Ticket Stubs

I love going to the movies. The whole experience is just something that makes me happy. The smells, the seats, the popcorn, the company, and especially the previews. In 1999, I began keeping my ticket stubs to the movies I went to. Well, to be more exact, I started keeping movie ticket stubs when they actually started printing information on the tickets. I have a few of the regualr red, generic tickets that you can get anywhere, but I couldn’t even tell you what movies those are from. But in 1999, I began keeping my stubs. Why? I don’t know. It’s just something I did, and to this day I still hold on to every stub I get. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been doing this for nearly ten years…

Anyway, the point to this is that I never really know what I’m going to do with the things. Right now they are kept in a little box inside my fire proof safe. That seems a little extreme, but for some reason the thought of them burning up in a fire, or getting lost, just really upsets me. These little stubs act as a record of all the good fun I’ve had over the years at the movies (and not so good fun, come to think of it). I can go through them and tell you a little story about every ticket stub. Who I was with, what we were doing, why I wanted to see the film, etc. It’s kind of like a scrapbook. It’s quite a collection, I might add. As a movie-theater-experience lover, I used to go to the movies a lot. I mean, A LOT. I don’t go as much as I’d like now, but I still go a fair bit.

In order to make use of these little puppies, I’ve decided to go through every ticket stub and write a little story about the experience. I can’t start it today, becasue I’m at work, and the stubs aren’t readily available. But I’ll start tomorrow, and it’ll be good. Stay tuned for the main event, after this preview!

Of All Things…

I knew that Dallas and I might argue about certain things, but never once did I think one of those things would be over who got to be the one to put the weekly Scrubbing Bubbles Cleaning Gel in the toilet. You’ve seen the advertisement for this awesome little product, I’m sure. You press a tube onto the inside of the toilet, and it leaves a little circle of gel that lasts a week. It’s actually quite cool, and apparently there’s something fulfilling about using that little wand to leave a circle of freshness. 

Remind me again why I chose to do an outdoor wedding…

Let me tell you one thing. Banking on good weather is pretty stressful. The weather this whole week has been perfect. I mean, I don’t think you could get any more perfect. Sunny, cool, non-humid, wonderful. All I can think everyday is “Man, if the weather is just like this on Friday, the wedding will be perfect.”

But here I am, checking weather.com every hour to see if there are any changes. Right now it says there is a 40% chance of PM Thunderstorms! Not cool! Effin’ A! Normally, on any other day, I would dismiss 40% as too low, and assume that it would not rain. But now, 40% seems like the biggest percentage I can imagine right now. If you convert 40% into years, that’s kind of old to me. Not good.

Please, if anyone reads this, and I don’t know if anyone does, pray for the weather to be good. PRAY FOR NO RAIN!!. It can pour down at 8:00 pm if it wants to, but pray that it holds off!

*crosses fingers*

*sigh*

As if it’s not hard enough for history majors to get a decent job, the fact that so-many-years experience is required for what few jobs are open to us makes things that much harder. Seriously, it’s so frustrating. History majors are typically hard-working people who catch on quick, so I’m pretty sure we could all handle a job as a museum technician or some other history-related job. But nope, fresh graduates are just dumb and ignorant and don’t know how to do anything. I mean, how are we ever supposed to gain 1 or 2 years of experience if no one gives us that first chance? Sure, we could volunteer or inter somewhere, but the thing with that is the fact that we need money to survive. I’m not talking about money to spend on luxuries and fun things. I’m talking about money to pay the rent and the insurance and the utilties. The need to pay for these things is greater than the desire to gain valuable experience. Because of this, people tend to get in a rut and settle for jobs that make them feel like they are wasting their education and in turn humiliates them and makes them feel like huge, giant failures. I guess you could say this is the position I find myself in right now. For at least two years, I’ll be here in Little Rock, and I need something better than what I have now. Something where I can actually put my education to use. Hopefully I will be starting graduate school in the fall of 2010 for Library Science/Library Media at an undetermined university (cross your fingers for the University of Washington!), but until then…what do I do? I could get certified to teach, but what’s the point now that I decided against the School Library Media track and decided to just stick with Library Science? It would cost me nearly $2000 to do the non-traditional licensure program in Arkansas, and I’m pretty sure I would get really frustrated with teaching high schoolers and end up calling some of them stupid. I’m sorry, but if I can’t even teach my own mother how to copy-and-paste text on the computer, do you think I’ll be able to handle teaching? Probably not.

So here I am, whiling away the time at a demeaning job and trying to make the best of it. Everyday I scan the job openings hoping that something I’m qualified for will pop up. Something that is history-related and doesn’t say these words “experience is a must” or “requires a bachelor’s degree in history plus 2 years of related experience.” If anyone actually reads this and knows of a position that I could handle, please let me know. It doesn’t even have to be history-related. I’m pretty desperate all the time.

4 Car Pile-Up on I-40…

If you heard Mike Willingham announce a 4 car accident on I-40 East during his traffic report on Alice 107.7 last Thursday, then you should know that he was talking about me. Well, me and 3 other vehicles. What started out as a normal day quickly turned into the longest, most annoyingly drawn out day of my life. Now when I found out I was going to have to commute to Little Rock everyday until I could move to LR in August, I knew that it wasn’t going to be pretty. Driving stresses me out a little bit, and I have a car-wreck-phobia. I’d never been in one, and nor did I want to be. It seriously scares the wits out of me. Anyway…

It was July 31, and I was due to move out of my house that day, so, of course, my car was already loaded down with storage containers, clothes, and random knick-knacks (by the way, what a great word. I’m going to start using it more). When I got to Mayflower, I noticed that traffic was really weird. Kind of abrupt, and like you had to pay very close attention. I thought to myself, “Self, this is not good. Something bad is going to happen.” I kept going and I eventually got into the right lane to get ready to take the I-430 Exit. As traffic started slowing down right before the exit (like it ALWAYS does, EVERY morning), I noticed that the car behind me was pretty close to me. This didn’t bode well, I thought. But she didn’t hit me or anything. She was paying attention and stopped her car. That’s when I heard it…

About 3 cars back, I heard a very loud, sickening thud. In the nanoseconds that followed, I looked in my rear view mirror, realized I was about to get hit, and told myself to try to turn onto the shoulder to avoid it. Before my hand could move, though, I heard a deafening THUD and was propelled forward in my seat. I was expecting it, but it still didn’t prepare me for it. As it was happening, my brain formed one thought: “So THIS is what it feels like to be in a wreck….” Almost before that thought formed, I heard a second THUD (they should be called Car Thuds instead of Car Crashes) and was propelled forward again. This time the only thought in my head was: “Oh my God, is it ever going to stop?” Keep in mind that these two impacts and these two thoughts in my head happened in the span of about 1 full second. Anyway, It did stop, and I pulled onto the shoulder, shaking like a leaf and quickly checking I didn’t have a severed arm or anything. When I was certain that all my limbs were attached, I pulled out my phone (which was inside my purse. I was a very safe driver that day), and called Dallas. Of course he didn’t answer the first time, because he never does, so I hung up and called Mom. Why didn’t I call 911? I don’t know. But I called Mom, and after making sure I was alright, I hung up and called Dallas. After he made sure I was Ok, I called his mom, thinking that she was on her way to LR to go to work and that she could help me or something. I don’t know. What ended up happening was Dallas’s brother Robby passed by the wreck on his way to work (after standing still in traffic for 45 minutes), and he picked me up and drove me to Maumelle where Dallas was waiting. My car had to be towed, and it turns out it had about $7000 worth of damage. I’m just glad it wasn’t totaled.

So what happened, exactly? Well there were 4 cars in the line, and I was in the front. At least that meant that I didn’t hit anyone in front of me. A black Jeep Cherokee started it all. He must have been going at least 60 when he slammed into a white car in front of him. I think this car was a Mazda hatchback of some sort, but I couldn’t tell because the back end was COMPLETELY demolished. I don’t know how that guy wasn’t hurt. But that white car so hard that it hit a green car in front of him, which shot forward and slammed into me. I think that the white car was hit so hard though, that it didn’t stop after it hit the green car. It kept going and slammed into the other side of my bumper. It’s very obvious that two different vehicles hit my car, even though jerky insurance claim adjusters were skeptical about that when I told them. I told them that I wasn’t stupid and I can look at a car and tell if either one or two vehicles hit it. After a rousing game of phone hockey with me, my dad, the Reckless Driver’s insurance guy, and my insurance guy, we got it all straightened out. Crain Mazda’s body shop will be fixing my car. The only down side is that the guy didn’t have enough insurance to cover my car, and the other two cars (which were both totaled), so we have to make a claim on MY insurance for $1000-$1500 to cover the difference. And so now I’m driving around in my mom’s Oldsmobile, rockin’ the pink ribbon bears lined up against the back window.

So the point of this story is to pay attention, especially during the morning rush hour. By the way, I wasn’t hurt. Just a sore back and neck. It seems like it’s worse today, though, at least in my shoulders and neck. Maybe I’ll go get a massage…

Randomness

In the last year I have discovered several things that quickly made it up the list to become some of my FAVORITE things in the world. Since I am here at work, bored, with nothing to do because my boss is out of the office, I guess I’ll make out a little list. I’m sure I will edit this a million times today, but at least it’s something to do, right? And by typing on my computer at my desk, it makes me look like I’m really busy working on something.

• Banoffee pie. I had my first little taste of heaven when I was in London last July/August. Now I’m not a huge fan of banana desserts. I mean, to me, if it ain’t chocolate, it ain’t dessert. But whatev. I figured I’d give it a shot because it was a British dessert, and if there is one thing the Brits do right, it’s their dessert. So out comes this banana/toffee/whipped cream thing, and OH MY GOODNESS. It is seriously the richest, sweetest, most wonderful thing I have ever had. When I got back to the States, I wanted to make one so bad, but I could only find recipes that used the metric system, and let’s face it: there’s a reason I got a liberal arts degree. I’m not much for math or science or converting or anything like that. But Paula Deen saved the day and provided a recipe using CUPS and TEASPOONS. Actually, her recipe was a little complicated, so I combined it with another I found and the end result was scrumptious (if there was ever a time to use that word, it’s now). The recipe is quick and easy, apart from the fact that you have to boil two 14 oz. cans of sweetened condensed milk for an hour and a half. But anyway, the point of this story is that I made banoffee pie and it was amazing, and I was proud of myself. I think I was even more proud of the fact that I managed to find “heavy whipping cream” at Wal-Mart by myself, without having to ask someone where it was.
  
• The Heather and DC Show. The only morning show I ever remember really loving was John and Zack on B98 when I was in elementary school and junior high. Then Zack left and it became John and Jen, and it lost its appeal. After that, I kind of boycotted radio for a while, and especially when I got my iPod. Now I had always heard of Heather and DC on Alice 107.7 (Little Rock). Everyone around here has heard of them, I think. But I hated Heather with a passion. I mean, I couldn’t stand to listen to her talk. I don’t know why. But then I started listening a little more, and before I knew it, I was completely obsessed with Heather and DC. Heather is hands down one of the funniest women I’ve ever heard of, and when you combine her and DC, it’s just pure entertainment. Throw Poolboy in the mix, and it makes the morning commute to Little Rock not only tolerable, but enjoyable. I mean, I’m excited to get in my car and start the drive, because I get to listen to Heather and DC! I love them so much that I permanently moved my iHome to my desk at work so that I could listen to them until 10:00, when the show ended. And I don’t leave my car to walk into the building until a commercial break or a song. Now that’s the sign of a good morning show.
  
• Steamed Broccoli. Ok, this is one thing I never thought I would have a love affair with. Growing up, my parents were never real sticklers about making me eat vegetables. We had an endless supply of Little Debbies, and my mom would let me drink Sprite for breakfast and when my brothers got suspicious, she’d tell them it was water. I grew up on fried food and the thought of steaming something was just foreign to me. Steaming vegetables and whatnot was for fancy folk in pricey restaurants, right? And come on, you’re telling me that steam is all you’re going to do to cook up those veggies? No thanks. I carried this snobbery about steamed broccoli with me until November of my senior year in college, which was less than a year ago. Then Dallas (who is now my fiancee), asked me out on a date after I took care of OTHER business (ahem), and after we bonded over several episodes of The Office. Part of our first date consisted of him cooking dinner for me. (Sidenote: I was very impressed and quite smitten by this point already). The dinner was lemon-pepper chicken, couscous, and disgusting healthy steamed broccoli. What was I going to do? He went to all this trouble of steaming this broccoli, and I was going to have to tell him that I didn’t like it! Now, I’ve been that person all my life (you know, the picky person, the person who always finds something wrong with a meal, who will never eat everything someone offers), and I really didn’t want to be that person on our first date. So I made the decision to suck it up and eat as little broccoli as I could get away with and still appear grateful. So this is what I did. But what was this? This broccoli didn’t make me gag. It didn’t make me want to spit it out. In fact, it made me want more of it! I’m pretty sure I ate more broccoli than anything else that night, and this is when I realized my love for steamed broccoli. So thanks, Dallas. And thanks to Birds-Eye for making those microwave steambags already full of broccoli.
  
• Blogging. I really love it. I could spend all day perusing through strangers’ blogs. Who are they? What are they like? What was their childhood like? I’m not a stalker, I swear. I’m just genuinely interested in what people write about. I look forward to new posts by favorite bloggers (Amy) every day, and I’m always a little disappointed when there is no new post. No pressure, though. And I love reading people’s blogs so much that I’m setting my mom up with one this weekend so I can read hers. I also have a goal to get Kathleen involved in this world (sorry Amy, but she’s entertaining). I love blogging so much that if I were to make a pro/con list for doing something new and unexpected, like moving to Alaska to teach for a year, blogging would be a pro. I would consider moving to Alaska just so I could blog about it. Dallas asked me the other day if I would mind going to Alaska for a while (his family is from Alaska), and the first thing out of my mouth was, “I could blog about it!” As you can see, it doesn’t take much to get me to agree to ideas like this. Anyway, I used to be an avid Xanga user, and then I stopped when the Facebook phenomenon happened, and then I had a blogspot when I went to London, and now here I am. I just can’t stay away.
  
• Indie Pop. This is my #1 choice of music genre. And of this #1 choice of music genre, The Format is my #1 favorite band of all time. Ok, to be fair, they’re actually tied with Dashboard Confessional because I can’t pick one over the other. (Sidenote: I was hooked on Dallas when he heard 3 seconds of my Dashboard ringtone, “The Best Deceptions,” and proceeded to pull it up on his iTunes. Dashboard is pretty special to us, and if you get a wedding invitation, some of their lyrics are on the inside of the front flap). Anyway. The Format is completely and utterly amazing and FUN and I am absolutely brokenhearted that they broke up. But I can listen to their music and I am suddenly 21 (like it was so long ago) and walking across the street to hang out with this really cool guy I just met named Dallas, who loves the same things I do and turned me on to this really cool band called The Format. But anyway, indie pop. Death Cab, The Format, Imogen Heap, The Postal Service, The Shins, Sufjan Stevens, etc. It’s all wonderful.
  
• Sparky Jones. I haven’t even had my Cairn Terrier puppy a whole month, and I have no idea what my life was like before this little rascal. The first two weeks were terrible, with the pooping and peeing in the house all the time. But now that he can hold it for longer in his crate, and now that he rings a bell every time he has to go outside to go potty, it’s pretty awesome. He has the best personality I’ve ever seen in a dog, and he’s so smart, and he’s so incredibly cute. The best thing ever is when I wake him up from a nap, and he’s still really sleepy, and he makes little grunting sounds when I pick him up. Man, that’s the best. And I’m completely obsessed with him. I know I am. It’s just that I’ve never had an indoor dog, so this is new to me, and I love it. That’s why Sparky gets the expensive Canidae all-natural dog food, and that’s why I boiled him a chicken tenderloin for breakfast this morning. Dallas thinks I’m a little ridiculous at times, but he’s my puppy and I just can’t get enough of him.
  
• Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. One of the greatest shows ever, even if it does come on Cartoon Network. It’s clever and wacky and hilarious. I admit, it scared me a little bit at first, but once you get past the strangeness of it, it’s so good. My kids will definitely watch this show, and I’ll watch it with them. Once again, this is another favorite thing influenced by Dallas.
  
• Entertaining Websites I Visit Daily/Weekly. This includes Dinosaur Comics, PostSecret, Stuff White People Like, LOLcats, Feministing, That’s Punny! (by the way, I totally had this idea a year ago and I never got around to starting it), Passive-Agressive Notes, Cute Overload, etc. This all provide me with a good deal of amusement, especially LOLcats.

How much is that doggy in the window…

There are few things in life that make me happier than a cute puppy. In fact, the only thing I can think of that could be any better would by my own cute puppy. I know that this is the most impractical time in my life to get a puppy. I know that; I really do. But the bottom line is I want a puppy. And honestly, I think the best quality a puppy owner could have is to really want that puppy more than anything. And buddy, I’m there. 

 

Now, I’ve had puppies and dogs my whole life. But these puppies and dogs were outside puppies and dogs. They weren’t allowed inside the house (except for the time Lucky got attacked by coyotes, and then Dad let him stay in the laundry room), they weren’t allowed in the vehicles (unless it was a truck bed), and they never even had collars or a leash or a gold medallion that read “Sparky Jones” (because this will be my puppy’s name). But I’m 22, going on 23. Almost married. Newly graduated. About to start a new job. I think the safe thing right now is to just get a puppy while everything is changing. I mean, I don’t want to grow complacent in my new life and then decide that a puppy would just intrude on what I have going on at the time. Nah. Let’s get Sparky Jones right now. I want a little collar with a gold medallion, and a leash so that I can take him to a park, and a little crate to keep him in during the day while he’s anticipating me coming home from, and to take him on a drive with the windows rolled down a little bit on both back doors so he can run back and forth from one to the other, feeling the rush of summer air on his little bearded, Schnauzer face. 

 

Sparky Jones, I’m ready for you. Are you ready for me?

Let’s tally it up…

4 years of college at UCA: $50,000
5 semesters of Alpha Sigma Alpha: $3500
4 years worth of gasoline for trips back home: $1700
1 trip to London: $6000

Having new experiences, developing my own thoughts and views, and understanding that there is more to life than hanging around Hartford, AR after high school graduation: PRICELESS.