moneybags

While looking through piles upon piles of old letters from family and friends, I found $43 in cash! One $20 bill was from my dad in 2002; the other $23 came to me in 2003 on my 23rd birthday.

Best part of this is that RIGHT before I picked up the birthday envelope to inspect it, I told Julie & Jim: "Man, it's my dream to find a twenty dollar bill in one of these old envelopes."

Being psychic is awesome and rewarding.

my lava lamp and other forgotten boredom-busters

Last night I rediscovered my old lava lamp. In eighth or night grade, the lava lamp with red lava (or was it a red base?) was my most coveted item to be found at Spencer Gifts at North Point Mall. I wanted a lava lamp. I needed one. I would not accept one unless it was silver and red.

When I saved up enough money to get one (or convinced my parents to donate to the cause), I found that Spencer's only had silver lamps with black lava. I dropped my stubbornness and got that one--such was my desperation.

In the last ten years, I've probably turned it on once. Many are the times I've thought of selling it or giving it away but a, who would buy it? and b, WHY WOULD I GIVE AWAY ANYTHING THAT I MIGHT POSSIBLY USE ONE DAY IN THE FUTURE?*

Today I plugged the old girl in. I'd forgotten how gross and blobby it looks for the first twenty or thirty minutes. Yech.


* This is my general policy and results in my having a three-bedroom house filled to the brim with my own crap. Crap that I love.

3/19/06 - weird habits + things

March 19, 2006 - Sunday

1:21 AM - weird habits + things habits So . . . the rules are, once you've been tagged, you have to write a blog with "Six Weird Things/Habits" about yourself. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "You Are Tagged!" in their comments . . . and tell them to read yours. 1. I sort of begin to freak out when people pick up one my books and bend the cover open too widely. Okay, I REALLY freak out. I tend to keep my books in amazingly pristine condition, barely opening paperbacks as I read them. 2. Several people throughout my life assumed I was a lesbian since I didn't start going on dates with boys until relatively late. Funny thing is, my sister (who had one boyfriend or another for years starting in 7th grade or so) is the one who had the active dating life but is now with a woman. Just interesting... 3. In recent years I've been known to silently panic if I think I might *actually* be really dating someone. Trying to get more comfortable with the thought of having a boyfriend, so give me time... 4. I wait weeks before doing my dishes. This can result in a moldy, stinky mess to which I scream, "Damn you, stinky dishes! I will never let you fester like this again!" But, of course, I do...and clean them again a couple weeks later, trying not to inhale. 5. Weird habit #442,311: As I've mentioned before, I obsessively collect office supplies. 6. I'm strangely fixated on Mary Tyler Moore, though said fixation has become less dramatic in recent years. (Janet R. inspired me to do this...thank you, Other Janet.) Currently listening : Colour the Small One By Sia Release date: By 13 April, 2004 3 Comments - 2 Kudos

	you betta bekahnize!	I have the same weirdness as your #s 1, 2 (but in reverse, people think I'm a lesbian now), 3!!!!, AND 5! I knew there was a reason I liked you so much! Posted by you betta bekahnize! on March 20, 2006 - Monday at 9:34 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	goose	i have a similar tendancy as your #1, except i don't want people to see that i've never opened the book to read it, only buying it because i think it makes me look smart. and the books i have read i doodle star wars epic battle scenes in the margins - complete with deathstar...or sometimes i draw baskets of puppies and/or kittens and i scrawl 'is it friday yet?' under it. do you think that makes me look smart? Posted by goose on March 21, 2006 - Tuesday at 7:44 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

Lauren

I'm not sure if people thought I was a lesbian, but I was a late bloomer with dating too. I can relate. I'm still wierd with dating. I like my independence, and gettting into a relationship means you gotta let them in your space. I like my space! Posted by Lauren on March 27, 2006 - Monday at 1:09 PM

1/22/06 - the joy of small things

January 22, 2006 - Sunday

3:48 PM - the joy of small things Last year, I smiled when I found out that a key characteristic of highly creative people is that they tend to have a lot of collections, especially collections of things that others don't see a purpose for. I think of how repetitive drug users feel as if an itch has been scratched when they get a hit of whatever it is they're addicted to; my guess is that I could liken the feeling to the relief I experience when I have a first sip of PBR after a tough day full of beer craving. Just now I purchased lots of stamps at usps.com, stamps that are now unavailable at the two post offices I frequent here in Athens. As soon as I clicked "purchase," I felt that rush of relief--the itch had been scratched. This weekend, Crackbaby and I joked quite a lot about how I am the queen of collections of crap. Sometimes she has an idea for a little project or present for someone: "I wish I could make a magnet for him," she'll say, and I'll inform her that I have several sheets of magnets (sparkly or white!) onto which we can print anything and everything. On Friday, she wanted a box to send to her boyfriend. "Oh, let's check my box collection before you go out and buy something!" I said eagerly--of course she started laughing immediately. This morning at Big City Bread, I told her with what joy I realized my cardboard and bag collections were far more extensive than I had thought (what a little reorganization of a messy office can do). Oftentimes, I don't even use what I have in my collections. I do like to take out all my markers, put them in order of color, arrange them in some appealing order, and shut the drawer. I've been doing this for as long as I can remember. As messy as I am (and as horribly, incurably messy I was when younger), I love to organize things. I always know where things are, even if people see my house as chaotic. There's something calming about sifting through my sticker collections and finding the perfect thing to put on an envelope for a friend, something exciting about looking through my envelope collection and stumbling across the appropriately-sized envelope for mailing a mix CD. My current collections include the following: box collection (one here, one in FL--I kid you not. My mom laughs at me.) cardboard collection office supplies collection (a few drawers full of the stuff) yarn collection bead collection CD collection materials/odds and ends for crafts collection bag collection (gift & travel bags) stamp collection (to use, not to marvel over) sticker collection envelope collection stationery collection magnet collection (though I usually don't display them all) pen collection pencil collection marker collection calendar collection (for envelope making) paper collection (for envelope making, stationery, etc.) Anyone else out there share my passion for collecting things others might see as useless? What satisfaction! Currently listening : What I Deserve By Kelly Willis Release date: 23 February, 1999