Thinking Out Loud #1

The last 48 hours have been a whirlwind of amusing randomness, so I figured what better time to finally join Amanda's weekly Thursday Thinking Out Loud link-up to justify my unstructured stream of consciousness?

• I've stumbled across this tumblr blog, #WhatShouldWeCallBostonProblems, and it is painfully, hilariously accurate. I really miss living in Boston, but the problems are too real.

Take this post for example. "When I haven't taken the T for a while and I have to take it again:"

You don't know the pain until you live it.

Every Boston problem is worth experiencing.

• People take trivia tournaments way too seriously. I was covering a trivia night last night in the midst of the qualifying season for the big Spring tournament, and stunned by the vim and vigor displayed by some of these teams. Kudos to you all for your passion, but as a host, it's stressful to have people be so particular. Whatever, it makes for entertaining tales ha.

I had an odd dream last night after watching this Blogilates video for a Quest bar recipe. 

• In my dream, I made the apple cinnamon "churros" for my mom and I, but left them in the oven for 25 minutes...miraculously they didn't burn. Then I went to prepare the yogurt and apple dip, but had no yogurt and my mom refused my suggestion to substitute the no salt added cottage cheese I had on hand. Since it was like midnight, I obviously couldn't run to Stop and Shop to purchase some yogurt. I also boiled an entire pot of broccoli as an accompaniment. Why? I don't know. I never ever ever boil vegetables, especially not broccoli. The whole dream made no sense.

If anyone has any random dreams or musings to share, I'd love to hear them. Mostly for entertainment value, as well as reassurance that I'm not insane haha.

Spill It Sunday: Childhood Dreams vs. Reality

After a lazy weekend of yoga and not much else, I was a little uninspired for a Sunday blog post. Then I stumbled across Arman's Spill It Sundays link up and thought I'd join in.

Every week is a new theme. This week's topic: Childhood Dreams vs. Reality. 

I'll start off with one of my favorite childhood pictures of myself:

My parents tried really hard to raise a little hipster.

-> What did you want to be when you were younger (career wise)? 

I was an odd kid. In the second grade, my teacher did a lesson series on dinosaurs and I honed right in on paleontology. I was obsessed with the idea of traveling to random desserts, caves, wherever it was that I assumed dinosaur fossils might just be hanging out waiting for me to dig up, dust off, and admire. I think it was the cool hats, casual attire, and warm climates that were presented to me as an essential part of the role of a paleontologist. Highly unrealistic, obviously. Luckily this fascination was a phase, not so much a long-term dream.

Pre- and post-paleontology infatuation, I always imagined myself writing. I wanted to be an author. I was always a lit nerd, burying my nose in advanced reading level books and day dreaming about random stories. 

-> What dreams did you have when you were younger?

I have always been relatively practical about my future and what I would be able to achieve. As a kid, I don't really recall any outlandish dreams other than the typical pre-teen 90s girl hopes of one day marrying Taylor Hanson or Justin Timberlake. 

Don't even try to tell me Taylor Hanson didn't maintain his sexiness.

I wanted to go to Disney World, another "normal" young kid's dream. 

Family trip to Disney World, FL. My dad was more excited than any of us.

Speaking of Disney, I am sure I dreamt of someday becoming a Disney princess. More specifically, Ariel. There was a time where I adored the Little Mermaid. Those dreams were shattered, however, on a day my family refers to as "Bloody Monday," where my brand new Little Mermaid outfit was ruined after a messy injury resulting from a run-in (literally) with a dishwasher. Did I mention I was a klutz?

-> Are you in the same career path as what you wanted?

Absolutely not, and I am actively working to change that. Pushing myself to start and maintain a blog is one step towards pursuing a career in writing. Not like I don't enjoy blogging or writing in general, mind you. This just holds me accountable to sitting down with my thoughts and putting them to paper (or keyboard in most cases). I'm also applying to jobs more in line with my ideal career goals: grant writing, health psychology, etc. The problem is that Rhode Island is devoid of promising job opportunities, and the job market is so competitive that any chances of me getting hired to a position that I've applied for is disturbingly unlikely. But I'm determined to keep trying. 

-> Have you achieved any of your childhood dreams?

Well, I didn't marry a Hanson brother and Justin Timberlake is married to Jessica Biel so there's your answer to childhood dream #1.

I've been to Disney World numerous times and continue to dream of going back. I don't care what you think, Disney World is so much fun.

In regards to the Little Mermaid, my opinion of her is vastly different from the idol-like figure I once viewed her as...

Seriously, this bitch is a slut. What woman gives up her voice to be a naked human being for a guy she has never actually met? Her motives are obvious. Whore.

-> Will you try and make any of those dreams realities? 

Like I said before, I'm actively working to pursue my dream of a career in writing, whatever that may be. I believe that as long as I keep trying, something will come my way when the time is right. 

Will I pursue my long-lost dreams of marrying a 90s boy band member? Probably not. But if JT showed up at my doorstep, divorce papers in hand and a ring in the other, don't think I wouldn't accept.

In closing, I'd like to share another favorite childhood picture of my mom and I. Again, baby hipster status with that bandana. Thanks a lot, Mom.

All I want is a little respect and some sleep. Is that too much to ask?

Apparently so.

Tuesday was not a pleasant experience for me. Nothing majorly awful, but just constant annoyances that really gave me a huge headache and resulted in a sleepless night, along with terrible dreams. I woke up in a panic after dreaming that my mom died of a heart attack, and my dadwas stabbed in the stomach, who then turned into my youngest sister, all American Horror Story style. Looking back on the dream this morning, it was actually kind of funny in some ways considering how ridiculous it was, but my sense of humor doesn't register in at 3am. I will say that I liked my unintentionally revolutionary idea to have 911 call centers Facetime callers to visually assess the severity of emergency situations would probably benefit a lot of people...butttttt for this to work, everyone would need an iPhone. Nightmares are flawed.

Other annoyances of Tuesday include:

• State budget cuts
• Arriving to host trivia and having no one in the restaurant, then having the owners make me wait over an hour, only to yell at me to start asking random questions to no one. I'm sorry, but it is NOT my fault that you are not getting people into YOUR establishment on a Tuesday night. I do what I can to promote, but it is your business and your job to draw people in. Oh, and giving me a really hard time about paying me AGAIN is not cool. That is both my pay and the company's pay. I arrived, I set up, and I stayed late to host trivia at your request. How dare you try to tell me and the company your hired to leave empty-handed. It's just so unprofessional.
• My highly unsatisfying dinner of a Recharge Peanut & Caramel 100 calorie bar and 1/2 bag of roasted chickpeas. While delicious as a small snack, it does not suffice for a meal. 

Snacks ≠ dinner. This made me cranky.

To avoid being completely negative, I did manage to successfully drive one of these bad boys around Cranston:

 Bubble-top transvan, baby! Riding in style!










Yeah, much different from my precious little Ford Fiesta. I was so uncomfortable operating that van. Talk about a major size difference.

Oh, Miguel Corona Ricardo Guacardo Avocardo, how I love you.

Wouldn't he be so cute with a mustache? I need to find one of those magnetic ones for the front bumper. Any advice on where to get one would be much appreciated :)