Welcome To A Nice Break

Hello again loyal readers and followers (I know you exist). You guys probably noticed that I didn't post last week. Oops. Well I have a good reason for not posting last week. I was in Disney World! It was wonderful! It was warm and sunny and I got to wear shorts for the first time in a really long time. Of course when I touched down at BWI there was about six inches of snow on the ground. Good feelings gone.

To tell you the truth I really needed the break. This winter has almost killed me. It has been cold and gross. I have not enjoyed it, especially since I hadn't had real snow in four years. This is not what I like in a winter. I need Spring! Technically the equinox was on Thursday, technically they're calling for snow on Tuesday and I feel like I've been sucked into the Twilight Zone. This is why I needed a break with sun and no snow.

I was a kid in the candy store when I went. I hit all four parks in three days. I'd like to thank my cousin for the wonderful time and hope to see her again (most likely in the dead of winter when I need a vitemin D boost). I definatly did not act like an adult, though I did have an excellent Margarita at Mexico in Epcot. My cousins friends also sort of assumed I was a very tall twelve year old.

When I got back to the office I felt like I was out of whatever funk I had fallen into before leaving. I felt revitalized and really happy. I felt amazing and was ready to go back to work. So I feel I have a good reason for skipping last week's post.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please so ment or share with your friend a, family or worst enemy. I love hearing from my readers. Until next week!

Welcome To The Learning Curve

Careful It Can Change Without Warning...

I like to think that I know a lot of things. I understand that I am young and still have a lot to learn, but I tend to be under the illusion that I know how to do normal adult things. Key word in that sentence: illusion. Sure I know how to cook food and drive a car, but there are so many additional components that add on to the "cook" and "drive" action. For instance I do not always know how to fix broken components on my car, but I do know when I need to seek professional experience (or most of the time I do). I also am perfectly capable to cook an egg, but might lack the knowledge that if you put a lid over the cooking egg it might explode. Did you know it might explode? I didn't either until yesterday, but it wasn't that traumatizing.

Some things I have learned since starting out:

1. Things will break because they are old, not just because you did something stupid. In this case I call the apartment maintenance people. If you have any questions about why I suggest this, see any of my post about my toilet situation.
2. There is very little you can do about electrical and gas prices, but you can always find ways of cutting back on usage. When I was at school and in my parent's house, I didn't worry about silly things like heating bills and would hardly notice when people would change the thermostat. I happen to like my world a little on the cold side (though with this winter I'm looking forward to swim suite season more and more). I didn't always remember to turn it back up when I had people over and they would end up shivering.
3. A lot of things are expensive. It's not just the gas and electric bills that can be high. Everything is paid for by yours truly now. I have to budget and keep track of my spending. It's tough, but so far I've been successful with it. If I really want something I have to make sure it either fits into the budget or I have to save for it. Maybe I'll do a "How to save in the first year of starting out" for those who are curious as to my method.
4. Making friends is hard especially people your own age. I'm not kidding, unless you are moving to a place where you already know people or there is a great social life just waiting for you (read any major city in America), you might have a hard time figuring out how to make friends in your area and aren't at work. I finally found an Anime club to join and have been going to church. My area isn't exactly hopping with activities for people just out of school and I'm a bit shy about meeting lots of new people right away.
5. You will continue to find out about things you never knew you didn't know about. Hand washing, how to fix the circuit breaker in you apartment, anything bad that can happen to your car, all of these things I never would have thought about before leaving home. I had other people to do these things for me (wow does that make me sound like a spoiled brat). Anyway, now I'm learning all of these things for myself. Some of them are hard to manage (finding a dentist I trust for one). Others make me feel real accomplished for learning how to master (hand washing).

Some of these things are hard to learn (and I'm notorious for learning things the hard way ). But with some patients, a little trial and error and a whole lot of luck, they can be learned and put into practice. I enjoy learning new things and this list doesn't even count the things I'm learning from the work environment. So the next time someone asks a question you feel they should already know, please stop and take a second to consider where they are in life and then help them to understand why its important they learn these things because I'm pretty sure I blew off a few of these lessons in my school days. Thank you for reading.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please leave a comment or share it with your friends, family or worst enemy. I enjoy hearing back from my readers and I hope you enjoy my posts. Until next week.

Welcome To Do It Yourself

It's okay to ask for help...

I like to think of myself as self sufficient. I know that isn't always the case, but in my mind I could go off the grid if I had too. I enjoy working with my hands and love the feeling of burning muscles after a long day of manual labor. Perhaps I chose the wrong path by getting a job where I sit at a desk most of the day, but I do like my job. 

I like being able to fix things and enjoy learning alternatives ways of doing a task (see my post about hand washing my cloths, I've actually expanded my practice). This weekend, my college roommate accidentally blew a fuse in the kitchen while making breakfast. When I went to go pay the rent I told one of the handy men and he came down and showed me how to fix it without getting someone else. It was pretty easy, though a little different from the setup I was used to back at my parents house. It was nice to know how to fix it, however the circuit breaker is in an outdoor closet where spiders like to hang out in the summer. I think that will encourage me to not blow a fuse.

I still have toilet problems every now and again. A few weeks ago my toilet decided to flood my only bathroom in a magnificent display of exploding water. It turned out that one of the hoses that fills the tank had come loose and was spraying water in the wrong direction (as in into my bathroom instead of into the tank). I was able to jury rig the toilet to stop it from spraying water everywhere, but still called the handy men for help. They took another look at my tank and said that what I did was correct, but since my toilet was so old they were going to have to replace much of the tank anyway.

Honestly, I think most of the handy men know who I am. I tend to be a little paranoid about my apartment since it's my first place and I don't want anything to happen to it. I also tend to ask them questions when they come to make emergency repairs and they don't mind showing me how to fix it either per inanely or until they can either replace the part.

I feel the maintenance people at my old college should have done something similar. I lived in a house on campus my senior year and we managed to have to call the maintenance people several times (once for blowing a fuse because we used two microwaves at the same time). They always kept the door locked to the area were the fuse box was and wouldn't let us see how they fixed something. I'm not sure if they were worried if we'd break something or if we'd hurt ourselves, but it would have been nice if they had explained to us what to do in these situations. Well at least before we caused significant damage. Of coarse we knew to grab a fire extinguisher for fires (or just get the hell out of the building), but simple plumbing and electrical problems were not covered in how to live in a dorm 101. Should they have been? I don't know, college students aren't always known for respecting the place they sleep at night. It still would have been nice to know what had been going on.

Eventually I would like to be able to fix any problem that I might run into in my own home. Right now the internet is a great resource. Watching Youtube videos is very helpful. However I think the best way to learn how to do so,etching is to physically fix it myself. I'm going to keep learning how to fix things (maybe I'll get to my Wii someday). It makes me feel like I've accomplished something.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please leave a comment or share. I love hearing from my readers and hope you find my life's journey as entertaining as I try to. Until next week readers.

Welcome To Your Delivery

Sometimes It's Just Better To Buy It And Transport It Yourself

I had another busy weekend. My significant other (who will forever now be referred to as my Sig Fig) finally got back. We had dinner with my parents and saw the Lego movie. We both liked the movie, but I don't think it was all necessary for the awesome story. I wonder what the Nostalgia Critic  will say about it. I loved the good/bad cop and Morgan Freeman was the best. Today I picked up a friend from the airport and had dinner with her. I had a lot of fun and we talked about some of the shows her kids are now watching that I used to watch (like Code Name Kids Next Door).

Anyway this week was also crazy busy. My wonderful Sig Fig sent me several packages for Valentines Day. I got the last one on Tuesday since Monday was a holiday. The chocolate covered fortune cookies were amazing. I also finally got my blue chair (whom I call Bubbles). However Bubbles has a hole in him and needs work done. 

I think I just have the worst luck when it comes to delivering things.

I have a bad relationship with delivery companies. I have made this known. They are not very helpful  and I have to sign for all of them. I typically have to have things sent to my office instead of my home. Though that too can work against me if I'm stuck at home because of a snow storm.

I think online shopping and home deliveries are good and convenient. I just don't always have the best of luck. College made everything easy. All I had to do was go to our post office and they'd give us our package. Now things aren't so simple, but they never are as an adult. I'll keep testing the water until I get the right formula on how to deal with delivery people. For now I'd rather just do things myself.

I'm tired and have to make my bed. Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or if it really pissed you off) please comment and share this post. I love hearing from my readers and getting your opinions. I hope someone is getting useful advice from this blog. It is certainly helping me. Good bye for now.

*A grammar error was corrected.

Welcome To Working From Home

Happy three day weekend everyone. I am currently watching the Olympics with a good friend. I have been enjoying watching them. Seriously Russia v. USA hockey, I was sitting on the edge while watching! Loved the game. It will be hard to watch any Sweden game though because of all the Red Wings players.

Anyway, it once again snowed like crazy in my area. I am starting to think the Winter Olympics should have been in Baltimore or Philladelphia. We have had more snow than I have cared to see. My sister couldn't beleive how much there was (she felt we were in Michigan). I was stuck in my apartment for two days, working from home.

Working from home is not terrible. I can start working earlier and don't have to worry about my evening commute. However, it can be distracting and cause a bit of cabin fever when you don't have anyone to talk to. I like working from home, but I also like seeing my coworkers and having human contact. You can start going a little crazy if you don't see people after a few days.

Some tips for getting rid of cabin fever:

1) go outside - even if it's just to take out the trash. You need some sunlight and you aren't going to get it in an apartment. Just go out and get some fresh air.

2) Talk to your friends and family at night. Call them via Skype, the phone or smoke signals. It doesn't matter just talk to someone that can answer back. People might start to think something is owrong with you if you don't.

3) Turn on as many lights as you can. You'll feel better and it won't seem so dark.

4) Work out - physical exercise will make you feel better and get those creative juices flowing.

5) See a friend - you won't regret it and you know you're not completely going insane.

If you enjoyed this pose  ( or it really pissed you off) leave a comment or share it with your friends, family or worst enemy. I love hearing from my readers and I thank you for reading. Good luck!

Welcome To Water

I had a very weird Friday (I had a weird today too, but that's another thing). On Thursday I followed my usual at home routine and nothing was off at all until I wanted to take a shower. I turned on my shower and there was no water pressure at all. Barely a trickle of water came put of the tap and forget about the actual shower head. I ended up taking a very odd bath. The hot water also shut off half way throughout the bath.

So there wasn't any water in my apartment when I went to bed. I got up Friday morning to icky brown water coming out of all my taps. I let all of my water run until it was clear again, but I still wasn't sure if it was safe to drink. I got a little creative with the water left in my hot water maker and left super early for work. I was eventually able to call my leasing office and find out that there was a water main break at my pool and that the water was okay after I let the brown run out. I just wish they had emailed me and told me so I would have planned for having no water.

I have learned from this experience to always have some water on hand (at least in my hot water maker). I have also realized how much water I use in a day. I use water for everything (cooking, cleaning, hygiene and just plan drinking). Water is incredibly important and I couldn't use it at all. I have learned the error of my dependence and now apriciate where my water comes from, that is clean and I don't have to walk a mile to get it.

At least my water pressure isn't tied to the electricity. A place I used to visit would loose water anytime the power would go out and the electricity would go out at random times. This ment nothing to drink, clean or flush the only toilet with. I did learn to take baths in a freezing lake. Let me to tell you polar bear baths (freezing baths or showers were called polar bear [insert water type] in camp) are aweful, but you do get used to them.

My lesson for this week is simple: I am thankful for clean tap water that comes to my house with water pressure.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please comment or share. I love hearing from my readers (I know you're there) and getting your opinions.

Welcome To Letting Go

It Never Seems To Get Easier...

Happy Superb Owl Sunday! I am watching the game while writing this. I’m not really rooting for anyone. They aren’t my teams and I don’t have any motivation to simply pick one. I’m more interested in seeing the commercials and hearing about the after parties in the two states that have legalized pot.  I am betting that the news articles will be interesting tomorrow. 

I am watching the game on my new couch. It is my first new couch. I have decided to call her Sea Boat because of her color (a nice sea blue). Her little brother, Bubbles (the matching chair I ordered) is currently MIA. It is somewhat inconvenient for me, but I will live. With the addition of Sea Boat and Bubbles, I had to do some redecorating. This included getting rid and moving the chairs that had been in my living space since I moved in. 

The big green chair (I call him Big Blue even though he is technically green) has been moved to my dining area along with my desk and work stuff (for when it snows and I’m stuck at home to work).  The area now looks like a neat little study nook and lounge for when I need natural light and want to sit near my cactus. My lava lamp will be joining this area shortly. The dining table and chairs (read card table and folding chairs) is closer to the kitchen now, but not totally in the way. 

I have two “new” lamps. They are not actually new, they are actually really old. One is from the Philippines (circa 1950s or 60s) and I’m not sure where the other one is from. I finally got rid of the fire hazard that was the black floor lamp (its base was broken and no there wasn’t any way to fix it). I think these two new lamps bring a little more character to my home. 

Finally and saddest of all, I got rid of Big Brown. Yes the big brown chair that was nearly three decades old (27 years for an exact age), is now in couch heaven. Taps might have been heard playing as I paid my respects near the dumpster where I laid him to rest. I can’t even look at the dumpster he’s in right now. I almost called my mom to help me fish him back out, clean him and cuddle with him once more. I even cried a bit (I know it’s really pathetic, but I did). All of this emotion was used on a chair. I couldn’t have cared less about the lamp, but the chair I nearly lost it over. 

It is a little stupid to be broken up over a chair and before people ask about why I didn’t sell him on Craig’s List or donate him I will explain. This chair was old, broken and smelled like cigars and wet dogs. No amount of Febreze ever got rid of the smell. To me he smelled like home. To other people (friends who visited) he was just a little unpleasant and stinky. Also the matching couch was already in couch heaven. I thought they needed to be reunited after all the years of separation. 

I almost want to blame movies like “Toy Story” and “The Brave Little Toaster” for the emotional damage that came with tossing this couch. These movies (among others that personified inanimate objects) caused me to form major attachment to things and make me think of them as emotional beings. I thought they were great stories and movies, but I think they might have helped develop a psychological attachment to objects. I wonder how many others of my generation developed this odd sense of loyalty to things that can’t actually feel.

 I also recognize that it sort of symbolizes me further letting go of my childhood. Some of my first memories are of that chair and using it to make forts or as a jungle gym. I’m pretty sure I used to use it as a balance beam to practice gymnastics as a toddler. In essence, by getting rid of Big Brown I am getting rid of childhood and finally embracing adulthood. Hopefully I don’t keep having this problem otherwise my therapy bills are going to be through the roof.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please share or comment on it anyway you can. I love hearing from people who read my blog and thank all of you very much for taking the time to read about my transitions into adulthood. I am still exploring Wonderland and I hope someone somewhere is getting something out of this. I know I am (therapy). Until next time, enjoy the Big Game. Half time was awesome.