I Don't Feel Like Complaining

Yep. You read that right. I don't feel like complaining today. I can't think of anything to complain about to turn into a witty commentary on society. It just doesn't seem useful or productive today.

So instead of complaining, here's a list of things I enjoy:

Tasty frappuccinos from Starbucks
Coffee
Summertime
Best friends (Even if they live far away)
Sunshine
The sound of cicadas
My job
Pandora Radio
Having two days off in a row
Being positive for a change (believe it or not!)

Somebody Give Me Something

I was listening to the radio this morning,
and I realized something:
All songs are exactly the same.
I'm speaking in generalities, of course,
so there will be some variation.
But think about it.

Verse
Chorus
Verse
Chorus
Bridge
Chorus

For the past couple of decades,
songs have lacked creativity.
They follow this song structure,
and feature the same four chords
over
and over
and over again.

But when did it start being like this?
When did music stop being about
producing something new and different,
something that speaks truth,
something beautiful,
and start being about money?

Somebody give me something to listen to
that's worth my time,
that's worth the four and a half years
I spent studying music,
something that makes me think,
something beautiful,
something real and true.
Something that doesn't fit in a box,
something whose goal ISN'T just to make money.

Do It For The Children

For this week's Why Wednesday, I will address a very serious offense committed by countless numbers of parents against scores of innocent children.

The crime?

That's right.

CHILD LEASHES

Image of this atrocity courtesy of Walmart.com


Okay I get it. I get that it's difficult to control your gaggle of unruly children and keep them from running around all over creation like little demons out to corrupt God's beautiful creation. I GET IT.

But that's what it means to be a parent. It means holding onto your child's hand to prevent them from stealing things in the grocery store or running into old people or out into traffic.

Don't try and say
"Well it's a cute doggie or kitty or monkey or unicorn!"

NO.

Kids understand a lot more than you think they do.
They're smart.

Don't you think it'll only be a matter of time
until they discover that
the contraption you use to walk the dog
and the contraption you use on them
when you're out in public
are basically the same??

Just think about it like this. When they're adults and in therapy because they engage in unhealthy relationships, and their therapist says, "Well tell me about your childhood. What were family outings like?"

And they'll say, "All I remember is being put on one of those leashes for children."

And then the therapist's eyes will go all wide and they'll nod and scribble on their notepad like the secret of the universe has just been revealed to them.

So, parents. Stop being lazy. Because that's all it really boils down to. Did our parents get to put us on leashes? No, because they hadn't been invented yet, thank goodness. They had to do it old school. No leashes. No iPods to distract your children, no XBox or Playstation or whatever. They had to occupy us with card games and coloring books and stories, and they had to HOLD OUR HAND when we were in public.

So please, parents. Do it for the children. For the sake of the innocent little children.

Life is Good.

Right now,
I'm sitting in my parents living room,
enjoying a cup of Gold Coast coffee
(Which can be found at Starbucks. #shameless plug)
with my Mom and Stepdad,
with our wonderful dog curled up on the floor.

Today, I get to go into St. Louis
and visit with my very good friend Matt,
and maybe go to the
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival,
if the weather holds.

Life is good.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

This week for "Why Wednesday," I'm back to everyone's favorite thing: bashing famous people. Not so much because I'm jealous that they're famous and I'm not, but because a great amount of famous people seem to be stupid. And it's easy to make fun of stupid people.

In this the information age, sex scandals abound. Mostly because the free flow of information makes it so much easier to get caught.

What, you thought nobody messed around before? Yeah, right. In fact, I'm certain that celebrities messed around WAY more often than nowadays, simply because they didn't have the technology to catch them in the act. They didn't have computers. They didn't have cell phones that saved every text message they ever sent/received. They could carry out an affair without anyone knowing about it.

So here's a tip for anyone famous. Or at least with a job important enough to get them noticed if they screw up badly enough. (*cough cough* Rep. Anthony Weiner *cough cough*)

Now, I'm not saying famous people have to be perfect. I don't expect that of anyone. But here's the deal. If you're famous, don't do anything you don't want people knowing about. You know how the paparazzi are. They'll follow you around. Every second. Of every day. Until you fade into obscurity. Unless you're Lindsay Lohan. In that case, they'll keep following you around forever waiting for you to get arrested again.

In this age of the internet, smart phones, text messaging, and a celebrity-obsessed nation, if you're famous and you do something you wouldn't want your mother knowing about, odds are, EVERYONE will know eventually.

So just. . . don't. If you're about to do something shameful which could potentially destroy your life if anyone found out. . .don't. Think twice. Look before you leap. Count to ten. Measure twice, cut once. Just. . . don't.

Directionlessness

My directionlessness is killing me.
My life is a basketball game with no basket,
A soccer game with no goal,
A race with no ending in sight.
I've lost my path through the woods.

Don't say to me,
"You could pack up and go anywhere.
Do anything.
Move to Europe.
Visit Africa or India.
On a whim."
Don't say that to me.
Because who really does that?
Who runs away from life for permanent vacation?

No one does that.
Because we all have bills to pay.
We all have to work.

My directionlessness is killing me,
sinking me into depression.

Directionlessness+friends who are far away=depression.

I need a radical change in my life.
I'm feeling so restless.
I hate the feeling you get when you know
your life is in transition.

What do I do?

Disappointment

I'm re-reading Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
If you haven't read it, I seriously suggest it to you.
Or at least see the movie,
starring the late, fabulous Elizabeth Taylor.

It's a play about the games
people play when they're in relationships,
about the power struggle,
about the ways people hurt each other.

And it's making me wonder if it's worth it.
Being in a relationship,
risking your heart like that.
Going through the games, the power struggle.

Something deep inside tells me that
no love will ever be good enough.
No love other than God's love.
All will fall short and disappoint.
And I don't know if I can live with disappointment.

But at the same time,
I don't want to be alone.


I am such a walking contradiction.

DO NOT, pt. 2

In keeping with last week's Why Wednesday post, a "Don't" list for guys, I will now present to you a "Don't" list for girls.

So, girls, if you want the rest of us ladies to not shoot judging eyes your way, as well as attract a man actually worth your time and attention, please refrain from doing any of the following:

• Wearing a pound of makeup. It doesn't make you look pretty. It just makes you look trashy.
• Wearing shirts that expose your belly-button ring, even if you have the abs for it. This trend was only okay in some vague point of the 90's, and even then its validity was a bit questionable.
  
• Modeling yourself after Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, or any other famous woman with no life skills or morals. They are not good role models. Choose a better one.
  
• FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, (I honestly don't know who Pete is.) learn to dress for your body shape. You don't have to be obsessed with fashion or spend a million dollars, but PLEASE learn what clothes work with your body. Not everyone can wear every trend. Also, when you find clothes that really work for you and your body type, it makes you feel pretty, which brings me to my next point:
  
• STOP SAYING HOW FAT YOU ARE. If you think you could lose a few pounds, start eating right and working out. Or better yet, start loving yourself first. Everything else will fall into place afterward.
  
• Don't try to be what you think guys want you to be. Odds are, your aim is a little off. The guy who's really worth your time will love you for who you are, not for who you are trying to be.
  

More Time

A few weeks ago I posted a blog about my part-time job, my other job. You can read it here.

On Saturday, I got a call from my supervisor there, who is a really nice lady who I've actually gotten quite close to. She informed me that because of financial reasons, they had to make cutbacks. I'm one of those cutbacks.

So, friends, I officially have one job again.

But the thing is, I'm not too broken up about it. I slept until 10 am this morning. And it was a beautiful thing. Now I have time to do lots of things that I had no time to do before.

Of course, I'll get another part-time job eventually. But for now, I'm going to enjoy sleeping in, maybe going to the pool before work. It'll be great.

DO NOT

Okay, so I know it's technically Thursday. But I was hanging out with Roommate all day. That kind of took priority. So this week's Why Wednesday post will be in the form of a "Don't" list, for guys.

Guys, if you want genuine approval from women, do not do any of the following:

• Wear sagging pants. Undergarments are just that. They are not meant to be seen in public, and are meant to be hidden by your pants. We do not want to see them.
• Wear pants or shirts with sparkles or embroidery on them. You look like a tool. Or Criss Angel. But it's the same thing.
  
• FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS DECENT, do not wear "wife-beaters" as a shirt. There's a reason they're sold as undershirts.
• Spend more time on your appearance than we do. Short hair=less time in the bathroom. It's a certifiable fact.
• Unless you are doing manual labor such as yard work, exercising, or a profession which requires physical exertion, you should not be wearing a bandanna. It makes us think you're a tool. Or that you're bald.
  
• Be a poser. Don't try to be something you're not. Be yourself. We like it when guys are honest and genuine. So if you're a little awkward, embrace your awkwardness. Odds are, we'll think it's a little adorable.

I kind of liked being a little constructive instead of berating the decline and fall of our civilization. It's much more productive to give constructive criticism, I think. Maybe I should try it more often. Except being harsh is so much fun.