Bow Tie Week: Day Two

I have this one damask-ish white and pink jacket. Every time I wear it, without fail, someone says, "Nice jacket. My grandmother has a couch with that same print. Ha ha ha!" Oh ha, ha, ha... 'cause I haven't heard that comment a million times. All I have to say is that there must be lots of grannies out there with some bad ass couches 'cause my jacket's pretty rad.

The point of that little story is that I am a big fan of any print that reminds people of something that their grandmother (supposedly) owns, be it bed spreads, couches, drapes, china, etc. Because of my love for all things granny, I really love this top:


I got it on clearance at H&M for $10. I don't like polyester, but I do like this polyester. I forgot to take an "outfit" shot but I don't think the absence of my chin (and my messy bedroom in the back ground) takes anything away from the presentation. I wore it with a turquoise cardigan, my tan ballet flats and my brown, Coach Willis bag.

Foods aren't accessories but, I found my dessert matched my outfit pretty well...


Homemade raspberry and dark chocolate scones! I wish I could take credit but they were part of my gift from Heidi. She usually includes a homemade something with her gifts and they always end up being the highlight. Oh, that's not to imply that she gives crappy gifts, she doesn't. Her gifts are awesome (like the immersion blender I got this year, so excited!!!) but her baked goods are amazing.

Bad Gift?

Is it weird to gift grocery?

I always have a hard time deciding what to get Heidi. Since she's a foodie who decided to get her food spending under control, I thought I'd get her some of my favorites from Trader Joe. Let's see, we have:

Truffle Brownie Mix- I've never tried it but who doesn't like brownies?
Sea Salt- 'Cause I like sea salt
Almond Butter- Soooooo good, oh my goodness, so good.
Basil Marinara Sauce- My very favorite (bottled) marinara sauce.
Grade A maple Syrup- The real stuff, the buttery, yet light, good stuff, that makes you want to eat nothing put pancakes for the rest of your life... not that fake "pancake syrup" crap.
Organic Dark Chocolate (72% cocoa)- Not the best dark chocolate I've had but still very good none the less. I use it for baking, it makes the most decadent, delicious brownies...
Olive Oil- Honestly, I'm not very discerning when it comes to olive oil. I use it primarily for cooking so the quality isn't that important to me. Since I'm sure she actually makes dips and vinaigrette, I just grabbed the prettiest, priciest bottle they had and hoped it was good quality. If not, at least the bottle will look pretty on her counter top... only you're suppose to keep olive oil in dark places where the sun don't shine...
Vanilla Extract- The real kind, the kind that recovering alcoholics can't have, 'cause imitation tastes bad.

All this in a nice Trader Joe reusable bag. I love reusable bags, not for their (questionable) environmental impact but because its way easier (and quicker) to bring in two or three of reusable bags into the house (that you can sling on your shoulder) than eight or ten of the flimsy plastic kind.

I kind of felt weird gifting regular food. It would be one thing if they were some exotic spices or fancy salt but these were just regular food stuff. It just kind of looks like I raided my pantry at the last minute, doesn't it? Oh well, she seemed to like it and it's not like I got her cans of Starkist and some ramen.

Bow Tie Week: Day One

I have decided to make this week Bow Tie Week. I will wear a bow tie top every day this week, which works out well since I have 7 bow tie tops. Well, I have 8, but one's a cardigan. No, wait, I have 9, but one's a cardigan and the other one magically shrank in the wash one day. I swear it did... or maybe I just gained weight... regardless, it pulls in the front and looks bad. Shame, I liked that blouse, it had a bow tie and Peter pan collars.


The quality of the pic is particularly bad, I know, I'm sorry. The blouse is a light, bluish gray with dark gray ruffly trim, the henley shirt is a royal purple, and the sweater coat is black. The sleeve also has ruffly detailing that you can't see.

The blouse is the Target Go International blouse. Not the designer ones but the bridge collection, you know, the ones they sell in between designer collections. Because the blouse is ruffly and the sweater coat is long and capey, I kind of felt like a vampire. Awhile back, that would've been good, but... I just kind of felt a bit doofy and over dressed.

The bow ties a bit too high on the neck, which is bad considering I have a very short neck. Still, it's a cute top! I just have to find a way to wear it without looking like an Ann Rice fanatic.

Who Buys a 360 From f.y.e.?

Now, why is there a panda riding a wolf? Really, think about it... Then again, there's very little thing about this season that makes sense.

I'm glad that things are starting to get back to normal.

Oh, and I have Wi-Fi again! My interest in the internet has been renewed and I can't wait to play show and tell again.

All the Teenage Death Boys and All the Teenage Death Girls

Oh yes! Oh my! Seriously, the skies opened up, angles sang, and doves flew out of no where. I swear it hummed, hummed with magic and awesomness. The best part...


Colored vinyl!!! It was too hard to capture it's true color, it's more of a darker blue, gray, marbley goodness.

The Art of Drowning is the last time that afi was punk, and even then they weren't really that punk. The genre "goth-punk" was probably created just to describe their sound. That's fine with me, aside from a few punk bands (The Clash, Rise Against... Does Greenday still count?) I'm not a big fan of punk. I got into afi backwards, I became a fan with Decemberunderground and worked my way through their dicography in reverse. I stopped liking their album after The Art of Drowning but continued to buy all the other CDs 'cause I'm a collector and a fan and that's kind of what you do... Well, what I do at least. Alas! My collection is not complete. I'm missing Very Proud of Ya but that's okay, I'm really not a fan of their earlier, hard core, punkier sound.

Now all I need is a framed Prodigy album and my personal trifecta of music awesomeness will be complete!

'This the Season

I had this pretty awesome Christmas-ish picture to post but it's still on my camera, which is in my room, and I am feeling too full and feeling too lazy to get it so... no pics.

Of course, if I weren't tethered to the wall by an ethernet cable, I would be in my room right now. My Wi-Fi is down. How did I ever live without Wi-Fi?

Christmas went very well for me. I got my steam vac (and had fun testing it out), I went grocery shopping with my mom (giant Asian grocery stores are like movie theaters, they never close) and bought myself the cutest apron ever! On the way back I saw a three car pile up happen (okay, not exactly a pile up but an accident none the less). What else... what else.. what else...

I'm just glad "The Holiday" is over. Crowds, stress, crowds, congestion, stress, stress, stress... I just have to get through New Year and life will be back to normal. I can take a deep breath, relax, write some people up, lay some people off, and have some serious conversations about job performances in general. Oy, that's not going to be fun... Ugh, then we have inventory...

February! I just need to hold on until February!

On a not so gloomy positivie side... I am almost giddy with the anticipation of the massive after Christmas blow out sales. Eeeep!!!

I'm a Polar Bear!

I'm really not a fan of winter. For the longest time I considered it one of my favorite season because I liked the idea of winter, you know, the whole curled up with a hot cocoa by the fireplace while it's snowing outside fantasy. However, the reality of winter is cold, freezing, dry arctic air, bleachy stark and miserable. It's a lot of ice scraping, chapped hands, face, and lips, driving on icy roads, and a mild case of SAD. Not fun.

This year, Michael got me something that's making this miserable season a lot more bearable:
It's a fake fur lined hoodie from the girl's dept. at Target. The word plush comes to mind when ever I put it on. It's so soft, warm, and cuddly... it makes me want to take a nap, the good relaxing, lazy kind, not the ones you take out of desperation and need. It makes me feel like I'm one of those cartoon polar bears you see on Holiday gift bags, hot cocoa tins, plates, towels, etc. You know, the fat white ones with a colorful striped scarves that are shown doing fun winter stuff like sledding and cocoa drinking and hanging out with equally cute and fat penguins... My only complaint is that the pockets are in the front, not the side. It kind of makes it awkward to put my hands in my pocket.

If you can't find any at Target, Old Navy sells their vesion (in grown up sizes) that's actually a little nicer (but at twice the cost).

Augh, I can't wait for this season to end! Of course, come summer, I'm going to be bitching about how hot it is and counting down the days until it's winter.

LG Rumor

This is my new phone, the LG Rumor. Despite my initial apprehension about phone, I really like it.

My favorite part is, of course, the slide out keyboard. I'm horrible at texting on regular phone key pads. It's always "Beep beep beep beep- oh crap! pressed it too many times! Okay... where's the period again?..." It takes me forever to write out a single word so I rarely used my old phone for anything more than calling.


Qwerty keyboard aside, it's a good phone. It's a good size (not too bulky) the sound quality is good, and it picks up signals pretty well. I also like how the alarm clock has a snooze button (!!!) and it connects to my Bluetooth headset automatically when I turn the headset on. Oh, let me clarify, I do not wear my headset in public, just around the house so I can have my hands free.

The only downside, no little hole to insert my cellphone charm:
I've lost 2 phones in the past and they just happened to be the 2 phones that didn't have a cellphone charm. What can I say, I'm superstitious.

Retail Explained: The Wait

Have you ever found yourself like the 11th person in line at a grocery store, or Target, or Walmart etc.? Have you ever looked around, saw the other open lanes with equally long lines and wondered, "Why the hell are there only 3 open lanes when it's #%$#@-ing Saturday afternoon and there's like a million empty lanes?!?!? Why don't they open up more lanes?! Where are the cashiers?!?!?!?!"

Simple, us retail monkeys are underachieving idiots who hate our job 'cause we only get paid minimum wage, so we're all out in the back taking simultaneous smoke breaks and bitching about how much we hate customers 'cause they actually expect us to care.

Kidding! Ha ha ha! But, I bet you've thought something like that... Can't say I blame you. The real reason is simple: accountability.

See, all those empty lanes have a cash register (or POS) and inside those POS, there is a drawer (aka: till) full of money. Each till is assigned to one person, and one person only, for the sake of accountability. At the end of the day (or shift) the auditor/manager/cash handler counts the till. If there is a cash shortage/overage (aka: cash variance) we need to know who to blame... which is impossible if more than one person rang on the same till. In the morning, the opening manager decides who will ring for that day and assigns that register monkey a till. Once they decide on that, no one else rings on that drawer... for the rest of the day.

So, say it's 3pm on Saturday and you're fuming 'cause the lines are long and there are only three register monkeys working the lanes. That could be 'cause the first few were used by cashiers who already went home for the day, the others are reserved for cashiers who are coming in later that day, and the remaining few belongs to cashiers who are on break.

Why not just audit the tills more often you ask? Maybe in between shifts? Good question! First off, only a limited few people are authorized to audit tills. Most of these authorized people are managers and, believe it or not, us managers do not have time to go to the back to audit tills, especially during peak time. Secondly, tills are usually audited in the back office area and it becomes a big LP (loss prevention, aka: theft) issue to walk through a busy, crowded store carrying a till containing hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars in cash. At a small, specialty retailer, auditing the tills between shifts isn't a problem and happens all the time (since they're usually done on the spot, at the POS, and can be done quickly). In a big box retailer, it's an ordeal.

If the lines are out of control and customers are getting very angry, a manager might decide to ring (or have someone else ring) on an unaudited drawer. It, however, is a risk. If there's a cash variance over/under a certain amount (usually $5) everyone who rang on that drawer (and possibly the manager who made the call) might face disciplinary action. If the store is a high shrink store (above average theft occurrences) double ringing on the same drawer will be extremely frowned upon by the higher ups.

Now, what some managers will do sometimes, if the lines are getting really long, is run credit/check/gift card only transactions on closed tills. When you run non-cash transactions the drawer doesn't pop open so accountability is not an issue. Managers will go to a long line and inform customers that they can take whoever is not paying with cash in a different lane. The only problem with running a no-cash line is that cash paying customers get pissed off at what they feel is tender discrimination. They start making snarky comments like, "Oh! My money isn't good enough for you huh?" or "Last time I checked, this is America, what, you stopped taking Amercian money all of sudden?" And next thing you know, there's an article on The Consumerist about how Company XYZ is conspiring with the credit card companies to keep Americans further in debt by refusing to take cash, or maybe an article on how register monkeys are too stupid to handle cash.

Another problem is that there's no "No Cash" sign, so sometime a customer will wait in line only to be told that they have to go to a different line and wait again. It's understandable how that customer would be really pissed off, I would be.

So yeah, opening up a no-cash line is rarely worth it. Personally, I think big retailers should have a designated "No Cash" lanes (similar to express lanes). That way, if the line starts to get long, anyone who's register trained can just jump in and help get the line down. It works for toll roads, right? However, I guess big retailers feel that most customers won't understand why certain lanes can't accept cash and they don't want to piss anyone off. After all, waiting in line is the norm, people expect it. Getting your cash rejected is new, it'll definitely set some people off.

There's also another possible reason why you're stuck waiting in line when rows and rows and rows of lanes sit void of any register monkeys. It has to do with petty office politics and the pathetic power struggles of inept dept. managers. Sometimes it has to do with revenge and spite. Not against the consumers though, but against a rival manager. It's complicated.

Turquoise Xhileration Pleated Mary Jane

Awhile back I told myself that I wasn't going to buy cheap shoes anymore (cheap as in quality, not price, 'cause I'm always up for a good deal). I mean, if my size 5 feet were going to doom me to a lifetime of limited selection, might as well go for quality rather than quantity, right? However, a few days ago, I saw these at Target and I couldn't resist.


I bought these shoes for several reasons:
1) It's turquoise- most of my shoes are black or brown, I want a more colorful shoe wardrobe.
2) I love mary janes!
3) It has a modest heel- I love high heels but it's nice to have a modest heeled shoes for days when I know I'm going to do a lot of walking.
4)
Nice!

Chicken Breast

Trader Joe is not selling my chestnuts it seems... However, I did find a new favorite, Trader Joe's Breaded Chicken Tenderloin Breasts. At $8 it seems a bit pricey but it does come with about 18 good sized pieces. I've never been a fan of frozen breaded chickens, they always seem dry, hard, and not very yummy. These however, are really good.


Michael likes to make them into a pita sandwich with hummus. I don't like hummus, or ranch, so I eat mine dry.

My new favorite way to eat them is faking chicken parmesan. Put some boiled pasta in an oven safe dish, put 2 things of the chicken on top, cover the whole thing in marinara sauce, sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top, and bake in a toaster oven until the cheese is gooey. Yum!

Kind of a Raise

I got a raise! Kind of...

The Company has decided to match 50% of up to 4% of my contribution!

Okay, yeah, I know, it still sucks as far as 401(k) plan goes but it's better than nothing... which was what it was before. Besides, I think it's pretty awesome of them to offer a match when, according to a lot of personal finance blogs, a lot of companies are doing away with matches.

So now, starting in January, 12% of my pay will be going into my 401(k) instead of just 10%. Yay! I'll be able to afford the fancy cat food in my old age! Maybe I'll smarten up, reduce my 401(k) contribution to just 4%, and sock the rest in a Roth. Or, maybe I'll finally look into a Roth 401(k). Maybe, maybe, maybe...

Ascots

When I wore my flouncy tie neck blouse, Eric suggested I start wearing ascots. I think he thought he was teasing me, you know, what with my penchant for neck flounces, but the idea got me excited. I told him that I so totally would, if I could find one to wear. Maybe I'm still on some velvet lace goth kick but, I want to wear like a female version of something like this:Check out the ascots on those dudes!

I figured ascots couldn't be that expensive, right? A quick search lead to some disappointment. They all looked too similar to ties. I know some people like the look of girl's in ties but, to me, they just look like they should be serving tables at The Macaroni Grille or something... maybe Red Lobster.

I wanted something frilly, lacy, gothy, and Parisienne looking. You know, something a Japanese manga vampire would wear... or Anne Rice vamps. Yeah, I know... I didn't really like Tom Cruise as Lestat either. I tried to find the Stuart Townsend Lestat but he was mostly shirtless in his pics.

Alas, I couldn't find any frilly vampire-esq ascots either. No luck on the internet search. I did, however, find a tutorial on how to tie an ascot. The result:
It was too hot for the velvet waist coat, shame.

Now I just need to find a lace scarf so I can pull off that vampire look. Oh, and I'll also need a glimmering, menacing, big ruby brooch to pin on the knot. That way, people will stop calling me Fred.

This is How I do Goth

Two skirt outfits in one month? Who do I think I am?

I was in a mood to dress kind of goth and this is the result:

I thought the leopard print cardigan was a bit too much so I switched it for something a bit plainer:

You can't tell but the cardigan is navy. I was always a bit iffy about wearing navy with black but it actually looks good.

The silk tie neck blouse is Libertine for Target that I bought for like $30. It's a bit more than what I'd like to spend at Target and the quality is pretty crappy, but I love it for one reason:
A big flouncy, pouncy bow!

November Purchase of the Month

I got a lot of really cool things in November so it was hard to just pick one purchase of the month... but I'm going to have to give it to my new sweater:


This is a cotton/wool blend sweater that I got for $15 on sale at Old Navy.

Have you ever loved an article of clothing so much that you wish it wasn't considered socially weird to wear the same thing every day... Have you ever loved an article of clothing so so much that you said, SCREW IT!!! and wore it every day anyway? This is that sweater... only I didn't wear it every day, just like every other three or four days. I tried to disguise it by layering it over, and under, with other things but it's a bright green sweater, people notice, and they think they're so funny when they ask, "Hey, where's Blue?"

When it's early in the morning, and it's cold, and I'm feeling lazy, hurried, uninspired, or too sleepy to even think about what to wear, I go for this sweater.

It's soft, lightweight, and, for a cheap sweater, pretty pill resistant. Oh, and you can totally stick it in the washer and dryer and it won't shrink. I thought about buying some more in different colors but, if I had more than one, I probably will be wearing these sweaters every day. I was going to link to the site so you can see all the other pretty colors but they're sold out on line ('cept white).

Of course, knowing that they're selling out just makes me really want the other colors. Damn. I guess I'm going to Old Navy today.

The Gay Blades

So one day, I saw this CD
and thought, "Oh how cute!" It said, "For fans of Eagles of Death Metal, Hot Hot Heat, The Black Keys & Bill Murray." Bill Murray, eh? With a band name like The Gay Blades and songs titled We Wear Mittens and Robots Can Fuck Your Shit Up, I figured it was going to be like Nightbeast- Good for a WTF giggle but not something I'd want to own.

I asked David if The Gay Blades were a good band and he was all, "Oh my god YES! If you don't like them then... then... There's no hope you, your taste in music sucks beyond all reason." Hmm... not sure if I trust the review of someone who calls afi, lame-f-i.

Long story short, I bought the CD. It's good (and not like Nightbeast). It's good if you're into like Deathcab, Postal Service, Modest Mouse, and other "indie" bands. It's Daria music. There are some upbeat songs but it's mostly chill. I wouldn't put it on in the car, it's not driving music (for me), but I'd put it on while I like cleaned my room, or at work.

It's the kind of music I buy and save and wait for the day when I grow up. Well, I'm grown, my musical taste, however, is still stuck in high school. I imagine that a day will soon come when I tire of fast beats, synthesizers, thumping bass, breakdowns, pop, and slightly androgynous front men in eyeliner and skinny jeans. When I'm ready to enter into the world of chill, scruffy bearded front men in white shirts and skinny jeans I'll have a long playlist of music ready to go.

I was so convinced that Daria would like this CD that I bought her a copy as well. Now I kind of regret it. I totally forgot that she hates Bill Murray...

Riddle Me This

I have a riddle. Ready?

What kind of sweaters do pirates wear?

Give up?


Aaaargh-gyle!!!

Get it? Aaargh-gyle? Argyle! I thought of it all on my own, really I did! Ha ha ha!

This was Target super cheap clearance sweater. Well, maybe not super cheap... This was a Target fairly priced clearance sweater. I love Target.

I'm Free!!

PIE!!!

In 4th grade, I learned how to make a pizza bagel and it was one of the most liberating feeling in my life. The sky opened up, doves gathered round, and I wanted to shout, "I'm free! I'm free! Thank God almighty I'm free!" No more begging my mom for pizza delivery! No more banging around the kitchen cabinet looking for food. No more being forced to eat yucky dinner stuff that my mom made. Why? 'Cause...

"Pizza in the morning.
Pizza in the evening.
Pizza at supper time.
When pizza's on a bagel
You can have pizza any time!"

Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit but there's no denying that when you master a skill, you become less dependent on others and that's a very good feeling. Now that I know how to make an apple pie I don't have to wait around until my birthday, go into Trader Joe's with my fingers crossed (still no pie, btw), or eat the store bought kind that's more goop than apple.

Coincidentally, while my pie was in the oven, I decided to watch Good Eats and, what do you know! It's about how to make an apple pie! Now, I love Alton Brown, but sometimes he makes things way more difficult than it has to be. I just want some pie, I'm not trying to win the Country Fair. That episode did, however, introduced me to two things that I want to get:

Grains of Paradise: Alton Brown had a good point- apple pie should taste like apple pie and not pumpkin pie. So, instead of the usual (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves) he suggested grains of paradise. I personally like the apple cider combo of apple, the above mentioned spices, and a dash of vanilla but maybe I'll give grains of paradise a shot. Besides, the jar looks pretty and I'm a sucker for pretty packaging. With a name like "grains of paradise", it better be good.

Pie Birds: They are placed inside the pie, in the center, to prevent steam. Now, I'm perfectly fine cutting slits, I think lattice tops are pretty, and, one day, I might try to be all Martha Stewart-ish and cut out shapes of acorns or leaves or something. I just want these pie birds because I think they're cute and kitschy.

I've been trying to stay away from uni-taskers but neither of them are expensive so I might reward my new found pie freedom with some pie stuff. Hmm... or... Christmas is around the corner... who still owes me a gift?...

Off White Patent T-Strap with Bow

Me in skirts?! No way! I need to document this.


Fall and winter is the perfect time for me to wear skirts since the tights hide my horribly ugly knees.

Did you notice the awesome shoes? They were a gift from (who else!) Jamie. They're not as white as the pictures makes it out to be, it's more of an off white in real life. I love the bow detailing:


Thank you Jamie!

Rayman's Raving Rabbids 2

If I were a Raving Rabbid, I would look like this:


Jamie thinks they look like the screaming Quizno sock puppets but I disagree, they are adorable. They're my go to avatar. I can relate to them. Sometimes, simple things don't make sense, I get frustrated and I just want to scream: BAAAAAAAAHHH!!! The world can be quite mean you know.

I was pretty excited to play Rayman's Raving Rabbids but pretty disappointed by the whole experience. The bunnies are just as cute as the Wii version version but the mini games are not as fun and you end up having to play the same mini games multiple times. It's also a really short game with 0 replay value, I think I finished the whole thing in less than 2 hours.

I did, however, love the rhythm based mini game. A pink haired Japanese school girl bunny hopping around on stage singing Smoke on the Water... fun times.

Apple Tart

Beautiful!!!
That, my friend, is a home made apple tart with fresh, homemade whipped cream (that's melting due to the fact that the tart was pretty fresh from the oven). It's like apple pie but better 'cause it bakes faster so you don't have to wait as long.

I made the super awesomely easy pie crust, sliced up some apple, and sprinkled on some sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I liberally coated the crust with butter and sprinkled on a lot of sugar along the edge. So easy. So good.

As for the whipped cream... Just pour some heavy whipping cream into a bowl and whip until it turns into whipped cream. You'll start to feel like it's never going to happen but don't give up! As soon as it starts to get fun 'cause it's a foamy and whippy, stop. Plain is good,but if you like flavor you can add anything from confectioners sugar, cocoa powder, macha powder, and what ever else you can think of. Flavored whipped creams are pretty beast. I think I'll try a cinnamon whipped cream for my next apple tart.

Crappy Moms

Katie came back from break with a story about how she saw a frantic mom running around the mall looking for her lost kid. It reminded me of all the bone head parenting moves I've seen working retail. Here's my top three:
(All happened when I worked at JCP)

1) I got a call for a Code Adam from the junior dept. during a busy Saturday. I went up there and there's no mom. I figured the mom was running about, trying to find her kid so I got the description from the register monkey who called it in. As I was relaying the info to our security monkey, there was a lady in line with a little girl, calmly volunteering information every once in awhile, "Oh, he was wearing a blue jacket" etc. I figured she was someone who saw the kid at one point. After she was done paying, she calmly turns to me and asks, "So, did you find my son yet?"

WTF?! Your kid's lost and you're in line paying for your clothes?!?! I tell her no and she does a complete 180 and freaks out. She starts screaming out his name, running around frantically, dragging her poor daughter along. A lady walks up to her and says, "I'll watch your daughter, you go find your son." She leaves her daughter with the lady and runs out into the mall with security.

Long story short, she finds her son... but here's the kicker, it turns out that the she didn't even know the lady that offered to watch her daughter! So, she calmly stood in line while she knew her son was missing then left her daughter with a complete stranger to go find her son!

2) I get a call to come down the the Home's dept. I get there and, next to the register, there is a customer freaking out (loud enough that other customers could hear) saying that there's a baby in a locked car, with the window's up, crying (it was spring). I call security, a security monkey comes down and says that he thinks we should call the sheriff. He picks up the phone to call the sheriff and this lady in line says, "Oh, no, it's okay, that's my baby. I'm just going to pay for these lamps and then I'm done." Security monkey gets pissed off and says, "You better get your kid now or I'm calling the sheriff!" She leaves.

Again, WTF! She clearly heard the first customer saying that there's a baby in a car, on a warm day, crying, and she decides to stay in line to pay for some lamps?

3) This was during the whole DC Sniper fiasco. I happened to be near the Junior entrance when a lady come running in crying and screaming "It's the sniper! It's the sniper!" She's hysteric. I run over to her and she's crying and shaking saying that a white van was slowly driving by her and she's positive that's the sniper and we need to cal the cops now. Then she screams, "My baby! My baby's in the car! Someone go save my baby!" I look outside and there's an SUV with one of the passenger door wide open a stroller near by. She keeps screaming, "Go save my baby!!! Someone go save my baby!!!"

So let me get this straight... You're about to load your baby into the stroller, a possible sniper drives by, and your instinct is to run inside to the nearest building... leaving your baby behind? Not only that, you're not willing to risk your life for your baby but you expect complete strangers to care? Nice. If it were me, I would've jumped into the car, close the door, and thrown myself over the baby, just in case it actually was the sniper.

I think the last lady was the worst. I almost pity her. I mean, after all that was over, it must've sucked to look at her baby and realize that, when it came down to it and their lives were in danger (or so she thought) completely abandoned her kid. That's got to shatter any illusions of maternal instinct she had.

Bookmark Clean Out!!!

I think I will most likely end up getting the LG Rumor. I'm not thrilled but it's free and it's a phone. I've never had a candy bar phone before... that's going to different.

Well, anyway here are some posts you can read while I mull over this Rumor decision a little more (I'm so bad at making decisions...).

Bye, Bye, Teardrop (An Ode, of Sorts, to My Dying Phone)- Speaking of phones, why can't we get phones like that here in the US?

Neb. Parents Rush to Leave Kids Before Law Change- If you want to protect your daughters privacy you probably shouldn't let the press run your picture... of you hugging a cat... in your discarded daughter's room... looking very happy... And how do you abandon an 18 year old. Can't you just kick them out into the street at that point?

Fear for Your Rebates: Largest Mail-in-Rebate Processor Missing $9 Million- This is why I'm getting a Rumor, 'cause it'll be free even without a rebate.

CD Ladder Explained- I might try this next year.

Touching.

It's Rudimentary- I want one of those... I also want a bathroom with a window.

I wonder if they ate it afterwards.


Say Goodbye to BlackBerry? If Obama Has to, Yes He Can- Wait... so presidents can't email?


The Apathetic Expression Enters the Dictionary- Meh.

Top 10 Crazy Celebrity Websites With Good/Bad Design Elements- It's probably not a good a thing if your agent and publicist uses a Hotmail account for business. I mean, it doesn't costs a lot to buy a domain name and come up with a more professional sounding email address.

Gap Sells Bikes for the Holidays. We Don't Know Why- I don't either.

Will the Global Economic Crisis Kill the LHC?- I hope so, that thing scares me. Am I ignorant to be afraid? Probably. I just don't see the point in risking my existence (however minute) for science that won't even benefit me in my life time. Selfish and ignorant, yes, but still... that thing scares me.

Homemade Convenience Food- I didn't think you could make brown sugar, I thought brown sugar was something that just was... like tomatoes. You can't make tomatoes.

Are We Too Clean For Our Own Good?- I grew up around a lot of germs and bacteria. That's not to say that my mom was a horrible, negligent mom, she wasn't. As a result, I'm pretty healthy and rarely get sick (knock on wood). Of course, now I'm a huge germ-a-phobe and you'll never catch me touching a restroom door handle with my bare hands. Ewe!

Capitalism- I agree. I hate Walmart but not because they're so successful. I hate Walmart 'cause it's a crappy place to shop.

Country Green Beans- This recipe is so brilliant!

I Need a Phone

My cell phone plan expired so I get to pick a new plan and a new phone. I really want a smart phone. You have no idea how much I want a smart phone. It's almost as if God is telling me that I should get a smart phone, that's how much I want it. It's very unlikely of me to lust after technology... though, sigh~ I will admit that it's probably not so much the technology I'm lusting but the coolness. Gah! I'm such a loser!

The phones I can afford, it's the monthly plans. $99 a month? It's definitely doable but is it should-able? Nope, no it's not.

I was trying to pick out a plan for a regular, non-smart phone and I decided to go with the basic 450 anytime minute/unlimited nights and weekend starting at 7pm deal for $39.99- which is what I already have. This time, I'm going to add 300 text per month for $5. I'm not a big texter but so many people just text and I don't have the frugal fortitude to have that, "Um... can you not waste my money with pointless texts and just call me with anything important?" conversation. So now, with all the fees and tax and crap, I'll be paying roughly $50 a month for a phone.

$50?!?! Jeez! I used to pay like $40-$45! I know it's only a $5 difference but still... Augh.

And then I realized that if a $5 jump in my phone bill is going to make me sad, then a $50 jump in a phone bill should make me cry... only it doesn't... 'cause I still want a smart phone... This is so stupid. I'm just going to lock myself into a contract now so that a smart phone isn't even an option for another 2 years.

So far, it looks like the cheapest upgrade phone is the LG Rumor, with the low low price of FREE with a 2 year contract. There are other phones that I like better that are "free"... after a mail in rebate. I don't trust mail in rebates. The Rumor seems nice and it got decent reviews but it's such a... I don't know... a teenager's phone. It's kind of like how I lost all interest in the Mazda 3 after Daria described it as, "It's what the spoiled 16 year old girls from Broad Run drive. Do you want to be driving that car for the next 10 or so years?" Good point. If I not getting a smart phone, I just want a nice, plain, black, simple phone. Kind of like what I already have...

Moomin Valley!!!

Ever since I've started Postcrossing I've gotten several cards from Finland. So far, 33% of my received cards are from there, kind of high considering how many countries there are in the world. My favorite so far has been the one with this stamp:


OMG MOOMIN VALLEY!!!
I was so thrilled.

The only Moomin stuff I have is a journal that's now all filed with boring work journal-y stuff. I finished it up years ago and I'm not sure where it is anymore. Note to self: hunt down more Moomin Valley stuff.

Chicken Pot Pie

No! That's not turkey with some stuffing! I can see why you would think it is, but it's not. It's actually my chicken pot pie.

A few days ago, I found this great recipe for an easy as pie (ha ha ha!) pie crust recipe. It's only been a few days but I want to be bold and declare that this recipe changed my life. I always thought that a perfect pie crust was something that was just outside of my baking skill set (like angle food cakes) but no! Now, a whole new world of culinary possibility lies before me!

I haven't timed myself but I'm willing to bet that I can make the pie crust dough in a minute (or less), that's how easy it is. It's also super cheaper than buying pre-made crusts. Rolling it out is another story. I decided to go the "lightly flour" route vs. the wax paper route. As a result, the dough turned out a bit dry since I don't know how to "lightly flour" I only know how to dredge.

My only complaint with the crust is that it's a bit salty and it doesn't have that nice buttery-ness to it- easily fixable.

As for the fixings... I went with chunks of rotisserie chicken (same prices raw breasts but less work) and the classic mirepoix as the aromatics with some garlic and mushrooms thrown in. The thought of using cream of goop didn't sound too pleasing so I cooked the mirepoix in chicken broth and thickened it with some corn starch. I guess I didn't use enough 'cause there wasn't that binding agent... which is how it ended up looking like turkey with stuffing.

Oh, that and I made it in a 9" pie pan and sliced it up pie style. Yeah... there's a reason why that's not done...

Called It!

Somebody told me that their ex(?) boyfriend has an Asian fetish. No surprise there. I knew like over a year ago when she told me that his favorite movie is Lost in Translation. There are certain things that scream "Asian Fetish!", pony tails, for example, and really loving Lost in Translation seems to be one of the markers.

RIP: Morning Glory

This is what $44 worth of stationary looks like. Well, it's actually what $88 worth of stationary looks like. I got it for $44 'cause Morning Glory is going out of business and they had a 50% off liquidation sale. I'm actually a bit surprised that it lasted as long as it did. My parents are small business owners so I'm always sad to see one fail, it hits a bit close to home. It's always sad when a business fails but when it's a small business... I don't know, I always see it as someone's hope and dream dying. Melodramatic, I know, but still... it's sad. While I was happy to score some deals on cute stationary, I was really sad to see that place close. Where am I going to get all my cute Korean stationary now?! I guess I have to make the hike to Annandale...

Apparently, getting old fashioned, hand written letter is a really big deal for a lot of people. Personal letters in the mail aren't a rarity for me. Thankfully I am fortunate enough to have friends who love sending and receiving letters as much as I do. I'm really glad 'cause having people to write to gives me an excuse to buy buy buy.

I have a small cabinet dedicated to my stationary. These are all my letter pads:

And these are stickers (inside the Worther's box), post cards, some of my cards, and letter sets (inside the Yankee Candle bag).
Since Asian stationary care becoming more and more rare, I will have to buy every one I come across in the future.

Yay!