This kinda bothers me... but not really

The other day I saw a guy get hit by a car while riding his bicycle. It could have been avoided, but in a way they were both at fault. It was dark, the bicyclist was wearing dark clothing, and he didn't have a light on his bike. The car that hit him was turning right on a red light. I think he did more of a rolling stop, but there were 4 lanes of traffic blocking his view. Technically the car was totally at fault, but the bicyclist should have taken some more precautions... at least I would have if I were riding a bike in south florida.

The thing I feel the worst about is how much it hasn't bothered me. Don't get me wrong, I do feel bad for the guy, but it didn't surprise me. People drive like maniacs down here, and pedestrians take a lot of risks. No bicyclists follow traffic laws or take silly precautions such as wearing helmets or bright clothing. You will also never see a person walking use something as trivial as a cross-walk. The "I don't care" attitude is so thick you can cut it with a knife. Unless you live in South Florida, you have no idea how many times I see people do incredibly stupid things.

So when the light turned green for me, I just went on my merry way. Besides, the guy that got hit was able to get up out of the road on his own, and the guy who hit him stopped and made a phone call, which I'm assuming to was 911. And if you had to get hit, this would be that place to do it. We were right in front of Broward General Hospital. As far as being a witness, I wouldn't have been a very good one. I didn't actually see the car hitting the biker, I just looked up in time to see the guy laying in the road and his bicycle in the other lane all crumpled up.

You say it's already February?

Where the heck did January go? This year is flying by already. Things have been going well in the world of the knitting pirate librarian. I had a little bumpy start to the year, but I knew it wouldn't last.

Here's a quick summary of the highlights.

The knitting: Right now I'm in the process of knitting a baby blanket for my friend. She is due in April, so I think I should have plenty of time... I hope. I was attempting to do some lace work, but I think my choice of yarn for the project was not the greatest. I've abondoned it for the moment, but will pick it up again after the blanket is done... with different yarn of course.

The pirating (the social life): I've actually met a really nice guy a week ago today. I won't go into knitty-gritty details, except to say that things are going really well. It was such a surprise and so unexpected. We have a ton in common and we really enjoy spending time together. I'm sure I'll be blogging about him more about him later. I'll call him OG for now. That pretty much covers my social life. I pretty much just have just been hanging out with OG. Met quite a few nice people through him. Ika has been super busy with school and work, so haven't seen her. She's going to move back to Broward within the next few months, so I'm sure I'll be seeing more of her.

The librarian: Things are going really really well. I'm very happy that I have made the transfer :) I am so incredibly happy with my job at the moment, I can hardly describe it. I'm not going to say I don't have any stress or bad days, but I love my job, and I love what I do for a living.

Thats about it for now :)

Grand Rapids Michigan, oh how I hate you.

Dear Grand Rapids,

These are some of the reasons why you suck. Not that I need to tell you, because you probably already know.

1. City income tax. Not only do the suckers in the state of Michigan have to pay an income tax, but you have to soak them for an additional 1.3% And come on, what do they really get out of this money? NOTHING! See below reason why you suck for further explanation.

2. Parking. You ain't got none. And the few spaces you have go at a premium. $0.25 per 10 minutes? That must be because you have so many wonderful places to go that are worth the cost. The only other cities who charge more are New York and LA. Gee, and you wonder why downtown GR is like a ghost-town with tumbleweeds blowing through the streets.

3. Garbage pickup. $1.25 per garbage bag? Again... Just what the hell does your tax money go for?

4. Public schools. No tax money going here! Look at your state standardized test results, particularly on the 12th grade. Here is the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards... Reading-50%, Science-33%, Writing-34%, Math 29%. Again... just where the hell do the tax dollars go to?

5. State of Michigan unemployment rate- 6.9% Second highest in the nation, only under Mississippi. Mississippi... Dear Lord, beating Mississippi does not give you bragging rights. Alaska beat you for goodness sake.

6. By the way, your economy stinks! Take some more money from education while you're at it... I'm sure the less educated your citizens are, the better your economy will get. You'll be out of the red in no time! But who cares if colleges increase their tuition... your residents won't be accepted anyway. No graduates, no problem!

7. Weather. What's the temp right now, buddy? About 20F you say? Yeah, it's about 79F for me right now. We'll get a high of 81 tomorrow. What's that? You'll only get up to 17 tomorrow with about 3 inches of snow. Good luck with that.

8. What time do your bars close? 1:45? How boring. That would be about 4:00a.m. here, unless you're talking about the Hard Rock which would be never... and is only a 10 minute drive.

What I've read - Catch up

Great. I'm already getting behind on this!

Two books to add.

#1 Beyond the Deepwoods (part 1 of the Edgewood Chronicles) - Paul Stewart.
Pretty amusing, very imaginative, and tons of cool illustrations throughout the book. Although I did feel a little foolish reading a book in public with lots of pictures. I know, I'm ridiculous!

#2 Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares.
I've been wanting to read this book forever. I'm not too sure why I waited this long. A good, quick read if you are in the mood for a little chick lit. Although I found Bee to be a bit annoying. Bee and her glowing hair. Gack.


Goal - 3/50

Bad day

Yesterday wasn't so hot. First I locked myself out of my apartment. I fortunately had a neighbor who was able to help me break in to my place and retrieve my keys. Then moments after grabbing my keys, I got into my car ready to go. Unfortunately the car wasn't so ready to go. I tried to start it and got nothing but a bunch of clicks. So I called on my neighbor once again. We looked at the engine and scratched our heads for about 10 minutes before he decided to try giving the battery a jump. The old girl got started right away. After talking to him for a moment, I realized that this was the original battery... about 6 1/2 years old! So I went to buy a new battery.

While I was getting the battery changed, the guy called me over to my car to show me something in the engine. He informed me that the serpentine belt is on it's way out and I should replace it very soon... not cheap, and I trust him. The place that I took the car to doesn't do that type of repair and he didn't slip me a referral to his buddy's shop or anything, so I don't think he's trying to take me for the money. On my next day off I'm taking my car to the dealer to get an oil change. I'll ask them to poke around to see if there is anything I need to have done and see if they give me the same verdict.

Great. But I don't think this is an indication of how this whole year will go, it was just a bad day.

#1 - Reading 2007

First of all, I have decided to try and keep track of how many books I read this year. My goal will be 50. I got the idea from a group in livejournal. I think I may end up being shocked at how little I actually read. I would read 1000 books a year if I could, but I just can't find the time!

So here is #1
Gregor the Overlander - by Suzanne Collins
Children's book

Gregor is babysitting his two year old sister, Boots, when they fall into a mysterious underground world. There they meet strange people, and gigantic talking rats, cockroaches, and spiders. While trying to get back to their world above the ground, they become the catalyst of a gigantic war between the different creatures.

The story is fast-paced, action filled, and a good basic sci-fi/fantasy. It's ending obviously points towards sequels, so anyone craving more is sure to get their fill.

Progress on goal:
1/50

Total pages read:
320

For the love of the sunshine state

The other day an old friend of mine from college said something that really irritated me. The more I think of it, the more it pisses me off. He currently lives in Washington state and wrote a blog about how his area got pounded with the big storms. He talked about the damage and said he felt like he was living in Florida. On his myspace profile he had a couple of pictures from Florida and has made some other comments about Florida.

So I innocently wrote him, wished him luck with the storm, and asked if he had previously lived in Florida. He responded back almost immediately and said that he had lived in Florida off and on for about 10 months over the past few years. He's a claims adjuster, and has been working on insurance claims from the storms. Then he went on to say that Florida is the most God awful place in the world and that he would rather live in Iraq than Florida, etc.

Excuse me? He is entitled to his opinion, but *ahem*... I LIVE HERE! And I happen to love my home very much. I think this is one of the most beautiful places to live. I am surrounded by green tropical plants, tons of birds and animals, the most beautiful beaches, and some of the best boating in the world. Aside from that there is never a lack of things to do, and I love the cultural mix of people that you meet. I literally have friends from around the world. Granted there are some bad things and downsides to living in South Florida, but there are bad things about anywhere.

He doesn't have to like Florida, but at least take your friends into consideration before you tell them that their home is the crappiest place in the world. And the comment that he made about rather living in Iraq really pisses me off. If you would rather live in Iraq, then sign your butt up for the Army and get your ass over there. I don't find comments like that funny at all. Why doesn't he get over there and let my cousin and a few of my friends come home. There are thousands of men and women over there dying or becoming seriously wounded every day. Don't make jokes about it, it's really not funny at all.

And by the way... we don't like claims adjusters that well. They are the agents of the greedy insurance companies that steal our money and don't want to pay out when our roof gets ripped off our house.

I think my mom is trying to kill me

Recently I decided that it would be a good idea to do a little working out. I even switched health care plans this coming year just so I could take advantage of the free membership to a gym that they are offering. Instead of waiting until January, I decided to get a head start by working out at home a little bit. To help motivate me, I asked for a bunch of workout paraphernalia for Christmas. My parents really got into the spirit of it all, and included one of those big exercise balls. It even came with a DVD to show you how to use it.

I almost died. Do you realize how dangerous those things are? No only did I almost roll off it about a million times, I almost broke my nose a few different ways. The first time I was laying on the ball and was supposed to walk forward with my hands until my shins were resting on the ball. The end result was supposed to be push-ups. They people make it look so easy. Do they understand that the rest of us have to deal with something called gravity? I darned near broke my nose when I went a little too fast... strait into my couch.

Then there was the other time when I was supposed to be flat on my back. I was supposed to pick up the ball with my ankles and and lift my legs up until I looked like an L. Then from there I was supposed to continue on and bring my ankles further back until I touched my toes to the floor behind my head. YEAH RIGHT! It wasn't going that well to begin with, but it went downhill when my legs gave out and I dropped the ball on my face.

Maybe I need to start with some more simple moves.

What I'm reading now

I just finished "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls.

I normally don't read memoirs, but I really enjoyed this one. This was one of those books that you could pick up and finish in a few short sittings. It was perfect to read on an airplane ride.

Jeannette Walls talks about growing up in her anything but conventional family. She started out at around the age of 3 when she caught her clothes on fire while cooking herself a hot dog. Her family was living in a trailer somewhere out in the desert out west. They moved around like nomads in California, Nevada and Arizona, living mostly in small mining towns. Her parents seemed incapable of keeping jobs for any amount of time. Once they exhausted their supplies and started owing too much money, they would do "the skedaddle" and move on to the next place. They settled for some time in Arizona, and eventually ended up in Welch, West Virginia, which is a small coal mining town in Appalachia.

The thing that I appreciated most about this book is that it was written in a very matter-of-fact way. Jeannette Wall's life was very rough. She grew up so poor she resorted to picking through garbage to eat. But she didn't present it in a "poor me, feel sorry for me" way. It was just the reality that she knew, and she just presented the facts. She even told some of the stories with a bit of humor, such as the "loose-juice" room, which refers to their kitchen with electrical wiring that was less than perfect. She goes on to tell how she was able to rise up out of her situation and make a good life for herself in New York.

At no point does Jeannette Walls look back on her life with pity or shame. She admits in her book that she is sometimes embarrassed by her past or her mother who is now living as a vagrant in New York, but she never writes in a way that asks you to feel sorry for her.

This book gets 4 out of 5 stars for me. It's a great little book, perfect for a book club pick. It's a very quick read, so it's perfect for the holidays when you might not have a ton of time to dedicate to reading.

Update on the single front

So I had actually received communication from the ex-whatever he was. I was back up north visiting my family, and he sent me a text message. All it said was "I was angry and I bet you were! but im not and i hope ur well." That's it.

I still have no idea what he got mad about, he never did say. And I didn't respond back to the text message. After 7 months of dating, you don't just drop off the face of the earth and then send a text message a month later.

You gotta treat me better than that buddy, sorry.

Passive Aggressivness in Blogs

Lately I have noticed a lot of passive-aggressive behavior in the blogging community. What is it about being online that brings out bad behavior? On my other blog, all of my "friends" are people I knew when I lived back in the great white north. Blogging has been quite a lovely tool to help me keep in touch with them. It allows me to update everyone with little tid-bits of my life, without actually having to email everyone. And reading a blog is totally voluntary. I don't feel right inundating every one's in box with crap that they really don't care about. Who knows, maybe some of these people that I think care about what's going on in my life, could give a crap less. If they want to see what's going on, they can click on a link and read away. And it works the other way. I get to read about my friends, and get a little picture about the happenings in their lives if I so choose.

Anyways, the whole idea sounds all fine and dandy, except people seemed to have forgotten how to behave. The fact that you can write something from the safety of your own computer and not look the other person in the eye, allows people to say all kinds of mean stuff without any reservation. But they don't just come right out and say it, they get little jabs in here and there that are directed to someone, but don't really come right out and say, "Hey So-and-So, you're a jerk". The worst part about it all, is these little jabs are being broadcast to any and every reader of the blog.

I started noticing it mostly when some drama started creeping into my group of friends. Someone started dating his best friends girlfriend, another couple of friends got involved in a business/money relationship that turned bad, and another one burned some bridges and became paranoid about being stalked by "lurkers".

My point is, instead of hinting at little things online, why don't you try facing that person, and talking with them? If you can't say it to their face, maybe it isn't worth saying at all. And maybe I'm as guilty of this behavior just as much as everyone else. After all, creating this "secret" blog without telling any one of my friends about it is a little passive aggressive if you think about it. But my whole reason for creating this blog, was not to hide things from anyone, I'm just looking to have a little fun. And anyone who happens to find this blog and actually is interested enough to read it, is welcome.

What I'm reading

I just finished reading Jane Eyre for the first time. I was very hopeful when I picked up the book, but truthfully I was shocked at how much I liked it. To tell you the truth, I'm not usually too into the classics. I don't really have anything against them, they are just books that don't normally appeal to me.

I think Jane Eyre really caught me up for two main reasons. First of all, it's actually a pretty dark book if you thing about it. It is pretty much anything but happy and cheery. Don't get me wrong, good things happen in it and there are some funny bits, but it has a big morbid underline feel to the entire book. There are also some pretty desolate times for poor Jane. But this leads me to the other reason why I really liked this book. Jane Eyre is such a strong character. She has a pretty miserable existence for the most part, but she never wallows in self-pity. She kind of takes what is handed to her and makes the most of it. She's not afraid to speak her mind, even if there are consequences to her words. She can't help it, it's just totally in her nature. And Bronte stays pretty true to the Jane's character. Where good things do happen occasionally, and things turn out for her in the end, it's not a total 180. It's not suffer, suffer, suffer, and then BAM! Puppies, and rainbows, and flowers, and the world is all right. Jane Eyre suffers and struggles, and eventually things come around, but it's not totally all good. For example, *(warning, spoiler)* she lands her man in the end, but he is blind and disfigured. She's happy to be with the man she loves, but she has to pretty much take care of him.

I think a lot of me liking this book had to do with what is going on in my life right now. I'm not totally miserable and suffering, but these past couple of months have been pretty challenging. Seeing a strong female character is what I needed. And I don't think I could have been in a totally wonderful mood and marvolous time in my life, and enjoyed Such a depressing atmosphere.

Altogether I would say it's a great book, 5 out of 5 stars. It did drag a little bit in some parts, but if it held my interest, and I liked it, AND it's a classic, it deserves full marks.

All of my friends have been very supportive since the abrupt end of the 7 month "thing" with Captain Dan. It almost makes me feel even worse about the whole thing. They are being such good friends, when I feel like I haven't been there for them for past several months. It just makes me understand how important it is to spend time with your friends and take care of them. You never know when you are going to be the one who needs supporting.

Hopefully now, I'll be ready to move on to some more scandalous entries!

here we go again

So of course I haven't used this blog how I've been meaning too, but that's too be expected. I'm pretty wishy-washy that way.

Anyway... I'm single again. That's right, I got dumped. Well, not really, but technically I did. Basically the sissy just stopped all communication out of the blue. He just stopped calling me and answering his phone. No explanation, no break up, no nothing. You think that after 7 months, you would at least get something. I kind of feel like that episode of Sex and the City where Carrie gets broken up with on a Post-it note. Seven months isn't a terribly long time, but it's still pretty significant. And I really did care for the guy.

I guess the thing that gets me the most is you would think that after you turned 30 you wouldn't have to put up with this type of crap anymore. I was wrong. And I'm talking about a 40 year old man. One who always like to remind me about how much older and more mature he was than I. He had so many more life experiences than I have had, that must make him more mature, right? The only thing that I have learned is that age and maturity have nothing to do with each other.

You know, at this point I really don't want to hear any explanations, reasons, excuses or anything. The only thing I wish I would have had was a simple goodbye.

But I ain't gunna let no man get me down. No use in moping around. This past Saturday my girlfriends took me out for a night on the town. I tore it up, and picked up a hot Latino guy to boot! Same age as me... Sexy, athletic body, nice booty, and a great dancer! I still got it in me :)