Wednesday Thoughts

I think we've had enough swine flu talk this week for a life time, don't you? In case you're still freaking out though and need to be calmed down, here's a link to an interesting article I read last night that puts things in perspective. Some interesting facts it gives:

13,000 people have died so far this year from the regular flu in the US
36, 000 die annually from the regular flu in the US
1 person has died from the swine flu in the US this year

So maybe we should calm down about the swine flu a little bit. And start freaking out about the regular flu!!! (That's what I'm doing anyway!! Seriously, I had no idea the risk I was taking when I skipped the flu shot last year.)

As I said before, I don't mean to make light of something has killed people and really is tragic. I'm just trying to keep some perspective.

Moving on to something lighter... last night Katherine (my sister) and I were having a serious conversation about some recent developments in stem cell research. Suddenly I got the song "She Blinded Me With Science" in my head and couldn't get it out. Even though Katherine begged me to stop singing it, I couldn't (or wouldn't as the case may be). Here's my question for you: is there any other way to dance to that song than the robot dance? I actually have a lot more questions about that song, but I won't get into them right now.

One more thing about the swine flu. I feel bad for the innocent pigs out there who are just trying to live their normal lives. Justin and Kathy and I were talking about our favorite pigs and wondering if they feel awkward going out in public now. I hope not. We still love you, Babe, Wilbur, and Ms. Piggy! (Check out poll on side to show your support.)



I don't really have a lot more Wednesday thoughts this morning. In fact, I keep thinking it's Thursday. That can't be good.

Guess who's back?

Swine flu's back. Thanks for the link, Chris!



What did you learn from these PSAs from the 1970s?

Update: I'm already sick of hearing about the swine flu

I hope I didn't add to the panic with my post from yesterday. Based on everything I've heard today, I feel like I'm supposed to be in a complete panic right now over the swine flu. And now there's the possibility that a woman in Michigan has it so now it's time to totally freak out!!!!!! I guess I have two options:

1.) Go on with my normal life, but with a bit more caution about the spreading of germs. Oh, and stop hugging and petting pigs - especially if they have the sniffles and a fever. Maybe I should stop going to the petting zoo every day after work.

2.) Buy a bubble, inflate it, move into it. Never leave it.

You would think with the way the media is covering this, there's nothing else out there that could kill us. It reminds me of the summer when all we heard about was the West Nile virus. We were all scared that every single mosquito was a carrier and all back yard bbqs were canceled indefinitely. I bought some netting and spent my entire summer in it. Memories. Here's what I plan on wearing this summer (better safe than sorry, right?):


I'm going to cover it with these stickers just to be safe.

The Swine Flu Scares Me

When I first heard about the swine flu, my first thought was, "I don't want to turn into a swine!" So I decided to look into it and I discovered that the symptoms had nothing to do with transmogrification, thank goodness. But don't get me wrong, the actual symptoms sound pretty bad.

At first I thought that since most reported cases are in Mexico, we were probably safe in Michigan - for awhile anyway. But no, it's made its way up north. Here's a link to a CNN map. I think mine is better: (I really don't mean to make light of a horrible illness that's killed people, but the smiling swine make me less scared)




Promise me if I get it, you'll come visit me in quarantine? I promise not to kiss you and pass it on to you. I mean, unless I'm really enjoying our visit and don't want you to go. You understand.

Friday Funnies

Here are three things making me laugh today. I hope you enjoy. Happy Friday! Ooo, I think I'll do a poll. Let me know which of these you found the funniest.

1.) Lady gets involved in something that wasn't her business. This one is mean but cracked me up. The squirrels in Ann Arbor are not joking around.

2). Ze Frank. Go to the educational videos, then click on the dance instructions (there are two). Be sure to read some of the explanations below the instructional videos. Expect to see me doing these moves at a party near you.

3.) This is a video that Katherine loves (here's a link in case the video doesn't load (for you, RR)):

Wednesday Thoughts

When I was in high school, I was in a group called HOPE, which stands for Helping Our Planet's Environment. We had t-shirts that said "I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree," which is from the poem "Trees" by Alfred Joyce Kilmer. In honor of both earth day and National Poetry Month, here's the whole poem:

Trees
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

I don't remember all we did in that group (I think I joined it for mostly social reasons). I know we planted some trees and talked about the environment. We recycled and probably judged people who didn't recycle. We talked about reusing paper and most likely shook our heads in disgust when others didn't use both sides of the paper. Without a doubt, we made a difference.

Now, all these years later I wonder what I'm doing for the environment. My efforts are about the same: Recycling, judging people who don't recycle, refraining from littering, shaking my fist (from the privacy of my car) when I see others litter, and pretty much just hoping for the best as far as the earth is concerned.

But today since it's Earth Day, I thought it would be nice to do something for the earth. The only problem is, I can't decide what to do. I tried calculating my carbon footprint, but it was really a lot more work than I'd anticipated. Another option is to join my company's commuter challenge, but that doesn't start until May and I want to do something today (besides simply joining). The third thing I came up with is to recycle my pop bottles after work but that's kind of self serving because of the $ refund.

In my brainstorming, I came across this fun website with ideas that I'm pretty sure are geared towards children but since I'm an Earth Day beginner, I think it's a good place to start. It even has this great quiz. I got 9/10 right. Top that!!

Anyway, I'm debating between two projects on that website, one is the compost bin (is it ok if I don't decorate it the way they've shown? I'd prefer to decorate mine in a more adult way - like with Spongebob stickers or something) or the eggshell planter (but I'm pretty sure you have to have the hands of a surgeon for that one). If you have any Earth saving tips for me today, I'd love to hear them. Happy Earth Day!

I'll be watching you

The other day, Kathy, Justin, and I got talking about the most stalker-y songs. I think this was inspired by Richard Marx's "Right here waiting." We came up with our top four, but due to a senior moment I'm having (haha) I can't remember the fourth. So here are our top 3:

Every breath you take
Pretty much all the lyrics to this song are terrifying, but here's a sample:

Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you
Every move you make
Every step you take
I'll be watching you

Always be my baby
I always liked this song actually, but Kathy claims it's really stalkerish. After reading the lyrics, I guess I can't say she's totally wrong. I still think it's a sweet song though (hmmm, that doesn't say anything about me, does it?)

You'll always be a part of me
I'm a part of you indefinitely
Boy don't you know you can't escape me
Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby
And we'll linger on
Time can't erase a feeling this strong
No way you're never gonna shake me
Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby

Hungry Eyes
These lyrics are more hilarious than scary, but there is definitely something semi-threatening about them. Especially the last three lines.

I've got hungry eyes
One look at you and I cant disguise
I've got hungry eyes
I feel the magic between you
And I've got hungry eyes
Now I've got you in my sights
With those hungry eyes
Did I take you by surprise

I googled "stalker songs" and found this list of almost 70 songs (but it didn't have the one I was trying to remember). Here's there number 1 stalker song. It contains the line, "You can run, you can hide, but you can't escape my love." I don't know though. I mean, considering the source, this just isn't scary. Somehow it seems ok if it's Enrique Iglesias doing the stalking.

Anyway, what is the worst (or best) stalker song? Seems like the perfect time to put another poll up. Can you think of any others?

Never-Been-Kissed-Woman Can Sing!!!

So, by now I'm sure most of you have heard of Susan Boyle. She was on Britain's Got Talent, and she has a beautiful voice. I'm happy for her - I'm happy for her success. But what has been upsetting me is the way the news reporters have been talking about her. They've been focusing these main things:

1.) She's not the most attractive woman ever.

2.) She's (gasp) never been kissed!

3.) Despite these two facts, she can sing!

I can't believe the things I've heard today. Now, I'm not perfect. I sometimes misjudge people based on their appearance, I know that. But some of the reporters have been so blatant about it! I heard several reporters say, "I guess you can't judge a book by it's cover!" I hope Susan wasn't watching.

I heard her referred to as the "Hairy Angel" and another headline read, "Never-kissed Woman Wows Cowel."

Here's an actual conversation I heard (in my head) yesterday:

A: Did you hear about this woman, Susan Boyle?

B: No, what about her? Who is she?

A: She's this woman with a beautiful voice, but get this - she's not very attractive and not only that, but she's never been kissed.

B: Wait, I thought you said she can sing?
A: That's what I'm trying to tell you! That's the shocking part!

B: But wait...I don't get it. Is this an April Fools joke? I thought you said she was ugly.

A: Yes, she is!

B: Then how can she sing?

A: I don't know!

B: She must have been lip syncing.

A: No, they say she wasn't! It's some kind of scientific miracle!

B: (no response, passed out in shock)

Who said that you have to be Hollywood beautiful to be able to sing? Maybe MTV has convinced us that there's a biological connection between beauty and talent. Although I think this is only true for women. It's ok for men to be ugly and talented. But women...no. It's impossible. Until now.

Ok, I know. I'm blowing this out of proportion. But I was a bit annoyed by the rude words of the reporters yesterday. Can you imagine if you made it big and everyone reporting it focused on their shock that despite your looks, you actually have talent!?

I know, I'm ranting. But it's my blog and I can rant if I want to.

Wednesday Thoughts

Happy tax day! But don't worry too much, there are some good things about tax day! Mainly, free eats. Check out these sites (1) (2) for some locations where you can get free food. And please let me know if you know of any others!

In other thoughts, over the weekend I was out with friends and we got to talking about songs that remind us of our early teenage years. I had already been thinking about it so I had a couple in mind. My top three are: (go ahead and click on the links. Trust me, you won't regret it. But a word of warning, I was only able to get through the first 40 seconds of the first one before I'd had enough.)

1) Right Here Waiting, Richard Marx (for some reason, this song really spoke to me when I was 12.)
2) Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice (the perfect song for those awkward dances)
3) Blame it on the Rain, Milli Vanilli (either this one or Girl you Know it's True - it's a tough call)

Speaking of Milli Vanilli, were you guys mad when you found out they were lip syncing? I remember feeling that according to MTV News, I was supposed to be mad but in reality I just thought it was funny. I still totally rocked out to my Milli Vanilli cassette tape. No hard feelings, M.V.

After I turned 14, my music tastes improved (slightly) but these classics will always make me happy.

In other Wednesday thoughts, I was watching Gilmore Girls last night and the reruns are at the part where Rory starts dating Logan. I think I'm going to stop watching for awhile because I can't stand Logan. Between Dean, Logan, and Jess, I'd have to say Jess is the best for Rory even though he's a bit of a punk. What do you guys think? I'm going to post a poll on the side. This is important stuff so let your voice be heard.

Happy Rainy Taxy Wednesday. But no worries - Lost is on tonight. Lost will make everything better.

May-December

Occasionally, when friends are trying to set me up with one of their friends, they ask me for a dating age range. This is a hard one. I'm 32, so I usually say the youngest I'll date is 26, and the oldest is... I don't know. I'm not clear on that one. But I don't know too many older single men so that one isn't the problem. The problem is the younger range. So I thought I'd ask you guys - how much younger is too young? 23? 24? 25? Does it depend on the guy? Insights?

Let me clarify - I don't want to date a much younger (early 20's) guy, I'm just asking what you guys think is a good range.

Easy in, easy out!

Today was opening day for the Tigers! The game was awesome, the weather was perfect, Kid Rock was there, and we had a great time. There was only one thing...Christi and I didn't arrive as early as we'd planned and our favorite parking lot (between the two abandoned buildings) was already full when we got there. This kind of threw us off our game, and not sure what to do, we circled the block looking for reasonably priced parking lots. And by lots I mean weedy empty land between gutted out abandoned buildings.

Suddenly, next to the lot we normally park in, some guy started waving us in yelling, "Easy in, easy out!" Two things worried us:

1) what gave this guy the authority to park us there? Was he homeless? He kind of looked homeless.

2) there were no other cars in that lot. Which brings me back to my first questions.

But he was so convincing. He kept nodding at us and smiling and waving in a way that said, "Yes, I know you suspect I have no right to park you here, but let's just put that behind us. Easy in. Easy out. You know you want to."

And we did. We did want to. We really wanted to. His lot was cheap-ish, close to a lot we trusted, and quite empty. So we did it. We took a risk, parked in an abandoned empty lot because some dude accepted our ten dollars to do it, and we went to the game.

The game was so good we almost forgot about the possibility of the car being gone (towed or worse) when we got there. But after we left the game it all came back. As we walked towards the lot I think I heard Christi mumbling, "please be there, please be there, please be there." She sighed a huge sigh of relief when we looked up and saw her car was still there - still the only one in the so-called lot, but still there.

I knew we could trust that guy. Plus, he was right. It couldn't have been easier to get both in and out.

Wednesday Thoughts

Several times yesterday when checking the news online I saw the headline, "Honor student leaves for work, disappears." Eventually I clicked on it, and it turns out it's a cold case and the girl is still missing, so I don't mean to make light of it. But it got me thinking. This young woman was known as "honor student" went she went missing. What would I be known as? What is the one thing that the newspapers would grab onto about me and use as my most important feature? I hope there's never a need for them to do that, but if there is, here are some I came up with:

Blogger leaves for work, disappears

Spinster leaves for work, disappears

Amateur bicyclist leaves for work, disappears
Facebook addict leaves for work, disappears

Lost fan leaves for work, disappears

Hmm...looks like I better make some improvements in my life. I don't really like any of those. What about you? What would you be known as?

In other news, what is up with Jon Bon Jovi recently!? I have always thought he was a cool guy, but suddenly I'm not so sure. I heard yesterday that he is forcing the all girl tribute band, Blonde Jovi to change their name claiming it's too similar to Bon Jovi. Blonde Jovi is the best tribute band name ever!! The real Bon Jovi was worried people would get confused. Confused? Really? How dumb does Bon Jovi think we are? Also, when was the last time you read "Jovi" this many times in one paragraph? Anyway, Blonde Jovi had to change their name to Blonde Jersey. Lame. Seriously lame. I'm very disappointed in Bon Jovi. But not too disappointed to post a super hot picture of him from the 80's.

Happy Wednesday.

Snow Day

Today the unthinkable happened: a snow day! Last night the weather forecasters predicted up to eight inches of snow for today but I didn't believe it for a minute. It was a beautiful weekend, weather wise, and winter weather seemed impossible! But the forecasters insisted snow was coming.

As you may remember, my company has a policy in which we are closed when the area schools cancel due to snow. This policy has turned all of us into children when it comes to snow days. I could barely sleep last night wondering if it might really happen. But when I woke up (way before my alarm) and looked out the windows, it looked like it had only snowed a couple inches. I dejectedly tried to fall back to sleep.

About an hour later, (6:30) I got a text message from Ann that simply said, "OMG Snow day!!!!" but I thought she must be mistaken. So I turned on the news, which confirmed what Ann said. Still I didn't believe it. So I went to the school's website, and once again had it confirmed that it was a snow day. Still, I doubted. How could it be a snow day? In April? Finally I texted Kathy, who confirmed that it was indeed a snow day. In true "kid" form, I couldn't fall back asleep.

The snow is melting already, as we knew it would. I feel bad for those who had to go out driving in it this morning, but I for one enjoyed the brief April snowstorm.

Wednesday Thoughts

Something's happening to me. I'm not sure how old I am but I think I'm older than I thought I was. Here's the evidence:

1.) I went to the doctor yesterday (I have bronchitis) and when the nurse measured me, she said I am 5'3. 5'3!? I used to be 5'3 and three quarters. That three quarters meant a lot to me. It meant I could round up and say I was 5'4. But no longer. I lost an inch. Well, almost an inch. I asked her how it could be that I had lost that much height and she said maybe the last time they measured me I was wearing shoes. I know she was trying to comfort me, but that's just ridiculous. I've spent the last 20 hours trying to convince myself it was some kind of premature April Fool's joke, but at the same time I don't really think the 70 year old nurse was that cruel.

Evidence #2.) I said something to my grandma recently about how I can't wait to have kids someday and her response? "OR you can be a step mom to someone elses kids!" What? I have nothing against being a step mom, but I'm pretty sure I still have many childbearing years ahead of me. My grandma seems to think I've gone through "the change" already. I'm so confused. Am I older than I think I am? Do I have some kind of reverse Dorian Gray thing going on? When I look in the mirror I look my age, but everyone else sees me as old? Ok, I know that analogy has some holes, but bear with me. I'm sort of going through something here.

Time to move on. I have one more topic to cover. If you're not a Lost fan, you can skip this part. I'll understand. If you are a Lost fan and you missed last week's episode, then I should warn you, don't read on.

Ok, they're gone. So what do you guy think is going to happen with Ben!? Did Sayid really kill him as a child!? What consequences will this have on the future!? I was talking to my friend Mike B. about this a few days ago and he said to me, in the words of Doc Brown, "You're not thinking fourth dimensionally!" That's where he was wrong. I absolutely was thinking fourth dimensionally and it was blowing my mind.

But really, what are the writers going to do tonight? My guess (and I hope I'm wrong): they're going to take the easy way out and Ben won't die, he'll just be seriously injured. Jack will refuse to help him, and Juliet will have to do it. That would explain what turned Ben evil, and they won't have to alter any future events. Just a guess. It would be cool if he actually was dead (because he's pure evil) but I'd kind of miss the beady - eyed guy.

Lastly, happy April Fool's day! Has anyone seen or done any good pranks today?