"That" person

If you are lucky enough to still be in school like I am (total sarcasm), then you will know who I am talking about. Or you can remember from your recent college classes. That person in class who has something to say. About everything. And I mean everything. Lucky for me, I have a few people like this whom I have had the pleasure to have classes with over the past year and a half. I don't know what it is about special ed, but it seems to attract some interesting characters.

The first is the "know-it-all." Nobody likes the know-it-all. Nobody. I don't care if you don't have a life outside of school, don't come to class on the first day having already read the first two chapters of the book and proceed to ask a question about what the author meant on page 25. It makes the rest of us look like fools, even though no teacher really expects the class to be that prepared, especially after summer break.

The next is the "talker." The talker finds the need to comment on everything the teacher says, either in the form of a question, or just a statement, such as, "yea I totally know what you mean." (yes, that happened in my class last night. multiple times.) First of all, the teacher knows what she is talking about and doesn't need your moral support. Second of all, we don't need your comments to prolong our 2 and a half hour class any longer.  This certain girl is also a chronic "nodder." I am lucky enough to sit behind her, and she nods the entire class. I suppose she is trying to convey to the teacher that she really is paying attention and wants to be noticed for that, but for the rest of us, sitting there watching her head bob is slightly annoying. Good thing she sits in the front so she can't see us roll out eyes every time she opens her mouth. This girl is obviously a habitual offender, as everyone in our program dreads having class with her.

I only have 3 more classes left for my degree. Which means I only have to make it through this last semester with the know-it-all and the talker. May the force be with me.

You Need Popsicles. Duh.

I was babysitting on Saturday and we were over at my apartment, playing the Wii (during which I lost in a best-of-5 tennis match. to a 5 year old. talk about demoralizing). While taking a short break, the little boy went over to my fridge to scope out what I had. After not finding anything he wanted in the refrigerator, he asked me if I had any popsicles in my freezer. When I told him that unfortunately, I did not, he look at me and very matter-of-factly stated, "Well you need to get some."
I guess in a 5 year old's mind, popsicles are a staple and it's just crazy to think that some people don't always have a supply in the freezer. How could I have made that mistake?!

Did she, or didn't she?

Don't get me wrong--I am all about reading about celebrities and their exciting news, such as who wore what last night, who went out on a date with so and so, who's having a baby, who broke up with whom...you get the gist. There are some stories that are just totally pointless though. Case in point: "Did Katie Holmes Get a Wrist Tattoo?" Well if she did, good for her. If she didn't, even better for her. For readers like me: I don't care. It's obvious that there is nothing that important going on in Hollywood today, if a story about a possible wrist tattoo is the leading story on a Friday afternoon. Can't the writers at least come up with something juicy, like that Lindsay Lohan got busted again or that Kim K is already has a baby bump?! (neither of which are true, but one can hope...)

Happy Friday!

A Great Combination

What is this great combination, you ask? Well, it is the combo of "free" and "Chick-fil-a." Yes, I said it. Free Chick-fil-a. The week of September 6-10, Chick-fil-a is giving away free breakfast to those who make an online reservation. Go to this website to sign up, starting August 29th. I know it's a little premature, but you can go ahead and mark it on your calendar to sign up!

If you insist.

Songs for the ride

When getting ready for a long car ride, I often think about what I need to do to keep myself entertained. This usually involves making some new playlists on my ipod, getting a book on cd, and/or having a long list of friends to call and chat with. Every time I make a new playlist (as I did for my recent 6 hour drive down to the beach) it never fails: I will listen to that playlist and then somehow I make my way back to my standard "solo car ride songs" which include, but are not limited to:

1. Anything and everything by Celine Dion. With accompanying vocals by me, of course. Power of Love, All By Myself, I Want You to Need Me...I could go on and on....

2. A few of the late 1990s boy band hits, such as Bye, Bye, Bye from 'Nsync, and Quit Playin' Games with my Heart or I Want it that Way by the wonderful Backstreet Boys

3. Mariah Carey. She's in the same group as Celine Dion...anything and everything....Fantasy, Honey, My All...and many more

4. A new addition to this crowd is Beyonce. Girl can sing. Songs like Halo, Listen (from Dreamgirls), and of course Single Ladies will definitely be played in my car.

Basically, I make playlists in vain because it's inevitable that I am going to fall back on these three selections for the majority of the car ride. If you see me driving, I will be that girl who is obviously belting a song at the top of her lungs, holding up a fake microphone and pretending I am Mariah.

Son of a beach

In just 2 days, I will begin my mini-vacation at the beach...a much-awaited long weekend in Garden City. In anticipation of the upcoming trip, I started to wonder what it is about "the beach" that people love. It doesn't really matter what beach you are talking about--for some people, the beach is Pawley's Island. For others, it's Hilton Head or Sea Island (never been to either...anyone who has a house feel free to extend the invitation to moi). And I'm sure there are people out west who look forward to going to a beach in California somewhere (again, anyone with a house, I am available any weekend). So, it doesn't really matter which beach it is, just that there is a good mixture of sand, ocean, and sun.

Over the years, I have heard quite a few different stories about why "the beach" is "the bomb" and here are just a few:
1. The salty air helps clear up your sinuses, so unconsciously people like being at the beach because it helps clear their head...and the salty air makes you really appreciate your windshield wipers when you spray off that salty film on your car.
2. The sunshine contains vitamin D, which helps make you happier. And then, when you get too much sun, that aloe stuff is really cool to rub on your skin.
3. It's a great opportunity to catch up on summer reading...or to pretend to be reading and totally judge everyone in a bathing suit that walks by while hiding behind your sunglasses.

and

4. When you go to the beach in SC, you are so glad you aren't visiting the Jersey Shore.

I will be happily soaking up my vitamin D this week while laying out, thinking, "son of a beach, it just can't get any better than this!"

A Well I Bless My Soul...

According to msnbc, this week is Elvis Week. I don't know about everyone else, but as I child, I could not get enough of this heartthrob. He was my main squeeze for quite a few years of my life in the early 1990s. According to my memory, Elvis' Golden Records was not only the first tape I had, but also the first CD I had. Apparently, I wanted to be able to listen to him on my walkman and on my discman (but then again, who doesn't??)

With a cover like this one, who wouldn't want to have multiple copies laying around???

Not only did I enjoy listening to Elvis (which in itself is pretty odd for a 6 or 7 year old), I had a dance or two (or three) made up to some of his songs. My all-time favorite is, without a doubt, All Shook Up. For anyone who is unfamiliar with this gem of a song, please go here. If only I had a home video to show everyone my amaaaazzinngg moves! I am 99% sure that I could still do this dance, or at least the majority of it, right now. I still enjoy a plethora of Elvis tunes on my iPod today, so in honor of Elvis Week, I suggest everyone put on their Blue Suede Shoes, find a Hound Dog, go to Heartbreak Hotel, get All Shook Up, and do the Jailhouse Rock!!



Summer Reading

In between my summer school classes, I have been trying to do a lot of reading this summer. I have about a month off right now between summer school and fall classes starting, so I have been a reading machine. I read the Stieg Larsson trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. This trilogy of books was flat out amazing. Although I blew through the last book in about 3 days (while working 9-5....so I went home and read from approximately 5:30-11:30 each night. sweet life, huh?), I was quite upset that there will not be any more books in this series. The next series I want to tackle is The Hunger Games. It's currently in my queue at the library, so hopefully I will be able to pick that up and read before school starts back at the end of August...because once school starts, the whole 'reading for pleasure' thing ends abruptly.

In other news, I am at work and we listen to the radio, set on 102.5 which is a mix of 80s, 90s and today, and Livin' La Vida Loca is on. Thank you, Ricky Martin, for making my Monday much more enjoyable!

Don't Mess With Hershey's

Browsing today's news, I stumbled across this article. Apparently, some hacker thought it would be funny to hack into the Hershey's website and alter some of the company's cookie recipes they have posted.
These were the first thoughts that came to my mind:
1. Seriously?! Who does that?
2. What benefit does this provide to that hacker? The satisfaction that somewhere out there, there are frustrated people trying to figure out why their cookies are too gooey? Or too dry? Really? C'mon.
3. Whoever did this definitely has wayyy too much free time.
As for me, I will stick to the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag--don't think a hacker can get to that one!

You Paid What?!

The other day I was browsing through my usual websites I go to, checking out the latest, really important news, such as people.com and usmagazine.com. Well, I stumbled across this picture

from here

of Ashley Olsen. I didn't really think much of it, since as we all know, the Olsen twins are known for their shabby chic look (which quite often looks like they just rolled out of bed to me). After perusing the world wide web a little more, I learned that not only is Ashley looking like she lives in Asheville, NC, she is also carrying a $39,000 crocodile backpack from her and her sister's own line, The Row. I just about choked on my water when I read that. $39,000?!? Is that a joke?! Apparently crocodile is a major luxury and it takes a skilled person to make a nice bag out of it, but really...$39,000?!

No thanks, I'll take a new car for that price.