"And you told us to decide what we want today/ But I don't know"

Happy New Year! Okay, so I am a little late on that but hey, at least it is still January. I was going to write a post about how I suck at New Year's Resolutions. I think since I was eight years old it has been to stop biting my nails. This year, I lasted about a day. But then I watched a particularly intense episode of Dexter and all hope was lost. Then it was to write a blog post every day for a year. Then before I knew it, it was January 2nd. Fail. Maybe I can try again in February. And my other usual one is the cliched eat better/work out more. Then Snowpocalypse 2011 hit the DAY I was going to start so that meant I couldn't go outside and we only had nonperishables in the house so what can you do?

I worked on the book some today. Still editing. I know. It's a long, tedious process. As I've said, I work at a Preschool. And apparently I like trendy names because the two main characters I have in my book are the names of kids in my class. But that's okay, they are cute kids, I don't feel like I have to change them. But the name of the girl everyone hates in the book is unfortunately the name of one of my girls too. Oh no. At first I thought I would just power through it but now I really feel bad. So the hunt is on for a new name. It's hard picking a name you like but for a "bad" character. I've already said how I have strong connotations to names. Angelina-- Jolie (Did you know that was the 86th most popular name in 2010? Seriously?) Amelia--- Earhart. Mariah-- Carey. And those are just celebrity ones. Throw in the names of kids at work, friends of my nieces, cousins, and it gets tricky. And I can't pick a name I hate because I am still going to be using it. I care way too much about trivial stuff. But it's not trivial in the scheme of things. Or at least that is what I am going to tell myself. So the search continues. I'll let you know what I decide.... maybe.

"I come back to December all the time"

I always check the weather on my phone when I wake up in the morning so I know how to dress for the day. Much to my dismay, it said it "feels like fifteen degrees" when I woke up this morning. That should be illegal. Sidenote: I totally used to think that it was "windshield" and not "wind chill"; as in they used a thermometer on a windshield to see how cold the glass was. I'd like to say this was in elementary school but it went far beyond that. I'm dumb!

Anyway, you just always want what you can't have. I remember earlier this summer sitting on the playground in the blazing sun, trying to find the one square foot of shade and sweating while doing absolutely nothing, praying for it to cool off. Now it definitely has cooled off and I want nothing more than for it to be warmer. I'm sick of my eyes watering from the cold and my lips being chapped and having to wear four layers to work (winter coat, wool sweater, long sleeved shirt, and tank top) only to still be freezing. Unfortunately they still haven't turned the heat on at work so I am freezing inside too. I can just never win. But it makes me appreciate spring and fall that much more (you know, all two weeks that we get during the year in Georgia).

But now maybe it finally snow tomorrow and answer my kids' prayers/guesses every morning when we decorate Sam the Weather Panda. Funny enough, they always predicted it would snow "tomorrow" in September and October. But these days, where snow is actually a possibility, they just keep guessing cloudy. But one of the kids did say it was "blustery" the other day. Impressive.

"Would you be so into me/ If I wasn't a celebrity?"

I've read People magazine pretty much since I could read. Okay, most of the time I just looked at the pictures. But we've had a subscription forever and I always remember looking forward to the best dressed issue and the most beautiful people issue. But I have to say, I won't be sad if my mom doesn't renew the subscription this year.

It's funny how the magazine does flashbacks to 25 years ago and you see how cover stories were about stories that captured the nation like Baby Jessica or the Oklahoma City Bombing. They mattered. Extraordinary stories about ordinary people. Then it slowly evolved into being about the A-listers: Brad, George, Meg, Julia, etc. Then somewhere along the way it started to seep into the gossipy magazines genre. If I see the Kardashians, Kate Gosselin, The Real Housewives, Heidi Montag, Paris Hilton, pop stars like Britney and Jessica and Christina, or some other reality tv "star" on the cover, I am going to scream (along with the 14 weight-loss issues a year. I DON'T CARE). Stay on In Touch or Life&Style covers, buckos. But seriously? When did it credentials go down? I know it is still the magazine willing to shell out big bucks for the top stories and it seems like it is still the most "trustworthy" in its genre but my goodness, I am so over it. It takes me 10 minutes to flip through the entire issue because I just don't care.

I know, I know, why bother complaining about it when you can just ignore it but it just makes me wonder what forced the change? Is it just the internet and how everyone has a Facebook fan page and Twitter and blog so their writers can just pull from those sites for their stories. Although whoever wrote the cover story about Kate Gosselin fourteen stories ago right after the divorce was announced deserves a raise because it almost, almost, made me feel sorry for her. Almost.

But seriously, People doesn't have to go all deep and gritty on me. Just maybe toss some A-listers on the cover instead of D-listers, please.

"A world that's fun of happiness that I have never known"

So... close... must.. keep... going.....

When I first started this blog, I decided to do song lyrics for every post. Most of the time they are related to the content, others it is just the song I have stuck in my head. I kind of always have a song stuck in my head. The one most frequently is "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" even though I only know like three lines. I use it on my family when I am sad and change the words to "Do cry". Now, imagine my glee (pun) when it was used on the most recent episode of Glee! Now I can learn all the words!

The same thing happened when the song "On My Own" from Les Mis was stuck in my head thanks again to Lea Michele. That one was stuck in head ALL day for, not exaggerating, three days.

Oh Broadway shows. Legally Blonde and Wicked also do this to me. As does Glee. Sigh.

"Ayo/ I'm tired of using technology"

I'm typing this on my brother-in- law's iPad. I can already say the full keyboard isn't that easy and contractions are about to get eliminated from this post. But still... I will probably be fighting the urge to purchase in a few months.

I am sort of a hypocrite. I will denounce something only to own it a few months later. When the iPhone first came out, I was so sick of the commercials ALL THE TIME. But sure enough, I got one three months after it came out.

I thought the same thing about UGG boots only to get a pair from my sister's friend when I was freezing and desperate for warmth. While I still think UGG boots are not attractive, they are comfortable. In the words of michael Ian black: it's like sticking your foot into a sheep's butt.

Also skinny jeans; why would anyone want that? Aren't jeans supposed to be comfy not constricting. Then I got a pair of boots I wanted to tuck my jeans into (another fad I initially scoffed at) and the bootcut just wasn't cutting it. Hence my purchasing of two pairs that I now long and perhaps wore with ballet flats today when I originally resolved to only wear them with the boots. Oops.

I'm sure there are million other examples but those are the three off the top of my head.

Okay the typing got bit easier. So we might be adding the ipad to the list.. Christmas is coming up. Wink wink.

"Interjections .../ They're generally set apart from a sentence/ By an exclamation point/ Or a comma when the feeling's not as strong"

Commas. Oh how you are my nemesis.

I feel like I use WAY too many. Sometimes they are all I see on a page when I am editing. A comma here, a comma there, a comma everywhere.

And awesome MS Word makes it so that when you do a quote, it will autocorrect the comma into a period because it thinks it is the end of a sentence as opposed to something being spoken. So point being, I'm inserting a lot more commas into this thing.

I need to poke around MS Word and figure out how to stop the autocorrect cause it will surely drive me insane.

Book update (I KNOW!): I've physically edited the second half of the book. The pages all marked with sharpie and yellow highlighter. Now I'm going back and making all the changes on the word document. It's taking forever but I did make a lot of mistakes so it's okay. I want this thing to be perfect. So all in all, about 25% done with the editing process. That sort of makes me want to cry. But instead I'll just keep highlighting, deleting, and typing so I bump up to 26% by the end of this Starbucks session.

"Hate is a strong word/ But I really, really, really don't like you"

Four "celebrities" I wish I could lock up in a box and never hear/read anything about them ever again.

4. Speidi. Totally not buying this "divorce" business. Lame attempt at publicity I say. Who walks out of a courtroom with legal documents in plain sight? Fame whores, that's who.

3. Lindsay Lohan. She's in rehab, she's out, she's in rehab, she's dating a girl, they broke up, she has a SCRAM bracelet, it went off, no it didn't, I DON'T CARE. She had what, like, one good movie? And that can mostly be accredited to Tina Fey's script or Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried's acting. Let's see who has the better resume at this point? Hint: Not Lindsay.

2. Miley Cyrus. Seriously. You've 17. Stop acting like a complete skank. Is she even "acting" anymore or is it just for real? I'm think it's the latter. And her parents should be ashamed instead of checking their bank account.

1. Kate Gosselin. Hope all the millions she is making now will go towards her kids' therapy bills later on in life. You know, provided she doesn't blow it all on boob jobs, fake tans, hair extensions, and mani/pedis.

Feel free to create your own list in the comments section!

"I don't know what this world's about/ But this will be our year"

When I was little I used to be obsessed with my birthday or more importantly my birthday party. And I mean obsessed. Like my mom had to make a rule that I wasn't allowed to talk about my birthday until after my brother's birthday on April 13th because I'd debate whether I wanted Pink Power Ranger party or one of those cakes with the Barbie stuck in it (never got one) starting in January. I just love birthdays (not even just my own. I get excited for other people too)! I was a master unwrapper at the young age of two. No one could tear their way to a Sesame Street VHS (how's that for old school?) or Big Bird tricycle faster than this girl. In the hour leading up to my actual party, I would sit outside and just wait for the first guest to arrive. I loved that part. I know, I'm a dork. But I'm okay with that.

In elementary school, my birthday rocked. Sometimes it fell on field day, that awesome day where your entire class wears the same shirt with a mascot that matches the letter of your teacher's last name (Moore's m&m's, Waller's Wildcats), you don't have class, and you spend the day competing in balloon tosses, potato sack races, and tug of war for much-coveted First Place ribbons. Sometimes my birthday party would also fall on field day and all the girls would load up into my mom's minivan for the party after watching the annual 5th grade vs sixth softball game to head to my house for cake, ice cream, and presents. Ahhhh the memories.

But my birthday took on, shall we say different memories in high school (frankly, I don't remember my birthday in middle school minus the really cool older girl who actually turned out to be quite the witch signing the poster on my locker): My beloved birthday started to fall in the middle of AP finals. Senior year I had to take the AP Biology exam (AWFUL) on my birthday and my mom wouldn't even let me check out of school after it. I did have my first surprise party that year the following day thanks to my friends so that made up for it. But still, not the actual day that was spent in the library trying to write about osmosis and cell division and bacteria.

Then there was college, oh lovely college. Freshmen year was the WORST. The night before, I stayed up studying in my freezing cold dorm room alone for my geology final. I woke up and felt terrible so I ran to the bathroom. As I was walking out, I fainted (ew). Like completely wiped out. I thought "Oh good I made it to my dorm. The floor is so cold. Wait, how did I get here?" and then I opened my eyes and say the grimy tile floor and I got out of there. Then I had to muster up the strength to go and take my 200 question geology final. Then I had about an hour to move out of my dorm before the check-out time. Luckily I had done most of the work the day before, but the few trips I had left were not fun. I then drove home to Atlanta sick as a dog and didn't even get to go out to dinner with my friends and family. Worst. Birthday. Ever.

Sophomore and Junior year I had finals right before my birthday but was spared a final on the actual day. So I would have my party on the actual day. Unfortunately a lot of my friends would already be studying abroad or doing their summer plans so those parties were lacking a tad in attendance but ultimately good.

Senior year I realized my birthday was going to fall on graduation. You know, a time where people have their parents and family in town and will have lots of plans and activities. Awesome. This was when I was hanging out with my awesome group of friends every weekend and I really wanted to celebrate with them especially before we all went our separate ways for the summer and in some cases, life. So I got smart and had it a few weeks earlier in April to ensure more people could make it. But yep, birthday was on graduation last year (not the best gift ever) and I woke up early, sat in the blazing sun, heard some cliched inspirational speeches and wore an itchy gown and goofy hat. My family had come up the day before since that's when the smaller English department ceremony was so I had no family plans while all my other friends did. But we all got to hang out that night and it was a good, good night.

This year my birthday (May 9th) is getting trumped by mother's day (as it did last when I was a junior in high school). I mean my mom is awesome so of course let's celebrate but come on, really? My birthday is already on a Sunday which is statistically the worst day of the week to have a birthday. But luckily this won't happen for another six years. :)

Okay, okay: We are also waiting to celebrate my and my brother-in-law BR's birthdays in a few weeks when my sister's family is visiting from Seattle. But it doesn't sound as dramatic when I include that part.

"You can ask yourself: 'Hey, what have I done?'/ You’re just a fly – the little guys, they kill for fun"

Sometimes you forget just how not cool people can be. Like trying to take advantage of the already desperate people looking for a job. Some examples:

1. I got an email from a company claiming I was being considered for a position I had applied for and they needed to do a background check on me and needed my credit report. Whaaa? I called the one company I thought it could be for (since the name was absent in the email) and they said that it wasn't them and they wouldn't ask for such information unless I had already been interviewed. I got another email today claiming it was their third attempt to contact me (technically only the second) and did a little research and it appears to be a scam for identity theft. Awesome.

2. I have gotten numerous phone calls about continuing my education. One night I got several calls about ten minutes apart only to answer and have no one be on the line. Then when the number called again the next morning, I answered very angrily expecting more dead air only to be met by the voice of a young girl asking if I was looking to further my education. I spat out that I don't know how they got my number, I don't want to since I already have my bachelor's degree and I wanted my name taken off of the list. She said okay and that she would do that. Then my conscience kicked in for scolding an innocent, clueless girl. I started to apologize, only to have her hang up on me. Awesome.

3. I got called in for an interview where the name of the company sounded like one I had applied to. I drove the 35 minutes to the office only to realize, uhhh not the one I applied for. I talked to the woman for about two minutes (basically said five adjectives I wanted out of my career and that I have never been arrested) and she offered for me to come in for a training session the next morning. "I'm sorry but I'm really confused. What exactly would I be training for?" She replied: "You'd be training for a career opportunity." And that's when I got out of there since I had never applied for the job (they found my resume online) and to be honest, I still have NO idea what the company does. So that was an afternoon wasted. Awesome.

And the best part is when you get a rejection letter from a company that has typos and poor grammar. Maybe you could use my services after all. Hmph.

"No there ain't no rest for the wicked/ Until we close our eyes for good"

"Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in book that brings them to their perfect readers. How delightful if that were true." -The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I haven't read a good book in a really long time. And this makes me sad. I mean, I really liked The Blind Side a lot. I teared up several times (much like I did during the movie) but I skipped over a lot of the technical football/history stuff cause I don't understand it and frankly, didn't really care. I already wrote how I felt about Picoult's latest. I read Water for Elephants which I feel like got really talked up both by the reviews and some of my friends but I just wasn't crazy about it. LC's "book" (I'm sorry, I just really doubt she wrote it all by herself) was entertaining and of course it leaves off with a cliffhanger so you're eager for the next one even if this one was only so-so (kind of like previews for the next episode of The Hills). But really, I just want to read a really great book. Maybe one that makes me cry, just a little bit. Maybe the last great book I read was Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah but that was a loooong time ago. But that book was excellent.

I did start reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society two nights ago and after a slightly slow start, I definitely like it and am excited to read more. So that's good. But I liked The Help too and the ending just didn't clinch it for me. I know, I'm a tough critic. This is just setting me up for terrible reviews in the future if anything of mine ever gets published. But maybe TGL&PPPS will end the dry spell.

And even if it doesn't, my sister goes to this HUGE used bookstore in Chattanooga every now and then and always brings back some goodies. I used to send requests for books and she'd bring some back or let me borrow some of hers. And I got to tagalong a few weeks before Christmas and got several books. And she and I went on Monday and I got a rather large supply this time around. But really, she and I treat it like a glorified library because you always tote back a box of stuff you are trading in for credit. My first trip to McKay's was super successful. I got at least three books that I had been wanting for several months and she never found them (or they just weren't in stock). But this time around, I went in with a list of book, organized alphabetically and by genre so I could maximize the time I was there. I think I found two on my list of 20+ books. So then I just started throwing in anything that looked interesting and ended up accumulating quite the pile. My sister made me whittle it down a couple of books but I walked away with this:

Hopefully a really, really, really good book is hiding in there. Fingers crossed. Oh yeah, you can also see what kind of book I go for: the toss in your bag to read at the pool kind.

"And I never dreamed that I'd spend my days/ Staring at some tube emitting cathode rays/ I need my TV"

Where there's a will, there's a way.

I babysit for an adorable two year old boy (even if he does tell me I am "too big" to sit on his full size big boy bed to read him a story) most Tuesday nights. Only problem: Lost comes on at the same time or at the very least I miss the first twenty minutes and we all know when it comes to Lost that is like missing 45 minutes of crucial information in a normal television show. I know, I know what you're thinking: It's the 21st century, get TiVo. Au contraire: We have a TiVo but unfortunately it is one of the first editions or whatever so it only records one show at a time. An additional problem is that it's technically my sister AE's so she gets to call the shots about what it records. So she picks American Idol. Yeah cause there is a show you have to pay attention to every minute and has a fan base with thousands of sites and blogs dedicated to it to dissect each detail as it is premiering live. But she wins so that means I wait to watch it online several hours/days later (I know wah wah, rich person problems. But I'm addicted to this show okay!? I need to know!) I will not stand for it.

So to remedy this problem as AI continues to be two hours each week with only about 30 minutes of actual performances and 90 minutes of filler and commercials, I spent an hour today trying to figure out how to record on a VCR (sans any type of manual). I know, I'm so old school. I didn't have any luck with one television, the other is connected to the Tivo, one lacks a VHS player, so that left one final option. And I somehow figured out that a cable was missing, managed to track it down and connect the cable box and the VCR and ta da! I am going to be able to watch LOST and American Idol tomorrow. I am so proud of myself. I mean I can be technically savvy in some situations but situations where common sense prevails or when there is a handy step-by-step manual with illustrations and toll-free help lines if I get really confused. So it's a miracle I tell you! Orrrr it was my destiny to figure it all out (Team Man of Faith)!

"Oh oh I want some more/ Oh oh what are you waiting for"

Oh heeeeeey Panera. I almost forgot what you looked like on the inside. Yep, since SO is done, it's back to trying to find a job. I've gotten to the point where I am just sending a resume to any company where I feel like I am "somewhat" qualified. I mean I have no experience, I have no skills, gotta do what you gotta do. And also, let's do an Observations/Thoughts since it's been awhile! Here we go (Fun fact: I always say this in Natalie Portman's southern drawl from Where the Heart Is. Bonus points if you know from which scene)!

-The best part was a job posting yesterday where you had to call a number and listen to a five minutes message from the president which basically said "I'm awesome and started this company when I was 18 and now I'm even more awesome. I believe you get what you put out so if you're not awesome, don't work here cause we only accept awesomeness." Frankly, the guy sounded like a d-bag but if I worked with him and he liked me, I'd probably like him. Yep, I'm shallow and wishy-washy with my opinions. So I spent all this time crafting a cover letter and hitting the points he mentioned in the message about his expected criteria. And so I finally hit send and I immediately get a message back. Oookay. "Due to the large volume of interest in this position, we are conducting group interviews Wednesday MARCH 24th" aka: the day BEFORE I sent the email. Awesome. You'd think Mr. Awesome would have thought to change the message or something. Oh well, he sounded like a d-bag anyway.

-So I searched for copy editor just now and "What?! A copy editor is needed in Atlanta. ONLY FIVE MILES FROM MY HOUSE?! I can totally do this. It for an outdoor magazine. I mean, I can try to fake that. I mean I ran on the IM fields occasionally in college. I sit outside and watch my nieces play. Sometimes. * continues reading * Oh I must be an expert in fishing and hunting. Yep, can't fake that. Moving on."

-And then, there was a position for a proofreader. My thought process: "Oh I totally correct people's grammar all the time (at least in my head). This was made for me! * continues reading* Must have a great understanding of html coding, and other technical talk that I can't even remember and repeat for the sake of this blog post." Soooo... no.

-All this "upload your resume and we will grab information and inset it into the application" technology doesn't work. I'd rather it be blank since I just have to go back through and correct everything.

-I have also really discovered I use Twitter to complain. I went to the post office earlier today: Someone in line did not smell good. As I was assessing the people in line, the untidiest looking man who I believe to be the culprit made eye contact and looked me up and down. Ew.

-Then I went shopping and got locked in the dressing room. And apparently the door locks/ gets stuck a lot because the employees were like "Oh it locked. AGAIN. Guess you are sleeping in the store tonight. hahahaha" They didn't tell me they were doing anything to remedy the situation and I was pulling on the door so hard the frame was popping out of the ground. Finally I got let out. I also complained about this incident on twitter.

-Since the weather has been nicer, I am inclined to drive with my window down. There has been construction all along the road lining my neighborhood since I would say June if not before. And these construction workers apparently feel obligated to live up to the stereotype of whistling, cat-calling, etc at young girls driving by with their windows open. I do NOT enjoy this. And therefore, complained about it on Twitter.

-Panera is crawling with high school students and it's only 2:30. Must have been a half day. Oh to be so young and naive. And think you are way cooler than you are. But hey, I used to be one of those so what can you do? But now I'm an unemployed college grad so I AM cooler than you.

-Chocolate chip bagel was DELICIOUS.

-I HATE these salary questions. I am a recent college graduate. I only worked summer jobs before so I feel stupid typing in "well I only made this much an hour". Then it's like how much do you expect to make? Dude, I don't care! I just need to support myself. But I don't want to sound greedy but then I don't want to lowball it. Annoying. So I just pick the lowest option and hope I sound humble and that I won't be taken advantage of.

-I enjoy so much when these sites give a progress bar. This current one does not. Boo.

-I do not enjoy when these sites send you a million emails when you submit a resume, submit a cover letter, submit your application. Just compile it all into one so my poor little inbox doesn't almost explode.

-This will mean nothing to any of you besides former roommate AW (and I don't even think she reads this). AW is sometimes confused and sometimes cheers for Florida basketball (when Georgia isn't playing) cause she used to be a FL fan before she reformed her ways and saw the light. So there was this guy, I wanna say his name was John, who made fun of her cheering for FL, we saw this guy ALL the time so we started calling him Florida Fan, even to his face (hence why I am unsure of his actual name) even though he did not cheer for Florida. So this was years ago but we would still see him every now and then in the last months of college. So then I thought I saw him at the Starbucks I frequent once I moved to Atlanta. Several times. If nothing else, it's his look-a-like. And now I'm at Panera and not even the one really close to the Starbucks and he's here! I wonder if he recognizes me. That was a lot of background for a very worthless story.

-Ultimate coincidence: he is sitting with a man wearing a Florida Gators hat and shirt. So you know, I automatically don't like him.

-But (possibly fake) Florida Fan brings me to this thought: I always just want to ask the professional people sitting around me if they are hiring anyone. I mean that's how Heidi got her job at Bolthouse; she met him in a bar (there's a little Hills trivia for you). I'm look respectable and job searching in Panera on a Friday afternoon. I'm a good person! Hire me! It could happen!

-Why does this $300/day for being an extra pop up in EVERY SINGLE job search. And not just once but like fifteen times. I don't want to do that. Why isn't this on a talent/ modeling/ acting site? Although they do film The Vampire Diaries in Atlanta.... maybe it's for them! Maybe I should look into this. Oh Ian Somerhalder. I just googled his name to make sure I spelled it right (I'm all about the quality) and I think it's so funny how "Ian Somerhalder girlfriend" is the second most popular search as it always is with all these boys. Because tons of celebs date and marry girls who googled them on the internet. If only....

-OneRepublic's sophomore album "Waking Up" is FANTASTIC. Oh UnoRepublic. I love you. Never go away.

-I also am listening to several songs from American Idol (that's right. I watch it. I'm not (that) embarrassed) thanks to a handy video2mp3 converting site. My favorites you ask? Casey James and Lee Dewyze. I can get on board with Siobhan and Crystal and Big Mike. I have the most Casey songs but I always enjoy Lee. There's my opinion. I know you were dying to know.

-Some of these requirements are ridiculous. "Must have 10 years previous experience" "Must be able to lift 20 pounds".... to be an administrative assistant? Seriously? No wonder this job posting is still around.

-Oh yeah, months later and I STILL can't log into Monster. I finally made a new account using my UGAmail address.

- It was dumb of me to put my "Job Search" tab RIGHT next to my "LOST" tab. I always start to click the LOST and have to move over. Even subconsciously, I just want to read what other people said about the Richard episode and all the little things that I missed. So tempting. Must. Fight. Urge.

-The couple next to me are talking very animatedly-- lots of waving arms and hunching over to emphasize a point and gesturing. It's very distracting.

-The man got up and he is wearing very bright blue pants. Prompting me to look at how bright his pants are. And it may have looked like I was checking out his booty. But seriously, they were freakishly neon.

-I truly love the iTunes Free Single of the Week. It's how I found out about Owl City's Fireflies, Lady Antebellum's Love Don't Live Here Anymore, and Asher Roth's I Love College. Unfortunately they have been sucking lately. Then they gave us a good one with Neon Trees' Animal and now it's back to sucking. Too bad. Here's to crossing fingers for next Tuesday!

-I have seen several girls with purple purses today. So brilliant. Goes with so many colors. I am jealous.

-I really love epic music. Like songs that are used in the trailers for movies like Lord of the Rings and, hate to say it, New Moon. And The Lovely Bones trailer had some epic music I was able to track down thanks to sites dedicated to figuring stuff like this out. I am currently listening to it and I sort of want to go partake in battle or beat someone up or something. Well not really but sorta.

-The worker keeps cleaning the tables around me, but my table was empty when I got here and it is very sticky. Maybe it was before his shift started.

-A job posting I think I could do is taking FOREVER to load. Oh what to do, what to do?

-Oh no. After refreshing and reloading the page is blank. Figures.

Alright, I'm cold. It's four and I tried. Time to call it quits.

"Talk is cheap/ Give me a word you can keep/ Cause I'm halfway gone and I'm on my way"

Jodi, Jodi, Jodi. *slowly shakes head from side to side* What happened? You used to be so good. And the last three books you've cranked out have been... well... disappointing. And that's me being generous with my adjectives (and very much aware of the fact you've sold about a bazillion more books that I have and probably ever will). I just finished reading House Rules, the latest from Picoult, late last night. It was one of those Stay-Up-Until-Five AM- Cause- I- Have- To- Know books but not in the usual Picoult sense. It was more so, let me finish this thing because I figured out "the twist" about 20 pages after the action started and was praying it wasn't going to be so simple and frankly, obvious.

Here's the plot summary for House Rules courtesy of GoodReads and honestly if you plan on reading the book, I wouldn't read the summary. You have to trudge through about 100 pages for the action to start since it is given away in blurb. If the blurb was a little more discrete or heck even more misleading, this could have been A LOT better. We know Picoult's gameplan: Current controversial issue, different POVs of family members and how they view each other and and consequently interact, a trial and then a big fat twist usual in the last fifteen pages if not fifteen sentences of the book. Anyway, here is the blurb: "HOUSE RULES is about Jacob Hunt, a teenage boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. He’s hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject – in his case, forensic analysis. He’s always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do…and he’s usually right. But then one day his tutor is found dead, and the police come to question him. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger’s – not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, inappropriate affect – can look a heck of a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel -- and suddenly, Jacob finds himself accused of murder. HOUSE RULES looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way – but lousy for those who don’t."

You can't deny that she does extensive research about legal proceedings and this novel's hot topic Asperger's Syndrome (AS). But at the same time, she doesn't need to share every single note she took on the subject with her reader. It almost gets to the point that she beats you over the head with it. I GET IT. Jacob doesn't understand idioms. He physically can't make eye contact. He is only looking out for himself but not out of selfishness but rather that's the way his brain works. I GET IT. And usually the trial is my favorite part but this one just did not do it for me. Maybe it's because the lawyer, Oliver, is such a newbie and I don't see how he got such experts to testify on a supposedly "uncharted topic of AS" (please, Nicky Sparks beat ya to that one, Jodi), I don't know. All I know is that part fell flat for me.

At least Picoult broke from her usual mold of creating a mother you just hate and dread where you get to the chapters from her POV. Emma wasn't too terrible. You didn't hate her like you did the mother in Handle with Care or The Pact. She wasn't great but at least you pretty much understood where she was coming from. I didn't understand why she included the POV of the police detective since he pretty much drops off the map for the second half of the book. Theo's POV was the most interesting and compelling in my opinion and wish she would have included more from him.

I think my main compliant with this book is you just saw the big twist coming from a mile away, well actually make that 400 pages away. I thought, surely this isn't the usual Picoult "Smack you in the gut and turn you on your head" twist but, it was. Sigh. And then she doesn't even give you a resolved ending. She drops the supposed "bomb" on you in the last five or ten pages and then... nothing. So... what happened? I sure don't know and I'm not even sure Picoult does herself hence her overly ambiguous ending. It's not even ambiguous in the "You can decide what happened way" it just... ends.

Oh and I know this is nit-picking but seriously it's Jodi freaking Picoult. Maybe she is such a hot commodity that they are just cranking out a book a year and doing it as fast as they can so they can cash in on her. But seriously that is why copy editors exist, to catch the mistakes of the author who is simultaneously researching, writing, and editing and therefore very much distracted. On one page she says Jacob can't stand long, flowing hair so he keeps his "military short". But several other times the mom talks about his hair falling in his eyes and smoothing his hair away from his face. Gee, that's not contradicting. And then another time she talks about a grandmother making something for her grandson but later she says the mother made that very item for her son instead. Come on! It's a major plot point hence my discreteness, you can't have that kind of sloppy writing and editing.

The book was interesting, sure, but unfortunately this time around, it wasn't a page turner because I just had to know what was going to happen next but rather I was just hoping Jodi was going to prove me wrong and throw me a curve ball. Maybe she just set the bar WAY too high for herself with works like My Sister's Keeper and The Pact but she has really got to do something to keep all of her faithful readers around for the next one.

Now I understand why Jodi does what she does. I complain about her being predictable and I don't know if it is just because I know to look for clues and how she has written in her previous 15+ novels. I mean every author drops the reader some bread crumbs along the way so they feel like they have your trust and they are partaking as opposed to merely being an observer. But you don't have to give me exhibit A and B and C and so on, all the way to Z all the while repeating A and B and C throughout the novel. Give me a little of A and then maybe a little N and then maybe X, almost to the end but not quite. I guess there is one particular point in Square One that I overly explain. Just because the character can't connect the dots on their own but that doesn't mean your intelligent reader doesn't. In fact that is number one on the list of changes for SO: I gotta take out some examples so it doesn't seem like I'm hitting you over the head with it. Sure, I want you to realize it and have an "a-ha!" moment but maybe once I actually reveal it to you as opposed to when it actually happens in the narrative. Does that make sense? Sure hope so.

Now I'm not giving up on Jodi just yet and I still admire a lot about her writing style and she definitely knows who she is as an author. But if I figure out the twist in the first 100 pages of the next one (yet again, I did this with Change of Heart as well. But that was seriously in the first 10 pages), I just might not be dancing with excitement about her new releases anymore. Come on Jodi! Prove me wrong! You can do it (said in Bella's Karolyi's voice)!

"You drive me crazy... /thinking of you keeps me up all night"

Does anyone else have this problem? One post back from December gets SO many spam comments. I talked about some t.v. shows and books and had a couple of links to some commercials on youtube but my goodness, I have gotten at least 10 completely random spam comments on that one post alone. It's so annoying! And so I get the email notifying me, read the random junk, and put it aside until I remember to get on here and delete. It's just crazy! It's getting to the point that I am going to delete that post or change the title or get rid of the links so maybe this will stop. Anyone else have this problem?

ETA: Sorry to all you frequent comment-ers (ie those I am tied to in familial sense) but you're going to have to fill in a word for verification to prevent spam. I just can't take it anymore. Thanks for being understanding!

"I'm like a bird/ I'll only fly away/ I don't know where my soul is/ I don't know where my home is'

Twenty-five out of twenty-eight chapters done for the second round of editing. I have never been so sick of myself in my life. Reading words I wrote, characters I created, little lines I thought were so cute and witty--- I hate it all. And it's not even like I can simply skim over it. I have to actually read it for little mistakes like "begin" when it should really be "being". Ugggggh. But apparently you are supposed to really hate and lose faith and never want to look at the book again for a few months before sending it out. So that's good news cause I am totally there.

I basically spent my entire weekend at Starbucks editing. I would start off so enthusiastically: "Oh I am starting on chapter 6. I can probably make it to chapter 20 in a few hours and call it a night." ...Two hours pass... "Oh no, I'm only on chapter 8. How did I waste two hours on two stinking chapters. Okay let's try to make it at least to chapter 15." ... Two more hours pass... "Chapter 12 is done? Okay, all finished for today."

But I mean really, it is 359 pages and 111,043 words. TOO. MUCH.

Do you enjoy little stories about my stupidity when it comes to editing? Well here come some!

- Leaving off the "-n't" completely changes the sentence. Obvious? Yes. But I know what I am trying to say but sometimes I don't read what I've actually written. I've made this mistake at least twice in crucial sentences.

- I have a lot of "gripping" in the book. Seats, chairs, podiums, tables, banisters. But I guess that makes sense since my characters don't breathe properly. They need all the help they can get.

- ERRONEOUS COMMAS. Seriously, I use them like they are going out of style and I found them on super clearance with an additional fifty percent off. I have to stop.

- There are only so many ways to say someone wraps/ curls/ slung their arm around your waist or shoulders. And I pretty much just listed the three ways to do it.

- Luckily in my Advanced Composition class (a fancy way of saying non-fiction writing) we talked about editing and how to get the most punch out of a single sentence by omitting unnecessary words (even though we students argued that we put in the fluff to meet the teacher's ridiculous page/word length requirement). But this has come in handy while editing especially in terms of possession and the word "of". Why say "the edge of the table" when you can just say "the table's edge"? Sure it only saves me two words but multiply that by 1,000 and this thing is probably 2,000 words shorter than it could have been.

- And thank you B'Way in AP English for teaching me not to split the infinitive. See? I even did it just now: "not to split" instead of "to not split".

- "Just" is still a problem. But I've just accepted it by this point. And no I did not purposely use it just then. Or then. I'll stop now.

- Definitely found a few spots where I used my sibling's real name instead of their character name. Most certainly will be doing a search of each person's name before this whole thing is done. So pretty much in three hours.

- Two of my favorite words I like to use: Nonetheless and albeit. Don't know why I love 'em but I do and always have.

- I have overused the word "surprised" and its synonyms. Apparently my characters are easily impressed (well, that or dumb).

- And the absolute worst part of editing: I have the scenes so clearly imagined in my head. I know what I need to say, I know what I need to get across. So I will be editing and find a word that I don't care for. So I think for a minute before coming up with an awesome new amazing word. So I delete and replace the stinky word with the new word. I give myself a mental pat on the back and continue on my way. Only to skip down three lines and... oh... I already used the perfect word here. So that's why it seemed so perfect. And it's back to square one.

And seriously, people watching at Starbucks never disappoints. Yesterday the terrible twosome reappeared with their mom and her much younger boyfriend/fiance who felt the need to make out in the middle of the place. Classy. I also found out the satanic children's names and am fighting the urge to change my brother's name in the book since it is the same as one of the little demons. Here were the highlights from our encounter:

1. The older boy came in and yelled, no, make that screamed, at one of the workers that he needed a cup of water. George the Worker held up a finger (not the one I would have chosen) and said "One minute, I'm with a customer". Well the kid kept screaming until finally someone else got him the cup. Which he promptly took to a table and wrenched the lid off and spilled, I'd say, 1/4 of its contents on the table and floor, stuck his straw with the paper still on it into the cup, and ripped off the now wet paper and threw it on the ground. It was at this point that I actually gave the children, yes children, dirty looks. They were behaving horribly and I was appalled.

2. The younger boy was eating a brownie or a cupcake or something and dropped it on the ground. The older brother stepped on it with his shoe and mushed it onto the floor, refusing to lift his foot. The little boy still ate it when it was finally relinquished two minutes later (he also spent these two minutes spinning in circles directly next to me yet again).

3. I did see the mom's boyfriend/ fiance throw the kid down in a chair outside and grab his face and scream at him for sliding across the hood of the mom's convertible. But it was probably more so for doing potential damage to the car as opposed to actually disciplining the little hellion.

Fortunately, the kids weren't there today (Just for the record, the first time I wrote that sentence, I forgot the "-n't". I have a problem). But I did get to encounter this:

Yeah, that's a parrot (that talks and scratches its master's head with his beak) in the middle of Starbucks. Does this not violate some type of health code? My best friend in high school was terrified of birds. It's a relatively common fear. I sort of wanted to see someone freak out. One lady kept her distance while clutching her chest but that was the best I got.

There was also a high school aged looking girl (named Haven, I saw it on her notebook) who sat down with what I assumed was her dad at the table next to me. Haven kept turning around and looking over her shoulder in my direction. There is no way to make some feel more self conscious than doing this 50 times in 10 minutes. You can think I'm exaggerating but I happened to look at the seconds on my clock right when it was a new minute and I thought, hey just for kicks, let's count how many times in 60 seconds she looks over. I didn't pick a particularly active minute just to prove a point. It was a completely random minute. How many times in sixty seconds? FOUR TIMES. Multiply that by the 30 minutes she was sitting near me and I actually fought the urge to ask her to switch seats with her dad so she would at the very least stop glancing over her shoulder and could just look straight ahead and out the window. At first I thought she was just trying to see the parrot since the man did go outside but then I guess she was just waiting on her math tutor to get there. Haven, staring is rude but so is blogging about strangers so who I am to talk?

Oh and way to get your act together Atlanta. BEAUTIFUL weather this weekend. Hard to believe there was snow on the ground a week ago. Let's keep it in the sixties this week, please!

"I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired"

The following is not an ideal way to spend your weekend:

(Warning: the following may not be for the squeamish)

You plan a trip to Athens to see an author who has paved the way in the YA publishing world for you. The author is speaking in the building that you had the bulk of your college classes in. Nostalgia all around. And added bonus, you get to see your friends! Hooray! So you get excited all week. Post updates on your gMail status and twitter. Pack the night before and you're good to go. In fact you're so excited, you have trouble falling asleep Thursday night. So you wake up feeling a little... off on Friday. But you chalk it up to not getting a lot of sleep and you're nervous about finding seating at the event, getting to Athens on time, etc. But you do get to Athens on time and your gracious friends offer to drive you to the event. You run upstairs to get ready and then you feel really sick. So sick that you throw up.

Now I've never been the kind of person who throws up when they are nervous. But I could have rattled off a list of ten things I was worried about so maybe this was the first time it happened. I felt much better after it happened so I thought I'd be good to go. I get to Park Hall, find a seat near the door and sit and wait to hear words of wisdom from Jackson Pearce. She gets there, she talks, she shares her story and some insider information and it's all good. Until I noticed how hot the room is. There is no air circulating in here. This desk is so cramped. I feel like my stomach is collapsing in on itself. How did I sit in these desks for four years? Oh she is going to read from her book now, I really want to hear this but wait a second why do I feel so gross all of the sudden. Oh no.

That's right, I had to get up in the middle of this girl talking, grab my stuff and run out of the room. Luckily the bathroom was one door away so I bolted in there and puked yet again. Awesome. I felt better yet again so I thought maybe it's just nerves. But ultimately I knew I wouldn't be very fun much with my friends that night and I knew I ran the risk of not feeling well later so I opted to drive home. Driving to and from Athens in a day has taught me I do not want a job that involves a long commute.

I basically prayed the entire drive home that a) there would be no traffic since it was 5:30 on a Friday in Atlanta and I would be driving on 85, 285, and 75. b) I wouldn't throw up in the handy plastic bag I had by my side. Well there is a God because neither one of those things happen. But I did run into my house the second I parked in the garage and... you guessed it... got sick again. As I did several times that night so I think coming home was the best choice. I also may have cried. I don't handle being ill very well. And I have been sitting on my couch ever since Friday night. I am definitely feeling better but still rather drained but I will be back to 100 percent tomorrow. At least I hope so.

But the bonuses to being sick all weekend: I caught a Teen Mom marathon on MTV. Team Maci! I lost about five pounds from throwing up and not being able to eat for a few days. My Scramble score went up 9 points on my iPhone. I found another awesome iPhone word game app called "Word Pops" and it's sort of like scramble but dare I say more fun? I may have played these games so much that I am almost sort of playing them with imaginary letters in my mind. Maybe I'm still sick and delirious and not just obsessed?

Oh and I think there will be several blog posts today since I have been slacking this month so win for you too! Maybe? Maybe!

"Some things get lost/ Some things just disappear"

I got too cocky. "Oh I'm writing a chapter a day!" "I am going to finish this like next week" "Everything is going swimmingly" Well, FALSE. This last chapter was terrible, horrible, no good, bad, awful. I can't even bring myself to reread it. Usually I write for a couple hours, go home, do whatever and decompress, and then review/edit that night. Couldn't do it yesterday. Sigh.

I am going to tell myself I am crumbling under the pressure of writing what I have planned all along. Kind of like I won't be able to live up to my big idea. Which I should be able to since it is my idea, but I am failing. I've always had two pretty big plot points in my head: The one I am currently writing is you know, a pretty big deal, not only in its self but also for the fact that it sets up the next big plot point. EPIC fail.

It's not even writer's block. I know what I have to write. I just can't actually put it into words. Sigh. The chapter before this one was if-y. And now this one... I almost just want to delete it without even re-reading it. But I won't.

Or maybe it all because there were no comfy chairs/ creative couches/ smart seats left at Starbucks yesterday. Yeah, let's blame it on that.

But in other news, I am on page 203. But unfortunately at least 10 pages (probably more like 202.5 pages) are crap.

"And it's the same world, honey, that made you feel so bad/ That makes you feel so good"

Some things that I am loving right now:

1. The movie The Blind Side. Oh my gosh. I loved this movie. It would be amazing all on its own but the fact that it is based on a true story makes it even better. I really was holding back tears during the entire first half (I think had I been alone and not in a theater full of people, I would have been bawling). Sandra Bullock did an excellent job. I almost forgot it was Miss Congeniality I was watching on the screen. And the little boy, SJ, was hilarious. I mean that kid had some excellent comedic timing considering he is like nine years old. And Tim McGraw was looking good. And the boy playing Michael Oher, Quentin Aaron, did an excellent job. And it was hilarious to see all of the (some formerly) SEC coaches: Saban, Fulmer, Tuberville. If only Richt had been in there. Oh, it was so good. It was funny and sad and happy and just wonderful. It gets an A++++++ from me!

2. The book The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I haven't finished it yet (I have about 30 pages to go) but I'm really liking it. Hopefully it stays good because we all know the ending makes or breaks the book. It started off a little slow and since it stays true to the dialect of southern African American women, my first thought was "This book must have been a pain to edit". But once I got use to the style, it was really interesting. I recommend it. Well, for now. I'll let you know if I change my mind.

3. Flashforward. The episode "The Gift" was quite possibly one of the best episodes I have seen of any television show ever. I cried. It was great but at the same time sort of bad cause they just set the bar so high for themselves. The two episodes I've seen since then were pretty good but not as amazing and I'm worried this may be a trend for the rest of the season. But at the same time I have faith in the writers to pull out a few more amazing episodes. Fingers crossed.

I'm not so much loving these things:

1. Second Glance by Jodi Picoult. I should have known I wasn't going to like it because it was the only book by her that I hadn't read because I thought the blurb on the back sounded ridiculous. I'm always willing to suspend disbelief while reading but this plot was just too much: Ghosts, sudden memories that were long forgotten, and "twists" and coincidences that were way too farfetched. I'm glad to have finally read everything by her but this one is definitely at the bottom of the list.

2. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. I was so excited to read this because I loooved The Time Traveler's Wife but this one was nowhere near as good. None of the characters were really likable and the twins, Julia and Valentina, kind of freaked me out. I know twins are suppose to have this special, unique connection but they were twenty and sleeping in the same bed. And they wore matching outfits all the time. I felt like Niffennegger really dumbed the characters down because I don't think any twenty year old would do that, twin sister or not. I also pictured them as being the girls from that IKEA commercial with the double ovens instead of the blonde haired beauties they are suppose to be. Guess it just had to do with the mood and setting. But I was bored for a lot of it and confused by one of the big "reveals". I had to go back and read it a couple of times to understand. So, not too crazy about this one. Maybe next time Audrey.

3. Glee, "Mattress". Don't get me wrong. I LOVE this show but the most recent episode just wasn't as good. But that was following three episodes that made me cry so it would have been a stretch to have four in row do so. Plus I wasn't running to get to my computer after the episode to download a song because none of them were super amazing in my opinion. The mattress commercial was pretty entertaining though. And Matthew Morrison did a great job in the kitchen scene. So yeah it was still pretty good, who am I kidding?

"These thoughts run through my head/ Over and over/ Complaints of violins become my only friends"

Here are some of my issues with MS Word.

- "Flip flops" should not have a hyphen.

- learn that iPod and "earbuds" are real words and get rid of the squiggly red line

- "It's only once a week" is correct. "Its only one a week" is WRONG.

- It's okay to use words like "gotta" and "gonna", we are in the south after all.

- "A dog named" should not be "A dog-named" Seriously, calm down with the hyphen suggestions.

- Woah = a word.

Autocorrection is a whole other issue. When I type --- it's a paragraph break so don't put in a huge line. And sometimes when I want to make a new paragraph let's not indent the entire page. Please.

I am going to start seeing these red and green squiggly lines in my dreams pretty soon. And they will most likely be attacking me.

P.S. Another day, another chapter finished. Who knew the secret to success was a comfy chair?

"Who says I can't be free/ From all of the things that I used to be/ Rewrite my history/ Who says I can't be free"

Observations/Thoughts while writing at Starbucks:

(This had to be posted afterwards since SB doesn't offer free wi-fi. I'm pretty sure it's because if they did, they would be able to take over the world. But I just jotted stuff down in a Word document and transfered it so it's still legit)

-Starbucks is so wonderful on a rainy day. I usually like to write outside and take advantage of the last few days of nice temperatures (even though, who knows with this climate? I remember wearing a dress, flip flops, and only a light sweater a few days before Christmas last year) but sitting inside sometimes can be nice.

-Starbucks only has one outlet. ONE. Well technically there is another one (you know, one with FOUR plugs) over near the merchandise but there isn't a table near that one. Smart design plan there Starbucks. And the outlet is currently being used by a man. That's fine, I can wait my turn. That or I will be leaving in hour when my battery runs out. Let's hope it's the former.

-Alright, this isn't okay, the man isn't even using his computer (it's closed) and he is sorting out change. Seriously?

-Sweet! The man left and I grabbed the table. The outlet is mine, all mine. But see I still have guilty conscience and anytime a person who has a laptop comes in, I feel guilty. Why? I should be able to use it just as much as any other person but I still feel bad using it. Starbucks should just spring for a surge protector so five people can use it at once. You make millions, you can afford a $15 surge protector.

-There are two men sitting near me who look like my Uncle S. And no, they do not appear to be related.

-One of the guys is shaking hands with like every person that walks in here. He is also sitting in a group of four or five people. Is this some local celebrity I don't know about? Some politician or something? And I've seen him here before. I need to crack this case.

-I don't understand why restaurants can't adjust the temperature inside according to the temperature outside. It's raining, that equals a bit colder. Let's not have the AC blasting. I'm even wearing a long sleeved shirt (I anticipate the cold) and I am still cold. It is October after all.

-Oh! A guy just walked in who is a shorter version of Stephen Merchant. It's all in the glasses. And something about the hair too. Maybe a knock off Ricky Gervais will be meeting him here! That would be totally awesome.

-No such luck on the Ricky lookalike. Bummer. I would have had to take a picture or something though if that had happened.

-Words I use too much: Just (still), Sort of, and Kind of. Apparently my characters are meek. They need to be definite.

-How is it the thesaurus can generate a list of words but it can't differentiate between the different variations? Always such false hope (well momentarily) when I click on "tendencies" only to have to it suggest "tendency". Can't you just add "s"s to all of the other suggestions for tendency, Microsoft Word and save me a couple of mouse clicks?

-Aw. I asked a nice old man to watch my computer and when I came back he said "I never took my eyes off of it" and I almost believe him because he was turned at a weird angle in his chair. So nice. We need more people like him in this world.

-OH! A guy just walked in who looks like Charles Kelley from Lady Antebellum (country band for those who don't know).

-Well now he just looks like one of the TA from my entomology class last semester.

-Clearly, I like playing the "doesn't he look like...." game.

-Loud people are obnoxious. There is a group of three people sitting here being so loud it is actually ridiculous. Like if they leave before me, I will gladly start a slow clap as they walk out the door because other people have to be annoyed too.

-They are BURSTING into laughter on average, every 45 seconds.

-Oh great, now the most obnoxious lady has begun clapping along with her boisterous laugh every thirteen seconds.

-This is what I don't understand about loud people: Is it because you are not self aware? Or is it because you want everyone in a fifty foot radius to know just how much fun you are having and how cool you and your friends are? Cause I remember reading in a magazine (seriously, it was probably Teen or Teen People or something involving the word "Teen") that if you want other people to be interested you should talk quietly in such public settings. For example if the guy you like is sitting nearby, don't throw your head back in exaggerated laughter every five seconds and screech and yell. People don't like the obvious. People like to eavesdrop. So if you are being quiet, they are like "Oh I can eavesdrop on what these interesting looking people are saying". When you are loud, people stop caring and just want you to SHUT UP!

-I don't think I can adequately describe just how loud these people are being. I keep wanting to turn up my iPod but the loud iPod in conjunction with how loud they are being, is hurting my ears. Plus, my sister MR just went to the doctor and apparently has "some slight hearing loss" due to her days of rocking out at concerts and listening to her iPod. I've listened to mine practically every day for the last four years so I am screwed. So now I am terrified of having the music too loud.

-One of the women is pregnant, I mean extremely pregnant. And she has a Victoria Secret bag sitting next to her. Seriously? What could you possibly have in there? On second thought, I don't want to guess.

-I have now noticed that the place has cleared out because of these people. THAT'S how loud they are being. I can leave whenever I want, I just feel sorry for the workers who have to be here because these people look pretty comfy.

-Aw Mike-Or-James isn't here today. Who is Mike-or-James you ask? Well, I frequent this Starbucks quite a bit. And there is one guy who works here (I actually think he is the manager) and I see him frequently. It's gotten to the face recognition point and we make small talk. Well I actually think he thinks I am someone else because this is the conversation we had a few weeks ago.

MoJ: Hey, how's it going? So do you have lots of schoolwork to do today?

Me: Well, actually I graduated from UGA in May. I'm trying to find a job now.

MoJ: Wow! Really? I can't believe you've already graduated! That's crazy.

Me: ..... Yeah, I know.

I'm really thinking, oooookay. Cause I've only lived here for a year so you've only known me for a year and the majority of that year I was in Athens so it's not like he's known me for a year let alone not during the four years I actually was in school. *gasps for air* That was a run on sentence. I'm just saying, I think he thinks I'm someone else.

-Plus I don't even know his name. I just call him Mike-or-James in my head because, well, he looks like a Mike or a James to me.

-But Mike-Or-James will occasionally upgrade my drink for free so if he thinks I'm someone else, I will continue to play along in this little game.

-Listening to songs from Glee. I just love that show. I'm excited for tonight's episode. And Matthew Morrison is my new crush. He is adorable. And the boy can sing! Gold Digger anyone? Not me, his version of the song. Though I bet he is making serious bank off of that show now.

-I heard they are thinking about doing a musical tour when it ends this summer. My birthday IS in May, just for future reference.

-My new fear about my computer is that the keyboard is going to break. I don't know, something about the keys just feels... off. Please don't break. I'm going to tell myself that I am having irrational fears as my life work continues to grow longer and longer on this computer.

-Ew. I just glanced out the window and there is a HUGE spider in a very intricately woven web outside. It's like a real live Halloween decoration. And it completely grosses me out.

-Okay chapter ten is done, the people are beyond obnoxious now, and the spider is seriously creeping me out. Time to call it a day.