My life from A-Z

A. Age: 23

B. Bed size: Full

C. Chore that you hate: Taking laundry out of the dryer/folding hot laundry. I just can't do it. That whole cotton phobia thing comes into this. 

D. Dogs: None for me, thanks!

E. Essential start to your day: Taking my basal body temperature. If I don't get it at the start of the day, I have to skip that day so I think it's pretty essential! 

F. Favourite color: Green.

G. Gold or Silver: Silver or white gold.

H. Height: 5'4. 

I. Instruments you play: I played the flute/piccolo a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

See? Told you.

J. Job title: Astronaut.

K. Kids: None yet.

L. Live: Florida.

M. Mother's name: Christine.

N. Nicknames: Hufflepuff.

O. Overnight hospital stays: None that I can remember.

P. Pet peeve: IRL: People not getting into the turn lane until the very last second. Online: People who don't break their walls of text into paragraphs. 

Q. Quote from a movie: "Once word leaks out that a pirate has gone soft, people begin to disobey you, and then it's nothing but work, work, work all the time." (Picked this one because I was just talking about it with Josh the morning in reference to a scene in Breaking Bad.)

R. Right or left handed: Right

S. Siblings: Two sisters, Felicia (25) and Sierra (12). 

T. Time you wake up: Sometime between 6am and 6pm, usually. 

U. Underwear: Microfiber bikinis almost exclusively. That good ol' cotton phobia, again.

V. Vegetable you hate: I actually had to look up a list on wikipeida because I couldn't think of one off the top of my head. There are a lot of vegetables I don't like or don't prefer, but hate is a pretty strong word. I'm going to go with onions because while I don't mind the flavor (and will cook with onion powder or salt) the texture and sliminess skeeves me out. Just so you know, there is apparently a vegetable called Fiddlehead, and Chrysanthemums are technically vegetables.

W. What makes you run late: Not being able to find things like keys or shoes.

X. X-Rays you've had: I honestly couldn't tell you. At least: mouth, head, wrist, chest, and ankle. 

Y. Yummy food that you make: Lo Mien! I'd actually rather make it at home than get it from most Chinese places. I use a variation of this recipe and usually add in some chicken or left-over pork chops.

Z. Zoo animal: Definitely zebra. I also love me some penguins. 

Is there such a thing as internet privacy?

Google+ has started to crack down on their real name policy. Some people are against this, as they feel having a fake name keeps their account more private. Others respond that there is no privacy on the internet. You shouldn't post anything that you wouldn't want the world to see.

The topic of internet privacy has been brought up many times before, mostly when people have to deal with the real life consequences of what they post online. Things like teachers being fired over a rant on their blog. I've heard over and over again that it's their own fault, because the internet isn't private. It just isn't. Doesn't matter if what you got in trouble for was in a "private" email, if it was posted on the internet you should expect someone else to find it.

I don't really agree with this line of thinking.

Is most of the internet private? No, it's not. I take part in an online forum and I know that basically anyone could go on there and find my posts. I divulge personal information that may not be wise, and talk about political beliefs that could be detrimental when looking for a job. If someone happened to randomly come across the postings I would have no one to blame but myself.

However, I think that is different than someone purposely seeking out information just to hurt me, or someone giving this information just to hurt me. I also think it's completely different than getting access to non-public posts on my social networking sites or my email. If I say something incriminating in an IM, and then that person screenshots the IM and starts showing it around, I don't think I should be told "well nothing's private on the internet - it's your own fault".

If that is true then it should also be true for anything you say, write, or do anytime anywhere. When posting information that is supposed to be private online, those who gain access to such information do so with the understanding that such information is not to be shared. Because not everyone has access to everything online (without hacking) I do think there are some spots within the internet framework that should be considered just as private as a home, car, office, etc. Just like people can take screenshots on the internet people can take photos, videos, sound recordings, etc IRL. To me sending an email about a medical condition should be no different than telling someone about it in person. Entering my social security number into a webform should be just like physically writing it down on a paper form. Employers should have no more access to my private social networking page than they do to my diary. I really don't understand the concept that anything I do on the internet is public information, when that doesn't apply to other things such as my telephone conversations. Maybe one of you can enlighten me?

I would like to note that I don't have an issue with police looking at private posting on the internet, as long as they have a warrant. If they need a warrant to search my home they should need a warrant to search my facebook.

Basic Instructions

A week or so ago I started reading a web-comic called "Basic Instructions". Three times a week Scott Meyer uploads a comic with the premise of teaching you how to do something. The title is always "how to" something, such as "How to Sway Someone to Your Political Opinion". Nine times out of ten the title seems like something you might actually want to know. Then comes four panels "teaching" you how to do whatever the title says. The instructions are often believable enough, but the characters portraying the instructions do so in a way you wouldn't expect. The instructions for the above title were, "When faced with disagreement, lay out your position as clearly as possible." See? Sounds like good advice. But one of the guys in the comic is trying to explain why having the murderer in a cop show be the bad guy is offensive and biased. Here, I'll show you an example:

That picture turned out a lot smaller than I thought it would, so for my vision impaired friends click [here] to go to that comic's page.

Scott employs a really neat way of drawing his comics, using all real people for his models (called rotoscoping). He takes pictures of his friends in the poses needed and then traces over them using Photoshop and Illustrator. Since each pose and costume requires a real person to pose for it, you'll see the same poses used different ways throughout the comic. His wife has written a blog post about the process [here].

I've really enjoyed them so far, and I still have a few years of archives to go through. Hopefully you'll enjoy them as well!

How I Shop

I don't like shopping. Not just clothes shopping, but any kind of shopping. If at all possible I like to order things online instead of visiting a brick and mortar store. This has been to my advantage since I've been ill and thus stuck at home all day.

When I do have to visit a "real" store it is usually for one of 4 reasons:

1. Groceries. It's pretty difficult around here to shop for groceries online. We also lack any kind of ice cream delivery service, depressingly.
2. I need new clothes. Some clothes I'm able to buy online, but often times new work clothes have to be bought at a physical store to make sure they are flattering.
3. We need something that can't be found online, that would cost too much to ship, or is cheaper to buy in person. Usually before this happens we do whatever comparison shopping we can online first.
4. There's a deadline. Sometimes we just can't wait for something to be shipped, and can't afford overnight or second day delivery. In these cases we have no choice but to go searching through brick and mortar stores hoping we can find it that way.

Getting into Swagbucks has actually made my online shopping habit worse. Instead of going to Target and buying my sister's wedding gift off of her registry, I was able to buy the exact same thing on Amazon using the gift cards I've earned. If only I could buy *everything* on Amazon.

Why am I telling you this? Check out [this post] for explanation.

Why I Love My Hometown

There is only one reason why I love my home town, and that is because some of my best friends live here. When we do finally move somewhere cooler that is likely the only thing I will miss. Perhaps I can convince them to move with us?

Hurricane Season also has it's perks. The really bad ones (Category 3 and up) and no fun, but the tropical storms and low category ones can be nice and exciting. Not everyone gets to meet Jim Cantore.

Why am I telling you this? Check out [this post] for explanation.

Why I Hate My Hometown

There are many reasons why I hate my hometown. The first and most obviously isn't limited to just Panama City, but the whole region. It's too freakin' hot. Not only is it hot, but it is also humid. Summer lasts pretty much from March till November. During this time if you cannot leave your air conditioned house even to check the mail without breaking into a sweat. It's horrible.

The second reason is it's proximity to Panama City Beach. Spring Breakers and college kids off for summer flock here like their lives depend on it. The whole city panders to them, so if you're *not* into the party scene there's not much for you to do. There are certain main streets you cannot go down after dark without the risk of some skank flashing you. I don't know how many times Girls Gone Wild has gotten in trouble for filming underage girls here. One more reason it's horrible.

And if you're not dealing with drunk college kids, it's illiterate rednecks. These people sure do love the Confederate Navy Flag for some reason. SMH.

One day we will finish school and be able to move somewhere that doesn't have these problems. I do know that everywhere has it's own problems, but some of them are more bearable than others.

Why am I telling you this? Check out [this post] for explanation. Image from [here].

The Story of My Most Serious Injury

I've had two very serious injuries. One of them happened when I was a child and I don't even remember it. The other happened in high school or just after and I remember it clearly. The first one still causes me trouble today, while the second does not.

When I was in pre-k or kindergarten I fell off the monkey bars. My mother was told that I had bruised the bone on my ankle by the emergency room doctor. They didn't take an x-ray. They didn't put it in a cast. They just said to keep it elevated for a few weeks and alternate hot and cold packs. It took me much longer to heal than it should have.

My freshman year in high school I joined the marching band. A little while into the school year I started to have a lot of pain in my ankle. When I went to see a podiatrist I found out that I had not bruised the bone after all, but actually broke it. Since it wasn't in a cast or anything it didn't heal properly and will probably always cause me some problems. I ended up getting tendinitis while in the marching band, and cannot run long distances without the risk of getting it again. I had to wear special insoles for a while but don't anymore. As long as I don't take up any sports that require the use of my feet I should be fine.

The second injury is why I put the picture of the chicken soup in this blog post. One summer day either right before my senior year or right after I made some chicken soup and then sat down at the table to eat it. I've always like my soup hot so it was boiling when I took it off the stove. Apparently when I put it down on the table it was slightly off the edge so the whole thing spilled on my thigh.

Thankfully my older sister was home taking a shower at the time. She heard me scream, ran out of the bathroom, and dragged me into the shower. After cooling down the burn a little bit she put toothpaste on the burn, then a washcloth, then an ice pack. I don't remember if she called Mom or if she was already on her way home, but mom came home shortly after that and took me to the emergency room. The doctor said that I was really lucky Felicia responded the way I did, as otherwise I could have needed a skin graft. I had a really bad, ugly scar on the majority of my thigh for many years but it's almost gone now. I can only see it if I look for it and other people probably can't tell at all.

Even though the memory of the burn is still vivid in my mind I still like my soup boiling hot. The difference is now I always make sure it's on the table properly.

Why am I telling you this? Check out [this post] for explanation. Image from [here].

Need some inspiration?

I recently came across this post by Darren Barefoot which includes 55 blog topic ideas. I've decided to start using some of those ideas, and everyone else is welcome to do it as well. I was going to do one every day (or every other day, or whenever I have time) but I realized you can't really write about all of them because some are contradictory. So I'm just going to start at the top and write about the ones I feel like. I think some of them are going to be very interesting.

Do drugs *really* make everything better?

As many of you probably know, I suffer from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). In fact, I think I've probably mentioned it on here before. What you may not know is that I suffer from a much worse case than many of my other cysters. While many women can live a fairly normal life, and may not even know they have it until dealing with infertility, I cannot.

For the past 3 months or so I've been dealing with a particularly bad episode. My hormones are all out of wack and I am in constant pain. There's really not much they can do other than give me pain medication and put me back on HBC. The HBC can take up to 3 months to work, if it works at all. I may need to switch to a new brand after 3 months (it has been 2 with this one). So, I just stay drugged up 24/7. And if I miss a dose or take it too late the consequences are quite dire. Quite a bit of the time Josh has to bring it to me in bed as I'm in too much pain to get it myself.

Lately it has actually been getting worse. Even after taking one pill I am still in a large amount of pain. The other day I actually passed out for a few seconds (or minutes? I'm not sure I was passed out lol) from the pain. So I have to get even *more* drugged up.

What is the point of me writing all this? Well I am not myself when I am drugged up. I obviously can't drive, so I've been holed up in the house. I haven't been able to work, either. I haven't officially quit not have I been fired but at this point I'm not holding out hope that my job will still be there when I get better. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I have also become even more antisocial than normal. I don't want to talk to anybody or see anybody in person because I'm not myself and that embarrasses me. My sister's wedding is coming up (and associated parties) and I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with that. I'm supposed to be in the darn thing and she's going to have these pictures for the rest of her life. I don't want to ruin them.

Basically my point is if you see me acting like a fool and talking funny, it's not my fault. If you see me crying in pain, give me a hug. I could use one.

Teal is the color for PCOS (and Ovarian Cancer) support. The image above is from [here], where you can buy PCOS support ribbons, postcards, pillows, and other paraphernalia. This one is my favorite and I would love to have it if it's wasn't for that whole not working thing.

What a Sad, Sad Day

Yesterday my wonderful husband went to the store for me since I have been unable to for the past like three weeks or something dumb like that. He got me my favorite things ever - Walmart brand hamburger dill pickle chips.

[source]

As I was picking them up off the counter to put into the fridge the unthinkable happened. CRASH! There goes all my lovely, delicious, pickles on to the floor.... If it wasn't for all the tiny pieces of glass I might have been tempted to find the ones who weren't touching the floor and save them. =(

Thankfully no one was hurt - not even a scratch. But even better than that my fantastical husby had been wise enough to get more than one jar of pickles. =D

Just part of my 99%

As some of you know, I applied for a promotion at work several weeks ago. I recently found out that I did not get it. Instead the position was given to another internal candidate from Tallahassee who has been with the company several years longer than I have. Despite how long he's been with the company, I still know more about *our* store than he does, but I digress. He's a nice enough guy and I'm sure he deserved it.

I have since decided that although I did not get this position, it is very important that I find full time employment. We need more money. I need health insurance. I am not going to school over the summer so I'll certainly have the time. So if my local readers know of anything, I would appreciate you letting me know.

I know that saying I'm looking for a new job publicly on the internet can be risky. I'm not too worried about it though as my boss (and hers) already know what I have decided. There is a chance that my position will be converted into a full time one in order for me to stay, but I am certainly not counting on it.

Swagbucks

Near the beginning of March I started my account with Swagbucks.com (note: this is my referral link). At first I was skeptical and thought it might be a pyramid scheme, but now I'm really glad I stuck with it.

Since I started my account I have earned enough swagbucks to get $10 in Amazon.com gift cards and am halfway to my next $5. This was done all on my own without the help of any referrals. Whenever I search the web I use their search engine first, and if I don't find what I'm looking for I try the search engine I used before. Each time you search you have a chance to win up to 50 bucks (at least, that's the most I've seen). I usually make about 10. Those of you who are on my facebook have probably seen the posts from when I've won bucks this way.

There are also "free" bucks you can earn everyday by taking the poll, going through the NOSO path, and visiting the Trusted Survey page. I also take the surveys if I've got more than a 50% chance of qualifying. For 15 minutes of answering questions about which movies I want to see I can get 100 bucks, so why not? They also have tons of videos you can watch on the site, giving you three bucks every time you watch 10 (most I've watched were under 2 minutes long and you can still do other stuff while they play).

Right now they are doing Mom Madness on their blog. Every week day you can earn 6 bucks by voting for your favorite mom, until the ultimate mom is crowned winner. It's fun and interesting to see who wins each round; the bucks are just the icing on the cake.

I really suggest those who search the web a lot like I do (and even those who don't) sign up for this service. I would love for you to use my link as they match all referrals first 1000 bucks (which equals to ~$12 in gift cards) but I'm not suggesting *just* because I would benefit. I'd feel bad keeping this opportunity to myself.

Leave the Scar!

Implicit Association Tests

As part of my Marriage and Family sociology class, I was asked to take the Sexuality IAT on this website. It's free and only takes about 10 minutes, so you should go check it out yourself.

The test shows you two group headings, one on the left and one on the right. As images and words pop up you are supposed to sort them using the E key for left and I key for right. The order of word sets is randomized, but I first had bad on one side and good on the other. The words were pretty easy, tragic for bad and beautiful for good as an example. Then I had gay people on one side and straight people on the other. This time sometimes words were shown (like homosexual or heterosexual), or pictures such as a man and woman in wedding attire or two women. But then they put the two word sets together...

My first set like this had both bad and gay people on the left with good and straight people on the right. Words describing good or bad were shown in green, while pictures/words depicting sexual orientation were in white. The words/pictures didn't have to correspond to both words on the correct side, just one depending on the color.

After that section I did it again, only with the words reversed. Bad was with straight people and good was with gay people. Your automatic preference for one sexual orientation over the other is figured out by which group you finish the fastest and with the least amount of errors, straight people with good or gay people with good.

My results were "little to no automatic preference between Gay People and Straight People." =]

(source)

What was your results? What do you think about this test, is it accurate?

If my heart was still beating, it would beat for you.

My husby is super smart.

And no, I'm not being sarcastic. :P

One of my husband's papers recently received an Honorable Mention from the Florida Collegiate Honors Council. He is, apparently, the first one from his school to be get an award since the current advisor has been in change of the program.

We (or he, actually, I'm just tagging along) have been invited to their annual conference where he will be presented with his award along with $50. Then the next day is a pirate themed Riverboat Cruise which I am quite excited for!

I am beyond proud of him for everything he has accomplished so far, and know he will continue to do great things in the future. He is so smart and talented and I feel blessed to be able to call myself his wife. This is just the beginning for him, I'm sure!

Happy Birthday to some very special people.

Instead of writing several posts for everyone, I'm just going to combine my birthday well-wishing into this one post for everyone who was born in February.

First I would like to wish a very happy birthday to my favorite little sister, Sierra Maggie. She turned 12 on the 8th. It's odd thinking that she is now older than I was when she was born. I was terribly upset when I found out I would no longer be the baby, but now I can't imagine my life without you.

Next is my husband Josh's 25th birthday, which was yesterday (the 11th). I would like to thank him for saving me from my fate of turning into an old cat lady. Now the only place I have cats in the double digits is in the Facebook app Happy Pets. XD I love you whole bunches!

Then there is the lovely Jessica, whom I have known and loved since 3rd grade. Are we to the age where it is no longer proper to say what our age is yet? I'll just say that she will celebrate the 2nd anniversary of her 21st birthday on the 18th :P Only 38 days and 10 hours until I can get you your birthday present! (the website did the calculating, not me. I'm not that much of a nerd lol)

And finally we have Rebecca, my adopted band-mother, whose birthday is on the 26th. I don't get to see Skittles as often as I would like now that she lives in Tally, but she will always be important to me. I got you a present while in Mexico, so please let me know if you will be in town for your birthday!

These four people are partly responsible for making me the person I am today, so I am immensely grateful to their parents for spawning them.

Thank the gods for Special Report interruptions

This morning Josh and I were at the doctor's office, because we're cool and sickly like that. Unfortunately for us we arrived just in time to watch The View.

I quite honestly cannot understand why anyone would willingly watch this show. It's not that I disagree with them, I don't even know if I *do* because I can't stand to watch them long enough to figure out what they think. All I hear when they are on is one angry woman talking over another increasingly angry woman, with each woman getting more shrill as they talk over each other. It was only on for about 10 minutes before I started to get a migraine.

Thankfully then ABC interrupted with a Special Report. I feel indebted to the people of Egypt, whose perseverance over the last 18 days worked to spare me from this torture.

Baby Idol 2011

My friend Jessica's little boy Atticus is in the running for Baby Idol 2011. Isn't he just the cutest thing? How can you not want to hop over to the Island 106 website and vote for him?! You do have to sign up for an account with the website but it's really quick and easy. I don't *think* you have to live in Panama City in order to vote. He's baby #12.

Why shaving and pain medication don't mix

1. You will miss quite a few spots. Some of them rather large and surprising.


2. You might end up accidentally shaving one of your finger nails. This will be quite painful.


3. It will take twice as long as normal.


4. Did I mention the fingernail thing?