Pokemon.... The Story Of My Childhood

It began innocently.... As most addictions do.  I just thought I'd play casually.  An every now and then kind of game.  Then.... My mom bought me this:

That's when it got harder to control.  Seeing my Pokemon in black and white was one thing.  Seeing them in color.... I was hooked.  I began playing more and more.  Then, suddenly just these weren't enough:

I wanted more than just the original 150!  I don't know why, but I needed it!  Then Christmas came.  In my stocking, Santa had bestowed upon me the greatest of gifts.  These:

And this:

Soon after, Pokemon became much more than a game.  It became a way of life.  I never left home without my Game Boy Color and a game.  It went with me everywhere.  At school, I hid it under the lunch table and played.  During recess, I'd hid behind the big oak tree on the hill.  Cradled in its hollow roots, it was there I defeated the Elite 4.  The victory was sweet.  But not sweet enough. 

Soon, my addiction began to evolve from just playing the games.  I wanted, no... NEEDED more.  It started with these:

I had hundreds of them.  And I could defeat even some of the most practiced battlers.  I was a champion.  Once I got over the high of these petty cards, I had to move up.  It was time for something different.  A friend of mine got me hooked on these:

These were just a little thing to me.  There was no real way to stratigize or plan with these.  But it didn't matter.  By this time, I was in middle school, dressing like this:

I was boasting the superiority of my starter, and when I got home in the afternoons I immediately ran to my bedroom for my fix.

I was completely determined to be the very best.... Like no one ever was.  I watched the shows.  Played the games.  Had the cards, the marbles, the shirts.  Even my hackey sack was Pokemon!

Then...  My mind began to come unhinged.  I thought about Pokemon being real.  I looked for them.  I looked for them in places like this:

As well as places like this:



My friend who had introduced me to the marbles was as bad as I was.  We had Pokemon battles with each other.  But only we could see them.  My trusty starter was as real to me as my dog.  I saw him.  He was my friend.

But one day....  After years of devotion, love, sweat, tears and training.... Tragedy struck.  My mother, my dear mother who had bought me my first game system and games... She uttered the words that no child should hear.  She said... "Ella, you're getting to old for the Pokemon crap.  I'm going to put all this junk in our next yard sale." 

Too old.  Crap.  Junk.  Yard sale.  I was crushed.  Decimated.  How could she think that my life's works was junk?  Or crap?  How could you ever get too old to feel the joy of switching on your Game Boy?  Or feel the adrenaline of a heated battle with Team Rocket?  But.... I knew it was over.  Sure, I fought her, but I was powerless to resist.  All my hard work was gone.

The next year I started high school.  Without my trusty Bulbasaur at my side.  Without my Trainer shirts.  My games.  My cards.  My marbles.  Not even my hackey sack made it. 

It was then that I realized that, while I had become a Pokemon Master, I had failed at real life.  The life that I thought was dull and tasteless for it's lack of Pokemon.  I had no friends to speak of.  They had all "grown out of that kiddie Poke-phase".  So... Like a true Master, I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and began anew.  With life staring me in the face, my loss didn't seem quite so bad...

Scooter Out.

*Note - This is a dramatized story of my childhood addiction to Pokemon.  I'm sure if I cared to look back on that dark time of my life then I'm sure my loss wouldn't be so bad.... Maybe.

Hello! My Name Is....

Hi!!  My name is Ella!  The year I was born, my name wasn't even in the top 1,000 most popular baby names.  I was the ONLY Ella in my school district until I graduated. 

I was NOT named after Ella Fitzgerald.  She is a lovely jazz singer, but I was named for my great-grandmother, Ella Mary Bolton.  No, my name isn't Ella Mary.  It's Ella.  Not Eleanore.  Not Ella-phant.  Not Ella Enchanted.  Not "Under my umbrella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh..."  Just Ella.  :)

I like my name.  It used to be unusual until 2000 when John Travolta decided to name his daughter Ella Blue.  Now EVERYONE is naming their daughters Ella.  I've met more Ella's than I can shake a stick at!!  But I'm the most epic one I know!  :D  Just saying...  :P

So now you all know... THE TRUTH!!!  Lol.  :P  Hope it wasn't a major let-down for you guys.  I'm sure someone somewhere was expecting some kind of really obscure and weird name like Rumpelstiltskin or something.  But nope!!  I'm Ella!  :D

Scooter Out.

The Contest Has Come To A Halt!!!

For those of you who have been following, we've been playing a round of Guess Scooter's Name here on this blog!  I vowed to do the big reveal on March 6th, but it seems we've had someone guess!!

In this comment lies truth!!!  So I must live up to my promise.  Upon completion of the prize owl stuffy, I will inquire after a place to mail it to!

Congrats, love!!

Scooter Out.

RESPONSE!!!

This is my response to (25) "Sarah Jessica Parker Looks Like A Horse" Friday from this blog!!!

That is all.

Scooter Out.

We're Now Going To Play A Round Of.... Guess Scooter's Name!! :D

I decided the fair thing to do would be to give out a few clues and make this a bit of a contest.  The winner (providing they have no issues giving me their mailing address) will receive an adorable stuffed owl hand made by me.  :P  Sorry the prize isn't cooler.  I'm not a rich person.  If you win and you have an issue with me knowing your address.... Well.... You get the satisfaction of knowing you're an epic guesser!

Here's the clues!

Clue #1:  My name begins with a vowel and contains less than 5 letters.

Clue #2:  In the year 2000, a well-known actor gave his daughter this name.

Happy guessing!  The big reveal will be on March 6th, so you have until then!

Scooter Out.

Let's Talk About The F- Word

Family.  Yup!  Family.  What did you think I meant??

If I live to be 100 I don't think I will ever be able to understand or describe the family dynamic.  Predominantly because it differs with each individual and how they were raised. 

Families are ever-changing.  People are born.  People die.  People get married.  People get divorced.  You meet new friends and consider them family.  And let's not forget pets!

In my house, it's me, my mom, my step-dad, Remington (my dog) and Gretchen (my mom's dog).  I used to have Hokey, Pokey (hamsters) and Peanut (beta fish) but they've all passed on now.  So I have plants.  Lots of them.

Anyways...  As far as my house goes, I consider us all family.  There are times when I don't like my step-dad, but most of the time we're good. 

My mom's side of the family is pretty small.  It's just 2 uncles, 3 cousins, and 1 second cousin (child of cousin).  I'm the oldest grandchild and both grandparents have passed on.  Both aunts have divorced out of the family, so it's just that little bunch. 

I don't really care to acknowledge my step-dad's family.  Mainly for two reasons... 1) They don't like me and I don't like them.  They think I'm stuck up and I think most of them are white trash.  2)  There's so many of them that I don't know everyone's names and frankly don't care to know.  But, I'll put it this way.... Grandma Mae had 10 kids.  Each of those kids has about 2 or 3 kids.  Each of those kids (except me) has at least one kid (WAY too young, too) and there's a myriad of boyfriends, baby daddies, baby mamas, girlfriends, and current spouses (only to be annulled next month) floating around.  I always make sure I take about 4 shots before I encounter them at Christmas.  And then I leave as soon as I can.  

My dad and my step-mom live in Atlanta.  My step-mom has 3 kids; 2 girls, 1 boy.  My brother is married and expecting his second (their first) child next month.  A boy.  My middle sister is married with one son and they're about to move it Indiana like idiots for reasons I can't even begin to comprehend because they're so inanely stupid.  My oldest sister has a son and a baby daddy.  She's about to move out of my dad's house (again) into a ratty apartment on the bad bad side of town.  God bless her.  And that child.  It's gonna take a miracle for that kid to not turn out like his father.

Daddy has a brother and a sister and I love them both dearly.  My aunt breeds Siberian Huskies and is a radio dj.  My uncle.... I'm not sure what he does for work.  I just know he plays bass like you wouldn't believe.  Both are married.  My aunt has no children and my uncle has 2.  I'm the oldest biological grandchild on that side.  :)

I don't know much about my step-mom's family.  I know her parents are still living and she has a brother and an identical twin sister.  But I've only met her brother and sister.  She hates her mother.  Apparently she's really mean.

As far as people in my life that I consider family goes.... I have quite a handful of those.  :)  I love my friends dearly and they know it.  Or at least I hope they do.  I even love my friends I've made online via Facebook and, of course, BlogSpot.  :)

Well, lovelies, till next time....



*Name reveal coming soon!* 

Anyone (except Jack!!!) who cares to venture a guess at it.... Go for it!!  :D

Scooter Out.

Am I Wrong For Having My Own Opinions?

You may think that I'm a stubborn opinionated bitch, but this is my blog and I will post my thoughts on it regardless of what anyone else says or thinks.  If you don't like it, don't read it.

I am a woman.  I have a brain.  I have a mouth.  I have opinions.  And I will voice them.  I'm not a quiet-respectful-don't-misbehave-do-what-your-husband-tells-you-ask-no-questions-barefoot-and-pregnant-in-the-kitchen kind of woman.  I never have been.  I never will be. 

I'm compassionate.
I'm smart.
I'm independent.
I'm loving.
I'm strong.
I'm forgiving.
I'm a bit naive at times.
I cry.
I laugh.
I love.
I give.
I live.
I will not be brought down.  Especially by others of my gender.
I believe in the Bible.  But I also believe my own convictions.
I love God.  But I also love the people I have in this life.
I am not a stereotype.

Stop trying to categorize me.  It can't be done.  Don't tell me I'm wrong because my beliefs are different than yours.  And don't tell me I need to "pray about it" if you don't even care to understand why I think the way I do.  I have reasons for the way I think.  If you don't like it, then don't be a part of my life. 

I am me.  Nobody else.  I..... Have made the decision to reveal my name.  Why not?  I like my name.  And it's who I am. 

*Name reveal coming soon!* 

Anyone (except Jack!!!) who cares to venture a guess at it.... Go for it!!  :D

Scooter Out

Something New

I normally don't address politics.  Predominantly because it causes fights and I'm not a big fan of those.  But at this point i really don't care who I piss off.  I have to join the band of arm waving, screaming, mad as hell women in this one.  So here we go...

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum (this is a gut who wants to run your country, ladies and gentlemen) believes that birth control "shouldn't be covered by insurance at all."  He says that birth control is "a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be."  He wrote a book in 2005 called It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good.  In this book he makes his his opposition to contraception (as well as to abortion, even in the case of rape) very well known.  To me it seems like he has a deep hostility toward efforts to empower women and enhance their status.  He has a VERY stone age view of women.  I'm floored that his wife puts up with that.  I know I wouldn't.

He claims that "men and women be given an equal opportunity to make it to the top in the workplace" and calls opposing claims from women a "radical feminist pitch."  Really, buddy?  REALLY???  It's not much of a surprise to me that his wife was not listed as a co-author of this book.  I wouldn't want my name anywhere near that.

There's one section of the book that really makes my blood boil.  In his book he dismisses programs to help impoverished single mothers improve their job prospects by returning to school by saying that "the notion that college education is a cost-effective way to help poor, low-skill, unmarried mothers with high school diplomas or GEDs move up the economic ladder is just wrong."  Santorums' apparent hostility to women's educational and professional advancement is insulting and out of touch with today's world. But it is also odd in light of their purported interest in the welfare of children. It turns out that the most powerful single influence on a child's educational success is not the mother's marital status but her own level of education and her educational aspirations for her children.  BOOM!  Take that, jerk!

Let's go back to the issue of birth control and abortion for a second.  Now, I consider myself predominantly pro-life.  But if a woman or girl is raped and gets pregnant, she should have the choice of what to do in that situation.  End of story.

About 2 weeks ago, Santorum (of course) was bashing Presidential candidate Mitt Romney about a few things that he's done as Massachusetts Governor.  Gov. Romney "required all Massachusetts hospitals, including Catholic ones, to provide emergency contraception to rape victims."  Good!  They deserve to have that choice!  But, of course, Santorum had to crap all over that.  He said " I believe in my 'heart of hearts' that receiving these contraceptives – free of charge – trumped employees' religious consciences."  Well... If the employee feels that way, they can get another employee to do it.  Or perhaps they shouldn't be working in a field where this kind of thing happens.  Daily.  Or they can just get their heads out of their butt cracks and deal with the reality that SHIT HAPPENS!!!!

Which brings me to Obama.  He decided to take this thing and run with it.  And screw with insurance, too!  Again!  He's put forth a "new policy concerning employer-provided health insurance plans and their coverage of contraceptive services for female employees including those at religiously affiliated institutions."  Basically that means that if you're a woman and you work for a church then your employer can deny you health coverage for your birth control.  So not only can the government screw your health care up, now your employer may be able to as well.  Under the new plan, religiously affiliated universities and hospitals will not be forced to offer contraception coverage to their employees. Insurers will be required, however, to offer complete coverage free of charge to women who work at such institutions. Female employees at churches themselves will have no guarantee of any contraception coverage.

I just don't understand how the health of women has become such a huge issue.  It's my body.  It's my life.  It's my choice.  I suppose in a male-dominated society, it's become easy for them to say "oh they don't need this right."  Well, guess what....  77% of anti-abortion and anti-birth control leaders are men.  100% of them will never be pregnant.  They will never have to experience the shame of being a 13 year old rape victim seeing that little pink plus sign materialize.  That is hell.  Right there.

That's for you, Santorum!

The health rights of any person should not be a legal debate!  My body isn't a government battleground!  So stop forcing your religious convictions down my throat and take care of your own problems while I take care of mine.

Amen.

To see another totally epic blog on this subject, click here.

Scooter Out.

Love

I know this is a bit late, but better late than never, right??

Love.  Love is so many different things to so many different people.  There have been books written about it, song sung about it, movies made about it, and lives lost over it.  Love is a blessing and a curse.

It always seems to me that we as humans are extremely obsessed with love.  Who is dating who?  Who had sex with who?  It's always on the news in the case of celebrities.  And if you're not a celebrity and your love is on the news then you probably have done something wrong.  Just saying.

Today in my town a young man of 25 who was accused of killing the mother of his 3 year old shot and killed himself in front of his father in a police stand-off.  I know to many of you that may have nothing to do with love.  To me, it has love (as well as hate) written all over it. 

This boy loved this girl at one time.  And made a child.  That he loved.  His father, who loved him, was trying to talk the gun out of the boys hand.  And because he loved his freedom and didn't want to spend his life behind bars, he killed himself.  This is a story of love gone wrong.  But there are thousands of stories of love gone right.  So I tend to keep those in mind when thinking of love. 

Recently, I started asking people what love was to them.  What it meant to them.  The answers astonished me. 95% of people I asked immediately assumed I was talking about romantic love.  But I wasn't.  I was talking about all of love.  The whole shebang.  Family love, and platonic love, and parent love and all the other types of love there are.  To me, love rules this world.  It brings out the best and the worst in people.

Here are some of the answers to "What does love mean to you?"

• Being able to wake up next to the same person for the rest of your life and make it through the day without wanting to snap their neck.
• It's a feeling... Something that happens inside of you.  When you have it you turn red and get warm because it's a happy feeling.  A longing feeling.  If it's about someone, you can't stop thinking about how happy they make you.  If it's about chocolate, you were born with that love.  If it's about books... GOOD!
• It's about caring for someone enough to do what's best for them, even when it means that you'll suffer for it.  Putting their needs above your own.
• It's caring for someone enough to let them grow in whatever way is best for them.  To let them lead the life that makes them happy, even if their choices for themselves wouldn't be what you would choose for them.  Love is never controlling - If there's control, coercion, or manipulation involved, then no matter what the other person says, that is NOT love.
• Someone you are willing to give your life for without thinking twice about it.
• I think love can mean a lot of different things.  Sure it's the mushy, gushy, "I love you and want to keep you safe and forgive your wrongs", but there is also a flip side.  To me, true love means that you speak the truth even if the other person doesn't want to hear it.  There are times when my daughter doesn't want to be told no or that she is wrong, but someone has to tell her or she will never know.  Yes, I show her affection and kindness, but I am also stern and firm.  Hard love is just as important as soft love.
• Love is the absence of any negative emotion or feeling, at any given time, about any perceived person, place, or thing.
• Sometimes hard love is even more important than soft love.  It is more important to worry about where someone you love is going to spend their eternity that their human suit feelings.  But still, it is also knowing that God loves us enough to allow us to make our own choices, and so we must love the other person that way, too.  And yet that doesn't mean that we cushion whatever it is that God is that God is doing in their lives to lead them back to the fold.  If we try to make the lesson easier, we can hinder them from learning.
• Love is that first moment when you see the person you know you will spend your life with (even if it doesn't work out).  You feel all different emotions.  You're scared, nervous, happy, excited, and dizzy.  It's that feeling like you have no clue what the hell is going on.  You can tell that person things you have never told anyone else because you fully trust them and know that they won't judge you.  Everything inside doesn't make sense, but then it does because everything seems to fit perfectly.  Your heart skips a beat when you see that person.  You feel as if you have been lost, because now everything is clear.  Knowing that someone can truly love you for who you are, and visa verse, and nothing else matters; that's just part of it.
• Just someone that you can't live without.  You think about them all the time.  Just the mention of their name makes you smile or your heart flutter... Someone who you can be 100% yourself and real with.  Someone who accepts you, flaws and all.  Even if they don't like something about you, they put up with it because they want to be with you.
• Hmmm... Walking across the hot desert sand barefoot to give my last sip of water to someone because they are thirsty.
• Always being there no matter what.
• Love is being willing to do anything and everything you can just to see that person smile.  To be happy you're waking up and that person is in your life and dreading the day that they aren't.  Enjoying every second y'all are together, even if you're fighting.  Also, always being there for one another in good times and bad, and, no matter what happens, that person means everything to you.
• Knowing perfection.  When you love something or someone, in your eyes it's perfect, even if it's flawed.
• Love to me is feeling stronger towards one person over anyone else.
• Uhhh... Chocolate cake.  That's my final answer.
• Love to me is the overwhelming urge to share everything.  To always be there no matter the danger, to protect.  To encourage, support...... Unconditionally.
• For me, love is so wonderful and complicated.  I can't quite describe it.  Love is giving someone all that you are.  But on the darker side, love is like a poison.  If the person doesn't love you back, it can slowly drain you of happiness in life... If you let it.
• Love is unconditional.  Period.
• Well... There are different types.  In relationship, such as my husband, it means being there through thick and thin and putting him first, after God.  1 Corinthians 13 is my favorite love chapter.  Basically it's trying to love others as Christ loved us; Sacrificially.
• Love is putting a piece of yourself on the table hoping that the person you have in mind will put the same piece down and you can both give each other a piece of each other.  It can be the best thing in the world when it goes the right way and works out.  And it can be the worst thing in the world at the same time, when it doesn't work out.  Love is both a hope and a gamble.
• Love is much more than a risk, but it's a risk that one can take and grasp and fall into a dark abyss or dig oneself a hole and only crawl back when you're overcome by your emotions.  It's unconditional.  You're willing to do anything just to be around that person you love.  To do anything to make them smile or laugh.  You can hardly breathe when you're around that person you love.  Each time you see them, you get the same rush... Whether you see them daily or just periodically.  Love isn't always healthy.  You have to take the good with the bad, and in turn, you decide if it's worth it.  Love is that one virtue that everyone should experience in one way or another.
• No score in tennis?

Love is so many different things.  No dictionary definition can cover it.  No encyclopedia can explain it.  To understand love, you have to feel it.   You feel it in your entire body.  In your heart.  In your head.  In the pit of your stomach... Everywhere.  And when you do feel it... You know.  It consumes your very being.

Love is beautiful and ugly.  A wonderful, complicated, dangerous thing that we all face in some point in our lives.  If you have no other common ground with a person, you will always have love.  Because EVERYONE experiences it.

What is love to you?  What does it mean in your life?  Please share.  I'd love to know!

Scooter Out.

Oh, dear...

I know I promised you guys a post about love yesterday.  Obviously, I never got around to it. 

I promise I'm working on it and it WILL be posted today.  Promise.  :)

Scooter Out.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" "SHUT UP YOU EVIL WHORE!!!!!!"

It was a complete mistake.  What I mean is, a friend text me and said "Happy Valentine's Day!!"  My response was worthy of Miss Crabtree....

If you are a South Park fan, you probably just read that in her voice.

Which makes it funnier.

In all honesty, I really didn't mean to say that.  Thankfully, she was forgiving.  And for that I'm grateful.

I really don't understand the point of this holiday.  I never really have.  To me all it says is "Buy me things or you don't love me".  If you're with one of those people..... Run.  Fast.  They are evil and will suck your soul right out of your dick.  Or your vag.  Whichever you happen to have.

I'm in a very snarky and sarcastic mood today and that's really not good considering that I'm at work today.  Probably 30 people here have gotten balloons, flowers, or candy (or all 3) delivered to their desk.  One person got one of those huge cards and a teddy bear almost as big as me. 

The more this day continues on, the more I just want to run around and pop all these people's balloons, rip the petals of their flowers and flush them down the toilet, and hide in the Retention Room and plant laxatives in all their chocolate.

Basically, I'm not a happy girl.  Most people will say it's because I don't have a significant other.  Let me put it to you this way....

I think that pretty much says it.  I don't need someone to make me like this God-awful holiday.  I hated it when I was engaged.  I hate it when I'm single. 

To put things a bit more bluntly....

    

I think I've pretty much made my point.

Scooter Out.

Fair Warning

I'm sure you all remember, because it was just a few weeks ago, that I post a long rambling blog about Valentine's Day.  I'm not going to retract a thing I said, I still hate Valentine's Day.  But I'm quite partial to love.  :)

So, in light of Valentine's Day, I've decided to not be a total Scrooge...  I'll be doing a blog on Love.  I've been working on it for a while and it's proving to be pretty interesting. 

Just thought I'd give my faithful readers (all 4 or 5 of you) a heads up!!

Scooter Out.

Meh...

I think I'll keep my blog predominantly the way it was.  Just a few tweaks here and there.  :)

I like purple.  My blog.  I win.

Scooter Out.

Changes

I changed things up a bit.  I'm not sure if I like it.  So if my blog keeps changing, fear not.  It's still me.  :P

Scooter Out.

♫♪ "I've Got Them Moves Like Jagger..."♪♫

I'm white.

I'm nerdy.

Therefore, I can't dance.

At. All.

My mom put me in ballet when I was a kid.  I had been begging her to let me play softball.  She slapped me in a pink tutu and put me in ballet.  I sat in the corner and refused to move for almost 2 weeks worth of classes before the teacher finally talked mom into not wasting her money anymore.

I've also been in tap dance.

Baton twirling.

Gymnastics.

You get the picture.  If it involved me in a leotard, tutu, or sparkly costume, my mom shoved me in it.  I wanted to take karate, play softball, and learn guitar.  NOOOOPE!  Not girly enough.  She wanted me to be princess frou-frou bleach blond preppy girl.  I grew up HATING those girls.  And occasionally threatening to punch them in the face.

But now as I've gotten older and matured, I've kinda grown to wish I'd learned to dance.  Ballet.  Not tap.  Tap is annoying.  Ballet is really pretty.  I will NEVER admit that outside of this blog..... 

See, I've found myself in a few situations where dancing was almost required.  Like prom and other....well....dances.  You look like a super derp if you don't dance.  So I would try.  And instead of looking like this....

I'd sell my soul to be able to do that.  Well.... not really, but you get it.

I would wind up looking like this...

But....you know....not Santa.

So I'd make an idiot out of myself and go sit in the corner or in the bathroom for a while till somebody else made an idiot out of themselves and I was off the hook. 

There's also a few other things I wanna learn to do.

Play the piano.

Snowboard.

Play the guitar.

Wake board.

Make stuff out of glass.

There's more but I don't have the time to list all that.  Most of it involves crafts or musical instruments I want to learn to play.  I'm a nerd, I know.  :P 

I also wish I was better at video games but considering the only game console i have ever owned ever in my whole life is a SNES.... Not gonna happen.  I'll kick your butt at Donkey Kong Country and get to Star Road faster than you in Super Mario World, but put me on Halo or Assassin's Creed or anything that's NOT on SNES.... I'm awful.  Horrible.  Laughable. 

But the main point of this blog is... I wish I could dance.  

That.....That's pretty much it.

Scooter Out. 

Growing Up Blows

Let's face it.... Growing up sucks.  You go from being that adorable child that everyone loved to an bitter and cynical adult.  The small things that once held joy to you like finding a four-leaf clover or chasing fire flies no longer appeal to you.  Instead of spending days laughing and having fun with friends, you spend days working.  Even if you're not at work, there's always work to be done around the house... Yard work, house work, cooking, caring for your own children, feeding pets, laundry, etc.  The movies you watched as a kid are now being watched by your kids and you're seeing hidden meanings and things you didn't catch as a child...

What's he REALLY smoking in that hookah??

Is she REALLY talking about tomato soup??

Things make more sense as you grow up, but at what cost?  Your innocence and child-like wonder?  Is it really worth being a "grown-up"?

When I was growing up, both my mother and my father would watch cartoons and Disney movies with me.  This is how I felt...

OMG THE COLORS!!  OMG THE MAGIC!!  OMG *LOVE*!!

That's what most kids in front of the TV are like, you know?  I wasn't an exception to that.  I used to think my mom and dad loved watching cartoons and Disney movies with me.  Well, in later life I found out that wasn't quite true.  This is how my mom felt...

She hated it.  I was banned from watching "Alvin and the

Chipmunks" because she couldn't stand their voices...

I must admit to feeling some major disappointment when I found that out.  I was probably around the age of 7 or 8 when her disdain started showing.  Later (around the age of 15 or 16) I found out how my dad felt...

Dad LOVED it!  He will STILL watch Disney movies with me and

I'm 22 and he's 46!  We embrace our inner children.

I want you to know that my dad and I have a very different way of looking at things.  We embrace our inner children.  Basically, we're grown up, but we only act like adults when we have to.  We both still think fart jokes are funny.  We laugh at people getting injured on TV.  We watch South Park together.  And those old movies that were cool when I was a kid have a TOTALLY different kind of humor to them now!! 

As for me, I still find joy in the small things.  I still notice little animal footprints in the dirt.  I still like to play in the mud.  I still notice all the different colors of the sky during the sunset.  I find myself noticing little things that bring me delight and joy that other people just.... Overlook.  Like the other day I saw a red balloon stuck in a pine tree.  That just tickled me pink, because I couldn't imagine where this balloon had come from!  I was trying so hard to point it out to my friend and she just never saw it.  Even when I pointed straight at it.  She finally got frustrated and said "only YOU can notice silly things like that..."

Yes.  I get joy out of simplistic things.  I know Santa isn't real, but I still get that "giddy child" feeling when I wake up on Christmas morning and my stocking has stuff in it.  Who says you have to let go of things like that just because you get older?  Sure, somethings like the tooth fairy you have to let go because one day you run out of baby teeth to lose.  But pass that joy on to your kids or nieces and nephews!  Don't let the wonder of childhood die.

Kids these days are exposed to so much violence now at such an early age.  Elementary school kids are bringing guns to school.  GUNS!!  When I was a kid we brought GigaPets to school!  Society is already doing it's best to strip children of their innocence before they're old enough to even comprehend what being an adult means.  Why continue that horrid process in the home?

Parents - Encourage you're children to be children while they still can.  It's the best thing you can do for them in this crazy messed-up world we all live in.

Scooter Out.

I Feel The Need To Write About Something Intellectually Stimulating...

But I really have no idea as to what.  How peanut butter was invented?  Monogamous penguin relationships?  The history of the yo-yo?  WHAT??? 

If anyone has an intellectually stimulating topic they would like me to blog about, let me know and I'll do it!!

Scooter Out.

I'm Going To Whine So Deal With It

It's not even 7am and I'm at work.  I therefore feel like whining so just deal with it.

I have heartburn that's trying to crack my sternum into pieces.  I have NO idea what gave it to me because I've only eaten my Special K bar so far today.  But, either way, I'm sitting in my cube working with one hand and clutching my heart that I'm sure is going to explode at any second with the other.  People are kinda looking at me like "Ummm.... Wtf??"

Being that I'm a carrier for Staph, any small cut or pimple or anything that breaks the surface of my skin can turn into a raging infection if I'm not careful.  And I do try to be careful.  I've taken I don't know how many horse pill sized antibiotics, I have to shower with hospital grade antibacterial body wash twice per week until I die.  It's that stuff they give you before you have surgery and tell you to bathe with.  It dries my skin out and makes me itch like mad.  But I seem to have cut myself shaving two days ago and the cut is already starting to look red and slightly gross.  So me, peroxide, and Neosporin are all becoming fast friends.  I REALLY don't want to have to deal with going to the Dr. to have a massive nasty puss-filled infection thing lanced.  It hurts.  Sorry if that grossed anyone out.  I told you I was whining....


I am allergic to.... Pretty much everything.  You know that nerdy kid that you probably were disgusted by in elementary school who was always sneezing or wheezing and had the ever-present pack of Kleenex on their desk?  Yup... That was me.  Still is to an extent.  It sucks.  But anyways, a big thing I'm allergic to is perfumes, air fresheners and the like.  But I guess some people don't think to ask "Does anyone have asthma or allergies" before they spray 6 squirts of a VERY strong air freshener in an enclosed room.  Before I knew it I was coughing and wheezing and had to remove myself for a few moments.  It's still a bit challenging for me in the breathing department at this current time.  But I'm not dead yet so I think I'll be fine.

But on the up-side, I just got a good hug from a co-worker of mine who smells stupidly sexy.  So I think my day may be looking up.  :P

I don't usually indulge in whining but I decided that it was appropriate for now.  I'm sure the starving children in Africa that my mom used to guilt-trip me with when I didn't want to eat her dry and stiff pork chops are having a worse day than me.  But then again.... Perhaps not...

Scooter Out.

The Drops That Fall To The Beat Of My Heart

The Drops That Fall To the Beat Of My Heart:

A drip

A beat

A second

Reality washing away in rivers

Soaking my soul

Filling my mind with wild ideas

Love

Hope

Peace

A drip

A beat

A second

A second that passes you can't get back

Life continues on

Never minding the absence of sun

Birds fly

Deer run

Squirrels play

A drip

A beat

A second

The time that passes

And the rain that falls

We are one

With each drop of rain comes the beat of my heart

Thunder rolls

Lightning crashes

Wind blows

A drip

A beat

A second

So.... This just kinda.... Came to me.  I was watching it rain out the window and POOF!!  There it was.  Hope you enjoy.  :)

Scooter Out.

Snickers Marathon Bars Taste Like Crap

So this morning I was in the convenience store getting my daily dose of Diet Coke and a muffin, when I looked over and saw this...

I thought to myself "Hmmm.... I bet this will be tasty!  Just like a Snickers Bar!" and I grabbed one.  It cost me $1.89.  Now, if I'm gonna pay $1.89 for a glorified granola bar, it had better be pretty freakin tasty.  But the words "Chewy Chocolaty Peanut" made it sound oh so delicious.

Upon getting to work, I sat for a while and did a few things and then I decided, "Well, since I'm hungry, how about I chomp on my energy bar!"  I grabbed and unwrapped.  Now, I must say, it didn't look as appealing as it did in the picture, but what food ever does??

Anyways, now that I've validated my point, I shall continue on in my story.

I decided not to judge by the way this Snickers Marathon Bar looked and I took a bite.  It wasn't what I expected.  Honestly, I thought it would taste just like a freakin Snickers, but without the shape of one.  Or something along those lines.  No.  But I thought "Maybe my taste buds are still screwy from brushing my teeth this morning..." and I took yet another bite.  Still not what I expected.

I consumed about half of this bar before I decided that I couldn't take it anymore and threw it in the trash bin.  Which means that out of the $1.89 I spent in the thing, I wasted about $0.95 of it.  I could have gotten a cranberry granola crunch bar for that!!  And those are the shiz!!

I suppose if I was asked to describe the taste I'd go for chocolate covered cardboard.  And, yes, I've actually tasted cardboard, so don't think I can't compare it to that.  Cardboard is freakin nasty.  Just sayin... 

Snickers.... You let me down.  I am disappoint.  I'm not sure if I should be more frightened by the fact that Snickers put their name on something that tasted that bad or by the fact that Nestle owns the Purina Dog Food Company (makes you wonder what's REALLY in the Nestle Crunch bar, doesn't it?).  I think they both frighten me equally. 

So, the next time you're in your local convenience store getting your daily dose of Diet Coke and a muffin and you look over and see this siren Snickers Marathon Bar beckoning to you.... Resist the call.  You will regret it.  Unless you enjoy chocolate covered cardboard.  In that case... Go for it.

Scooter Out.

Holy Crap

I'm burnt out.  I can't even begin to tell you how much work I've done today.  Probably about a day and a half worth.  My eyes hurt.  Is that even possible??   My freaking eyes hurt!!!

It's raining again.  I get to go home in 30 minutes and all I can think about is a hot shower and my bed.  And maybe a movie.  Maybe.  If I can manage to stay awake that long.  Is it bad that the thought of dinner hasn't really crossed my mind? 

Holy goodness it just hit me that I have liquor in my fridge...  TOTALLY having a good stiff drink this evening.  Thank goodness for whiskey.  Like, for shiz.... It is going to save my life tonight.  Good sleep, here I come!!

So, I made a discovery.  Lions really just want shoes...

Well.... I'm going home.

To the whiskey.... AWAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!

Scooter Out.

Day 18

Hmmm.... It appears that I failed to post something I was grateful for yesterday.  In all honesty, I really don't think this exercise is going to last all year.  I thought it would take the entire year to make me learn to be grateful for my job, but I've already reached that point.  Soooo.... I'm thinking of cutting this exercise off.  Still not quite sure though.

I've always been grateful for (most of) the people I worked with and for the days I was able to go home early or not be overly stressed about meeting a Service Level Agreement.  But now I'm just grateful to have this job.  It's an easy job at which I am very good.  Sure, it may have given me carpal tunnel, but I'll live through that.  :P

I told myself when I got this job that I'd keep it through my college education.  Well, now that there's a light at the end of the tunnel and it's looking to be two years or less until I graduate, I think that may be a realistic goal.  Now, when I go after my Master's, that may be a different story.  It depends on if I decide to move for that or not.  For now, I'm here and I'm committing myself to this job.  I was blessed in getting it.

So.... For now, I'm going to take a break from my daily grateful blogs.  I may pick it back up later, but for now.... I'm done.

Scooter Out.