Work is For the Birds

trapped #2, a photo by kestra_400 on Flickr.

I started a new job yesterday. I'm working at a home caring for the developmentally disabled. My first day was pretty easy. I wasn't expected to do a lot. I pretty much just chilled on the couch and watched several episodes of The Office. Suddenly, we hear one of the client's cry out loudly from bed. The woman who is training me runs into her room then runs out to tell me that the client was crying because she had a bird in her bed! So, a bird was loose in the house and the other employee was terrified of it. I had to catch it with a bowl and put it outside. It was a weird day.

Rodeo Wrap Up

tender, originally uploaded by owlgardens.

On Saturday, my friends and I went to the Redding Rodeo. It was my second time going, but it was still just as ridiculous as the first. Here are the highlights:

• We don't fit in at the rodeo and we probably never will.  A group of cowboys said that J looked like a "douche bag."  We might look like hipsters to them, but it's kind of awesome being made fun of by a bunch of men in Wranglers.
• Throwing kettle corn down an old man's pants.  This led to a kettle corn fight.  Cover your drink and guard your cleavage!
• I was showing off by slipping off my wristband that indicated that I am over the age of twenty-one.  Then a huge employee of the rodeo came over and roughly ripped it off my arm!  I was amused, but K wasn't so he told the police officers who were standing by chatting.  They of course didn't care or even reprimand the employee who stood by looking guilty.  Now, J and K refer to this as the time I was "manhandled."

The Pleasures of Living

Couch Jumpers 01, originally uploaded by Tanner Almon.

In Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl writes that:

"...The pessimist resembles a man who observes with fear and sadness that his wall calendar, from which he daily tears a sheet, grows thinner with each passing day. On the other hand, the person who attacks the problems of life actively is like a man who removes each successive leaf from his calendar and files it neatly and carefully away with its predecessors, after first having jotted down a few diary notes on the back. He can reflect with pride and joy on all the richness set down in these notes, on all the life he has already lived to the fullest."

Inspired by this, I've challenged myself to write one short positive reflection about each day. I don't really use my Twitter account, so I thought I would post them there. We'll see how long this lasts. Check it out or try it yourself.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's St. Patrick's Day and regrettably, I am not allowed to go to the Squire Room anymore. I'm not sure exactly why, but I did come up with a few possible reasons.

• Falling on the ground then proceeding to lay there and stroke the carpet.  It seemed so soft and not at all dirty or disgusting while I was down there.

• Getting a lap dance from a man and loudly proclaiming that it was the worst I've ever had.

• Throwing a lit cigarette at a car.  The couple in the car were just discussing the lap dancing incident so I feel like this was justified.

• Using the phrase "He has more money than Jesus!" This led to an uncomfortable conversation with the bartender in which he explained that Jesus didn't have any money and that he was loved by everyone. Well, except maybe me and J. Also, that K has the features of Jesus and a soft voice so you know he's a good person.  I was also told that I "lie every Friday" whatever that means.

• Dancing badly to "Banquet" by Bloc Party.  I generally avoid dancing, being seen dancing, and drinking so much that I start dancing.

• Showing up an hour before closing after drinking too much at another bar. Discussing the Animal Collective in a loud obnoxious manner. Swearing continuously. Rubbing people's matching short hair.

Night time

little yellow bird, originally uploaded by keels..

I feel sort of sick right now. I don't know if its from grinding my teething and thinking self-deprecating thoughts or from reading a few local blogs.

Glasses Crew

sleepyhead, originally uploaded by BƛƬƲĐΐƧƮƐ.

I think I'm too trusting. I wish men would be more straightforward and laid back. You wanna date? Let's date. You don't want to? Well, don't pretend like you do and don't make things complicated. Does it really have to be more difficult than that? Apparently it does.

I watched "The Social Network' the other night on the insistence of a couple of friends. I had been trying not see it because I'm not really a huge fan of Facebook. I found it entertaining, but I feel like I almost like Facebook less now. I also realized I have a strong dislike for college kids.

Johnny's Makes Me Want to Puke

Cavalier_Sept1965_Vol15_No147_010, originally uploaded by it's better than bad.

The other night, my friends and I were down the street at the Squire Room. We were having fun and drank a little too much. K suggested that we go to Johnny's. This is one bar that I particularly dislike. I've heard that it is inspired by the film, "Coyote Ugly." Originally there were women dancing on the bar. I'm pretty sure they lost their liquor license once because of it and had to stop. I'm glad because, these stripper-rejects were embarrassing to watch. Now, on a busy night most people just stand around looking bored watching middle-aged people dance to a bad 90's cover band. Oh, jealousy! Despite all this, Johnny's is one of the newer bars in town and everyone always wants to go there. C had never been there and K coerced us into going by promising to buy us shots of Patron if we went.

When we got there the place was dead, which was unusual and sort of nice. We got a seat at the bar and shots were ordered. We were so drunk that there was some confusion about how to take tequila shots. Of course, now it seems so obvious when to use the lime, but that night we had to rely on the knowledge of the bartenders. Almost immediately after taking her shot, I looked over to see C who was sort of hunched over with her hand curled open in front of her delicately as if she just sneezed. C had just vomited onto the bar! Apparently, this is nothing unusual for Johnny's and the bartenders grabbed a towel and some water for C. Poor C is mortified while K and I are triumphantly amused.

The bartenders really should have seen this coming. Take that Johnny's!

"Nightmares" by Vells

125/365, originally uploaded by KatieOak.

I have nightmares
Battles bury me
Fiends are glancing over
I see bad dreams
Coming true for me
Ways to normal closed now
I have nightmares
Suite with orders poised
Warsome tools stand waiting
I see bad dreams
Done by telephone
One madman says, "now please"

There is a time
When everything goes
There is a place
Where nobody knows you

I have nightmares
Cars are tumbling
Sky is dark and early

I see bad dreams
So much jealousy
Fills the heart with hatred
I have nightmares
Air as still as death
All the voices stifled
I have nightmares
No more music plays
What's been done's eternal

There is a light
Shines from our minds
But darkness comes
And there is no time to...

Let your light shine through

(I wanted to post a video or link but couldn't find it.  I suggest you download it and listen for best results)

Broken Window

, originally uploaded by TeresAdoraphy.

The window in Mercy's ICU is broken.

Who is Mailing Me Wasps?!

Wasp at Work, originally uploaded by NaturalLight.

I am afraid of wasps and bees. I just don't like things buzzing around me with the ability to sting me. Yesterday, I reached into my mailbox and grabbed a wasp! Neither of us enjoyed it. I ran as fast as I could back into the house. I calmed down for a minute and then when back out. The wasp was gone so I grabbed the mail, but of course it wasn't really gone and it chased me again! Now, I'm feeling pretty pathetic. Half the mail is laying on the sidewalk and I'm scared to go back. I do go back and get the mail off the ground, but I leave the mailbox hanging open because I don't want to disturb any possible wasps.

This morning, I was out swimming when the mail came. I went out onto the driveway to get it and this annoying old woman was outside walking her dogs. She has two yappy little dogs that used to try to attack my golden retriever. She always gives me a dirty look when I see her. I go the mailbox and carefully look inside. Sweet! No wasps! I reach inside and a wasp appears! So I'm running away from my mailbox in my swimsuit, screeching, while the woman with the dogs is giving me a dirty look. As I am running, the wasp is by my ear attempting to sting me. I am frenziedly whipping my head around to hit it with my pony tail. Great! I hope the security camera caught all this. I really wouldn't want my drug dealer neighbors to miss this!

Pottymouth

, originally uploaded by Yulia ♥.

Silly stuff has been happening lately. I'm not sure if I should write about it though. I don't want to upset anyone who might read this. If you curious about what I'm talking about just listen to the song "Pottymouth" by Danielson Famile. That's pretty much what happened.

Cat Problems

, originally uploaded by Anna Ådén.

I was sitting in my room and I heard a cat crying. It wasn't my cat so I thought I'd go outside and scare it away. I walked across the house and the meowing got louder. My mom saw me and told me that there was a cat stuck under the house. How did it get there? Beats me. I asked her if she was going to let it out. She had already let it out and opened the gate so it would leave our yard. The cat had came back and decided to sit on the porch and meow. Did it have kittens under the house? No. So, the cat sat there for an hour or so and my mom finally went outside and poured water on it and watched it leave.

It's been several more hours and I just went outside to empty the trash and the cat is back. I don't get it.  I think I'm going to have to call animal control tomorrow.

Kashi Dental Plan

"MARÍA"(Homero Manzi), originally uploaded by "My camera" My camera! My Kingdom for a camera!".

I chipped my tooth on a Kashi bar the other day. It wasn't even hard! I'm kind of glad it happened though, because I didn't want that piece of shit anyway. My tooth was kind of uneven so it was actually an improvement.

Love

, originally uploaded by nikolinelr.

How can some people be so out of touch with their emotions? I kind of saw this coming, but it hurts anyway.

A Terrible Insult

Catalina Prieto /// Diseñadora, originally uploaded by -- RANDY --.

Bars really aren't my favorite places, but they are somewhere to go at night when you and your friends are bored. We were extremely bored last night when our plans fell through, and we ended up at the Rusty Nail. The Rusty Nail is sort of a strange bar that is attached to the mall. I'm not sure how to describe it. It has sort of a sports bar feel with a couple of large aquariums.

I noticed some obnoxious people sitting on top of the bar. This classy group was being loud and taking body shots off each other. No big deal, until my friends and I realize that we know one of the individuals. . . .my misogynistic ex-supervisor! He is the reason I quit my last job and I am part of the reason he got fired. I definitely don't want to run into him, but of course he comes stumbling right up to our table! He's grinning despite his obvious rage and when I ask him how he is doing he mistakenly thinks I'm asking "What the fuck are you doing?" After a while, he cools down to some extent, and keeps remarking about how strange it is to see us. He then proceeds to "whisper" in my male friend's ear, "Are you guys fucking?" He is beyond wasted and we ask him about why exactly he was fired. He slurs when he tells us (these are his words) about how he fucked an attention whore who worked with us and was caught flipping the bitch off on camera. Wow, what a lovely way to describe your seventeen year old subordinate coworker!

My ex-supervisor's drunk girlfriend comes up to the table and introduces herself.

You look just like Tina Fey!

No, you are probably just saying that because of the hair.

No, you must get that all the time! I bet you could even dress up like Palin like she does!

No. . .

Talk about adding insult to injury!  My friend and I quickly left and vowed never to go to the Rusty Nail again.

Guns

Zombieland, originally uploaded by slurring the rhythms.

I'm generally don't have positive feelings towards guns. I'm just not into killing things or injuring people. Lately though, ever since the health care bill passed, people have been getting crazy on the news. People have been threatening politicians and being violent. I kind of want to buy a gun. Not because I want to join the Tea Baggers, but to protect me from them. I mean, have you ever watched Glenn Beck?! I think I need to protect myself from people like that!

Highly Suspicious

, originally uploaded by Thabata Guerra.

The other night my friend and I went out to dinner. After leaving the restaurant we notice a traffic jam up ahead. Sobriety checkpoint. For no apparent reason, my friend turns down a side street to avoid the checkpoint. This looks bad. Suddenly, we are surrounded by four police cars. Yes, four! They were shining lights into the car from every direction. Pretty unnerving, right? Well, as he pulls over, my friend manages to hit the curb twice. I'm trying not to laugh because I know that by now the cops are certain the driver is drunk. The cops want to know the last three places we were at. A restaurant that doesn't serve alcohol, my house, and his house. The cop treats us like children then lets us go.

Don't try to avoid sobriety checkpoints!

Angela's Ashes

Left For Dead, originally uploaded by neversummer62.

I got the book Angela's Ashes from a thrift store yesterday. Where I used to work, there was a copy in the break room. It's pretty much the most depressing book ever. I was close to finishing the book when it went missing. I think its disappearance may have been related to an incident in which I took apart someone's jigsaw puzzle and hid it in the freezer. Who knows?

I Hope You Don't Mind

near, originally uploaded by BƛƬƲĐΐƧƮƐ.

I tagged along with my friend today. From singing in the car, to his singing lesson, to his audition. All day, I was kind of tuning it out trying to study for my statistics exam. We went to the audition and he was pretty nervous. I can't say I really blame him. The song was somewhat difficult and singing in front of other people doesn't sound fun.

While he was practicing with the pianist, I was waiting with a younger girl and her mother. The girl was extremely nervous and her overconfident mother was trying to reassure her. When my friend started singing the girl's mouth dropped open and the mother exclaimed, "WOW, your friend is a good singer!" It was pretty cool! I'm proud of him. Sadly though, the girl became even more nervous and started crying.

Michael Jackson is (still) Dead

Bad liver and a broken heart, originally uploaded by torontofotobug.

Friday night started out pretty good at the bar. The Murder City Devils version of "Rum to Whiskey" was on and people were singing. That was until the annoying girl came in.

The drunken girl attached herself to two boys who appeared to be on a date. She was shouting some story to them and flailing her hands in the air. Then she put on "Thriller" and started dancing to it. At first, this was very entertaining. You rarely see this sort of drunken performance. I mean, she knew the whole thing! At some point though, while watching this, I learned that "Thriller" is a very long song. It's four and a half minutes long! I lost interest and became annoyed. One of the boys left while grumbling about the girl.

You're probably thinking, "So, what? Four and a half minutes isn't that long! It wasn't that bad." Yes, it was because immediately after the song ended she put it on again! And, of yes, she began dancing again. Finally, when nearly ten minutes of"Thriller" ended, the remaining boy put on "Billie Jean" for her! At this point I ran out of the bar!