Leaky Pipes

Everything in the cabinet under my bathroom sink is soaking wet. I noticed this a few weeks back, attempted to (sort of) fix the problem, and didn't think of it again. Until today, when I had to retrieve something from that cabinet. I may have many skills, but plumbing is not one of them...
(refer to my toilet post. Second thought - don't)


Therefore: here is a letter I found on another blog. I like tongue-in-cheek humor and I like radio. This has both.
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-open-letter-to-jonelle-who-sent-a-three-song-radio-dedication-to-her-boyfriend-rob

While Driving

I tend to do most of my thinking while in transit.
On today's drive, I had this thought:

Every day, I'm as old as I've ever been, and as young as I'll ever be.

Hmm.

Give Me Shelter

It has been observed that when an elephant has been caged for an extended period of time, it won't leave the cage when the door is opened because it doesn't realize that it's free. I offer an alternative view: what if the elephant knows it can leave the cage but simply doesn't want to?


Today I was asked what I'm going to do with all my free time once my tests are over (possibly one month from today if I passed test #3). This is actually something I've thought a lot about during many sleepless nights. My fellow test-takers all joke about it, but a legitimate part of me is scared that once I have a life, I won't know what to do with it. I am afraid that I will race through these tests, only to find boredom and loneliness at the finish line.


I'm going to devote the rest of this entry to my apprehensions about the world outside my cage:

I have decided that Los Angeles is the significant other who doesn't treat me well but has never cheated. It's hard to know if and when to walk away.

I grew up in a small town. If you passed someone walking on the street, you said hello - regardless of whether or not you knew them. In Los Angeles, you don't talk to people you don't know. Even a friendly smile and simple 'hi' will be reciprocated with alien stares or rude mutterings (this has happened). As a female, other females will never talk to you, and males will only do so to make a rude or sexual comment. You will spend your life sitting in traffic or, if walking or biking, trying not to get hit by an angry driver.

The only way to restore your wavering faith in humanity is to travel outside the city. Eventually, you must either accept your life as is, or relocate.

Finally, my plea to the nice, friendly residents of Los Angeles: please come out of hiding.
Preferably on or around April 2.

Now? How about now?

What is now? And more importantly, when is now?

Have you ever seen this arcade game? It's called the Cyclone. Tiny lightbulbs illuminating in rapid succession create the illusion of a continually moving stream of light. The object of the game is to press one of the buttons around the perimeter at the exact moment the corresponding lightbulb is illuminated. It sounds easy, but it's actually incredibly hard to do.

Now, think about what now is. It's a perpetually moving moment in time that we as human beings try to stop and label. If now never stops, by the time you've identified now, isn't it already then?

I spent a good deal of my day trying to figure this one out, but ended up tying my brain into a pretzel knot. Any ideas?


Here's a song with a relevant title to listen to while you ponder: How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHvbbJ0Sspc

Also, this post is the perfect excuse to post a (hilariously relevant) clip from one of my favorite movies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeZ9HhHU86o

How do you like your eggs?

Since spring (and Easter) are right around the corner, I am devoting today's post to eggs. Here are my thoughts on two types in particular: hard boiled and raw.

A person with no knowledge of eggs may think that a raw egg is inherently tougher than a hard-boiled egg because of its hard outer shell. They might handle the raw egg with less care because they assume it is unbreakable. What they don't understand is that the hard-boiled egg has the same consistency throughout, while the raw egg has a fragile yoke that will spill out if the shell cracks. In fact, the primary purpose of this shell is to protect the contents within.
The lesson here: be careful how you handle eggs of either type, because you never can never be sure what's inside.













...on second thought, I might not be talking about eggs at all.



Also - Happy Leap Day to all! I can honestly say that I have not-a-clue where I will be or what I will be doing next time Leap Day comes around. And you know what? I'm okay with that. There's more to life than knowing all the answers.

Also, also - please listen to this song. The lyrics are weird, and I love it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRjf1B5sDYw

My current mood

Is plaid.

Does this make sense to you? I didn't get it either.

But today, while I was putting my laundry into the dryer, I thought to myself:
'I'm in a plaid mood right now'
Then I had to figure out what the heck that meant.

Take a look at plaid: Lines of various colors and widths, some parallel and some intersecting. Now translate colors, widths and directions into thoughts, feelings and emotions.




Given my day (500 pages of reading and 4 hour test, followed by an afternoon/evening of relaxing, eating my favorite foods and listening to beautiful music), I think I have every right to feel plaid.

Is anyone else seeing the metaphor?

A Dose of Existentialism

For your ears, at least.

In the spirit of calming myself down before my test, I'm listening to a series of songs that do an excellent job of putting things into perspective. Yes, I have a huge test in two days, but right outside birds are chirping and babies are laughing (well, not right now, but during the day). Life goes on.

So here are two. I dare you to be stressed after listening.

1. The Beatles - Within You Without You (also check out the mix from the Love sountrack) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsDfbpYXHRI
Featuring...a sitar!!! Score.

2. The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzR7u4rwFSY
Takes me back to....middle school