Damnit...I did it....

I hate you "REPLY ALL" button...how dare you scorn me!!!!



I did it...I joined the club of people who mistakenly hit the "reply all" button at work when the message was only meant to go to one person. The funny thing is, I am usually the first to complain when someone hits that pesky button and accidentally tells me their weekend plans while I'm working or about their new puppy, etc.

Friday, I became that person...

My friend e-mailed our firm about a Leukemia walk at 5 p.m. on October 9. As we all know...that is the day of my LSAT. So,I wrote back....

Think about the things you would say after taking a huge test like that...think about what I would say!!!! "I'm gonna go get FUCKED up afterwards", "I'm gonna go GET SOME after that horrible experience"..........................
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By the Grace of GOD - I kept it PG (for the first time in my life) and simply said "I would love to do this but I'll be too tired after the LSAT...."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK GOD. The worst part was that I was PLANNING on saying crude things but for some reason (GOD) I didn't put those in. I was literally thinking up the worst combination of things I could say to crack my friend up LOL. I even thought I DID put those things in. I got a message from another friend that said "did you mean to send that to everyone?" HEART ATTACK!!!!

I had to go and READ the message and when I saw that I didn't put all that dirtiness in there, I relaxed a little. But then I realized that now the whole firm would know I was taking the LSAT....

That's not so bad on paper but I'm a really private person when it comes to things like that. I don't want the firm, especially my enemies there, to know what I'm doing with my life. I don't want HR getting ideas that I'm leaving soon (I still need to save and I may not get in so I may need this job!) so they should find someone who is staying.

So I tried to recall the message (yay outlook) but the current tally is 70 "Message Recall Faileds" to about 50 "Message Recalled Success". Thank GOD the e-mail was only to our Atlanta office. I'm mortified all the same!

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Good Intentions and DRAGONCON

Now that you got the drama side of me... (you know you wanted it!)...

I come with good intentions! Now that I live in such a cool area - I can finally do something that we had intended our blog to do - go out and give reviews of the city life around us!

Isn't that what post-graduate living is all about? We get to do the 9 to 5 but we have NO kids and NO marriage holding us back!!!

I'm attempting to stray away from the "I went out and got drunk and went to some club" posts though - I want to actually experience Atlanta. Yea - there will be some clubbing and drinks - but first - I want to do artsy fartsy stuff (lol).

There are tons of events going on in the next few weeks (I'm still wading through the list a friend sent) so I'll try to go to as many as possible!

1) Atlanta Chili Cook-Off!. MMMM FOOD!!! My stomach is already growling just thinking about this. Over 300 participants will be making chili with tons to give away as samples to attendees. I'm a little disappointed by the music for the evening, but...it's the South and it's not hosted by ethnic folk, so I can't expect some hip hop or R&B. Should be fun though!

2) Midtown Festival of the Arts . Now that's more like it! There will be artist booths, live music, demonstrations from local chefs (sooo interested in that). There's also something called "Plates on Peachtree" where you pay like $30.00 bucks and you get to walk around sampling some delicious sounding dishes made by local chefs from amazing restaurants. There's also a beer garden, which I'm less excited about but I know one of my friends will be so into that so we'll probably go. I wanted to volunteer...serving drinks of course...but Saturday is the chili cook-off so I can't do that and Sunday its during my online prep course. Too bad...

3) Habitat for Humanity - my firm is sponsoring a house with another firm! Finally - some charity work that doesn't involve just opening my wallet. We're going on the day where the roofing needs to be done. I'll have my will drawn up by then... I leave the name SS to whomever can be witty and bitchy enough to replace me!!!

4) Gay Pride Atlanta - there is usually something around Halloween so believe I'll be out in force to support my gay buddies! Coincidentally - this is the day before our LSAT scores are available on-line so I'll need to prepare with liquor beforehand!
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AND NOW....


DRAGONCON!!!

As you all learned, and probably have forgotten by now, I'm a nerd!!! I love video games, sci-fi stuff etc. Atlanta has this huge festival every year called DRAGONCON in which people come to town for a weekend and attend forums etc for their favorite shows. This is the weekend where you see klingons and storm troopers unite in harmony! I'm not THAT nerdy by the way... that doesn't get my juices goin'! There is a parade that is free to the public and, since it always seems to be in the building next to mine, tons of people watching in our joint food court. My friend and I took some pics from the people watching and the parade, so I've posted those below in addition to some links to other pics I found online. Some of these costumes were AMAZING!! Next year... I'm dressing up! Any ideas?















ANNNND the coolest costume EVER!! (please click it - I'm too lazy to figure out how to re-size so the whole thing fits! lol)




Had a great time!!!

Here are some CNN news stories on it - in case you needed more information!

Dragoncon Costumes
What is Dragoncon?
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Another Long Winded Post

Brought to you by

MOI!!!

Update (again) time! While I'm glad that there's so much going on in my life that I barely have time to breathe (see: below), I do miss being a reliable source of drama for our readers!!! If we still have any left - I will try to be better!!!

In true SS fashion - this post leads to a rant. God... I fit the bill for angry black woman to a T... SHAME!

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I finally put on my big girl panties and moved out on my own! I live right in the heart of Atlanta in an area known as Midtown in the most perfect location for someone like me. I'm near a huge shopping/eating center called Atlantic Station (probably a 10 min. walk or a sweet 5 min. ride on one of the free shuttles offered to and from there).

They've got all the stores and some amazing restaurants and sports bars there so I should continue to be nice and broke living near it lol. Within a 5 minute walk in any direction of me there are great restaurants and stores and clubs - all of which I plan to visit (again - brokeness). I live like a block away from a Marta station too. Instead of my old hour and a half commute to work- I just hop on the train and am there in 15 minutes. Consequently, I was actually late everyday last week...just couldn't get the timing right!

So what prompted this huge move you ask? A bit of back-story - I was living with my mom and brothers to try to save money for school in 08. I ended up taking a second year off of school because my mom had to quit her job in order to start receiving disability payments; this was the end of '08 and she still hasn't been accepted into the program so that lets you know what life has been like! Unfortunately, neither of my brothers were "able to work" which translates more into - refused to find jobs, so my menial paycheck stretched to feed all of us and keep us housed (my mother did receive some money from the military but not much...). Needless to say '09 was a bust in terms of paying off some loans and saving some cash so I took ANOTHER year off. Realizing that it was impossible for me to save cash living in that situation, I decided to just apply to some law schools and see what happened. Hopefully I could get in with some scholarships and escape this cycle! I got in to some (yay) but no scholarships were offered (aw) because I applied so late in the cycle. At least I got my feet wet!

So again what inspired me to move and continue to be broke?

Someone did something very stupid and has a bundle of joy that will be joining us in February. Someone put their dreams of going to school and improving their life on hold all because of one mistake.

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My 22 year old brother knocked his "girlfriend" up!!!!

HAH you thought I'D be that stupid?! Re-read the posts boo - I don't make mistakes like that (although I am currently knocking on wood and swearing off penis just in case...). The move was prompted by the fact that he decided that her and her 14 year old son and the baby could just move into our place under the guise of "getting section 8 and moving out on our own soon". Yea...heard that shit before. Hes been "looking for a job" since '08 and hasn't worked a day since I've been here. No one's that unlucky! Of course, no one TOLD me they were moving in. I come home on a Friday to see all their stuff in our living room and I'm like "WTF". I was told that they were headed back to New Orleans that Monday but needed a place to crash the weekend so I agreed. HAH... two weeks pass and I'm a prisoner in my own home. I can't go in my living room to watch the cable I pay for because the kid is always playing a video game or watching some stupid shit. I cant go in the kitchen because she's always in there making food I don't want to eat (but that I paid for...). I want them gone so badly but I don't want to put them on the street since I know they have nowhere to go.

So I call from work one day with then intention of telling my brother that they need to go NOW. I've got my speech all worked up and ready to go and I'm riding on so much adrenaline. They're eating up all of our food and I can't afford to house them in the tiny apartment barely big enough for the original people living there. My name is on the damn lease after all, and I'm pissed that no one once asked my opinion or consulted me on whether or not more people could move in. I make the call:

Me: We need to talk right now about your girlfriend and her son. Two weeks have passed and they are still there. You said they were headed to NO about two weeks ago... why did you lie? They need to be gone when I get home.

Him: I never said she was leaving... he was supposed to go back but now there's a problem.

Me: There's no problem...they need to go. I can't afford to feed all of you and take care of all of you.

Him: There's a problem....

Me: She pregnant isn't she?

Him: Yes.

Funny how you're able to guess these type of things. Maybe its because I'm a pessimist? I slammed down the phone and screamed FUCKING IDIOT at work so loud. I'm still waiting on HR to fire me (I had my review and still work there so I think I'm ok!). Then I proceeded to cry and wander around aimlessly. I wanted to kill him!!!! How could they be so FUCKING stupid?!

Needless to say - within a week and a half I had found a new apartment and moved out on my own. My mother, though I love her, is not the type to stand up for herself or put anyone out (as evidenced by a 30 year old son sitting around leeching as well as a 22 year old) so the situation is never going to change. All I can do is what is best for me for now!

That pretty much sums up the drama for the past few months - am I in a soap opera or what...? Damn!


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Worst Week Ever? Close to it!

Whirlwind week...

Deets Inside!!



I'm not even sure where to begin on this so I guess I'll start...well...at the beginning. Sunday was my first LSAT online course and it was pretty informative. I learned a lot and even felt inclined to do some of my homework that wasn't due until NEXT week (tomorrow actually). New lease on life I tell ya!

Monday morning, I awoke and headed off to work as usual as any other day. I realized halfway there, that I had no cash on me and would need some to board my bus as I forgot to refill my bus card (replace FORGOT with too broke to afford the monthly rate until payday ...lol). No biggie... I'd stop by an ATM at one of the various gas stations along the route. Got to the ATM and started digging through my wallet...Panic ensues because my VISA, which I NEVER remove for more than 10 or 15 seconds is GONE!!!!! I ran back to the car and headed home. I needed to empty my purse out and search every nook and cranny and I wasn't about to do that in some gas station!

Got home and cleared out the contents... no luck! I then began the process of backtracking which brought me to some new realizations. Firstly, as I always try to keep at least $10.00 (if not, $20.00) on me, why is there no cash in my wallet? On Friday I lent my brother $20.00 for gas...hmm... Then I remembered that after doing that, I took out $40.00 to get me through the next week without having to go back to the ATM. That $40.00 was nowhere to be found!!!! Logged on to my bank to make sure I did indeed withdraw it and had a mini heart-attack! There was the $40.00 withdrawal clear as day as well as a charge made on Sunday at a gas station. It was an authorization charge of $1.00 with a notation that the full amount would be charged shortly. Shit my pants! Who the HELL used my card and where was it!!?? How much did they spend at the gas station!?

Well... I had no time to figure all of this out as I still had to be at work! On the way, I called Bank of America who immediately blocked my card from use and alerted me that as soon as that charge went through for the full amount, I was to call them back and they would put the amount back in my account and I could then file a claim and we could find out who did this and prosecute them. This all took less than 10 minutes so Kudos to Bank of America. Unfortunately, I now had no cash and no means of GETTING cash since my card was gone. No problem, they said, I could head to a banking center and have a new ATM issued that day. Yay!

Cancel that yay... after waiting 20 minutes for that banking center to open.. I realize that my ID is also missing... so I can't even prove who I am! Also means I can't get a new ATM unless I call and have it mailed (which could take 7 to 10 days).

Gonna give Bank of America another kudos here as I called and asked to have it expressed to me and it came on Wednesday!

Back to the story (pretend you don't know I got my card on Wednesday!). This is where things get sad and fishy... The card was in my purse all weekend as I never left my home, as was the money. Honestly, at home I do not lock my purse up so it was sitting on or near my bed for most of the weekend. Sunday, my older brother and younger brother were arguing all day because my younger brother borrowed the car and neglected to fill the gas tank. He claims he did and couldn't fill it anyway because he had no cash (you can start to see how this is going to be sad...). Finally, tired of arguing, my younger brother says he will go fill it as he has another errand to run. He asked to go in my room and grab the iron and ironing board and I thought nothing of it...

Monday morning... gas tank full but my $40.00 and my ATM card are missing! Long story... semi-short... I filed my claim with Bank of America who told me that they would mail me an affidavit and from there they will begin to search for who did this. As you can probably guess, my inkling was that it was my younger brother. This was hard for me to even begin to think but after adding up all the details, it seemed to be the case. I cried, just so you know; it hurt me to even have those thoughts but I will say that my brother is not the most innocent person in the world. The Bank of America rep, after hearing my story, agreed that it was probably my brother and asked if I was sure I would want to pursue this to the full extent even if that were the case. I said yes but asked if the option to withdraw the claim would still be available. I would still make him pay, but charges like this are serious and can result in years behind bars. Theft itself is punishable by hefty fines and up to 4 years in jail, and in this case, Georgia also considers this Identity theft which would add an additional 2-4 years on. I wouldn't want my brother to spend up to 8 years in jail for 80 bucks... I asked him Monday if he did it, to which he responded "no" and seemed peeved that I would even ask. Tuesday, after speaking with another rep, I realized how serious (again) this charge would be and that Bank of America would really go after the person even if it was only a few dollars. Again, I questioned, and got resounding "no's".

On Wednesday, the charge went through for $40.00, the exact amount needed to fill my brother's gas tank. It was all too clear to me at this point, and I filed the claim officially. That night, I asked for the last time, to which my brother responded (pissed off might I add- as I would be if the situation were reversed and I was innocent) "no". So, at this point, I will file the affidavit and whatever happens, well... happens. I really hope it's not him but we'll see...

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Time for some cheerful news! I took my first LSAT Diagnostic test for my class today from 2-5p.m. It was as difficult as I remembered the real test being but I got the same score I got in October of 2008. Now, at first I was sad, but then I realized that if I got the same score today as I got two years ago, with only 3 weeks of studying and preparation, then I can do nothing but improve. In 2008 I was studying on my own with no real idea of how to prepare. I was also working at a new job and dealing with stresses associated with late payments of bills and calls from creditors as I had been out of work for almost a year. My job required me to go in on weekends (I would get 60+ hours a week during this period). This left little time to prepare and when I did have an hour or two to study, it was ineffective study as I was too stressed. I took the test TWO YEARS AGO and never cracked a book since until recently (less than a month) and I managed to make the same damn score. If this class can get me back to there in less than a month, imagine what it can do in the ~5 months until the test. I will be golden!

That's all for now as I'm sure your eyes are tired of reading!
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Who Dat?

Ok... so ...

Since most others have magically reappeared... I might as well make it known that I am still alive as well. I guess I'll do a quick (and by quick I mean LONG) run-down as well but, first, a disclaimer: I am unable to post at work anymore (wonder why they blocked blog sites?!) and my evenings are pretty busy so I'm not sure how often I will be able to post.

News:

- Applied for law schools and GOT IN (YAY!) - but... the scholarship money offered was not enough or nonexistant and I'm broke and probably not a desirable loan candidate. So alas...one more year out of school in which I work hard to get a higher LSAT score which means higher scholarship offers and better school options!

- Along that vein... I have dropped $1400.00 of my hard earned cash on a Kaplan LSAT Xtreme Online Test prep which will hopefully raise my score. I would be happy with even 15 more points as that would significantly raise my prospects. Its pretty cool - you can view the teacher via web-cam and you have like a chat room where you can type to ask questions. They also sent me about 7 books (some are HUGE!) and some scan-trons and class materials. The class runs from June 13th to October 6th every Saturday and Sunday for 4 hours. They give full out LSATs 4 times and you get intensive study and tricks and tips- you also get one-on-one time with the professor after your exams to work on your weak areas. It's what I needed to do two years ago but couldn't afford. I've heard nothing but good things about this class. I've also bought several books for my own study and have been using them whenever I can find time. GuyIncog recommended them and he got an amazing score so I'm trusting in him.

- Speaking of GuyIncog - I'll give a slight update on him as I have discovered he is alive and well(ish). He's finished his first year of law school (or 1L) and found it difficult (as to be expected). He wasn't too happy a few weeks ago about his exams (he thought he might have done poorly) and I even worried that he might be wanting to give up but recently he mentioned that he did well in one of his classes and is hoping to get the same results in the
others. FINGERS CROSSED!

- Still working at my job - although I have been furiously applying for jobs elsewhere. My 2-year mark is fast approaching (July 15) and since I'm taking another year off, I want to sample a different position elsewhere or at least a different type of law. Its been a rough 2 years (well...year and a half of toughness - first few months were CAKE) and I have adopted this new no-care attitude which scares me. I roll my eyes at those two women (read my first posts if you don't know) whom I dislike and I'm finding it more difficult to be cordial. Also... I want to get a car and do other things with my money but I still don't feel secure in my job to do so. It would suck to get fired after committing to a car payment and insurance!

- No boyfriend but entertaining some prospects. Still finding it hard to actually want to fall in love or anything like that and trying to feel anything but just lust. The idea of actually committing right now makes me want to vomit (harsh...I know) but only a small part of that is that I haven't found the right one. The rest knows that now is not the time to start anything because these next few years are going to be hell. Still a girl can have some lunches and some drinks right? ;) P.S. Not having sex! Lust = looking and drooling!

I've also taken to gyming these days. It helps that my building opened a shiny new fitness center which is free to all personnel. Lovely - one of the 3 reasons I don't want to leave my firm (the other two are a guy and my homegirls at work!) - I go every morning from 7:30 to 9:30 M-F. Saturday and Sunday are lazy days but I try to force myself to go out walking. Its just been so rainy these days or sweltering that I'm not motivated to do it. Its been a little over a month and, typical of me, I haven't technically lost weight. I put on muscle fast and I can already see it in my thighs and arms! I'm even noticing that I can carry heavy things that used to wind me (huge boxes at work) much further without the tiniest sweat. As embarrassing as this is to admit, I finally got my 2 miles on the treadmill/elliptical below 20 minutes. Considering a month ago, I could barely do 1 mile in 15, I'd say I've improved a lot. I've taken to eating/drinking protein supplements and shakes before and after working out and eating a healthy salad or sandwich for lunch and a light dinner with one snack for the day. I've gone down a size but my goal is more to tone than lose weight. Looking at these hips, I'll never be a single-digit size- I'll be happy with a 10/12 as long as nothing jiggles when I run LOL!

I think that's about it. Nothing too exciting. Slowly getting my life on track. GOTTA GO - THE TUDORS IS ON!

Ciao

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Swimmingly

HOTLANTA IS FLOODED!!!







On Monday when I left my door to head to work, I had no idea it had even been raining, let alone flooding. It wasn't until I heard the radio that I realized what was going on. My area was totally and completely (Thank the Lord) unaffected. My commute had no rain or flood waters or anything. When I arrived at work...I found out how badly this rain had affected many. Douglas and Cobb counties (the more expensive areas - well they have some big houses there!) are basically shut down. There's really no way in or out of those and houses and schools are flooded.

HERE is a slideshow featuring much of the damage. Really puts things into perspective....

I am saddened because there have been around 10 deaths- many of which were caused by people trying to return home from work and either not realizing that the roads were flooded and drowning or trying to drive through and drowning. Work is NEVER that important people- the Govenor has declared a State-of-Emergency and has urged people from the worst-hit areas to stay home. Take a few days off- your bosses cannot fire you and if they do a suit is in order ...

The first video is a compilation of news reports on the flooding....

The next video is of Six Flags over Georgia where I was planning to go Sunday.

Check out that slide show linked above to get a feel of what is really going on... I did not realize how bad the situation was until I looked at it....


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When Living Costs Too Much

By now, you have surely heard of how the Eskimo elders, once they could no longer care for themselves or once they became a hindrance to their group, would float themselves off to sea on a small block of ice to die.

Now…this is not entirely true. I studied the Inuit (part of my Anthropological studies) and the elders were greatly revered for their oral history. But…there are many cases of suicide or assisted suicides on record. There was even a spoken law in which – if someone asked 3 times to die – their wish had to be granted. It was a harsh area to live in and an extra mouth but little food meant that the group could die as a whole…

As you can see above…this post will be about death…but to be a little more precise- end-of life-care. If we want to be totally blunt…our medical advances have made it possible for us to continue living well past when we should and living with things that would have killed our “lesser” ancestors in the past. People used to die from COLDS and MEASLES! Now-a-days those are fairly common and pose no real threat. Hell…people (Hi Magic Johnson) are living for decades with the virus that is supposed to be the end-all. Science is great….but…what about nature?

There used to be an ebb and flow to this type of thing. Babies are born and grow up. They have babies of their own…then the older generation has surpassed its usefulness and they pass. This struck me in Biology when my teacher bluntly said Once you have kids and get them to the point where they are self-sufficient you are no longer of use to nature. Jaws dropped but then he further explained that nature intended us to procreate similar to the other animals and to continue our species…nothing more…nothing less. Nature used to be able to take care of these things. The older members of the flock couldn’t compete for resources and mates or would get injured/sick and die. This was the case with the Neanderthals (to give them a blanket name) as well and even persisted into the dark ages. With advances in medicine came wonderful things- we could combat these plagues and diseases- but also very terrible things. Food/resource shortage, over-crowding, and stripping the natural areas caused their own problems – namely...well...famines and new diseases.

I often wonder what I’m going to be like when I’m elderly. Am I going to be one of those go-getters who’s still moving and shaking at age 80 or am I going to be sickly and bed-ridden? Are my children going to have to come to help me bathe or help me to simply live my life? Will I have to have a 24-hour nurse? I see people strapped to an oxygen tank or confined to a bed for the rest of their lives. There are people who are essentially vegetables (not just the elderly of course…) who can never move again, can NEVER come off of their medicines or machines, lest they will die. Some can’t even be considered….alive…technically. There’s got to be some point when you’re taking 15 medicines 3 times a day and an additional 10 to combat the negative effects of those medicines, where you start to realize that it is more work to live than it should be. When you can no longer function (and I mean life functions – eat, breathe, expel waste) without the assistance of others…. I personally would not want to be that way…and certainly would not want that financial, emotional, and mental burden to fall on my family members and children. I would rather die than be bed-ridden and semi-conscious for the rest of my life.

Here is an article I was reading about end-of-life care. Its mostly about the costs associated with it ala Obama’s universal medical plan and cost cutting but I’m curious- what do you think about end-of-life care as a whole?? I’m not advocating killing off the elderly but, at what point do you say ‘this is too much’?





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OMG...Just..........No........WTF

This is our youth...our future...being corrupted and over-sexualized. I was listening to a local radio station (Q100 Atlanta) which plays a nice mix of top 40 music but has a great morning show where the crew tackles hot-button topics and issues every morning. This morning...they featured a video... it is below....

Fair warning- the video is LOUD and starts immediately upon opening the page (the "Read More" tab) so...turn your sound down!!!!





Is anyone else disturbed?

Surprisingly enough... while I was disturbed by the video itself and the consequences of such actions... I was also concerned (not surprised of course) about the calls that came in concerning it. "In places like Jamaica and Africa...this is common" was a comment from a listener. This video is clearly taken in a Spanish Speaking country (you could even hear that over the radio as they played it...) but, of course, it goes back to hypersexual black people...

Its not about RACE people - its about KIDS being sexualized at such young ages... get your minds right...


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Meh

Short and sweet...

I apologize for the lack of a post last week and the shortened post for today- I have been, as all of our bloggers are currently, stacking my chips and working on getting some other opportunities together. Been working my ass off at work and trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to do for the next few months.

Work has been so crazy lately- when it rains...it pours! New policies have been enacted which has shifted more burden on the people in my position. While that's going on...a Partner, whom I enjoy working under and am learning a lot from, has decided to give me more responsibilities...something I can't and don't want to say no to... Remember...this is all going to look great on my resume. What this means is...more work, more hours, and less 'surfing the net time'.

I'm also getting together my own law school apps so that I can be just like our buddy Guy- overwhelmed and working toward the future. Hopefully I can get off my ass and get these apps in Early Decision so I'll know soon where I'm going to end up IF I manage to get in anywhere. I've been speaking to a ton of people, normal people like me...not ones like Guy who practically aced the LSAT (hate you) who say that they didn't get in on their first set of apps and had to wait a year. Oh God....that CANNOT happen. Nervewrecking....

This realization that I might not get in to the places I want to go (and the realization that some schools cost like $70,000 a year...) has made me start looking less at the Ivies and more at state and other schools. I've been taking more factors into consideration- what schools are best based on what I want to study? What interesting other courses are offered (Should have looked at that for undergrad...)? Where would I want to live/intern/practice law? Where would be CHEAP but still give a great education? I will most likely end up in a Georgia or NC school due to the fact that I'd get In-State Tuition because I have lived/currently live in those places. We'll see. Shifting away from that name thing and more towards practicality....

Anyway- just wanted to touch base! Got a lot to do!


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Intolerance at its Finest....

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Looking Ahead

Lots of new/upcoming films that I'm very intrigued by...here's a look:



Avatar:

See more funny videos and Entertainment Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Story: An injured Marine named Jake Sully travels to a forest-like planet named Pandora to recieve a new body: that of a human-Na'vi (Pandora's inhabitants) hybrid. The Na'vi are blue with tails and stand about 9 feet tall. They are considered primitive but, unbeknownst to humans, are actually more advanced. The Na'vi's land is being encroached upon by the humans and Jake, in his quest for a healthy body, has unwittingly become a part of that. War ensues...

This movie is touted to be the future of movies: effortlessly combining 3D graphics and new filming techniques. I can't wait until it comes out!

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Another film, Inglorious Basterds, has been making headway lately as an interesting differing view of the discord between the Nazi's and the Jews... it is Tarantino's vision of what should have occurred...

He has even somehow managed to make a lovable Nazi character... interesting...

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Tarantino is a bit of a genius...the film centers (so it seems) around a premiere of a Nazi propaganda film set to inspire the soldiers. The trailer for this film has actually been released (Viral Marketing at its finest!) and is garnering much hype (and discontent...):

Looking forward to finding some time to catch these...if you get 'em first shoot me a review in the comments!

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Hoarding and Me

A&E debuted their new show Hoarders...


I only was able to catch parts of it...and the link to watch the entire episode isn't working on A&E's site but wow...riveting. You usually only see people who hoard trash and junk...I have never seen one with food. My mother caught the whole episode and relayed it to my in gritty details. The more I listened...the more fearful I got.

Why? I’m bad with food… I have too many food-based fears and, at the same time, I take too many risks when it comes to it. This is gross…but…I have cut mold off of cheese and bread and eaten the rest… With other foods though, fruit in particular, if there is a soft spot…I can’t bring myself to eat it or if I’ve had it more than three days (and I always buy in bulk mind you), I also can’t eat it. There really is no reason ever for me to buy milk…I never use it! But every time I go to the store…I buy some.

That being said…I never considered myself a hoarder per se. After watching the show, however, there may be some early signs I need to watch for. I’m sure I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m a huge fan of the Intervention and Obsessed (which is relatively new to the game) shows based on Addition and OCD. Well…hoarding is a form of OCD as well but is probably one of the more common and possibly dangerous OCD’s evidenced here and here (careful with the second one...you may puke).

I see a lot of myself in this woman, although mine hasn’t become dangerous or unhealthy and I don’t have an attachment to the food; I CAN and WILL throw it away when it becomes inconvenient. But…still…signs are there. I have let fruit rot in the fridge. When it starts to mold, I become sickened by it and can’t eat anything in the fridge. I also…can’t bring myself to touch it, so for days at a time, I will have mini-panics if I have to open the fridge for any reason. When it gets to be disgusting enough…I’ll finally bring myself to throw it away. More often than not, however, someone else has already done that. If we were to open my freezer…half of the meat in there has intense freezer burn… I frequent Sam’s club and buy chicken and steak in bulk (steak is nicely priced there!) but then I wont want those things…so I never actually eat them. Its one of those “shopped when I was hungry” kinds of things. My hoarding is more pricy than anything.

At least I have taken step one and realized it and now know that I can do things to combat it before it gets out of control:

1) Go shopping every two or three days. When I finally strike out on my own…I’m going to do my best to live near a farmer’s market and/or a grocery store- like within walking distance. That way I won’t have the issues I have with fruits because I’ll always know they’re fresh.

2) Shop with recipes in mind. My problem is that I’ll go with like 12 or 13 recipes but I’ll only actually do like 2 of them and not the rest because my tastes have changed. If I shop every two or three days, I’ll be more likely to still want to eat that stuff.

3) Set a budget. Another issue I have is…buying too much food. I’ll tweak recipes (a little extra meat…three or four more tomatoes) to fit what I THINK i’ll need and it always turns out to be more. So…if I’m shopping for two or three days…but 4 chicken breasts rather than a pack of 12. Sounds like a lot less wasted meat already!

4) If all else fails – live with ravenous teenage/college boys. They’ll eat any and everything. I’ll never have food!

Keep you updated!

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Drake Gay?

Real post coming shortly but....thought I'd drop this little diddy to wake ya up. You guys seem to have a love/hate relationship with this guy here. More fuel to the fire!

Thanks Bossip (obviously...covering half the damn pic up) for the heads up!






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Chew on This: Rethinking Your Job Search

Do you practically LIVE online? Order food online? Find dates online? Even...Job Search Online?

STOP IT!!



Applying online can actually HURT your job search!!! According to this article, Search Engine Marketing only makes up 3% of hires!

What were the most effective methods of getting hired? Referrals and face-to-face interactions/networking!

"Online can be a great starting point, but that face-to-face communication has to take place. Someone has to know about you, and know your story. I like to say it's not who you know, but who knows you."

Employers particularly like hiring via their current employees; Ever wonder why no matter WHERE you're applying (McDonald's included) there is always a line asking if you know someone who is currently employed there? Now you know...

This bias in favor of personal referral is huge[...]About one-third makes a hire for every four referrals, another third makes a hire for every 10 referrals. So instead of competing with hundreds of candidates, most of those with a personal connection are competing with a handful!

Using technology in your job search isn't all bad though!

Anyone can marry online and offline resources to maximum effect, says Crispin. "With Facebook, LinkedIn, my college alumni association, and my professional associations like SHRM, which has a member directory, there's no company I can't get an employee referral to inside of an hour." Current employees win kudos for referring a new hire, so as long as a candidate is sane and presentable, they're usually willing to do it.

Use your internet skillz wisely! Set up a networking coffee meeting with that graduate two or three years older than you through myspace. Tweet with a current employee! Do what it takes but get that personal reference!

Good luck readers! Hope this helps!





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Leave Your F*cking Phone On

Classic story...never gets old...


Man backpacks through Europe for 2 weeks...girlfriend FORGETS he's leaving...girlfriends many attempts to get in touch with him during his trip!

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Really busy at work today (too busy to make a real post) so I'll leave you with this diddy for today. Planning on posting on the coonery of Real Housewives of Atlanta shortly (I will be doing extensive research and forcing myself to sit through the train-wreck). :)

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*Highlights* Lady Gaga's Penis

I have to say... I have bought into all of the hype. I think her songs are catchy (isn't that all it takes these days?) though I wouldnt venture too far to say that this girl is an amazing singer. Nice beats...silly songs...over-the-top videos....lesbian hype...

Then...there's the crazy outfits....





The internet is abuzz with the supposed leaking of parts of an interview in which she mentions actually being a hermaphrodite (no source is ever given and no article has come out yet...you be the judge).

"It's not something that I'm ashamed of, just isn't something that I go around telling everyone. Yes. I have both male and female genitalia, but I consider myself a female. It's just a little bit of a penis and really doesn't interfere much with my life."

Is this all a ploy to sell more records? Rumors have been swirling for months that she is a transsexual (man hands...Adam's apple...) so is this just our minds playing trick on us? Or did she do this on purpose to keep us guessing? I mean...its clear she likes the attention and the mystery of "GaGa".

Thoughts?

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Questionable

While on the subject of our youth and inappropriate behavior... I came across this little diddy...



Comments? Concerns?

I'm uncomfortable with the gyrating and popping but overall...interesting...

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Oh Disney

Oh Disney...what have you DONE?!



Is it just me or are all the idols of our childhood CRAZY now? I mean...wow. It's not just Disney...Nickolodeon, CW...all of them have bred straight insanity! Pop culture train-wrecks are a product of their environment. Take a cute aspiring child actress/singer or heir of some sort and add constant attention and t.v. cameras and this is what you get...



LOL...ok...that's mean...but seriously...

Think about it. They are cute as a button on some show and for years are followed and loved. They are often robbed of their childhood (though many of them choose that and even enjoy the fame and fortune) and are forced to grow up and make their mistakes in the public eye. I will even give them some slack...I mean...I kissed boys when people thought I was too young. I was not always the sweet innocent little girl. I cursed sometimes, I took part in teasing of others... But...I mean...you are in the public eye! You need to tone that shit down. Think about it...YOU'RE AN ACTOR...YOU GET PAID TO BE SOMEONE ELSE... Do your dirt in the privacy of your own home (with no cameras around of course) and continue acting like the cute little one you are. Want to shed that sweet image? Pull a Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and do a nude play or play a drug addict in a movie... THEN you can be a bad girl/boy...just wait until your disney contract and your status as teen idol fade before you do!

Here is a nice gallery of some of the child stars of our day (and some current ones)... Peruse and enjoy!



Name: Destiny Hope "Miley" Cyrus
Network/Show: Disney, Hannah Montana
Worth: 3.5 Million
Inspirational attributes:
- Dating a 20 year old model at age 16 (*jealous!!*)
- Photo Below- Heralded (lol) by the Asian Community for her loving impression...


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Name: Mischa Anne Marsden Barton
Network/Show: Fox, The O.C.
Worth: ??
Inspirational attributes:
- Arrested on suspicion of DUI, possession of marijuana, and driving without a valid license on December 27, 2007
- Possibly (probably) Anorexic


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Names: Mary-Kate and Ashley Fuller Olsen
Network/Show: ABC, Full House
Worth: 100 Million
Inspirational attributes:
- Mary-Kate Caught up in Heath Ledger Death Scandal
- Mary-Kate Possibly Anorexic (I guess Ashley is pretty squeaky clean actually...)



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And finally, we have the symbol for child stars gone wrong...*drum-roll*



Name: Lindsay Dee Lohan
Network/Show: Disney, The Parent Trap (She obviously did other stuff after that...)
Worth: 7.5 Million
Inspirational attributes (Where to begin with this one?! She's Like all the others x 10!!):
- Many Car accidents- some caused by drinking/drugs
- Rehab for Alcoholism (always caught drinking!)
- Probably everything else!
- Anorexic off and on!!



One more for the road!



Disclaimer: Yes I know these women probably do great things (donate to charities etc) but come on... sometimes the bad outweighs the good!







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News!!!

Opportunities seem to be rolling in for us RGC bloggers....


I guess I'll add to the pot!

I don't want to go into tooo much detail (don't want to jinx it or whatever) but...a huge opportunity may have presented itself for me.

Backstory:

I wake up to my mom getting ready for her doctors' appointment yesterday. She is wearing her "Dartmouth Mom" shirt (which has what appears to be a slight bleach drop stain on it) and a pair of jeans- very casual. I thought it was too chill (bleach stain distracting...) and told her "You're wearing that? You sure you don't want to change?"... Glad she didnt!!!!! A guy stopped her in the hospital and inquired whether or not she had a child currently there. She told him my story and how I'm currently interested in law and he gave her some interesting news. He is a Dartmouth alum...class of '72. His ex-roommate (a very lucrative person in law/government here in Atl!) is running for Mayor of Atlanta!!! He gave my mom his contact information and told me to contact him so we could chat and he could find out about me and arrange some sort of meeting with him!

EEP! This could be HUGE!!!

Fixing my resume as we speak!!!

Pray/send good wishes for me!





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*Alert* New Strain of HIV Found!

Be Safe Readers! Keep it wrapped- keep it tight!


"French researchers have identified a new human immunodeficiency virus, the first derived from gorillas, a report said Monday."

The other three strains (I had no idea there were three!!) were found in chimpanzee's.

"The new virus, called RBF 168, was detected in a 62-year-old woman who moved to Paris from the western Africa nation of Cameroon[...]The new gorilla virus "has many of the biological properties necessary for human infection[.]"

"The human case described here does not seem to be an isolated incident, as before coming to Paris the subject had lived in the semiurban area of Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, and reported no contact with apes or bush meat[...] That would indicate that the woman contracted the virus from another human."

Forgive me for being ignorant on the subject (I hope to remain so in many respects...) but I thought that HIV was only contracted through the transmission of bodily fluids (i.e. saliva, blood, ejaculate). The subtle mention of bush meat scares me. Granted...I dont eat human flesh but you can contract HIV from eating cooked meat? Or is this a reference to eating raw bush meat? Someone help me out!

Here's the Source if you want to read for yourself! Read more...