Blogging

Finding Things to Write at a Time Like This

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If I were to create a common phrase for my blog, it would be, “Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve written a post.” It’s definitely the single most popular phrase here because WOW it has been a long time since I wrote a post! Like always, life got in the way. I was returning to my old job, moving back home, and planning a wedding. Writing took a backseat to everything else.

Then the entire world stopped, and like everyone else, I was completely numb. The thought of writing filled me with anxiety, and the last thing I needed was more anxiety. I also felt that there was no need for my blog. My blog posts usually fall into two categories: either it’s updates on what’s going on with my life, or I’m sarcastically bitching about trivial things. Well, since March, my life has been an endless stream of sameness. There’s nothing to update. And bitching about trivial things during this time is not only annoying but also incredibly tone-deaf.

A million blog posts have run through my head late at night like they always do. But by the time morning rolls around, I’ve either completely lost most of what I wanted to write or realized that it wasn’t nearly as profound as my half-awake brain thought.

But alas, here I am once again writing a post after a long ass time. I miss my blog. I miss writing. I miss you guys. And right now, there are too many things in life that I miss and have no way of getting back. At least writing is something I have control over. Something I can do safely with no fear I’ll be getting myself or someone else I love sick. So here’s to more writing!

I hope everyone is safe and doing well!

Reasons for Blogging

OMG you guys, guess what?! This post is number 100! Considering that I’ve been blogging since April of 2014 (over 1100 days), I shouldn’t be too proud of that number. But Goddamit, let me have this!

It’s been quite the journey. 33,415 views. 21,935 visitors. 2,365 comments. 2,304 followers. 100 posts.

You guys have been with me through a lot. Multiple dates. Endless heartaches. Moving struggles. Falling in love with someone new. Going back to school. Starting a new job. Struggling, figuring it out, and then struggling again with this whole adult thing.

When I started, I assumed my sisters would read it, a few of my friends I harassed, maybe my mom. I never imagined I’d actually make friends from blogging and connect with so many different people.

I want to thank every single person who took the time out to visit, share, like, or comment. You have no idea how much it means to me.

You guys allow me to keep this little diary running. And that’s really all my blog is: a personal diary that I’ve decided to share with the world. I can look back at posts and remember exactly what I was going through during that period. As someone who stopped keeping an actual diary at the age of 8, it’s a really great thing to have.

For my 100th post, I’d like to look back at some of my favorite posts. (Is that lazy? It may be a little lazy but this is my blog so I’ll do what I want. I promise I’ll try to make it interesting.) I wanna look back at my favorite posts and relive how things were then. Recognize how much has changed and how in many cases things are still exactly the same.

Am I too young to be so bitter? – While this isn’t my first post ever, I feel like this is the one that started it all. With 588 likes and 369 comments, it is by far my most popular. This post makes me laugh now because I’m complaining about student debt and just a few months later I went back to school and doubled the amount I owe.

Questions I ask myself regularly since becoming an “adult” – Guess what? These are still questions I ask myself regularly. Anyone have the answers?

Returning to school after a long break – Ah, returning back to school. At this point, it seems like a lifetime ago. But I remember how stressful and overwhelmed I felt. It was basically an entire year and a half of wanting to drown myself in bleach.

Getting in a new relationship after being single forever – The introduction to JR. This was a post I was so nervous to write because writing about it made it real. But I am glad I finally did. My relationship with JR is such a special part of my life and I loved sharing some of it with you.

A letter to my 20-year-old self – I went into my 20s with so many expectations. And so many of those expectations did not happen. However, by the time I turned 30, most of those expectations and goals I had did not matter. I entered my 30s with a whole new vision for my life which I’m sure reality is ready to laugh at. I’m sure the letter to my 30-year-old self will be filled with the list of things that did not go the way I planned.

10 life lessons for people in their twenties – Late twenties, early thirties, teens, nineties. I don’t think there is any age limit for these lessons.

Dating shouldn’t be this exhausting – This post was written when I was ready to give up on dating. It was right after things ended with this guy I was dating. It was less than two months before my first date with JR. Boy am I glad I did not give up when I wanted to.

Dating advice from someone who is horrible at it – The funny thing about this post is that it came just 10 days before the “dating is exhausting” post. I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m horrible. But as sucky as I am at dating, I do think I give some pretty good advice. There’s a reason friends come to me when they’re having problems.

Facebook when you first joined versus now – This post was a shameless plug. And now I’m including it as a shameless plug. (My blog, my rules.) Follow me on Facebook!

Twenty-nine is a very strange age – Twenty-nine was a really confusing age for me. I found my late twenties to be even more confusing than my earlier ones. Twenty-nine was a rough age and this post was my attempt at putting it into words.

Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Blog

I started this blog on April 1, 2014. It was just a little over a month after my 28th birthday. I was working a dead end job. A job that I did love because I worked with some amazing people but it was going nowhere. I had absolutely no benefits and was barely living paycheck to paycheck. I was also living in a basement. (Yep, I was the cliche creep literally blogging from her basement when I started this blog.) Additionally, I was incredibly single. Probably the most single I’ve ever been since I went on my first date ever.

In those past two years, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. But that was kind of the whole point of this blog. It was me struggling with still being a fumbling twenty-something and having no idea what I want to do with my life. I was always hoping that when I hit that 30 milestone things would start to look up.

Well, it turns out that the big 3-0 is almost here. I have a lot of friends that jokingly ask me what I’ll call my blog after my birthday next month. (It’s February 25th for anyone who wants to send me presents!) “I Am 30 Now” doesn’t really have the right ring to it. I’m not feeling “I’m Not 20 Anymore” either. So for anyone wondering what’s going to happen to this blog’s name after my birthday, nothing will be happening. This will still be “Am I Thirty?” You all can rest easy now. You’re welcome.

I am a pessimist at heart and sometimes feel that if I get too excited about something, I’ll only be let down. But if I’m being honest with myself, things are really looking up for me at the moment. I may be heading into my thirties with not as much dread as I thought I would. I officially graduated from grad school and have my MLS degree. I was just rereading my About Me page and this is what I wrote: I am in grad school for Library and Information Science. I hope to be done the fall of this year. I eventually want to work with children or young adults in a public library. Well I earned that degree this fall and starting Monday I will be working as a Young Adult Librarian for the Brooklyn Public Library. (I still can’t really believe that I got the exact job I wanted right after graduating.) I am also finally able to move back out of my dad’s apartment. I had to move back home when I started school but now with my new fancy job, I am looking for places so I can live on my own again. I am still a single gal but I feel like this past year has taught me a lot about dating. I’ve finally started to figure out the things I’m doing wrong and what I do want in a relationship. There is a boy in the picture. A really nice boy who’s tall and makes me laugh. We’ve only gone on two dates so I wouldn’t call it anything at the moment. But I do know that I am going to give him a proper chance, not obsess over every little thing, and not run away the second I find one little thing about him I don’t like.

I named this blog “Am I Thirty?” on a whim. It was more to joke about the theory that once you’re in your thirties you have it all figured out. Being less than two months from thirty, I can already tell you that theory is bull. We will never have it all figured out no matter how old we are or how perfect our lives seem on social media.

I have no expectations that things are going to be perfect this next year. My job is going to be difficult and it’s going to take a lot of time and energy to get used to this brand new position. I live in NYC so even with a real job, I will not be able to afford some amazing apartment. And yes, most of my furniture will still be coming from IKEA. Also, who knows where things will end up with nice, tall boy who makes me laugh.

The name and the major themes of this blog are not going to change just because I’ll no longer be in my twenties. Sure, I feel like I’m moving towards the right direction and for once have a grasp on what I want to do with my life. I’m also a lot more confident in myself than I’ve ever been before. But I don’t have that “picture perfect, shit all together” life so many think they’ll have by the time they’re thirty.

So don’t worry about this blog going away or changing it’s tune just cause I’ll be thirty soon. Maybe, if I’m going to make any change, I should change the blog name to “Am I Sure I’m Thirty?”

TBT: Don’t Ever Give Me a Pet Hamster

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This may come as a shock to some of you but there are times when I have no idea what in the world to write about on this blog. Considering how OFTEN I post on here, I’m sure this is incredibly shocking news. With the frequency of my posts, you’d think the ideas are flowing out of me day and night.

Since all of that was clearly sarcasm and I never post frequently on this blog, I’ve decided to change things up a bit by bringing you a new segment I like to call: Throwback Thursday.

I never actually participate in Throwback Thursday on social media. (#TBT for all you cool kids!) I went through an awkward stage from ages 5 to 25. No one wants to see pics of me when I was younger. But stories of a ridiculous childhood can be hilarious and make for fantastic blog posts. That’s why I bring to you the first in my Throwback Thursday series: My disastrous history with pet hamsters. emma watson pet hamster

Oh Emma Watson, I have never related to you so much before. I have had three pet hamsters in my lifetime and they have all died tragic deaths. One was murdered and the other two committed suicide.

I’m a horrible person and cannot actually remember the names of my pet hamsters. Maybe that’s why they killed themselves. They’d rather be dead than have me as their owner. Hamster #1 was the first one to kill himself.

I was good to Hamster #1. I played with him after school every day. He had a nice big cage with a wheel which was perfect for when he wanted to have fun and lose a little weight. He even got one of those clear plastic balls he could roll around the house in. This bastard had everything a little hamster could want but it just wasn’t good enough.

Hamster #1 loved his little hamster wheel. He would play it in at all hours. At least, I always thought he played on it cause he loved it. In reality, he was planning his escape. His escape from this world and the overzealous love of an eight-year-old enjoying their first pet. I woke up one morning to find Hamster #1 lying next to the hamster wheel with a broken neck. Over twenty years later and I still remember the look of fear on his dead face. I live with that image to this day.

My precious parents tried to convince me that he must have fallen off the hamster wheel while it was still turning and got stuck. But I knew better. This bastard was preparing for this all along. He trained on that hamster wheel we lovingly placed in his cage to see how fast he could go. Once he hit maximum speed, he dove head first into that metal hamster wheel of doom! No one will ever be able to convince me it happened any other way.

You’d think that after seeing one hamster murder itself, I’d be done. You’d think wrong. In fact, after that debacle, I got two more hamsters. I thought if only Hamster #1 had a friend maybe he wouldn’t have killed himself.

Enter Hamster #2 and Hamster #3. (I’m still an evil bastard who cannot remember their names.) And it was a horrible disaster from the very beginning. This was no match made in heaven. They absolutely hated one another. Apparently they thought their clear glass cage was a steel cage set for no-holds-barred fights. Several times we caught them in a bloody mess after fighting.

A normal family would have bought a second cage and called it day. Easy solution! I don’t have a normal family. Our solution? Take a giant textbook and place it in the middle of the cage to separate these wannabe MMA hamsters.

The textbook divider worked for a little bit, until it didn’t anymore. One night I was at my friend’s house getting ready to enjoy a sleepover when I got a devastating call from my father. Apparently someone, in their haste to separate the dueling monsters, smashed Hamster #2 with the book. I wish I were kidding. Someone in my family, someone that I trusted, murdered Hamster #2 in cold blood. To this day no one in my family has ever come clean but I think I know who it is. I bet it was my older sister. She’s my favorite person in the world now but when we were younger, she was pure evil. (Maybe I’ll tell you some horror stories of having an older sister in the next edition of TBT.)

So the murder of Hamster #2 goes down as one of the country’s greatest unsolved mysteries and it left me with just Hamster #3. You’d think that after witnessing her arch-nemesis being murdered, she’d be happy. You’d think she’d be dancing around like the munchkins singing “Ding Dong the witch is dead.” Apparently she wasn’t happy. Maybe she was angry that she wasn’t the one who got to do the killing.

So Hamster #3 becomes the second hamster I own to murder itself. I come home from school so excited to play with my one hamster that hasn’t tragically died yet, only to see her sound asleep in the corner of her cage. Being the nice pet owner that I am, I let her sleep. Several hours pass and I think either my hamster has turned into Rip Van Winkle or something is up.

I tap the glass and nothing happens. In my heart, I knew she was dead. That’s the fate of the hamsters in my world. But I wasn’t brave enough to find it out for myself. I call my dad over to investigate. He turns poor little Hamster #3 over and we find a wood chip buried deep inside her stomach. The wood chips I lovingly laid on the bottom of the cage so she’d have a comfy place to sleep were used as a weapon to kill. Once again my parents tried to convince me that this was all an accident. She was just trying to get comfortable when one of those killer wood chips plowed into her. Freak accident. But I knew better. One freak accident, maybe. But after three dead hamsters, I was done.

I didn’t get another hamster after that. I couldn’t do it. It was pretty obvious that I was cursed to live out the rest of my days hamster-less. Future children (if I ever have you) please never ask for a hamster. The answer is no cause I shudder to think what new ways these hamsters would find to commit suicide.

Don’t Show Chris Hansen My Search History

You guys! I finished it! Well almost finished it! I handed in the first draft of my thesis to my Professor! All 50+ pages! (Yea, I’m being a bit excessive with the exclamation points! Deal with it!!!) I just got her comments back. A few minor changes need to be made and then it’s completed! It’s the final step I need to take before I am officially done with school!

Writing my thesis has been an experience. It probably would have been easier if I wasn’t such a procrastinator. But I wait till the last minute; it’s in my nature. My thesis was on ways the library can promote literacy in young boys. So naturally my search history has been interesting. Lots of searches dealing with young boys. Taken out of context it could look very suspicious. But I swear Chris Hansen, I just want to get boys reading more!

I’ve gotten really creative these past couple of months coming up with everything but my thesis to do. I started a list on IMDB of every movie I’ve ever seen and realized that I watch a lot of ridiculous movies. (Why have I watched Cruel Intentions 2?) I also spent a lot of time going through my stats on this site, particularly the search terms.

It made me realize that a lot of people have come to my blog looking for something and I don’t think they’ve found the answers yet. I’m sure some were satisfied. Like the person looking for “how to get over an almost relationship” and the one wanting to find out about “growing up in Brooklyn.” I hope you random Internet searchers found what you’re looking for on my blog.

However, plenty of people wound up on my blog and I’m sure left with no answer. That is until now! I’m here to help all those people who came to my blog looking for answers that were nowhere to be found.

Search: how to get women back i said the f word to

Answer: I am going to assume that by f word you mean fuck. If you have a woman who was offended by the word food or football, you’re better off. No one needs that kind of negativity in their life. So you fucked up and used the f word in front of your lady friend. It happens to the best of us. My big issue is that you’re asking women instead of just one woman. Maybe focus on getting one lady back at a time. Oh, and probably lay off the f bombs when talking to your women.

Search: should i check to see if the lesbian i am dating is still online

Answer: I know you’re not supposed to assume (even though my dumb ass did it one paragraph earlier) but I am going to make an assumption here. I am guessing that you met a lady online and now that you two are dating, you want to see if she’s still on the online dating site. Pretty rational question and I think most of us who have dabbled in the online dating world can relate. I know for myself the temptation is too strong not to look. I make no secret that I am a creepy Internet stalker. You can look but I think there are a few things you need to consider before you react. If you guys JUST started dating (I’m talking less than 5 dates), then you can’t really get that mad about her profile still being up. If you have taken yours down and would like her to take hers down as well, then this could be an opportunity to have a talk with her about where things are going. If you guys already had a talk and agreed to delete the online dating site and you still find her profile up, then that’s a problem. You need to sit your lady down and have a chat cause that ain’t cool. Good luck! Online stalking is always scary cause you never know what you’re going to find.

Search: meaning netflix and chill

Answer: Netflix and chill means to throw on some sweatpants, pour a giant glass of wine, order a pizza, and watch 10 straight hours of your favorite TV show. That is the true meaning of Netflix and chill. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. You know the people who love to shout “I’m Keeping Christ in Christmas. Who’s With Me?” Well, I’m like that when it comes to Netflix and chill. I’m keeping the pants in Netflix and chill, who’s with me?

Search: do you think i procrastinate

Answer: You’re searching the Internet asking if you procrastinate instead of doing something productive with your time. I am going to have to go with a “Yes” on this one. But it’s all cool. I should be editing my thesis but instead I’m answering people who made random searches and will probably never wind up on my blog again.

Search: why do women take revealing photos

Answer: Cause they are in a long distance relationship and want to spice things up with their significant other. Cause they think they’re really hot. Cause they just want to. The possibilities are endless.

Search: am i old by 22

Answer: Fuck you! Sorry, I’m just kidding. Sort of. But seriously, are you really asking if you’re old at 22??!!?? Trust me! You are not old at 22. There is nothing about a 22-year-old that’s actually old.

Multiple Searches: zac efron penis; zac efron dick; zac efron cock; penis zac efron; zach ephron penis; efron penis; zac efron delicious penis; zac efron’s penis

Answer: Sorry, but I do not have the answer to what you’re looking for. But I do have some questions of my own. Why are so many people interested in finding Zac Efron’s penis? What is it about my blog that leads you here for your search for his penis? Have any of you come across his penis yet? If so, what’s he packing? (I’m a pervert and wouldn’t mind knowing these things.)

Get to Meet a Blogger and Her City

This is something new that I’ve never done before on the blog but I think it’ll be a lot of fun. All credit goes to Julie over at Julia Goolia (check out her blog, it’s awesome!). This was all her idea. But I think it’s a great way to learn more about a fellow blogger and get a glimpse into the city she lives in. And now if you ever find yourself visiting Cincinnati/Northern Kentucy you can check out this post to get some advice from someone who actually lives there. Here’s my Q&A with Julie about where she lives:

Have you lived in Cincinnati your whole life? Did you grow up there?
I actually do not live in Cincinnati, I live in Northern Kentucky (basically Cincinnati but with more free parking opportunities). I consider myself a Cincinnatian because I currently live about five minutes away from downtown. I can see downtown from my window and I can hear the fireworks from the Reds Stadium every Friday. I have always lived in Northern Kentucky (NKY) but I didn’t venture downtown until I was in college. Cincinnati used to be a somewhat scary place, and while it still has its moments, the city really has taken a turn for the better. I love downtown; I spend most of my spare time in Over the Rhine (OTR).

What would you say is the best thing about living there? What is the worst thing?
The best thing about Cincinnati/NKY is how you can still have a taste of downtown life. I’ve been to Chicago, and while Cincinnati is definitely not Chicago, I would say that Cincinnati is a pretend “large city” packed into a small space. There’s entertainment, bars and restaurants that are amazing but they’re not around every corner like New York or Chicago.

The worst thing about living in Cincinnati is what I mentioned above. I hate that we’re not really a “large city”. We only have so many options sometimes so you tend to frequent the same places and get burned out rather quickly. Hence why we sometimes go to NKY for bars/restaurants, you have to change it up once in a while and while smelling like smoke (since NKY still permits smoking in bars) is annoying, having free parking all the time is fabulous. Plus there’s this bar called The Crazy Fox Saloon which isn’t far from my house, so my friends and I like to hang there if we want a low key night.

Are you happy living in Cincinnati or is there somewhere else that you’d like to live?
I do love Cincinnati. When I was in grade school Cincinnati was dangerous, but now I’m proud to live in the area because of how much it has grown in the last five years. We recently had the All Star Game here and it really united the city. It was a great site to see. Plus, I’m in a city where beer and local breweries are aplenty, that’s kind of awesome. If I could live anywhere I’d probably choose London, England because I’m obsessed with their culture but I’d love to live in NYC for a year as well (even though I’ve never there before).

This is a personal thing but anytime I visit a new place I look for two things: a cupcake shop and a bookstore. What’s the best used bookstore and where’s the best place to get cupcakes in Cincinnati?
Oh this is a hard one. I’m a big library user, since I used to work at one for seven years, so I tend to not buy books as much since we have such a good supply. However, I do shop at Half Price Books a lot, it’s a chain place but each store is different. They have a myriad of DVDs, books, video games, comics and music. I noticed you don’t have one in New York, you are missing out! Sadly, independent bookstores are hard to come by downtown, though apparently there’s an Ohio Book Store and Duttenhofer’s Books that I still need to check out.

My favorite cupcake place is Abby Girl Sweets Cupcakery or Bon Bonnerie. Abby’s is right by Fountain Square (which is like the central icon of Cincinnati) so it’s easy to pick up and they switch their flavors a lot which is fun, but Bon Bonnerie is an overall bakery that will make you salivate upon entering their store. Both are good, but Bon Bonnerie would be my absolute top pick. Bon Bonnerie isn’t downtown though, which is unfortunate.

What is one of the most unique things to do in Cincinnati?
Ah, good question. That would definitely be our festivals. Our most notable celebration is our Oktoberfest festival which is held on Fountain Square. It’s the second largest Oktoberfest (Germany has the largest one) in the world! Also we have a Taste of Cincinnati festival, where all local restaurants have booths and you can try local food and drink and be merry!

What’s a food that Cincinnati is famous for and where’s the best place to get it?
We are known mainly for our chili, goetta and ice cream. I’m a weird “Cincinnatian” because I don’t like chili or goetta. However, people can have fights about what restaurant is better, Skyline Chili or Gold Star Chili. I personally don’t like chili or goetta. However, ice cream is like a second religion here. It’s incredible! We’re mostly known for our Graeter’s Ice Cream. It’s pretty much the best ice cream in the world. Yes, I am biased.

If someone wanted to relocate to Cincinnati, what are some things they should know before making the move?
If you’re moving to Cincinnati and you’re from a large city, you will either be relieved or completely distraught. We don’t have the best transportation system here, we are working on a streetcar right now, but we’re not the savviest with bus service. However, if you’re tired of big city life and want a tame taste of city life you are in business. The city is still a bit conservative (in the open to new ideas sense), but we’re working on that.

How bad are the winters?
It really depends. The last two were atrocious but three years ago there was no snow and it was the best! I hate winter so much that I try to pretend it doesn’t exist. It doesn’t work well, we had a lot of power outages, a lot of car wrecks and there were some days where we just stayed put for a weekend or so. However, many other states have it worse than us, I think we’re just terrible about organizing everything.

What are your top three favorite bars and restaurants?
Wow this is seriously tougher than I thought it would be. My top three in downtown Cincinnati (so this will be easier) are Shanghi Mama’s, because they are open ridiculously late and have good pad thai, Taste of Belgium has the best fried chicken and waffles and one of the best salad dressings I have ever tasted, and A Tavola has a yummy pizza (ask for the sea salt afterbake, you won’t be disappointed). Taste of Belgium and A Tavola can act as bars and all are reasonably priced.

Reasons Why I’m the Worst!

Just know that the above title is said with an “ugh” in front of it and the “o” in worst is stretched out as long as my vocal cords will allow. Because, “Ugh, I really am the absolute woooooorst!”

I fully condone people liking themselves. Way too many people struggle with insecurities that it’s nice to hear someone proclaim “I’m awesome.” But none of us are perfect, no matter how amazing things may seem on the surface. And sometimes we need to admit that we’re the worst!

The number one reason I am the worst? I have been severely neglecting this blog. Really badly. I haven’t posted in well over a month. I haven’t had time to catch up on any of the awesome blogs I follow. I can start spewing a million and one excuses (and they are some pretty good excuses: four classes with tons of homework, working two jobs, etc.) but it still doesn’t change the fact that I am the worst!

I apologize for the lack of activity lately. I am hoping to change that. And I do have a ton of finals and papers coming up which means my procrastinating ways will give me a lot of free time. Expect a post titled “Things to Do When You Should Be Writing a Paper” within the next few weeks.

Aside from the obvious lack of posting the last month or so, here are a few other things that make me the absolute wooorst!

1. I will laugh hysterically if I see you fall. Unless you are clearly injured badly, I will be on the floor with you cracking up. It doesn’t matter who you are. In fact, if you’re a small child, I may laugh harder. My sister has a video of my 2-year-old nephew running towards something excitedly and then falling on his ass. I have watched this video more times than I care to admit and it is never not funny!

2. I find it annoying when people cough, and do not get me started on when they clear their throat. I know this makes me an asshole. People cough. They may have something stuck in their throat. They may have a cold. No matter the reason, they should be able to cough without judgment. That’s why when someone is having a coughing fit right next to me, I don’t say anything (I’m not THAT much of an asshole). But just know that I’m internally screaming.

3. I have 5 Justin Bieber songs, 3 Paris Hilton songs, 2 Lindsay Lohan songs, and 1 Jennifer Love Hewitt song on my iPod. I don’t really think this needs any other explanation.

4. I have never seen a single Star Wars or Godfather movie! I know, blasphemous!

5. I absolutely hate chocolate covered pretzels. Anytime I say this to someone they look at me like I’m insane. And maybe I am. Maybe I’m missing something. But to me, chocolate covered pretzels are in the same category as chocolate covered crickets: both are an abomination and need to be stopped.

6. I am the worst procrastinator in the world. As of right now I still have 5 short essays, a 6-10 page paper with a presentation, a 3 page paper, a cataloging project, and a website with 4 distinct pages due before the end of the semester. Want to know what I’ve done so far? I’ve created to-do lists/outlines with the things I need to do. That’s it. I create these lists and then decide I’ve done enough work for the day. Definitely be on the lookout for that “Things to Do When a Paper’s Due” article any day now.

I’m WordPress Famous, Yo

Okay, okay, I’m not actually famous but let me have this. Let me just pretend. It’s been absolutely amazing and overwhelming the response I’ve gotten from my Am I Bitter? post. It’s funny you start a blog simply because you enjoy writing or have a passion for something. It’s mostly just for yourself. Maybe you’ll harass your friends and family, forcing them to read your latest post. You never imagine that anyone else will be reading your words. Total strangers taking time out of their day to see what you have to say. When that does happen, it’s pretty awesome. I genuinely want to thank everyone who took the time to read/comment/like my article. You guys made my weekend.

That post somehow even reached a producer on CBS. After reading my post, CBS contacted me about a story they’re working on. They came to my sister’s house this morning to interview me. That’s right, I’m gonna be on TV. I guess I CAN call myself famous. If you’re itching to see what the girl behind this blog looks and sounds like, then watch CBS Evening News this Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

On to other awesome news, I was nominated for a Liebster Award by the lovely blog Mind Of A Mermaid. How awesome is that? Some of you may not know what a Liebster Award is. (I wasn’t sure either.) I’ll just copy and paste the rules below and then I can get to my acceptance speech (a.k.a. answering of the questions) and my nominations.

The Award
The Liebster Award is an award given to new bloggers as a way to recognize them and to discover other new bloggers and welcome them to the blogosphere.

The Rules
1. Thank the person who nominated you and post a link to their blog on your blog.
2. Display the award on your blog.
3. Answer 11 questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you.
4. Provide 11 random facts about yourself.
5. Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 1000 followers.
6. Create a new list of questions for the blogger to answer.
7. List these rules in your post.
8. Inform the blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster Award and provide a link for them to your post so that they can learn about it. (They might not have ever heard of it!)

First up? The questions given to me.

1. If you could choose any character from a book to be your best friend, who would it be and why?
Woah, starting off hard. I love reading and fall in love with so many different characters so it wasn’t east picking just one character. I finally decided to go with Hermione Granger. It’s cliche to go with a Harry Potter character but they are all so awesome! Hermione was such an amazing character. Smart, loyal, caring. And if you’re best friends with Hermione, there is a good a chance you’re close with the rest of the trio as well.
2. What is you favorite breakfast food?
Eggs over easy with home fries, extra crispy bacon, and white toast with butter.
3. What is your favorite cheesy romantic comedy?
What’s Your Number. That movie is awesome. I really liked it. Anna Faris is the best and Chris Evans was gorgeous in it.
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Oh boy. I don’t know exactly. But I honestly just hope that I’m happy. Whether that comes from where I’m living, who I’m living with, or what I’m doing for a living, it doesn’t matter.
5. Favorite smell?
The smell of fireworks. If they could find a way to bottle that smell, I would wear it year round. That’s one of my favorite things about summer: the sight and smell of fireworks.
6. What do you do when you need to relax? Creative outlets?
When I just want to relax, I like to read. I’m a huge bookworm. I will read anything and everything.
7. What would your super power be?
Invisibility. You can literally go anywhere and find out anything if you can become invisible.
8. What is your definition of love?
Love is about acceptance. It’s someone who loves you for who you are. You don’t have to ever pretend to be something that you’re not.
9. What song do you listen to to pump yourself up?
Not a specific song but I listen to a lot of upbeat country music when I want to pump myself up. It always makes me want to get up and dance.
10. What would you do differently if you lived without the fear of being judged?
At the moment, nothing. There are a lot of things I would have done differently when I was younger. If you asked me when I was in high school, I’m sure I’d have a list of things. But now I cannot think of anything I don’t do because of fear of judgment.
11. What was the last thing that made you laugh?
I was playing with my 2-year-old nephew earlier and he was pretending to be a monster and attacking me. I’m always cracking up when I’m with him.

Now onto my random facts.
1. I am afraid of the dark.
2. I do not like the taste of coffee.
3. I have done karaoke twice in my entire life and both times was when I was on vacation.
4. I’m a big football and baseball fan. I root for the Yankees and Giants.
5. I have two sisters, one younger and one older. They are my best friends. I seriously have no idea what I would do without them.
6. My favorite childhood book is Matilda.
7. I am a huge klutz. I actually had to take a break from writing this post because I spilled my soda all over the table. I wish this was joke but I’m dead serious.
8. I am obsessed with London and everything British, yet I’ve never been. Next big vacation, London is at the top of my list.
9. I am not a picky eater at all but I HATE cream cheese and chocolate covered pretzels.
10. My favorite dessert is cupcakes, particularly vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting and sprinkles.
11. I have this goal to eventually visit every major league ballpark here in America. I try to visit at least one new one every summer.

And the nominees are…
I haven’t really been blogging that long on here but I’ve already come across some amazing blogs. Here are some of my faves that fit the “under 1000 followers” criteria. You should definitely check them out. They are all awesome!

This, That and the Other Thang
Midnight Eagle
Cinemaddictionblog
Down With The Norm
Wake Up Your Luck

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to answer the following questions:

1. What is your biggest fear?
2. What is the best vacation you’ve ever been on?
3. If you could travel to one place in the world (money and time are not a problem), where would it be?
4. What is your dream job?
5. What is your favorite post you’ve ever written?
6. Do you have any siblings? If so, how many?
7. What is your favorite movie?
8. If you had to give up one of the following mediums, which would it be: Television, Internet, Books, or Movies?
9. What made you first start your blog?
10. What was the best gift you ever received?
11. What was your first job?

Am I Thirty Yet

Hopefully by the time I'm thirty I'll have this all figured out.