Music Monday: So, I've Started That Again

The following is an open letter to a very specific part of my stubborn psyche.

Dear Mental Blockage,

Alright. You have to stop this. You need to apply for work to get work. Just because you've been rejected sight unseen by Best Buy, several local TV and radio stations, newspapers and libraries, WalMart and Blockbuster doesn't mean that you will never get work again. It only seems that way.

You did good today; applying for your first job in a month and a half. Nordstrom would be lucky to have you. And if they can't see that another company will. Also, if that's the case? Fuck them. Forever and a day.

Notice how relatively good and responsible you feel after the initial anger from job application idiocy subsides? Isn't that a good feeling? Don't you want more of that? OK! Keep applying for work! All we're asking is two job applications a day. That's not much! You can do it and still have time for lots of other things. Like playing with the cats and reading 900 page long fantasy novels.

I'm glad we had this talk, Psyche. I love you when you act like a rational human soul.

Now! Music!

What They Don't Tell You

Small splurge #1 thanks to my mom: two rings from girlprops.com that I've been lusting over for Four Whole Months. Thanks Mom!

I've been largely unemployed for over two years now (minus the 5 months at the
warehouse) and I've realized something. Being unemployed makes you cheap.

Overall this isn't a bad thing. I look for deals more often, use more coupons (even though I must say that I've always been a bit addicted to deals and coupons anyway), and wait a lot longer to buy things if I buy at all.

The part I don't like is that even the most reasonable prices seem too high for everything, all the time. HUBS and I both have the occasional stomach problems, meaning we go through tons of toilet paper. I cannot tell you how many times I've looked at the price for my favorite kind of TP and thought Dammit! $6.98! Who do they think I am? King Midas, for fucks sake! And, really, I know $7 for 12 double rolls of my favorite TP is a reasonable indulgence. I mean, it amounts to about $14 a month, unless I have a coupon.

Clothes, jewelry and other accessories give me the same feeling. Logically, I know $40 isn't bad for a well-made blouse, and it's really good for something like a dress or blazer, but if anything costs more than $10 I don't want to pay for it. Actually, not only do I not want to pay for it, but I usually rant and curse and rave against the manufacturer. Who do they think they are? Those piece a shit shoes aren't worth $98! They don't even cover the whole foot! God Damn them...!



Another small bit of loot included these girly things: lip balm, glitter eye shadow and glitter nail polish. I think there may be a theme there.

The net effect is that I want to buy less. I honestly don't want things the way I used to. Even magazines are less appealing, since I'm not using them to get shopping ideas like I used to. The idea of shoes and purses and jewelry is nice, but I'm pretty much sticking with my list of wants for what to buy when I can, a little at a time. Impulse purchases are pretty much non-existent now. And that's nice when you have little disposable cash and no credit to speak of.

Being unemployed is keeping me out of trouble. Finally.

Candy Good!!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM&M

Have you guys seen these? We tried them a couple of months ago and loved them. The ratio of pretzel to chocolate to candy is exactly right, plus there's a teeny bit of salt with the pretzel that makes everything pop. Yum!

HUBS has been buying an insane amount of candy lately, especially M&M's. I'm usually pretty good with eating my favorites (reds and blues - I swear they taste the best) and leaving the rest to him, but lately I've been M&Ming like a fiend, too. Not good.

Maybe it's backlash from when I was a kid and my mom never allowed me to have candy in the summer. Gum and mints were ok, but she was positive that anything else was bound to have worms in it. Apparently this happened a lot when she was a kid, so she finally learned her lesson. I have to say, there was one time my dad decided not to listen to her silly candy fears and bought a Bit-O-Honey. He took a bite and, sure enough, found a worm.

I just realized that story has no business in a supposedly appetizing post about good candy you should try. Oh well, here we are anyway.

Have a nice weekend!

Sundays Are For Parents

Today was Father's Day. I hope everyone who's a good dad or who has a good dad was able to enjoy the day.

I was reading through an old issue of Real Simple a couple of weeks ago that happened to be from June some years ago. They had a special where they asked readers to tell them about their favorite piece of advice from their dads. It got me thinking; I don't remember my dad giving me a single bit of advice. Really. Nothing.

I wasn't bothered by this, I just found it odd. Do I not remember just because I don't like him? Or, did he honestly not advise me on stuff when I was growing up? Strange.

And then I realized that my mom has given me lots of advice, but I don't specifically remember most of it. It was generally lots of sage-y, most-adults-know-this-stuff type of advice. Except for her advice on fighting. I actually remember the exact moment of that talking-to.

We were in the car, and I think it was after I got into my one and only fight in school when I was 12. I distinctly remember my mom telling me to "fight to kill" whenever I needed to so that others would be reluctant to mess with me. I mostly remember that because, even at the time, I thought the sentiment was a bit...excessive. But, I did appreciate knowing that mom would be ok with it if I killed someone in self-defense.

Thanks Mom. Happy Father's Day.