EverydayRapunzel

Possible Grad Schools in Philadelphia

2010-08-29T02:19:00.000-04:00

~~Cabrini College~~
~~Chestnut Hill College~~
~~Haverford College~~
La Salle University
~~Penn State, Great Valley~~
~~Philadelphia University~~
Saint Joseph's University
~~Swarthmore College~~
Villanova University
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Widener University

Apparently it's somewhat difficult to find a school with a Master's Program in Education that both a) has a program for physics and b) doesn't require you to have been certified as an undergrad. :/

Failures of All Sorts

2010-08-06T04:13:00.003-04:00

Well, apparently I made that last post too soon. My first failure to speak of here is that I have again missed a day. I figure I may as well post the pictures I did take until I missed one, though. As an explanation (not to be confused with an excuse), I had agreed to attend a friend's audition with her, which required us to get up and leave between 1 am and 3 am this past Sunday and Tuesday. As a result, my sleep schedule was beyond screwed up, as is evident by my exhaustion in the second picture here when I tell you it was taken at noon. My days kind of blurred together for a little bit there, which is what eventually led to me missing a day. Obviously, this means I have to start over again, which brings me to my second failure.

That, my friends, is a failure to remain healthy. Back in March, I dislocated my left shoulder by doing something extremely minor, which led my doctor to confirm that I have loose joints, a condition that seems to run in my family. Today, my right shoulder joined the party, even though the left one still hasn't fully recovered. As a result, I'm going to be in a sling for a while, which makes typing really, really slow. Because of this, I will more than likely wait until the sling is off and I have full use of my arm back to begin the project again. Taking pictures is obviously no problem, but I know I would end up getting behind on updates. So, I'm going to disappear from here for a little while, but I will still be reachable via any of my other normal contact routes. I hope to be back soon!

Yay for Milestones!

2010-07-31T04:41:00.000-04:00

So, just had to put a short little celebration post up. With this post and picture, I have officially made it to 32 pictures, which means I've made it a whole month! I just had to pat myself on the back here a little, because that's a pretty good streak for me. I tend to forget about this kind of thing pretty quickly. So. 11 more months to go (at least)! :D

Some Dorky Excitement

2010-07-29T21:27:00.019-04:00

For today, I'm gonna steer away from the heavier posts I've been doing, and go back to a somewhat personal update. One of the passions of mine that I have no problem admitting to is being a "foodie." As such, Food Network tends to be a network I watch more often than most. So you can imagine my excitement when I found out friends of mine were going to be on Ace of Cakes tonight. Of course, I made sure to set a timer and everything ahead of time and will definitely be watching the show. I couldn't resist using my blog to promote it either. So, basically, you all should watch Ace of Cakes tonight. I know this is a little late, but the show is on at 10pm, Eastern Time. The cake was their wedding cake, and is the Neuschwanstein Castle. I'll be dorkily excited as I watch it, and you all should join me. :D

A Little More Talk on Modification

2010-07-27T06:51:00.001-04:00

Okay, I know I promised an update yesterday, at the latest, and I tried, I really did. By the time I had a chance to sit down and write, I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore (literally). I don't know how my summer suddenly became so full of stuff to get done. Also, Blogger is giving me huge amounts of trouble with this post, for some reason I do not understand, so that's not helping. I do feel bad for breaking the promise, for the record. I don't like to do that, on principle. Anyway, I'm finally posting the update I talked about last time. But first! Pictures! I'm posting two pictures for Saturday, because I went to a friend's wedding, and felt the need to share the attire with you all. Yes, that would be a dress, jewelry and Chuck Taylors (I know, there's some debate over whether low tops are still considered Chucks, but just go with it for now, please) I'm wearing in that second picture. The bride is actually wearing them, too, you just can't see that in this picture. It was their request that everyone who owned said shoes wore them, but wore normal wedding attire otherwise. It was a lot of fun, really. Most people participated, including the parents and grandparents of the bride and groom. On with the update!

I've recently become a fairly regular reader of ModBlog, which generally updates at least daily with all sorts of modification related stuff. For the most part, it's a little blurb about a convention that happened, someone in the community doing a performance (generally, said performance is somehow related to their mods), or just especially neat or interesting pictures from sister site BME.

Once in a while, though (generally, about weekly, but sometimes a little longer), they do a news post. This is generally a collection of things of note, relating to modification. It's pretty much all stuff that has made the news in some way, whether it be stupid things people have done, charitable people things have done, or celebrity mods. It's usually fairly light-hearted, but there were a few things in their most recent post that were frustrating for anyone annoyed by the stereotypes and prejudices endorsed by our society, but especially frustrating for anyone who is modified.

First, there was recently a man arrested for trying to run down his landlord with his van. Now, this is a pretty negative story either way. However, the way it was reported, in most cases, completely changed the focus of the article. When the story was covered by his local paper, they actually did a great job, journalism-wise, at reporting the incident. The offending incident had nothing to do with the modifications this guy was sporting, and neither did their article. They merely covered the facts, and left it at that. However, the story has been picked up by many other places as well. And pretty much no one else did as good of a job at reporting it. Every other article written on the incident focuses entirely on the fact that this guy is heavily modified, as though to suggest that it should be obvious that someone of that state would have criminal tendencies.

The second bit connects with the first, in a way, in that it's just as ignorant in it's assumptions and assumes fairly similar things. In this case, CBS did a story on modification, being sure to point out that many consider it disfigurement, and that some doctors even believe it to be a symptom of mental illness. It's especially infuriating to see this on such a major news outlet, given the size of it's audience, and therefore, it's influence. The story itself isn't so terrible, and it's clear that they at least tried to not show much bias, though they clearly failed. However, if you go on to look at the pictures they included, many of the captions include ignorant statements on par with the suggestion of mental illness, such as questioning the ethics of any doctor willing to do certain procedures. And most of the reader comments on the story are even worse. Though, there were a few modified people who took the time to comment, and hopefully straighten out some uninformed assumptions.

While I am modified myself, I have to say, I would probably be just as infuriated with both of these stories if I weren't. It's frustrating to see our society struggle with issue after issue, creating stereotypes based on superficial things like this. While I realize that being modified is usually a choice, and many other things of (past or current) controversy are not, it still doesn't say much, if anything, about a person's personality. There is just as wide a range in the personalities of those who are modified as there is in those who are not. Not to mention the fact that such practices have been in place in many cultures for hundreds of years, and many times even considered the norm. People who have been chosen to become modified are in no way hurting others (in the act of obtaining the modification) and are exercising their rights to express themselves as they see fit. And as far as that goes, how is it more socially acceptable to express yourself or your opinions by starting fights in bars and harming others than it is to quietly modify your own body? Why do we need to continually find scapegoats to blame for the negative parts of society? Why can't criminals be faulted for their crimes, rather than their modifications (or skin color, religion, etc.)?

Apology Post

2010-07-24T03:09:00.002-04:00

Well, I've been trying to update more regularly, but it seems the past few days have just been spent mostly playing catch up. This is probably my biggest gap in updates yet. I've desperately been trying to get a post up for three days now (really, I mean that -- I've had the tab open in the background since Wednesday), but I just can't seem to get it done. I even had a post started on Wednesday, but I just couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to write it (see Wednesday's picture for supporting evidence). I have something I really want to talk about it, and hopefully will get that up tomorrow. I have to be up by 6:30 to drive out to a friend's wedding, so there's a large possibility I'll be too tired tomorrow night to post as well. If that's the case, it will absolutely happen on Sunday, I promise. I tried to write it tonight, but things haven't gone as planned (note the frustration in tonight's picture), and I just ran out of time. When I tried to write anything, it just wasn't coming out right. Anyway, I promise a good post by the end of the weekend. Sorry!!

Modification in the Professional World

2010-07-19T04:52:00.000-04:00

I've decided to go in a different direction with the post for today. Since it's summer, there hasn't been much going on in my life, and I feel like I'm running out of things to say in that area. I also figure that's probably not the most exciting topic for other people, so I thought I'd try something else. I want to try to get some discussion going, so please comment and tell me what you think!

As you can see by my pictures, or as you know if you've met me, I can definitely say I'm a person who has chosen a lifestyle that includes body modification. I do have several piercings and a few tattoos. It's a well known thing that this is generally not acceptable in the professional world, and sometimes, in society in general. The issue seems to be that being modified portrays a negative image to the rest of society. While I can understand where this came from, I strongly feel that it is no longer the case that body modification has any correlation with personality. Yes, there are people who are pierced or tattooed that are rude, abrasive, unprofessional, and so on. But this is also true of plenty of people that aren't. In the same vein, there are plenty of people who have chosen to modify themselves, and are some of the most friendly, gentle, professional people I've ever met.

All that said, I think it is time to consider whether body modification maybe could be acceptable in the workplace. And I don't think I'm the only person that feels this way, or the only blogger ever to write about it (by this I mean, I know it's not the most original topic for discussion, but I think it's still worth discussing). I realize that there are many sides to this issue. Because there are still people who associate body modification with negative things, I can see where it might be a problem for someone in customer service, sales, or any job that relies on being accepted by the general public in order to make money. However, there are plenty of jobs, such as IT, accounting, and other "desk jobs" that don't require employees to face the public. Why could it not be acceptable for these people to be modified?

Obviously, I'm in favor of body modification being something that becomes more acceptable in the workplace, and in general. But I'm open to discussion, and I want to hear what other people have to say. So please, leave me a comment or two, and tell me what you think. :)

I need to get better at this whole title thing...

2010-07-18T03:15:00.001-04:00

Back at home now, as evidenced by the much calmer pictures. I'm trying to make an effort to smile more in my pictures. Though I haven't been unhappy or anything, I realized that some of my previous pictures might not support that claim. So, smiles! :D

Our kitchen is finally done, for the most part. There are still a few things that need to be wrapped up, but it's usable again. I have to say, it's really nice to have it back. It's nice to be able to cook, use real dishes (versus the disposable stuff we'd been using this whole time), and wash said dishes. Most of all, though, it's nice to have things back in their places instead of all around the house. I think the biggest thing is a table that had been in our hallway that's now been returned to it's proper place in the kitchen. It had made for a really tight space entering the hallway from the rest of the house, and was kind of a pain.

For those that know me, you know I'm really into my Irish heritage (and for those that don't...well now you do). So that meant when I got asked to go to a celticfest in the area today, I was all for it. It was a lot smaller than the Celtic Classic in Bethlehem, which is what I'm used to, but it was still a nice way to spend the afternoon. We mostly walked around looking at things people were selling, and I even took a few pictures of things I liked (after asking first, of course). It's probably a good thing I couldn't spend any money. While we're on the subject, please let me know if you're interested in going to the Celtic Classic in Bethlehem this year. It takes place September 24th-26th. It has the usual vendors, music and food, but they also have the Highland Games and other contests and such. It's definitely a good festival. I'm set on going, but am open to anyone who wants to join, as I don't actually have any definite plans yet. It'll definitely be great! Feel free to ask me any questions. Also, if you wanted to see for yourself, their website is celticfest.org.

Finally, I'm Well-Groomed

2010-07-16T02:57:00.001-04:00

Double picture post today. We didn't really do much yesterday, so a blog entry would have been fairly boring. You can clearly see I've gotten a haircut now.

That's pretty much the only interesting thing we've done the past two days. Yesterday we just kind of sat around the house and watched tv, other than one appointment. Today, we (I!) drove up to Bethlehem for a hair appointment I had, and it turned into a hair appointment for both of us. I convinced her to dye her hair purple! To be clear, she'd been wanting to do it for a while now, but we seized the opportunity today. Unfortunately, we couldn't get that to show up in pictures. It was good to drive though. Today was the first time I'd driven without a parent, one of their significant others or a driving instructor. It went well.

Today's picture is actually from a decently long series of pictures we took, but I won't torture you with all of those. If you do want to see them, they're on my facebook, if you have it. If not, just leave a comment, and ask nicely if you want to see them. :) There are some pretty hilarious pictures that resulted (in our opinion, anyway).

I'm Not Obnoxious...

2010-07-14T03:48:00.000-04:00

So, I've had a little too much fun taking pictures for today's entry, so be prepared for a photoblog. However, I'm staying at a friend's until Friday, so there will at least be some new scenery. At first, I was told that my pictures looked a little too "emo" so we went for something a little more fun. I couldn't decide which picture was more awesome, so you get both.

As for the turtle, I'm not entirely sure why I'm pointing at it, other than because she said something about it roughly 2 seconds before the pictures were taken.

Later, I moved, and these pictures resulted...

I felt they needed to be posted in succession.

Otherwise, it's been a mostly uneventful day. Some good and some bad. For the good, our kitchen is very close to finally being done. We have a floor, a ceiling fan, painted walls, a painted ceiling, top and bottom cabinets, a counter, a microwave, a stove and a sink. However, we still need a pantry cabinet, the dishwasher, a faucet, a garbage disposal and a new window. Getting close though!

As for the bad, and oh-so-frustrating, apparently I don't have a job after all. After dragging their feet for weeks on end, I've been told that the district manager vetoed my hire because I won't be around long enough. Sounds like headquarters will be getting a call from me some time soon. And now, this means I don't have any income this summer, so some of my plans may no longer happen. Definitely frustrating. On that note, (and yes, I'm begging shamelessly; I'm really that desperate) please let me know if you need a baby-sitter or any other odd job done.

So, apparently you update a blog...

2010-07-13T03:24:00.006-04:00

Yea, I've been pretty terrible about updating lately. Oops. Still taking pictures though! This marks the first day of my third week of taking pictures, so I'm finally making some progress here. Hopefully I don't get like a few months in and forget or something, but I probably will.

I'm putting up such a terrible picture of myself for today because I feel it shows just how desperately I need a haircut. By which I mean my hair is out of control. Holding it down like that was the only way I didn't have a giant poof. It doesn't look so bad in the others, but for some reason it's misbehaving today. Aiming for a cut on Thursday. I'm probably going to go back to pretty short for now, because I'm going to a wedding in just under two weeks, and I actually really like the super short look. However, I will be growing it out after that, and I'm a little nervous about the transition.

Since my last post, my friend has successfully moved into my apartment, and we've gotten most things squared away. I think things are actually good with it now. :) I'm happy this guy is the one renting from me, too, because he's very clean, so he's easy to trust with keeping the place in good shape. I got to drive up there and back that day, and I think it made my mom trust my driving skills a little more. It was absolutely pouring rain, so visibility was extremely low (my wipers couldn't really keep up), and the roads were pretty badly flooded. It definitely wasn't the easiest drive I've ever made, but it was a good experience to have. Coincidentally, the conditions were almost identical when I drove today. I'm starting to think mother nature wants to make damn sure I'm good at driving in adverse conditions. After driving with my mom's fiancee, he complimented my driving skills, and she actually agreed. So, that's a good sign. She also outright said I'll be getting my license soon, and keeps forgetting I don't have it already. It's about time.

I'm also still waiting on this job. I'm officially hired, but they're dragging their feet about getting paperwork done and starting training. I'm starting to worry I'm not going to have the money I need for the rest of the summer and the beginning of the semester, and it doesn't make me happy. Plus, as it was, I was only going to be on the floor for about two weeks. It's getting down to one or one and a half. This is ridiculous. I'm really starting to get annoyed, but I can't complain, since it's better than nothing. But wouldn't you think they'd want me to have as much floor time as possible, for their benefit?

Finally (I know this is a super long entry. Last thing, I promise), I made a few changes around here today. Please let me know if you're having any issues, and I'll do my best to check them out.

Renewals

2010-07-09T01:47:00.001-04:00

I just so happened to be laying down when I remembered to take my picture for today, so that helped in my venture for different poses in my pictures and brought us this.

In other happy news, I have my permit again. That driver's license is so close!

Other events of the day included seeing my paternal grandfather and getting up to my apartment again. The visit with my grandfather was a little strange, because we hadn't seen him in so long (at least 5 years or so), and just everyone had changed so much (myself and my brother, as well as my grandfather). He seems miserable in the nursing home he's in, and just seems pretty out of it. It's always a shame to see people in that state. Anyway, now that he's back in Pennsylvania (he'd been living mostly in Florida for a while), maybe we'll end up seeing him more.

I think things are finally looking up with my apartment. It was pretty gross the last time we went up, but the landlord has come through and it's much better now. You could tell just walking in that attention had been paid to the place, and it looked a lot nicer. Most of the place had been cleaned pretty well (in that the exterior of everything seemed pretty clean, but we were met with some remaining grossness when we opened some of the cabinets and drawers). There were also a lot of repairs done in the bathroom (mostly caulking tiles and installing a threshold), the handle on the front door was replaced (the other one was literally falling out of the door) and a deadbolt added, and there's finally an air conditioner in there. I wouldn't be so worried about the air conditioner, but being a first floor apartment and in the area where it is, my mom and I didn't feel entirely comfortable with the thought of just leaving the windows open. We managed to find places for most of my stuff, so that it's as out of the way as it can be while someone else is living there for a few months. All that's left for me to do with it for the summer is rearrange some of the furniture in the living room, and just make sure my friend has everything he needs. We'll be going up on Saturday to help him move in and hopefully get everything settled. There are a few more repairs to be done, but we've made a list, and I think the place should be in pretty good shape soon.

So, I lied...

2010-07-08T01:29:00.001-04:00

Turns out, I am going to do another post with multiple images. I just never got around to posting last night. Oh well. I was screwing around with different poses last night, and decided to go with this lovely melodramatic gem. I wasn't actually feeling down or anything, just went with it for whatever reason. It is very apparently from these pictures that I'm in need of a haircut. Saw a few old (as in right around the last time I cut my hair, so not old, really) pictures of myself today, and I guess I had forgotten how short it was. I AM going to start growing it out again, soon, though.

Umm, not much has happened in my life since the last update, so I don't really have much else to say. Apparently my landlord has things mostly taken care of in the apartment, but we'll find out whether or not that's actually the case tomorrow or Friday when we go up.

Aaaand I need to start studying for the GRE. I keep forgetting I actually have to think about the future this year, since I've been able to sit back and just keep doing the same thing for the last few years. It should be nice to visit some schools, though. I'm aiming for Philly schools, since I want to get certified in Pennsylvania, and it's an area I'm comfortable with. I know I need to expand my comfort zone eventually, but I feel that since I'll only be working on my certification for a year or so, and will probably be struggling for money, it might be best to stick close to my family for now. However, the main reason I'm getting certified in Pennsylvania is because it's so widely accepted elsewhere, so I do intend to get out and see other places once I'm done with school.

Late Post!

2010-07-06T06:08:00.001-04:00

So, kind of a late post. I promise I haven't gone to sleep yet, though, so this still counts as my Monday, July 5th (I know, it isn't, actually). The technical issues I had earlier had prevented me from taking a picture until they were resolved. After that, I kind of forgot to until just now, and I'm sitting in bed, so dark picture today.

So, had the official "interview" today, and I got the job. :D It was less of an interview and more of filling out paperwork. Turns out the training is three weeks long though, so I'll only be working on the floor for a few weeks, which is totally lame. Better than nothing, though.

After that, my mom and I went up to my apartment to try and unpack and organize a bit. The landlord was supposed to have completed a multitude of tasks over the past week, including putting in an air conditioner. However, none of it got done, which made for an unpleasant time in this weather (100 degrees, plus humidity, for those reading this in the future, or from another location). However, the air conditioner seems to be the least of my worries, as the place was just disgusting overall. I won't go into details, but trust me, it was unpleasant. My mom had a few words to say to my landlord, and will hopefully hear back from him first thing in the morning. I'm really hoping this doesn't turn into another fiasco where the place I'm living turns into a major source of stress all year. Either way, this stuff needs to get done ASAP. I'm subletting the apartment for the summer, and that person is moving in on Saturday. The place needs to be clean.

Halp!

2010-07-05T22:51:00.001-04:00

~~So, there may not be a picture post today, because I'm having computer problems. :/ I will update again later if things get resolved.~~

~~On a related note, if anyone is super good with macs, please let me know. I desperately need to fix this, but I can't figure it out on my own (and I'm usually pretty good with this stuff)!~~

So, tech issues fixed. Post will be up soon.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T22:16:00.002-04:00

Happy 4th of July all! Not much to say today. Spent the day at the VFW down by my dad's. We pretty much just had a barbecue and that's about it. Haha. I did get to ride down on the bike, though, so I enjoyed that. A fairly calm holiday for me!

Catch Up Post

2010-07-03T21:46:00.005-04:00

So, I've been somewhat behind on my internetting lately, which has resulted in a lack of posts. However, I have still been taking pictures every day, so I'm not behind yet. Just enjoy the picture overload for today. I'm going to try to avoid these posts in the future, because blogger seems to like giving me a hard time with them.

Not much has happened since my last post. I wasted the day on Thursday sitting around at my dad's and my mom left for Pittsburgh that day, and has pretty much been traveling since. As a result, I STILL don't have my permit. Hopefully I'll be getting it this week, as my mom and I plan to spend a few nights this week cleaning up my apartment in Bethlehem, and that would provide plenty of driving time for me.

As for job stuff, I had what seemed to be an informal interview with the manager at my local Radio Shack and have and interview with the district manager on Monday (local managers apparently can't do the hiring anymore). I think I'm pretty much in, as the manager at my store, as I left yesterday, said "Well, see you Tuesday, I guess." Seems like a pretty good sign to me. I had hoped to end up in a daycare this summer, but I guess this is the next best thing. I am an electronics/computer geek, so this is kind of in my field. I should also get to have most of my weekends free, which is always good.

Edit: So, there seems to be a lot of issues with the comments. If you're reading, please comment and let me know if this is the case for you too, or contact me in some other way if you can't comment. Thanks!

This totally counts, right?

2010-06-30T17:08:00.001-04:00

So, I totally forgot to take a picture for my picture-a-day yesterday, so I'm going to use this picture I took to ask someone about my outfit, and we're going to pretend that counts. It's still a picture of me, right? Anyway, decided to go with the mischievous look for today's picture. I figure it kinda fits with the fact that I'm totally stretching the limits for my picture for yesterday so that I don't have to start over AGAIN.

Anyway, had a physical today so that I can get my permit again and finally get my driver's license. I was originally going to go to the DMV today, but my plans got rearranged and now no one wants to take me. Hopefully I'll be able to get there before the end of the week. The physical itself went okay, but apparently having a headache almost every day is a bad thing, and they're just a little worried about it. So, they did some blood work and I have to see a neurologist. We'll see how that goes.

Oops

2010-06-29T01:31:00.001-04:00

So, in the midst of all the renovation mess, I completely forgot to take a picture one of the days last week, and that led to about a week of not blogging. But I'm back now, and starting over. So here we go, day 1, take 2. Sorry for the crappy picture, the weather is kind of gross here now, and it's taking it's toll on everyone and their bodies.

So, turns out, our contractor for the kitchen didn't show up when he was supposed to after my mom and I worked like crazy to have the kitchen stripped, packed and empty before he got here. He ended up starting work today, so now our kitchen is REALLY bare, but it sounds like there will be some great results.

My weekend was definitely an interesting one. Ended up hanging out with people all weekend, including a barbecue and pool party-type-deal, then just kind of slept all day Sunday. Sadly for all, the weekend was devoid of skydiving, but hopefully that will happen sometime soon. Actually still managed to get to bed a normal hour last night and therefore get up at a normal time today, so the day didn't go to waste for once, which was nice.

And now, for even more excitement I FINALLY HAVE A CAR. My mom found someone at work who was selling it for cheap, and was able to help me out in acquiring it. I'm now in the process of getting my license (I know, that usually comes first), and have an appointment for the necessary physical on Wednesday. After that, I'm hoping there are no snags, and that I can smoothly get my permit, get used to driving again, and successfully take and pass the test. Anyway, I'm excited.

The Joy of Renovating

2010-06-20T00:28:00.000-04:00

So, what you can't see in the picture today, is that I'm somewhat covered in wallpaper pieces/dust. My mom is renovating the kitchen this week, so we have to make sure it's ready. My mom and I have spent the whole day preparing the kitchen to take down wallpaper, and beginning the process of getting it down. So far, we've worked about 4 hours (on tearing down wallpaper; about 12 otherwise), and got one wall done, and it's one of the shorter walls, and includes the oven (aka, less paper than the full wall). Major :/. However, that wall took so long mostly because I spent a lot of it making up for initial mistakes.

Turns out you CAN screw up taking down wallpaper. My mom got a steamer, and was holding it on the wall too long. The drywall would then be WAY too soft, and would tear when we tried to get at the wallpaper. Eventually got it all, though, and didn't damage the wall TOO much further. :) Turns out I'm pretty good at this! Tomorrow will be more of the same, but hopefully we'll make much quicker progress, then the renovations start on Tuesday. Should be an interesting week, at the very least.

Day 4

2010-06-18T21:04:00.002-04:00

Today's picture is brought to you from the floor of my mother's living room, where I've been sorting out dead markers from good ones all afternoon. Turns out you don't actually have to touch the ends of the markers to get the color on you. Can you tell I'm already starting to run out of ideas for ways to take my picture?

Haven't really done much today, so I don't have much to say. I called a few places about pricing for microdermals, because I'm thinking of getting a few on my sternum, but that's probably the most exciting thing I've done all day. Also decided that I want to take all of my family's old VHS tapes and convert them to DVD, because I realized there's definitely a few I want to have.

I'm a little worried about my shoulder, because it's been 12 weeks now since I injured it, and it still hurts all the time. I've been doing physical therapy, and even just doing that still hurts, which I would think shouldn't be the case by now. I'm trying to figure out now if there's a way I can get back to Bethlehem on a weekday, so I can see my doctor again. I'm less worried about getting rid of the pain, and more worried about what the pain signifies. I don't want to have a screwed up shoulder for the rest of my life. I'm too young!

Day 3

2010-06-18T02:52:00.002-04:00

So, you'll have to bear with me on the dates here. The way I'm doing this is that I take a picture every day, and I consider that to be the large chunks of time I'm awake between sleeping for smaller, but still large, chunks of time. I realize that date-wise it may not correspond to every day, but I promise, I'm not slacking. My sleep schedule is just strange.

So, my life is still fairly unexciting. Today I was able to get out of the house again. Went to the mall, but I spent most of the time either following up on jobs (most of whom only told me that they'd already filled all their positions, even though they'd promised at least a callback), or wishing I could buy things. Even so, it was good to get out of the house, just was a major eye-opener for how much I really need a job right now. It was EXTREMELY frustrating to go into so many places that pretty much just didn't even seem to glance at my application. Oh well. Such is life. I'm still hoping to hear back about the nanny thing, because that would totally be my favorite.

This weekend, I get to spend the weekend helping my mom tear down wall paper and other things in the kitchen, because renovations are starting next week. She's been redoing a lot of the house lately, in hopes that it will help her sell the house when she gets married and moves out. It's just a shame she couldn't do it sooner, so that she could enjoy it herself a little longer. We still have the 60's green in our kitchen, and it honestly is not the most attractive thing. I wish I could help her out more often, or at least be able to cover more of my own expenses, but I try to at least do the best I can. I can't WAIT to have a real job and actually be able to pull my own weight. I look forward to it for many reasons. :)

Day 2!

2010-06-16T19:06:00.002-04:00

I've made it to day 2! Sounds silly, but that's actually an achievement for me, since that's about how long it takes me to forget I started something like this. Sorry for the dark picture. Such is the case when you're backlit, but I didn't feel like moving away from the window.

Still no luck on the job front. I have yet to hear from ANYONE! Rawr.

I spent today hanging out with a friend. We just went to Friendly's for lunch then ran a few errands, but hey, I got out of the house. I also finally got color-depositing shampoo for my hair, so I'm excited to use it and see if it helps with the fading. Should be hanging out with someone again tomorrow, so yay for getting out of the house. My neighbor actually invited me to go to Atlantic City with he and his wife this Saturday, but having no income, that's not really an option. Oh well.

Oh, and please let me know if there are any troubles seeing entries. This should be number 4, but I think there might be issues with posts showing up?

Day 1 and first real post

2010-06-16T01:04:00.000-04:00

So, one of my goals on my 101 things list is to take a picture of myself every day for a year. Hopefully this is day 1 of my 365+ pictures. I started this a while back, but forgot to keep taking them. I'll try to update every day with a new picture and at least a little bit of text. My brother suggested it would be a good idea to do my picture every day in the same pose, in the same location, so that I could put them all together at the end of the year and really see how I've changed. Unfortunately, moving back and forth between my mom's and school pretty much makes that impossible. Maybe someday when my life is more stable I'll attempt that.

Anyway, my life is pretty boring right now otherwise. WARNING: Boring life may lead to boring blog. Sorry. For now, I'm just trying to find a job, and pretty much failing. I've turned in at least 25 applications, but so far I haven't heard back from many places. I've had two interviews but neither one ever called me back. Sadness. I NEED an income, or I'm going to run out of money very soon. Plus, I'm really looking forward to the appointment I made to get more work on my tattoo, and I would be really sad if I had to cancel that for a lack of funds. A friend of mine recommended me to her sister, who is looking for a nanny, so I'm hoping that will work out. It'd be the ideal summer job for me, because I love working with kids, and I'd be able to work weekdays and during the day, instead of nights and weekends like retail would require. As he so willingly pointed out, I'd never be able to see James if I got a job in retail, as I can really only see him on the weekends. And that would kind of suck.

So that about sums up my life right now. My last major event was Pam's graduation party this past weekend (for the record, it takes a really long time and a lot of trains to get to Queens from my mom's, or vice versa), and my next one is Colleen's wedding at the end of July. It's an exciting life I lead.

Please leave comments if you know of anyone who is hiring or looking for a physicist/researcher/tutor/sales associate/nanny, etc. For the record, I'm really good with math, physics, people and kids. I mean kids are people, too, just a specific type of people. :P

101 Things in 1001 Days

2010-06-16T00:42:00.021-04:00

So, one of the only things I posted on my old blog was a 101 things in 1001 Days List. My start date was April 15th, 2009, so it will end on January 11th, 2012. I have a few things completed already, so those, along with anything else I complete, will be crossed out. Wish me luck!

1. ~~Get my driver's license~~
2. ~~Save up for a car~~
3. ~~Buy a car~~
4. ~~Get a pixie haircut~~
5. ~~Dye my hair red~~
6. ~~Get two more piercings~~ (2/2)
7. Get a passport
8. Leave the country
9. Take an art class
10. Find a swing competition partner
11. Compete for swing
12. Graduate from Lehigh
13. ~~Get departmental honors in Psychology~~ (no longer relevant)
14. Attend No Pants 20101
15. Go skiing or snowboarding
16. Go skinny dipping
17. Read the rest of the Vonnegut novels (0/10)
18. Read 10 other books (1/10)
19. Visit Central Park
20. ~~[private]~~
21. Visit Blythe
22. Visit Sara
23. Sleep under the stars
24. Go to a con
25. ~~Go to Ren Faire~~
26. ~~Dress up for Ren Faire~~
27. ~~Go 7 days without oversleeping~~ (7/7)
28. Attend class for an entire semester (0/15)
29. Go a week without junk food. (0/7)
30. Complete 100 consecutive push ups
31. Complete 10 consecutive pull ups
32. ~~Eat all meals cooked at home for 1 week~~ (7/7)
33. Do a day of silence
34. ~~[private]~~
35. [private]
36. Visit 10 different states (2/10)
37. See 10 movies in the theatre (1/10)
38. ~~See 10 movies outside of the theatre~~ (10/10)
39. See a comedy show
40. Get a professional massage
41. Do all of my homework for a semester
42. Run 3 miles in PA or 5 miles in NM
43. Document a trip well
44. ~~Go go-karting~~
45. ~~Mentor someone~~
46. ~~[private]~~
47. Get 8 hours of sleep 7 days in a row, and have all homework done
48. Do a non-tandem skydive
49. ~~Go 6 months without asking parents for money~~
50. Repay my mom for my bed
51. Go to the gym at least twice a week for 6 months (minus weeks missed because of illness or injury) (3/6)
52. Be on time to everything for a week
53. [private]
54. Learn a second language to a social level
55. Take a picture of myself every day for a year (0/365)
56. Learn how to knit
57. Knit an article of clothing
58. Visit Hacina at home
59. Visit Sam at home
60. Go on a full-weekend hike
61. Hike at least part of the AT
62. Go on a multi-day roadtrip
63. Do karaoke without the help of alcohol
64. ~~Go a year without losing an umbrella~~
65. ~~Volunteer on a regular basis for at least 3 months~~
66. Go 6 months without making an impulse buy (0/6)
67. ~~Find an international pen pal~~
68. Donate to a good cause
69. Update a blog/journal on a regular basis for at least 6 months (0/6)
70. ~~Acquire an article of green clothing for St. Patrick's Day~~
71. Sleep normal hours for one month straight (0/31)
72. Get flat abs
73. Attend a concert at a major venue
74. ~~[private]~~
75. ~~Have a meal with each of my brothers (0/2)~~
76. Go 1 week without using the internet for pleasure (Email for work and school is okay)
77. ~~[private]~~
78. Have all homework done by midnight for 4 weeks in a row (0/4)
79. Learn Irish Gaelic pronunciations
80. Cook dinner for Mom and John
81. Learn Irish alphabet
82. ~~Start to learn to play an instrument~~
83. Do 200 consecutive ab exercises
84. Apply to be a Great Media Remote Engineer
85. ~~Watch a presidential speech~~
86. Participate in a walk/run for charity
87. Learn Irish dance
88. Go to a spa
89. ~~Lose 10 lbs~~ Done, and more! Yay! :D
90. ~~Call Aunt Kay at least once a month~~
91. [private]
92. ~~Own a Mac~~
93. Learn to lead belay
94. Learn to lead climb (and have the guts to do it)
95. Hang out with Rosanna more often
96. Drink nothing but water for 2 weeks (0/2)
97. Drink the right amount of water every day for 2 weeks
98. Go back to 30th St. Station and try the kangaroo and crocodile stir fry
99. Eat a whole entree with green chile
100. Make another 101 things in 1001 days list
101. Put any unfinished items from this list on the next one