off corners. Yes, I have done this. So even if there is a "right path of life" I would just like to point out that one doesn't have to take it. Sure, the picture might not be as pretty in the end, but it's just as complete for all of that.
Thank you.
On a completely different note, Lost had an AMAZING season finale last night, though I was able to predict a large portion of it--mildly disappointing in that aspect, but incredibly engaging and risky, proving yet again that for all its faults, it is still far and away the most ambitious television programming available to view at this point in time. Plus. . . Sawyer is really freaking hot.
Much writing has been going, and the witch story is quickly reaching epic proportions. Which, yes, is kind of tragic in its own way.
The twins graduated from high school. This frightens me. More frightening: Brian is going to Japan. Brian, the most uncultured, disrespectful, foreign country-hating person that I know. Woe upon all of the little Asians--I pity them.
And. . .Pirates came out yesterday. Perhaps I will go see it over the weekend. After all, nothing like a good sight of Johnny Depp to beat out the rainy day blues.
J
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Nothing Much to Say. . .
But I'll say it anyway.
Basically, I just wanted to alert all of you (ahem, ahem, Ames) that I've added a link to my personal "website" (ie, easy drag and drop Geocities account) which contains a decent assortment of my writings.
And, to sweeten the deal for those of you who knew me way back when in my girlhood days of high school, I've added the firs chapter of The Witch Story Redux. I always said that I wanted to go back and rewrite that as a decent story. Operative word being decent, take that with a grain of salt.
And. . .that's it! I shall now off myself to clean the kitchen. And when I say off, I don't mean kill myself, I just mean move my fat arse.
Toodles!
Basically, I just wanted to alert all of you (ahem, ahem, Ames) that I've added a link to my personal "website" (ie, easy drag and drop Geocities account) which contains a decent assortment of my writings.
And, to sweeten the deal for those of you who knew me way back when in my girlhood days of high school, I've added the firs chapter of The Witch Story Redux. I always said that I wanted to go back and rewrite that as a decent story. Operative word being decent, take that with a grain of salt.
And. . .that's it! I shall now off myself to clean the kitchen. And when I say off, I don't mean kill myself, I just mean move my fat arse.
Toodles!
Friday, May 11, 2007
Now I Understand Those Movie Star Women
So a rather frightening thing happened to me last night. I was at the shelter volunteering, when the manager pulled me aside. Normally a calm woman who doesn't give a rat's ass about volunteers, she had a look on her face that screamed "law suit."
She brought me to her office and informed me that a hispanic man had just been exited from the program. She informed me that he'd been aggressive toward clients and inappropriate toward staff and volunteers, and enough complaints had been registered against him that he had to leave. She then continued to tell me that one of hte final straws had been Monday, when I'd been monitoring his floor. There had been an incident in a bathroom in which he told another man to keep his eyes off of me. While there was no violence while I was on the floor, it came to blows a few hours later.
In conclusion, I, of course, had no idea that the man considered me his personal property, and in all reality had never behaved inappropriately toward me. We spoke in Spanish, and discussed books, all completely innocent, while the other man enjoyed showing me pictures of his daughters. Once again, innocent.
It's surprising, sometimes, the way perception changes a situation. Something that I found harmless someone else took quite personally. I feel for the man who was exited, but his behavior was overly aggressive, and I am not surprised that he was asked to leave. I'm just surprised that I was a factor in it.
Is this how those women on tv and movies feel when men start fighting over them? Granted, in the Hollywood case they are always big, beautiful, nearly-perfect men, and there is true emotion existing between the three, but noneheless, I feel like the foundational feelings would be the same; confusion, disbelief, and a bit of anger that men consider fighting between THEMSELVES a way to resolve a situation involving another person.
I don't belong to anyone, and while there is a certain romance to a man fighting for (over) you, it's also incredibly demeaning. My life is my own, thank you very much, and I think I will have a slightly different viewing on love triangles in the future. Fighting for affection is not something that can be done with fists or angry words.
Regardless, that is how life in the shelter can occassionally be incredibly interesting and provide wonderful insights and annecdotes for my writings. It will be interesting to see how I fit this one in.
In other news. . .this whole New York thing is hard! I want to quit. And nobody wants to be my endocrinologist and give me a root canal. Seriously! I'm willing to pay, shouldn't that be enough?
All of my love and cookies,
Jess
She brought me to her office and informed me that a hispanic man had just been exited from the program. She informed me that he'd been aggressive toward clients and inappropriate toward staff and volunteers, and enough complaints had been registered against him that he had to leave. She then continued to tell me that one of hte final straws had been Monday, when I'd been monitoring his floor. There had been an incident in a bathroom in which he told another man to keep his eyes off of me. While there was no violence while I was on the floor, it came to blows a few hours later.
In conclusion, I, of course, had no idea that the man considered me his personal property, and in all reality had never behaved inappropriately toward me. We spoke in Spanish, and discussed books, all completely innocent, while the other man enjoyed showing me pictures of his daughters. Once again, innocent.
It's surprising, sometimes, the way perception changes a situation. Something that I found harmless someone else took quite personally. I feel for the man who was exited, but his behavior was overly aggressive, and I am not surprised that he was asked to leave. I'm just surprised that I was a factor in it.
Is this how those women on tv and movies feel when men start fighting over them? Granted, in the Hollywood case they are always big, beautiful, nearly-perfect men, and there is true emotion existing between the three, but noneheless, I feel like the foundational feelings would be the same; confusion, disbelief, and a bit of anger that men consider fighting between THEMSELVES a way to resolve a situation involving another person.
I don't belong to anyone, and while there is a certain romance to a man fighting for (over) you, it's also incredibly demeaning. My life is my own, thank you very much, and I think I will have a slightly different viewing on love triangles in the future. Fighting for affection is not something that can be done with fists or angry words.
Regardless, that is how life in the shelter can occassionally be incredibly interesting and provide wonderful insights and annecdotes for my writings. It will be interesting to see how I fit this one in.
In other news. . .this whole New York thing is hard! I want to quit. And nobody wants to be my endocrinologist and give me a root canal. Seriously! I'm willing to pay, shouldn't that be enough?
All of my love and cookies,
Jess
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Tips to Becoming a New Yorker
Actually, I have no tips. All that I know is that I'd better pick some up, because in a little over a month I will be an official resident of New York City, New York State.
In other news, my summer reading goals have already fallen through. I went home and forgot my frustrating Pynchon here in A2, which resulted in me beginning to reread some of my old, favorite science fiction/fantasy books. . .many of which features similar characters on similar quests with very little in the way of innovation.
HOWEVER. I have now rededicated myself to reading the Robert Jordan series, which, for those of you who knew me in middle school, has long been a vexing challenge. It is not particularly difficult to read, it's just loooong. And occassionally badly written. So why I waste my time on it, I know not.
Anyway, time to unpack, research New York, and get out into the beautiful sunshine that is assailnig the world today!
In other news, my summer reading goals have already fallen through. I went home and forgot my frustrating Pynchon here in A2, which resulted in me beginning to reread some of my old, favorite science fiction/fantasy books. . .many of which features similar characters on similar quests with very little in the way of innovation.
HOWEVER. I have now rededicated myself to reading the Robert Jordan series, which, for those of you who knew me in middle school, has long been a vexing challenge. It is not particularly difficult to read, it's just loooong. And occassionally badly written. So why I waste my time on it, I know not.
Anyway, time to unpack, research New York, and get out into the beautiful sunshine that is assailnig the world today!
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