Things I've learned thus far in my 28 years on this planet

-That which you plan will never occur exactly as you plan it, so you might be better off not wasting the time it took to plan in the first place.
-While the smell of incense when burned in a dorm room in effort to mask the tell-tale odor of pot (a method only those high off the pot think will work) tends not to affront the senses, but incense burned in a 550 square foot apartment will give you a headache and linger for days.
-You should move at least every 2 1/2 years just in order to purge the crap you've accumulated over the span of those years.
-Life is seldom what it seems and never what you expected.
-Apartment walls are paper thin. If you can hear them, they can hear you. And although you regale acquaintances with the neighbors' particularly entertaining argument or involved sexual escapades, you know deep down no one would respond to another tenant's cries for help.
-The concept of eating all left-overs in due time is an evil plot against single people.
-Often acquiring a degree just proves you're stupid enough to spend a lot of money on a useless piece of paper - woohoo higher education.
-Inevitably you will need a glass/cup of milk the day after it has turned....the same holds true for fresh veggies.
-Nothing can stop freezer burn, i don't care how well you seal it.
-There will always be basic plot points where i and the author fundamentally disagree.
-If it is logical, it will not be employed by big business or any branch of government.
-Those who truly could make a difference will never be afforded the opportunity to do so in the current political climate.
-The haircut you receive will never look the same as it did when you left the shop....and this could be a good thing.
-In addition, one can only survive so long in a ponytail or baseball cap and although you may think no jury would convict if you followed through with your threat of bodily harm on she who made you look like a chia pet, prison, though potentially presenting a better chance of a dating life (if you're okay with that kind of thing) just is not worth it.
-Despite your hope in the contrary and despite the lovely moral lesson in The Breakfast Club, you really will forever be seen, in some respect, as the person you were in high school.
-Being a grown up isn't what it's cracked up to be.
-If you're doing something stupid and you know what you're doing is stupid, do it with gusto; it'll never be less stupid so you might as well enjoy it.

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

"Xavier pulled out another classic Crosstown Shootout matchup Thursday night, holding off the University of Cincinnati 73-71 in overtime."

*note that in real time, this was accompanied by a happy dance and a scream of glee.

Alas, poor Yorick

Bummer! There went my weekend plans. It is with great remorse I note the closing of the Dubliner. The remorse is due in part to the pint, but mostly to the music and atmosphere....and the fact that I had intended to see a band i'm fond of on Saturday. The doors closed last Wednesday. If the Post is to be believed (i know, i know, but the Post was the first hit when i did my online search of news and really, it's six of one half dozen of the other when dealing with our prestigious print media)the establishment is under new ownership and will be open by St. Patrick's Day. We shall see...

Distracted by my earlier "HA!" rant

Hmmm...my original reason for hopping on and writing (prior to my curious nature taking over - damn MSN for the catchy teaser!) was my somewhat embarrassing love of "Strange Days at Blake Holsey High". So i know i'm a freak, but i love this show. I started watching by accident and it sucked me in. Is it sad that the series i am most anticipating coming to DVD (please let happen, please!!) is a show geared to the pre-teen set? In preparation for the "Conclusions" episodes that will air on the 28, marathons have been running each weekend. I taped it this afternoon in order to take a much deserved nap. Unfortunately, I truly am a spaz as I began watching it this evening after returning from Bible study and completely missed Crossing Jordan. Okay, by now anyone that may be reading might be thinking i'm a bit obsessed with my television viewing, but remember, i'm single and live alone...and i love forensic dramas. "Blake Holsey" is an aberration in my discretionary viewing. Hence the motivation for the post. I live in hope that life will return to normal on the 29th - it's not like i have anyone to obsess with.

HA!

Okay, so i need to stop reading...or lose 100 lbs. (hmmmm...perhaps both) I believe the most accurate statement made by the article is that "Others argue that people are merely becoming more politically correct and that bias against fat people is actually growing sharper." Don't get me wrong, I freely admit that i'm huge, but i don't believe that it has become more acceptable in society to be that way. Yes, i think the fact that i'm fat is a problem, but trust me, i'm aware of the problem. And if I weren't, there are oh so many people ready on a daily basis to make sure i am. Face it, (we who are fat have) overweight folks may be great, but they aren't preferable to their skinny, or even average, counterparts. Granted I may be slightly jaded, considering i've always been the token fat girl, but i honestly don't think that by and large, Americans are more accepting of us. I think it's more a case of "fat" being a majority. I believe that a large percentage of that majority truly knows the way things are...shoot, even they may not like themselves/us. But if, like me, they've always been fat, they know it's best not to make waves. Life is so much better if I can somehow escape notice - and there's irony in how the larger you are the easier it is to blend. Invisibility seems to be size related.
Check it out:

MSNBC.com

Americans are more accepting of heavier bodies
Fewer people say overweight people are less attractive, survey finds

The Associated Press
Updated: 4:13 p.m. ET Jan. 11, 2006


Thin is still in, but apparently fat is nowhere near as out as it used to be.

A survey finds America’s attitudes toward overweight people are shifting from rejection toward acceptance. Over a 20-year period, the percentage of Americans who said they find overweight people less attractive steadily dropped from 55 percent to 24 percent, the market research firm NPD Group found.

With about two-thirds of U.S. adults overweight, Americans seem more accepting of heavier body types, researchers say. The NPD survey of 1,900 people representative of the U.S. population also found other more relaxed attitudes about weight and diet.

While body image remains a constant obsession, the national preoccupation with being thin has waned since the late 1980s and early 1990s, said the NPD’s Harry Balzer.

Those were the days when fast food chains rushed to install salad bars. In 1989, salads as a main course peaked at 10 percent of all restaurant meals. Today, those salad bars have all but vanished and salads account for just 5½ percent of main dishes.

“It turns out health is a wonderful topic to talk about,” Balzer said. “But to live that way is a real effort.”

Fewer people said they’re trying to “avoid snacking entirely” — just 26 percent in 2005, down from 45 percent in 1985 — while 75 percent said they had low-fat, no-fat or reduced fat products in the last two weeks, down from 86 percent in 1999, according to the survey.

At 5-feet-6 and 230 pounds, Lara Frater likes her body just fine and turns up her nose at trendy diets.

“I don’t beat myself up if I have a piece of cake,” said Frater, a 34-year-old New Yorker and author of “Fat Chicks Rule.”


No surprise
The survey’s findings aren’t that surprising, as attitudes about weight constantly shift, said John Cawley, associate professor at Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology.

While heavy women were idealized at times — think “Rubenesque,” a term born of 17th century painter Peter Paul Rubens’ full-figured women — corseted women with tiny waists were preferred in other eras.

“I don’t think we’re going to go back to worshipping obese women, but it’s interesting to see how attitudes change as more people become overweight,” Cawley said.

Others argue that people are merely becoming more politically correct and that bias against fat people is actually growing sharper.

“These studies don’t pick up on implicit, unconscious bias,” said Kelly Brownell, head of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University.

“It’s like if you asked people around the country if they had racial bias. There’s a difference between what people say and what actually happens,” Brownell said.

Researchers at Cornell also found that negative attitudes about obesity persist.

The NPD study results may simply be a sign of “resignation from overweight people,” Brownell said, noting that it’s likely a majority of survey respondents are overweight.

The survey, to be published in February in the journal Rationality and Society, also found obese boys and girls were half as likely to date as normal weight kids.

At an obesity doctors meeting in 2003, a University of Liverpool study indicated that just standing next to a large woman can be bad for a guy’s image. The study had young women look at one of two pictures: One of a trim young man standing next to a svelte woman, and the other showing the same man next to a heavy woman.

When the man was shown standing by the large woman, he was rated 22 percent more negatively by the study volunteers than when he was next to the thin woman. When seen with the large woman, he was more likely to be described as miserable, depressed, weak and insecure.

Marilyn Wann, board member of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, said fat people are the target of a witch hunt in a fitness-obsessed nation.

“Everyone thinks it’s OK to make fun of fatties,” said Wann, who won’t use the word “overweight” because she says it’s judgmental.

Even if people say they are more accepting of overweight people, many still yearn to be thin. The NPD survey shows the number of people who said “I would like to lose 20 pounds” jumped from 54 percent in 1985 to 61 percent last year.

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

© 2006 MSNBC.com

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10807526/

Stream of conscious....

I wonder if using a password that brings to mind an ex-boyfriend has doomed me and prevented future romantic entanglements. Every once in a while i think of this as i'm prompted to choose a password, but by now it's one of my standard passwords. Even if it's not a contributing factor, i'll take it as reasoning for the past 10 or so years. And there's always the contract, doh!
I'm currently frustrated with myself because i've yet to determine what I want permanently inked upon my body. I want a tattoo, but i just can't figure out what to get. I even have a friend who has volunteered to do it! I'm not sure why i'm surprised - i can't make a decision to save my life. This, of course, is why i've yet to commit to an image. When i'm hurdling toward 50 it'd really suck to have to explain an extremely poor choice. Okay, i realize that to a vast majority, placing anything permanently on my body is seen as a poor choice. While this may be true, there are levels of stupidity associated with what i choose to tattoo. It's possible that i may regret the tattoo in 20 years (although since I've been in the process of deciding "what" not "if" for the past 3 1/2 years, i'm thinking no), but it's probable if i go with something i no longer like. Foresight sucks!
I desperately want to know who is reading the same library books i am. Not the collective who, but specifically one individual who writes the due date on a post it and puts it in the front of the book and then doesn't remove it. I'm guessing a woman, and i've caught up with her November check outs of last year. She doesn't seem to read as quickly as I do. I feel an odd kinship with her so i find myself varying the hour of my library attendance in hope of discovering her identity. Yup, i'm a library stalker...never a dull moment. hmmmm, now i'm struck by my need for a hobby!

Counting sheep

I'm completely alarmed by the viewing selection during late night/early morning TV. Granted, I probably should be asleep instead of engaging in incessant flipping, but it's similar to a car crash, i just can't look away. I'm not sure what the most disturbing offering is...at first i was going to go with infomercials, but after last night's perusal, i'm not so sure. The infomercials are annoying and seemingly ubiquitous (and really the more frightening aspect is the fact that people do buy these things, but i don't want to contemplate everything that goes along with that), but the girls gone wild/love line chats are truly alarming. I am relieved to know that if by some strange stretch of the imagination i'm desperate for Oprah at 2:30 i'm in luck. And if my tastes lean the way of late night talk shows, Jay Leno is apparently on a continuous loop beginning after the regularly scheduled late night shows. On a positive note, I can watch my choice of nun on the religious channels if the girls gone wild becomes to much. I really have to work on my sleep patterns!

Deletion

There have been multiple times that i've wished my life had an edit button. Instead, my mind replays the stupid thing i've said or done in slow motion while giving a play by play commentary. Thanks to the advancement of technology (or something like that) i have recently been able to delete a previous post. I have to admit, there's something beautifully freeing in being able to purge thoughts by writing them but then send them to oblivion upon sobriety. While the words hold no less truth now than they did a week ago, embarrassment has become a possibility. Of course I could be wrong and I'm merely going all Doogie (how do you spell that?!?) and i really am the only one reading this (which is probable), but do I really want to risk it? Unfortunately, my present musings only serve to reinforce my adolescent regression mention in the deleted post. ain't life grand?