My morning drive was highly improved this morning when the all-time greatest hair band “love song that’s really not a love song if you listen to the lyrics” anthem came on the radio. Can anyone drive while listening to this and not belt it out like you’re JBJ himself on stage? (The answer is probably - but I don’t want to be friends with those people) Definitely a welcome addition to the morning commute. Sidenote: that morning commute will be getting approximately an hour and ten minutes shorter in less than two weeks. Pretty soon I’ll have a drive that barely has time for Bon Jovi singalongs, so I’ll enjoy them while I can. 
(Sidenote 2: I’m not entirely positive I haven’t posted this video before…but it’s always worth another look)
Til the Heavens Burst and the Words Don’t Rhyme… October 25, 2011
People Should Smile More October 9, 2011
I mean, it’s pretty self-explanatory, and definitely more than a little cheesy. But I figured it was a good message to return to blogland with after a two month hiatus. Smile more, friends. It can’t hurt, right?
Facebook-free: Reflections on Week 1 August 15, 2011
WHY THE HELL DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF??!??!?!?!?!
OK, so that’s not really how I’m feeling right now, although I’m sure people would not be surprised if it was. It’s been almost a week since I made the ultimate sacrifice. The responses I’ve received have all been pretty similar. “Wow” or “good luck” or “Oh no, why????” and (pretty much from every single person) “that’s nice, I could NEVER do that”. All totally expected. I won’t lie, it’s been difficult. I have to figure out what to do with myself while driving now that I don’t have a newsfeed to read (information that should make you feel very comfortable if you’re ever traveling i95 at rush hour), and I’ve had no fewer than 5 different opportunities pop up where I needed an email, address, picture, etc and had to determine how to find those the old-fashioned way instead. It’s like living in 2003 all over again…you know, if I had Twitter, bbm, foursquare, Google+ and Gchat in 2003. Clearly it’s a rough life I’m living. Here, a few rambling thoughts and reflections on the first week of Facebook freedom:
- I’m starting to develop this complex – now that I’m not reading what everyone’s saying, everything that’s being said is somehow a negative comment directed toward me: “The bitch isn’t here to see what we REALLY have to say about her – let’s make it a free for all!” I am fully aware that paranoid doesn’t even begin to describe this feeling, and I am giving myself WAY too much credit by assuming that even when I’m not talking to people about not being on Facebook they’re spending their precious time thinking about the fact that I’m not on Facebook….but I can’t help it. I’ve cut off a direct line to a majority of the communications taking place between everyone I know, and in my mind anything I’m not privy to is something I should probably be concerned about. This is probably indicative of a much larger issue. We should move on immediately
- On a similar note, it dawned on me that some people might be just as annoyed with my comments, statues and pictures as I am with other people’s comments, statuses and pictures. This realization alone probably added another week – minimum – to this project
- I quickly learned that I’ve eliminated myself from serious amounts of contest winning possibilities. Thank you Home Goods. I didn’t want a house makeover anyway. I don’t even have a house. I just wanted to win $5,000 to put toward sparkly bowls and champagne glasses. (I’m going to have to make sure I return before that contest is over….)
- It figures. Last Tuesday (the same day as I decided to deactivate, mind you) I found out I’d be traveling to the Final Four in New Orleans for work. Extremely exciting and SO freaking Facebook worthy, if for no other reason than to make my brothers and guy friends jealous. Part of me is bummed I couldn’t share this fun news with the world and another part of me is wondering if the two are connected and I’d be twice as far in my career if I had done this two years ago…
- I sat in traffic in the rain while heading home the other day, thinking: “normally, I’d be sitting here reading statuses on my blackberry and I’d be annoyed because as I’m sitting in the rain 70% of the statuses would be about the fact that it’s raining.” And really, that’s just a waste of brain cells. Still a teeny tiny part of me was sad that I couldn’t read my friends’ pointless rain comments. (I’m sure that in the very likely situation that 70% of my friends’ statuses were about rain, this post comes off highly accurate but really bitchy. I should probably also mention that my examples in these posts, such as my Disney World photos reference the other day, are hypothetical situations that just coincidentally apply to a large amount of people I’m friends with. Felt like a necessary disclaimer. Carry on)
- I’m getting nervous that I’m never going to remember anyone’s birthday. Not my closest people – I know most of those by heart and even when I don’t always remember the exact date, they’re all in five different calendars already anyway. No, I’m more worried about the outer circle – the people I’d write birthday messages to that would be slightly more meaningful than a “Happy bday!” from my phone (don’t fool yourselves, people definitely put WAY less importance on a message with a little phone symbol after it) but who I might not mail a card to. You know, the people I probably would talk to once every two years if Facebook didn’t exist to begin with. The ones who might make note if you DID send a birthday message but wouldn’t even realize if you didn’t. And yes, I am fully aware that this final bullet point if fully indicative of the extreme amount of over-analyzing that I am putting into…um, everything. In life. At every moment….
It should be noted that I will obviously be reactivating for my birthday regardless of how successful this “experiment” is (if I haven’t already, and since that’s still a good 7 months away I don’t have high hopes). My self-esteem is not nearly high enough to skip out on hundreds of forced, meaningless birthday messages. Plus I highly doubt I’ll have anything left to write about at that point anyway.
***Editor’s note: the Facebook experiment lasted just shy of 3 weeks. This information most likely negates 2/3 of the information in these entries, but hey, I proved that I could do it, at least for a little while. That’s got to count for something…
Facebook-Free: Day 1 August 9, 2011
I did something ridiculous today. Something on a whim, something very few other people not concerned about government background checks have willingly done. Finally at the point where it seemed more beneficial to just make it go away altogether instead of attempting to hide or defriend every single person whose updates made me want to punch a baby, I made the ultimate sacrifice this morning: I deactivated my Facebook account.
I know what you’re thinking. It’s just a quarter-life crisis, a drama queen moment, a cry for attention. “I know Justin Timberlake’s acting was horribly painful in ‘The Social Network’ but that’s no reason to drop the entire system on which it was based”, you’re probably saying. Well, maybe. But really this serves two specific purposes: to give myself a break from 24/7 access to everyone I’ve ever met - for my own personal sanity – and to prove to myself that I’m actually capable of doing so, so that if I do return (if? let’s be serious) I can cut down on the dependency and find a better balance between the actual, tangible things in front of me and things floating out there in cyberspace. Also, it’s really hard to Facebook safely while floating in my new pool.
I have a sudden sense of relief that I no longer need to pretend I’m interested in someone’s vacation pictures (“Oh yeah, I saw those pictures from Disney World! They were amazing….amazingly similar to the other 14 albums of Disney World pictures people have posted this month”). I will no longer be annoyed by the fact that apparently 58% of everyone I know in this world is incapable of putting together a grammatically correct, coherent sentence. I can breathe easily knowing I will no longer feel stressed by whatever nonsense drama other people are experiencing, drama that ten years ago I never would have even KNOWN about, let alone had to suffer along with them. It’s a good feeling. I am confident and happy with my decision.
Of course, it’s only been an hour.
Music for a Monday August 8, 2011
Oh Brooklyn, Brooklyn, take me in
Are you aware the shape I’m in
Love them. Love this video. LOVE LOVE this song. (It’s especially appropriate since Brooklyn and I have an extensive, complicated love-hate relationship). A little lovely ear candy to start off the week…
Dammit Kim, Get Your Own Ideas June 6, 2011
There’s already a laundry list of reasons I can’t stand the Kardashians (celebrity statuses based on sex tapes, apparent lack of anything resembling talent, pole dancing classes for 12 year old siblings, unlimited acceses to Brody Jenner) – but now, there’s a new and unexpected item to add: Kim K is ripping me off.
At the recent party to celebrate their in-no-way-contrived-and-absolutley-guaranteed-to-last engagement, Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries Kardashian brought in what Ke$ha and I have only dreamt of: GLITTER. COVERED. PONIES. As in - small, whimsical animals, sprinkled with sparkles, wearing flowery leis to boot. Now I’m not saying she directly took this idea from me; up until this moment I had never even realized glitter ponies were an option. But obviously if glitter ponies ARE a feasible option, and Ke$ha has not already claimed them, I’m pretty sure I should be the one to have them escorted into one of my parties. (This is backed up by the slightly overwhelming number of people who made the statement”I saw the glitter ponies and thought of you!”) Not only have I missed out on this opportunity but I’m now forced to come up with something even bigger, better and more sparkly. Thanks a lot Kim.
On an unrelated note, anyone know approximately how much glitter would be needed to cover a private jet?
Kris Humphries Kardashian shows that clearly the only thing to wear while displaying your glitter ponies is a man cardigan
Cupcake amazingness, take 2 April 16, 2011
Around this same time last year I introduced the world (well the world or, you know, the couple dozen people who read this blog and my facebook posts) to an event that forever changed how we interact with cupcakes. Today I received the details of the 2nd installment of my new favorite holiday – New Haven Cupcake Camp!
We weren’t fully prepared last year – there was a lot of sugar, a lot of chocolate, a lot of concoctions no one had seen before….and a lot of cupcake intoxication. We had endless options of deliciousness but were quickly overwhelmed and just as quickly very, very full. This year we will be prepared. On Saturday, October 22nd, we will remember that the prettiest things are often not the most delicious, that we need to split cupcakes to sample (delicious AND green!) and we will pace ourselves better for maximum cupcake enjoyment. And it will be even more glorious than before.
Lovely ladies & lovely sugar overload
Tuesday Throwback Tunes April 5, 2011
While driving into work this morning, I found the graduation cd I made for my friends in high school. What. A. Gem. There are some painfully cheesy songs on there, some stereotypical school ending/moving on songs, some era-appropriate songs (Eve 6, anyone?), and of course, the prom song that never was….
Once upon a time, a group of bubbly Catholic school girls voted Carol King’s “Now and Forever”, a song from the soundtrack to A League of Their Own, as their prom song (or it might have been the graduation song, it was a long time ago so there’s no way of really knowing. And really, who cares). Everything was right with the world until the nuns at said Catholic academy attended a “learn about the new drugs the kids are into” seminar and were informed of the horrors of ecstasy, and how 97.4% of all high school students were doing E daily in the parking lot. Little did Carol King know that when she wrote a seemingly harmless lyric stating “Didn’t we find the ecstasy?” for a girl power 1940s baseball movie, she would be denying herself the privilege of becoming a prom song choice for dozens of Connecticut high school girls. Because clearly, using a word in a different context that is in no way drug-related will push the remaining 2.6% over the club drug edge. I’m sure that’s a decision she has to live with every day.
Better Than Ezra Was Right – It WAS Good March 24, 2011
Ever notice how things that you haven’t seen/heard/thought about in a really long time pop up randomly, and then pop up again and again until you forget about them again (momentarily)? This song came over my internet radio at work. I was obsessed with this in 5th grade-ish. Back then it was played constantly on the original all-time greatest alt rock station, Radio104 (RIP…yes, it has technically been reincarnated, but without Dee Snider as morning DJ and with the amount of Fallout Boy songs that pop up, it’s just not the same). Anyway, it was ironic because I also recently found a mix CD from sometime back in the day with that song on it. My Better than Ezra intake has grown 200% lately.
Fun fact – this song was in the trailer for the “Babysitter’s Club” movie. So there you go, good tunes AND some trivia to stump your friends. I was feeling generous today.
Tunes for Tuesday March 14, 2011
Anyone paying attention knows I love me some Mum & Sons more than is probably healthy, but I’ve been giving extra extra attention to “White Blank Page” lately. I have it on repeat while I’m sitting in traffic in the morning. Amazing in a haunting and painful way – but hey, isn’t that what usually makes the best songs?
