Men ARE most definitely from Mars

I don't get men. I just don't. I don't get the odor (either raunchy or too much cologne). And I don't get how the whole "love" thing ever works out. I mean, aren't most men poor communicators?

The reason I am writing this is because I stumbled upon the most appalling blog entry written by a guy I don't know, but he knows someone I know. After reading the man's blog entry, please leave me a comment. I know not what to think.

Scrabble Monkey

My mom and I like to play Scrabble together. This started in January, when I established BBJ game night. Every Tuesday night, my mom or my dad and I were required to play games. It was great in the beginning, but it soon became merely a Scrabble competition between my mother and I. Pretty soon, I got my mom to participate in a betting game for our Scrabble matches. Unfortunately for me, I lost the bet and since the competition began, I haven't been able to beat her. I think I need practice. Today, I lost to her again. If anyone has any ideas on how to beat "the champ," please let me know.

If I Could Rewrite Little Women

1. Jo would never fall for that boring German professor.
2. Amy would never marry Laurie.
3. Jo and Laurie would end up together in the end.
4. Beth would not die.
5. Instead of dying, Beth would have become a great pianist and she would have married her own boring professor.
6. Amy would have not turned out so pretty. (She was such a brat as a child. Come on people, I believe in Karma!)
7. Jo would write both her crazy stories as well as the deep meaningful "Little Women" ones.

I'm sure I could change more, but right now I'm watching the movie and I STILL can't handle the fact that Laurie marries Amy and Jo falls for the professor. It's just wrong. It's even more painful to read it.

Saw it On TV...Wedding hit of the century

Should I ever get married, similar fun will be had by all!

Check out this amazing wedding video.

Shaqtastic

A few months ago, a friend and I were talking about my obsession with scrabble. Her daughter told her about this video and I am just TODAY posting it to my blog.

Check out Shaq playing scrabble

Hermione is heading to the US of A!

I'm a huge nut when it comes to Harry Potter. I'm not sure why, but I am a total geek about the movies AND more importantly, THE BOOKS! Well, Emma Watson, the frizzy haired Hermione from the movies, is going to Brown! If you read this article, you'll find out that she is a total book nerd like myself. Isn't that great? Yeah for her!

Ten Things I Do to Save Mother Earth...

I live in Eugene. Thus, I must become "green" as they say around Oregon. Becoming green isn't as easy as one might think. There are many different things one must do. But to avoid getting dull and making my readers question my true green-esence, I will make a list of things I am doing to be more green.

First: I carry a bag of paper and cereal box-type material once a week to the JSchool, where I put it in the recycle bins.

Second: I carry a small shopping bag with me always so that I don't need to get a bag from the store.

Third: I walk to school pretty much every morning. I haven't bought a car and quite frankly don't want to buy one (except that it would make it so much easier to drive to the coast).

Fourth: I turn out the kitchen light when I'm in the living room.

Fifth: I ALWAYS unplug my fan when I leave my apartment.

Sixth: I'm recycling all old CDS (also taking them to the JSchool where I put them in the CD recycle bin).

Seventh: I drink a lot of water.

Eighth: I rewear my clothes several times before washing them. (True story. I've worn my jean shorts three days in a row!)

Nineth: I don't waste water doing dishes three times a day. Just once...maybe every TWO days.

Tenth: I put "going green" type stickers in my journals as daily reminders to be earth friendly.

I think ten is a good number. Hmm...any tips on what I should do to turn green quicker?

eggs and such

I have no oven in my apartment. There's no stovetop either. I just have a microwave and a toaster oven. It's not so bad.

But when my parents came down to see me the other day, they asked me about my cooking routines. I had to tell them the truth. I don't cook. Then my sister came down the other day and brought me a bag of groceries. My mom had bought me a microwave egg poacher and an omelette maker. My parents wanted me to start eating healthier food that I could cook in only minutes.

I made a cheese omelette this morning. It was fabulous. Once again, I could never become a vegan.

Not Gonna Go Vegan

Yesterday, I went to the local sweet shop to add a little sweetness to my life. When I got there, I saw a fabulous dessert in the glass case. It was blueberry cheesecake. After asking about it, I found out it was vegan. "That's okay," I told the person behind the counter. "I'll try it."

When I tried to eat the cheesecake with my tea, I couldn't do it. I was so incredibly grossed out that there was nothing else to do. I had to take it home in the box. I'm still not sure how I'll feel about it later this afternoon. Should cheesecake ever go vegan? Isn't cheesecake SUPPOSED to have CHEESE in it?

Sometimes it feels like life is going pretty slow. I walk to school with no music (I still haven't fixed my iPod.) and I think the WHOLE time. The things I think about aren't always profound. In fact, most of the time, I fill my head with useless facts that really don't get me anywhere. But some days, as I walk the half hour walk to my house, I take my time and go a little slower. That's when I see things like the above picture. Such a sweet innocent creature was trudging across the sidewalk. I'm pretty sure that within a few more minutes, someone was going to walk across and squish it, but for a few moments, it was living the good life.

Life really isn't very slow in America. Some days feel slow to me, usually when I don't have class. Other days feel jam-packed. It's strange, isn't it?

Sad day

Before moving to Eugene, I got rid of some of my old things. I'm a little sad to say that I got rid of my Huggabunch. It's quite tragic. I kept the other two "toys" from the photo but the large Huggabunch and her baby are gone. RIP dear Huggabunch!

Please note: nothing of true excitement is going on in Eugene today. Thus, you read about a stuffed animal thing.

A Few Random Things About Me…

I had a professor say that blogs are stupid because no one really cares about what people write on them. I disagree. I write predominately for my own amusement and I share my blog with people I like and might enjoy reading what I find interesting. So… those of you who read this, thanks for reading.

Fact 1: I have lived in England for a total of five months.
Fact 2: I was on an Oxford crew team for a day. (They took anyone without any tryouts.) But I never went back despite the e-mails asking me to return to practice.
Fact 3: Krakow, Poland is my favorite city on earth.
Fact 4: I want to live in Seattle, Washington when I grow up.
Fact 5: I once showed a lamb at the Oregon State Fair.
Fact 6: I used to want to be a cowgirl.
Fact 7: I stopped wanting to be a cowgirl by age 15.
Fact 8: I love playing board games.
Fact 9: I have one houseplant.
Fact 10: My favorite symbol is the peace sign.
Fact 11: My prison tat reads, “tranquility and harmony” in Ukrainian.
Fact 12: I have dyed my hair at least five times.
Fact 13: My favorite band of all times is The Beatles.
Fact 14: I love Harry Potter, both the books and the movies. I disagree with the Oxford professor who claimed that Harry Potter wasn’t good literature.
Fact 15: When I worked at a bank, a guy came to my window and misread my name as “Scarface.”
Fact 16: Reading and writing are two of my favorite pastimes.
Fact 17: I like the new version of Pride and Prejudice. I think Kierra Knightly is a great actress and even though the American ending is ridiculous I still love the movie.

I think 17 is a good number. Thus, there will be no more facts about me to read today.

THE PURPLE HIPPO

So I finally got my purple hippo tattoo. I can't really explain why I chose a purple hippo, but it totally has something to do with the fact that I don't think anyone else would have a tattoo of a purple hippo.

I'm not going to be wanting any more. It hurt too much!

I pride myself on being a fabulous asset to the English language. It's true. I think way better of myself than any of the great grammarians or even than my old college professors thought of me. I like to edit, fix other peoples' mistakes, and basically be a know-it-all.

My mom, my sister, and I found this sign in Veneta, Oregon, a small town outside of Eugene. It's a cute kind of town, sure to be somewhat boring but also full of quirks. It's actually bigger than Dayton, which is surprising.

Basically, I like the sign. That's really all I wanted to say.

Whale Blubber

Today in class, we talked about unique stories in the news. These are the stories I read about in the Good Week/Bad Week section of THE WEEK. I love strange stuff, mainly because I'm a bit strange myself. The whale explosion in Florence, Oregon was briefly mentioned in class. I remember hearing and reading about this when I was younger. My mom thought is was one of the funniest stories. I mean, seriously, who would blow up a whale to get rid of it? Oregonians are crazy! I can say this because I am an Oregonian.

Check out the "original" report on youtube.

Rain...

I grew up in Western Oregon. It was never surprising to have an enormous amount of rain on any given day. Rain was pretty, it helped beautiful flowers to grow. In junior high, I became a nut about puddle-jumping. It was all the rage at Dayton Junior High. My friend, Michelle, and I were champion puddle jumpers and after our lunch break of romping in the piles of water, we would sit in class with drenched jeans.

I'm starting to appreciate rain a little more these days. Not only can I not handle the heat of summer, but I miss the gentleness of the rain falling. It soothes me and motivates me to write.

When my mom and I visited Poland in 2006, it rained on us quite a bit. The above photo is of one of the prettiest streets in Warsaw after the rain. I believe that Poland became one of my favorite countries because of our time in the rain there.

I'm sure that when the rain comes back to Western Oregon, I will find a reason to complain. But right now, I want rain in Eugene more than anything. I want the fresh rain air, the cold breeze, and the tranquility involved in a good Oregon rain. While I wait, I suppose I'll get a few more sun freckles splashed across my face.

family farm pignic

Yesterday, I came home to Dayton. It's fourth of July weekend and our family decided to have a pignic for one last time. When my family gets together for big shindigs like this, there tends to be a lot of chaos involved. For example, when I got home I was feeling emotional and was going between fits of crying at the same time my dad was getting the tables and chairs set up next to the fire pit, and my sister was directing everyone where to go. My mom sat on the couch, exhausted from all the thinking and running around involved in one of these family events. Only one person, my sister Shelli, seemed to be in a good mood. But my other sister got her crying and then there was no one in a good mood.

Things picked up later on in the evening. I sat around the campfire with three of my brothers and sisters. We played dice and then tried to tell ghost stories. My attempt at the scary Johny story was quite pathetic. Shelli's rendition of the doll with the purple fingernails was worser still.

At around three thirty this morning, I fell asleep. I'm sort of an old woman when it comes to getting the proper amount of sleep. So I slept. It was nice. The pig still wasn't under the ground and at least three members of my family stayed awake until all the prep work was done at eleven.

Right now, I'm learning that the big meal isn't completely done. And my family is really good about keeping cool heads. I suppose I ought to take life a bit more seriously and get frustrated more often, but that would produce stress. I think I'll just chill out. It's more fun that way.

One of my favorite places on campus is next to Hayward Field. It's not the track itself or the history involved in this city known as Track Town USA. No, I like the signs that show me how close (or how far away) I am from some of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Right now, I dream of going back to London. I miss the Underground, the various pubs, and especially walking past Big Ben when he's all lit up at night. I want to go back when I graduate. Maybe I'll even add a week in London to my potential trip back to Ukraine.

When I lived in Oxford, I thought that living in England wasn't for me. I didn't meet a lot of English people, instead, I met a bunch of the crazy Americans who lived in my same house. It was fun. I had a great time. I think the reason I didn't connect as well with the Oxonians was because I viewed them as strict intellectuals. Even though I am a smart person, I can readily admit that I don't know a whole lot. I like to learn, but I also like to have fun and make up stories. I suppose I am an odd sort of intellectual. I mean, I am in graduate school, but I hope that I never become one of those snobbish people who makes you regret ever talking to them.

Yeah, visiting London would be great. I'd like to stay in one of those dodgy hostels and hang out at the pub until two in the morning. I'm still waiting to take a trip back to London with my best friend. We're supposed to go when we're thirty. Hmm...this is the first time I've looked forward to getting older.

My Sister’s Keeper

A little over a month ago, I read a book. I had seen a preview for the movie and had decided that I needed to read the book first. The book was a complete page turner. It was written from many perspectives. Each character told his or her individual piece of the story. The book was sad, ironic, and most of all, had a completely unexpected ending. It was such a good book that I never skipped to the end to see how it turned out. That is a rarity for me. Most of the time, I can’t wait to know what will happen and I skip to the end, so it’s refreshing to me to read a book that is so good that I keep reading and don’t take time to read the end first.

Today, I watched the movie. It was good. It was sad. I cried a bit. The ending surprised me a bit. It was so completely opposite of the book that I was surprised it ended that way. When I read the book, I had expected the movie ending. But the book was different. It was more ironic; it held a tougher kind of love.

My Sister’s Keeper is something to talk about. My mom and I both read the book so we could discuss the core issues: the medical ethics, family issues, emotions, and independence. The movie gave me even more to think about. I was never the type of person who required movies to follow the books they were based upon, but I think I might just be changing my mind about that.

No matter what, My Sister’s Keeper is a great read and a great flick. I would recommend it to just about anyone with a heart.

life and neighbors

My family was never super-close to our neighbors. Even our relatives who have lived down the street haven't been a part of our weekly routine. With this in mind, it shouldn't be surprising that I have always had a difficult time connecting to my neighbors. In Ukraine, I knew that I was too loud, so I didn't really ask the neighbors if everything was alright. But here in Eugene, I haven't felt the desire or need to connect with my neighbors. Okay, that's not true. I wrote down three neighbors that I wanted to meet: glasses, the smoker, and the girl in 33. Thus far, I have met the smoker (who is extremely nice and I think he'll be a great neighbor), the girl in 33 (who wasn't all that friendly and to be honest, I think she just found me weird, which is true, but come on, I tried to make an effort), and this morning I met glasses (who I just found out is moving out within a fortnight).

I'm not certain if I will become friends with my neighbors during the next year that I live here. I'm thinking I should, I mean, what if I get hit by a car while riding my bike? I'll need to be living a happy life should that happen and I end up in a coma. At least then, I wouldn't be waiting for my life to move on. I know, it's a horrible thing to think about, right? But that's what I do. I'm in a constant state of thinking. And I love it!