Strbellysneetch’s Weblog

21: The number of pages my math homework ended up being when I was done with it. Seriously…I don’t joke about math.

84: The approximate number of times I ended up erasing something while doing my math homework over the past week (this is not too bad considering there were over 100 problems due).

1: The number of times today that I ran into someone that I went to high school with, didn’t know what to say, and well…felt awkward. Also the number of times Lucy peed on my floor (which is disappointing because she’s been doing so well).

500: The approximate number of stairs I climbed throughout the day at work while chasing down information for my stupid weekly court reports (because every time something is printed/faxed I have to go upstairs)…it’s all the fault of a f-ing fax machine that no one felt like fixing for a few days. It will be like this for a couple of more weeks too (2).

3: The number of times I had to move my car today because my work does not provide parking for anyone lower than a supervisor or medical staff. Also, oddly enough, the number of times I honked at morons while driving around today.

10: The number of times I cursed the heat today (mainly because I made the poor choice of wearing pants).

2: The number of biology tests I’ve had to take this week and do poorly on because I was behind a week (normally it would have only been one). Also the number of showers I will have taken by the time I go to sleep.

0: The number of times I’ve thought about being officially single again (well, until now I suppose), because I didn’t want to think about it and spent the day counting everything else.

1. I have realized a new facet of loving someone in a partner relationship; it’s not something that I had really encountered before with exception of family and friends. When you love someone, it actually hurts when they hurt.
2. Stupidity abounds. Today I placed an ad on craigslist for an “open house” on an apt that’s available in my building. The open house is on Thursday (which was posted) and included the appropriate time to come by, as well as the address. I can’t even count how many email replies I’ve received that asked questions like, “when is a good time to come by to look at it”.
3. I love that I no longer pay rent as of this month.
4. Life is good.

1. After tomorrow I will most likely officially be the apartment manager where I am living which means free rent, plus extra money every month. It couldn’t have come at a better time financially. It really is true that some things work out the way they are supposed to at just the right time. Ideally I will catch myself up as far as money goes and hopefully in the future be able to work part time in order to make it easier to continue school after my BA. Amazing.
2. I am quickly becoming head over heels. And I love every single minute of it because it is decidedly unique from any other time I have started to feel this way.
3. My laptop is stupid. I need a new one; or maybe I just need more memory.
4. Lucy is cute.
5. Jenny’s birthday is on May 5th. I miss her. A lot.
6. My Colin will be moving here sometime this week. I’ve missed him too.
7. It’s interesting how many lies are uncovered after someone is gone. In recent conversations with family I’ve learned that more and more dishonesty on the part of my former stepdad has become apparent. Am I surprised or shocked? No. Do I have a strong desire to hunt down and tear up every single father’s day card I ever gave him? Yes. This too will eventually pass though.

Thirteen of my Most Beloved Pet Peeves

1. Movies with subtitles: I realize that many great movies are foreign and thus have subtitles…they remain irritating to me.

2. Smacking lips: I used to date someone that for some reason had just not gotten the hang of eating with his mouth closed (out of respect that is undeserved, they will remain nameless). I wanted to punch him in the face every time we ate together.

3. Constant Whistling: I have a neighbor that I can hear when they are two blocks away, because they are constantly whistling…and it’s loud. When I was at Starbucks I used to work with someone that would engage in this behavior on weekends. It killed me.

4. Loud Talkers: How can one be totally unaware of the volume of their voice? It baffles me.

5. “I’m not leaving until I get a smile”: Working in the service industry more often than not renders one entirely helpless to what can only be described as the awful tendencies of the general public. I can not count how many times I heard this phrase. Various other renditions? “Where’s my smile?” “Don’t tell me you’re not having a good day!?” Sadly, when you’re getting paid for something it’s frowned upon to point out a customer’s stupidity. (Also, this has happened to me when not at a service job…which is all the more irritating).

6. Stupid Questions: See this reference for a “for instance”.

7. Slow, overly-passive, stupid drivers: Read: All Seattle drivers.

8.  Reading Over My Shoulder: Even if what I’m reading or writing is not entirely all that private. It just gets to me.

9. Pronunciations: For instance, people who pronouce Kareeeoke instead of Ka-ra-o-ke (last syllable just sounds like “k”) which is how it’s actually supposed to be pronounced. (I used that as an easy example because I took Japanese in high school).

10. Clothes That Are Not Properly Organized: It’s a compulsion when I’m shopping to organize the clothes on the racks. The clothes in my closet are currently organized as such: shirts (by color), skirts, dresses, coats. I’m picky.

11. People Who Fail to Watch Where They’re Walking: I see this a lot in grocery stores…my neighborhood Safeway to be exact. These are people that are pondering for example, which macaroni to buy, or people that are reading something while walking down an aisle as if they’re the only person that exists in the world. (Coincidentally this also applies to item #7 in the driving context…people that expect that everyone else is supposed to watch out for them).

12. Channel Changers: I used to date someone (who will still remain nameless) that would change the channel repeatedly without even stopping for one second to see what was actually on a specific channel. It made me crazy.

13. Product Warnings: “Do not immerse in water”. “Caution: The beverage you’re about to enjoy is extremely hot”. I strongly feel that the reason we are burdened with these insipid sayings is due to stupid people that came before us.

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Di, Danica,

Hem-Half Acre (listen to it-it’s pretty)

I am holding half an acre
torn from the map of Michigan
and folded in this scrap of paper
is a land I grew in

Think of every town you’ve lived in
every room you lay your head
and what is it that you remember?

Do you carry every sadness with you
every hour your heart was broken
every night the fear and darkness
lay down with you

A man is walking on the highway
A woman stares out at the sea
and light is only now just breaking

So we carry every sadness with us
every hour our hearts were broken
every night the fear and darkness
lay down with us

But I am holding half an acre
torn from the map of Michigan
I am carrying this scrap of paper
that can crack the darkest sky wide open
every burden taken from me
every night my heart unfolding
my home

I’m not quite sure what’s going on with my brain lately-I listen to a lot of sad songs actually. I miss dear friends that I pushed away recently, well maybe just one in particular. I don’t like my job right now. I want to be alone a lot. I miss my stepdad. I miss Jen. Clearly, my brain is a little jumbled as well.