Would you rather?

spend the night (by yourself) in a haunted crypt,


Blurry effects caused by ghostly presence

or

spend the night in an open coffin at the bottom of an open grave?

Check in by 10:00pm, check out at sunrise.

Things to consider:

• Ghosts (at both)
• Goosebumps (at both)
• Heebie jeebies (at both)
• Permanent psychological damage (at both)
• Bumps in the night (at both)
• Reputation for being tough (from both)

Which do you choose, and why?

The Year 3000

Remember the last time you tried to break a pinata? You got blindfolded, spun around several times, and then you were left to your own devices in that disoriented state. That's exactly how I felt after my experience in the Apple store yesterday.

A couple weeks ago I noticed that only one of my earbuds was working on my iPhone. I thought I could live with it for awhile, but I only lasted a couple weeks before it became too annoying. So yesterday I went to the Apple store in the mall.

As I walked into the three walled store, I was greeted by two very friendly employees who asked me what I needed. I mentioned earbuds, and was whisked off by one of them into the most sterile, futuristic store I've ever been in. Have you been in one of these places? The whole place is white, blue, and chrome, and you're surrounded by gadgets that look like robots. It's surreal.

The employee grabbed the earbuds off the wall, and asked if I needed anything else. When I said no, he took out his phone and started punching in information. I asked, "so where do I check out?" And he said, "right here." Huh? I didn't see a cash register, and we were standing in the middle of the store. But I didn't want to look too uncool so I just just took out my wallet. He put out his hand for my credit card, which he swiped through his phone. What? I was so confused. He then said, "you're all set," and sent me on my way. As I walked out of the store, I felt totally disoriented. What had just happened? Where was I? It had all happened so fast.

About a minute later, my phone buzzed indicating that my receipt had just been e-mailed to me. At that point, I called my sister and said, "I think I just left the year 3000."

Every store I went to after that resembled a general store from the 19th century. I mean, who uses cash registers anymore!? Or doors?! And who browses? Paper receipts!? Primitive!

That having been said, I'd rather never go to the Apple store again. The future is far too disorienting for me.

Wednesday Thoughts

You know what's scarier than the Grudge? Flirting. I mean, flirting for real - when you want a guy to ask you out. Not just playful flirting, purposeful flirting - do you know what I mean? Ok, I somehow just made it sound even scarier. And weird.

I've realized lately that most of the guys I've dated have been willing to meet me more than half way. I made this scale to illustrate. The red and pink lines are as far as I typically go with flirting, confidence, and boldness. The guy has to meet me the rest of the way which is something like 70% from the looks of it. I realize this isn't fair, but I'm not sure how to make the pink and red lines stretch further. How bold can I really be? How can I increase my confidence? Maybe I'm selling myself short - maybe I do more than I think I do. It's just that I see some girls who meet the guys more than half way, and I really can't do that.

Paint comes through again. Nothing but the best for you guys.


What about you? Are you/were you a flirt? As you know, I don't (can't) ask a guy out, so I try to be as friendly as possible to make up for it. How much do guys expect girls to do to express interest?

Enough about that. I have a confession about Halloween. You guys know I love Halloween so this might surprise you, but I don't like dressing up. I can never come up with any costumes, and I usually just feel silly. So then I just end up sticking with one of the old stand by's, like a cat, or a witch, or the thing I'm going to be this year which I can't reveal yet. But which is not original. What are you going to be?

One last thing for today - this Friday is going to be the last "would you rather" for a couple weeks. Instead of doing it every Friday, I'm going to move it to every other. This one is going to be Halloween themed, so get ready to make a very spooky decision. You're gonna love it! Come back Friday and see.

Happy Wednesday.

The Grudge

'Tis the season for scaring ourselves out of our minds, all in the name of Halloween. Haunted houses, haunted hayrides, scary costumes, and of course, scary movies.

Of all the scary movies I've seen (and there aren't many), the one that scares me the most is The Grudge. I abhor this movie. I hate the way that stupid Grudge moves like a spider down the stairs, I hate the way she creeps on people, the way she disguises her voice, the way she's terrifying, etc, etc...

Yet somehow this movie ended up in my possession. I have no idea how. I am 100% sure I did not buy it. The Grudge herself is the most likely culprit, being the evil "person" she is. But I don't have evidence that it was her. My point is, it somehow ended up with my movies years ago. I hid it in a shoe box so I wouldn't have to see it,  but I knew it was there.

A friend of mine who shall remain nameless, but who is Grudge-like in his desire to scare me, insisted on watching this movie with me this Halloween season. I think he thought it would be amusing to see me scared out of my wits. After months and months of him telling me we were going to watch it this fall, I somehow gave in and agreed.

There's no need for me to tell you how the viewing went. I had my eyes closed for at least half the movie. I screamed more than twice. From under the blanket, I would ask, "is the Grudge gone yet?" When my friend left that night, I tried to give him the movie but he wouldn't take it. So this morning I brought it into work and put it on our "free table," where people leave kitchen stuff, books, and whatever else they couldn't sell at their garage sale. Here's a picture I took of it:

I wonder if anyone will take it? Getting home from work today and seeing it on my kitchen table is my worst fear right now. I wouldn't put it past The Grudge to do something like that.

What is the scariest movie you've ever seen? What's one you wouldn't see again?

Introspection

After a couple conversations I've had recently with blog readers, I've realized more and more that my blog really only shows part of my personality. Because my full name is available for all to see (rookie mistake), and because I both do and don't know who's reading, I can only say so much.

I'm always reluctant to do posts like this because it feels so vain to presume that anyone would care to know more about me, but considering we are all nosey by nature (which is totally different than naughty by nature), I thought I'd tell you a bit more about me. Stuff that I don't talk about much here. Maybe you could tell me a bit more about yourselves too, if you feel so inclined.

• I am the oldest of four. I have two sisters and a brother.
• I have a degree in English. I couldn't resist pursuing that degree, even though I knew it would never make me rich. I loved college, and still read all the time.
• Because of my degree, I feel guilty when I read fluff literature, yet I often do anyway.
• I listen to NPR daily, and love talking about what's going on in the world.
• I am very active in my church, and am always open to talk about it if anyone wants to, but would never want to push it on anyone.
• I have a fish named Brutus who I adopted from my sister. She adopted it from our friend, Megan. Brutus is now 4 yrs old and he won't eat unless I'm standing next to his tank. I swear that if I hum while I'm standing there, he gets excited. He's unique.
• I love riding my bike and ride as often as I can. I only wear a helmet because in my head I can hear my sister lecturing me about it. Sometimes I rebel and don't though because I love the feeling of my hair blowing in the breeze. I realize I sound like a ten year old.
• Led Zeppelin is my favorite band, and I love rock music. I also like pop though, and just loads of other stuff. I also love the Beatles and they always put me in a happy place. 
• I feel the most alive after a really good conversation.
• I'm not always nice. Generally, I can get along with most anyone but certain personality types rub me the wrong way.
• I'm too critical of myself.
• I both love and hate having crushes. My heart is always hopeful but my brain is a pessimist. This makes crushing a painful experience.
• I try to be optimistic and laugh a lot but am often lonely.
• I'm really bad at holding grudges and can't stay mad for long.
• My favorite t.v. show ever is Northern Exposure and I have all the seasons of it on DVD.
• I love holidays and try to make people feel really special on their birthdays. I love any excuse to celebrate.
• I'm a little bit too sensitive, but am trying to develop a thicker skin.
• I am an insomniac. Or maybe I'm just a night owl? Either way, I don't get nearly enough sleep and I think my life would probably be better if I did.
• I feel more confident when I straighten my hair.
• I am light hearted and laugh often. I try to see the funny side of life - laugh or cry, right?

Wow, I had no idea how long that was getting. That's probably much more information than you wanted. But I think I painted a slightly bigger picture of myself. Now you know me a little bit better.

What is something about you that doesn't come through in your blog? Or if you don't have a blog, what is something about you that you don't think people know?

Would you rather?

Be invisible (you can turn it on and off)

or

Be able to fly?

Things to consider:

Flight: It's flight. What more can be said? Well, I'll say a bit more:

• Easier commutes.
• Women will think you're Superman (if you're a man).
• That cape you wear will finally make sense.
• You can get Frisbees off the roof.
• Point out to men when they are balding. They love being informed of this.

Invisibility: This super power strikes me as being slightly more sinister, but it could be used for good, right? Here are some ways:

• It would be awesome to go running while being invisible. I hate being seen when I'm huffing and puffing. 
• Invisible bike riding would be pretty good too. On more than one level.
• There are sooo many ways you could embarrass people.
• Spying. It seems like that's why most people want to be invisible, right?

Which do you choose, and why?

Wednesday Thoughts

Since we're only a week and a half away from Halloween, I thought I'd do some follow up from my post "Things I'd like to do this Halloween season" from last week. Mostly because I want to brag that I actually did some of them. Here's an update:

Make some mod podge pumpkins: did it! It really was a Halloween miracle! Here's a picture of it when it was still drying:

Watch the Changeling, Ghost Busters, and one other scary movie: I haven't seen the two listed yet, but I have seen The Skeleton Key, Hocus Pocus, and another which I'll mention later.

Decide who to have a crush on this fall: still figuring that out (wink wink).

Eat candy (Larry) corns: Sooo did it! Bought a jumbo bag. Luckily it's impossible to over eat these things because after about 7 or 8 my stomach starts hurting.

Come up with a good Halloween costume: Not yet. But I've become somewhat of a lameoid (technical term) when it comes to dressing up. I need to work on that for this year. Do you know what you're going to be?

Carve a pumpkin into something unexpected: Oh, did I. Check it out! Can you guess what it is?

Put the past in the past: Success.

Find the movie "Mr. Boogedy": Yes! I watched it on Youtube to start, and a friend found the actual movie and is getting me a copy! Score. In case you follow that link, I recommend watching the Bride of Boogedy too. 80's gold.

Oh, and this wasn't on my list, but for bonus points I also went to a cider mill and baked pumpkin seeds (but not at the same time).

Have you accomplished any of your fall goals?

In the spirit of Halloween, I'll leave you with my favorite non-scary scary video. I've posted it on here once before, but it's that good.



Happy Wednesday!

Mr. Perfect

May I just start by saying I love the passion a cheese versus chocolate debate brings out in people? Who would have thought? The nice thing is my "would you rather" questions aren't binding. I hope no one binged on either cheese or chocolate as a result of imagining life without one of them. If you did though, I understand.

Cheese and chocolate aside, I have something a little deeper on my mind tonight. It's about...(dun dun dun - intense music here -) marriage. I recently read a blog post which was titled, "I just haven't met him yet is a lousy excuse." The author of the post said that she doesn't really buy that excuse and that what you really mean is that you haven't gotten to know him yet, or you weren't ready at the time, or he hasn't gotten to know you yet. Here is a link to the post if you'd like to see it (link).

I suppose she may be right in some ways. That having been said, I've felt kind of crummy (yes, crummy) since reading that post. I've been holding onto "I just haven't met him yet" as my "why I'm still single" security blanket for years now. Now I'm starting to wonder if I really am waiting for Mr. Perfect. I'm still not convinced that that's the case, but it's possible I am waiting for "Mr. Perfect For Me" which is different, trust me. I have much more realistic expectations for Mr. Perfect For Me. He doesn't have to have the biceps of Mr. Perfect, first off. Really, what I'm looking for is a good personality mesh, common goals, religion, and of course, he has to think I'm funny. That goes without saying. I suppose I have a few more general expectations for him too but those are negotiable.

I don't know if I haven't met him yet. But I will say this, I just haven't dated him yet. I think Fei, the writer of the aforementioned blog post, would probably accept that excuse.

What do you think? If you're happily married did you feel your spouse was "perfect for you," or was it different than that? If you're single, do you know what you're looking for? Do you have a list? What percentage of things on your list do you expect to find in one person? Do you think your expectations are realistic?

Would You Rather?

Give up cheese for a year, or give up chocolate for a year?

Things to consider:  



Delicious Cheesy bread...



Molten lava cake...



Pizza....



Whatever this is....



Which do choose and why? If you are allergic to one of these things, pretend you aren't for the sake of the question.



Wednesday Thoughts

I had an interesting conversation with a friend the other day. He had heard a false rumor that I was moving away and asked me about it. When I confirmed that it was false, he asked if I would be open to moving away from Michigan at any point. I told him that I might be open to it at some point and asked him where he could see me living. He thought about it and said, "I mean this in a good way - you are very Michigan." He likes Michigan so I took this as a compliment, just to be clear.

Then he made some suggestions for other places I would probably like. But that first line really rung true for me. I am a Michigan girl. But I'll tell you when I love Michigan the most: in the fall. You probably already guessed that though, huh? Here are some pictures I've taken in the last couple weeks. Check them out, and you will be able to understand more why Michigan wins me over in the fall. We always break up in the winter when Michigan breaks my heart and tortures me with it's horrible weather, but by summer I'm back in. And by fall, I'm in love again, having forgotten the heart ache that seems so far away at this point (and yet, is just around the corner).

I hope you enjoyed that. Ok, since Wednesday Thoughts is typically full of random thoughts, I have a few to share with you:

First, remember when I said I could never be a hipster? Well, I was called one the other day just because I was wearing a scarf and holding an iPhone. I don't think that's enough though- do you?

Secondly, you should really check out my friend Sara's blog. She recently moved back to Michigan after living in Boston for awhile and is living the dream in Detroit. She's one of the most creative people I know, and takes amazing pictures. Here's a link to a recent post I particularly enjoyed (link).

And lastly, I had an upsetting dream the other night. Someone in my dream told me I should wax my mustache. In the dream I said, "what are you talking about? I don't have a mustache!" But then someone showed me a mirror and I totally had a girl-stash. It was all blond and longish. It was sick. And it really freaked me out in the dream. I was like, "how long has that been there!? Why I have never noticed it?!" Ever since the dream I keep looking in the mirror, afraid there's something going on that I never noticed before. You would tell me if I had a mustache though, right?

Happy Wednesday. 

Things I want to do this Halloween season...

I will not be making this. It scares me.

Make some mod podge pumpkins. If I actually do this, it will be a miracle. A Halloween miracle.

Watch The Changeling, Ghost Busters, and at least one other scary movie (haven't decided which yet). Oh, and at least one t.v. Halloween special.

Decide who to have a crush on this fall.

Eat candy corns. Side note: when I was growing up there was an attorney named "Larry Corn" who had some really cheesy commercials on t.v. As kids we thought it was hilarious to call candy corns "Larry Corns" and in my mind I still call them that.

Come up with a really good Halloween costume. Or not. I could go either way on this one.

Carve a pumpkin into something unexpected.

Put the past in the past. Fall is my most nostalgic time of year, for better or worse.

Find the Disney movie, "Mr. Boogedy" on dvd - or vhs, I'm not picky - and hope it's as good as I remember it. Know it's not going to be, and watch it anyway.

Tell me what you hope to do this season!

A quick post

Another take on the question I posted on Saturday can be found on the Singles Ward blog! Check it out here.

Also, I'm still looking for book suggestions below!

And lastly, I'm shocked that so many people are choosing to speak with an English accent over having a mullet! I thought mullet would be the winner by a long shot! I have a lot to learn about you.

Book Club

I've been craving new books lately. I've been reading a lot but I'm stuck in a rut and need recommendations. This is embarrassing but I'm just going to say it: I've read a lot of Amish fiction in the past sixth months. It's so interesting, but I really need to move on. Or at least take a break.

So I thought I'd come to you. What is the best book you've read this year?

I'll get the discussion started and recommend one for you. The best book I've read this year is called "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. To be honest I can never remember the name of it and I actually had to get it down off the book shelf to get the whole name right. I usually just call it "the potato peel book." But I figured you might need more information than that if you wanted to look it up. Plus, that makes it sound like a recipe book for potato skins.

This book is completely charming. It takes place in England in 1946 and the whole book is written in the form of correspondence being sent between a handful of lovable characters. At first I wasn't sure about that, but it totally sucked me in. It's not only an entertaining and touching book, it's also interesting in the sense that you learn a lot of history too. Check it out!

Here are some of my other all time favorite books, in case you're interested. If you're not, skip down to the comments and tell me yours! You don't have to tell me your top ten unless you want to. I'd really love to hear your favorite book so far this year and why you love it!

1. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (Haunting)

2. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (Empowering)

3. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou (Inspirational)

4. My Name is Asher Lev - Chaim Potok - (Thought provoking)

5. The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver (Charming)

6. A Girl Named Zippy - Haven Kimmel (Hilarious)

7. The Hiding Place - Corrie ten Boom (Faith Promoting)

8. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith (Tender)

9. Coming Up For Air - George Orwell (Smart/Funny)
10. I can't choose a 10th. It makes me feel bad for the books I love that didn't make this list.

I will close with a quote from a beloved character of our time, Gaston:

"It's not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting ideas and thinking..."

It's too late for me in that regard. So, now it's your turn. Channel your inner Levar Burton and tell me what I should read next!

Question of the day

If someone invites you to a group thing, is it rude to ask, "who else is going to be there?" Isn't it enough that the person who invited you is going to be there?

I'm always conflicted about asking that. What do you think?

Would You Rather?

Speak with an English accent for one week...

Rules:

• You can't just say "gov'ner" the whole week, or other things Americans think English people say. "Cheerio" is also forbidden. 
• You have to live your normal life during this week. Work, school, social gatherings... No taking the week off to avoid contact with people.
• If you are an English person, you have to speak with an American accent. And you can't just say "wuzzup" the whole week, or whatever you think we say.
• You can't tell anyone why you're doing it.

or

Cut your hair (or grow it) into a mullet, which you will keep for a week.

Rules:

• It has to be an obvious mullet.
• It can't be a wig. (Unless you're bald.)
• "Business in the front, party in the back" should be your motto.
• Once again, you can't tell anyone why you're doing it. 

Examples: 

  



The she-mullet

The Uncle Jesse



Which do you choose, and why?

Wednesday Thoughts

I read once that Mark Zuckerberg figured out a formula where he can tell with a 33% accuracy who Facebook users are going to be in a relationship with based on who's profile they're looking at, how recently their last relationship was, and who they chat with. What do you think he'd find if he spied on you?

Here's another Facebook question: how do you determine who you're going to unfriend? I've talked about this before on here, but it's come up in several conversations lately. I usually only unfriend guys I was in some way involved with and no longer want any contact with, or people who's names I don't recognise when they show up in my news feed. A friend of mine said that if she sees that it's someones birthday but she doesn't feel the need to spend 15 seconds clicking on their page to write "happy birthday," she should just unfriend them. I can see where she's coming from. Thoughts?

I haven't seen the Facebook movie, in case you were wondering. For some reason I'm just thinking about Facbeook today. Probably because all I hear about anymore is the Faceook movie.

Ok, here's one more Facebook story. A few weeks ago I ran into someone I was friends with in elementary school. We also went to middle and high school together but were in different groups at that point. A year or two ago, we became FB friends. When we ran into each other at the store a few weeks ago, we hadn't seen each other in many years, but she immediately gave me a hug and we talked about stuff we knew about each other based on FB. What if we hadn't been FB friends? We're both nice people, but honestly, I think we probably would have pretended we didn't see each other simply because we wouldn't have known what to say to each other. FB creates a weird reality.

My friend Christi sends me links sometimes to these fake news feeds Slate does and they are hilarious - you should check it out (link).

So, in the commercial for the FB movie, fake Mark Zuckerberg calls it "The Facebook" - I think I'm going to start calling it that. Make it sound like I know what I'm talking about.

Ugh. I'm really mad at The Facebook for taking over my blog right now. Honestly, I should commit to not talking about The Facebook on my blog for the rest of the year. And I'm thinking about sort of phasing it out of my life a little. It seems like it takes over, don't you think? Have any of you gone cold-turkey?

Happy Wednesday.

Cuddle Alert

There are two things I've been thinking about lately with the weather getting colder. No, make that three things:

1. I forgot how warm scarves are. I've been wearing a scarf all day and it's made a world of difference.

2. It could snow this month. I mean, not this week, but October holds the potential for snow. Snow. Isn't that weird? It feels like summer was two weeks ago.

3. "Cuddle alerts" are becoming part of the weather forecast again. When the weather gets cold here, one of the Detroit weathermen advises a "cuddle alert." On the occasions when I don't have someone to cuddle with in the winter months, those alerts annoy me. Like he's saying that if you don't cuddle, you could die of frostbite. On this website about Chuck Gaidica's "cuddle alert," he is quoted as saying, "cuddling has medicinal value." I didn't realize he was a doctor. (This is where a sarcasm font would really come in handy.)

I wonder if there's a supplement that can be taken if you don't have someone to cuddle with? If there was, it would probably be chocolate. (Oh my gosh, I'm starting to sound like Cathy from that annoying comic strip!)

Last night I had an interesting conversation with a guy friend about cuddling. He has a ridiculous technique he uses to get girls to cuddle with him, but I won't reveal it on here in case he wants to use it with any of you. Anyway, he said that (when it comes to dating), cuddling always means something if at least one of the cuddlers involved is interested in the other. That you can't just walk away and pretend nothing happened.   He's probably right about that. What rules do you have about cuddling?

And if you don't have someone to cuddle with in the upcoming cold months, may I recommend a scarf or a warm cup of hot chocolate? I'm as much of a doctor as Chuck Gaidica, and I say those have medicinal qualities too.

2010

2010 has been a good year so far, in so many ways. I have a bad habit of focusing on things I want to change or things I wish were a little different, but looking back, I've had a good year and done lots of fun things. I'm not trying to rush 2010 though - we still have three months ahead of us. And they're three of my favorites, at that.

But I thought on this Monday morning, I'd focus on the positive and think back on some of my favorite things from 2010 so far:

• Went to Ludington four times over the summer and introduced friends to it. Loved watching them fall in love with it too.
• Went to Arches National Park with Emily and had the time of my life.
• Visited friends in Utah and loved every minute of it.
• Went to an olde-timey baseball game at Greenfield Village. It was amazing and even better than I expected.
• Went to a Tigers game with co-workers and loved it. And the Tigers won.
• Went to Sleeping Bear Dunes and had quite an adventure.
• Spent quality time with my nieces and nephews who I love so much.
• Saw an Alfred Hitchcock movie in an old, beautiful theater in Detroit.
• Introduced a good friend to Lost and watched him get totally sucked into it.
• Went to a demolition derby and embraced the "country girl" in me.
• Went to the Chihuly exhibit at the Frederik Meijer gardens (and had a koi adventure there).
• Took Katherine's birthday off and went to the Gerald R. Ford museum with her. Nerdy fun.
• Finally got a new phone!
• Made it into the blogger brawl - remember that? 
• Discovered some new music that I love.
• My niece learned how to say my name. Sort of. A-beth is close enough for now.

Things I am looking forward to in the next three months:

• Bonfires
• Corn mazes
• Cider mills
• Frankenmuth
• Holidays
• Mackinac Island
• The changing colors in the leaves

What are some of your 2010 highlights!? What are you still looking forward to? What stands out to you most about this year so far?

Would You Rather?

This could be you.

Would you rather:
Live in a space station (yes, in outer space) for 10 weeks with a space crew (not of your choosing), with limited communication with earth...

Things to consider:

• Going to the bathroom would be a whole new experience. I recently heard that because there's no gravity, astronauts have to sit on a toilet with suction to help the process. Just something to think about.
• All the astronaut ice cream you can eat.
• I once heard an astronaut say he felt so disconnected in space, he wanted to hang himself but couldn't because of well, you know, gravity. But he was in space for longer than ten weeks, so don't worry, you'll be fine.
• This website (link) was full of useful tips to consider.
• You might get probed.
• Bonus: earth looks cool from outer space.

 or

Live in a submarine deep in the sea for 10 weeks (once again with a crew not of your choosing) with limited communication with the outside world.



Your experience would be nothing like this picture.

Things to consider:

• The claustrophobia, my gosh, the claustrophobia!
• You could write a dramatic screenplay about your experience under the sea, inspired by the call of the dolphins.
• Just knowing you're that close to sharks gives me the heebie jeebies.
• But then again, maybe you could develop a whimsical pseudo-friendship with an octopus you occasionally see swim by. It'll be all in your head, but I'm not here to judge.|
• Here's a humorous website with helpful tips to prepare for this mission.
• Bonus: you're on earth.

 Which do you choose, and why?