Down Down Down

I'm feeling less than inspired these days. Too many grown up things I think. Expect blogging gaps unless something incredible happens.

Last Night of Freedom

So it's eleven forty three on Wednesday, marking my last seventeen minutes of unemployment in Michigan. Even if it is for only three weeks. I turned down a much higher paying position with a long term commitment to do this job and I really hope I don't regret that.

Today I:

- woke up to the other temp agency calling me with said position

- had to buy a pantsuit for the interview

- almost passed out at how much a nice pantsuit cost me

- kicked myself for buying a pantsuit

- worried about looking like an elf wearing a pantsuit

- worried about what it meant that i had bought a pantsuit

- set up a second interview

- decided against having the second interview

- ate mahi mahi for dinner

- drank not so great wine

- watched "help"

- got annoyed with toby

Later I will:

- sleep because i'm already in bed

Goals?

- um sleep?

My ultimate goal though is to have a better blog. Maybe soon I will find my footing.

Called In

Normally I would be excited about getting a five hour gig at the Ann Arbor News, but today not so much. I pretty much only took the assignment because we really need the money. I still feel like crap and what's worse is I paid fifteen dollars for a neti pot that didn't come with it's own saline solution. Now I realize I could just mix up the salt and the water, but guess who does not have non-iodized salt? Toby offered up his contact solution, but I couldn't read anything on there that led me to believe that it would help any, so I'm heading into this five hour assignment still yucky sounding and feeling. I did finally purchase some tissues though, so now I'm not wasting away our toilet paper.

Oh colds.

Still Sick

Although I did get the new banner up and running (it's a work in progress), but that folks is The Ugly Mug. That is where I am the majority of the time that I am blogging. It's full of quirky items and signs. Plastic Jesus statues and turquoise walls. I especially like that the coffee beans are kept in outdoor garbage cans just behind the coffee bar. Actually right next to where I sit. There is always a lot of people just hanging out either on their laptops, reading a book or just having a conversation on the mustard and gold colored couches. Sadly, I'm not there today because of my ailments. I am blogging from home in my bedroom cave wrapped in towels full of sniffles and sneezes. And since I have not a done a single thing outside of eat noodle soup and watch Princess Bride, I'm not doing my usual post. Although I am going to Trader Joes to go grocery shopping and pick up some more Lemon Ginger Eccinachea Juice, so who knows maybe a later post. For now I'm slacking and posting this instead.

Hey- oh What- oh?

This Weekend I:

- woke up too late on saturday and was late to my sisters

- got lost in the winding country roads

- had a pizza party with my entire fam

- mourned the death of my point and shoot camera

- sat through two hours of dancing at clay and caroline's dance recital

- apologized profusely for cornering toby into going

- met up with the kiddos for arthur's twenty sixth birthday

- was hit on at babs

- sat quietly while cote argued with the police that were called on us

- was kicked out of the house party

- drove home at five o'clock in the morning

- woke up again too late on sunday

- went to chelsea to have a picnic with the extended fam

- had expensive salad, cheaper sushi, and delicious wine from whole foods

- watched a guy thing

- fell asleep to toby talking on the phone

Today I:
- woke up and wished toby well on his drug test,he passed

-found a new tumblr to tumbl, tumbl list coming soon

-had a delicious spicy eggplant sandwich at pita pita

-found out you can't purchase a garbage can lid

-took a new way home from the other side of town

-took pictures of the water damage in our house

-managed to sit at three different tables at the ugly mug

Later I will:

- waste time on the internets at ugly mug some more

- walk to the landlords and show them the water damage pics

- walk home in the disgusting heat

- play with roscoe the incredible

- help toby make beef over rice for dinner

- forget something i need to remember

-play on the interwebs

- chuckle

- giggle

- laugh

- drink some sleepy time tea, i'm sick

- sleep and dream

Goals?

- not make unnecessary purchases

- not pick a fight with toby

- make a plan

photograph from ghostbears

someday i'll upload some of my own photos

i'm working on my confidence

Etsy Summer Picks

from peaceandloveck

from thelasthurrah

from goodwiu

from cocomio
from peaceandloveck

If only I could purchase everything I want off Etsy!

Yippee!

It's Friday!

And even those of us in the world of unemployment are celebrating!

So my throat is super scratchy and it's making me super sad. Tomorrow is Clayton and Caroline's dance recital and I would like to not be clearing my throat ever twenty seconds during the show. Dance recitals are always sort of bittersweet for me. I enjoy going and seeing the kids dance, but I'm mostly uncomfortable watching the adults dance, especially if they aren't any good. I feel bad, but I can't help but judge them. I danced for sixteen years and I danced well damnit.

It's really gross out, humid and rainy. Not to sound superficial, but my hair has officially given up on looking decent today. Although I haven't done much to assist with that. Oh well.

Today I:

- woke up in okay spirits

- was offered a three week gig at the temp agency

- rejoiced in the parking lot

- called my mum to tell her the news

- took a two hour nap with tobes, who wasn't feeling well

- watched disc one of "the big bang theory"

- was constantly hungry because the pulled pork has been in the slow cooker all freaking day and making my mouth water

- figured out i have a small head and can't wear most adult bike helmets

- bought my youth size bike helmet at target

- wore said bike helmet around the house for twenty minutes or so, it needs a name

- found two new tumblrs to tumbl on

Later I will:

- eat delicious pulled pork, potatoes, and slaw

- drink a southern tier beer

- watch disc two of "the big bang theory"

- debate on whether toby and i should go out tonight

- either go out for a little bit or stay in and drink all night

- crawl into bed tired

Goals?

- get rid of this scratchy throat, mouthwash, tea and vitamins here i come

- sleeeeeep, no more tossin' and turnin'

Those Good Ole Possibilities

Yay! Woo-Hoo! Hooray!

I have an interview tomorrow morning! Granted its only for a one to four week gig, but hey money is money kiddos, and I will take any position ( insert obvious exceptions here) that wants to pay me some. I also dropped off my resume at a bank just a few blocks away from my abode that is actually hiring. This would be better because

a) i can ride my bike to and from work

b) it would be full time monday thru friday with alternating saturdays

c) it wouldn't be a temporary gig and

d) it would pay pretty decent and give me more experience in the fancy, albeit boring, world of banking!

It's not a for sure thing, but it's a possibility! And possibilities are a good thing when it comes to employment.

Toby and I are also being considered for a weekend temp position next weekend. He has sent information and paperwork on possibly getting a work study and/or assistanceship through Eastern too. Fingers are crossed.

Today I:

- overslept again and then laid around in bed

- was more motivated after the call from the temp agency

- traveled dowtown ypsi to the bank

- ate white castle lunch/dinner, yum

- read some of "choke", so far not a fan

- played too much memory tile game

-was a good girlfriend and swiffered the living room

- walked with toby to the ugly mug to get a cup of joe

- missed my folks' phone call

Later I will:

- eat fajitas and wish for margaritas

- tease roscoe for not being graceful

- watch flight of the concords via arthur's fancy computer thing

- wish i could watch the office with sound

- fantasize

- complain about noise, heat, anything and everything

- sleep and dream about things i shouldn't

Goals?

- fall asleep at a reasonable time

- dream acceptable dreams

- wake up in a good mood

At the Ugly Mug

I am once again biding my time away at the Ugly Mug, a coffee house just a couple blocks away from my apartment where the coffee mugs are, um, ugly, but the coffee is certainly tasty. It's a good place if not a tad bit pretentious, but I suppose that's what you get when you live in a tiny suburb of a very pretentious city. I wouldn't say that it's bitter about not being in Ann Arbor, but maybe bitter about the fact others disregard it because it's not in Ann Arbor. And maybe I'm just reading into this entirely too much. I have done it before, and I will do it again. The ambiance here is swell though and I enjoy blogging here more than my hot, dark bedroom. Maybe if ever remember to change the batteries in my point and shoot I can snap a few sneaky pics of the place.

Yesterday was pretty much pointless. Monday night Toby and I met up with a couple of friends of his from high school and the night got a little more out of hand than I had anticipated. I also gave my email out to a guy and I'm not entirely sure why. But now we are facebook friends, so that's cool.

Anyways, yesterday was spent in and out of sleep and then we walked to Corner Brewery with some of Toby's new program "friends". It was awkward at first, but we were able to ease into conversation with some of the more friendly members. I ordered a can of coca-cola because I still hadn't entirely recovered from the night before. Yeah, I'm old apparently. Oh Life.

While there I struck up conversation with a girl in the program and her fiancee. They had moved here from West Virginia and are planning a trip to the upper peninsula this summer. I have been planning vacations up north for the last two years in my head. Toby and I are hoping to get up there this summer as well, but until that happens I will be jealous of this couple.

Today I:

- woke up easily enough, but was still so incredibly tired

- dropped the tobes off at the temp agency for him to take his tests

- walked around the mall for two hours, actually i sat for about an hour of it

- had a blueberry banana smoothie from surf city squeeze

- wanted to slap an annoying kiosk lady

- dropped my application off at kohls, um yeah

- bought slices for toby and i at college inn pizza

- walked to ugly mug and applied to several more places, shoot me now

Later I will:

- walk back home and maybe take another shower

- be super lazy

- make cheeseburger macaroni because i am poor

- continue to be lazy

- wish that i had "how i met your mother" on dvd

- go to bed ashamed of how lazy i have been

Goals:

- i have none! i am lazy okay!? back off!

Grown Up Days

So today Toby and I met up with the Marzonies to drive around the area and look for jobs. There wasn't really a plan so we just drove through the areas with the most to look at and Charity and I wrote down the business names we saw into our notebooks. Hopefully soon we will all be employed. Especially if Chris and Charity find something over this way. I'm looking forward to all the possible east side adventures Ypsi has to show us! Toby heard from one of the temp agencies we went to about a possible position at the public school, but it wouldn't start until the end of July. He's going to go back into the office on Wednesday for further testing, but continue to look for something that would start sooner. I have not heard anything from anyone. Go Me!

Today I:

- let toby hit the snooze button for two hours on our alarm

- checked my daily blogs and websites

- took a facebook quiz about keighty, failed with a 62%, sorry!

- had cheerios with bananas

- met up with chris and charity in ann arbor

- drove/rode around town

- had a wetzel pretzel and some too-sweet lemonade

- went to whole foods to avoid rush hour traffic

- picked out some wine

- drank much tastier strawberry lemonade

Later I will:

- eat a chicken and apple salad with purchased wine

- ooh and a side of jalapeno cheddar fritters, excited

- lazy around with toby

- watch a movie i've already seen a thousand times

- peruse the internet for jobs for the thousandth time

- unload the dishwasher

- update my etsy wish list, i have birthday in two months

- kiss toby goodnight, he's a good boyfriend

Goals?

- submit my application to two places i would normally shrug off

- sleep peacefully

Evening

photograph from sam santos

The Grillin was a lot of fun. I am stuffed and so incredibly tired, but it was a great feeling to know that so many people and so many business support this cause. A few of the local businesses really went above and beyond for it too, which fills me with so much pride to be a resident of this community. I had a gigantic grilled chicken sandwich, some amazing feta and pasta salad, a small mixed romaine salad, the best baked beans I've ever tasted, some mint bean salad and vanilla gelato with a brownie. It was also perfect weather for the festivities. There was a local bluegrass band playing and the kids were able to do some arts and crafts. I can't emphasise enough how much I love living here!

Needless to say I think walking around in the sun today though really took it out of us. Toby is already napping peacefully next to me and I'm about to head downstairs to read/ nap/ watch a movie. Once I'm rejuvenated I might venture out to take some photographs. I wanted to take some at the Grillin, but it was difficult to get in and out of my purse there. Oh well, I'm sure I will have plenty of opportunity at other festivals and events!

Can't Wait!

Awake

It's an earlier morning post, which means I didn't wake up in quite as rough shape as I have the past couple of days. Toby and I met up with Smoot and Danielle last night at The Brown Jug in Ann Arbor for a couple of drinks and then headed to Pinball Pete's for some arcade game and pool table magic. I of course spent all of my quarters on one game . . . ski ball! I think I would someday like to have ski ball in my house! Danielle and I also played this game where we had to have one hand on the joystick and hold each other's other hand while the joystick vibrated at different velocities. My arm still feels weird, but we managed to conquer it! At the end of the night we turned in the fifty tickets won and Danielle and I each got a lovely silver and green plastic ring that only fit our pinkies. What a great night though!

Today lady Dana and Kevin have made it possible for Toby and I to go to the Food Gatherer's Annual Grillin. Read about it here. - Food Gatherers. It's for a great cause and we get to go for free which would normally cost us sixty dollars each! I can already smell all the delicious food that will be available. Drinks will cost additionally, but I don't think I will mind. With Toby and I both unemployed currently, the event will help our poor old butts as well. I am definitely starting to get nervous about our money situation. I wish so much that something would come up for us, but nothing has yet and it doesn't look promising for the next couple of weeks. My savings is quickly plummeting and rent and my car insurance will be due the end of this month. Not to mention the electric bill from our last house and credit card payments.

I still think this move was a good move though. I love Ypsi and I love being around all of these great people. I feel so much more at home here and I'm sure once our finances fall into place, we'll be much much happier!

Today I:

- woke up

- stretched

- checked my usual blogs

- paid a couple of bills

- had a mild panic attack

- wrote this post

Later I will:

- make something up for breakfast

- eat free food with toby, lady dana and kevin

- enjoy being outside and mingling with people for a good cause

- listen to some local music

- come home and relax

Goals?

-take pictures

- be happy

* I will probably do more than what is listed under my later list, but it's too early to know really what will take place. Hence why my posts are usually done more mid-day.

** Perhaps this means two posts today?

Conjunction Junction

Apparently you have no function!

I'm curious how one is supposed to write an intelligent sounding answer to a question about a life experience that would directly correlate to a customer service experience using less than thirty five words in an online job application. If I left out punctuation and conjunction words, I suppose it could happen, but I would sacrifice showing any capablity or grasp I may have of sentence structure and the English language. Granted on this blog, I realize I am all over the place with grammatical errors and poor punctuation; especially this post because I'm typing it with high adrenaline and a caffeine related haste and it is primarily fueled by annoyance. Does that even make sense? Do I even care? Mostly, I'm surprised that this specific online application is for a position at a large, well known retail book store.

Today I:

- way way way overslept

- sipped on vegetable beef soup and watched monster squad

-snuggled with toby because sometimes i'm a cute girlfriend
- finished a million little pieces by james frey

- was disappointed to find out just how much of that book was fabricated

- walked to ugly mug to fill out aforementioned job applications

- drank kenyan coffee from a christmas mug

- started my above rant

- walked to nypd for a slice of pizza

- devoured that slice of pizza

Later I will:

- make sloppy joes!

- meet up with the smoots for some pool hall fun

- drink . . . again.

- contemplate relativity

- take some pictures if i'm not too shy

- make a kissy face

- ponder something and then forget what i was pondering

- fall asleep and dream of grilled cheese sandwiches again

Goals?

- kick some serious butt at the pool hall

- not be too let down when i don't

Wings and Things

It's an off kilter day.

photo from weird fish

Today I:

- woke up and felt disgusting and have therefor taken a total of three showers

- lazied about in bed because the wireless connection is better in there

- played mahjong til i felt disoriented from looking at all the tiles
- ate a grilled cheese sandwich at coney island

- turned left when i was supposed to turn right

- dropped off my application and resume at the too cool-for-me-to-work-at market

- wished clayton a happy tenth birthday, i am officially old

- got sassy with toby at borders, his words not mine

- drank a terrible white tea juice combination from the borders cafe

- sang badly to an oasis song in the car

Later I will:

- roadtrip to brighton with toby, lady dana and maybe kevin

- feign interest in the red wings game while being ridiculously interested in buffalo wings

- chomp food politely

- judge a patron at buffalo wild wings for being obese

- contemplate ordering a beer, but decide my guts cant handle it

- sip on water

- get tired and yawn a lot, maybe burp a few times too

- sleep forever minus forever

Goals?

- be good

- that is all

Thoughtful Thursday

If Toby is cleaning this usually means that I have done something to frustrate, anger or annoy him and he is doing his best to avoid confrontation of the matter. After cleaning, he will preoccupy himself with a book, play on his computer and/or put as much distance as possible between the two of us . While doing this he walks heavier, accentuates any movement made and when interaction is necessary, speaks rhetorically and abruptly, as if it is the biggest inconvenience in the world to do so. Eventually I will make my move to either lighten the situation, forge the gap between us, or sometimes just do the apologizing. Though this often makes me the person taking full responsibility, and often apologizing for things for which I am not sorry, I also feel that I often come out the bigger person.

And they say being passive aggressive is a flaw. . .

Today I:

- actually slept in until almost ten. i haven't done that since moving here, must be i'm finally adjusting to this new apartment.

- had flax plus waffles and syrup for breakfast and didn't crave orange juice for hours afterwards.

- took a quick shower, but sugar scrubbed my entire body.

- kissed toby.

- walked in the rain to the ugly mug for coffee with toby so he could do student loan stuff and i could do some reading. then walked back home in heavier rainfall.

- found out i am not actually connected to ypsi wireless, but hijacking some other persons internets. oops.

-changed into a monochromatic outfit of gray stretch pants and a gray tank top. impressive, i know!

- was tickled. literally.

- wrote a passive aggressive post about my passive aggressive relationship with a passive aggressive boyfriend. awesome!

Later I will:

- tumbl like crazy! rainy days always make me crave photography inspiration.

- concoct a dinner plan out of what grocery items we have in stock.

- consume at least two more cups of coffee.

- pee!

- watch one of our new MST3K tapes bought via Salvation Army.

- read the selby and wish i was cooler.

- feel bad about not being someone cooler.

- get over not being cooler and kiss toby.

- fall asleep to the sound of mopeds.

Goals?

- hang up some clothes

- be less ironic

- read beer advocate

Oberservations

I really like the community I just moved to. Walking and biking and farmers market-ing. although I haven't biked just yet, I still need a helmet for my clumsiness. a helmet that I will instantly cover in robot and star wars stickers. . . as soon as I unpack them.

I miss very little about Springfield, much less than I thought I would at least. just before I left I had this rush of sadness and desire to stay put, but I think that was me just becoming uncomfortable with the unfamiliar. As I have found out since being here only a week, this place is much more familiar to me than Springfield ever was in the entire year and half I lived there.

I'm good at collecting hobbies, but not so great at keeping them or excelling at them. I bought a ridiculously expensive camera, but I am too shy to go out and about to take pictures. I enjoy cooking and want to take classes, but I hardly ever like to eat what I make because food makes me a little nauseous. I want to do more with my art, but I'm afraid of criticism and I want to learn an instrument, but I'm lacking the patience. all of these things, I'm going to work on.

I worry about the most unnecessary things, but will turn a blind eye to things that I should be worried about. I don't like confrontation, but I don't like being walked all over either. Add this to the list of things that I should work on.

I'm really excited about my new life here.

And I love Toby a lot. . Not necessarily a new observation, but one that continues to grow. cheesy I know, but whatever.