Day 4 on the Unfamiliar Planet

Here I sit, in Aunt and Uncle's kitchen. Today was a good day. I'm learning my way around slowly but surely, despite the fact that even the most basic of directions from here to there leaves me completely lost. Fortunately, Aunt let me borrow her Garmin. Unfortunately, sometimes I ignore it and just explore, which does not help me find the desired destination. And then, sometimes, I just turn it off and wander about, and let serendipity take its beautiful course.

Which is how I found the library! I followed the Garmin to a thrift shop, because I had nothing to do today after my job interview, and I felt like a thrift shop would be a cool place. I secretly love them. They're so thrifty and stuff. So I went in and almost bought a dresser. I'm not sure if I need a dresser or not...but I loved this one. And when I left there, I went across the street to leech the Wifi from the McDonald's that was conveniently right there. As I sat in the semi-creepy and fairly deserted parking lot, I glanced up, only to see the local library! Which, of course, I immediately went to.

So, they have a really small theatre section. Really, really small. I thought that College of the Ozarks had a limited selection...but this was sad. However, they totally made up for it with stacks upon stacks of other great books, a decently sized media center and amazingly comfy chairs. I may be homeless, but at least I got a library card today, by golly! :D I checked out a book called Rat Bohemia, which is proving to be a really, really good fiction about a group of friends in New York.

I also discovered the joys of Panera today, and perused Borders. I came so close to buying the RENT selections piano/vocal book that it was painful! But it was like...RENT, or rent. Take your pick. Oh, responsibility, how you abuse me! But I still got a chai tea latte, and sat in Panera and ate a salad, so it's okay.

Job interview went great, by the way. The lady said she would hire me on the spot if a second interview wasn't a requirement. I expect to be working full-time by next week. On top of that, I put in a part-time application at a Dunkin' Donuts I found. I was so happy to have found it...you have no idea. The guy behind the counter seemed kinda hopeful about it, too, which made me feel good.

The Move (That Hasn't Really Happened, Kinda)

Okay! It's Friday, right? Right.

I got up at seven o'clock this morning, after only, like, three hours of sleep (which is funny, because I totally went to be early, and just kinda tossed and turned...and had bad dreams...), threw the remaining clothes in my car, and hit the road for Kansas City. I only had Act II of Les Miserables, by the way...which was great, but because I missed Act I, I was so lost I felt like I was in a Where's Waldo book. I had to go back by campus and drop something off for Devon, because I stole it last year (accidentally). And as I was leaving the building, I heard something all too familiar: "The Phantom of the Opera" film was playing in one of the classrooms. It was like a big send-off. I kinda bounced to my car!

Anyway, I'm here now, in my cousin's apartment, which she's cleaning while I just sit here like a hobo in the corner on my laptop, because I don't know what belongs to who, or where to pack stuff because none of it is mine, and I'm tired of packing, since that's how I spent most of the day yesterday. I did peel a bunch of Dora the Explorer stickers off the wall, and I accidentally almost ripped of her foot, which would have permanently ended her exploring career, even though we all know she doesn't explore anything very cool.

The duplex we were thinking about renting also fell through (SURPRISE), probably because I'm jobless and don't really have a source of income, even though I can totally afford the first month's rent, no problem. So I'm living with my aunt and uncle (so is Amber, the cousin who is currently boxing her belongings) for a week or so, although hopefully only a few days, because I really really really wanna get an apartment ASAP.

Also, I have a job interview Monday, thanks to my wonderful aunt, who is a worker of miracles and extraordinary stuff, and I'm pretty sure I'll get the job, because they are actually hiring and I am actually fantastic. So yeah.

Not "Meh." It's More Like ":)"

See that picture? The one on the right? With the adorable lolcat and the caption that says "meh"? That's how I feel sometimes. But that's not how I feel today! Today, I'm all smiley and stuff! For no apparent reason! Isn't it delightful!?

Anyway, I've spent the last two nights hanging out at my old college. The first night (Monday) was Women's Open House, which is the only time men are allowed in the women's dorms, because that school is super strict, and not very college-like, to be honest, but...I'm not going to tear down the school right now. It's not relevant to this conversation. :)

Anyway, last night, I went back to the school, because I wanted to go to the library. You see, I've never listened to Les Miserables. At all. And last night, I realized...I've had access to it for, like, two whole years and I never really thought about it because I just never really thought about it for no reason whatsoever! So I went there, to the library, with my friend Derek K. And I grabbed two blank CD's out of my car, and we went inside. I got to see a super cool person named JORDAN while I was there (who doesn't read the blog, but I'm gonna say "HI JORDAN!" to her anyway) and we went downstairs, where the Media Center is.

I used to work in the Media Center. It was fantastic, because they gave me POWER! I was one of the few, the proud, who had access to the keys that held all of the Audio/Visual equipment. Nobody was allowed to touch it without going through me! Even the professors. That's right.

Anyway, we went downstairs, and I had just enough to time to rip Act I of the Original Broadway Cast. I'll be going back to CofO tonight for Coffee House, so I'll get the other act tonight. Plus, I left Act I in a dorm room, so I need to get that, too.

Basically, I'm moving on Friday. We ddn't get the house, though, which made my little heart all sad and stuff, but we might be able to get a duplex, which is cool, because I can harass the neighbors by pounding on the adjoining wall I don't mind close neighbors. I'll be in the car for 8 hours on Friday. So I needed some new music. And everyone seems to think I really need to hear Les Mis. Also, "I Dreamed A Dream" played on Pandora, and I fell in love with it, anyway. I'm pretty excited for the move, and (aside from actually having a place to move into) everything has fallen into place. ...although having a place to live is kinda the point of the move, but...whatever. :) I'm still all smiley and not "meh" at all.

I Died A Lot

First, an apology, because I haven't posted anything in a few days. Sorry, but...frankly, not much has been going on that could easily fit into a blog entry. And if it could be fit into a blog entry, it was terribly boring. Nobody wants to read "Yesterday, I watched 3rd Rock from the Sun for three hours." But I do have a fun story to share now!!

Yesterday, I spent the evening being murdered in the Jones building at my old college. Jones is a pretty big building, three floors, with several classrooms and (my personal favorite feature of the building) the Theatre dept.  While there, I was brutally murdered three times. I was left lying in the hallway once, lying on the stairs the second time, and the third time, my poor body was discovered in the lobby.

Live Mafia...such a fun game. Basically, it's like Mafia, but you play it across a building. The townspeople and the "Mafia" actually walk around the building freely, the Mafia striking (hopefully) unnoticed. When a "body" is found, the lights are turned on and there's a meeting of the "Townspeople" (everyone who is playing the game and hasn't been killed off) to try to figure out who did the murder. Whoever is accused is killed off by the townspeople, and, in the event that said person wasn't the Mafia, the game continues until the Mafia is caught.

So basically, I spent the evening dying. The first time I kinda saw it coming. I was down the stairs towards a guy (Derek S.), and he'd been playing "innocent" really well during the meetings. ...Yeah, he killed me. Totally unforeseen. I was all "OMG IT WAS HIM!?" And then I fell over and just kinda lay there for ten minutes.

The second time was completely unforeseen. I was walking with Melissa and Derek S.

Me: I feel safe this time. The likelihood of you getting the Mafia card twice in a row...not big.

Derek: I'll kill you faster this time.

Melissa: *death glare*

...Melissa killed us both on the spot. In front of everyone. And nobody saw it until we both hit the floor. I was brutally slain, without hesitation, by what appears to be a nice young lady...but she has a vicious side, apparently. o.O

The third time was just too sneaky. I was walking with Chad Mann, and everyone suspected us anyway, so we were just kinda goofing off, scaring people. This went on for, like, ten minutes. We creeped up on Amanda and backed her into a corner. She was all, "Ah! Don't do that! It's creepy!" *slice* Totally unforeseen. She lured us falsely into a jovial time, and cut us on the spot. I promise not to make swearing a habit on the blog, but frankly, I was like, "What da hell jus' happened!?" Then I died.

Anyway, for all you CofO people who read this, Live Mafia happens every Saturday on Campus, sometimes in the Chapel and sometimes in Jones. Talk to Derek Stevenson for details, because it's freakin' amazing, and if I weren't planning on moving Friday, I'd totally be there this Saturday too.

Give Me Cookies, or Give Me Death

Contents: Pure Bliss

Today, I went to the college I used to go to, because I had to check my mail and sent out the rent application to the house I'm planning on moving to. And I went to the post office and...THERE WAS A PACKAGE FOR ME!! :D I picked it up and bounced gleefully on out of the Post Office and into my car. Getting a package in the mail is like a random Christmas, except without the creepy mall Santas.

-----
Creepy Mall Santa: Hello, little child.

Little Child: ...MOMMYYYY!!!
-----

And on the way back to the house, basically continued bouncing because good music was playing...but I digress.

ANYWAY, I got home and did several backflips (figuratively speaking...) into my room with the box in my hand, and promptly sliced it open, and flung the contents onto the bed. What I saw there, lying on the comforter, made me shriek with giddy joy! (See right)

Now, to the untrained eye, this looks like food. But this...this is so much more than food. There is sugar, and peanut butter and granola bars and chocolate and oatmeal cream pies and green tea.

 But, to be honest, everything but the peanut butter and the sugar went completely ignored for about an hour...because something else was included in this box of happiness: a recipe for my mommy's peanut butter cookies. It was a crazy, happy hour in my day, because I made these:

And those delightful, fantastic peanut buttery pieces of Heaven made me smile. ...like this:

"There Will ALWAYS Be Women In Rubber Flirting With Me!"

Right now, I have coffee, a huge recliner, and nooothing to do. It's wonderful. I'm watching Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway (which explains the title of this post) and perusing the lovely interwebs. This is a fantastic evening.

It wasn't supposed to be like this, just so you know. I actually had a coffee date tonight, but that ended up getting postponed, so I watched Glee.  I hadn't planned on watching Glee, coffee date or no coffee date, because "Glee catches Beiber Fever!" was mentioned on the commercial for tonight, and...I do not have Beiber fever of any kind. In fact, he kinda annoys me...but that's not important right now.

Anyway, my friend Derek called me at around 7:30.

Derek: Are you watching Glee!?!?

Me: Nope. Justin Beiber...meh.

Derek: Yeah, they did Beiber, but watch iiiit!

Me: No.

Derek: YES!

Me: Nooo.

Derek: THEY ARE SINGING TAKE ME OR LEAVE ME!

Me: OMGOMGWHATCHANNELMUSTSEEEETHIS!!!

So I watched Glee, and Rachel and Mercedes were all like " *BOOM* TAKE ME FOR WHAT I AAAAAM!" and I was all "YAY!" and I bounced up and down like a four-year-old child for a few minutes and decided not to completely hate Glee just because they did Justin Beiber, because I totally missed that part of the episode anyway, and they also did My Chemical Romance, so I was okay in the end. (Note: Thanks, Derek!)

Anyway, after Rachel and Mercedes were all like " *BOOM* TAKE ME, BABYYYYY" I was all..."I must watch Rent. And I must do so...NOW!" This is because of my short attention span and the fact that sometimes, when I hear a song from a musical, I'm overcome with insanity until I watch the film version or listen to the soundtrack in its entirety. ...it's a theatre-junkie thing.

So I made coffee, because I was supposed to have coffee tonight anyway. And I added milk and sugar and, just because we have it, a little bit of chocolate syrup, and now I'm just chillaxing, because I'm cool like that. Coffee...Rent...life is beautiful. :)

The Super Creeper: Slender Man

Okay, so Slender Man is this new(-ish) urban legend that came about from an online photo-manipulation contest. Competitors were supposed to take an ordinary photo and make it kinda creepy. One guy put a very tall man-thing in the background, in the shadows, wearing a black suit, and created a backstory for the anomaly that would soon become The Slender Man. An entire Internet meme was born from this one set of photos, and let me just say that it was creeeeepy. I'm a little bit behind in the times, apparently, because I guess this isn't a new thing; I found out about it on a forum I'm a member of, but it's a few years old.

That's one of the original photo-manips. Notice the tall, faceless figure in the background. That's right: You never see his face. Ever. Because apparently, he doesn't have one. But he does have these freakin' crazy Dr. Octopus tentacle things that come out of his back to help him catch people. And they're stretchy! So are his arms.

Anywho, MarbleHornets on YouTube started releasing videos on their page. It started with an introduction, and became a documentary. A creepy, creepy documentary. Well, it's actually a "mockumentary," because it's completely fictional, but still. Anyway, I like it enough to share it with you people! Check it out! Right now, there are about 35 videos, but each one is only about two minutes long (with a few rare exceptions), and they're amazzzing.

Oh, by the way...it's best to watch the videos late at night. When you have to go outside soon...by yourself. :)

"LOL," "Haha," And Other Useless Phrases

Come on, people. You're killing the English language.

I admit that I do things sometimes would make my high school English teachers attack me, but I also don't think it's quite the same thing. For some reason, chatspeak makes me want to kick a cinder block. However, I'm fully aware that taking such an action would only result in a broken toe, and people would continue this terrible act of linguistic abuse. As such, I'll just write about it. It's much less painful, even though...people will still continue this terrible act of linguistic abuse.

For starters, it doesn't further the conversation. If that's really all you have to say...don't say anything. It's an unnecessary statement that only annoys the people you're saying it to. When I get a Facebook notification, it'd be nice to see something that actually relates to the topic at hand, or at least keeps the conversation going. Nobody is stimulated to carry on by "lol." (Though I admit that, most of the time, nobody is stimulated to carry on without "lol," either...)

To that, I'll simply add that it's hard to hold a conversation with someone who has nothing else to say but "lol." As I said above: If that's all you have to say, don't say anything. (I know this comes across as a bit haughty, but..come on. Think about it for a few seconds: doesn't it drive you crazy to have three or four notifications that simply say "hehe"?)

Some of you will substitute "haha" or "hehe" in place of an "lol." This is acceptable, but...not always necessary. Sometimes, it's better just to either leave it alone, or note your amusement through context. Or smilies. Smilies are a completely acceptable form of voicing your emotions. ...unless you abuse them, in which case you can count them on the "PleaseStopKillingMyLanguage" list, too. If you can't note said amusement, one of those phrases can be included, but...never by itself. 


The occasional chatspeak is acceptable. But sometimes, it just pushes the line a liiiittle too much.

In closing, I'd just like to say: lolroflcoptergoesswahswahswahswah

At Least I Can Still Hear...

I got my ear pierced on New Year's Eve. I was going to get both pierced, but it would have been expensive, and on top of that, I really wanted to leave one for my brother-from-another-mother to do. Anyway, that's been a little more than six weeks ago, right? Right. The piercing guy said it should be healed in about six weeks.

Today, I started bouncing up and down when I remembered the earrings I bought from Hot Topic. (I love that store. Some people love puppies. Some people love chocolate. I love Hot Topic. ...and chocolate.) I got excited and couldn't wait to get home from Church and change my piercing out. I went bounding into the bathroom sink like a golden retriever after a bouncy ball, washed my current piercing, and untwisted the ends of the earring I was wearing. It slid off sooo easy, it was like someone had buttered it. I sanitized the new earring, and put it in the front hole...

...only to realize that I couldn't make it come out the other side. A shocking realization came upon me at that point. I stared in shock at the mirror for a few seconds, the piercing half-dangling from my ear, and heard the scream echo through my mind: "OMG IT'S NOT HEALED YET!" followed immediately by a verbal "OW OW OW!"

I ran into the living room in a state of panic. "Female Tenant! Female Tenant, heeeelp meeee!" This was, of course, said in the most brave voice I could muster. I was, by this time, a little queasy... She couldn't help me, though, because she's actually sick, and didn't have the stomach for it.

Bravely, I ran back to the bathroom to try again. This time, I noticed something that made my stomach do flips: blood. Now, I really don't have a weak stomach, but this was just wrong! Blood should never come from an ear! At this point, I was growing desperate.

Further horror ensued after I went to Landlord.

Me: Hey, Landlord...how do you feel about shoving a sharp object through my ear?

Landlord: Yeah, I can do that...

-Ten Minutes Later-

Landlord: Yeah...I can't do this.

Fortunately, there was another female at the house, just by chance. Landlord got her attention. I helped.

Me: Hey...you're a girl, right? FIX MY EAR!??

Which she did with no problem. I don't understand what kind of witchcraft helped her, because nobody else in the freakin' house could figure it out. I guess it needs a few more weeks to heal. We'll try again in November.

It's About Phantom, So It's Long...

Today, I'm suffering from Writer's Block. So I figured I'd just talk about a minor obsession. I like movies...probably more than most people. As in, some people are content to watch a movie once. I've seen a few movies at least twenty times, and one movie in particular I have seen (exactly) 47 times. That movie is Phantom of the Opera. I've actually seen four or five different versions of Phantom of the Opera. I've also read both of the major novelizations (The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux; Susan Kay's Phantom). Now, in all likelihood, you're thinking "Yeah...that's a little bit much." I know. It's intense.

By the way, you should listen to this while you read. It'll set the mood. :D

So, why Phantom? I'll be honest: I'm not sure. The first time I was exposed to it was (I believe) January or February of 2005. It was the film version, still in theaters, and I was in my Freshman year of High School, and my choir teacher (a wonderful lady) mentioned going to see it with the class. I wasn't really all that interested, and forgot about it. So I showed up at school one day, and the entire choir was sitting in the lobby waiting for me. They were all "WHERE WERE YOU!?" And I was like "...?" Apparently, everyone was waiting for me to go on this trip I had totally forgotten about, but I was excited for two reasons. First, I was getting out of my morning class (I'd do anything to skip math...) and secondly, I love horror films, and a free horror film was brilliant, in my opinion. ...However, it turns out that Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera wasn't actually a horror film. It was a musical.

I didn't know this, and my excitement level dropped considerably when I realized this. I was not a musical person then. I mean, I loved music, and I was a singer...but theatre was a completely new concept to me, and musical theatre struck me as terribly boring. It dawned on me, as the Overture started, that this was not going to be anything like I had expected. By the time the film had made it through "The Music of the Night," I was hooked. My poor teacher had no idea what she had started in me.

A few months later, my sister (who was only, like, ten at the time) went to a yardsale down the block and bought a few CD's. She happened to randomly buy a CD that further increased my obsession: Sarah Brightman's Encore. Track 4 on that particular album is "Think of Me" from Phantom. I had it memorized in a matter of hours. A few months later, I purchased the 2004 film soundtrack, and had the entire film committed to memory soon. I joined a Phantom of the Opera site in September '05, and I got the movie for Christmas in 2005. It ran on loop in my room for a few weeks.

Later on, I found out that the musical was based on a French novel by one Gaston Leroux. Turns out that the tiny library at my school had a copy of it. I read it. I read it again. On top of that, I watched the 1925 Lon Chaney silent film, and then got my hands on a copy of Kay's Phantom thanks to my friend Terra.

The day before my 18th birthday, my parents took me to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center to see the Andrew Lloyd Webber stage version (Richard Todd Adams as the Phantom, Marni Raab as Christine. I don't remember who Raoul was...don't get me wrong, I lover Raoul, but I can never remember who plays him....with the exception of Patrick Wilson, 2004, because he was astounding). I'm pretty sure Dad fell asleep, but I was on the edge of my seat. I saw it again last Spring on Broadway (John Cudia, Marni Raab).

Anyway, Phantom was the start of my interest in theatre. It's also been the start of a lot of great friendships (that website, y'know...) (including the fabulous Darcy, who I'm totally married to on Facebook, because she's splendid). I've seen ALW's version exactly 50 times (2004 film and stage show combined) and I can't count the number of times I've listened to the OLC recording.

Obsession? I think so, but it's lovely, so I don't mind so much. Plus, backstage areas aren't creepy anymore! Actually...they are, that was a lie. But whatever. [/rant]

Productivity (Part II)

I think all of this productivity is going to my head, makin' me just a little crazy... Not like "I MUST FREE THE ZOO CRITTERS!!" crazy, but a little bit "off," if you get my drift.

Today, I was looking for cleaning supplies, kinda running an inventory to figure out what the boarding house needs in order to be not gross. So I opened the cabinet under that bathroom sink, revealing....a Clorox Toilet Wand...with refills. Most people (typically myself included) would be all "Okay, cool. Mark the toilet de-nasty-ifier off the list." I, on the other hand, got so excited that I actually did a little happy dance. Like that picture over there...without the carnivore.

Anyway, I've pretty much decided to make it my job to keep the house in shape. Everyone else works, and I'm, er..."between jobs," so hey, I might as well do something, right?

Nights in the boarding house are fun, though. We have a couple of new tenants. I like this, because it means that I'm not the only tenant anymore. And it's a lot of fun. I've never played so many card games in my life! I'm a big fan of the game "BS." You know which game I'm talking about, right? If not, you should definitely Google it; you're missing out.

It's really fun with gullible people...

Me: -lays down two 5's- Two 5's.

Girl: BS! ... ... AGH!!

Next Person: -lays down three sixes- Three 6's.

Girl: BS!! ... ... ...AGH!

She had almost the entire deck by the end of the game...poor thing. Oddly enough...she never called BS when I actually was being all sneaky and deceptive and stuff. Silly girl...hehe...

... ... Toilet wand. :D

Productivity

-Not- a Picture of Productivity. . .

Do you know what I just love? No, probably not...so I'm gonna fill you in. This may come as a surprise, but I love productivity. Despite the fact that I went to bed at around 3 (because I discovered the (slightly illegal) joys of VisualBoy Advance), I was up and bouncing at around 10. Quick shower, and the day began. As Landlord was leaving, he was like, "Hey Pete, I'm gonna put you on floor duty today!"

"Okay! No problem!"

So I vacuumed and swept the living room and kitchen.

And then swept the bathroom.

And cleaned the bathroom top to bottom and did dishes and washed laundry and took out the trash and shoveled part of the driveway (some of it is still frozen solid...). I've only been up for, like...three hours. I feel all productive and stuff. Well...I did. Now I'm blogging. And Facebooking. Not exactly productive, but...hey, I deserve a break, right?? :)

A New Adventure

OH! A house! A hooooouse!! In a Kansas City suburb. I'm so freakin' excited it's not even funny! I'm moving on February 25th, which means that I'll be headed out of the boarding house. It's been fun, but...I need a new adventure. Like, seriously. And living with my amazing cousin (Aaaaamber) and Kindre (who I am sure is also amazing, but I have nothing to confirm this, as I have never actually met her in person).

Floor Plan? Yes, Please.

Anyway...This is the floorplan. It looks like, judging from what I was told, I'll be in the upstairs bedroom, the one on the left-hand side. Look! We have a back yard!! With a SHED! Do you have any idea how cool that is!? Think of all the cool things you can keep in a shed! Shovels and mowers and the bodies of shady neighbors such!

There's this cute little side-porch thing, too. It makes me smile! So. 15 days. In that 15 days, I need to finish my job search, or at least get closer to being finished than I am now. I make calls, but...I'm not really gettin' anywhere.

Also, I had my weekly splurge today. I went out for coffee with a friend, and it was delicious, and may also explain why I'm kinda bouncing... I do love caffeine.

And in case you were wondering, my Wartortle from the all-nighter finally evolved into a Blastoise. He's a beast, and I'm gonna use him to totally dominate the Fire-type Gym on Cinnabar Island. And Mew has hit Lvl. 40. He's delightful. Yeah.

I'm surprised that I'm actually still playing Pokemon. I had kinda only expected it to be for the all-nighter, but now I'm a bit hooked. Gives me something to do with all of my over-abundant time. (That's right. I have free time. Be jealous.)

Driving

It has come to light that my driving is...nothing short of terrifying. I kinda resent this, just a little. See, I've been driving for over six years, and, like most people who drive, I've developed a very specific way of doing things. Perhaps if I explain a little bit about my driving, it'll help to ease the sheer, pure, unadulterated horror my passengers feel. ...or maybe it will affirm their fears... Without further hesitation, I present: 

"Rules That I Made Up and Laws I Don't Follow"

A Work of Incriminating Non-Fiction By Pete

Firstly, anyone riding in my car should expect a few things:

1.  To buckle up.
2.  To know the location of the so-called "Oh Crap!" handle.
3.  To know how distracting yelling can be.

If you don't buckle up, you'll regret it almost instantaneously. As we go careening around the first corner, you will want to grab the Oh Crap! handle. Buckling up will help keep you off of my lap and within reach of that handle. Also, yelling may result in minor road rage.

Rules I Made Up:

1. Don't Pull Out In Front of Me and Actually Do The Speed Limit. I go over by at least 5mph most of the time, and you are slowing me down. It's very uncool, and it makes me sad.
2. Right On Red is Enforced. I don't want to wait behind you. If I'm driving, I probably want to reach my destination with much haste, and you are slowing me down. It's very uncool, and it makes me sad.
3. Use Your Blinker Wisely. Please don't hit the brakes and turn your blinker on when you're still a full 30 seconds away from the corner that you wish to turn on. It's misleading, because there two more turns between where we are currently located and the turn you are going to take. You are slowing me down. It's very uncool, and...well, you get it by this point.
4. At All Gas Stations, Pump #7 Belongs to Me. That is all for this point.
5. Please Refrain From "Tailgating." In fact, don't follow me at all. When I'm being followed, I actually slow down and force said follower to pass me (if we are the only two people on the highway). For some reason, it just really makes me paranoid, so don't pull up behind me and then slow down. I feel bad when you do that. I feel like I'm slowing you down, which is very uncool, and probably makes you very sad.
6. I Retain Rights To Follow You. That's right. Rule #5 doesn't apply to me. Deal with it!

Laws That I Don't Follow (All the Time):

1. Speed Limits. Yeah, I know: Nobody follows speed limits. Yeah...but I really don't follow them. If I'm in Branson, it's a bit different. Police like to hide here, waiting for unsuspecting 20-somethings. Outside of Branson, the speed "limit" is more like a speed "guideline."
2. Those Little Signs Before Curves That Say Things Like "Curve Ahead 30MPH." That's ridiculous. As a general rule, I take curves at X+20=My Speed when 'X' is equal to the limit MPH on the sign. So if the sign says "Curve Ahead 30MPH," you may expect me to take that curve at roughly 50MPH.
3. Stop Signs. I stop at a lot of them, but let's face it...most of them are kinda like "Yield" signs...not completely necessary, but there anyway, letting you know that you should probably look around.
4. Drive With Your Shoes On. I'm sorry, but I don't understand why it's totally necessary to have your shoes on while driving. They're uncomfortable when you're driving for 2+ hours, and I'm taking them off. (Note: I do keep a pair of slip-ons under my seat, in case I get pulled over and they want to make sure I'm wearing shoes. I'm sure that law is important enough that they check, right??)

This has been "Rules That I Made Up and Laws That I Don't Follow." Thank You.

Having said all that...I am an excellent driver. The trick to driving is knowing what you're doing and being able to watch and predict what other people do. And, if you were wondering, my accident rate is 3 accidents in 6 years. The above is a tried-and-true method. :) ...Some of you will never get in my car now, I just know it...

A Penny Saved...

I have a minor problem: I like to spend money. Currently, I'm living in Branson. In less than one month from now, I'll (tentatively) be headed to a new city. An odd and slightly alarming realization has settled in on me, though: this requires me to save money. "Save! But that's, like...like, the opposite of spend!" I know. Scary, huh? (Well, not really. The opposite of "spend" is "gain," but let's not get into technicalities, okay?) This is not something I am good at, as anybody who knows me will testify.

In fact, ten minutes ago, I nearly made a crazy-random impulse buy on Amazon. Sure, it was only $7, but that's $7 that I didn't need to spend! I have to have a set sum of money by the end of the month...and this can only happen if I start using something that I really don't have much of: self-discipline.

That said, I need to stop spending money!!

That...is not nearly as easy as it sounds. In a world where a gallon of gasoline costs three dollars (or more...meh), this is actually a giganitc feat. Especially for somebody like me. I don't need to buy a new book. Solution:  Steal it. Don't buy a new book!

I like to drive. In fact, I love it. But it's costly, and I do it way to much. Gotta cut it down some. I spend about thirty dollars a week on gas. Thankfully, as you know, my car isn't going anywhere right now. The snow has made sure of that. This whole "omg-can't-drive-gotta-save-money" thing will become more of an issue after the snow melts away.

Hanging out with friends? An absolute favorite pastime. This, I can do, but I have to find a way to do it that is free, or at least really, really cheap. Movie nights are an excellent alternative to going out for coffee. I've been to Denny's three times in the last week. At least fifteen dollars, altogether.

Another thing: I'm a smoker, but I'm not addicted (yet...). It's five dollars for one pack of cigarettes. Anybody who has ever smoked can attest to this: one pack doesn't last long. I usually make a pack last 3-4 days. That's still $10 a week. This is an extra expense that I can cut down on. I actually am cutting down on it, mind you. ...I gave my pack of cigarettes to my landlord tonight.

Me: Take this, okay?

Landlord: Okay... -puzzled look- And do what with them??

Me: (with a look of crazy in mah eyes) Hiiiide themmm...

Landlord: -thoroughly confused, maybe a little terrified-

If I can't get my hands on them, I can't smoke. If I can't smoke, I don't spend money on such a completely frivolous and unhealthy waste. That is actually a very, very simple solution. I'm so proud of myself! :D

Basically, here is what I've done: I sat down tonight and made a budget. I may spend no more than $15 a week. That's it.  Everything else needs to be saved. Otherwise, I will never be able to leave Branson not make the amount of money I need. ...childhood was easier. Get me a time machine!

Edit: Just so you know, it's nearly 4:00am. That all-nighter I pulled the other night?? I think it may have been pointless...hehe...

Snow

"Snowpocalypse": I kinda thought that was a bit dramatic. It's the pet-name for the crazy blizzards happening all over the US right now. I was like, "Eh...it's probably not gonna be that bad." And then it was that bad, and I was all, "Eh, it'll melt in a day or two." And then it stuck around for four days, and right when it was almost gone, it snowed another six inches. And then, today, it snowed, like, eight inches more. 

The fresh snow was beautiful. There is this perfect sheet of perfectness going right across the front yard of the boarding house. As I stepped outside to view it in all of it's perfectness, I was overwhelmed by the insatiable urge to release my inner 4-year-old all over the place. I wanted...to build a snowman. My heart leapt with giddy joy at the prospect of creating a gigantic snowy being, and I ran outside and grabbed a handful of snow...only to discover that the snow wouldn't pack. Anyway, I did end up walking around the neighborhood and taking some pictures!!

As you can see, I'm snowed in, yet again. This is the third time in less than two full weeks. I don't mind it so much, unless I have plans. Like...today I was going to go get coffee and have a movie day with a friend. Except I can't make my car move, and neither can she, and teleportation hasn't been invented yet in the real world. So it's just going to have to be post-poned. And that's okay, because I would rather drive on clear roads anyway. I don't have the cleanest snow-driving record, y'know?

Like, last week. I was going to go to my friend Melissa's to go snowboarding. I live, by the way, in Branson, Missouri. If you aren't familiar with Branson, just know that it's located in the Ozarks, a really hilly area of Missouri/Arkansas/part of Oklahoma. So I'm headed to Melissa's house. The roads were kinda clear, but not perfect. The snow from a couple days before was melting away, but fresh snow was falling. I came around a corner and headed down a hill/curve thing. It was at this point that my car decided that it would lose traction and smash into a fence. ...nice.

I love this picture... ^

 The Welk Resort. AKA, the place with huge parking lots near my house. They make a nice place to walk when it isn't 9 degrees outside.

The Landlord's car...hehehe...

That's right. That's a Snowman Messenger of Death. And, in case you were wondering...I'm the only person online to publish the phrase, "Snowman Messenger of Death." Don't believe me? Google it! :P

The Hound of Doom

Don't get me wrong: I love dogs. They're cute and they wag their tails and when they look up at you with those big brown eyes, your heart just kinda...melts. :D What dog people don't realize, though, is that dogs are actually genuinely evil. I don't think they mean to be; it's an inherent trait, not unlike the water cycle. It's just how it happens to be.

Last night is perfect evidence of this. Last night, I realized exactly why I am a cat person. Dogs...are...loud.

After 36 hours of being awake, I decided to go to bed around midnight. I crawled into bed and, for the first time in ages, fell asleep immediately. It was wonderful. I would easily have slept until mid-morning, blissfully unaware of my cool, dark surroundings. But four hours later, I was assaulted. I was violently and unexpectedly thrust from my sleep by a dog. Barking. Somewhere just beyond the back yard of the boarding house I live in.

At first, the dog seemed to have some reason for alarm. I could think of many, because I live about three minutes from a very, very large lake, and there's a lot of wildlife in the area. For example, it is all too possible that a small rabbit had made it's way into the neighbors yard, and the dog was just trying to tell his owner, "HEY, THERE'S A BUNNY! THERE'S A BUNNY! THEEEERE'SSSS A BUUUUUUUNNYYYYY!!!" Or a deer. Maybe even a skunk. As time went on, though, it became completely evident that this was simply not the case. The dog had now developed a pattern of four swift barks, followed by two seconds of pausing, and three barks, a second's time between each. The pattern, however, was just unstable enough to keep me from getting used to it, and thus tuning it out. Every once in a while, he'd toss in an extra bark or two, or get really loud and then really soft.

About ten minutes into the violent assault on the quiet night, I grew annoyed. I turned on the ceiling fan, hoping to dull the sharpness of the barking beast, if not drown it out completely. This proved to be completely useless, and, as a result, I had to find an extra blanket, because it was already kinda chilly, and the fan made me cold. 

Twenty minutes into the Florence Foster Jenkins-esque aria, I arose, only slightly disgruntled, and made my way to the kitchen for a bit of relief from the sound, and because I was thirsty. The sound of the dog was incapable, it seemed, of penetrating the house into the kitchen. As I opened the fridge and pulled out the milk to fill a glass, it dawned on me that the barking was, in fact, capable of penetrating the house into the kitchen. The assault began again, at full force. 

This dog was using freaking psychological warfare! I swear, it must have been a ninja or something. It waited until I thought I was safe, lulling me into a false sense of security in the safe-haven that was the kitchen, and then went right back at it. If it could build a giant wooden horse, it probably would have tricked me into letting it into the house. 

I drank my milk with a scowl and quickly retreated to my room, which was now freezing due to the fan. After pulling yet another blanket onto the bed, I lay there for another twenty minutes as the bombs exploded outside. 

The cure, as it turns out, was simply to wait until the sun rose. Apparently, this dog had some kind of weakness to the sun, because when 7am rolled around...the barking ceased, and I could finally sleep. I ended up sleeping well into the afternoon, though, which almost defeated the purpose of having stayed up for 35 hours the day before. But only almost, for here we are, at midnight, and I'm actually sleepy for once. As such, I bid you lovely people good night. And please, from now on...get cats. Your neighbors will appreciate it.

All Night Long!

Lately, my sleep schedules been off. Last night was the worst, but it's still been pretty bad lately. I'm usually up until 4:00 or 5:00. Not complaining, really. I don't mind being nocturnal. It's just not the "norm." Usually, I don't intentionally try to follow the norm, but for some reason, being up ridiculously late just isn't fun when you are the only one up and you read things like Dracula and watch scary movies all the time and you like to go for walks around the block, but it's three in the morning and you're just out of running distance of the house and you can hear cracking in the woods that are twelve feet away.

Admittedly, the sound is just a squirrel pitter-pattering about. Or a doe, foraging for the leafy goodness under the snow. But in my mind, it's a deranged mutant lemur with one eye and thirst for human blood. And I'm just not ready to die. There's only one way to fix this problem: I must readjust to a -eyeroll- normal sleep schedule. This way, I can thoroughly enjoy a walk, because deranged mutant lemurs are nocturnal, I'm sure.

So I have the cure! I'm pulling an all-nighter. I'll stay up all night, and all day tomorrow, and go to bed at a decent time! To do this, I've done a few things. First, I located several cans of Mountain Dew. This may seem like a small thing, but to me, it's huge, because I love caffeine, and I know that at around 6 am or so, I'm going to say, "Meh...so sleeeeepy" and pass out on the couch. Secondly, I dug out my old Game Boy Color. Yeah, you remember those things. Four buttons (A, B, Start and Select) and a directional pad with a screen that doesn't glow and is actually battery operated...and you have to change the batteries! Along with that, I found my Pokemon Blue cartridge. Third, I invited a couple friends along. I've got here my buddies Matt and Derek, and we're just gonna nerd it up tonight with our Mountain Dew and our Pokemon.

It's a Blast From the Past!!

We do have to be quiet and sneaky, though. My landlord has to get up at 6:30 to get around for work, and he would not be pleased to hear a bunch of yelling and giddy laughter several hours before he has to crawl out of bed.

Anyway, I'll probably randomly update this entry from time to time if anything fun actually happens. I'm gonna go for now though...'cuz I just got me a Squirtle. And he's all turtle-y and cute.

:D

UPDATE!: So, yeah. I started with a Squirtle (I name him Torty...just because..). And now I have a Nidoran(male) and a Nidoran(female) and a Paras. I love Paras. They're just so...mushroom-y and fun and stuff. Anyway, I totally destroyed Brock. Okay, it was easy...because I had Torty the Squirtle and he's all like "IMMA SHOOT BUBBLES AT CHOO!!" and Onyx was all like "I...am...so...not immune to bubbles. Or general hygiene in and of itself!" And then I got the Boulder Badge, told Brock how much of a loser he was, and left. Oh yeah, and Matt wanted me to mention that Brock also has a Geodude...but Geodude wasn't really worth mentioning, so it's whatever. Now I'm in Mt. Moon, pwnin' da Zubats. FTW.

UPDATE! (v. 2.0): Hey, what's up, guys!? Rockin' out to some Pokemon with Pete! It's Matt, btw. Hehe, yeah, we just heard this whole shebang about Power Rangers from Derek...what a nerd. Haha, I can't say much 'cause Pete and I are worse with our Pokemon and DragonBall Z...and then there's my love for MORTAL KOMBAT!! ;) So, in about 3 hours Pete and I are gonna duel it out at some DBZ and probably start yelling at each other hahahaha. I can just see it now! 

Pete: "You're going down, Matt!!" 

Matt: "I don't think so! I'll kick your butt!" 

Pete: "Hi-ya!! Take that!" 

Matt: "I hate you!!" -Matt mashes Pete's buttons on his controller to make him mess up- 

Yeah, that's right; I just went 3rd grade on him! Bwahaha! :)

UPDATE! (...again): Okay. Pete here. I just wanted to let you know that, even after I kinda dissed Geodude earlier...I caught one. But I don't love him. Nope. He's not that cool. In fact, the game said "Do you want to give your GEODUDE (because it always capitalizes names for some reason) a nickname?" And I said, "Yes." I named him "Meh...". Yes. "Meh," followed by an ellipses. So every time the game mentions him during a battle, it sounds really unenthusiastic. "Meh...grew to level 12." Torty has now evolved, by the way, into a Wartortle. Also, I caught a Paras. And I do love him...because he's not a Geodude.

UPDATE!: IIIII caught a Mew. That is all.

Remember 3 Hours Ago...

...when I said I was going to bed? That wasn't a lie. In fact, it's exactly what I did. But here's the thing...I am still awake.

No. I'm more than awake. You remember that time when you were a little kid, and you were all, like, "OMGCOOKIES" at 9 o'clock at night, and your mother gave you a couple of them and said, "No more, or you'll be up all night." Because of the sugar, right? Well, tonight, I bought a bag of Oreo's with a couple of friends. ...I don't live at home. ...And I was all, like, "OMGCOOKIES!" and ate way too many of them. And for a while, I felt kinda sick, and so I lounged around being lazy. Then I started the blog and wrote the first entry and  got sleepy and went to bed.

At this point, I would like to make the following note: Oreo's are delicious. You're probably nodding in agreement, or smiling. Maybe you're eating an Oreo at this moment. Anyway, Oreo's are delicious. But I'm convinced that inside of every Oreo is a tiny little monster. One or two of these monsters are harmless. You eat them, they sit in your stomach for a while and then they get bored and go away.

When you eat 20+ Oreo's, though, you have a small army of monsters living in your stomach. That's like a rave just waiting to happen. They pull out these ginormous speakers and get ready to party. But they don't party...yet. No. They wait. They wait while you turn off the computer. They wait while you put on your PJ's and brush your teeth. They wait while you go back to the kitchen one more time to get a final drink of water before retiring for the night. They wait until the moment your head hits the pillow and then...this starts playing:

And it keeps playing. For about three hours. Or more, since I'm still sitting here typing like a cracked out monkey who is only alive for the purpose of being cracked out. Right now, most normal people are sleeping. But noooo, not me. I'm practically bouncing up and down on the bed like a deranged madman, while 20-30 tiny little horned monsters are cranking up the bass and waving glo-sticks around in my stomach. This is kinda like a caffeine rush, but without coffee. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying it right now, but in 6 or so hours, when I decide that I should wake up because there are people coming over today for the Super Bowl party and my general living area looks like it's been ripped apart by a vicious mountain lion and it needs to be cleaned, I'm going to curse that nearly empty bag of Oreo's that is sitting on the coffee table. And that bag of Oreo's...

will laugh at me.

Entry: The First

The hardest part (for me, anyway) about things like blogging isn't actually coming up with things to write about. I'm a talker, so I've always got something to say. It isn't like I'm going to run out of topics to discuss, because I'm likely to rant about whatever happens to be on my mind, be it theatre, or websites, or donuts. No, the BIGGEST issue for me is:

Naming The Blog! Now, I know, this may sound trivial, but to me, it isn't. And since this blog is mine, that's what matters. Not that I'm close-minded or hate opinions, mind you. It's just that it's my blog, y'know? I want it to have that...personal touch.

So I was all, like: "Hmmm...title...title..." for about two hours today. I went through song lyrics, book quotes and even some of my own random musings trying to come up with something snappy, something eyecatching, something that screams "WOW! THERE'S A BLOG THAT SOUNDS AMAAAAAZING!" And guess what!

I came up empty-handed. Every time. I couldn't find one that properly summed up what I want this blog to say, or something that wasn't completely cliche. And then it dawned on me, like the sun rising slowly. Veeeery slowly. Now, don't get me wrong: I'm not arrogant, but I am an individual. I'm not easy to completely summarize. I'm merely a Peticus. As such, "Merely a Peticus."

If you're going to follow the blog, I recommend two things.

1. Coffee. I'm not boring, no. That's not the implication here. It's just that everything in life is more enjoyable with a cup of dark, delicious liquid joy close at hand.
2. Comment. I like feedback. It makes me smile! Like this ------> :D

Anyway, that's all for now. It's about 3:30, and I'm all sleepy and stuff. Gooood night!