Things Happen For a Reason . . .

As of Monday, we will have an apartment (we sign the lease Monday afternoon). Today we went next door to the complex next to the complex we had applied to and been lied to, and were approved--with no cosigner--within a half hour. The apartment is much bigger than the one we were originally going to sign for, has more parking, lots and lots of big walk-in closet spaces, is $40 a month cheaper, plus we only have to pay a $99 security deposit (well, also $250 for Gem [my cat]), and our first month's rent is free.

When we told the landlord what happened next door (our cosigner we found out has a credit score of 850 and their "too much" debt is a mortgage and car payment, what almost every American has today), she was shocked and told us her son has been living there 3 years, had no rental history when he initially signed, and didn't need a cosigner.

As my friend Cathy had inferred, we were discriminated because of our age. I believe Kyle's Pup-pup said that, too. That is so wrong. And to make that process so stinking difficult on us like that and then let us down in the end. A lot of people who live there love it, and I'm happy for them, but the actual process of getting into that place was just nonsense and completely draining. When the landlord asked us for a different cosigner, we laughed and had decided we were sick of the complex already and hadn't even moved in yet.

So, we're going over there the weekend after we move in, get our good faith check back, and tell them we moved in next door and we didn't need a cosigner. I'm still in disbelief that our cosigner got rejected because of a mortgage and car payment. The whole family was yesterday at Thanksgiving. I guess the majority of our nation would have gotten rejected as our cosigner. I just don't get it. Oh well, we found a new home, and the situation is even better. :)

PEACE~LOVE~EDITING

*Sighs*

So, we basically lost the apartment. Our co-signer had excellent credit, but they rejected us 'cause they had "too much debt." How do you build credit without debt?

Our landlord asked for another co-signer, but we're honestly sick of them after running around like chickens with our heads cut off, and having packed our boxes 3 days before we were promised we could pick up our keys tomorrow and that everything would go through okay. If you're a landlord, do your potential tenants a favor: don't promise things you can't keep, please.

Anyway, there's a complex right up the street that's cheaper, has a good reputation as well, allows pets, and has more space. Not to mention they're currently having a $99 security deposit with first month's rent free as their current special.

We're going to try and check them out later tomorrow after the funeral, if there's time. Otherwise, we'll go on Friday. When we go, I'm going to be upfront with the landlord, explain what happened to us next door, and ask that since we have no rental history, would we need a co-signer, and if so, could they be from out-of-state. That way, we'll get the bullshit out of the way and hopefully be on our merry way to signing a lease and moving in our already packed boxes.

Tonight was the wake, and the service was beautiful. However, it made me realize how almost "outcast-ish" I feel in a religious setting. During all the readings, I was the only one who didn't have a clue what to recite during the chants and when to bless myself. I grew up in a non-religious household, and am totally clueless whenever I go to church on that rare occasion. I always feel like I'm being disrespectful or rude of those situations, especially at a service for someone who we lost. But, that's just me over-analyzing myself and being overly paranoid, I guess.

All righty, must try to get to sleep since we gotta wake up early for the funeral tomorrow, especially since Kyle is a paul bearer.

PEACE~LOVE~EDITING

Delicioso!

Now here's a real delicacy for ya:

Freshly ground pines into a delectable treat, now cinnamon-flavored!

'Cause IIIIIII'M MOVIN' OUT!

Turns out Kyle's Aunt co-signed instead, and we're going to be moving out the 28th. We're all packed and ready to go, except for having signed the lease, which has to be done by Wednesday so we can pick up the keys and pay the rest of our security deposit and all that fun stuff.

Since we're moving out, I may not be updating this for a week or so, depending on when we get settled and get our cable/internet set up.

Unfortunately, on a sadder note, there has been a loss in our lives, as Kyle's grandmother passed away on Saturday morning. I did not know her very long, but she was a very sweet lady, and hopefully she is happy wherever she is now. RIP Anne Janulewicz.

On a happier note, I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving. Eat lots of turkey, and enjoy time with your loved ones. Gobble, gobble.



PEACE~LOVE~EDITING

HELP!

Well, we got approved for the apartment . . .

. . . but we need a co-signer. Originally, my Dad was going to co-sign, but the co-signer has to be a current resident of New Jersey. Now we're trying every possible, trust-worthy resource to help us.

My Dad's trying my Uncle Paul (my godfather) and Kyle's trying his grandparents and aunt. No luck yet.

The co-signing is for only 1 year, and it won't affect the person's credit at all. I'm hoping one of our family members won't mind . . .

This would really, really stink if we can't get this apartment just because we can't find a co-signer, even though we have awesome credit and good jobs, but no rental history. Can't start any rental history if we can't find a co-signer, 'cause other apartments will most likely require the same thing. This is just so ridiculous. I want to start my life. Am I not allowed to start my life? Am I just trapped in limbo forever????

I'm fearing the worst . . . and that's never getting out of the house. :(

FINALLY I PRESENT TO YOU

Halloween Pictures (almost a month later, heh):

Above is a photo showing how awesomely fun my co-workers are: (from left to right) Donna as the Bride of Frankenstein, my boss Justine as one of the medical examiners for our sales contest (real life clue of Who Murdered Janice Klumpp (our human resources manager), and James as a werewolf.

Above: (from left to right) Kyle's friend Drew as a Scottsman, his girlfriend Melissa as a fairy, and Kyle as Ron Burgundy, attempting to sneak-attack on the happy couple with a fly-swatter.

For more of these wondrous pictures from both my Halloween workday and get-together, please visit my Halloween Album.

My Car Is Sickee

My mechanic just left me a voicemail and my car's misfiring, which means my coil burnt out. He said he's gonna call me with a price tomorrow and it's not a cheap job. Surprise, surprise. Anyway, it looks like the expensive part is the labor, 'cause I looked up the cost of parts (spark plugs, coil insulator, coil boots) and they should be no more than $30-$50 put together.

Don't get me wrong, my mechanic is amazing, and even when we're living all the way out in our new apartment (which will be 40 minutes away from him), I'm still taking Roxanne to him. I'm just getting tired of my car having issues this year. The water pump was slowly going when I first got her about 3 years ago, and then I needed new tie-rod ends, and then last month my vacuum tubes went on me (which is a cheap job), and now the coil blew. I need new brakes soon (and roters, but with GM cars, it's a cheap job), and my power steering pump has a slow leak (again, back from when I first got the car).

Poor Roxanne, her previous owners didn't take very good care of her, so I gotta pick up the slack.

Oh well, we find out if we got the approval or not on the apartment tomorrow. Aaaand, I found out my friend Jay from college who currently lives over an hour from me will be living in the next town over from our apartment--10 minutes up the road! I'm so excited! I'll get to see him lots instead of every 3 months 'cause of the distance. Yay!

Oh, Oh It's Magic, You Know . . .

Finally, we are moving out! Yep, Kyle and I applied for an apartment today and although the approval isn't "official" until Tuesday, she told us we basically have the place due to making adequate monthly income and having awesome credit. We move in November 28th, and although that's Thanksgiving weekend, we only have to pay for December's rent and plus we have off from work Friday, so we have three whole days to get settled. Not to mention stores are gonna be having all sorts of crazy sales on stuff we're gonna need. :)

I thought it was funny that the landlord refers to us as the "handsome couple." She was trying to convince Kyle to start a modeling career, lol! I need to start warding off the ladies from my man, hee hee!

But, of course, as my life always is, if one thing's going right, another goes wrong. Since they need proof that you've had at least one job for an entire year, our landlord wanted to see a paystub from Car-Tel for me, and a paystub from Herff Jones for Kyle. So, we went home (we had Kyle's car), and got in mine to drive it back. Well, my baby Roxanne's engine starts thumping around really violently and when we got onto the main highway, the shaking got worse and the "Service Engine Soon" and "Trac Off" light went on. Immediately, we called our mechanic and he said he'd look at this sometime this week, which means Kyle and I are carpool buddies for a few days. I tried researching online what the problem might be, and it's a sensor of some sort having to do with the transmission. It's most likely the speed sensor, which looks like it should cost me no more than $200, which I can handle.

I know I haven't posted the Halloween pictures, yet. I'm working on it, I'm working on it! Maybe I'll post 'em tonight. For now, I'm gonna go eat the yummy dinner Kyle cooked. :)

PEACE~LOVE~EDITING

PS - I totally added that picture of Kyle sticking out his tongue for you, Preston! Ha, ha, ha! :p

Never-released Song Magically Ends Up in Movie . . .

I went to go see Zack and Miri Make a Porno with Laura tonight and what a fantastic movie it is! Hilarious (all I have to say is: "Shut Up Before I *bleep* You In the Mouth!), awesome acting (Justin Long is particularly awesome in this movie), unique story line, and most of all: amazing soundtrack, which brings me to the point of this post.

In the main love scene of the movie, a song by Live (Ed Kowalczyk's beautiful voice is ever-so-unmistakable) I had never heard of plays and I fell in love with it. When I got home, I looked up the movie soundtrack. No songs by Live. Then I figured, "Well, it must be off an album I've never really listened to" [I really looooove Live]. Found tons of spam-filled sites with the lyrics to the song, but no signs of discography origin. So, after lots of research, I found out it's called "Lift Me Up" and was an unreleased demo song off the original Throwing Copper--which I do not have, dammit. I have Throwing Copper, but not the demo!

I am quite disappointed that this gorgeous song is impossible to find. The closest thing I could find to satiate my desire to hear this song is this very raw-sounding YouTube video of "Lift Me Up."

Enjoy this wonderfully rock-a-dellic song and I will be posting Halloween pictures sometime this week, for those who are anxiously awaiting to see this holiday's festivally hilarious get-ups.

PEACE~LOVE~EDITING

Today's Lesson: Adverbs

The latest find, by my best friend Ally while she perused one of our local farmer's markets, makes me wanna add a little extra cream cheese to these extra bagels:


So, they didn't have bagels in the first place? I thought they were just bagels! Now they're bagels, too? I'm so confused--I don't know what to do. If you're in the same boat as me, don't give yourself an aneurysm. We'll survive. Maybe we'll get a bagel . . . too.

Despite the misuse of both a negative and an adverb, looks like they've got a nice selection. Although, I'm pretty disappointed about that only hot dog.

I hope you all learned a great lesson here today: There's always not just bagels . . . too. There's a big world out there to explore. A world outside of bagels. A world without a single hot dog. Take risks, and don't let adverbs get the best of ya.

PEACE~LOVE~EDITING

Oy Vay

So, just when I thought I was getting better, the pain flared up again. I'm going to another doc for a second opinion as soon as possible, but this is getting just goddamn ridiculous. I know I keep whining about it on here, but this is my place to vent. So here I am. Venting.

Anyway, in other news, my mom just biked 200 miles over 3 days. I am so proud of her, and she could probably whoop my ass with her pinky, lol.

Kyle had his first day at Panasonic and he said it went very well, which included him meeting/making an impression on the President of Panasonic, which is incredibly awesome. I'm really proud of him, too.

He's writing a science fiction/fantasy novel, and it's really great. He asked for my fantasy writing expertise tonight, and I didn't realize how knowledgeable I truly was on writing the subject. Now if only I could get my lazy bum back to working on The Fall of Euphoria. I basically decided to rewrite the entire thing after 3 years 'cause I've deemed it as "sucky." And I think I've only gotten about half-way through the second in the series. Maybe I'll finish the third one by the time I'm 40.

All righty, I'm going to write a separate entry on the latest grammatical find, which my best friend Ally found during her Farmer's Market adventure--strictly for the enjoyment of the grammar whore deep down inside all of us. :)

PEACE~LOVE~EDITING

Why I Deleted My Facebook and Myspace

Since everyone's been asking me this whenever they see me for the past two months, I figured I'd explain in one simple sentence on here for those of you who actually read this:

It stole my soul.

Strange response, correct? But none too strange for moi. I would spend hours on both of those damn profiles, communicate with friends through it, and most of all--it was a huge frickin' popularity contest. It made me sick; still does.

I prefer to go and do better things with my time, communicate over the phone, and actually hangout with people in person. Way too many of my friends were using those profiles as a communication device or would just look to see what I was up to instead of even contacting me. And it annoyed me. So, I deleted them, and after the deletion, I see who my true friends are. Not just my facebook and myspace "friends."

Anyway, now that that's out of my system, I'm feeling much better abdominal pain-wise. It was pretty scary for the past week, being able to barely walk and have docs tell you they don't know what's wrong with you. Everyone's telling me it had to do with the ovarian cyst they found, which makes sense 'cause the pain emanates from my left side, which is where they found it. Got blood work done yesterday, so hopefully they find out what's wrong through them. The tiredness is fading, too. Still pretty sleepy though. And I still hurt, but can move around and take care of myself now.

As for fun stuff, here is a wondrous picture of my friend Erin at the Dollar Store when Kim, Donna, Erin (work buddies) and I went there on our lunchbreak:


Good times, good times. Found some awesome stuff for Kyle's and my apartment, too! Anyway, I love my co-workers; they're awesome people.

Pretty much been chillin' around the house after work since I had been in too much pain to really do anything or go anywhere. Hungout at my fuffy buttmuffin (Ally)'s house last night watching Wife Swap and Crusoe.

Going to Olive Garden today with Kyle for lunch for the never-ending soup, salad, and breadsticks, and I am whoah excited. Barely ate all week, so now that my appetite's back, it'll pay off today, lol. Then next week we have his friends' wedding, and of course Halloween. Pumpkin smashing good time!

All righty, I leave you all for now. Sorry I've been too lazy to post anything on here lately. I'm gonna post some artwork on here soon. Stay outta trouble!

PEACE~LOVE~EDITING!

A Very Happy Unbirthday!

As promised, here are the pictures from last night:

My Mad Hatter attire turned out amazing, especially Kyle's suggestion to put reddish brown eye shadow underneath my eyes to emphasize lack of sleep, just like Disney's delightful version of him. :)

Kyle's Ron Burgundy? Yes, he is the arrogant, yet sophisticated and talented personality that is Channel 4 news in San Diego's own Ron Burgundy.

























Posing between rocking out to the band at Kyles friends' house. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the band's name, but they were a pretty decent cover band:






The first video clip is of their version of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." The second clip is of Kyle's rendition of Weird Al's "Smells Like Nirvana." Enjoy!

PEACE~LOVE~EDITING!

She's Alive!

Yes, the title is what my mechanic actually said to me, lol. Best mechanic ever, by the way. Basically, Roxanne had a few leaky vacuum tubes (which is what happened to my last car), so she's running quite beautifully! Yay! :)

Brrrr I'm a Wuss

Yep, I woke up freezing this morning, am in warm socks, sweatpants, sweatshirt, and under a blanket . . . and it's friggin 67 degrees out. Again, yep, I'm a wuss.

Anyway, just waiting for my mechanic to call to let me know what's up with my car. My poor Roxanne has been idling really rough for the past month now and also has been having difficulty shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. I think it's possibly the kick sensor. My mechanic says the shifting problem is most likely attributed to the idling issue, but it could be a small possibility it's the transmission. I hope the hell not. Heh.

I also think I found a place that I'd really like to live--just will be a couple of months before Kyle and I move in. Plus, I wanna make sure he likes it, too, but I'm sure he will.

Tonight should be fun--we're going to a Halloween party at his friends' place. I'll post pictures. Should be good times, good times.

Okee dokee, I'm gonna go. Just wanted to do a quick update in here and all that other fun stuff. Have a good weekend everyone! :)

PEACE~LOVE~EDITING

KYLE GOT THE JOB!

Just wanted to share Kyle found out not too long ago that he got the job at Panasonic!!!! I'm so proud of him! He's starting out as an IT intern, part-time, paid, and they told him it can grow into a full-time position after 3 months if they like the work he does. :)

Bottles, Necklaces, and Creativity--Oh, My!

Here are the pictures I mentioned, and I did get distracted by a vodka run for Kyle's friend who's home from the Navy. See, I told ya! But I remembered at the same time--yay for multi . . . thinking?

Here is the first inscent bottle Kyle painted of a Wolf. I think it is quite beautiful, although I couldn't get the right lighting for the subject matter or any of my other subjects for that matter (did not intentionally play on word, actually, just came out that way--hah), aka my necklaces.

Kyle took these pictures for me, but we couldn't get the lighting just right:

It's terribly out-of-focus and I apologize. This is the necklace I wore to my former college roommate's wedding this Sunday.

One of my favorites, but again, out-of-focus and poor lighting.

Iridescent choker.

I really didn't this one too much; however, I think the picture turned out great. This is what I like to call: Irony.

Hope you all enjoyed! I plan on making more soon, and since I got requests, this will be turning into a part-time job/hobby. Weeee!

PEACE~LOVE~EDITING

Bloggity Blog Blog Blog

I'm feeling almost 100% better now and totally ecstatic about it. No more sniffles, a few coughs here and there, and no more chills. I love that first day after being ill for several. It always reminds me to appreciate my health. Silly how we can forget such simple things as that until we lose it temporarily. Such a mad world human life/society is.

Anyway, today was a good day. Went out to lunch with some friends from work to Taco Smell and then browsed the ever-so-awesome adventure that is Goodwill. All I have to say is: Donation in Rear. 'Nuff said.

Right now I'm looking around for an apartment that is:

1) Below $900 a month
2) Includes all/almost all utilities
3) Is in a decent area
4) Is within a 30 minute commute to work
5) Close to civilization.

Does anyone know of any apartments that have at least 3 of these factors that Kyle and I are searching for? A decent area is a MUST. No way am I living somewhere where I have to worry about getting mugged, robbed, raped, or even murdered. That would suck.

The closest I found was an apartment in Voorhees for $800 a month, all utilities included and completely furnished. Only thing is, I left a message and they never called back. I'm going to try again tomorrow on my lunch break. I was also looking at the Whitehall Apartments in Lumberton . . . but there was a murder there mentioned by one of my work buddies and now I'm a little hesitant about even looking there, even though it is reasonable.

Kyle told me today that the place he interviewed at the other day is inclined on hiring him, and he's gonna get paid more an hour than me (although he will be starting out part-time), so we can afford maybe a $1200 condo now, but again, all the above factors considered. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

As for posting the rest of my necklaces, I'll see what I can do tonight. Maybe I'll go take those pictures now before I forget or my Selective ADD (a special condition for many of us unique snowflakes) kicks in. I'll even take a picture of the one inscence bottle Kyle painted the other night (the Alice in Wonderland bottle he sold already--dammit--but awesome at the same time).

All righty, I'm gonna go take those pictures now before the Wonderful World of Kim kicks in . . .

--Kimmay

*cough cough* *sniffle sniffle*

Well, I'm home sick today. I hate colds, but I think colds hate me more, as I always seem to catch the worst of them. This one had me running a 100 degree fever last night. I mean, I had one all yesterday and started with it Sunday night, but the strange thing is, I felt better the first half of Monday. Sunday night I took some nasal spray, Airborne every four hours, some Cold-Eeze, drank a whole quart of orange juice. Woke up Monday morning feeling more than well enough for work and then BAM. Around noonish I felt terrible. I couldn't breathe, felt feverish and really tired. How in the world I got better and then worse is beyond me. So, I'm taking the day to rest and hopefully rid this thing by tomorrow morning. I really can't stand being sick.

My abdomen still hurts, too, and constant sneezing and blowing my nose really hasn't helped. Ugh.

Anyway, went to Sarah's wedding on Sunday and it was beautiful. I hope she and Jay have a long, healthy, happy life together. It was strange for me to be there, though, as I hadn't really heard from anyone for two years. And, I really don't care for how Kyle had been treated my last few months at York. It hurt me a lot and I felt betrayed for these past two years.

I understand that not everyone's gonna like him (and fortunately, about 98% of my friends love him and accept him as their friend as well, and my entire family adores him and accepts him as a son/brother), as it is in any situation (not just a relationship), but it's not right to treat someone like they're an animal, especially when your friend is dating them. But, at the wedding, I was very happy that those who had initially treated him so, talked to him, were kind to him, and most of all, treated him like a human being at this event. It made my night, aside from getting to dance with him of course. He is my best friend, the love of my life, and he has never ever hurt me. He will do anything for me and vice versa, and I swear, he spoils the hell outta me. And I appreciate the respect that those of you showed him and me on Sunday. I'm sorry if I seemed out of it that day as well, but I was not feeling 100%, as I'm in pain and all that other fun stuff. But again, thank you for demonstrating your support for our love. I've never been as happy as I've been with him. He is my life.

Anyway, I made about five other necklaces on Saturday, one of which I wore to the wedding and another I wore to work yesterday. The one I wore yesterday everyone was complimenting, and when I told them I made it, they were surprised. My friend Kim suggested maybe I make necklaces as a side business for the holidays, which I think I may do. I was already planning on making necklaces for Christmas this year for all the ladies in my life. The men, I dunno what I'm gonna make. I'll ask Kyle; he's creative and smart, he'll know. He's been making inscence bottles which we're thinking of selling as well. I have to take a picture of the one he made on Saturday; it's BEAUTIFUL. It's a wolf standing in a plain, and it's so well-done. I'm proud of him.

He's at a job interview right now for an IT position with Panasonic. I know he'll get the job. He's so good at what he does.

All righty, I'm gonna go rest now. I feel feverish again, but dunno if I'll be able to sleep. I have a feeling I'll fall asleep again around noon. Zzzzz . . .

---Kimmay

Owwiez I Hurt!

So, yesterday I left work early (and those of you who know me well know that's rare for me to voluntarily do so), because I was in pain. I have no idea what it was, but for the past 4 days my abdominal area had felt a little on the uncomfortable side, but yesterday it was excruciating, and today's no picnic either.

Kyle took me to the hospital and I explained what was bothering me. They asked me when my last menstruation was and I already knew I was late . . . 3 weeks late. And also already knew I wasn't pregnant (took several pregnancy tests and they all were negative . . . thank God). So, the doctor told me he didn't know what was wrong with me, but that it could possibly be either muscle-related (certainly doesn't feel like it), or something along the lines of an ovarian cyst--with knowing my family history, highly likely.

The doc prescribed me some Vicadin, which is just relaxing me, not really helping the pain any. I love Kyle so much, he's been such a trooper through my mood swings due to my pain and has been incredibly supportive and helpful. Best. Fiance. EVER.

Anyways, to take my mind off the pain, I decided to start something creative and it's actually quite fun and I seem to have a knack for it--making necklaces.

Here's two I made last night:


I'm wearing the one above right now. It's my favorite of the two. The other one's okay, but I think it's quite cool.


Anyway, it's kept me amused and out of trouble, not wanting to throw shit across the room 'cause I hurt.

I have my former college roommate's wedding tomorrow which is down in the Baltimore area and hopefully I'll feel well enough to travel. I plan to try my best to make it, but I don't think a 3 hour road trip topped with dancing and loud noises are gonna coax me to relax and alleviate my agony. We'll see. Sarah, if you're reading this and I wasn't able to make it, I'm sorry and no matter if I attended or not, I wish you and Jay a lifetime of happiness together.

All righty, hopefully someone will be able to figure out what's wrong with me and I can either feel relief that I at least know what's going on with my body, or better yet, receive treatment. *sighs*

I'll post more pictures of necklaces that I'm making today, probably either later or sometime this week. Stay outta trouble, and happy editing!

--An "ouching" Kim

No Time For Proofreading When It Comes to Booze and Sex!

My latest discoveries of grammatical errors stumble upon the wondrous world of alcohol and sex. Many of you may be asking, "I thought grammar doesn't really matter when it comes to boozin' and sexin'?" Well, you're right. Today's lesson is brought to you by: possession.


When it comes to drinking, there's no need for rules pertaining to possession. These mixers will eventually be possessed by some sort of tequila, vodka, rum, or various other delightfully drunk goodies. All I wanna know is, Mixer's what?


Whoever made this sign must've been so inspired and/or lusted that they forgot that if the noun does not end in an "e," you don't need to add an "ey" to the end to make it an adjective. Screw grammar when it comes to sex! I guess the extra "E" is for an extra umph for that erection. And my horny what? My horny dog? My horny neighbor? I don't understand. Perhaps this sign-maker should have spent more time understanding the difference between "your" as a possession and "you are."
Ironically, a truck with the bumper sticker "I <3 Roadhead" was in front of me and didn't honk. He must've been the other kind of "horney." The one that's spelled right.

So as my heartless grammar quest continues, I plan to bring many more humorous photos and anecdotes to fill a void in your heart with a special typo-ed treat. Till next time. Happy editing! :)

What Day is Today?

Today is Wonderful Weirdos Day! Seriously, I'm not kidding. There is an actual holiday devoted to people such as myself. See, it's silly little things like this that make me feel special for being, well . . . me. I strive every day to bring the strangest, most quirky moments to those who surround me. I'm not too sure how to celebrate. Maybe I shall watch something from my Ed Wood movie collection, or put things up my nose (like peanuts or marshmallows). Perhaps I'll even run up and down the neighborhood shouting, "The British are coming! The British are coming!" in pirate gear. Whatever I may chose, I'm quite positive it shall be joyous.

And there was much rejoicing, hurray!

Much of my blog will be dedicated to various bizarre occurrences in my life; however, it will also feature hilarious typos or grammatical errors I discover in my travels, as I am an editor by profession and heart. The first typographical error I wish to share with you has got to be one of the funniest typos--ever. And to top it off, it's from a well-known company.

I received this cut-sheet from my human resources department to inform me about one of my voluntary benefits, which is from LifeLock. Obviously, from their bold commercials, they prevent identity theft. Below is the picture. If you look closely you will see the error that had my co-workers, my friends and me busting a gut (hint: it's the 5th line down under "Fast Facts About Identity Theft"):


I'm thinking about signing up for it (my company gets a nice discount), but I'm worried it may not cover all my hoes. Oh well, while I'm pondering this on my new favorite holiday, changing into my pirate attire, I leave you to wonder, "What the hell is this girl talking about?"

Till next time! Stay outta trouble!

--Arlene Neilson

When Procrastinating, Procrastinate Some More . . .

So, I figure I give the blog another go after influence from a couple of co-workers who are frequent bloggers on here. Thanks for the inspiration, you two!

As for keeping up with this, I made the layout more personal and more to my liking. Wahoo!

I can't really think of anything to blog about at the moment; however, I would like to point out that I am bored. Very, very, very bored. And my wisdom teeth hurt. And I am complaining . . . alot. So, I shall shut up right here, right now until I have something more useful to say.

Until we meet again.

- Arlene Neilson

Is Public Education Losing Its Humanity?

I'm convinced that public schools are becoming more and more like a prison these days. Yes, there are several reasons as to why this has come to be, thanks to the students who never received guidance when they pleaded a cry for help before turning the barrel on their peers and then themselves. Increased security has become quite commonplace in schools, which is understandable, and of course produces a safer environment for students. Codes have become stricter to better safety procedures and other necessary precautions in an academic environment. The question is, though, how strict is too strict?

I recently stumbled upon this article off of CNN.com about a school banning hugs for over two seconds. Now come on, folks. We're getting pretty ridiculous here. I can understand making out, as it makes others uncomfortable and provokes premarital sex (oh no, God forbid), but a hug? A hug is human nature and not necessarily sexual. In fact, many hugs aren't sexual at all. And to top it off, a hug can go a long way, especially during our adolescence, which is the peak for depression.

With all the high depression rates in teenagers today, I think the worst thing our schools can do is ban hugs. A hug may even help someone that has fallen into such a rut that they're thinking about killing themselves or even their peers. By banning hugs, we're increasing the risk of self-destruction in our adolescents. If no one will listen and now even hug those who feel they've hit rock bottom, then perhaps our hierarchy of education officials want students to harm each other and feel the unnecessarily cold pain of feeling alone.

Do me a favor after reading this--hug someone. Hug anyone you know, love, hate, et cetera to make up for the lack of hugs these poor students will experience during perhaps the best years of their lives. Come on Mesa, Arizona--cut your students a break!

--Arlene Neilson

Welcome to the Land of Rants

I'd like to introduce you to my blog. It will contain lots of rants. You may laugh, you may cry, you may even need to buy yourself a box of Depends. Who knows what will happen on here. I hope you enjoy your stay and I'm sure you'll hear lots from me--now the key is to hear lots from you, my friends.

- Arlene Neilson