My Blog

MMkay, I've officially made the executive decision that I don't have enough time or motivation to write about only pop culture stuff. Yes, it's true. So, from now on, I'm going to write about whatever pops into this little brain of mine and you can read it, deal? Deal.

Soooo, Thanksgiving! Yay! Daniel and I spent this one with my family and he survived the onslaught of crazy family members. Go him! And go me for not worrying about it a lot. All went fairly well. We ate, we watched so much football it was bordering on obsessive, and we went to see Twilight the next day. Loved the Twilight part, hated the way they made it. It looked so amateur. Pah-lease try harder to at least let me delude myself into thinking you tried on this one, okay? Jeez, it made so much money, but not on it's cinematic effects. I mean really.

So Logan's officially 13 weeks into potential daddyhood. I know, frightening thought of frightening thoughts. My baby brother is going to be a DADDY. He and Kayla (the mom) seem to be handling all this in stride. Mom and I are freakin' out a little. She's in her second trimester. At the beginning of June, I'm gonna be Auntie Em. I'm just not ready for these things yet!!

Work is starting to really hop. But of course, it's retail so I saw that happening. Unfortunately, it's not hopping quite as much this year due to financial difficulties of the populus. Come buy books people! We've got some sweet ones. And while you're there, pick up a coffee and a cookie, maybe a few cds. DVDs wouldn't kill you either. :) Just sayin'.

Christmas. Blech. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. But working in retail, and seeing the "true" Christmas spirit in shoppers can put you right off the holiday happy train. People are getting meaner and more impatient. I swear, it's like they forget that we're human beings with feelings too. They want what they want and they want it NOW!!! God forbid we're sold out, because they need it tomorrow morning at 7 am and it's 10:30 pm now. That's totally our fault. -Cue eye roll.

I've decided I'm going to put book recommendations on here because who better than me, really.

Read "The Shack" by William Young, if you haven't already. It's a brilliant book that will liberate you if you go in with an open mind. It's religious fiction, but man are there some whopper morals built into that book! Buy it, read it, love it, share it!

Retail Rants

There's a book at Barnes and Noble called "Waiter Rant" and it is all about being a waiter and the kind of crap you put up with. So, recently I saw this and decided that there should also be a book called "Retail Rant: The pay sucks and so do the people" or something similar to that.

There are things I've noticed in my stint as a retail employee. These are things I would like to bring to your attention so that you are wiser. One- we don't get paid nearly enough to deal with the kind of crap many people make us deal with. Being paid under eight dollars and hour is already degrading enough without pissy people coming and making our days worse. Look at it this way if you will: Work in general puts people in bad moods. We're already on edge. If people keep treating us as though we are subserviant, at some point we will explode. If you frequently do this, there's a better chance that it could be you.

Another point I'd like to make is this: we may be paid next to nothing and work in a position that very intelligent monkeys could fill, but we are not stupid. Okay, I'll cede that some retail workers (read teenagers) could use a few brain cells sometimes, and there are some people who just aren't up to 75 on the IQ scale. However, there are those of us who fall into two other categories. The first category is that we were desperate for income, okay? The economy blows and no one wants to hire and almost college grad. So we took what we could get. This does not mean we sold our intelligence once we went on the payroll. The other category is comprised of people with good paying jobs who still need more money to live well, or make ends meet. I personally know several people who fall into this category. They are smarter than most people combined, but for some reason, need the extra cash. Take one of my good friends for example. He is an executive at an insurance company but his daughter just entered Princeton and I can tell you first hand, college is not, I repeat NOT, cheap.

The last thing I'd like to point out is: we do everything so please try not to make our jobs harder. I understand you don't realize some things you do wrong. However, we do not like cleaning up your trash, picking up after your children, or jumping through hoops for your aproval. It's a job. Most of us don't do it because we always dreamed of being in retail. We go, we work, we get paid. Sure, we'll be nice if you are. We are people after all. But the next time you come in with a bad attitude, snapping at us and acting as though we're incompitent, just remember: we don't mind wasting your time and walking you around the store five times before taking you to what you want. Actually, we often enjoy it.

Letdown at Lubbock

Well, folks, back to current events/pop culture/sports/whatever pops into my head. This day was a sad day in Longhorn football. The University of Texas faced Texas Tech in Lubbock for what was supposed to be a vitrual shootout between two undefeated Lone Star teams. Two of the best quarterbacks in college ball faced off- Graham Harrell and Colt Mccoy. Both men are prime candidates for the Heisman and accomplished atheletes in their own rights. All eyes were on them as the game kicked off at 7pm.
No one could have predicted the following first quarter as Texas Tech was the first on the scoreboard. Touchdown? Field goal maybe? No. Of all the ways to score, it was a rookie mistake by the offensive coordinator who called for a running play from the end zone that allowed Tech to take the early lead (not to mention the more important momentum) of two points. The game would follow in a strange, and for UT, sluggish fashion. Colt was 7 for 15 in the first quarter which most likely baffled coaches, fans and analysts alike as he was at an 81.8 percent pass completion before the start. UT couldn't really find a rhythm. Unfortunately for them, Texas Tech was at home with momentum and boy could you tell! They were hitting pass after pass, and running as though the Horns weren't even there.
One of the big problems (among many) for the Longhorns was their ailing secondary. Graham Harrell didn't need to thread needles to his wide receivers because there were several gaping holes in UT secondary defense that NINE Tech receivers seemed to find and exploit without fail. Texas Tech ran the score up to 18-0 before the Longhorns could capitalize on a turnover in Raider territory for a field goal. Sadly, that wasn't even until the second quarter.
Another problem for the Longhorns, and more specifically Mccoy, was the breakdown of their offensive line. Colt Mccoy had very little time to hit any of his open men (of which there were few) because the Raiders plowed through the Texas line with ease. At one point Mccoy was nailed by two big linesmen and was thoroughly checked on the sideline. On the plays that the line did hold for Mccoy, he held the ball far too long and his scrambles, for which he is known to pick up serious yardage, were highly unsuccessful.
Injuries also plagued the Texas team and took out two star players fairly early in play. One of their best defensive ends- Brian Orakpo- went down early and never returned while clutch receiver Quan Cosby was out most of the game. Usual go-to guy for Mccoy, Shipley couldn't seem to catch much of anything until the second half. On top of all that the entire rushing game for the Longhorns amounted to a pathetic 80 yards for the night.
It wasn't until the fourth quarter that glimpses of the real UT football team started to shine through. Texas had managed (with the help of a few miraculous plays) to hang somewhat close to the Raiders with a score of 29-19. Mccoy managed a long pass to Shipley for a touchdown early in the fourth, giving Horns fans reason to hope. The defense stepped it up and held the Red Raiders to a field goal and for Colt Mccoy, the game was once again manageable. Six points down with under six minutes to play, UT was ready to win it. Mccoy and the Longhorn offense burned over four minutes in a drive that ended in a touchdown, giving the Longhorns their first lead of the night. With a minute and change to play, Tech returned the punt and landed at their 38 yard line. Harrell completed five passes in a row and the game was looking bleak. The nail in the coffin came when Harrell completed a pass to All-Amrican receiver Michael Crabtree who danced his way to a touchdown, leaving one second on the clock.

Needless to say, there was no miraculous kick-off return for Texas as they fell for the first time this season to number six ranked Texas Tech. There are rumors flying as to where each team will land in the standings now, but all will have to wait and see. No matter where they land, there is still plenty of time for ground to be regained or lost. Here's to hoping for a comeback.

Oh, Life!

So I was thinking I would make this blog just random pop culture stuff, but this time, it'll be personal. So hang on to your knickers. Or don't read this one. Doesn't really matter to me either way.

So much has happened over the last month. My dad lost his job a few days after his birthday. Yeah, no fun. A few days after that, we heard from my grandpa's (dad's dad) doctors that he was dying and we needed to say our goodbyes pretty soon. More sucky crapness. Then a lot of drama started with my brother. I can't say what it is, but it's bad. So the last month has been a great big suck hole for my family.

Now, instead of saving money for the beautiful wedding I have in my head, I am helping mom with groceries and bills. I'm never going to get a wedding. I was dreaming before when I had all these plans. I hate being pessimistic, but I can't help it right now. My poor parents are struggling to make ends meet on one income and I'm helping where I can, but I didn't have a lot of extra money to begin with. The whole reason I moved home was to save money.

Yeah... not working so well for me. On top of all this, I haven't seen my fiance in well over a month. I miss him like CRAZY!!! Daniel always has this ability to brighten me up, no matter what's happening. Unfortunately, his power right now is limited severly by the fact that all we have is the stupid phone and we're both depressed that it's been so long since we've been togther.

The only happy thing right this mintue is that I do get to see him in two days. I'm meeting most of his family in Longview on Thursday, and then we're driving back here so he can go to my cousin's wedding on Saturday and meet most of mine. It'll be nice to get away from here for a few days. Yay for mini four day vacations!!

Addiction Thy Name Is House (M.D.)

I bought the fourth season of House a little while ago after not having seen a single episode during the actual aired season. A risky decision, I know. When you think of the fact that TV season are not cheap, it was extra risky. But after having finished watching said season I have come to three conclusions:

A) It was a darn good buy
B) I hate the writers strike so much more now
C) I'm doubling my efforts to try and catch season 5

Hugh Laurie is a comedic god! House is pretty much the only show that I would buy without having seen a single episode on it. Why? Hugh Laurie has a rediculous way of delivering ANY line in the absolute funniest way possible.

To top that off, the entire supporting cast fits around him perfectly. That is a hard thing to do with such a large supporting cast in the first place. But then, just to show how superior this show really is, season 4 brought in even MORE new people, killed off a supporting cast member, and showed less of cast members we had all grown to love. How did this affect my devotion? Not one bit. I loved every single dramatic minute of it. Considering I am not really a dramatic person, that's saying something. It's all about the writing and acting! It's just sick.

During the Writers' Strike last season, I was knee deep in actual life and sadly I had no time to really watch any shows. Sure, I read about how programs were postponed, some were cancelled, others were fighting for their LIVES! But seeing as how I didn't have any real devotions to TV at the time, I didn't care. Now, it's hitting me. I own all of the House seasons. The first three seasons have six discs on them, making what I paid for them worth it. I'm not saying season four wasn't worth it; I already stated that it was. However, the mere four discs made my heart a little sad. There were eight episodes filled with witty lines and snappy reparte that I missed! That is not okay with me.

As for next season, the set up at the end of season four left a gaping hole for some serious drama that I am quite excited about. Friendships will be tested, toes will be stepped on, character growth will happen. Get excited! I am.

Oh, and P.S.- did I mention the fact that Hugh Laurie has the prettiest eyes EVER? Well, he does. Just sayin'...

Engaged in Matrimony or Battle?

On July 26, 2008 I got engaged.

Oh what a happy, joyous, exubrant day! The heavens cheered, my mother wept (and so did his). I'm engaged! Who knew it would ever happen to me? I was skeptical. But lo and behold, the ring was mine, the man was mine! Now all I needed to do was... EVERYTHING!

What's the date?

Where is it?

What time?

What dress?

Color scheme?

Who's in the wedding?

How much are you spending?

OH DEAR GOD!!! What have I done?! Now I see why people elope. My cousin and his new wife actually just got married in Vegas last week. You know what? I don't blame them! I've looked at dresses, cakes, flowers, and invitations with my wedding not for another year. It's overwhelming to say the least. Then you have people who want a say so in what you do and how you run your wedding. Yes, I've heard it's "my day" and I can do whatever I want. Unfortunately it's so NOT true. My fiance does get some say, though he wants none. And I find that ironic since he really is the one I would like some help from. My mother wants a lot of say, though I would rather her not have quite as much. Then there's extended family who want to come and I don't have the funds to feed and entertain them.

Since when did a wedding morph into a day/afternoon/evening of entertainment for your friends and family. It's "my day" but on that day, I have to worry about whether everyone is having fun, whether they like the ceremony, whether they are enjoying the food and music. This is why people elope!!

And yet I can't because do you know why people don't elope? Because their families would hunt them down and kill them if they did. I've already been threatened by my grandmother. I have no choice. But if I had any advice for brides, it would be this: save your money, go to a JP and use the money to start your new life.