tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17348377087075705902024-02-20T19:02:46.446-06:00Bankruptcy & BreakfastI filed for and completed a bankruptcy last year, and I'm running a 5K in April. This blog looks honestly at my progress in health and finances.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-24357803438372275352011-02-14T15:18:00.000-06:002011-02-14T15:18:19.315-06:00Sort of Alive UpdateI've been nightmarishly horrible about keeping this updated, and now I finally have time. Except, uh-oh, I'm sick. Here was my night last night:<br />
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-I watched the Grammys at my parents' until 10:30. My general reaction to the awards was... huh? See, if you'll recall, I ranted about the nominations in <a href="http://bankruptcyandbreakfast.blogspot.com/2010/12/you-wanted-rant-ill-show-you-rant-music.html">an earlier entry</a>, and now, the awards were just full of surprises. I once considered the Grammys to be a real source of respect in the world of music, but unfortunately that has not been as accurate for me as time has passed. At least Katy Perry did not win album of the year. But the token alternative band did- and I loved both performances by Arcade Fire. Haven't listened to the whole album, but I can believe they deserved it. The real horror, though, was in the fact that "Hey Soul Sister" won a televised Grammy. I don't even care about the category- I've decided that's the worst song I've ever heard. I would rather listen to "With Arms Wide Open" on repeat for twelve hours. As final comments- that Lady Antebellum song was not the best recording or song of the year (sorry Grammys), and that Rihanna song where she yells at you during the chorus (wantuto MAKEMEFE-UL, LIKE EYMTHEONLYGURLINTHEWORRLD) beat Robyn for best dance recording. Whatevs.<br />
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-I got home and milled around online until about 11:30.<br />
-I tossed and turned until two o'clock in the morning, and I began realizing during this time that my sore throat pain was pretty intense. I had taken some cough drops from my parents' house, but things still weren't good.<br />
-By 3, I realized taking something to help me sleep wouldn't help because I'd be too tired to go into work.<br />
-at 4:30 I made lesson plans and called into work.<br />
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Thanks to this, I've slept for about three total hours since about 4:30, but never more than one hour at a time. I'm furious at my body.<br />
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Speaking of my body, I'm on week six of Couch to 5k, but this sickness is really putting me behind. I luckily started the program with extra time to train before it actually happens. We got the email last week with registration for it, and it made the whole thing feel super super real. Like I'm actually going to do it, and that's scary.<br />
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As far as finances go, I've received the paperwork confirmation that my student loans have been consolidated. AWWWW YEAH. My monthly payment will be cut by almost half per month. Incredible and great. <br />
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So now that I'm in recovery mode (and chugging grapefruit juice for the vitamin C), I hope this update is sufficient.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-90724875794201435792011-01-30T16:12:00.000-06:002011-01-30T16:12:34.593-06:00It's About Time!I know, I know, it's been like two weeks since I've posted. The school year has happened again, and I keep having to do that whole teaching thing. In order to appease you, here are some images to whet your whistle.<br />
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It has snowed a whole bunch here recently (and A FOOT OF SNOW is possible on Tuesday apparently), so here are some pictures of that:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXgELnxCSI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/K-ibKNVj2bw/s1600/snowy%2Bstreet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXgELnxCSI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/K-ibKNVj2bw/s320/snowy%2Bstreet.jpg" /></a></div>The street outside the track where I've been running.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXgWwaDjAI/AAAAAAAAAJY/AKBNlFELG-w/s1600/mound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXgWwaDjAI/AAAAAAAAAJY/AKBNlFELG-w/s320/mound.jpg" /></a></div>The parking lot outside of CHS has a spot in the middle where the snow gets plowed to, and I park directly next to it. Here was the view outside my driver's side window. <br />
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In terms of the atmosphere of the track itself, here are some highlights:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXgtZLzumI/AAAAAAAAAJg/ehCj2Zrd6Bw/s1600/play%2Bequipment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXgtZLzumI/AAAAAAAAAJg/ehCj2Zrd6Bw/s320/play%2Bequipment.jpg" /></a></div>The play equipment I must run past once a lap in exhaustion while kids stare at me from the swings.<br />
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Also, there are ridiculous "road signs" up along the walls on the track, and I thought I'd post the three most ridiculous ones and let you guys decide which one most makes you roll your eyes! Vote in the comment section!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXhFxbDAWI/AAAAAAAAAJo/r2Xwvrx7eBo/s1600/no%2Btraffic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXhFxbDAWI/AAAAAAAAAJo/r2Xwvrx7eBo/s320/no%2Btraffic.jpg" /></a></div>HA! Get it?! It's irony!!!!!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXhZQZfaZI/AAAAAAAAAJw/8mGXy_hiHhE/s1600/psych%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXhZQZfaZI/AAAAAAAAAJw/8mGXy_hiHhE/s320/psych%2521.jpg" /></a></div>Ba dum dum! *rimshot*<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXhiTsZHZI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/-zVBSnXN1FQ/s1600/little%2Bdears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXhiTsZHZI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/-zVBSnXN1FQ/s320/little%2Bdears.jpg" /></a></div>*Sigh*<br />
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I've been doing <i>a lot</i> more cooking at home this year so far, and not only is it saving me money ultimately, but I feel a lot better about my food choices as a result. This is the pad of paper I use for my grocery list:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXh1Vioo7I/AAAAAAAAAKA/494E_CNrB1U/s1600/big%2Bboy%2Blist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXh1Vioo7I/AAAAAAAAAKA/494E_CNrB1U/s320/big%2Bboy%2Blist.jpg" /></a></div>Mommy, wow! I'm a big kid now!<br />
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And, finally, I flipped past MSNBC the other day, and this was the actual text on the screen:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXiC0DiB8I/AAAAAAAAAKI/DU_aYlwmRjo/s1600/lolwut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TUXiC0DiB8I/AAAAAAAAAKI/DU_aYlwmRjo/s320/lolwut.jpg" /></a></div><br />
My response:<br />
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Bye, everyone!Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-86792863297726817612011-01-12T14:19:00.000-06:002011-01-12T14:19:14.866-06:00I'm So Fragrant!I'm mailing my student loan consolidation form in today, and I eagerly await the point in my life where I have that payment automatically deducted from my monthly paycheck and, therefore, never have to worry about it ever again. Actually, I'd like each of my monthly bills to be automatically removed from my bank account and, therefore, automatically removed from my consciousness. <br />
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If things go as planned, I'll be saving something like $250 a month. That's ridiculous/awesome/actually affordable. I can make that work. Something I never thought I might have in my life is a monthly budget that actually works. That's reassuring and feels like silk sheets, but metaphorically not literally.<br />
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So, word on the street is that it snowed around here. Oh, you wonder why I'm not sure? That would be because this is the view from my apartment:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TS4FZN0lIMI/AAAAAAAAAIw/yG19vZmJu9Y/s1600/the%2Bgrotto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TS4FZN0lIMI/AAAAAAAAAIw/yG19vZmJu9Y/s320/the%2Bgrotto.jpg" /></a></div><br />
It's technically referred to as the "atrium," but I think I'm going to start calling it "The Grotto." Not entirely because I once found an opened condom wrapper directly under my window, but I also can't say that doesn't play at least a small role. It's not as dark in there as I sometimes tell myself it is, but I will not open my blinds more often because that means I can't walk around in my underwear. Listen, it's my apartment, I know, but still... I'd rather not.<br />
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This weekend featured two friends and I watching the single most horrifying film I've ever seen in my entire life, and if the screaming didn't make me drop some weight, perhaps the continuation of the Couch to 5k business has. Yesterday I started the second week of 5k training through the program, and it involved me jogging for 90 seconds then walking for two minutes. Like last week's start, it nearly killed me I think. I spent a significant amount of time checking my phone while thinking "how do I still have 75 seconds of jogging left?" but, by God, I got through it. I'm sincerely hoping tomorrow's workout is easier, like it was last week, and then Saturday morning I'm kicking ass and taking names.<br />
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Exacerbating my near death workout yesterday was the amount of track traffic. Well, gym traffic overall. I did my last workout last week on a treadmill because there were kids playing in the play area by the track in my building (sometime I'll take a picture of this so it makes more sense), but yesterday there were kids AND people on the treadmills in the gym. The snow has given everyone the idea to hang out at the track, apparently. Most annoyingly was, at one point, about seven teenagers in full winter coats were walking the opposite direction of everyone else while carrying big gulps. One of them said something to me, but I couldn't tell if it was a student I knew or just a random person, so I gave them the <a href="http://www.theqside.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Two-fingers-e1286057209456.jpg">deuces fingers</a> (much like that gentleman). They wouldn't leave the track, and it was at a point in my workout where, undoubtedly, I looked the most ridiculous. I hadn't showered, and I was totally rocking my <a href="http://www.bondiband.com/index.php">Bondi Band</a>. Here I am modeling my Bondi Band while looking like I'd like to hurt someone:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TS4KbXuirtI/AAAAAAAAAI4/SYwUp10sVLo/s1600/bondi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TS4KbXuirtI/AAAAAAAAAI4/SYwUp10sVLo/s320/bondi.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I don't know why I look so pissed, but I can tell you it's definitely not because of how much I love that Bondi Band. I received it from a friend as a Christmas gift, and they're sort of the best things ever because they absorb my sweat as I workout and hold my hair back. Does my hair look ridiculous sticking out of the back of that thing? Yep, but whatevs. I love it.<br />
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So yeah, those kids finally left, and my last lap or two was completely alone save for other actual exercisers, including three guys who appeared to be actual runners. I did it. And I took this picture as the closest thing I've been thus far to the snow:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TS4MLI_0YrI/AAAAAAAAAJA/uFBIs8LnOXw/s1600/snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TS4MLI_0YrI/AAAAAAAAAJA/uFBIs8LnOXw/s320/snow.jpg" /></a></div><br />
In completely unrelated news, I went to the debacle some called a playoff game for the Chiefs on Sunday. Here's the thing though- it was really fun, the Chiefs weren't even supposed to make the playoffs this year, and the resulting ridiculousness of the trip made for a really memorable experience. During the first quarter the crowd made this happen:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TS4Mlg3yokI/AAAAAAAAAJI/d8mJxvpjVVs/s1600/chiefs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TS4Mlg3yokI/AAAAAAAAAJI/d8mJxvpjVVs/s320/chiefs.jpg" /></a></div><br />
It says "Go Chiefs" while simultaneously advertising for Hy-Vee. Where I'm going to go later for groceries. It must have worked! Happy trails, readers!Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-78023806430431888282011-01-06T20:54:00.001-06:002011-01-06T20:56:57.989-06:00I'm Catching Six Figure Checks In All Currencies: C25k Session #2Somehow my apartment building has acquired a shopping cart:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSZ9mlZdeuI/AAAAAAAAAIg/i-CPtqOwQio/s1600/cart.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSZ9mlZdeuI/AAAAAAAAAIg/i-CPtqOwQio/s320/cart.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
A little bit of me would like to climb inside of it and be pushed around. That sounds really fun.<br />
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Okay, so this was day two of the Couch to 5k training, and, as several of you told me, it was honestly a little easier today. To be fair, I think my C25k app had a small malfunction and somehow let me skip a bout of jogging. I'm not sure I mentioned this previously, but the first three workouts are a 5 minute walk, 20 minutes of alternating 30 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking, and a 5 minute cool down walk. I pulled it off today and had slightly less of that fat kid side pain that, as I've now been told, is just an every-person side pain. Good to know :)<br />
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Also, the sunset was beautiful when I was training:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSaAEPWBu2I/AAAAAAAAAIo/E4D7mpyObW4/s1600/sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSaAEPWBu2I/AAAAAAAAAIo/E4D7mpyObW4/s320/sunset.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Others of you doing this with me- how's it going? I also haven't had pop in a few days (an accomplishment for me!), and I'm trying to sort of eat better (limited success at best).Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-73249385662244923382011-01-04T17:48:00.000-06:002011-01-04T17:48:35.823-06:00C25k day #1: Seering Fat Kid Side PainI got out of school much later than I anticipated today, so my first attempt at Couch to 5k was not as smooth as I thought it was going to be. I ended up taking a bunch of stuff home, so my dreams of walking up the stairs from my car to the gym had a detour at my apartment. I then donned the following:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSOuwjDXl4I/AAAAAAAAAIM/s1CcQ-ocPfA/s1600/Red%2B%2526%2BBig%2BWhite%2BStars%2BHC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="276" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSOuwjDXl4I/AAAAAAAAAIM/s1CcQ-ocPfA/s320/Red%2B%2526%2BBig%2BWhite%2BStars%2BHC.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Okay, not really. But it was a stretchy bandana type of thing with a similar pattern.<br />
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I started by downloading a Couch to 5k iphone app. It cost $3 and it marks the first time I've ever paid for an app. My thought, though, is that if I'm actually going to do this, a $3 investment isn't too much. The real joy is that it tells you what to do and when to do it. So no slaving over my phone's timer- the app does that for me. AND it lets you listen to your ipod playlists so, as one could imagine, I rocked some serious Robyn while I worked out.<br />
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At the beginning of it, I thought the sunlight coming into the track was pretty:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSOvspPO76I/AAAAAAAAAIU/m9JGGkuyxgI/s1600/lit%2Btrack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSOvspPO76I/AAAAAAAAAIU/m9JGGkuyxgI/s320/lit%2Btrack.jpg" /></a></div><br />
In retrospect it sort of is too.<br />
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You walk for the first five minutes, and then jog for 30 seconds. Your body instantly fools you into thinking, "Oh, that wasn't so bad." After the next round of jogging I got to the point where I was feeling it. Then by the third round I was getting the thing I think only fat kids get, but if I'm wrong I invite you to inform me otherwise. It's right where I imagine my kidney is, and I think all fat kids get the pain there when they exercise. It happened each time I jogged (or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqLnPF3sF14">yogged</a>, it might be a soft "j").<br />
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By the end of it, my body was in some really serious pain. More accurately, I think my body was pissed at me. It was like, "I'm sorry, what is this? What are you doing to me? <a href="http://gochitchat.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/aw-hell-naw.jpg">Aw hell naw!</a>"<br />
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I had scheduled the workouts (it requires three per week) for today, tomorrow, and Saturday, but the app recommended not doing the workout two days in a row, so I'll try it on Thursday. Hopefully this gets easier, but for now... this is painful and difficult. That's what it's worth doing, right?Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-78581362537021639082011-01-03T21:05:00.000-06:002011-01-03T21:07:48.982-06:00He's a big dumb animal, isn't he, folks? Part Deux!I continued my recent run of dumbassery over the past several days. Exhibit A:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSJ3pVfWzjI/AAAAAAAAAH0/TNvJ-nEN9rE/s1600/164392_959806552970_15902095_49857117_7446860_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSJ3pVfWzjI/AAAAAAAAAH0/TNvJ-nEN9rE/s320/164392_959806552970_15902095_49857117_7446860_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
This was my glass mixing bowl. I had kept all of my mixing bowls (a few metal, two plastic, and this once glorious glass one) on the top of the cabinet above my kitchen sink. My apartment is tiny; I had to make room. I have lots of stuff in my apartment whose location I cannot explain. So in retrospect, it was not the smartest location to keep the bowl. But I had kept it there for well over a year without incident. Then, last Thursday, I put the bowl back on the cabinet. A few minutes later it committed suicide. I listened to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSz16ngdsG0">this song</a> and cried while cleaning the pieces. In fact, I'm still finding tiny shards of the bowl embedding themselves in my feet nearly a week later. Its memory will truly never die.<br />
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Then, last night, I displayed a truly inspired act of dumbassery. <br />
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Lu called me to see about going to see True Grit (which, by the way, was <i>excellent</i>). I agreed, and he, DTAB, and I met at 36th Street restaurant which is now in the downtown Holiday Inn, which proves that it will never move into the first floor of my building as was rumored when I moved in. Anyway, the dumbassery began in a small way. I ordered shrimp skewers, and the shrimp were a) overcooked but tasty and b) completely impossible to remove from the skewers without making me look like an alien who just learned about this new thing called eating. And, to boot, the waitress was cute and told Lu she was watching <a href="http://www.the-state.com/">The State</a> on Netflix. I had rice all over the table and my shirt. The removal of the shrimp required my hands- a fork and knife were uselessly cumbersome. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjNn4bbbgSw">Like me</a> (anyone else remember thinking that song was really badass? Just me?). My hands were sticky, rice was everywhere, and I felt like a moron. <br />
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We went to the movie from downtown by taking St. Joe avenue up to Blackwell to get to the North Shoppes, and turning from Blackwell onto the Belt Highway, I somehow ran over the median. I think I was probably jamming too hard to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5-SRxs51Ck">this song</a> (which was playing at the time of the incident). It was also dark, and I simply didn't see it. <br />
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I immediately thought I had somehow ripped off the entire front of my car. I heard a weird noise, and the car kept veering to the left. I somehow made it to the parking lot, and I surveyed the damage. Sure enough the front driver's side tire was completely flat- some minor miracle allowed me to get it into the parking lot I think. We decided to see the movie before we fixed it. Here's a photo of "us" fixing it:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSJ98dwqVhI/AAAAAAAAAH8/vBGf6m4dCuA/s1600/flat%2Btire.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSJ98dwqVhI/AAAAAAAAAH8/vBGf6m4dCuA/s320/flat%2Btire.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
See, what's actually happening here is Lu is changing me tire because I have absolutely no idea how. After watching it done a few times now, I think I have a decent grip on it, but I was incapable of helping Lu. I owe him seventy six cases of beer (or something) in thanks for his help.<br />
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The donut tire (I feel like I couldn't spell that doughnut... there isn't dough) was interesting, though. It is colored a beautiful shade of what I call "dumbass yellow" as evidenced here:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSJ-bxNcyNI/AAAAAAAAAIE/lj4g7OZ2UoY/s1600/dumbass%2Byellow.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TSJ-bxNcyNI/AAAAAAAAAIE/lj4g7OZ2UoY/s320/dumbass%2Byellow.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
See, it's bright yellow so everyone can see I hit what some might call a blindingly obvious median on St. Joseph's busiest street. Yes, that color would transmit that story.<br />
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So these continued incidents of idiocy have inspired me.<br />
<br />
I've spent my Christmas break getting some stuff for me done. I cleaned my apartment, and I think it's looking pretty good. As mentioned in my last entry, I got some of my financial stuff sorta settled. That's good. But, when I titled this blog, it was ultimately because, after getting my finances together, I wanted to work on my health. It was food related, as so many things in my life are. I don't really make New Year's resolutions, but I did tell myself last summer I wanted to start working on getting healthier. The goal I gave myself was to do this before my college roommate's wedding this June. I'm a groomsman in it, and it's the first time I've ever been in a wedding that wasn't for a family member. An honor, really. But I thought it was a good excuse to get myself in working shape for an event with a bunch of strangers and, literally, one person I know. <br />
<br />
That hasn't really happened. If anything, I've gotten worse. I will admit that my job and several other personal issues had me, for lack of a better term, broken by the time November and December rolled around. I was eating poorly, I didn't like my job, I didn't like myself all that much really. Christmas break came at a really appropriate time for me this year, and it is my intention to come back this semester kicking ass and taking names. <br />
<br />
Step one: Not letting things that are awful at work make me think everything about my job is awful. It's ridiculous. There are things about my job I love more than anything in the world, and for whatever reason last semester I really let that negativity get to me. I know I have a lot of challenges, and I know I have things I'm going to do about the things I don't like (<a href="http://dressedfordinner.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/captaincaveman-det.gif">Captain Vagueman</a> anyone?), but I'm here in the moment now. I can't let misery dictate my day to day life. Also, I'm getting a student teacher this semester. That entry I posted before about enjoying the idea of influencing future teachers? I sort of get to do that. And, if anything, it will take much of the grading/work burden off of me for at least a little while in a couple of months. I sincerely hope this semester restores me creatively and professionally.<br />
<br />
Step two: Get my closet and files organized. My closet, as it stands now, is about knee deep with a bunch of crap. I'd like to change that. I also have a two drawer file cabinet that is, quite literally, filled with papers. Some are filed in folders, but many aren't. I actually think several of them are just in need of shredding. I might buy a paper shredder. Are those cheap? Anyway, that's another thing that will make me feel better.<br />
<br />
Step three: The biggie. <br />
<br />
I'm going to enter the <a href="http://www.sjsd.k12.mo.us/Schools/Central/springfling.asp">Central High School annual Spring Fling 5K, 10K, and 1/2 marathon</a>. <br />
<br />
I'm going to run a 5K in four months. <br />
<br />
I'm also completely nuts.<br />
<br />
So here's my thought process:<br />
-If I want to get serious about getting healthier, I have to actually do something about it. I have thought I was getting serious in the past, but nothing has stuck. So I thought this would be a kickstart.<br />
-I like the idea of an event to celebrate the success of finishing the goal. It gives a finality to my work, and ideally I can find some other running thing to do in the summer. Maybe one per season would be good. <br />
-I'm looking at the <a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/index.shtml">Couch to 5K</a> program as my training regimen. I've actually tried this before and failed. It was when I was in college when I lived just a few blocks from the track at Hickman High School. Here's why I hope this will be different: a) the track I'll use is actually CLOSER than that considering it is directly below me on the second floor of my building and b) the track is inside. No weather related issues!<br />
<br />
So, the real question here becomes this:<br />
<br />
Anyone want to join me? Anyone want to run this 5K with me? I know it's going to be hard, but I want to do this. I'll do it alone, but if you want to train with me and run the 5K with me, that'd be cool. Takers?Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-50856420941672870932011-01-01T12:05:00.000-06:002011-01-01T12:05:27.263-06:00He's a big dumb animal, isn't he, folks?I'm going to post about my financial year and future, but before I have to post about my amazing idiot skills:<br />
<br />
Last night I got home from a KC New Year's celebration at approximately 3am. At that point, I attempted to operate my brand new humidifier.<br />
<br />
I'm in love with this humidifier, okay? It's the best purchase I've made in a long time. I woke up with a sore throat for so long I thought I was just going to learn to deal with it as one of those "I'm getting older" things, but then the humidifier changed that. My throat is still dry in the morning, but in a normal, non-painful way. I love you, humidifier.<br />
<br />
Now, I'm not going to pretend I was at 100% brain capacity at 3am. It was New Year's- one might imagine what was happening with my brain. But I was in no way tripping over my couch or anything (that didn't happen until a complete 100% me went to make a bagel this morning). So I filled the little tank with water, like I think I've done before, and I turn on the fan. After falling asleep for about 15 minutes, I heard the fan gurgling. I looked down and, even in the dark, I could tell there was a large pool of water on the floor of my studio apartment. I turned the machine off and cleaned it up, but this morning when I woke up, there was another pool. <br />
<br />
Then, after tripping over the couch to make a bagel this morning, I tripped on a chair leg and my bagel fell butter side down on the top of the couch. It's been an adventurous morning.<br />
<br />
So money. Let's look at the highlights and lowlights of my money in 2010:<br />
<br />
Highlight: Getting my car payment reduced. <br />
<br />
That was fantastic. It was cut in half, saving me approximately $200 a month. More importantly, I got to keep my car! I was genuinely worried for a moment about that. Even to the point to where my dad and I went to a local Ford dealership to see about trading it in for something used and cheaper. So that was super awesome.<br />
<br />
Lowlight: Student loan explosion. <br />
<br />
This is still happening, but I'm getting a hold on it. Due to a ridiculously complicated series of events that my graduate school screwed up like mad, I had to start paying my loans in September of this year. The payments are over $500 a month. I was able to pay them initially, but as the year went on it became clear this was an unrealistic expectation of my monthly budget. So, in order to address the situation, I have completed a student loan consolidation form. One of my loans, I discovered, is not able to be consolidated, but its payment is only $77 a month. Not too bad. But this, if it goes through (and Lord knows I'm praying it does), would save me over $250 a month. That's huge! And I would still be able to put money back into savings. The only problem, and the true reason this is a lowlight, is that I'm behind on a few of them now because the payments were too high. What sucks about that, and what sucks about falling behind in general, is that I can't afford to catch up. This consolidation needs to happen soon. I'll keep you updated. <br />
<br />
Highlight: My amazing financial success in going on vacation.<br />
<br />
I have taught summer school the past several summers in order to finance a trip to New York City. I'm very blessed to have a friend to stay with in NYC, so that saves a huge amount of money each trip. The most expensive part is the flight. Other than that, I made a special effort this year to make the trip financially feasible. And I did it with tremendous success. I came home with way more money than I expected, and that was after going on a tiny little shopping spree at Macy's. It was a really memorable trip, as always. The afternoon Erika and I spent on the beach on Long Island was one of the best days of my life- ridiculously relaxing!<br />
<br />
Lowlight/Highlight: The bankruptcy itself.<br />
<br />
It was a difficult decision. It obviously will impact my credit and financial future for years to come, but considering the ins and outs of my situation, I still feel there was not another choice. So the negatives are clear- screwed up credit for the next ten years-ish. The positives, however, are being able to get my financial life together for the first time... ever, really, having a way out of my financial black hole, and (the biggest/best one) FREEDOM. The bankruptcy gave me much needed freedom. The weight that was lifted from my shoulders was tremendous. It was physical. I felt it. I still feel it.<br />
<br />
As for 2011, I have a few money goals:<br />
<br />
1) Have my student loans completely figured out. Hopefully this happens soon with the consolidation going through.<br />
<br />
2) Not be behind on any bill. That, again, can be solved with #1 happening.<br />
<br />
3) Continue adding to my savings. Thanks to my savings, I didn't have to use any of my monthly paycheck on Christmas gifts. I was able to pull from savings. Unfortunately that did deplete the savings account a bit, but I'm back on the war path to building that up. <br />
<br />
So here's to 2011 being fantastic. Better than 2010. Way better than 2009. The best year I've had. The past two have really sort of blown- I'm due for a really good one. And I'd also like to thank you all- thanks to your generous ad clicking I got a payment last year that I put toward those awful student loans! Since then the money has been scant at best, but that one push was meaningful and much appreciated. You guys are the best. :)Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-21076685530036327462010-12-28T01:04:00.000-06:002010-12-28T01:04:45.655-06:00The Best Albums of 2010I feel like I've drifted into a lot of non-financial related posts lately, and I think that's what really interested people in this thing to begin with. So, sorry those of you who want more of that, this entry is about music again. I love music more than money. Sorry. But I'll do a 2010 financial recap post at some point soon, and I'll set some goals for 2011 and you all can keep me honest :)<br />
<br />
I thought I'd compile a list of my favorite albums of the past year and talk a little about why they're great. In thinking of this list I'm pleased with my own musical variety! Good for me, me!<br />
<br />
In no particular order (except the best, which I'll discuss)...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TRlvy-TBfNI/AAAAAAAAAHU/0sNUHYBB9xI/s1600/girl-talk-all-day-500x500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TRlvy-TBfNI/AAAAAAAAAHU/0sNUHYBB9xI/s320/girl-talk-all-day-500x500.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Girl Talk's <i>All Day</i> album is one of those remix albums that plays like one huge song so, at a hoppin' part-ay, one could just hit play and then leave the music alone for an hour. The concept here is that Girl Talk has taken songs you love and mashed them with songs you probably don't (or do, but whatever) over an awesome beat. The result is an album that, when you've finished it, feels like you've only listened to ten minutes of music. I mean that in a good way, I promise. <br />
<br />
Recommended tracks:<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr2cfwR0roU">"Down for the Count"</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bMM7tGV9MI">"Oh No" (which incidentally begins the album)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0yY0zxk-18">"Triple Double" (My favorite!)</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TRlyLF6IBzI/AAAAAAAAAHc/LFSjP7y5e5o/s1600/mumford-sons-sigh-no-more.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="300" width="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TRlyLF6IBzI/AAAAAAAAAHc/LFSjP7y5e5o/s320/mumford-sons-sigh-no-more.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The album <i>Sigh No More</i> by Mumford & Sons is one I've already mentioned at some point on this blog, but it truly is an excellent album. From top to bottom, Mumford & Sons make emotionally impactful aggressive folk. As a lover of music, I'm most impressed by the instrumentation and harmonies throughout this CD. Hard to only pick a few favorites.<br />
<br />
Recommended tracks:<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLJf9qJHR3E">"Little Lion Man"</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KkUeRPjc-Y">"The Cave"</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaxrANJnU2E">"Dust Bowl Dance"</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m-qP_IWZYg">"White Blank Page" (I think this is my favorite, but it's really hard to choose)</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TRl35kXhBLI/AAAAAAAAAHk/mYYNFUlcZHw/s1600/Janelle-Monae-The-ArchAndroid-album-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="320" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TRl35kXhBLI/AAAAAAAAAHk/mYYNFUlcZHw/s320/Janelle-Monae-The-ArchAndroid-album-cover.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Janelle Monae's <i>The Archandroid</i> is easily the most creative album I've heard in years. The musical variety is mind-blowing, and listening to the album top to bottom allows for maximum appreciate of Monae's awesomeness. She's from Kansas City, so that also makes her awesome. It's a concept album dealing with a lot of strange sci-fi themes, so if that bothers you... suck it up. <br />
<br />
Recommended tracks:<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbc">"Tightrope"</a> (For obvious reasons- one of the best beats I've heard this year. I also demand to be taught the dance they perform about 3 minutes in)<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqmORiHNtN4">"Cold War"</a> (Probably my favorite)<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LzIoqUfOBI">"Make the Bus"</a> (featuring Of Montreal!)<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGDkdx2zjK0">"Dance or Die"</a> (Maybe the most eclectic song on the album, and that's saying something)<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfwNy12Znp4">"Say You'll Go"</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TRl_Sq88Z8I/AAAAAAAAAHs/oFjCVi6jr4I/s1600/Robyn-Body-Talk-Pt-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="317" width="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TRl_Sq88Z8I/AAAAAAAAAHs/oFjCVi6jr4I/s320/Robyn-Body-Talk-Pt-3.jpg" /></a></div><br />
This will come as no surprise because I sort of don't shut up about it, but the best album I've heard this year is Robyn's <i>Body Talk</i> trilogy. My chronology as a Robyn fan began in the 90s, like everyone's did, because I loved <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhWEI6-_w9E">"Show Me Love."</a> This song falls into the category of "so ridiculous it's great," like many songs from the 90s. Then, by happenstance, I came upon her self-titled 2005 album and Robyn turned into a guilty pleasure for me. <br />
<br />
Then this summer Erika took me to see Robyn live, and I became a believer. <a href="http://blog.mtviggy.com/2010/08/10/concert-review-robyn-webster-hall-nyc-the-swedish-dance-diva-ruled-the-night-with-kelis-dan-black-far-east-movement/">Here is a fantastic review</a> of the show, including a photo of her heinous/awesome outfit. <br />
<br />
As for the album itself, it's actually a three part-er and, if I'm being honest, they descend in order of greatness. <i>Body Talk pt. 3</i> is ultimately only a few new songs and two remixes. <i>Body Talk pt. 1</i>, though, is pop perfection. It'd be silly to link you to my recommended tracks, because they're all awesome (even the song entirely in Swedish I can't understand). My very favorites though are the often-linked-to-on-this-blog <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcNo07Xp8aQ">"Dancing On My Own"</a> (Fun facts about this song: I played it while my students were writing one day, and they thought she was singing "I'm on the pole now" and "I keep dancing on a pole." Also, <a href="http://hungryvegantraveler.blogspot.com">Amanda</a> thought she was saying "I'm in the car now." None of these are correct). Something else I really enjoy about this song is the lyrics are exactly able to be related to personally for me, but I appreciate the layered meaning of them. It's sort of the stalkers anthem.<br />
<br />
I've also had the fantastic <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG6Kq-XxE9g">"Fembot"</a> stuck in my head for the past couple of weeks. The most awesomely ridiculous lyrics are "Initiating slut mode" and "I gotta lotta automatic booty applications."<br />
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I might have called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlAV2-eawaQ">"Dancehall Queen"</a> my least favorite song on the whole album if I hadn't seen her perform it live. The lyrics don't lie, she gets down low! Get it!<br />
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As for <i>Body Talk pt. 2</i> I feel I may have sold it short after some brief reflection because with the exception of one song these are all fantastic. My favorites on pts. 2 & 3 are:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do4u9NxgKzs">"In My Eyes"</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtflvUHqYkM">"Criminal Intent"</a> (If I were out dancing anywhere and this song came on... that'd be cool) <br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXd2TU1BoyU">"U Should Know Better"</a> (With Snoop Dogg!)<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNVtuylkuS0">"Time Machine"</a> (Mad props for referencing a DeLorean)<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJnjNw6rbeI">"Call Your Girlfriend"</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
This post took forever to make. APPRECIATE IT. :)<br />
<br />
I feel like I'm missing a whole bunch of great stuff from this year. Remind me via comment!Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-65708514993082559432010-12-21T12:29:00.000-06:002010-12-21T12:29:11.514-06:00I'm In The Car NowI have a new dream in life. To someday be featured in <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/all/approvalmatrix/69906/">New York Magazine's Approval Matrix</a>. I was thinking of saying "to someday be featured in the upper right hand quadrant of New York Magazine's Approval Matrix, but then I realized that, because I'm me, if I ever did anything brilliant enough to be recognized by said Matrix, there is a distinct possibility it would be super, super lowbrow.<br />
<br />
Today I spoke with one of my favorite people about this whole PhD business I'm going to do, and he brought up a really interesting conundrum. See, I'm thrilled about the idea of earning a creative writing PhD, teaching college, and living in an apartment with exposed brick. The idea excites and motivates me. I really loved the atmosphere of college, and I really love teaching.<br />
<br />
Here's where the hitch in my giddy-up started.<br />
<br />
This person suggested to me I get an educational doctorate.<br />
<br />
Immediate reaction- noooooo. No. NOOOOO. NO.<br />
<br />
See, I have this belief that education classes almost always provide no practical classroom practice. It's theory rather than personality. Certain aspects of teaching theories are good for each teaching style, but at this point, I've been teaching for five years. I've got my style figured out. <br />
<br />
Anyway, the suggestion was made. And then I started thinking.<br />
<br />
Last school year a local college professor asked me to come talk about teaching to a group of pre-service teachers. I accepted, and the resulting discussion was, dare I say, really fun. I took a "no nonsense" approach to explaining the realities of teaching, and I not only felt like I helped, but I felt like some of them just might turn into better teachers because of it. The thought of influencing an entire generation of teachers to be awesome is a good one. But then... I don't know. I just can't imagine being an education professor. <br />
<br />
But couldn't I, in theory, just be one of those educational consultants who travels the country kicking ass and taking names? Kicking stupid curriculum to the curb, helping teachers to realize what is actually important (apparently it's actually teaching these little clay molds to be productive and happy members of society), and getting paid the big bucks... it sounds like quite the life. But I feel like I'd have to go through 20 years of muck before I got there. And, if given the chance to choose, I'd rather go through the Creative Writing muck.<br />
<br />
Anyway, Merry Christmas, readers. God bless :)Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-33174230608994838272010-12-06T13:51:00.000-06:002010-12-06T15:29:59.017-06:00You can sell your baseball cards just to pay your rentMy school does a "stop the bop" music torture device during its annual "Cancoming" fundraiser event. The concept being that they play a really annoying song during passing period, before school, and after school and will not stop playing it until a certain amount of money has been raised. I get the point, but I cannot deny how much I want to stuff my ears full of wax when it happens. My solution is to simply play the music on my laptop as loud as possible to drown it out (moderate success rate so far). The first song that came on when I tried this today is the starting point for my writing:<br />
<br />
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<br />
This song, "Capturing Moods" by Rilo Kiley, reminds me of a very specific time and place.<br />
<br />
I was 19 years old and a sophomore at Mizzou. It was winter, and I was wearing my favorite winter outfit. Am I the only one that has one of these? It isn't the same now as it was then, but it was much more about the outerwear than my actual outfit. Brown peacoat, plaid brown scarf, brown/white stocking cap, jeans, snow boots. It was really all about that peacoat. It has long since worn itself out, is missing a button, and has a bright orange puff paint stain on it from one of those crafting nights I ended up going to at Brady Commons, but I still love it. I have a new coat I don't love as much (but, to be fair, it's warmer than the peacoat). I like peacoats because they are generous to a fat dude's body. Anyway, so I'm in that outfit. It's nighttime, and I'm walking out of Hudson Hall toward A&S to take a night test for one of my classes. As I'm walking, it starts snowing. It doesn't snow hard enough to make it slick (yet), but it is snowing hard enough to show up briefly as a fluffy reminder on the sleeve of my coat. While I walk, "Capturing Moods" comes on my CD player right as I get to <a href="http://umcspace.missouri.edu/historic/buildings/Kuhlman/images/gen-09.jpg">Kuhlmann Court</a> in front of A&S.<br />
<br />
It was funny, though, because my mind instantly went there. Without choice. I was standing in my classroom trying to drown out the ravioli song, and in a moment I was a teenager again at Mizzou walking in falling snow. A good memory.<br />
<br />
The point here being- what songs instantly take you to a very specific time and place? Describe it. It'll be fun.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-75893158601498702122010-12-02T08:46:00.000-06:002010-12-02T08:46:22.442-06:00You Wanted A Rant? I'll Show You A Rant: MusicAs a lover of music, I'm always curious about the annual Grammy awards for no reason other than it gives a pulse to what is happening in current music. I was talking with a couple of students after school yesterday, and one them proposed the following interesting question: how do you teach someone to love music? I'm paraphrasing, but I was fascinated with the question. Looking at this year's Grammy nominees, perhaps, could be an excellent way to expose someone to music the industry itself is looking to as being excellent.<br />
And then I saw the nominees.<br />
<br />
For Album of the Year, generally considered the "biggie" of the night, our nominees are:<br />
<u>The Suburbs</u> from Arcade Fire (obligatory alternative band)<br />
<u>Recovery</u> from Eminem (Joetown's finest. Also, obligatory rap album)<br />
<u>Need You Now</u> from Lady Antebellum (obligatory country album)<br />
<u>The Fame Monster</u> from Lady Gaga (let's be fair- I love this album. The problem, though, is this album has all of eight songs on it)<br />
<u>Teenage Dream</u> by Katy Perry<br />
<br />
What? Katy Perry? Like... like really? I understand "California Girls" was catchy, and I'm certainly guilty of singing along to it in my car. But I have heard the rest of the album via youtube, and it's hardly worthy of best pop album, let alone album of the year. The song "Teenage Dream" itself is a ridiculous staccato-fest. I like to scream the chorus as folows:<br />
<br />
YOU.<br />
MAKE.<br />
ME.<br />
feellikei'mlivina<br />
TEEN.<br />
AGE.<br />
DREAM.<br />
thewayyouturnmeon...<br />
<br />
And so on and so forth. Also, Katy Perry has a theme of having things shoot out of her breasts in her music videos. In "California Girls" (below) she has two whipped cream cannons as breasts.<br />
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<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hOhcwksG4hE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hOhcwksG4hE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
In her latest video "Firework," she has (you guessed it) fireworks shooting out of her breasts:<br />
<br />
<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QGJuMBdaqIw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QGJuMBdaqIw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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Actually, "Firework" is the least offensive of her songs on the <u>Teenage Dream</u> album. I like it. The song "Peacock," however, makes me want to stab my own ears:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
That's right, America, we've nominated an album with the above song on it for ALBUM OF THE YEAR.<br />
<br />
So, aside from the Katy Perry album, the rest of the nominees aren't terribly offensive I guess. It's just predictable.<br />
<br />
So the other big award for the night is Record of the Year, with nominees as follows:<br />
<br />
"Nothin' On You" B.O.B. featuring Bruno Mars<br />
"Love the Way You Lie" Eminem featuring Rihanna<br />
"Fuck You" Cee-Lo<br />
"Empire State of Mind" Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys<br />
"Need You Now" Lady Antebellum<br />
<br />
There's nothing on this list that inherently bothers me, and I'm most certainly pulling for Cee-Lo to win. I'm a little curious about how many of these songs are collaborations not for any negative reasons. Just an observation. I've not heard the entire Lady Antebellum album, but "Need You Now" was alright.<br />
<br />
The real story here, though, is Robyn is nominated for Best Dance Song for this epic awesomeness:<br />
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<br />
I love this song (and album), alright? When I saw Robyn in concert this summer with Erika in New York, I pretty much fell in love with the music and Robyn herself as a performer.<br />
<br />
Well, anyway, <a href="http://www.grammy.com/NOMINEES">here are the rest of the nominees</a>. Read 'em and weep. Literally. Because a lot of the best music isn't noticed. It's there, but we have to dig a little. The Grammy's were must-see TV for me when I was younger, but as an adult I apparently no longer like music the music industry likes. I'm being a little dramatic, but whatever. I was happy to see Mumford & Sons got a few nominations.<br />
<br />
In less rant-y music related news, it's December. I love Christmas music. Here are my favorite Christmas songs. What are yours?<br />
<br />
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(he has a recorded version of this I much prefer)<br />
<br />
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<br />
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hb2YSAVHmIE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hb2YSAVHmIE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LOganSDZyLM?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LOganSDZyLM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Bzrkyy9h4x8?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Bzrkyy9h4x8?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
(anything Sufjan Stevens has done for Christmas music makes me happy)Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-79417446956840591412010-11-23T06:49:00.000-06:002010-11-23T06:49:00.888-06:00Help Save the National Writing Project and Prairie Lands Writing Project!Hello friends,<br />
<br />
I'm completely uninterested in a political debate about this. In fact, save yo' political comments for yo' momma(ments). See what I did there? Anyway-<br />
<br />
Our government is voting on the Coburn Amendment very soon (Wednesday, perhaps?). This, which will undoubtedly be framed to us as the end of unnecessary earmarks, would completely end any and all earmarks that have ever happened in the history of ever (I'm not sure if this is a hyperbole or not). The bad part is that, technically, the National Writing Project and, therefore, the Prairie Lands Writing Project is an earmark from decades ago. The National Writing Project and its dozens upon dozens of local sites nationwide (including PLWP) provides fantastic and necessary professional development for teachers in the development of a passion for writing and, more importantly for you, the quality teaching of writing and developing that passion in students. NWP and PLWP have impacted, literally, thousands upon thousands of students nationwide. This would negatively impact our nation's students who are already negatively impacted by so so much.<br />
<br />
PLWP personally reignited my own writing and has pushed me to be the best teacher and writer I can be. I developed friendships with fellow professionals who have positively impacted me personally and positively impacted my students through our collaboration. Moreover, hundreds of people across the country would lose jobs over this, including my friend Vickey's mother. Please call your senator TODAY and tell them to vote no on the Coburn Amendment.<br />
<br />
Call Sen. Bond: (202) 224-5721 <br />
Call Sen. McCaskill: (202) 224-6154<br />
<br />
Of course if you don't live in Missouri, please google your senator's office number and call them.<br />
<br />
I called yesterday and was super surprised to find an actual person on the line. Fully expecting a machine, I stuttered and stumbled through a "ppppppplease vote no on that uhhhhh... Coburn Amendment thing." It probably wasn't that bad, but it wasn't good. I'm calling back today in full hopes of redeeming myself. <br />
<br />
I'm going to make the following analogy to my senators today:<br />
<br />
The government has decided we have a serious problem with forest fires. To solve this problem, they are deciding to eliminate every tree because then we could start over. It's the same thing here. Earmarks are a problem, so let's get rid of all of them while completely ignoring that some of them are for really excellent programs that help people and give people their livelihood.<br />
<br />
Aaaaanyway, like I said, I am in no way interested in being political about this. I'm just looking to save a program that made me a better teacher, writer, and person and has done that same thing for thousands of teachers nationwide.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-38357730335210926022010-11-16T15:20:00.000-06:002010-11-16T15:20:06.801-06:00This is a cold warI've been frantically looking at Creative Writing PhD programs.<br />
<br />
Last night after coming home from school I called 16 different colleges- some close, some far. I only talked to one person out of the 15, leaving me with the fantastic impression that colleges are completely done by 5pm. Some apparently even done by four... or three. I called at least three schools in California, where it would have been about 2:30 when I called, and none of the English departments were available to talk to me. The only person I actually spoke to yesterday was a woman I appeared to completely confuse at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. I did learn some important facts though. One- a PhD in Creative Writing at UNL does not require taking the GRE. In fact, neither of the masters degrees I've earned required the GRE either. I think it'd be a little funny if I had a PhD and had never taken the GRE. Two- it costs a lot of money, and they don't offer much other than "extremely competitive" fellowships. I got the impression I'd be admitted, offered no money, and drop out immediately. The woman was also sort of uncooperative. If anything, a little part of me would die if I became a husker anyway, so it just felt right to mentally cross UNL off my potential list. I'd contacted them to begin with because my building principal got her PhD online from them, but this lady let me know straight away that wouldn't be happening for me.<br />
<br />
During my conference period this morning one of them called back- a very nice woman from the <a href="http://www.wmich.edu/english/">English department at Western Michigan University</a>. She seemed, at first, to indicate WMU did not have a PhD for Creative Writing, but she had misunderstood me, and they totally do. She said the poetry program (the one I would try for if unable to find a school with a creative non-fiction program I could rock) was extremely competitive. I'm competitive about some aspects of life, and I could make myself be competitive for this if need be. Once we started talking, though, she pointed out that WMU has a PhD in English Education. My first thought was "absolutely not." I have absolutely no interest in earning a PhD that would require me to teach education courses. The woman stopped me, though, and said the program is specifically geared toward teaching English at colleges and wasn't affiliated with their College of Education. It intrigued me to the point that I think I'll email some professors in the program to see what it's all about. Also important- nearly every student in their grad program has complete tuition remission. That'd be awesome.<br />
<br />
The moral of this story, though, is that I scoured the internet looking for an online Creative Writing PhD. There isn't one. And now that I've decided that I'm definitely going to do this sometime (what I generally call "getting a wild hair" about something), I've essentially decided I'm definitely going to move sometime. Western Michigan is in Kalamazoo, Michigan (which gets cool points for its name, frankly). The closest program I'm still considering is at Mizzou. The furthest is in Los Angeles. This could potentially be a big move at some point. An expensive move. I'm in the process of consolidating my student loans, and I'm worried they won't defer if I'm in grad school once consolidated. Bahhhhh it's a lot to think about. Just let it be known that I'm completing the steps moving ahead.<br />
<br />
Step one- I need to learn a foreign language.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-62913503661057060822010-11-14T17:09:00.000-06:002010-11-14T17:09:33.429-06:00Motorin'<span><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bankruandbrea-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1416544216&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span><span><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bankruandbrea-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0439023521&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span>I haven't updated in several weeks. It's been a busy, unexpected, and sometimes sad few weeks. I admit I've been a bit down lately. I've certainly been very low energy. I come home from school most days to just watch TV or read. Incidentally, I've read 1.5 good books in the past two weeks, and as soon as I finish Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman, it will be 2.0. I've added them to my Amazon reccomendations. <br />
<br />
I know I've just got to break out of this funk, but don't we all find that's easier to say than to actually do? I tell myself "go for a walk" or "clean up your kitchen so you'll stop going out to dinner every night and spending money you really shouldn't be spending," but then I go to Sonic and play my Xbox 360. And, really, let's not even get started about the Chiefs over the past two weeks. Geez.<br />
<br />
I'm really starting to feel the impact of my aforementioned windowless world. I have had three dreams in the past week that involved me moving. I do love my apartment building, though. And although my rent is high, the free stuff I get more than makes up for the cost. I straight up fantasize about getting an apartment with windows, though. This winter might be tough without them. It might help if I made my apartment a little more "home-y" and less "that place where I crash after work-y." I think I'm going to invest in an honest to God Christmas tree this year. In the past when I had my much-missed puppy (another reason I think I've been down recently, but I digress), I didn't put a full size tree up because he'd try to eat it. I don't really have any space for a tree, but it might just go directly in the center of my living room/bedroom/kitchen/my apartment is a sad windowless studio.<br />
<br />
I'm off to visit the apartment listings on craigslist to dream. Godspeed, readers.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-31349314041449796052010-11-01T15:15:00.000-05:002010-11-01T15:15:21.230-05:00It's Been A Long Time- I Shouldn't Have Left You Without A Dope Beat To Step To<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEF_-IcnQC4">Step to. Step to. Step to. Step to. *weird Timbaland noise*</a><br />
<br />
I haven't update this in an embarrassingly long time. Sorry guys. I continue to receive excellent feedback from friends and family who read this, include my Aunt Karen and Grandma Johnson. Hi! I digress, however, because I have much to share:<br />
<br />
1) I began No Shave November with blatant cheating. I got home from my parents' last night at about 9:30 and pretty much immediately went to bed. I then shaved... this morning. It's November. DEAR GOD I'M A CHEATER! No, but really, I am planning on skipping the shaving until December. And who knows? Maybe I look awesome with a full-on beard. Here's the Day One (or what I'm subsequently calling "The Day of Much Cheating") progress:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TM8Qg93P54I/AAAAAAAAAHM/3d1uzMn0zQY/s1600/Photo+on+2010-11-01+at+07.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TM8Qg93P54I/AAAAAAAAAHM/3d1uzMn0zQY/s320/Photo+on+2010-11-01+at+07.15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I forgot my ID in my car, I'm wearing a sweater for the first time this fall, and I'm flanked by student artwork. Yay! And the first of my "photo of the day entries.*</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">2) My family's annual Halloween Costume Contest was held this Saturday, and I'm sad my brilliant Tiger Woods costume didn't win (pictures to be added soon!). My father actually won- he dressed as a sexy Little Red Riding Hood. As I'm sure you can imagine, it was truly frightening. A real testament to the spirit of Halloween. My Uncle Steve was an oompa loompa, and it was awesome! More than anything, though, it was a really fun night. And I got to visit with friends Adam, Allison, and <a href="http://hungryvegantraveler.blogspot.com/">Amanda</a> at the end of the night, where I had a lot of fun trying on the devil horns Amanda had clipped in her hair. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">3) Financial matters continue to be strong. I'm happy and proud of myself when it comes to how I handled my October finances. I know I could still be better, but the changes I've made bring me comfort that if something were to go haywire, I could use some money I have in <i>savings</i>. I think I mentioned it earlier, but it is my goal to not spend any of my paycheck this year on Christmas gifts, but instead using only money I've saved. And, oh by the way, I've saved over $600 in my account! I've ended up with extra money at the end of the past four months, and it continues to confirm for me I made the right decision to file for bankruptcy. I was in a really dark place for a few months both financially and emotionally. Looking back on the whole thing (and looking back at this blog too) were good reminders about how it felt to be financially drowning. I would have never guessed I would have ever been emotionally impacted by money, but lo and behold, there I was, especially in March of this past year, feeling buried and overwhelmed (true story- I spent several minutes after typing this looking on youtube for that clip from <u>10 Things I Hate About You</u> when Bianca says, "I know you can be overwhelmed, and I know you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?" and her friends says "I think you can in Europe." Couldn't find it). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">4) Big/Awesome news, readers. Two of my wonderful friends/colleagues (frolleagues? criends?) have presented me with <i>yet another</i> opportunity to visit my favorite travel destination, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UjsXo9l6I8">New York City</a>. One has a friend who works for United Airlines and, apparently, can score us some pretty sweet Buddy Passes which will allow for crazy cheap travel. When I went to the City this summer my flight was easily the most expensive part of the trip. I probably spent about the same amount of my flight total on the rest of the trip, and that was with a small shopping spree at Macy's. They've also offered to buy my buddy pass for me if it is too expensive. Aside from being grateful that I have amazing friends, I feel like that's fairly even because, really, I'm the reason they have free lodging ;) Nah, I know they don't have to, but it means that December is going to be my biggest budgeting challenge thus far, as we are looking to going to NYC a few days before New Year's and heading back January 2nd. I can do it, though. I really can. What's interesting about the budgeting fun is that I can plan for trips like this and not have to immediately say no to them. I'm thankful for that. And I'm thankful for Erika who continues on letting me loiter in her apartment and, this time, is even allowing new guests. She's awesome. Truman Middle School's Most Likely To Succeed award winners FOREVER! :)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">*From the poll a few entries ago, you all clearly want some rants from me. I'll work on 'em. I've got a sports fandom one bubbling up, and I'm sure I'll think of more :)</div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-17403236698315339732010-10-24T18:10:00.000-05:002010-10-24T18:10:07.204-05:00On LossLoss comes in different forms, and I, like everyone of course, have had my fair share of loss. There have been great-grandparents, my grandfather, and others whom I've lost to death, and friends whom I've lost to life. When I think of the greatest losses of my life, I have the aforementioned grandfather and, strangely enough, the loss of my mentor teacher from high school. She didn't die, but she lost my respect, and that's just as well. The point here being is this- no one is good at loss, and I think I'm particularly bad at it because I sometimes pretend it isn't there.<br />
<br />
Since about five years ago three people (and, sadly, it may be more if I'm not remembering clearly) I went to elementary school with have died. Two of them have been, at one point or another, really close friends. Brian died in Afghanistan. I went to his funeral and the jerkoffs (is there a better name for them?) at Westboro "Baptist" Church (quotes added by me because, frankly, I was raised Baptist and am not cool with their association) protested. One shook a sign at my car that said "FAG ENABLER," which I found ridiculous and, embarrassingly enough, sort of funny. "FAG ENABLER?" It's true, I suppose. I allow homosexuals to be homosexuals. In any case, the funeral was beautiful and I wrote a poem about it that maybe I'll post sometime provided I locate it.<br />
<br />
Last year Adam, who I wasn't really friends with, died. He committed suicide. It was a tragedy for sure, and it only highlighted one of the reasons I went into education- so people could feel like, even if no one cares for them at home, their English teacher does at school.<br />
<br />
This weekend Austyn, a kid whose home I frequented for several years as a child, died. I am sketchy about the details, namely in that I don't really have any, but it is just one more to the list of people who I was once friends with who have since died. Does this not push us all to action? Does this not force us all to live our greatest possible lives? It is as easy to say as it is difficult to do. I'm not sure what living my greatest life looks like, but I know this provides motivation to figure out what the heck that is. Although Austyn and I hadn't been close in years, I grieve his loss. The visitation is tomorrow, and I will be stop by to pay my respects, but I wish I had more to say/do.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-73626212211796465642010-10-21T08:24:00.000-05:002010-10-21T08:24:19.504-05:00I whip my hair in at least two different directions...Ladies and gentleman, I've paid all of my bills for this month and have money left over to buy my Halloween costume supplies. I sort of showed money who was boss this month, and as it turns out it is totally me. A slight surprise, however, was found in that I had TWO payment of $90+ to one student loan company who, adorably, had told me I only had one. Why do I need to make two payments to one company? Why don't they just combine them into one? I asked those questions too, and have yet to receive a sufficient response. <br />
<br />
But even with that fun shock, I'm still totally good. What!<br />
<br />
I'd also like to take a moment and post a link to my friend <a href="http://hungryvegantraveler.blogspot.com/">Amanda's blog. </a><br />
<br />
Not only is her blog fun, informative, and insightful, but she's doing a pretty awesome giveaway right now for Noodles & Company... mmmmmmmm.<br />
<br />
Also I'd like to remind everyone to vote in my poll on the previous post about things you'd like to see on B&B- right now random rants are clearly a favorite. I'm able to do that. :)Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-64046425127400398132010-10-17T18:07:00.000-05:002010-10-17T18:07:22.094-05:00I'm Burnin' Up!I mentioned it briefly before, but about once a week I have a huge spike in traffic. I'm grateful for it. I am, however, a bit confused as to why. <br />
<br />
It is always on <a href="http://bankruptcyandbreakfast.blogspot.com/2010/08/supplementary-blog-post.html">this entry</a>, with each of my others uniformly receiving a few views. The views are also almost exclusively from other countries. Over the past week, here are the numbers of readers I've had from different nations:<br />
<br />
United States- 45<br />
Brazil- 17<br />
Japan- 15<br />
Ukraine- 13<br />
Canada- 11<br />
South Korea- 7<br />
<br />
And it goes on, but basically I'm a bit confused as to how they're finding my bloggity blog. Oh well, I will not <a href="http://www.superpoop.com/110409/horse-fight.jpg">look a gift horse in the mouth</a>. <br />
<br />
In terms of blog readership, I know I have a ton of loyal readers. And I love you guys. I am, however, interested in expanding my reader base, so I am taking a page out of the playbook once used by Michael Ian Black on his blog. I will look at google's most popular search items and mention them in this entry.<br />
<br />
Ahem.<br />
<br />
-Boy was I sure sad when I heard about the death of Minneapolis based singer/rapper Eyedea. I hadn't heard of him until today, but that totally blows anyway.<br />
<br />
-I am sure nfl.com fantasy is an excellent place to place fantasy football. On that note of sports, I'm bitter in every way about the Chiefs game today. As much as I know it wasn't just one play, that ref who called pass interference on Brandon Flowers (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Flowers_(American_football)">this one</a> not <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Flowers">that one</a>) can eat me.<br />
<br />
-As a Mizzou fan, I was happy to see Jeremy Maclin did well today despite the DeSean Jackson injury.<br />
<br />
-Eric LeGrand got a neck injury... a lot of these are clearly sports related.<br />
<br />
-I keep seeing commercials for the Skyline movie on TV, and I have no interest whatsoever in seeing it. It's as if a movie produced said "let's combine District 9 and Transformers because those movies appeared to be profitable!"<br />
<br />
-I am extremely concerned about Indiana unemployment as my friend Rachel lives there, and I want her to be employed.<br />
<br />
-Many marathons were ran recently, like in Detroit. And Columbus. YEAH RUNNING.<br />
<br />
Okay, that surely went really really well, guys.<br />
<br />
<br />
Otherwise I was thinking of some ideas that I could do to spice things up around here. Let me know what you think of these ideas...<br />
<br />
-Product reviews. See, we all value money, right? So I would review products and determine how valuable they are for the price we pay for them. Like the Magic Eraser (which really is pretty magical, but it doesn't last long enough).<br />
-Vlogs or Podcasts. I'm not sure how to do a podcast, but I could probably figure it out. And I could probably figure out a vlog. Could be fun. And I would make it about money somehow, because this blog should be less about me and more about general topics.<br />
-A completely random rant on occasion. Like an expanded "why the Chiefs got screwed" today moment. Or "why I love sweet tea." Or "why I wish I could directly communicate with the people who drive in front of me on 10th street in Joetown." That last one would be to remind them that the freaking speed limit is 30. Not 15. Not 6. It's 30.<br />
-Photo of the day. I'd have to be super disciplined to remember to do this, but I'd listen to what my awesome readers wanted me to do. I'm pretty sure I'm going to participate in <a href="http://www.no-shave-november.com/">No Shave November</a>, and that would provide ample opportunity for photos of the lower half of my face.<br />
-Your ideas. Tell me. Teach me. GET OUT (your ideas that is. Get your ideas out of your brain)!<br />
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<img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyODczNTY3OTQwMDQmcHQ9MTI4NzM1NjgwNDMzMSZwPTE*NDI2MjEmZD13d3cucXVpYmJsby5jb2*lMmZ3aWRnZXQl/MmZzaGFyZSZnPTEmbz1mNTdiMWMwZDgwZjE*NzIxYWNkOGI2OTJjN2I*YWVhMSZvZj*w.gif" /><div align="center"><object width="300" height="400" wmode="transparent" data="http://apps.quibblo.com/static/flash/qwidget/qwidget.swf?s=&theme=quibblo&quiz=dSJDi4H" allownetworking="all" allowscriptaccess="never" type="application/x-shockwave-flash">
<param name="movie" value="http://apps.quibblo.com/static/flash/qwidget/qwidget.swf?s=&theme=quibblo&quiz=dSJDi4H"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="never"><param name="allownetworking" value="all"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="bgcolor" value="ffffff"></object> <br> <font size="1"> <a href="http://www.quibblo.com/">Quizzes</a> by <a href="http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/dSJDi4H/What-would-you-like-to-see-on-BB">Quibblo.com</a></font> </div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-70606504619042627542010-10-03T17:35:00.000-05:002010-10-03T17:35:01.376-05:00LustingAs of this past Friday, I have lived in my apartment for one year.<br />
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If you didn't know, I live in what's called an "Interior Studio Apartment" at <a href="http://www.mitchellparkplaza.com/">Mitchell Park Plaza</a>. Most apartments in the world have windows in them- mine included. However, my windows face an interior atrium covered in faux grass, metal grates, and a faux marble fountain that doesn't have water in it (I don't think so at least). I'm on the third floor of a six story building, so the metal grates don't really let much natural light in at all. During the summer, when the sun was at its strongest, I recieved approximately 15 minutes of natural light each afternoon arond 5:15. Now that the sun is starting to weaken, I have no more natural light. This wouldn't be all that bad if I didn't teach in a windowless classroom. My classroom is indeed air conditioned, but during the winter that doesn't matter so much. And most of my school year is winter-tastic. <br />
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The bottom line is, after a year, I'm a little tired of living in a world where I can't see what's outside. Now I'm fully aware that I could move. My studio apartment is what most would call expensive (especially for Joetown standards), and I could easily move someplace with more room with cheaper rent. And I have those student loan things I was talking about. But, here's the thing, I love my building. I love supporting the renovation of an old, abandoned building and turning it into something great in a downtrodden part of town. I love that my building has a kickass roof where I can host friends and have the absolute best view available in all of Joetown. I love having a convenience store on the first floor for my before school Pepsi needs. I love having my car parked in a safe, secure underground parking garage. I love, considering my past experiences, that my apartment does not have an outside entrance. I love that the carrot they dangle in front of me for not having "real" windows (there are two panes of glass, true, but, as mentioned, they face the inside) is not paying ANY utilities. None. No electric, no heat, no cable, no internet, no water, no trash. There's just too much positive about it to leave. I'm willing to pay a little more. And, as I mentioned in my last entry, I can afford it right now. It's close, but I can do it. <br />
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All of that being said, I positively yearn for being able to open a window on a day like today with highs in the 60s. I yearn to watch thunderstorms roll in. I yearn to watch snowfall from my living room. I am prepared to endure another year of non-windowed pain, but I'm not sure yet if I could do any more. <br />
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So, readers, imagine the lust in my eyes when I saw <a href="http://stjoseph.craigslist.org/apa/1977876580.html">this Craigslist ad</a>. It's in my building, and it is TWO ENTIRE BEDROOMS OF SPACE. There are two bathrooms (completely unnecessary for me). But still. Above all, it has WINDOWS. I could open them. I could do that. But it's a full $200 more than I'm currently paying for rent. But with all that space! Dilemma.<br />
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Not really, though. There's no way I can afford it now or in the future. The only thing I could do would be to find a roommate, and, frankly, that's scary. I had roommates in college who, thankfully, I got along with quite well. I haven't had one in my adult life, and I think the client base for roommates in St. Joe is not as rich as was in Columbia. I will have to seriously consider this, though, in the coming year. If I had a roommate in that situation, I'd pay $350 a month plus 1/2 of an electric bill. That would save me something like $100-$150 a month ultimately. And I'd have real windows. However, that deal is ridiculous. Most two bedroom apartments at my place are closer to $1000 a month. <br />
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In my dream world, an EXTERIOR studio opens up (they allegedly exist), and I move on in. I pay the same rent plus electric, and I have windows. A small but important sacrifice to see a thunderstorm. <br />
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Anyway- just dreaming of the future.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-48122052907589335202010-09-30T16:41:00.000-05:002010-09-30T16:41:59.027-05:00I Can Freaking Do ThisI titled this entry after the comment I just made to myself. Today, loyal readers, is payday. Now, of course, I always enjoy payday, but I am disheartened to admit that the anxiety payday once offered me was substantial. Today, though, I was so responsible I peed a little. In the toilet. When my bladder was full. Okay, I'm just being obnoxious.<br />
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But really, though, today I started a new page of responsibility by calling up my student loan debtors, finding out monthly payment info, checking on deferments, and figuring out my monthly budget. First of all, let's admit it's an accomplishment that I have a monthly budget. I made one. I'm gonna use it. I am still putting money in savings with this budget. And I still have $50 of "hey, I don't know what I'm going to spend this on, but I'm sure something will come up" money. It's fun in a weird way.<br />
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I added up the horrifying total of my monthly student loan payments, and it's (I wish I were kidding) over $500. College is super expensive. But, thanks to the bankruptcy, I can afford it. I can afford those payments. I'm going to have to really stick to the budget and avoid splurges (and Christmas presents might be an adventure), but I can do it. And, thanks to awesome people like you, I'm getting a small but existent payment from ad revenue from this blog. It's fantastic. It's over $100. It's going directly into savings. Every time you click an ad, friends, you're putting money in the pocket of someone who is not going to waste it. Three cheers for learning financial responsibility through terrible decision making and a bankruptcy! AWW YEAH.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-77806395524364834932010-09-19T21:35:00.000-05:002010-09-19T21:35:21.066-05:00Just BreatheI've just started reading Dave Eggers' next masterpiece <u>Zeitoun</u>, and so far it has lived up to the hype set forth by its reviews. As I've established on here, if I could be a fat, midwestern Dave Eggers. <u>Zeitoun</u> tells the story of Abdul Zeitoun and his family during and after Hurricane Katrina. I've always been of the belief that disaster and heartache produce great art, and, so far, this is no exception. It's why I think Vietnam has produced such great art. Anyway, you should buy it. And use this link to do it so I get money when you buy it.<br />
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<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bankruandbrea-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0307387941&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><br />
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In other completely non-financial related news, last night I was granted the wonderful opportunity (a.k.a. I bought a ticket) to attend the Kansas City Improv Festival. My friend <a href="http://aptaperture.com/">Lu</a> was among the photographers for the event, so that's cool too. The event featured four improv groups, and the final group was Der Monkenpickle which features Overland Park native Jason Sudekis of SNL and 30 Rock fame. His girlfriend, Mad Men actress January Jones, was also there. HERE I AM PHOTOGRAPHED WITH BOTH OF THEM.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TJbCstFqUII/AAAAAAAAAGo/XY9x9Ju6mpg/s1600/DSCN0557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TJbCstFqUII/AAAAAAAAAGo/XY9x9Ju6mpg/s320/DSCN0557.JPG" /></a></div>Something to noticed in this photo- each of us has, like, an insane eye. I don't know what the crap is wrong with my camera that I've had for all of three months, but we each have one eye that's totally black (much like my soul. HAHAHA!). What the frig is wrong with my camera is the main message here. Here is this picture plus Amanda:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TJbDS8tDXeI/AAAAAAAAAGw/ISvG6kolEYo/s1600/DSCN0558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TJbDS8tDXeI/AAAAAAAAAGw/ISvG6kolEYo/s320/DSCN0558.JPG" /></a></div>Now both of my eyes are black shark eyes (Yes, 30 Rock reference intended). What on earth? Anyway, it was super cool. We were standing nearby for a few minutes and I was too nervous to approach him because I figured 12 billion people were coming up to him like "OMFG It's Floyd from 30 Rock let's take a freaking hilarious picture together, lolz!" Eventually the crowd died down a bit, and I decided I was gonna do it. I was gonna approach a famous person who is on my favorite television show.<br />
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It went fairly well, and we talked for just a minute or two. In that time I managed to talk with him about cursing in front of children, teaching, and how my friends and I confronted our first grade teacher, Mrs. Black, about how we were absolutely convinced she lived in our classroom. He wasn't nearly as amused by it as I assumed he would be in my head. He was absolutely nice and friendly, though, he just didn't instantly recognize my genius. It's okay- at some point someone will, and I will get a book published and pay off my student loans (more on this later).<br />
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January Jones was standing nearby, and I said, "Screw it, I'm talking to her too."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TJbFZ-lOYDI/AAAAAAAAAG4/jYW5XXqrdPg/s1600/DSCN0559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmqhIaBzDwI/TJbFZ-lOYDI/AAAAAAAAAG4/jYW5XXqrdPg/s320/DSCN0559.JPG" /></a></div>I complimented her on the following work- <a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/109041/saturday-night-live-around-the-town">the finest of her career on SNL. </a><br />
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The group I went with had a long, but fun, night, and I'm really glad I went.<br />
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So otherwise, I've made my first student loan payment. It was $50- not too bad. But more of them are coming in. And I have letters from MU and SLFC waiting in my mailbox. I chose not to read them before my trip to KC so as I would not think about it. I got another letter from a student loan place at my parents. I read it today, and there is a magic and beautiful deferment on my account. I am in a grad class this semester, but it's only three hours, and I don't know if that counts as part time. I'm not going to complain. I didn't get a deferment on the MOHELA loan... is it clear yet that I have a bunch of these loans? I'm going to consolidate them in hopes of reducing the amount of money I'll pay each month and just reducing confusion in the number of checks I'd have to write. I'll be sure to give you all more updates on this- it's certainly my next great financial hurdle (controlling my student loan payments that is). Wish me luck. :)Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-84901037055792278362010-09-06T16:13:00.000-05:002010-09-06T16:13:35.060-05:00Book Review- Little Bee by Chris CleaveI thought it might be nice to not just include the mundane details of my financial explosions and take some time to review a book. I might include this sort of feature often if you guys like it! You'll notice I've added a little Amazon "Hey, I liked this stuff, so you should like it too" box to the right of the blog entries, and you'll notice I've just completed <i>Little Bee</i>. I'll review the book for you now!<br />
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I was recommended Chris Cleave's <i>Little Bee</i> by my friend who I stay with in New York, Erika. She and I were collectively voted Most Likely to Succeed of our 8th grade class, and you're damned right I don't forget it. It's one of two times I've ever "won" something (assuming we're counting my Outstanding Senior Band Member award from high school). Erika and I have now been friends for thirteen years, and I've grown to trust her taste in books and music, so when she recommended the book so highly I bought it at LaGuardia to start reading as soon as possible.<br />
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The book opens by meeting Little Bee herself who is in a detention center in London. We discover she is a Nigerian refugee and has been in the center for two years. With little hope of escape, she befriends a woman who performs favors for a gentleman at the office to allow them, and two other women, to leave. When she leaves, she calls the only person in England she knows, a man named Andrew. A few days after her phone call, Andrew kills himself. This begins the excitement of the book!<br />
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Maybe excitement isn't the right word. The action of the book begins, and, as a person who loves to predict events and endings in books, I had no idea how the book would go forward. You eventually discover how Little Bee knew Andrew (and his wife). A crucial character in the book is actually Andrew's son Charlie, who is very young, and insists on being called Batman. It's hard to characterize this book by any "category" because, to Cleave's credit, there are moments of humor and pain seamlessly integrated.<br />
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The book ends in a way that is simultaneously relieving and horrible. You are left to draw a conclusion rather than being told what exactly happens, so if that is an issue with you with book endings, you will likely be dissatisfied by the ending of <i>Little Bee</i>. I'm not one of those people, so I liked the ending. The book, however, is just <i>so sad</i>. It reminded me a bit of <i>What is the What</i> by Dave Eggers in that you keep thinking "what else can happen to this character?!" but, unlike Eggers, the book doesn't quite meet the nexus of the worlds of humor and pain, reality and levity.<br />
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I'm giving the book 4/5 stars because I was left with profound sadness when I finished. This is to simultaneously credit Cleave for making me care about his characters and still wish the book was slightly more uplifting. I liked it a lot, obviously though, and I really recommend it to anyone. Click away below to order it on Amazon!<br />
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<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bankruandbrea-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1416589643&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-4108956147552798552010-09-05T17:17:00.000-05:002010-09-05T17:54:33.841-05:00I'm Backin' Up, Backin' Up, Backin' Up, Backin' Up...'Cause my daddy taught me good...<br /><br /><object style="background-image: url("http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/qIoG4PlEPtY/hqdefault.jpg");" height="295" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qIoG4PlEPtY?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qIoG4PlEPtY?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="295" width="480"></embed></object><br /><br />So other than that video, things have been cautiously good for me recently. You know how when you feel like things are going fairly well you suddenly your left arm falls off or something? Or at least some metaphorical left arm falls off. I'm always thinking of that. Like last year when my life attempted to explode itself, I had previously had an awesome year. Now I assume life will kick my ass a little every time I'm feeling too good. Thanks a lot for conditioning me so negatively, life!<br /><br />Yesterday I received a friendly note from Mohela, one of my student loan debtors, reminding me that, now that I've been discharged from the bankruptcy, they're going to start billing me again. I knew it was coming, but... it still sucks to be reminded. It seems like a waste of paper- they could have called me and saved a tree. Whatever. Anyway, I'm continuing to save some money. And the money I make from ad revenue on this blog (which is small but existent!) goes straight into savings which would eventually be used to pay student loans. So remember, every time you click an ad on my blog, you're helping me pay for the insane number of student loans I had to get to become an educator and follow my dreams. So clickety click away, friends! :)Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-64124827209790473712010-08-29T18:09:00.000-05:002010-08-29T18:24:56.512-05:00Supplementary Blog PostHere are states I've been to:<br /><br /><img src="http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=t&chs=440x220&chtm=usa&chf=bg,s,336699&chco=d0d0d0,cc0000&chd=s:999999999999999&chld=COILINIAKSMNMOMTNENYOKSDTXWIWY" width="440" height="220" /><br />visited 15 states (30%)<br /><a href="http://douweosinga.com/projects/visited?region=usa">Create your own visited map of The United States</a><br /><br />In the aforementioned If I Had A Million Dollars entry I talked about my dream of travel. I'd like each of these to be red. My criteria for having visited a state is having sat down somewhere for a meal- sort of a flemsy premise, I know, but, let's face it, I love food. It makes my trip to the Milwaukee airport count for Wisconsin. Did I not leave the airport? Yeah, but I enjoyed a meal there. I count it. I didn't just drive through. Although, driving through a state is spending a lot of time with a state. Anyway, I have a few ways in the works to help fill in these states:<br /><br />1) Doing the <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/I-95">I-95 Roadtrip</a>. This would knock out those east coast states, and would be an epic/awesome road trip. I really like driving, actually. Highway driving specifically is good for me because I can freely sing along to the radio. I want to do this next summer!<br /><br />2) Going to Cal-i-forn-i-a (as Tupac would have said). My wonderful friend Laura, who lives in Santa Barbara, just got engaged. I think this means travelling to Cali for her wedding. I've already suggested a road trip as opposed to flying to my friend Kelly. Even if she decides to get married in Missouri, I think a road trip is due. I'm ready to go now.<br /><br />What are your travel dreams, readers?Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734837708707570590.post-4559532828827761782010-08-29T16:52:00.000-05:002010-08-29T17:10:49.320-05:00Get a quote! Get a quote; get a quote!I don't have a lot of money news right now other than this having been my best month of financial restraint in a while. This past March I had to save money like mad to afford to file for bankruptcy, and I spent about half of what I normally do to afford it. I essentially did something similar to a smaller scale this month to give me an emergency fund for vacation that I, thankfully, didn't need. Now I can afford to pay my car tax. Yeah!<br /><br />As a brief aside from money related discussion, I thought I might talk a bit about some of my favorite movies/music/etc. I've come into contact with as of late.<br /><br />Musically, I have a small obsession with Mumford & Sons right now. I think "Little Lion Man" is my favorite:<br /><br /><object style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/lLJf9qJHR3E/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lLJf9qJHR3E?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lLJf9qJHR3E?fs=1&hl=en_US" width="480" height="295" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><br /><br />I also became fond of Robyn again after seeing her in concert in NYC. The album Body Talk, being released in three parts, is full of fun. Here is a very not safe for work song with Snoop <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Dogg</span> from the album:<br /><br /><object style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/pXd2TU1BoyU/hqdefault.jpg)" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pXd2TU1BoyU?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pXd2TU1BoyU?fs=1&hl=en_US" width="425" height="344" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><br /><br />As far as movies go, last night I watched a movie called <u>Bang Bang You're Dead</u> based upon the recommendation of my teacher friend Amanda. It took me a little bit to get into, but once I did I ended up enjoying it a lot. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it so much if I weren't a teacher, but I am... so I did. It spoke very much to the root causes of school violence and the pain caused by bullying. I'm not sure another movie has captured the pain of it so well. Here's a clip from what is arguably the most emotionally <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">impactful</span> moment of the film:<br /><br /><object style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/NrxsjCXH1Rs/hqdefault.jpg)" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NrxsjCXH1Rs?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NrxsjCXH1Rs?fs=1&hl=en_US" width="425" height="344" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><br /><br />I'm also reading a book right now called <u>Little Bee</u> by Chris Cleave, and I'm enjoying it very much. I want to finish it this week and start the new Dave <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Eggers</span> book <u><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Zeitoun</span></u>.<br /><br />And, sometime, someday, I'm going to have a clean apartment again.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14073466840469082352noreply@blogger.com2