Another Expression I Hate....

All this talk about love...what's with the saying 'head over heels in love'? Isn't our head already over our heels? At least mine is if you look at me. I do know I'm far from the first person to draw attention to this fact. Anyhow. Is it that one 'falls' head over heels - like tumbles forward, gymnastics style? But still, I don't know that the head is going over the heels - maybe more like going under the heels. I guess I get it, but I don't like the expression.

Anyone out there like this expression, or know the origin?

Unrequited Love?

This picture is associated with the Charlie Brown quote 'Nothing spoils the taste of peanut butter quite like unrequited love'.

All this talk about songs on my i-pod has gotten me thinking. Anon nicely brought up the song "As I Lay Me Down" by Sophie B. Hawkins, which reminds me of my 7th grade crush. sigh. j/k. Anyhow.

Like everyone else in the world, I have experience with unrequited love. (Being that I had feelings for someone who didn't have them back.) One experience happened in college. Probably most of my friends/blog readers know/remember said experience for me. Actually, let's call this an unrequited crush.

I met him freshman year of college - we had a class together and talked briefly a couple times. He seemed like a genuinely nice person with good morals. I did some research and found out he had a serious girlfriend. I will not mention his name for the sake of protecting the innocent.

Anyhow. Long story short, he and I ran into each other a couple of times throughout college, but either I was dating someone, or he was, or the conversation was very brief and didn't allow for going anywhere personal. Well, senior year of college, I was single the entire time and started thinking about him quite a bit. About a week prior to graduation (I graduated in December of 2004, so most of the people I started college with had an extra semester left), I wrote him an email (I was just slightly ahead of my time in the dating world - back in 2004 this wasn't necessarily as common a way to ask someone out as it is now).

It went something like this:

Hi XXXX:

I don't know if you remember me - we had XXX class together freshman year and we ran into each other at XXX recently. This is kind of random, but I kind of have had a crush on you for a while and I was wondering if you were possibly interested in getting together some time. I'm graduating in two weeks so I thought I'd just get in touch and put it out there. Ok, take care!

He responded:

Hi Jaime (he spelled my name correctly!):

I definitely remember you - I enjoyed taking that class with you and it is good to hear from you. I actually have had a girlfriend for a little over a year, so I don't think it would be best for us to hang out. Congrats and good luck with graduating.

(Editor's sidenote: I do not remember either email, exactly, because, believe it or not, I didn't print it or save it, so once my U of I email account was disabled, it was lost in cyberspace. Tear.)

Sigh. The one that got away. J/k. I believe he is currently married and living in some other part of the country. Anyhow.

When I think back to him and this incident, I actually have fond memories of it - which makes me think this wasn't actually unrequited love, but rather, an unrequited crush, because, well, who remembers unrequited love fondly? At the time, I thought I felt more strongly toward him than I did. I knew he was a nice decent guy, but I didn't know him as well as I assumed to and never really had a personal connection/friendship to him (maybe this was the halo effect or something) - so it really was much more of a crush than anything.

Anyhow. Although I don't really think of this person any more (which might be hard for those who knew me back in college to believe), I don't remember him for the fact that he didn't want me in the same way I wanted him but I do remember him for being a nice decent person who was respectful to my (and other people's) feelings. That's what I remember about him and that's what I liked about him.

I do periodically wonder what he thought, getting an email completely out of the blue from a girl he hardly knew and hadn't seen or talked to in quite a while. When I think of this, it makes me think of the fact that there is probably someone completely random and unexpected out there thinking of all of us.

I have had other experiences with unrequited love - but those are stories for another day.

Laugh of the Day

It came from an email forward...you've probably all seen it before....

A little known fact....

The first testicular guard "Cup" was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974.

It took 100 years for men to realize that the brain is also important.

Editor's sidenote: I personally believe they were already protecting what they think with....

Pop Quiz

What is the number one most played song in my i-tunes? I ask this because I find it to be an interesting result (per i-tunes). I wouldn't necessarily say this is my favorite song, but it is a good one. I will give a reward to someone with the correct answer.

Some hints:
--The artist is not Fleetwood Mac, Better Than Ezra, Taylor Swift, U2, or, on that note, any artist I have mentioned on said blog
--On that note, it is by a more obscure artist, although many have heard of the artist
--It is a nicely girly song that many of females will relate to and many of men will roll their eyes at
--I think I like the music video even better than the song

I look forward to any interesting guesses....

Deja Vu?

So, whilst out shopping today, I saw some large peace sign earrings (like the one above). This was amusing to me because I owned a similar pair back in 7th grade, and let me tell you, they were totally the latest thing (at that given time). Peace signs were everywhere in 1994 and they're everywhere all of a sudden now. However, I do obviously realize this is a trend from '60s, therefore my first experience with the peace sign trend was merely a resurfacing of it as well. Anyhow. I also notice the peace sign (middle and pointer finger raised with the thumb crossed) is also popular once again out of the blue. Miley Cyrus seems to be a fan, but she's not alone. Hmm. I just found this odd. "Peace" as a concept is trendy once again. Your thoughts?

Birthday!

One of this blog's biggest fans celebrates a big one today! Happy Birthday Mom (aka Marcia)!!

Bristol Palin Breaks it Down for Us....

Ok - so I'm not making fun of her for being a teen Mom. And I'm not making fun of her for her personal beliefs. And I'm not making fun of her for being raised in a small town/different lifestyle and background/yada yada for anything that might have led to her having less information/awareness/etc.

However.

In a recent interview with new young mother Briston Palin, daughter of the one and only Sarah Palin, she explains her experience with teen pregnancy and what can be done to prevent it. Bristol explains:

"If girls realized the consequences of sex, nobody would be having sex. Trust me. Nobody."

(Editor's sidenote: The Associated Press punctuated this with periods, but I personally believe it should have been exclamation marks.)

Anyhow.

Really? So the real problem here, Bristol thinks, is that people don't fully understand the process of where babies come from? Some people aren't completely sure of the cause/effect relationship? There's some speculation out there, we might have strong lead, but some people think maybe it hasn't been 100% confirmed? Once we get the word out to teens, they will stop copulating once and for all!!?! Maybe we need like a 'birds and the bees' class available in junior high or high school, perhaps, or some local facilities to provide information on how teens can plan whether or not they become parents. Once we implement these programs, there won't be a non-virgin in sight on a college campus!

Anyhow.

Her father, Todd Palin, goes on to explain that he had never spoken to his daughter about sex. "She had enough information out there," he explains. Yes, she was more knowledgable about it than even he realized.

Of course, mother Sarah earlier commented that a good solution to the teen pregnancy crisis is making abstinence more available.

I will be sincerely, truly sad the day this family completely and totally exits the public eye.

Looking to Buy....

Any suggestions? Anyone out there blade? I cannot find a rollerblade review website ANYWHERE. Maybe I'll invent one. That'll be my next venture.

Getting Ready for the Showdown!

I think you know who I'm cheering for. Go CUTE go!

Anyone Remember?

So my near and dear friend Piper brought up an interesting point. CD clubs. Anyone remember them? You know - those places where you could buy 13 CDs for one penny, then each subsequent CD was $18 (whereas at the time on could easily get a CD for $12 at Best Buy). However, a lot of people had timed it where they'd buy one CD then quit. I think some people found some way to scam the system. Although I assume there was something in the fine print that didn't allow for this. I'm not sure. I do believe some of my friends were in CD clubs, but I'm not sure how they made things work.

Anyhow. Do CD clubs still exist? I imagine i-tunes and the downloading of music drove them out of business. Was anyone here in a CD club? Was it worthwhile, financially speaking? Was it a good deal? Was there a good way to scam the system? Please, do share.

New CD!

One of my all-time favorite bands ever released a new CD! Better Than Ezra's Paper Empire! I don't often talk openly about my favorite musicians (well, maybe my blog readers will argue otherwise) because I find it obnoxious when people constantly identify themselves as fans of a certain musician. I'm not sure why. However, BTE probably makes my lifetime top 5.

Anyhow. One of my favorite bands of all time is Better Than Ezra. I've seen them in concert either 2-3 times (I can't remember exactly - it was all Milwaukee summerfests)! Their new CD is great (especially the song Absolutely Still). Well, the songs I've been able to download thus far. I'll probably acquire the whole thing later.

Also, I can't help but notice that, once again, Better Than Ezra, is playing at MSF again (Sunday, June 28). Any takers?

Serial Monogamists

Ok. You know what I don't get - girls who always have boyfriends. And I'm not talking the same boyfriend - they're never single and they've been in like 10 serious relationships by age 25. They break up with one guy and have a new one less than a week later. They have existed long before the world of online dating started, so that cannot be attributed to contributing to this group (although maybe it has made things easier for them).

I have known quite a few girls who fit this description. There is no one common denominator amongst them. I have seen some that I would describe as very pretty; I have seen some that I'd say 'not so much' to. It's not as though this group of girls is, specifically, as I'd see it, all of the girls who are simply the most desirable to men, although maybe I'm wrong on this - I'm not a guy and I don't know what's going on in their head.

I don't think I need to go any further - because everyone I know, male and female, knows the kind of girls I'm talking about. they are serial monogamists (and I know their male counterparts exist).

Here's what I don't get about these girls - do they REALLY like pretty much every guy out there? Could they fall in love with anyone? Anything?

For me personally, I haven't even really met that many people I've quote-unquote like liked. At least not seriously. I'm not talking about a little crush. And I don't really understand how other people can say they have. I don't think it's possible to be compatible with all that many people out there. For me personally, I don't understand how someone my age could have been in love more than 2-3 times. I don't see how someone could have been in that many serious relationships. For some of my friends who have been in multiple long-term relationships - some will say that for earlier relationships, they may have thought they were in love but they now realize that it was just youthful naiveté.

Anyhow. I actually really think these people are just too insecure to be single and they think they're in love with everyone who crosses their path because these people temporarily abate their insecurities. I really wonder what goes through this group of individual's heads - do they know, themselves, that they're not really crazy about each person? Do they seriously think they're crazy about each person? Are they trying to convince themselves that they are more crazy about this person than they were with the previous 11? All I know is that, with some people I know, I laugh when they introduce me to their 'new guy who is DEFINITELY the one - even though it's early, they've NEVER felt this way about anyone before'.

I realize I may sound like the angry single girl at the moment, but I swear that's not the case. I have a coworker who, let's just say, is at that stage in life where he says EXACTLY what he thinks, for better or for worse. The other day, we were talking, and he said 'You know, I really don't like that many people. My wife yells at me that I shouldn't be this way. It's not that I dislike people; it's more that there just aren't many that I can honestly say I really like." I think he and I are on the same wavelength on this one.

Not That You Cared, But They Haven't Given up on Me

The Dianetics Center here in Des Plaines are offering Free Introductory Dianetic Auditing Sessions right now. If you have interest call (847) 824-62** to set up an appointment.

chicagomission@scientology.net
Northwest Chicago Mission
2720 S. River Road, Suite 45
Des Plaines, IL. 60018

Hours:
Mon and Wed 7-10 pm
Saturday 10-6pm


What kind of 'auditing'? I'm inclined to believe it involves one's 'personality' or 'life'....

Anyone Else Notice?

What's with Justin Long popping up EVERYWHERE lately? I just saw him in a trailer for ANOTHER movie! You all are probably most familiar with him as the Mac, as in "Hi, I'm a Mac".

Don't get me wrong - I own an apple. I like Justin Long as much as the next gal. He's got a little bit of an appeal - like that nice, better than average but still an every day guy who is probably somewhat laid back and humble because he is just an everyday guy. He also has that alternative appeal, whereas it's easy to like him because he's different; not someone totally mainstream.

Anyhow. Justin Long showing up EVERYWHERE, being in multiple movies, and growing a hollywood ego pretty much knocks out all of the positive attributes listed in the previous paragraph. That just leaves him as a slightly better than average looking guy who's a second (or even third) rate Brad Pitt/George Clooney/Matthew McConaughey.

Your thoughts on Justin Long?

It Opened Up My Mind....

So, this got me thinking...my first CD. See above. Ace of Base. I saw the sign! I'm going to venture a guess that 80% of females age 23-27 claims this as her first CD. That, or maybe Jagged Little Pill. Another oldie but goodie. Your thoughts? Your first CD?

Uh Oh....

So last night I made a scary discovery - I have something else in common with Simon Cowell. Yikes. He commented that he selected the song "One" by U2 for contestant Adam because it was one of his all-time favorite songs.

(Adam, of course, butchered said song.)

However, as I'm sure you can obviously infer - this is one of my favorite songs, too. U2 has had many ups and downs over the past couple decades, but I kinda fell in love with them in high school and Achtung, Baby! is/was definitely one of my favorite albums of all time. Also, U2 is one of those bands that has that 'staying power' I spoke about earlier in the Matchbox Twenty post.

Hmm. Simon and I are on the same wavelength pretty often. Except when it comes to Adam Lambert.

Anyone else out there a big U2 fan?

I Don't Get It....

Since when did this become the universal 'on button'? I don't know if I understand what this symbol means. Yes, I realize it's the 'on/off' switch on almost all electronic gizmos. But why? a circle with a line through it? Someone please advise. Thanks.

We're on the Same Page....

So I was reading this month's Cosmopolitan magazine, and it had a feature about what's in/out for summer. In the 'out' list - distinctly - the 'buzzwords' recessionista and staycation! Yes! Cosmo and I are on the same page! In the 'in' column - resetting (?). It's apparently the new term of optimism for starting from scratch, as in, a do-over. I am not sure how I feel about this word, but I like the meaning behind it.

Now, while we're at it - the term 'buzzword'....

Back to School

Spring Break (or 'furlough', if we're going for the technical term) is almost over. So sad. I accomplished a lot but not quite everything I want to do. I wish this was like Christmas Break (two weeks long), or summer vacation. Some would say I should be careful what I wish for, seeing this was unpaid time off. I do like my job and I did miss the people I work with. But the mental break was spectacular. :-) I didn't make any 'girls gone wild' tapes (they don't seem to be filming in Chicago this year), but I will soon. Persistence is key.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is the one year anniversary of the Kleenex episode. I won't bring it up any further because I don't want to rehash it all, but the parties involved know exactly what I'm talking about. Moment of silence.

Running

This is my newest hobby - running. Let's face it - it's a good way to burn off the ADD energy. That, and it's a whole lot cheaper than joining a gym, and it gets me out of the apartment.

It's a lot harder than I thought. Which sounds dumb, I realize. But I am in relatively active shape, and I take a dance class once a week, so I thought I was in better cardio condition than I am apparently. The first couple times I tried this running thing, however, I could not go more than five minutes without stopping, and let's face it, I was going slow in the first place. I am, slowly but surely (pardon the pun), getting better. I need to figure out the actual distance I run - that might be worth something. That might give me something to work for. Hmm.

This being said - it seems like running is the hobby of a LOT of people, Chicagoans especially. There are over 45,000 registered for the Chicago Marathon!?!?! That is CRAZY. That many people want to run 26 miles NONSTOP!? I could understand lifetime runners who have always held it as a hobby, but this seems like a bit much. Why is it that so many people want to do this to their bodies?! It can't possibly be just to get in shape, because there are much easier and less painful ways to do this. Maybe it's that running a marathon makes one really, truly feel like he or she has accomplished something. I do understand people don't often get to feel this way. Hey, my greatest accomplishment to date is this blog. Have any of my readers ran the marathon?

The Cute Guy

Kris Allen.

From here on out, your new name is 'the cute guy'. Let's face it, it's what I've been calling you all season so far. It's played a large role in the fact that you made it this far, my friend. Even having a cute wife hasn't hurt the cause. You're nice to look at. And right now, that's all I care about. Since Allison (moment of silence) has left the show, I am now cheering for you to take the title, cause if you don't, well, it'll be Adam or Danny, and that is a reason to rally behind you. Yeah, it's like you're John Kerry in 2004!!

It was once questionable if you would even make the top 12. Now look at you boy! Our next American Idol? Or America's Next Top Model? They're one in the same at this point to me!

Guest Mentor on American Idol

Last night, it was Slash from the band Guns N Roses (yes, I familiar with said band).

I am really wondering what GNR fans feel about this. I remember a couple years ago, Jon Bon Jovi was the guest (one of the BEST EPISODES OF THE SHOW EVER) and people made a big deal about that one - this seems like much more of a stretch.

Moreso, I am wondering what Slash would have said had we rewound about six years and told him he'd be one day guest mentoring on American Idol.

Slash did, at one point, acknowledge that he never expected to find himself on the show, yadda, but then said some crap about the amount of talent this season or some other lie. Nothing against the talent this season, but the only honest answer as to why Slash was guest-mentoring on American Idol, I think we all know, is "I needed to pay the bills".

Whatever Happened to These Guys?

Matchbox Twenty.

Ok, so background - on this 'spring break', I've been cleaning out some old stuff and I've come across some high school pictures/memories. I then decided to resort to music that reminded me of said time to appropriately set the mood.

So, Matchbox Twenty was one of my favorite bands back in high school. It seemed like they had staying power, too. Of course, my dad was all like 'you young people's music can't stand the test of time, these bands will be gone in a couple years, you whippersnappers, etc.' But I really thought Matchbox Twenty would rise above that. I mean, they went through the evolution/maturation of changing the title from Matchbox 20 to Matchbox Twenty. It seemed like they had a future.

Are they still around? I know Rob Thomas (the former(?) lead singer) has made a couple attempts at a solo career. Are they officially broken up? Does anyone out there who reads this blog still care about them? I suppose I could answer these questions on my own with a simple google search, but I was just wondering if anyone out there is still following them. Did anyone else like them like I did? Did a couple unfortunate choices in album cover art do them in?

Happy Birthday Wehe!!

So my very good friend Stacey has her birthday today! Happy B-Day to my pledge mom/wife/former roommate! It's ironic that I was going through some old stuff from college and found a bunch of pictures of she and I today - and to both our relief - I don't own a scanner, so I unfortunately can't post them. Let's just say, though, that one involved a keg in a bathtub. I digress. Anyhow, Happy Birthday to my reciprocal birthday buddy Stacey, the only redeeming quality the of the city of St. Louis.

Killing Time on Wikipedia

To further align myself with Chandler Bing...taken directly from Wikipedia....

Chandler's birthday is most likely in early April. In the episode where a month-early surprise party for Rachel is thrown, Rachel says that Chandler's birthday is before hers. Therefore, his birthday would have had to be after or on Rachel's party day (April 8) and before Rachel's birthday (May 5). In "The One with Unagi", an episode that takes place on February 24, Monica says that Chandler's birthday is in a month and a half. A month and a half from February 24 is early April.

Yet something else we have in common...I KNEW he was an Aries!!

Bulls Lose!

I don't feel sorry for them. I auditioned for the Luvabulls four years ago and they bounced me. Although, for multiple reasons, it appeared that everything worked out for the best this way, I never forgave them. So I don't cheer against the Bulls, but I can't say I cry for their losses. It's not like when my favorite figure skater falls or something.

Jealousy....

So a friend of mine, Kat, recently got engaged to her long-term boyfriend Brian. Yay! Congrats Kat and Brian!

My good friend and Kat's best friend, Emily, is going to be the maid of honor in said wedding.

I am SO JEALOUS. I have never been maid of honor or even a bridesmaid yet! I have had a handful of friends get married - none of them close enough where I thought I might have been in the wedding party running. Maybe I need to better kiss-ass with my friends who are in serious relationships. Or maybe I should start putting pressure on the significant others of my close friends. Hmm. Anyhow. I think I am more eager about one day being a bridesmaid than one day being a bride.

Dear Anonymous....

Please friend me on facebook. I want to compare notes on our music/television/movie interests. Thanks!

Spring Break

I am about to embark on Spring Break! Woohoo! I don't know if I'll be able to make it all the way down to Panama City Beach and back, but I'll try to enjoy myself just the same anyway. I never quite made the girls gone wild video series, but I'm not a quitter. I was no stranger to the toga back in my college days. We'll see what this next week has in store for me! I can't wait!