The following night I went to a Valentine’s party with Shawn that another one of my friends was having. It was fun, but I totally drank too much. =p No one was able to give us a ride back (and public transportation would have taken close to 2 hours), so we ended up getting a cab back. That’s $40 that I wish I hadn’t spent…but at least it was more convenient than trying to catch the last train and bus of the night and possibly being stranded if we missed the bus back. I literally laid in bed for over half of the day yesterday. However, I did find time to completely clean out and rearrange our disaster of a coat closet as well as make some of this delicious salsa. Why have I not made salsa before? Not only am I addicted to salsa in general, but its super easy to make.

And today is President’s Day, and unlike Shawn, I do not have off work. I’m pretty much in a “I don’t want to do anything wah wah I want to go home” kind of mood. Could have totally used another day. The whole stretch from January to April sucks…we need to create more holidays in there. There should be at least one holiday each month…who’s with me?

Forehead: Healing, pretty much gone (the pain, not my forehead). Woo!
Computer: Spoke with Sony’s customer service who told me to do a power cycle (take out the battery and put it back in again basically). Miraculously, that worked and both my mouse and keyboard are functioning properly again. Woo!
Painful gums: Huge thanks to Asia for suggesting the Crest Gum Protection toothpaste in the comments. After using it over the weekend, my gums are much better and pretty much healed back to normal as of today. Woo!

It was supposed to snow on Saturday, so I made sure I was fully stocked on junk food and planned to do nothing all day. Well, it barely snowed at all so I ended up running some errands in the afternoon. I went to Kohl’s to pick up some socks because my socks seem to just vanish. Seriously…where do missing socks go?? I made sure to get them all the same color (plain black), so I don’t have to bother matching up different designs which is such a pain when its like 7 in the morning and I’m sifting through a huge pile of clothes on the floor (that has yet to be put away) trying to find a specific brown and pink striped sock. After Kohl’s, I went to Rite Aid to pick up eyeliner. Got back and realized I got lip liner instead. Bah! I assumed it was eye liner because it was dark brown. Who wears dark brown lip-liner? After Rite Aid I went to the Dollar Tree to pick up some stuff for a gift basket I’m making for Shawn for Valentine’s Day. I won’t mentioned whats in it, in case he actually reads this. If he does actually read this, he’ll probably think I’m a cheap ass for going to the Dollar Tree. Keeping it classy!

When I got back, our internet randomly stopped working (thanks, Comcast!). After talking to customer service, there was apparently some sort of work being done in the area and we could expect our service to return in “4-6 hours”. O_O. Since it became apparent we would have no internet for awhile, we decided we would go to dinner at a local restaurant that I had a Living Social deal for. I made 6PM reservations and we went to wait for the bus at around 5:20. We ended up waiting for the bus for an HOUR. I was fuming and we were about to just give up and go inside to order pizza when it finally came. Septa, you’ve really outdone yourself. Luckily, they had tables available so our reservation wasn’t a big deal. Someone up there must have wanted to test my patience that night, because there was an issue involving hostess/waitress miscommunication and no one came to our table for quite a while until we tracked someone down and told them. Luckily, the food was delicious and the bus going back was on time. And our internet worked when we got back.

The following day Shawn’s family came to visit for a little while. I didn’t really do much the rest of the day. We watched the new episodes of Once Upon A Time and Downton Abbey that aired (talk about awesome TV night!). Looking forward to Smash tonight…though I’ll have to stay up till 11 again. Hopefully its worth it! I haven’t decided yet whether its a show I’ll continue to watch, but there’s only been one episode so we’ll see.

Because that obviously didn’t add enough suckyness to my night, my laptop’s mouse and keyboard suddenly decided they were no longer going to work just to spite me. I didn’t even touch anything. One minute they worked, the next they didn’t. I tried restarting, but my computer got stuck on the start-up screen (not sure if that was related). After Windows did its fixing-startup activities, I was able to get back on my desktop again but still no mouse and keyboard. I ended up doing a system restore to February 6th and re-started. This fixed the keyboard! But still no mouse. Going to try re-installing the mouse driver tonight (if I can find it). I’m hoping that works. At least I can still use my USB mouse but, since I sit on the couch with my laptop 99.9% of the time, its kind of inconvenient. #firstworldproblems

[insert additional issues involving website plugins suddenly not working and burning the food I was cooking for my lunch today]

To top it off, I’ve been having issues with my gums the past few days. On Tuesday morning when I was eating breakfast (cereal), I noticed my gums were super sensitive and it hurt to eat. It hasn’t gone away and eating my lunch yesterday took like an hour…I didn’t even have an appetite anymore since it was such a challenge to eat! Its pretty much just the gums on the upper part of my mouth. I’ve had stuff like this before if I bit on a chip (or something crispy) the wrong way or if I ate something hot and burned my mouth somehow, but never a large portion of my mouth for no reason. I really hope this goes away soon, because its definitely a nuisance. I also hope I don’t have gum disease or something of the sort.

It snowed a teeny bit yesterday. Its weird how we’ve barely had any snow this winter. I actually wish we would have one huge snowfall that would close everything down for a couple days (like a Thursday and Friday). That would be awesome. What would not be awesome would be walking to and from the grocery store in the snow. Our street doesn’t have sidewalks, so the sides of the road don’t get plowed. Yea, its super safe and all. I really need to get a car…if not for the sole purpose of driving down the street to the grocery store haha. But, alas, I have no car…so I guess I should not want snow to happen unless I want to trudge through it.

That’s all for now. Cross your fingers for the healing my head, gums, computer, general disposition…

I’ve also spent my week watching the entire first season (and more) of Downton Abbey. I kept hearing about it, so I finally decided to watch it on Netflix to see if I liked it. I am obsessed! I’ve watched the first 2 episodes of Season 2 as well, so I’m almost caught up since I think the 5th episode airs this week. Anyone else watch it? I’ve also spent this morning downloading some songs from the Lana Del Rey album. A lot of people don’t like her, but I do like her music (and don’t think her voice is that bad). I’m a sucker for big drum beats in songs, so I like a lot of her’s. I’ve had “This is What Makes Us Girls” on repeat!

Another thing I’ve become obsessed with this week…Pinterest! Its similar to tumblr for me, but more focused on pictures and without the blog format. If you’re on Pinterest too, please follow me!

The bf and I are going to a Super Bowl Party tomorrow evening…should be fun!

Shawn and I had a little “date night” on Saturday. We saw “The Grey”, which I thought was pretty good. Well, its basically Liam Neeson walking through snow and fighting with wolves for 2 hours. haha. Afterwards we went to Uno for some dinner. I had the chicken tikka masala, which is one of my favorite dishes but it wasn’t really “true” chicken tikka masala (I guess I can’t expect Indian food from a pizzeria to be all that authentic). It was still very good, though. We got this crazy dessert that involved a gigantic baked chocolate chip cookie topped with whipped cream, ice cream, and chocolate sauce. Half of it was more calories than my entire dinner. But it was oh so good.

Yesterday was the usual grocery shopping, cleaning, and gym (which was much needed obviously). I actually went on the treadmill for the first time in at least 2 months and I jogged for 20 minutes straight (and then 10 more minutes after a bit of walking)! To give you an idea, my previous record was 10 minutes straight…so that’s kind of a miracle for me. My legs are totally not thanking me today, though

And now its Monday. Ugh. Did you guys do anything fun this weekend?

O yea, this blog is now on Blogkeen. I’m not sure if any of you guys use Blogkeen, but its very similar to BlogLovin’. If you use it, you can follow me here! I’ve also just started a Pinterest account. Still figuring out how everything works, but if you want to follow me you can do so here. Also let me know if you are on Pinterest in the comments and I’ll follow you as well.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 lbs. lean ground beef, turkey or chopped chicken (I used turkey) *scroll down for vegetarian option

1 tsp. olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

1 large red, yellow or green pepper, seeded and chopped (I used red)

1 large yellow squash, chopped

8 oz. mushrooms, chopped

2 tsp. chopped garlic

1 bottle (46 oz.) reduced-sodium tomato or veggie cocktail juice (I used V8 Low Sodium)

1 can (15 oz.) pinto, garbanzo or black beans, rinsed and drained (I used black)

1 can (14 oz.) crushed tomatoes

1 Tbs. fresh lime juice

1 Tbs. ground cumin

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste

1/4 cup each fresh cilantro and parsley leaves, chopped (I didn’t add parsley, didn’t have it)

Directions:

1. In a saucepot over medium-high heat, cook beef, turkey or chicken in olive oil 5 minutes or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Remove from pot; drain, if desired.

2. In same saucepot, cook onions, peppers, squash, mushrooms and garlic 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in cocktail juice, beans, tomatoes, lime juice, cumin, cayenne and cooked meat. Add 1 cup water to thin soup, if desired. Cover; bring soup just to a simmer. (Do not boil.) Reduce heat to medium-low; let simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cilantro and parsley. Cover; let simmer 5 minutes. Garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese, if desired. (Note: Soup can be stored in refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen.)

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Total time: 45 minutes
• Makes: 10 to 12 cups (2 to 3 cups/serving)

  For a vegetarian option, omit the meat and add an additional 15 oz. can of pinto, garbanzo or black beans.

  Source: First For Women Magazine

I’m not too sure about the sodium content, but if thats an issue I’m guessing you could omit half the veggie juice and replace it with water. I’ve used water as a base for my soups before and they’ve been just as tasty. Enjoy!

Is this what they call a “quarter life crisis”? Holy crap I’m almost halfway to 30. Might be time to wake up soon. But enough of that.

I want to thank any new subscribers I have gotten through RSS or Bloglovin’. I appreciate it so much. I’m really going to try to post more often (at this rate, at least once a week would be “more often” for me) and I would love to follow some new blogs as well. If I’m not already subscribed to you, please leave your blog link in the comments so I can check it out! I’m also going to work on updating my portfolio website. Seriously…that site has been neglected like you wouldn’t believe. Its huddling in the corner, cold and hungry and sad. It was last updated in 2010. Yes…two thousand TEN. Considering the domain is my freaking full name you would think I would keep it better updated, but no. I haven’t decided whether it needs a re-design or not…I kind of like it how it looks already.

This is just a quick note to let you know I’ve re-designed the blog again. I really like it…its very simple and I got rid of all the extra pages (links, about me, etc). I’ve also found a way to link to my other websites (my beauty blog and portfolio) via tabs on the side. I’m not very happy with the footer, but I’ll keep tweaking it throughout the week until it looks decent.

I’ve set up an RSS feed for this blog through Feedburner. If you already follow me through RSS, I’d highly suggest unsubscribing and then re-subscribing through my feedburner link if its not too much of a problem. With Feedburner, I’m able to track statistics and stuff and it makes it easy to retain all subscribers if I end up moving my blog for whatever reason.

Thanks again to anyone who reads this! I’m looking forward to posting more this year!

But anyway…its snowing today (sort of, it already snowed, and not that much but its an excuse to be lazy haha) so in the interest of blogging more, I’m going to share with you something that I found on Tumblr a little while back that I thought was interesting (I’m melieanne on Tumblr if you want to follow me). Its an article called “10 Myths About Introverts” that was written by Carl of CarlKingdom.com. Its been floating around the internet a lot, so you might have stumbled upon it at one point or another.

Here is his list:

• Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
  This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

• Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
  Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

• Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
  Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

• Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
  On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

• Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
  Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

• Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
  Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

• Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
  Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

• Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
  Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

• Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
  Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

• Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
  A world without Introverts would be a world with few scientists, musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers, doctors, mathematicians, writers, and philosophers. That being said, there are still plenty of techniques an Extrovert can learn in order to interact with Introverts. (Yes, I reversed these two terms on purpose to show you how biased our society is.) Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.

I think these are really interesting, and definitely widespread myths that need some debunking. Personally, I wouldn’t apply a few of these to me 100%…I guess, perhaps, there are different levels of “introversion”? Particularly #1, #3, and to an extent #7. I do love small talk, and I’m someone who doesn’t exactly appreciate brutal honesty. I also wouldn’t really consider myself someone who doesn’t follow the crowd…I’m very much a conformist, whether that’s a good or bad thing. I’d say the rest of them are pretty accurate, however, and indicative of my personality…some to a greater extent than others.

I couldn’t agree more with #10, mainly the idea that our society is biased. I feel like this is especially true of academic settings (the whole idea of grades being based on verbal participation, when in reality there is such a variety of different personalities who learn in different ways). This was more of an issue in elementary school classes, but I was surprised at a college class I had with a professor who still practiced grading this way. Needless to say I struggled through that class despite knowing 100% of the material and getting A’s on everything. I’m sure its quite rampant in work settings as well, but I consider myself lucky in that I’ve never had to work with people who were ignorant and not understanding (or, at least, to my face). I’m probably in the minority, though, and its unsettling to know that people in other work environments may be getting bullied by grown adults, which is discrimination just like any other. And don’t even get me started on the process introverts have to actually get a job…the interview process has always been tailored toward extroversion, whether or not its even a trait that’s needed for the job.

So those are my thoughts…what do you guys think about Carl’s list? Do you agree with some points and not others?

Its now 11pm and I just want to go to bed so I try one last time and someone finally picks up…all I hear is “you have a customer!” and a lot of people laughing and stuff…real professional. Some guy gets on the phone who sounds like he’s either drunk, high, or both. He tells me that he can have someone come out on Tuesday to disconnect our internet. I’m like…excuse me? We need it disconnected now, not on Tuesday. Then he tells me he’ll call me back tomorrow morning to “resolve the issue”. The next morning he calls back at 8AM while I’m on the bus (I told him to call me after 8:45AM, but I guess I should be happy that he actually called) and tells me that someone will stop by on Saturday between 9AM and 1PM. I verify that someone actually needs to stop by to disconnect the internet, and he says yes (which is contrary to what the first guy told me). We had to reschedule Comcast installation to Sunday because of this.

The next day (Saturday) we wait for this person to show up. I log onto my Hotwire account online and notice that it says that my service has been disconnected, which is good, but for some reason we still have service. 1PM comes and goes, so I call again to verify that this guy will be stopping by. I’m told “Saturday is busy” and that he is on his way. Call again at 4PM (THREE HOURS after someone is supposed to show up) and I’m told the same thing, but also that this guy is only coming to pick up our modem. Keep in mind that I’ve told every person I’ve talked to along the way that we have already paid for our modem when we signed up…I was told that we don’t have to return it. The guy ends up cancelling our work order since there is no reason anyone needs to come by anymore. I tell him that we still have internet connection despite the fact that it is listed in their system as “disconnected”. He says something about it not being shut off in the back-end and that he will talk to their “engineering team” to fix it (you need an engineering team to shut off the damn internet connection?) and also assures me that it should not interfere with Comcast installation. So I basically wasted my entire day for no reason…great. Well we end up having internet up through Sunday when Comcast gets there. The Comcast guy is unable to install using the same cable connection…I’m not 100% sure if its because Hotwire was still connected, but that’s what I’m assuming. He ends up having to drill a hole out through our balcony and string the cable up there to connect us.

So all is good and we have Comcast now. But you want to know the best part? I get a bill yesterday from Hotwire for $50 for “unreturned equipment”. I almost lost my shit. I called them up to ask WTF this bill is supposed to be about, and was told to “not worry” about it because its automatically generated and that I should be receiving a credit with my next bill (the guy didn’t even look up my account to verify anything). Sureee I believe that. So today I log onto their live chat thing, which I usually can’t connect to 90% of the time, and the person verifies that I already paid for the modem and tells me that they will put a note in my account and credit that charge in my next bill or something. Hopefully that takes care of the problem, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I continue to get billed for random stuff.

So in short, this is the worst company ever (just read these glowing Yelp reviews – I have posted this entry there as well). If you’re living in a community that gets Hotwire (that isn’t a dorm or something where there isn’t a choice) do NOT use them despite the cheaper price. Its not worth it at all. As much as I hate Comcast, at least the internet works and they are only partially incompetent as opposed to completely incompetent.