Work Shoes

I have been on a quest for a second pair of black shoes to wear to work, lately, mostly because I'm actually beginning to have really unsexy problems with my feet (ever had to treat a corn with salicylic acid? It burns through layers of your skin. Literally. That's how it fixes your corns. Gross). I have a pair of rocket dog ballet flats that has gotten me through a few slow shifts when I know I can't possibly wear my sneakers one more day in a row, but I need a pair of sturdy, durable shoes that I can trade out with my payless sneakers, which are the main pair of shoes I have been using for work these days.

I don't know if this is as big of a problem for the girls I work with; if they're just younger than me and don't care, or if I have destroyed my feet with years of wearing uncomfortable and terrible shoes. These girls do generally appear to wear comfortable shoes, but they manage to find cute ones, too, and that just throws me into a spiral of frustration. Why is it so hard to find cute+comfortable? Why must I sacrifice one for the other?

So, in my quest on zappos this weekend, I have narrowed it down to three pairs of shoes:

1. The obvious choice, since it's basically what I'm rocking now, but they won't fall apart as quickly: Sketchers Work Compulsions. $60.00

They're pretty cute, they should be comfortable because they're sneakers, and they're basic, standard black shoes. They're even specifically made for people like me who wait tables or work on our feet all day. The grippy soles are also key.

Pros: grippy soles, comfortable, highly recommended by other servers, reasonably priced.
Cons: they are sneakers. bleh.

2. My second choice is a little bit less conventional: Patagonia Sugar and Spice. $120.00

The reviews here are also pretty good, but they're less pointed, in that, yeah, 4 out of 5 reviews claim they're super comfy and great shoes for walking around all day (one reviewer bought them for a walking trip to India), but no one has specifically bought these shoes as a server and reviewed them as a server. One review is terrible, but I don't know if it's an anomaly, or someone who bought the shoes for the wrong purpose (to wait tables, perhaps?)

Pros: so cute, look comfortable, soles look like serious business
Cons: reviews are spotty (I'd have to test for myself), EXPENSIVE.

3. J said he would leave me, but I'm going to go here: crocs. $29.95

Yeah, I said it. Crocs. Another server I work with has these shoes, and I always thought they were cute, and she affirmed: they are comfortable as hell. You can hose them down (or stick 'em in the dishwasher?), you can wear them with socks, and you can stand around in them all day. Also, the price point? Check. The only thing I can see as being a problem is that one of the reviews seems to imply that because they're rubber, everything sticks to them. Since I walk to and from work, I can see this creating problems, either by my needing two pairs of shoes, which is annoying, or by having messed up crocs. The server I work with doesn't wear these once she leaves the restaurant, and this might be why.

Pros: Comfortable based on many reviews. Highly washable. I've seen them personally, and they're pretty cute. They are cheap, comparatively.
Cons: I've heard it takes time to get used to walking in them, and I'm pretty clumsy. Rubber attracts all kinds of dirt and things. They're rubber, so they won't breathe, and will therefore perpetuate the problem I'm currently trying to combat: sweat. They're crocs.

Anyone have any opinions/expertise in this area? I'm going to follow up when I've made my choice (although writing it all down has steered me away from the patagonias which I'll admit was my goal because they're so expensive and I love the look of them).

Bowie is the Coolest

{P is for Phillip}

Things I Love Thursdays

This video about green screens that J showed me at the beginning of the week:

Birthday Cupcakes

I have crossed one off my list of things to do before I turn 27! I made some rainbow cupcakes for a very special occasion:


I think they were very much appreciated:

I Wish I Was That Coffee

When we were watching 30 Rock, I didn't get the joke; I mean god. He wasn't that attractive. I complained about it a few times, because I just couldn't see it. Then we started watching Mad Men. And that's the story about how I want to bang Don Draper—even when he is Jon Hamm.

For further Jon Hamm-ness and your entertainment, here's a great SNL sketch wherein Jon Hamm plays the ever so dreamy Scott Brown. It's four minutes long, but it's worth it if you also wish to bang Jon Hamm (but not Scott Brown...no way) (there are obvious sexual overtones in this video—much like in the entry I just posted—so...enjoy that):

Things I Love Thursday

Fun earrings . This seller was featured in the "etsy finds" newsletter, and I love these earrings! They're so colorful and fun. I resisted the urge to add them to my cart, but I thought I'd still give a shout out, because they are darling, and those crane earrings would be the perfect accessory for a cute Valentine's Day outfit.

My sister . who was here this week and a little bit of last week, before she goes to Portugal. This photo is woefully out of focus, but I still love it.

Poor Little Rich Girl . who now have a location near Inman/Kendall Square. It's where I got the earrings I am wearing in the above photo, and where I got a vintage Cars album on vinyl. She also said she'd email me whenever she gets any Bowie on vinyl. =My New Favorite Store, Ever.

Depends. Is It Bacon?

If you're in the food service industry the bigger question is: You dropped it on the floor. Do you SERVE it?

Things I Love Thursday

My New Health care Plan

Under my old health insurance, I was limited to 24 visits to my therapist per year. As a result, I either saw him less or paid more for extra visits. Each visit cost me a $30 copay, unless it wasn't covered by my insurance, in which case, he gave me a heavily discounted rate that I could afford. Last year, I spent $920 on therapy alone.

My new health insurance gives me unlimited visits. If I went once a week, which would be ideal, I would pay a $10 copay per visit. That's $520 per year! That's a $400 discount! And if that weren't reason enough to love my new health insurance, my prescription copay is lower, too.

My New Job

I recently became a server at a certain Irish Pub in Kendall Square. If you're around Cambridge at lunch time in the next week, you should come by! I like the people I work with, I like the atmosphere, and I forgot how much fun waiting tables could be. Relative to retail, it is the best job I've ever had! The pay isn't always going to be great, and I can't lose sight of bigger goals, but for now I'm really happy.

Bonzai!

Nah, I don't know this puppy, but if you click on his picture, you can see his profile on Puppy of the Day! I just thought he was too cute to resist sharing.

26 Things To Do Before My 27th Birthday

{Old Greyhound by Daniel Greene}

Here's a scary thought. I turned 26 today. Twenty-six. Somehow, it feels different from 25. I was a little nervous, but mostly excited about 25, but 26 seems so much...more. I'm excited, but I'm starting to feel a little bit older. I'm starting to slow down in some ways, ramp up in others. That being said, I thought it was time to make a new list! Here are 26 things I hope to do before my 27th birthday:

1. Make a Quilt
2. Procure some David Bowie on vinyl in February 2011...shortly after age 27
3. Take dance classes
4. Take some yoga classes
   in 2011...I finally got off my butt and did this
5. Find a new apartment
6. Bake rainbow cupcakes
   For J's 28th birthday! Which is...oh, one month after I turned 27. Whoops.
7. Sew a dress
8. Apply to grad school
9. Make fortune cookies
10. Make a scrapbook
11. Brand myself
12. Plant some lavender
13. Design some jewelry
14. Go to waterfire
15. Start photographing stunning fashion moments
16. Visit the JFK museum
17. Travel
18. Finish the frost flowers shawl
19. Finish my first project 365
20. Use some of the polaroid film in my freezer
21. Make 100 paper cranes
22. Make a 2010 portfolio
23. Make garlands
24. Hang twinkle lights in the apartment
25. Do a project involving polaroids+letters
26. Go out on a rowboat

Daily Mind Asplode

(1)(2)

{from http://backgroundchecks.corragroup.com/}

Dear Corra Group:

It is "Peace of Mind," not "Piece of Mind." I'm sure your goal is to come across as professionals, not make me snort coffee out of my nose. After you double check your grammar, we can discuss the use of Papyrus on your "book covers."

Speaking of grammar, I'm just wondering why *your* is italicized in that second image when *heart* should be italicized (better yet, trust your customer! Don't italicize either!).

I'm sure you saved a ton of money by outsourcing your design work to India, but maybe you should have had a native English speaker look over your work...

P.S.
If
you need some logo re-work, feel free to contact me.

Twitter Font Cloud

twitter font cloud made of all the words I use most frequently on twitter. Note: seriously. lol. apparently. I need to use less filler words, perchance?

A Very Gocco Christmas

Apologies to anyone who didn't get a Christmas card this year, but the holidays were hectic, and my rolodex was woefully out of date. So even though this is a little bit late, I wanted to share a little bit of holiday cheer.

NYE

Wrapping up 2009

Wrapping up 2008

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?

• Played craps (I won over $150 in New Mexico this summer, but came up a little short in Vegas—still, it was tons of fun)
• Went to Vegas for Thanksgiving (or Franksgiving, as they apparently call it..."they" being J's friends, not Vegas).
• Used a sewing machine.
• Changed my diet, stuck to it, lost some weight and felt better about myself. Yes, that all fell apart sometime this winter, but I did it once and I can do it again.
• Got my braces taken off!!!! Now I know what all my high school friends were talking about. It was the BEST feeling.
• Brought J home with me! We had a great time in El Paso—it's always so much fun seeing the city through the eyes of someone you love. Plus, I'm sure visiting my childhood home explained a lot to J...

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions and will you make more for next year?
From last year:

This year, I want to build on my professional goals on a daily basis, probably in the form of a journal, but definitely in a measurable way. I want to find a job - not a crappy retail job (that I love, but Jesus is it hard), but a real, honest to goodness job. I want to be closer to my existing friends. I want to be more selective about the things I bring into the house, whether it's things I buy that I don't need, like clothes or shoes I will wear once, or things that we buy that may make our lives easier, but hurt the environment in the process. I also want to learn how to sew.

• I definitely built on my professional goals this year. On a daily basis? Maybe not, but I'm in a far better position than I was last December.
• I did not find a full-time job this year, and I did fall back on a retail job for the holidays, but I also found some freelance work that was far more valuable than some job I might have taken just for the health benefits.
• I think Jessica and I spend a fair amount of time together, but I need to be better about keeping in touch with friends who don't live five blocks away.
• We definitely cut down on the amount of stuff we brought into the house, and we still recycle, but our recycling loads have gotten smaller (or equally sized but less frequent). I'd say we did a good job, although I still have a clothes and shoes addiction.
• I did learn how to sew rectangular things. I now need to learn how to sew other things.

This year? Well, this year I'd like to

• Cut HFCS from our diet, or severely restrict it. I guess limit processed foods in general.
• Fix my little anxiety/fear of bicycle death thing.
• Resume cooking meals at home more often
• Eat healthier foods, and by exercising more, possibly look smoking hot when I'm naked?

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Our friends Jordan and Carolyn had a baby boy in November. Our friends Sarah and Matt also had their baby yesterday, December 30th!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5. What countries did you visit?
None, again. Our travel this year was limited to the States again, mostly due to wedding season. We went to Washington/Idaho/Montana, Minnesota, Vegas, and El Paso/Albuquerque. J also went to San Diego and PA.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Good health insurance that doesn't cost $500/month (my crappy health insurance costs $500/month). I'm getting my wish, though, since J and I just finished the paperwork for me to be included on his health insurance. Yay, domestic partnership.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory and why?
The day my braces were removed!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Designing a website for someone else.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not being able to get a client to pay up, and (D'OH!) putting all of the files on her hosting site, where she changed the password and stopped emailing me. Worst $600 lesson, EVAR.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I think I had the swine flu, for real. I was never tested for it, but I was OUT for two weeks and then had a sore throat for about a month after that. I think I caught it on the plane out to Montana. That was when I actually couldn't open a bottle of Ibuprofen because every muscle in my body hurt and was exhausted. If I had had enough energy, I would have LOL'd, but I mostly just whimpered a laugh, then went to sleep for 12 hours after J opened it for me.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
I bought some black skinny pants that are the BEST, and I doubt I could live without my rotary cutter and giant cutting mat.

However, hands down the most fun thing I got was this bag. It is so cute, but the fact that I can carry my DSLR around with me, everywhere and look like I'm carrying a cute handbag and not a bulky camera bag? Awesome.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

• J's, whose support and devotion have never wavered.
• Sarah and Carolyn and Lesley for carrying babies inside of them for nine months!
• Laura and Steve for getting engaged, proving our theory about who would be next, and giving team awesome yet another opportunity to be together again when they do get married.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Our upstairs neighbors for being douchebags and walking around in their boots all day because "their feet are cold." You know what else keeps your feet warm? Slippers. Rugs. Go F yourselves.

United Airlines. Because, seriously?

14. Where did most of your money go?
rent, tuition, health insurance.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Seeing Bishop Allen live at the Middle East.

Missing the chance to meet John Hamm in person. IN PERSON. GAH.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Passion Pit's Sleepyhead.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder?
I am definitely about the same. I am overall happier than I have been in the past, but I also am suffering from anxiety attacks and this weird fear of death and bridges that comes and goes at the worst times. This obviously does not make me happy, but I also no longer suffer from depression the way I used to. Yey, modern medicine!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I wish that I had cooked more often. I wish that I had completed more of my around-the-house projects. I wish I had punched the upstairs neighbor in the face. I mean, talked to her more nicely.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Procrastinating, in general.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
In El Paso, showing J around town!

21. How will you be spending New Years?
With our friends at Jessica's apartment, playing Scrabble, because I am seriously obsessed.

22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Yes, I still find new ways and reasons to love J more and more every year.

23. How many one-night stands?
Fail.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Mad Men, Parks and Recreation, Flight of the Conchords, 30 Rock.

25. Do you "hate" anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I think that I've come to decide that "hate," even the mild pretend "hate," is a completely wasted emotion. This doesn't mean that there isn't anyone that could have made this list, just that I choose not to participate in this question anymore.

26. What was the best book you read?
I read a whole bunch of Tudor literature this year, both fiction and non-fiction. The best book, by far, was The Sisters Who Would Be Queen by Leanda de Lisle. Not only did it seem to be the most factually accurate book I've read so far, but it focused on some oft-forgotten characters in the battle for the throne after Henry VIII's death. If you're into this sort of thing, I highly recommend it.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Either Fanfarlo or the Harlem Shakes. Both albums are fantastic. I would say Phoenix, but basically Mercedes commercials ruined that for me. However, the rest of that album is also really good.

28. What did you want that you also ended up getting?
An "A" in my Foundations of Graphic Design class.

An electric blanket! My feet have never been so warm!
A deluxe edition of Scrabble with the rotating board and everything—it is so awesome.

29. What did you want that you did not end up getting?
Basically everything on my Amazon wishlist. I always forget to show that to people before the holidays. Dang.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
By and far, Away We Go was the best movie I've seen in a long time, and not just because JESUSCHRIST does John Krasinski look like the split image of J in that movie. J could have been his double. But also because Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski played so beautifully off of each other, and even though it's such a sad story, it feels like home.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 25. There were a lot of sidecars, and Ryan Gosling cupcakes which were WONDERFUL.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Actually applying to grad school instead of just thinking about it.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Pretty much the same as last year. More sweat pants.

34. What kept you sane?
Medication, therapy, and J.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Ryan Gosling, John Kraskinski.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Health Insurance

37. Who did you miss?
Our friends Dan and Lydia moved to the D.C. area, and life in Boston is not the same without them.

Ever since I lost my office job, I waste less time on gmail chat, so I miss Laura's face a lot, too.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
The bartender and trivia Tim. We were searching for a place to do pub trivia this year. Our old plan of the Harvard Square Tommy Doyles on Wednesday wasn't working out as well as it used to, so one week we went to the Tommy Doyles in Kendall, near MIT, and the bartender remembered me and Jess from this one time months before that we had stopped in for a drink before dinner. Random. So we started going every week, and now we're BFFs with the bartender and the trivia dude. It's great.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
Always, always, ALWAYS use a contract!

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

"This will be a better year
Make a little money, take a lot of shit
Feel real bad, then get over it, oh,

This will be a better year"
—Harlem Shakes, Strictly Game

Ten Words [The Internet] Needs To Stop Misspelling

Click on the image to be taken to the oatmeal's hilariously illustrated guide to ten words you need to stop misspelling. If you're a great speller, then laugh and laugh at the hilarious imagery.

Pay special attention to how to spell DEFINITELY.

Birthday Present From Me to Me!

Anthropologie designs just give me shivers, they're so pretty. I'm reluctant to turn in the card, but I'm pretty excited about my necklace and the discount!

At Least One Of Us Has Moved On

I accidentally found a piece written about me by my college boyfriend's sister, recently. Ouch.

I'm not sad that her opinion of me is crummy or that she saw me as a monster, because if I'm honest with myself I know I was. Her story is definitely biased, but it's only biased in the sense that that was the me that she knew. Save for the tidbit about the scarf. I don't know why she thought I threw away his "$150 cashmere scarf" that she had scoured the city for because I had "knit him one that Christmas," only because the Christmas she's referring to was two years before I learned to knit, so I question the integrity of all of her facts. I don't remember throwing away a scarf. I remember college boyfriend being really careless with his shit, though. I've forgotten most of the details, but reading her words was refreshing in that it gave me an accurate insight into my character at the time, but is was shoddy when it comes to actual factual events.

Anyway, the issue here is that she knew me as a "walking scowl", and I couldn't have made that impression more strongly had I actually disliked her the first time I met her. And honestly if there is a bunch of people whose bad opinion of me really doesn't bother me, it's that whole family. Her story about my "just desserts" (i.e. her brother dumping me...worst punishment, ever!) is only funny because she clearly still sees me as that person; because she wrote it as if, by god, I should heed her words or continue to be treated the way her brother and his family treated me FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. DUN DUN DUN. It was downright hilarious. It's not like I had no idea I was this big crazy bitch back then. Plus it's good to know that while my anger was obviously wasted—as all anger is—my suspicions of their hatred weren't signs of paranoid schizophrenia. I smile a lot more now that I have a boyfriend who loves me and friends who I actually acknowledge (who love me, too).

It was because of college boyfriend's family, mostly, that I was terrified to pieces when I first met J's family. My experience with the cb's family had been so mind-numbingly terrible—so much like driving an ice pick through my eyeballs—I was convinced that no one's mother could ever love me and that I was doomed to be seen as a "walking scowl" forever. I don't dispute that over the years my attitude grew worse, but I know that I did say thank you the first time I met them. I was, though, and am still painfully shy, so I probably didn't come off as grateful. They also scared the crap out of me; they were overbearing and overwhelming and just plain scary the whole time, and they mostly kept to themselves when they weren't being nice to the point of insincerity.

Two significant things changed after college. First, that it's important to me that my boyfriend has a good relationship with his mother, and J has an excellent relationship with his. Secondly, more importantly, his relationship to me is one of love and trust that we have built over the years by ultimately being kind to each other. It is his unquestioning faith in my goodness that makes me want to be a better person. I am still crazy, and I am still mean-spirited and judgmental sometimes, but J knows how to diffuse it, and he knows when and how to step up and be a man about it, which is precisely why I am putty in his hands. It's also why I don't have to resort to silly antics or petty jealousy just to get him to stay.

The crucial ingredient missing back then was maturity on everyone's part (mine, yes. Absolutely. But his especially. And his family? Yikes), which is why it made me sad to see her holding onto that anger for such a long time—enough to post about it online, anyway, and without a hint of irony. I have no delusions about the impression I made, and although they'd be the last people to believe me, I have a few stories about how woefully ungracious he was to my family the first time he met them, too.

Anyway, the long and short of it is this: a lot of bad things happened in my college relationship. Mostly it was because we were the worst fit that two people could probably be. And I never wonder what would have happened if I might have been more gracious—more like myself—when I first met them. Losing him was the best thing that ever happened to me, and prolonging the end of that misery would have actually ruined my life. I've made some mistakes in my time, but the length and significance of that relationship in my life was probably the biggest.

And with this story, another chapter of that time in my life is closed forever. Sometimes I wish that my slate had been clean before I met J, but I realize that our relationship wouldn't be as rich and purely happy as it is if I hadn't made those mistakes. They're mine, and for better or for worse, they've shaped me. I figured out what happiness and love are when you don't try to force them. I'm not saying that's worth a hundred ex-boyfriends of that caliber, but to end up being with someone like J it has certainly been worth the journey it took to get here.

United Airlines Sucks. But I Guess That's Not News.

While I was typing up my complaints to the BBB about my recent nightmare trip to El Paso with United Airlines, I stumbled across this video. It's catchy and it's cute, but I'm still too angry with the way United jerked me around to laugh about it. Maybe I'll laugh about it when I finally get my luggage back (oh, yes, they "misplaced" it on the outgoing and return flights! United, FTW).

Odosketch

A friend of mine emailed me this really cute sketch from the site odosketch, which is a flash based drawing application that then replays your sketch for you. She sent me this really cute sketch that is now my desktop background




Also, I sent out the last of my holiday cards this morning, and I downloaded *the pattern* for this beautiful box for one of our Christmas gifts from this website, here:


I'd say it's been a productive morning!

Things I Love Thursday: Anniversary Edition

Three years feels like such a long time ago. We've both grown so much in that time—and it's so amazing to know that I'm growing with someone. J grounds me. He stays calm when I cannot, and he's strong and confident and so smart—and look at how smoking hot he is!

I love him because he makes me laugh out loud, daily. He makes even the most mundane tasks seem fun.

I love him because he makes me see beauty in myself. It is because of him that I try to be a better person. Whenever I am angry or sad, he is there to remind me that the world isn't all pain and suffering.

I love him because everywhere we go together is an adventure, even if we're just people watching in Harvard Square.

I love him because I smile every morning when I wake up with him and every evening when he comes home to me.

To me, home is J's heart and hands.

Three Years

Our three year anniversary is coming up—this Thursday, in fact. To celebrate, we're having dinner at Houston's, courtesy of a very generous Christmas gift card we got last year.

I got this little bouquet of flowers last night at trivia, though, so that I'd be able to enjoy them for a few days before we leave for Texas. I guess J was going to give the flowers to the bartender before I arrived, so that they'd be there waiting for me, but he didn't want me sitting there all by myself with flowers for a half-hour.

There are three roses: one big one for this year and two little ones for the two years past (and some pine because the florist asked him if he'd like some holiday cheer in the bunch). I'm still smiling as I look at them sitting here on my desk. J is not one for flowers, but when he does them, he does them well.

Outdated Browser

I only thought this was funny because I'm using Chrome on my Mac, so it's not so much an "outdated browser," as mint.com needs to catch up with the times, already. The Chrome for Mac launch was so last week. GOSH.

Things I Love Thursday

{photo from photojojo.com}

This Instax instant camera by Fuji. I have had my eye on this thing for a while, now, but only recently has it occurred to me to spend some gift certificates I have on procuring this thing. I'm still about $50 shy of the camera, and then I'll still need film, but I'm on my way, and it will probably arrive about when I'm using the last of the Polaroid film in my freezer.

Boston breweries. I went to the Harpoon brewery with my friend Jon yesterday, and the Sam Adams brewery with Jessica on Saturday. Free beer? Sign me up. Not only do they allow you to taste a lot of beers you might not be able to readily find outside of the brewery, but straight from the brewery on tap is the best way to experience beer. Plus it's a cheap date.

My gocco printer. In the way of Polaroid, gocco has ruined many lives by ceasing production, but I'll get a few last runs out of her, yet. I am loco for gocco.

Strictly Game Covered by Dave Monks

{source}

I love this guy.

Ways I'm Going To Try to Have a Stress-Free Christmas

Make A List
Make a list of every person you need to buy a present for. Carry it with you wherever you go, and cross names off as you buy.

Set a Budget
Set a budget and stick to it. This way you won't get carried away.

Christmas Cards One Day At A Time
Write a little very day until around the 14th. Then you can mail out all of your cards at once.

Wrap As You Buy
Wrap your presents the night you get them home to avoid feeling overwhelmed by the task of wrapping all of your presents at once.

Shop Online
Make sure you account for shipping time, but shopping online is a great way to avoid the crowds. And the malls. Ugh.

Buy A Real Tree
This might not be for everyone, but the smell of pine in my house always calms me down and makes me feel festive. Maybe if you don't want to go all out and get a tree, you can buy a wreath. We don't have room for a tree this year, so I plan on getting a wreath for our living room.

Say No
You don't have to do everything. Learn to diplomatically say no.

Buy Batteries
Nothing like unwrapping the presents on Christmas Day and finding out you won't be able to use them until you can get to a store to buy batteries!

Watch Christmas Movies
My personal favorite is It's A Wonderful Life. My grandmother and I used to watch it together while we wrapped presents. I like seeing it at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, which has an old timey stage with curtains and everything. It's magical.

Take a Day Off
Once you've done all the shopping, wrapping and cards, take some time to unwind and do nothing.

Enjoy Yourself
Even if everything doesn't get done, the holidays should be about this above everything.

Depressing Unemployment Statistics via mintlife

This video that i saw on the Mint Personal Life Blog was a little bit depressing, a little bit enlightening, and incredibly depressing. I may have some leads on a few jobs, but right now, all I want to do is crawl under the covers and wake up in the spring.

The video is a little bit annoying, but you have to get to the end to get the point. However, there is a graphic on the post that shows the same information. Click on the image to make it larger:

Thrive Says So

Things I Love Thursday

This comic about how to design a website. The best part is that the whole thing is composed of things actual clients said to the guy. Oy!

I told you there would be more dachshunds to come:

{via Brian Hathcock's flickr page}

Las Vegas . I had a lot of fun in Vegas over Thanksgiving. J and his friends don't "do" Vegas like some people do, but I had fun, anyway, taking a lot of memories that I will hold near to my heart. Mostly memories of very inappropriate conversations and dirty playing cards, plus driving nearly all the way to the Hoover Dam before seeing the long line of cars, pulling a U-turn on the highway and going back.

twitter . I may have made a business contact just because of a simple tweet. If nothing comes of it, all it cost me was 140 characters and an email!

Fabulous Philippe Starck Watches

{Palindrome Too} {Tailgate}

These watches are so great, I think if I ever decide to start wearing watches again, I will probably get one of these! Too bad they're analog :)

Things I Love Thursday

Paper Source . I was buying paper to make retirement cards, and also found animal menu stamps. They will be helpful when I make my next set of wedding invitations! I've seen them all over the internet on bridal blogs, but never knew where I could get my own. I will probably use them now in one of my journals, just because I can.

Skinny Pants . I was finally brave enough to take the plunge, and I'm glad I did. They're super cute.

The weather . I rode my bike to Paper Source today, which is something I never thought I'd say in November. I wore a jacket, but not gloves, and by the time I came back, I'm not sure I really needed the jacket.

TWLOHA Day

"Two out of three people who struggle with depression never seek help...and untreated depression is the leading cause of suicide. In America alone, it’s estimated that 19 million people live with depression."

Untreated depression can lead to addiction, ruin relationships, and leave you unable to face everyday situations. Work suffers. Sleep suffers. Depression affects the way you eat, the way you feel about yourself, the way you treat other people. People who suffer from depression can't "just pull themselves together" and get over it. Clinical depression is not just "feeling blue." Left untreated, depression can last for years, and some people choose to deal with it by adopting addictions, turning to self-injury, or worse.

The good news is that depression is very treatable. Talk therapy, antidepressants, even diet and exercise can all be paths that lead away from clinical depression.

The Numbers

• 121 million people worldwide suffer from depression. (The World Health Organization)
• 18 million of these cases are happening in the United States. (The National Institute of Mental Health)
• Between 20% and 50% of children and teens struggling with depression have a family history of this struggle and the offspring of depressed parents are more than three times as likely to suffer from depression. (U.S. Surgeon General's Survey, 1999)
• Depression often co-occurs with anxiety disorders and substance abuse, with 30 percent of teens with depression also developing a substance abuse problem. (NIMH)
• 2/3 of those suffering from depression never seek treatment.
• Untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide, and suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers. (NIMH)

*statistics all from TWLOHA site

How You Can Help

If you know anyone who suffers from depression, you might have faced the feelings of helplessness or fear that you might lose someone you love. While there are many things you can do, talking to them—reaching out, picking up the phone, sending an email—is the best thing you can do If you suffer from depression, make an appointment with a counselor. Find treatment. Call a hotline. Not only are you not alone, you don't have to go through this by yourself—you can find someone to guide you.

Some good places to start:

National Hopeline Network (U.S.A.) - www.hopeline.com – 1-800-SUICIDE
S.A.F.E. Alternatives - www.selfinjury.com – 1-800-DONTCUT (Self Abuse Finally Ends)
Childhelp – www.childhelp.org – 1-800-4-A-CHILD (National Child Abuse Hotline)
National Domestic Violence Helpline - www.ndvh.org – 1-800-799-SAFE
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network - www.rainn.org – 1-800-656-HOPE (National Sexual Assault Hotline)
National Eating Disorders Association – www.nationaleatingdisorders.org – 1-800-931-2237

Today is To Write Love On Her Arms Day. To Write Love On Her Arms Day is a day when anyone can write the word love on their arms to support those who are suffering from depression and recovering from depression. So write love on your arms today and show it off. When people ask, you can tell them about To Write Love On Her Arms, and what they are doing for people with depression, addiction and pain. Buy a T-shirt. Make love the movement.

Things I Love Thursday

I didn't update last week because I had a craptastic week and was not loving anything very much. My nails are mostly gone (bitten away), but after a few conversations with J, I mostly worked through it. He had a craptastic week, too. It was really emotionally toxic in our apartment. Bleh.

Anyway, this week is looking a little better, but I think this will still be a short list:

Figuring Out Why Illustrator Hates Me . My option (alt) and my shift keys—my most used keyboard shortcuts—stop working All The Time. This has been an ongoing problem for months, and I couldn't figure out what was causing Illustrator to deny me my most precious shortcuts. I was literally banging my head on the desk at one point this week, due to excessive use of Illustrator. Anyway, turns out you can't run the Hulu desktop app and Illustrator at the same time. All this time I was trashing my preferences every time I shut down my computer, and yesterday I restarted it three times! I figured it out when someone on a forum mentioned that he has this problem when boxee is running in the background, so I immediately exited Hulu, and voilà! Keyboard shortcuts working, again! It was downright religious moment. I suppose I will have to listen to music in the background from now on, instead, which will probably improve my workflow. Bonus.

Pictures of Sleeping Puppies . The Dreaming of Puppies stream merged with the Daily Squee recently, and I was not amused. It's not that I don't think other animals are cute, just that I usually have over 1000 unread feeds in google reader on any given day, and this is why lolcats exist. If I had wanted to subscribe to all of the Daily Squee's content, I would have. Anyway, you can subscribe to just the dreaming of puppies stream here: http://dailysquee.com/category/dreaming-of-puppies/ And then all was right with the world. SLEEPING PUPPIES!

Sonic . J and I drove 15 miles out to the 'burbs so that we could eat at the first Sonic in MA (okay, I'm not sure if that's a fact, but it's certainly the first one within reasonable driving distance from us!). I had forgotten how wonderful cherry limeade slushes are. Sure, we both felt kind of gross after gorging ourselves on over 1000 calories of fast food that night, but tater tots! Also some teenagers let us go ahead of them, then showed us how to use the credit card machine. Teenagers? Nice? Sonic is a magical place.

Financial Freedom . I paid off my credit card today! I had a 0% APR offer from Capital One, which I took advantage of in order to buy my Mac on credit to pad some of my initial unemployment expenses (I had been saving for the computer, already, when I was let go). The offer lasted for one year, and after paying for school, textbooks, groceries, the balance was never $0. One month after the 9% APR kicked in, I paid off the whole thing. I knew that it was coming, but it still feels pretty damn good.

NextRX is the Suck—A Dissatisfied Customer

I got a phone call from my doctor's office yesterday, concerned about the "amount of asthma medication I've been using lately." I needed to set up an appointment ASAP to the tune of a $30 copay, so I could explain myself to my doctor.

My doctor knew about the "amount of asthma medication I've been using lately" because my pharmacy called her. The pharmacy I am obligated to use if I want to pay $50 instead of $75 every three months for my inhaler(s). I get one inhaler a month, twelve a year, three at a time. Enter NextRX.


For starters, they are a bitch to deal with. I can't find a list of medications they cover anywhere on their website, even though they point out their handy, easy to see link to print out covered medication. I go to their site through my health insurance provider's proprietary link, not to the NextRX website, so there should be a list of covered meds, but they refer me back to my insurance provider's website. Useless.

My second complaint is that they call. All the goddamn time. Any time a prescription is up for renewal, they call. And they call and they call. And they don't leave messages, because it is a moronic automatic system that can't even leave a voice mail. You can't opt for email, you can't opt out of the calls. Your only option is to get the phone calls. They always call at the worst time, i.e. during the week wasting my daytime minutes, every two hours until I answer and go through their automated routine. It's a machine. It can't work on weekends?

So because it's easier than writing a lengthy email to the company, I just refill the stupid prescriptions. It's better than having my phone ring incessantly. I guess I could say no, but then I have to remember to do it myself. It's not a big deal, but then I'd have to refill them even sooner than the machine calls, and the machine calls roughly halfway between the pre-order time and the refill time.

So they "snitched" on me to my doctor because I was refilling so "frequently." I don't know what they said to her, but my doctor was concerned even though my prescription hasn't changed in the four years I've been seeing her.

Am I using more medication than they want me to? I'm not using more than I've been prescribed. Do they not want to have to pay for it? I don't really think that's their call. What if I needed more than what I currently take? PS, my asthma is stress induced. THANKS, NEXTRX.

I called my doctor's office and told them I'm not paying $30 to let her listen to my chest for no reason and sort this out. Because even if I could afford it, it's a hassle to go out to Arlington, MA to see my doctor, and I only like to do it when I'm sick or need my yearly violation and prescription party.

I don't know what NextRX's problem is, but I'm not the only one who hopes that they all go to hell. Here's a webpage with some stories of really shitty things they've done across the country:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/Pharmacies/NextRx/nextrx-wellpoint-wellpoint-n-ayw29.htm

Things I Love Thursday

My polarizing filter, which I finally figured out how to use • H&M for making such fabulous clothes • employee discounts at Macys (I will not abuse. I will not abuse. I will not abuse) • scarves, mittens and leg warmers • new business cards that say what I do! And were designed by me! • being a regular at trivia night - and now being applauded, hugged, or wolf whistled at by the bartender whenever I arrive • spinach quiche • this video of Sleepyhead by Passion Pit:

How I've Tried To Save Money

I've been talking about saving money a lot recently, and I figured I'd share some of the ways I have managed to do that. The biggest savings I have seen in recent months has been in school supplies. I searched high and low for an inexpensive binder for all of the materials my professor has been giving us, but ended up going with something at Target that was functional—I was looking at the start of the school year, of course, so I was left with the bare bones. A day later, while we were at the recycling center, J pointed me towards a whole box full of binders! They were basically brand new, and after cleaning them off, they were even better than the cheapo one I'd picked up at Target for nearly $4 (after taxes)! So here are some of the ways I've been saving:

• Getting binder from recycling center ($4)
• Finding my T-square at Goodwill. They usually run around $20, and the wood ones can be even more expensive, but we'll just say that after paying $7 for this barely used wood T-Square at Goodwill, I saved ($13)
  
• Getting my textbook from the library. I did end up purchasing it after reading it, deciding I'd use it long after the class was over, and getting a 25% off coupon from Borders.com. I also had it shipped to the store to save on shipping costs (they were out of stock at all of my local stores and amazon, so shipping was necessary). I ended up getting a $21 (at brick and mortar stores) $17 (online) book for $13 ($8 if for some reason I had needed to buy it Right Now at the store, $4 if I could have waited for shipping, but not a coupon).
  
• I use cereal boxes to ship things that I sell on half.com and ebay. They're sturdy, and we're going to recycle them, anyway. If I cut them correctly, I don't use that much tape, so the cost of supplies I might have to buy is negligible. To pad them, I use newspaper or packing materials from things we've had shipped. I doubt I've saved much (since you can usually get packing materials on the cheap with very little effort), but it also saves me a trip to the post office/store, and thins our recycling pile, which brings me to the next item:
  
• Buying my postage online. You can get free priority boxes delivered to your address (I usually only use cereal boxes when my stuff doesn't fit in these boxes). If you purchase priority shipping on usps.com and print it out yourself, you save 10¢, and you get free delivery confirmation, which is a savings of about 85¢ per box shipped. I still have to go to the post office if the package is too big for a mailbox drop, but it's a faster trip. (I've saved $4.25 in the past month)
  
• I downgraded my cell phone plan. I'm lucky enough not to be under contract, so I have some options that I can easily change on a month-to-month basis. I'm contemplating a change in carrier in the near future, but for now I determined I could save $5/month by downgrading my daytime minutes. I rarely use my phone at the moment, anyway. ($10 so far)
• Taking reusable bags to the grocery store. I usually need two bags, which gets us a 10¢ discount (5¢/bag). Since we've started cooking more, I've gone to this store about once a week, sometimes less sometimes more, but I'd say it averages once a week. It's kind of insignificant at 5¢ a bag, but over a year we end up getting $5 for doing something we are already doing. Our local Target has now implemented the same policy, which I think is a great reward for a habit we already have. (~$5 this year)
• Buying generic milk. We both drink different kinds of milk, but I buy half-gallons for us every week. The generic is not only 50¢ cheaper, it's equally sustainable as the name brand we used to buy. This will save us up to $52 in a year. ($4 so far)
  

So, $50 later, I thought it was worth documenting. There are lots of little things I do these days that don't take much of my time, but because I do have the time (and not the money) it's worth the extra effort to save a few dollars. I could further calculate things like making our own pizza, which I know for a fact saves a ton of money (as often as we eat pizza!), but I thought I'd stick to things I've consciously done in the last two months.

Even though I can't fathom the time when I can start markedly saving up again, I have some significant financial goals I'd like to reach sometime in the next five years. If I can learn to live like this when I have a more appreciable income, it will be so much easier.

Things I Love Thursday

This video from Improv Everywhere:

People breaking out into spontaneous song and dance? Count me in! I wish my life were a musical.

Getting great news . Good news is one thing, but getting news that makes me jump up and down and want to dance...well, it made my week is what.

The Tightwad Gazette . I got this book from the library and the lessons inside were pretty inspiring. It came into my life in a time when we really need to start cutting back, and while some of the methods she employs in the book are a bit extreme (read: "cheap" rather than "frugal"), the overarching lesson is great. It made me sit down and evaluate how to reach some bigger financial goals, even now that times are tight. You can get it here at Amazon, or pick it up at your library (funnily enough, buying the book goes against the whole purpose of the book :)

Glee . Glee is the best new show on TV. If you're not already watching it you should be. If you are, well, then you already know.

The Official Resume of Mac and Charlie

"Duties that include ordering supplies and taking care of business..."
"Mmmhmmm...TCOB."
"For several years, I've been in complete charge of pretty much everything in my life."
"I don't miss a beat."

Relevant because after a conversation we had yesterday about client relationships and freelancing and being my own boss, J said, "I know just the thing that you need," went over to his desk, grabbed the following newspaper clipping and taped it to my computer.

Things I Value More Than Money

Mental health . Being able to express my feelings in a healthy way, finding someone who can relate to me and sympathize with my problems, and being capable of addressing issues when they bother me. Seeking professional help when all of these options fail to make me feel better. Being free of anxiety and depression; feeling a sense of contentment and a zest for living life.

Physical health . Getting up and moving around every day. Not huffing and puffing when I walk up a flight of stairs. Eating better, exercising more, and making choices that will make me fitter, healthier and happier.

My relationship . Bringing someone else into my life who accepts me in a non-judgmental way. Someone who helps me grow, who supports me no matter what I want to do. Someone who I can open up to, who I can let into my whole world. Someone who knows the best and the worst and still wants to wake up next to me every morning.

Friends & family . People I care about who share my interests, whose relationships with me involve shared experiences. People who make my life richer and fuller just by being present.

Experiences . Interacting with people, seeing new things, facing my fears. The rush I get from experiencing something new and exciting isn't something I can buy.

Personal passions & hobbies . Activities that make me feel truly fulfilled, things that excite me and get me out of bed in the morning. Hopefully finding that seeking my passions can lead to a career, and eventually even making money doing something I love.

Personal Growth . When I look at how much money (and time) I've "thrown away" towards therapy, I remind myself how much I've reshaped and defined my life in the last two years. I have found many opportunities to grow as a person, to change my behaviors and my beliefs, to challenge my life's narrative and re-write a new story for myself. In my case, working to grow as a person has cost me a lot of money, and a few personal relationships as well. But knowing that I can change my outlook on the world for the better is invaluable.

Bicycles!

Here's a video about Idaho's "Rolling Stop" Law for cyclists. It is highly rational and educational about things like momentum and how a rolling stop is not "blowing through a stop sign."

Bicycles, Rolling Stops, and the Idaho Stop from Spencer Boomhower on Vimeo.

Also Here is an article from Slate about how to get cyclists to obey the traffic laws. Written by a cyclist, of course, and offering no new information, but still well written, presenting both the "vehicularist" and "facilitator" arguments towards cyclist traffic laws.

How to Work Out From Home

Gala Darling posted this video on her website today, and I couldn't stop laughing. This guy reminds me a lot of Charlie Day, or maybe more specifically his character in Always Sunny. You know, if Charlie had kids.

This weekend is going to be a cold one. Evidently we're going to be getting SNOW! Ack! Yeah, this is why I moved to the East Coast (seasons, y'all), but SNOW? In OCTOBER? Yeah, it's not supposed to stick or anything, but still. Stay warm, everyone.

Things I Love Thursday

This dog as a taco, which was in a link J sent me today. See more puppies dressed as food here.

Pub Trivia. I like that we now have more people coming to trivia. Not that it wasn't fun when it was just me and Jess, but more people means more answers. Usually. Sometimes.

Law and Order: SVU. I Can't. Stop. Watching. Thank you, Netflix.

Cute Squirrel Crashes Photo

I saw this image on cute overload, along with the explanation of why it's not photoshopped on the National Geographic blog.

What a great capture! So lucky.

Earplugs and Vodka

Today has been a test of my patience. Like, the SATs of patience. Upstairs neighbor walked around in his shoes for about 20 minutes this morning, then when he was taking a shower, stompy tried on some stiletto heels.

Then, the construction workers who are working on the house kitty-corner to our apartment building joined the chorus with their drilling and sledgehammering. That was fun.

So I came to the front of the house. And DPW started jack-hammering in the streets. Yey.

There was some peace for about two hours, but then stompy dragged a dead body down the stairwell did something so noisy in their stairwell (which is adjacent to the length of our apartment), I couldn't even imagine what was going on. Turns out she was sweeping. SWEEPING!

I know this post is going to come off as typical angry me, but the reason I even felt the need to write it down is that I think that today wasn't actually so bad. These things happened, almost consecutively, and for long enough to cause disruption in my work flow, but I got through them. If I'm not going to have a heart attack at 26, then I should probably learn how to let these things happen without my anger, because they're going to happen, anyway.

Every day is a new day. I would go upstairs and reintroduce myself to stompy, apologize and gift them a bottle of wine (and maybe some slippers), but that would require I be a bigger, better person. I'm not quite there, yet. For now I'll stick to earplugs.

David Cross: An Open Letter to Larry The Cable Guy

I can't wait to pick up a copy of this book from the library (it's waiting for me at the front desk)!

The following YouTube videos will play an excerpt from the audiobook I Drink For A Reason, by David Cross. The backstory is this: Larry the Cable Guy apparently wrote some stuff about David Cross in his book regarding a (mis)quote of David Cross in Rolling Stone magazine. "I have to warn you that this letter is nearly 11 pages long, but...who gives a shit? You're not reading it, I'm reading it to you—so don't be lazy." —David Cross


Part One


Part Two

Things I Love Thursday

New Couch Pillows - I finally used the marimekko fabric I bought last year for its intended purpose and made my couch pillows. They're a little...really bright orange, but they make me happy. Maybe I can find a way to bring another pop of color into the room to make the pillows look a little bit less OHMIGOD, PILLOWS, but I'm really happy with the way they came out.

A Day at The Magic Kingdom Park - It has been quite a while since I last went to Disney World, and I'm not a fan of crowds, but there is something so magical about this video; I kind of look forward to the distant future when I have kids with whom I will be able to share this joy:
http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2009/10/a-model-day-at-the-park/

Earplugs - Take that upstairs stompy neighbor, passersby and traffic. Especially stompy. Yeah, my computer needs to be a little bit louder, and it's taken some adjustment, but it's remarkable how well this solution is working!

Autumn Leaves - I got a polarizing filter for this autumn. I can't wait to see some leaves a'changing. Let's go fall! Also, I really wish I lived here:

image by lidarose

Ten Ways To Feel Better in 60 Seconds

Ten Ways to Feel Better in 60 Seconds

Usually I see posts like this one and I roll my eyes because it's the same old stuff, and none of it ever works for me. Maybe this post was different, or maybe the way it was written resonated with me, but I liked it so I thought I'd share.

Drinking water and sitting up straight are two things I really need to work on. If I ever find a way to really de-stress, though...I'll let you know.

Things I Love Thursday: Special Sunday Edition

Dachshunds: I love little wiener dogs. Ever since we puppy sat, I see wiener dogs everywhere, and I love their little legs and their floppy ears. They're so long! And cute! Here are two Pedigree commercials that demonstrate how cute dachshunds are, and also how adorable David Duchovny is (even though he is a sex addict):





And don't worry. There are a ton more commercials where those came from—probably to be featured in a future TILT. Here's a photo demonstrating how unnaturally long a wiener dog's tongue is:


And yes, I paid dearly for being that close to a dog for five days straight. How could I not let her sleep on my lap, though?

And if you're not convinced yet:

Joann Fabric: I get their e-coupons all the time, and usually don't even bother until there's a 50% off coupon, which happens a few times a year. Most of the time I don't need anything that badly, but this time I got a giant cutting mat (good for graphic design classes) that basically came with a free rotary cutter and quilting ruler. After the 50% coupon, there wasn't a better deal to be found. Yey, cheap school supplies!