Day Three Hundred and Thirty Three: Resistant

I have resisted my urge to react violently and have instead settled for deep breathing.

I’ve probably complained before about Delivery Douche. They are without a doubt the most poorly run delivery company I have ever encountered, so of course they’re the one my shop has a deal with.

I would love to say that ninety percent of the time they’re fine and it’s the few and far between ones that bother me, but honestly it’s the opposite. Ninety percent of the time they are ridiculously unprofessional, dirty, smelly, high or drunk when they come into my shop. They have cursed at my employees in front of families and children, dropped/stolen product and been generally rude. I’m not happy with them, have expressed my unhappiness repeatedly, and thus they are not happy with me.

I haven’t had to deal with them in a few weeks so I’ve been hoping they dropped us from their site. Nope. They called me requesting a cake outside our 24 hour limit. I worked with them to get them a suitable alternative, but I could tell they weren’t happy that I didn’t bend over backwards for them. The new girl manning the phone is understandably tense; she called me seven times in a row, one right after another trying to reach me while I had customers in the shop. When I told her to just leave a message, she informed me it was against company policy. I get it, but it’s damn annoying to have a phone ringing constantly while I’m trying to help someone.

The driver they sent me today wasn’t wearing his uniform, so both a customer and I mistook him for a homeless person. He smelled like it. Plus his hands were so dirty he left smears on my counter. I’m all for giving people a job when they really need one, but if they can’t even shower before going to work, maybe they need to consider working somewhere without people.

Anyway, I haven’t punched anyone a DD yet, so that’s good. I supposed I can file them under minor inconvenience, but damn to they drive me nuts.

Challenge to my Readers:

Some things can’t be helped. Some things can. Do what you can to survive, because everyone else is going to make it damn hard on you.

Day Three Hundred and Thirty Two: Good Patient

I’ve spoken before about being a good little soldier who actually takes her meds, but today I was reminded that I’m a good little patient.

See, I saw my doctor about six months ago. I called about two months ago to make a check in appointment, because he said that I should. When I called, the receptionist sounded surprised; apparently they usually have to track people down for those appointments.

Then when I showed up twenty minutes early they gave me paperwork to fill out. Not only did I not fight them about the paperwork (the receptionist looked exceedingly relieved) but because I was early, I was able to finish the paper work and they were able to enter it into the computer before I saw my doctor. The result meant that I spent my visit actually talking about my concerns with my very friendly nurse and my doctor had the chance to go over everything I wanted to talk about without wasting time asking the same questions over and over.

They were also surprised when I knew the side effects of my medications. Apparently no one reads those little pamphlets either.

I am a good little patient. I try to be.

Challenge to my Readers:

Next time you have a doctor’s appointment, help them help you. Show up early, don’t complain, be patient. 

Day Three Hundred and Thirty One: Blogger Day

Today is Blog Action Day!

Every year different bloggers from all over the world post about a theme. This year’s theme is Human Rights!

This is my first year participating (first year as a blogger) and I didn’t want to just write something. So I used my limited artistic skills and my writing skills combined to make a kind of word art. The text comes from an essay I wrote a few years ago for a class. My professor told me it was his favorite part:

Challenge to my Readers:

Today is Blog Action Day! No better time to take action, no better day to start a blog!

Day Three Hundred and Thirty: Responsible (again)

You have probably read that I am responsible. Or that I at least think I am responsible. Well, I am. And to prove it, my owner has left me in charge of the whole shop for a week.

Wait, what?

Yeah, basically while she’s on vacation, I get to do…well, what I do every day anyway. See, I am so responsible about this damn shop that she actually didn’t need to leave me any instructions for it while she was away. Aside from a few reminders about specific things and a few notes about making change, it was pretty much the exact same as every other week.

So, yeah, my level of responsibility is been-there-done-that.

Cool.

Challenge to my Readers:

Be responsible and hopefully you’ll get rewarded….maybe. 

Day Three Hundred and Twenty Nine: Blame

We spend too much time trying to find blame.

Okay, so if you’ve been living under a rock, you might not have noticed the epic government shut down that has been going on for the last…two weeks. Yeah, two weeks of a non active government. Awesome. If anyone else in the world just decided to not do their freaking job for two weeks, you can bet their ass would be fired. Not in our country…they don’t even lose pay.

Don’t worry future readers (as in readers reading about this in the future.) This is actually the third government shut down in my lifetime. Actually, that might be more cause to worry. Anyway, this is the first government shutdown that has the added peanut gallery that is social media.

See, before, when shit like this happened, we only had the facts and the information provided to us by standard and tradition media, like newspapers and television. Which is not to say the internet didn’t exist the last time this happened, but it wasn’t as prolific as it is today. So this time, with the government shutdown (which supposedly will end today? Tomorrow?) we also get every freaking idiot on the internet’s personal opinion on the matter.

What?

If I wanted to listen to a bunch of illiterate, idiotic drabble about things they don’t understand, I would have gone to congress itself! The last two weeks has been a barrage of facebook and twitter updates about “Lol, stupid government” and “Obama sucks” and “Right wing nutbags” (My father got a facebook, did you see?) I’m all for people expressing their opinions, but I feel like we spend too much time looking for blame instead of solution.

I know a person posting on facebook can’t actually help change the government. Not realistically. And I know that the issue is definitively more complicated than it appears and that we may feel we are not in the position to fix the issue since, you know, we’re not those assholes in Congress. But, there are things we CAN do!

The government shut down meant that a lot of programs got cut. Things like Food Stamps and WIC, Veteran’s benefits and some unemployment and disability funds. That means that everyone around you is potentially going through a lot more than usual. Maybe you can’t recognize them, maybe you can’t see them as obviously, but they’re there.

So, until the shutdown is over and until the world is back to normal, maybe help out a little. Contact a local food bank and ask what foods they’re short on (hint, rice and beans. Nobody wants twenty freaking cans of mushrooms.) If you know a veteran in the area, offer to help around their house, mow their lawn or drive them to a doctor’s appointment. If you see someone struggling at the grocery store, maybe offer to help pay for some of it. For god’s sake, just buy some schmuck a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Long story short, stop looking for someone to blame, someone to complain about and contribute. Fifteen, twenty years down the line, when someone asks what you did during the Government Hissy Fit of 2013, wouldn’t it be better to say “well, I donated some rice and beans to the ACC” than to say “Yeah, I totally complained about that shit on facebook!”

Challenge to my Readers:

I already issued the challenge in this post, go ahead and read it again.

Day Three hundred and Twenty Eight: Movie Trailers

I am the queen of movie trailers.

I love movie trailers. I think of them as short films in themselves. My favorite part of going to a movie is the previews at the beginning. I like to kow what is coming out, when and what I can expect from each movie.

My boyfriend probably gets annoyed at me because every other day I’ve got a new trailer for an upcoming film to show him. A lot of them are wonderful and indie, which he’s not really into. Many of them are foreign. A lot of them never end up in theaters near us. Which sucks, because limited release is just so…limiting.

So, if you want to know what looks good and what to look forward to, I’m your girl.

Challenge to my Readers:

Go to Hulu, go to their selection of movie trailers. Watch a few that look interesting.

Day Three Hundred and Twenty Seven: Comics

I’m a comic book kid.

I’ve mentioned this several times before. My geekdom really knows no bounds. However, I have recently been re-reading one of my favorite graphic novel series and it has rekindled my love of the genre.

A lot of people discount graphic novels as literature because they are comprised mostly of pictures. And true, the majority of graphic novels like Archie and Justice League are not necessarily what one might consider deep literature. But reading is reading. Whether you pick up a comic book or a graphic novel or even Japanese Manga, reading is what is important.

So, all time favorite graphic novel? Hell Boy. Yeah, best comic ever, hands down, don’t even argue.

A giant demon monkey with a stone fist who fights evil, smokes cigars and makes wise cracks? How do you even get better than that? His arch enemy is Rasputin. Rasputin! So awesome. Plus, he’s played by Ron Perlman in the movies.

So if you get the chance to spend a few hours in a bookstore reading, maybe a layover in an airport, check out Mike Mignola’s Hellboy. Don’t buy it unless you have like, a hundred bucks to blow, because graphic novels are freaking expensive.

Challenge to my Readers:

All literature is worthwhile. You can find something to enjoy in every genre.

Day Three Hundred and Twenty Six: YA

I love young adult novels.

Aside from a few writing excursions, I mostly write young adult novels as well. I started writing for my younger cousin because she liked those kinds of books, but wanted better stories. I’ve stuck with it ever since. It’s fun for me, okay?

I also love to read young adult novels. I’m weird like that. I spent a lot of time reading incredibly dense and boring education based books and law books in order to prepare as a teacher. As an English major I had to read all those dry and empty classics that Barnes and Nobel reprinted to make all pretty. Sometimes, I want a book to read that requires almost no brain function because I’ve just been using my own brain way, way too much.

My favorite has always been Cassandra Clare’s novels. But all-time favorite goes to Harry Potter,  which will no doubt go down in history as my generations greatest gift to the world.

You’re welcome.

Challenge to my Readers:

You know, sometimes it’s nice to know what’s going on with kids-these-days. Pick up one of their books and find out.

Day Three Hundred and Twenty Five: Non fiction

If you have ever been forced to read Madam Bovary, you probably hate Gustave Flaubert. Madam Bovary is disgustingly simplistic in plot and simply boring in nature, although beautifully written. The whole thing reads like an extremely flowery episode of Real Housewives.

So, I hate that book. But, my all time favorite non-fiction book is also by Flaubert. Well, actually, it is his correspondence. Flaubert in Egypt is honestly one of the most detailed and wonderful documentations of travel in Egypt in the early twentieth century. Flaubert, a notorious troublemaker and womanizer, brings with him the wit and charm that he apparently abandoned in the pursuit of Madam Bovary.

I have a mild obsession with Egypt and I have always wanted to visit there. Whenever I get particularly wanderlust, I grab my copy of Flaubert in Egypt to read. It’s almost like I’m already there.

Challenge to my Readers:

Skip Flaubert’s Madam Bovary and read something real.

Day Three Hundred and Twenty Four: Fiction

I am a great lover of fiction. I have always loved the story telling involved in fiction and the world building involved in fantasy. I’m not a huge sci-fi fan, but I’ll read it if someone recommends it to me.

Right now my favorite author in fiction has to be Italo Calvino. He’s an Italian author, but is world renown for his exemplary writing ability. Having read him in both English and Italian, I can testify to the fact that his ideas and his language are universal and all-encompassing of the global culture. Not to mention, his stories are just plain fun.

If you are looking for a fairly easy read by him, try the Path to the Spider’s Nest. If you are looking for something a little more existential but still fun, try Invisible Cities, my personal favorite. If you’re looking for something just plain weird and wonderful, try If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler.

The more you read of him, the more you will want to read him. Of course, it also helps that the next time you try to impress a member of the opposite sex, you can pull Calvino out of your pocket and look like a cultured but pretentious prick.

Everyone loves a prick.

Challenge to my Readers:

Go find some fiction. Read.

Day Three Hundred and Twenty Three: Favorite Authors (part 1)

I basically live off books.

For those of you who don’t know, I have a degree in English. When I was in college, this usually meant that I was reading a book or so a day. A day. Yeah, wrap your heads around that one. Not only was I an English major, I was specifically creative writing. This meant that on top of all the reading, I was also writing quite a bit.

So, for the this blog and the next blog, I thought I would do a piece on some of my favorite authors. Not to many, because it would take forever to do all my favorite authors. Maybe two or three in each category.

You, know, just a few.

Challenge to my Readers:

Reading is one of the most important things that we can practice. You don’t have to go read anything super dense or fancy; reading is just good for you in whatever form it takes. 

Day Three Hundred and Twenty Two: Clean Apartment

Taylor and I cleaned the apartment.

Yeah!

Okay, we talk about this a lot, but when you have a place of your own and you keep it tidy and it looks nice, it feels good. I remember growing up and not giving two shits or even one shit about whether or not the carpet was clean. Now I’m incredibly happy with my ability to get out stains and to keep the floor looking nice.

So, if you’re coming to my party, take your freaking shoes off.

Challenge to my Readers:

Keep it clean, guys.

Day Three Hundred and Twenty One: Comfort Zone

I am stepping out of my comfort zone.

So, if you don’t know me (I’m assuming you do since you’re reading my blog) I tutor kids from area high schools to help them with their writing. A lot of the kids I work with are from other countries; English is usually their second, third or fourth language. My job is just to help them write coherently and learn basic grammar and sentence structure.

So I have this guy who comes into work sometimes. He’s really nice. And he is looking for a tutor in grammar and sentence structure as well. I offered him my services, and this Thursday I’ll be helping him go over his thesis. It will be a little different to work with an adult who doesn’t confuse the word sneakier with sneaker.

It will be a little different with me, but I think it will be fun.

Challenge to my Readers:

Go outside your comfort zone and discover what you can really do.

Day Three Hundred and Twenty: Grant

I finished my grant project!

Okay, I’ve talked a bunch of times about the grant I was working on for work. I spent all summer basically chokeholding people into giving me school supplies and then used the money from the grant to buy other school supplies. We ended up donating them to the refugee center in Denver.

My owner and I ended up driving over to the ACC (African Community Center) and giving them the supplies. The people there were very grateful and very excited to get the supplies for the coming school year. Especially with the government shut down in place, they now had a lack of funding to keep up their programs. These supplies came in at the perfect time.

So, I am finally finished with all of it. Which means I can leave here and not have to worry about anything else.

Challenge to my Readers:

Finish everything; don’t leave something behind for someone else. 

Day Three Hundred and Nineteen: Finishing

I am on a roll!

Okay, along with this blog thing, I’m getting my writing done pretty well. I also just finished a short novel that I wrote over the course of a few weeks. You have no idea how incredibly stressful that was. You ever written a novel in a week, no. Neither have I. It was actually more like month. But anyway, I’m incredibly excited to be done.

So while I edit my other work, I will also be editing that piece. It will also be ready to publish very, very soon.

Challenge to my Readers:

Finish what you start. Work hard until it is all done.

Day Three Hundred and Eighteen: Editing

Tis’ the season for that thing I hate the most.

Editing.

But this year I have decided to go in with a positive attitude. I officially love editing. I can’t wait to start editing my novel. I only have to edit like a hundred and sixty pages before Halloween. No big deal, right?

Okay, I’m lying through my teeth. But the simple fact of the matter is that editing is one of those necessary evils. I’m not incredibly good at editing, not the way a professional would be. Plus I’m so close to my stories that it can be easy to miss small details. However, I really try hard.

So keep your peanut gallery comments to yourself. (You know who you are…)

Someone on the internet told me that if I really cared about my writing, I would hire a professional editor. No. See, I do care about my writing, but the fact is that I am too poor to hire an editor, end of story, good day to you sir. If you think it is so important, then you can pay for my editor. Most of those idiots on the internet have never finished a novel in their lives. Let alone had the guts to publish one.

So there.

For the next couple of weeks I will be throwing myself headlong into the editing process. I will probably be needing lots of Starbucks in order to keep going.

Challenge to my Readers:

Art is art. I work hard at what I do. You don’t get to say anything until you’re working as hard as I am.

Day Three hundred and Seventeen: Denver, Colorado

Okay, I couldn’t do a places I love blog without talking about Denver.

Denver has pretty much been my home since I was born. Aside from when I traveled elsewhere, I have lived in Denver my whole life. And I love it.

True, there are some things about Denver I will never love: the traffic, the bus system and the potheads, to name a few. But for the most part, Denver is the only place I have ever really called home. From the Rocky Mountains to the Blue Bear on 16^th street, Denver has ingrained itself into my heart and soul. At the very center of who I am, I am a Denverite.

Challenge to my Readers:

Love your home for everything that it is. 

Day Three Hundred and Sixteen: San Francisco, California

In case I haven’t mentioned it before, I’m a little obsessed with San Fran.

See, Taylor and I took a trip there a couple years ago. And it was amazing. I honestly have never been to a city that I have loved more. So when we were making plans to graduate and move, we kept coming back to San Francisco.

If you don’t know, it is a very expensive place to live. Very, very expensive place to live. So, our plans as far as San Fran have been put on hold until we can find a good job out there. And a place to live that isn’t shy about puppies. But someday we’re going to move out there. And it will be incredible.

Challenge to my Readers:

Chase down all your dreams, even if you have to file them under ‘eventually.’

Day Three Hundred and Fifteen: Sheridan, Wyoming

Oh, lord, Wyoming.

My mother’s side of the family is from Wyoming.

I haven’t visited Wyoming as often as I have visited Spokane, but I’ve been out there several times for either work or for fun. The fishing is great.

Sheridan is the town my mother is from. It is exactly three exits on the highway and if you blink you will miss it. I’m exaggerating a little bit (not much) but it is actually a pretty big Wyoming town. It’s very homey. It is also home to the King’s Ranch Saddle Company. For those of you who don’t know, Kings is to Saddles what Rolex is to watches. People from all over the world come to Sheridan for the saddles and the ropes that they make there.

That is about the only claim to fame that they have. It is still a very beautiful town in a beautiful part of our country.

Challenge to my Readers:

Small towns have their own charm. Just be careful when you visit; these aren’t tourist traps, they’re someone’s home. No pictures, please.

Day Three Hundred and Fourteen: Spokane, Washington

The whole left side of my family comes from Spokane, Washington.

That would be my father’s side, if you’re wondering.

If you have never been to Spokane, I recommend that you go. For fun. Not for vacation; I wouldn’t call it a resort destination. It is a very nice little town that has grown quite a bit since my father left it. But it is still very much the same kind of somewhat redneck farm town it has always been. True, Larry’s World of Guns has been closed for a while (what’s better than a firing range with a bar?) but it’s still a fun trip.

My family still lives there so I go and visit every couple of years. I’ve gone on my own as well as with my family. I like it up there; it has a kind of solidness that I miss in Denver. I especially love to visit in the winter; my cousins and I go snowboarding and ice skating.

I’m pretty sure we’re going to Spokane for Christmas this year. I’ll be taking my boyfriend with me if I go. It will be fun to introduce him to the world of Spokane.

Challenge to my Readers:

Family is important. Make the effort to visit them on their home front.

Day Three Hundred and Thirteen: Venice, Italy

While we’re on the subject of Italy, I have to talk about Venice.

Venice was my favorite city that I got to visit in Italy. Okay, so it smelled like fish and sewer systems and it was packed with tourists and everything was very expensive, but it was the most beautiful city I have ever been to. Aside from the fact that it is positively ancient, it is incredibly intricate. The history, the art, the museums, the architecture and the people are incredibly fascinating.

Venice has a certain magic about it. You can feel it in your bones when you get off the train and finally get close to the canals. True, the magic stinks of rotting food, garbage and too many people in too small a place, but magic all the same.

I think Venice was the closest I have ever felt to an epiphany. Sadly I had to leave before I could fully realize whatever idea I was creating. Someday I’m going to take my mother there.

Challenge to my Readers:

Some places don’t feel like they should be real. Visit these incredible places and see how far the imagination can be stretched.

Day Three Hundred and Twelve: Bologna, Italy

Where do I even begin?

I spent three months living in the city of Bologna, Italy. For the record, it is pronounced bo-log-nah, not baloney. It is where bologna comes from, but you can thank Oscar Meyer for the butchered pronunciation of the city.

As an Italian major it was highly encouraged that I spend a quarter in Italy getting to know the country and the language. I could probably write about a hundred pages about my adventures in Italy and my exciting times trying to speak Italian with the locals. But this is a pretty short blog so I’ll keep it brief.

My favorite part of Bologna was that it was a very international city. It is a college town, much like Boulder. Actually, it shares a lot of similarities with Boulder; lot of smell hippies and pot heads, plenty of homeless people and a whole lot of drinking establishments. However, it is also a beautiful city enriched in a culture several thousand years old. The university of Bologna is technically the oldest university in the western world. It was an amazing experience to study there and to travel the country with my friends.

I want to go back and take Taylor someday, show him the place that took me away from him for three months. Someday I’ll go back.

Challenge to my Readers:

If you are ever given the chance, study in another country. See how their education differs from ours.

Day Three Hundred and Eleven: Dublin, Ireland

As I’ve mentioned before; I am Irish.

My family is hardcore Irish. We’ve traced out lineage all the way back to which little hut our family came from on the island. My family and I visited Ireland when I was in the eighth grade. It was both amazing and frustrating. Ever tried driving on the wrong side of the road for the first time? Irish people have very strange definitions of highways. Namely that they are narrow and winding and only have two lanes.

Anyway, visiting Ireland was very important for my family because my family left the island after the famine. Just so you know what that means, it means my family stuck it out through the famine and tried to keep their farm up and running. But when the famine ended, my family was so in debt that the they lost the farm. Their last option was to travel to America to find a new place.

So, that’s the story I have been told. My family wanted to visit our homeland just to see what we were missing. The answer is really awful food (harsh, but true) and a beautiful country and culture. The nice thing is that a lot of Americans share the Irish heritage, so there are always plenty of people out here to connect with.

Do I feel more deeply connected with my culture because I visited the country? A little bit. Do I feel like I’ve taken an important step in self-discovery by seeing Ireland? Yes.

Challenge to my Readers:

Visit the land of your family at least once. Just to see where you come from. And if you don’t know where you’re from, visit them all.

Day Three Hundred and Ten: Kona, Hawaii

If Glenwood is Taylor and my place, then Kona is the place for me and my family.

I often tell people I grew up spending a lot of time in Hawaii. It’s true. My family would fly to Kona about two or three times a year. Sometimes it was for family vacation, sometimes to visit my uncle and sometimes to help him on his ranch (which has since been sold, sad day.) Either way, I grew up spending more time in Kona than I did anywhere else away from home.

Before you go off thinking that my family is loaded (we’re not) there was a perfectly logical reason for Kona being our family destination vacation. My mother’s boss at the time, whom we always called Uncle John, had a condo in Hawaii that he allowed his employees to use free of charge. My mother also traveled a lot for her job. She traveled enough to get us four first class tickets to Kona two or three times a year (imagine how much traveling that would require and ask how often my mother was home. The answer, not very often.) As a result, our airfare, our lodging and our car rental were nearly free. We paid for food, and I have family out there, so sometimes we didn’t even pay for food. Basically it was cheaper for us to go to Kona than anywhere else in the world.

Hawaii is the most beautiful place in the world that I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. Especially Kona. Nothing beats a tropical island and a small town without much tourism. Not to mention bomb coffee. The condo was right outside of town so every night we would walk into town for dinner or to visit the farmers markets.

My mother has since changed jobs and while I’m happy that she was home more often with her new job, I do miss Kona fiercely. The place always reminded me of my family because growing up it was the only time we were really fully together as a family. I know my family misses it too. Hopefully we’ll get to go back soon…maybe for a wedding.

Yeah, wedding.

Challenge to my Readers:

Travel is very expensive. Some places are worth it. Even if you can only go a few times a life time, return to the places that you deem worth it.

Day Three Hundred and Nine: Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Glenwood Springs will always have a special place in my heart.

I have never been to Glenwood until my boyfriend took me last year for our anniversary. It’s a beautiful little town nestled in the mountains, far away from everything and anything. Famous for its hot springs and spas, the town looks like something out a travel brochure. To make it even better, when he took me it was raining, misty and very autumn; my favorite kind of weather.

Taylor has always had a knack for planning special trips for us. I love his ability to find the perfect place to get me away from all the stress in my life. Our anniversary trip came a few months after my diagnosis and about two months after the introduction of the little monster (Ecco) into our lives. It was a much needed break.

I returned to Glenwood this summer with my family. As nice as it was to be with them, it wasn’t the same without my boyfriend with me. I will always think of Glenwood as our place. I love to visit and visit it with friends, but going with Taylor will always be something special.

Challenge to my Readers:

Hold places dear to your heart, especially if you share them with another person.

Day Three Hundred and Eight: Places I love

There are many places that have a place in my heart.

I talk a lot about things and people I love. Hell I just did a whole section about words I love. But my boyfriend pointed out to me that I haven’t done anything about the places I love. I’m not excessively well traveled, but I have places in my life that I find myself returning to constantly. And the few exotic locales I have been to weigh on my heart as a reminder of the greater good in the world.

I think traveling the world should be a requirement. Too many people I know have never left their own country. When you live in America, I think it can be easy to assume that we have it the best and there is no reason to ever travel somewhere else. But even people who have never left America haven’t traveled America either. There are plenty of places in this country that are unusual, unique and wonderful in their own way.

So, for my next few blogs, I will be talking about the places I love.

Challenge to my Readers:

Geographical love is a great love. Love hard and love deeply the place or places you call home.