Today's List of Things That Must Go

So today has been kinda tough to think of things that are irritating to me. It's been a good day. It started out with my getting many salutations from friends and well-wishers on this, the 30th day of June in the year of our Lord, 2008 (including one from Melanie, and one from her parents too). Following the emails, I connected with Melanie via Skype and we had a video call for about 40 minutes--ish (not the best connection, but it was nice). So I was super happy on the way to work, and then when I got to the office, she had sent me a video she had made with pictures of our many adventures since we've been dating. It was super-sweet, and I don't think I'll share it with the whole world (and, yes I do think the whole world reads my blog--they should at least). So here it goes:
1). Roadkill on the way to work. It's unpleasant. I passed a dead raccoon, and two squirrels today.
2). Possibly having to spring for the bosses birthday lunch on your own birthday. Didn't happen yet, and likely won't but there was a possibility. I got an email from a co-worker on Friday (bosses b-day) about a birthday lunch for him today. I thought "sounds fun, but I don't want to have to pay for his lunch that day." (update: coworker/organizer just passed my office and wished me happy birthday, so she's aware, and extending the merriment to me).
3). Parents who don't call you on your birthday--last year I was in New York and only got a call from one sister (you know who you are and thanks BTW) as far as family goes. This year, I'll hope it'll be better, but I consciously decided not to call anyone yesterday so as to not give them an excuse to not to call me. (note to the sibling who actually will read this, don't give anyone a heads up, I wanna see if anyone else remembers)
4). Fireflies only being around for a month or so. They should be around for most of the year. They're super-cool. I never saw them growing up in Utah. My first experience was in Brazil, but now they have them here in VA, and I like them. I want to try to squish one on the sidewalk, to see if it really does glow in the streak where they get smeared (sorry PETA people, I'm curious is all).
And that's that. Maybe I'll be more angry next week. Apparently, though, last week's entry was a little harsh. I got rebuked from a couple of people. So, I'll have to find a happy medium.

It Starts...

I'll be the first to admit that I am not always the most tidy of people. For proof, you can look in my bedroom. However, I spend so little time in my room, and most of that is spent sleeping, so having a cluttered room doesn't bug me as badly as it probably should. That being said, I do enjoy having a tidy apartment--especially the parts where I spend time: the front room, where I watch TV or play the occasional game of Mario Kart, the kitchen, where it's nice to have clean spaces for food preparation, the dining area, where, if I get crazy and decide to eat at the table, I can do that, free from crumbs and over-flowing trash cans sitting in the corner, and lastly, having a clean bathroom is always nice.
I have two roommates, and that in and of itself can prove difficult to keep a place clean. However, two of us do a decent job at maintaining the place. The other, not so much. I don't know how, but I gather that said roomie never learned how to do basic chores. When I moved in ten months ago, the place was pretty filthy. As dysfunctional as my previous living situation was, you could always say that the place was clean, but I needed to find a new place and went with this one even though it was dirty, and I have liked it a lot. However, when I moved into the current place, the two roommates had been sharing the bathroom that I now was going to be sharing with one of them for about six months (I don't know if it had been cleaned in that time, or how long it had been prior to that). I made a special trip to the store that day to buy cleaning supplies so that I could clean the shower before actually jumping in to take a shower (now, after observing the situation for ten months, I think that the one who likes things clean just decided to give up on the house and let it go).
Now, one of the roommates is gone on travel for work for about a month, leaving me and the not-so-tidy one in the house for the majority of the summer. On Tuesday, I decided that I would do an experiment to see just how dirty the house would have to get for him to clean up after himself. The impetus for this? About two weeks ago, said un-tidy roommate was in the front of the apartment with a lady friend, while the other two of us were in the back just chilling out in our rooms. I heard the girl say something like "should I put this in the dishwasher?" To which this response was given: "It's a guys apartment, don't worry, somehow it'll get clean." I thought "Um, no. Maybe that's how you think it works, but in the reality, somebody's got to take care of it." Up until then, I hadn't gotten too angry about cleaning after him, thinking that letting it irritate me would only get to me and make me unhappy. Now, I'm thinking where it's just the two of us, I'm gonna let it go, and only clean up after myself, and see how long I can take it. So Tuesday, I decided to clean the house to start from zero and see what happens. I got it fairly clean and will probably finish things this weekend, making sure to not clean the places where he will have dirtied between Wednesday and then. I shall photograph the progress and post it here.

Note the two garbage cans. I purchased the larger as it was becoming irritating to empty the smaller one, which used to sit under the sink until traveling roomie cleaned the whole place and found remnants of critters under there (they are gone now, and the small can is no longer under the sink). I think I will actually sort out my trash and take it out, however I need to devise a scheme that is neither obvious, nor disgusting.

Shiny, clean kitchen. The floor needs mopping, and I will organize the dishes in the cupboards when I unload the dishwasher from the last load of dishes I ran this morning.

Front room. I will vacuum it on Saturday. Note the letters and flashlight are not mine. The book is, but it's supposed to be there as a coffee table book.

The hallway. When I moved in, there was a pile of dust and hair along the walls, the length of the hallway. I pulled part of it up in a solid, three foot strip.

Ultimately, I figure I'll probably cave and get sick of seeing junk on the coffee table, or will be revolted by the mass of dishes that will inevitably pile up in the sink. But at least I'll try to have fun with it in the meantime.

Artomatic

About a month ago, Mel and I went here:


"What is Artomatic?" You may ask. Artomatic is this, and it was pretty cool.
In case you didn't click on the link, Artomatic is a showcase for local artists, done annually here in DC, and it is held in a multi-storied non-finished office building. It has floor after floor, showcasing locals' works, and gives them a chance to sell some of there pieces.
There were a lot of cool pieces of art, and a whole lot more that were just kinda weird, and made me wonder how someone would think that was art. For example:

This is somehow supposed to represent the Potomac--however, I don't see any dead bodies floating in it

I did think that this was pretty cool.

Who in the world knows what this is supposed to be? But, Melanie seems to like it.

My favorite part was the Peeps diorama display. Here are some samplings from that.

Tarantino Fans?

"A major prize, a major prize. I won, I won, I won!!"

That is all, if you're in DC next spring, you should check it out.

Today's List of Things that Must Go

It's been a while since I have put up my weekly airing of grievances, so I thought that I would mention a few things that, in my humble opinion, should go:
1). The name Mona. I know that no woman has been named this in the past 50 years, and rightly so. No one should have any semblance to the word moan in their name--conjures up all sorts of strange images that shouldn't be associated with a first name.
2). News Reports on High Gas Prices. I know gas costs a lot. I see every time I drive past the Exxon station near my house that it's at $4.15 per gallon. It doesn't make me happy, but I deal with it. Not happily, but I do. I really hope something will be done about it, but having to hear people who make upwards of six figures (or more) try to sympathize with my pain of paying $40 to fill up my little Honda Civic makes me sick. Shut up!! all of you.
3). Mormons (sorry, I write what I know) Who Laugh Way Too Much at Jokes That Don't Deserve Much More Than a Smirk. Drives me nuts, and, in fact, is likely the reason why I won't go to institute this summer. The teacher was fairly funny, showing his wit on many an occasion a couple of weeks ago, but nothing that prompted more than a smile or brief chuckle. However, judging from the reaction from the class, you would have thought it was Laurel and Hardy themselves up at the front of the class. You see it often in General Conference as well. Often, humorous things are said, but not funny to the extent that often is exuded. I sometimes can't help but think "man, these people need to get out more."
4). Stop Lights on My Route to Work. It takes me 22 minutes to get from my house to my parking garage at work. At least seven of these are me waiting at a stop light. It's rather aggravating. In fact, I was at one of them last week for more than five minutes when I thought, "ah, screw it, I'm going, and I turned left." I couldn't handle it any more.
5). Baby On Board Window Stickers. I may have mentioned this before, but they make me mad. I don't give a crap if you child is in your car. Do you really think that effing sign makes me want to drive more carefully around you? Oh no, it really makes me want to rear-end you just to spite you. Don't just suppose that I give a damn that you spawned and now are now carrying your little critter around with you, and as such I should be more careful around your vehicle.
So, that's that. Those things have bugged me over the past few weeks. Sorry it's been a while (like you all really care--I just like to pretend that I have a fan base who is eager to read what I write), but I hope to be more regular in my postings of things that must go. As I've mentioned before, please feel free to send me your suggestions of things that must go.

Meet Virginia, I Can't Wait to Meet Virginia

As this weekend marks the two-year anniversary of my exodus from Utah, I was just on the phone with Kade and mentioned this to him (the two of us left from Utah together to come east, him to Raleigh, NC and me to DC). He promptly pulled up his email, and found what he sent to friends and family on our second night of the trip. Please read and enjoy. It's lengthy, but worth it for a good laugh. Our third day was fun as well, and I may have to find something about that, but enjoy this for now.

Hello Friends!

Greetings from the other side of the country! It has been quite the adventure and we're only on our second day. Right now, we're in Zanesville, Ohio, which is 78 miles out of Columbus (Columbus is quite the beautiful city at night). We were hoping to make it into West Virginia tonight, but we're bushed. It's 12:45 a.m. and we've been driving since 9:00 a.m. We didn't get to bed until 4:30 a.m. That was twice as much sleep as we received the night before.

I was pretty much packed by Thursday night, but I still had a few things to throw in and then my room to pick up. I also wanted to go spend time with my family and then had to pick up Darin in Brigham. We got back to my house at 1:30 a.m., got the car packed, and then we were up until almost 4:00 a.m. getting stuff finished. We then woke up at 6:30 and got on the road. It was rough. Anyway, we survived the drive through Wyoming (the UGLIEST of states) including seeing some giant statue of Mary or Jesus (we couldn't tell which it was) and then we got to see a trailer house with teepees built into it. Like, permanent, concrete teepees built into the middle of a trailer house. It was insane. Don't worry, I took pictures. Anyway, we then headed into Nebraska and that is where the fun began.

A few miles into Nebraska, Darin was driving and noticed this HUGE field full of cattle. He was like, 'Wow! That's a ton of cattle.' I meanwhile was studying the atlas (Did you know Ohio is the 7th most populated state in the US?) and looked up and said, 'That is a lot of cattle.' Those were almost the last words I spoke. The cows were not just any cows. They were primed and ready for the slaughter, which meant they were fed a warm grain and it stunk to high heaven. We coughed, we gagged, we gulped down the vomit, and we tried to hold our breath. Because we were crying and laughing so hard, that proved impossible. So, we shoved our noses in our armpits to smell the deodorant over that hideous stench. I was brave a couple of times and tried to see if the smell was gone. It wasn't. It honestly was the worst smell on earth and lasted for MILES!! I would rather smell ten dead skunks at once than smell that again. That was our introduction into Nebraska. It was almost a death by toxic fuming. The reason I know about the warm grain, etc., is because I was texting my dad at the time, who drives through that area constantly. I told him I was taking my last breath and that it was due to these horrible cows. He wrote back, 'Oh, those ones on the right hand side? Yeah, that's pretty bad. There's a rest area a few miles ahead. Pull over, walk around, and get a cold drink. It will help with the sickness.' I don't think anyone will ever understand how bad it was unless they were to smell it themselves.

OK, so beyond the cows, we kept seeing urine filled bottles by the road, mile after mile. I couldn't figure out what I was looking at, until Darin explained that a lot of truck drivers do that to save time and then throw them out. That made me sick to my stomach too. But, a few miles later, we were both sick as we looked over to see a lady vomiting by the side of the road. OK, OK, I'll stop with the nasty details of the trip.

So, last night, we were planning on making it to Des Moines, Iowa. We were so exhausted though and tried to stay in Omaha, Nebraska instead. It turns out there was some college world series going on and the entire town's motels were booked, including all of the towns for the next two hours. We were exhausted, couldn't find a place to sleep, and we were starving. We finally found a place somewhere by Elk Horn, Iowa. I almost ran over a family of raccoons, but due to my sharp sight at 2:00 a.m., I avoided the tragedy. The funny thing is that Darin and I were playing the either/or game earlier in the day and one of his questions was, 'Would you rather run over and kill an entire family of kittens or watch Duchess get eaten by a boa constrictor?' Of course, I'd much rather run over the cats. Anyway, a few hours later, there we were, with me almost running over a mama raccoon and her four babies. Disaster was avoided, so I hope Duchess doesn't meet up with any boa constrictors.

OK, so we couldn't get food b/c everything was closed, so we backtracked several miles to an open gas station to grab some junk to get by on, including refrigerated deli sandwiches. It was awful. But, for those of you who have seen me when I'm tired and hungry, you know it was best that I get something, anything really, to eat. It was essential. So, we were up early this morning and have driven about 1800 miles, maybe a bit more, between today and yesterday. We've driven through Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and most of Ohio. We're going to hit it tomorrow and try to get to Washington, DC by 1:00 p.m. I am aiming to get to South Boston, Virginia by 5 p.m. I'll head into Raleigh on Monday morning. I have an apartment now and a roommate, so that'll be fun. I'll meet him on Monday or Tuesday. I'll still be house sitting for the week, but will be able to drop all of my stuff off at the apartment so I'm not unpacking twice. I limited my packing to 120 shirts, 40 pairs of pants, 25 pairs of shoes, and then a lot of crap that I just had to have. Darin didn't do much better, so poor Luh-fawn-duh the Honda is loaded to no other. Bless her soul for surviving so far. We bought a cargo bag for the top of the car for luggage and it's stuffed too. The straps go through the car and hook inside, so now the door seals are separated making it soooooo noisy in the car. We solve this by stuffing kleenex and toilet paper in the door frame by the straps. We are both about the same height and the straps hang down a few inches from the roof of the car, so we are slouching down in the chairs to avoid having a strap pushing down on our heads the whole time.

OK, OK, I'll let ya'll go. I need to get to bed and this e-mail is long enough to keep you busy for a while. I hope you are all doing well. I'll catch ya' later. Have a blessed day!

Love,

Kade

She's No Betty Crocker

So how's this for funny? Remember a couple of months ago when Cindy McCain got in trouble for using some Rachel Ray recipes and claiming they were her own? Well, she's back at it again. Apparently, she submitted a plagiarized recipe from the fine folks at Hershey, when she with the (then) other two remaining potential first-spouses were asked to submit a family cookie recipe to an online magazine. Not to say that this is a valid reason that her hubby shouldn't be president--heaven knows there are plenty of those--but it just makes me wonder if her addiction to Percocet and Vicodin have caused some permanent damage. But then again, I have a feeling that Mrs. McCain isn't much into baking cookies. I gather they don't do that too much on her home planet, and I am sure that it wasn't her cookie-baking skills that won over John McCain when he was cheating on his first wife, who had been crippled in a car accident, with her.

Here's a link to the story. I just think it's kinds funny. And the cookies look delicious too. Maybe I can make them and claim them as my own.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-weiner/re-heat-offender-cindy-ba_b_107428.html

It's Funny 'Cause It's True

So, in case you didn't know, my best girl just left me for the summer. Well, it's been about two weeks now. And she'll be getting back in exactly seven weeks and one hour (not that I am counting).
Anyway, I find that my evenings have been extremely open since she left to Russia. I enjoy hanging out with my roomie and playing Mario Kart, but that can get old--particularly so when the roommate beats me and I pout like a child. So we (well, at least I) need fun activities to do during this summer. Suggestions?

Before and After

Yup, the last time I shaved my whole face was on March 16th--well, that is until this morning. I think it'll be my new summer-time look. But, I have a slight feeling it will return at the beginning of August. Thoughts (other than my looking like a complete gomer in the photos)?

Why I'm Voting Republican

I've had a change of heart, and here's why:

Recent Additions

Last week, I got to thinking (and we all know how dangerous that can be at times). I thought to myself, "Self, you haven't used your iTunes gift card that you got for Christmas yet." Then I realized that two bands I like had both recently released CDs and I could use it to buy at least one of those, so after much thought and deliberation, I decided to download Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie, which left $5.01 on the card. Since that wasn't enough for the other CD, and since I could get it on sale at Target for cheaper, I went there the next day and purchased Weezer's Red Album.

Critical Review:

Both offer very nice sounds. Neither is an aberration from their band's normal stylings, so as a fan I appreciate that, but would kind of like to hear a little more from them--I must note, however, I am not a die-hard fan of either group, and am not super-familiar with either group's earliest stuff.

Narrow Stairs, by Death Cab was not one that I popped into the CD player and instantly loved. I don't think any of their albums have been yet. However, in listening to it in my car during my commute (FYI, I don't Metro anymore--thank goodness), I have become a big fan of it. My favorite song is number seven, "Grapevine Fires." It's so smooth and cheerful. However, I do like other songs on there like "No Sunlight," "Your New Twin Size Bed" and "Long Division." I would say that the first radio release from the album, "I Will Possess Your Heart," is arguably the weakest song on the CD.

Weezer's self-titled Red Album is a catchy one. The first three songs are the best (my favorite of which is "Pork and Beans," which has the best music video to accompany it), and number four is really good. After that, they blend into the background in my office, so I can't tell you right off the top of my head if I like the rest of them a lot or whatnot. But I do like the CD as a whole.

Both CDs are really good, but I wouldn't say they're life-changing. They don't fit in the lines of say, Stadium Arcadium, by the Red Hot Chili Peppers or some of my other most-favorites. However, they are sure to get plenty of play time in my car and on my iPod.

So now I have five dollars left to use towards songs or an album on iTunes. Suggestions?

I Heart New York

Two weekends ago for Memorial Day weekend, Melanie, her former roommate, Marin (Muh rin), and I went to the Big Apple and stayed with Melanie's sister, Amber and brother-in-law, Tim. Turns out it was a trip that the two had planned way before I was ever in the picture, but since Mel was leaving only a week after, I was able to work my way into the plans.
We left on Saturday morning, and got there in the afternoon after a decent bus ride. We went to Amber and Tim's, dropped our stuff off, and promptly went sight-seeing. First off, we went to Rockefeller Plaza and went to the "Top of the Rock," which I had never done before, and actually found preferable to the top of the Empire State Building.

Mel and Me on the top of the building

St. Patrick's Cathedral from above.

After we came down from the top, we went to the Nintendo World store. It was a nice chance to play the Wii, since I hadn't done it before. Now, I want to buy one more than ever.

Then to Times Square

While in Times Square we found Junior's, which has the most amazing cheesecake. I got Devil's Food, and the others got Carrot Cake cheesecake. It was just about life-changing. We walked to Bryant Park and rested our weary legs while enjoying some of our delectable treats.

View of the Chrysler building at sunset.

The next day we went to Central Park with Amber and Tim, had a picnic, and played frisbee for a while. Thousands of others had the same idea of going to the park to enjoy the amazing weather.

Marin, Tim, Amber and Mel

After Tim and Amber left, we went to further explore the park. This is my favorite bridge ever. and we got an adorable picture together. Don't mind that it looks like I've got a death grip on her.

After we left the park, I got a hold of a friend of mine from Brazil named Everton, who is here in the states, living in New York. We went to FAO Schwartz, and then to SOHO and Little Italy. We got pizza and then got some fantastic rice pudding at: The next day we went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

This was my third trip to Ellis Island, and the first time that I had looked at the museum stuff they had there (don't ask why, I don't know). It was fascinating. Probably one of my favorite things to have seen this time. After we got off the ferry, we went to see Wall Street, and Ground Zero. We then went to Amber and Tim's I said goodbye and went to get a bus home. Mel and Marin stayed another day so they could go see Wicked (the original purpose of their trip).
I think I really do heart New York. Definitely not a place I think I would like to live (who knows for sure), but it's a lot of fun to visit.

Decision 2008

Now, after five long months of campaigning, caucuses, primaries, 3 a.m. phone calls, bickering, crazy pastors, superdelegates and the kitchen sink, we have a presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2008 general election. Though I am glad that now it's official, and that my guy is the winner, I can't help but feel a little bad for Hillary Clinton. I know, I know, after all the negative things I've written here, and angry feelings that I have had for her throughout this process, I may sound crazy saying that. But with as much drive and ambition and desire that she has had to win the presidency, it's hard to not sympathize with someone whose life goal falls out of their reach--and just barely by the way this worked out.
Ultimately though, the stronger candidate prevailed, and through this whole process, he's come out even stronger for a general election match up. People may say he lacks experience, but to take on the Clinton political machine and come out on top is no small feat. He set up and ran a successful national campaign. Sure he lost some races big, but he's shown to be one who can learn from his mistakes and improve from them. He's shown he has sound judgment and is willing to admit when he is wrong. He also has the courage to tell us what we don't want to hear but what is right.
There may be Clinton supporters who will see her loss to Obama as his stealing from her, and as such may be willing to support McCain. They shouldn't. Though the campaign may have had sexist tones, they have no more right to blame that for her loss than Obama did for his setbacks due to racial overtones--he won't and they shouldn't. If anything, her gender helped her to gain votes from millions of women who may not have voted had they not had the historic opportunity to vote for a viable woman candidate. Barack Obama ran a clean campaign, always rising above the mudslinging that went on. If he tried to fight dirty, it didn't suit him and it did him no good. His message has always been a message of change, and those who wanted to see change through Hillary would be foolish to vote for a continuation of failed Republican policies by supporting John McCain.
McCain is truly out of touch with America. He provided great service to this country, but should not be it's president. He's admitted to not know much about the economy, which is not what we need during these trying economic times. He's certain that all is well in Iraq, professing this yesterday while yet three more American lives were taken over there. As Barack Obama said in his speech last night "John McCain has spent a lot of time talking about trips to Iraq in the last few weeks, but maybe if he spent some time taking trips to the cities and towns that have been hardest hit by this economy – cities in Michigan, and Ohio, and right here in Minnesota – he’d understand the kind of change that people are looking for." At one point in his career, he may have been a "straight-talking maverick," but certainly is not now that he's trying to woo his party. He's embraced Bush's failed policies and offers nothing different, except possibly "bomb-bomb-bomb-bomb-bomb[ing] Iran."
So now, though no one knows exactly what Hillary will do from here (I, and many others, wish she would have graciously bowed out last night), it is time for the party to come together uniting around our candidate, and work for change this fall.