Completely Unfounded (A Confession)

I have this fear that I cannot overcome, and if you can't talk about your fears around Halloween, then when can you?

Mostly, I think it's more of an obsessive-compulsively learned habit. I heard on a children's television show once that it was lucky to put your left shoe on before your right. There was even a little rhyme, and I think it was supposed to be an Irish thing or something. I really was so young that I can't even remember the show or the context or anything. What I did remember for the better part of two decades was that I would have bad luck if that left shoe didn't go on before the right.

Seriously, I always put on my left shoe first. Always. It's become subconscious; I only notice I'm doing it when I have to go out of my way to get to my left shoe first (like, it's halfway under the bed or I accidently pick up the right wrong one). I get a little panicky until my left foot is safely shod.

But, that's not really a fear. My fear is a little more out there (if that is at all possible). Remember that urban legend that said if you stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, and all the lights were out, you could see Bloody Mary? Again, I'm unsure about the specifics, but I will not go into a bathroom unless the lights are on. Even if it's the middle of the night, and I know it's going to hurt my eyes, and it's just going to make it harder to find my way back to bed.
Oh, well, great. I just Wikipediaed* Bloody Mary Folklore and that's just awesome, because now I'm going to be even more aware of the fact that mirrors? In the dark? They make you see ghosts.

And I guess I answered my own question about when (not) to talk about fears.

*Can I use that as a word yet? Like Googled?

For you, on Halloween

Here is a fantastic collection of Halloween costumes from this weekend:



Here is a picture of my friend Brian and me. We were Jim (as three-hole-punched Jim) and Pam (as a cat) from The Office, which we watch together religiously every Thursday night (we are making our best Jim and Pam faces):



And here are the pumpkins my family made on Sunday night:

Wondering

if there is a happy medium between getting crayons and a kiddie menu and being called "ma'am" at a restaurant. Because while I hated getting the kiddie menus, being called "ma'am" really freaks me out.

To make up for all two times I wrote between May and September

I decided to participate in Fussy's NaBloPoMo, which means that I'm going to (try to) post every day in November.

In anticipation, I've been working on changing the site design--again. It just seems like every time I think I have it just right, I find something that I could tweak to make it that much better. So be watching for a fantastic new look around November 1.

This, people, is the dorkiest thing I've ever written on this website. Or maybe ever.

Yes. Probably ever.

What is, I'm totally weirded out

I just watched Jeopardy! and it's been a while, but I didn't think it had been so long that I'd completely lost touch with the show. However:

1. While reading movie quotes from Scarface, High Noon, and The Princess Bride, Alex Trebek used accents.
2. The guy who won was wearing a bowtie. How stereotypical!
   
3. I realize this is unrelated, but I would say that about 40% of the commercials I saw were Cincinnati-area politician ads.
4. I got the Final Jeopardy! question right: This Broadway play centers around the need for a leading lady in the play-within-a-play, "Pretty Lady." (42nd Street)
5. At the end, there were bloopers. Bloopers? Yes. I don't get it either.

And does anyone else feel a little bit awkward about the fact that this show about INTELLIGENCE is immediately followed by the show Wife Swap? Because it makes me feel all kinds of weird.

Wondering

what I'm going to do when it's still this cold in my room tomorrow and I can't just stay in bed all morning.

Down by the River

It's Fall Break at Miami, which doesn't mean anything to me because I don't have class on Fridays and that's the day we get our break. But, because everyone else will be out of class with me, a group of my fraternity brothers decided to rent a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN.

Anyway, I'm leaving you for the weekend, but not without this fantastic movie of my sister's dog I taped last weekend. We went on a hike, and decided to take the dog, who was more excited than any of us to be leaving the house.



When my sister sees this, she will kill my brother and me. I am sure of it.

QuickTime Movie: Wet Dog

That high-pitched sound you hear in the background is my obnoxious Betty Rubble giggle, by the way.

And don't worry, Erin: She had a fantastic time.

It's the cat's pajamas!

Trendy then: Slang of the 1920's.

Trendy now: Cynical dissection of comic strips, Marmaduke and everyone else. Also, the Nietzche Family Circus.

Spell whatever you want using images from flickr.

Since it's getting to be time to schedule for next semester, RateMyProfessors.com might be worth a look (this link will take you to Miami professors, but you can search most colleges and universities as well).

Organized

Blogger just added a "labels" feature, which allows me to categorize my posts. I love this feature. I love it so much, in fact, that after finding out it existed I spent about two hours today going back and categorizing my old posts.

Did you know there are about 480 entries on this website? Because that is a lot of categorizing. And it's still not finished.

I tried starting at the beginning, but I was all, I'm NEVER going to make it back to that post about nothing I just wrote, so I came back to the most recent stuff. Then I got bored and hopped to the middle. So if you are at all interested in seeing every post about Loudonville, or every list I ever made, you are in luck, my friend.

While I skimmed each entry, I noticed a few recurring topics that I'm afraid I didn't categorize. But if I had, they would have probably been something like this:

• Weather
  
• Explanations of Why I am the Way I am
• I'm Not Feeling Well
• Boring Details About What I've Been Doing
• Cryptic Stuff You Shouldn't Bother Reading

Mindless organization skills are one of my strengths, so this should be fun for me.

Free Write

I was just settling into this Autumn weather when suddenly it was HOT yesterday and I'm not really enjoying the return of warmth especially because with it came humidity.

Yes. She returns to write about the weather.

I had actually planned on posting about the love affair I'm having with television right now, but I finished writing and I was embarrassed. First, because wow, that's a lot of tv and second
because wow, I care an awful lot about things that have no consequence whatsoever.

I have a strong urge to recount that post right here, but I want you to note the self restraint I am exhibiting right now.

Instead I will tell you that I saw Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in concert on Sunday, and it was lots of fun, and I am now inspired to dye my hair dark brown, pierce my nose, and start shopping at thrift stores so I can be all indie-cute too. Plus, if I stop spending money on showering and expensive clothes, I'll have enough money to pay for the damage I'm doing to my ears at all these concerts I've got tickets to this fall. I'm nothing if not resourceful.