pulling the US out of recessoin one box of tissues at a time

10 trips to the doctor
1 trip to the ER
2 family practitioners
5 boxes of tissues
6 bottles of afrin nasal spray
10 prescriptions
12 vials of blood
7 urine tests
2 pap smears
1 breast ultrasound
5 sick days

I'm pretty sure I should be buying stock in Puffs facial tissue at this point. Today marks week 10 of being sick. These 10 weeks have been filled with a cold, the flu, a UTI, a vaginal infection, an IUD expulsion, an upper respiratory infection, and a sprained back (yes, a sprained back - from coughing). Also, a diabetes scare, breast cancer scare, and discovery of early on set rheumatoid arthritis in my spin.

My body is staging an all out protest against life. As of this week I "only" have an upper respiratory infection and sprained back. I have seriously never been this sick for this long in my life. Hopefully this next round of drugs will do the trick. Otherwise, well, I guess I'll just have to get used to coughing until I vomit for the rest of my life. Ok, that's a bit dramatic. Sue me.

Through it all though, I've kept my sense of humor and my glass-half-full attitude has prevailed. I credit this to the people in my life who have helped me realize that things could be worse, and that one day I will be healthy again... and for them I am thankful.

mother nature... here's some midol

Living in Michigan is exceedingly annoying. Case an point, today is March 23rd and the first official day of spring was 3 days ago. Mother nature clearly forgot to look at the calendar.

Michigan has had a terrible winter this time around. And not the normal kind of shitty winter, where it sucks all around. This year we would have weeks of mild (but cold and windy) weather and then mother nature would get her panties in a bunch and shit snow on us in one big dump, such as the Groundhogs Day Snowpocalypse.

Things have been looking up though. In recent weeks the weather in Michigan has reach a sunny 63*. That day was glorious. Skirts came out from the bin under my bed, I contemplated flip flops, and I haven't worn a coat in at least 3 weeks. People's moods have improved, and the all around atmosphere was that of spring.

Until yesterday. Upon waking up, I checked my blackberry only to discover that my weather app was bleeping a message at me. It was warning me of a winter storm warning. Being the ever optimist I didn't believe it. However, from 3:30pm until this moment my area has gotten 6" of snow and at least a 1/4" of ice on the roads. At least I don't have to work today and I have enough cigarettes and coke to get me through the day without having to leave.

But what takes the cake? I saw my first 2011 Robin today. On top of a snow pile.

That bird is pissed.

ink ideas

I'm thinking about getting a new tattoo. I already have 5. A word advice to those who don't have tattoos yet - they are an addiction. But for me, tattoos are no light matter. All five of my current tattoos have a significant meaning to me, so that when I'm 85 and that fairy looks like a dead body I won't regret it.

This tattoo will be no different. I had several ideas, including, a gerbera daisy (they are my favorite flower, even before everyone and their sister was using them for their weddings), a quote of some sort (most of the quotes I like are far too long to be a respectable tattoo), and a Harry Potter inspired tattoo (yes, I know that is the dorkiest idea ever... but Harry Potter literally changed my life. But that's a story for another post).

I finally settled on an option. I've always thought that Hinduism is a beautiful religion, mostly because one of their chief beliefs is that no one religion is right or wrong, but that every religion has its merits and nobody can know for sure who is right. If a Jew, Muslim, or Christian wanted to go and worship at a Hindu temple they would be welcome with open arms. I think that is beautiful.

That said, one of my favorite Hindu gods is Ganesh. This is the story of Ganesh:

"Lord Shiva, the Hindu God of death and destruction was away at a war. His wife Pavarti, who was a goddess in her own right, wished to bathe. Having no-one to guard the door to her apartments she conceived of the idea of giving birth to a son who could provide this service for her. Thus Ganesh was created, since goddesses have the power to do such things.

Pavarti gave Ganesh instructions that he was to stand guard at the entrance of her apartments and that he was to admit no-one until she gave word that it was OK to do so. Ganesh took up his post and undertook his assignment enthusiastically.

In due course the Lord Shiva returned from his war and went to enter. Ganesh, according to his instructions, forbade him entry. Shiva was enraged by Ganesh’s impudence and drew his sword and cut off Ganesh's head.

Pavarti emerged to find Ganesh decapitated and flew into a rage. Even though he was immensely powerful Shiva was upset with Pavarti’s rage. He swore to make amends by taking the head of the first living thing he found to replace Ganesh’s head. The first animal he came across was an elephant. Accordingly he took the head from the elephant an placed it on Ganesh’s body."

Ganesh is believed to be the remover of obsticles and the god of success and knowledge. This has significance to me and I have decided to get some sort of Ganesh tattoo in the next couple of months. Where, will be the next decision. My current idea is either on my right shoulder blade or in between my shoulder blades.

Here are some images that I will give to the tattoo artist to make up a design for me:

6 Freakin' Awesome Super Powers

My inspiration for this one came to me while talking with some of my volunteers at work. Several of my volunteers are students in the Social Work department at the same university I graduated from. We were discussing social work and the available jobs with a Bachelors of Social Work. I pretty much think that social workers are super heros and decided to illustrate the 6 most awesome super powers!

Enjoy!

7 Reasons Not Being a College Student Sucks Major Dino Balls

This is what I do in my spare time, and will probably become a common theme for this blog.

I apologize for the lack of graphic spectacularity. a) I am not an artist, and b) I do not own a scanner, so I had to take pictures of the panels with my phone, send them to facebook, save the files on my computer, and then smash them back together using GraphicConverter (mac equivalent to MS Paint). Perhaps someday I will own a scanner, but I assure you my artistic skills will not get any better.

i hang with dementors

I'm a ginger. I love being a ginger. I don't know if I'm Irish or not because the dad-ster is adopted, but regardless St. Patrick's day is tomorrow and it got me thinking about being a ginger, and how sweet it really is.

However, in past years it has become a trend to make fun of gingers for being "soulless" or "evil." (thank you South Park) Some gingers are offended by this trend. I, however, embrace it.

There are, admittedly, certain draw backs to being a ginger. Chief among them, the fact that I can spend approximately 17 minutes in direct summer sunlight before I am guaranteed skin cancer when I'm 85, and the need to spend $20/week on cans of SPF 100 sunblock.

However....

Here are 7 reasons that it ROCKS to be a ginger.

1) I can hang out with dementors and not be effected
2) I can go to voodoo witch doctors and escape making payment with my soul
3) I'm like seeing a unicorn or a dodo bird. Gingers only make up 3% of the worlds population
4) The males of my species are immediately intrigued by my existence
5) I can't be held responsible for my "evil doings" because, well, I have no soul
6) I never have to worry about the mistake of selling my soul to satan for favors
7) I can easily break awkward silences with a good ginger joke at my own expense

So go ahead, call me a "day-walker" or a "soulless ginger." It freakin' rocks to be a ginger.

#bejealous

springing forward

There are several signs that spring is on its way. For me, the first of those signs is when the snow begins to melt, revealing the cigarette butts I was too lazy to properly dispose of and I must harvest them to avoid my apartment looking like something out of "My Name is Earl." Second among the signs for me is when we "spring forward" for daylights savings time.

A lot of people like the spring time daylights savings time, but for me it has a very special meaning. Growing up, my mother worked about an hour from where we lived. And for those of you who really know me, I have a really strange (perhaps boardering on inappropriate) relationship with my mother. This daily commute for my mother meant leaving her children before the sun came up and arriving back home after the sun came down during the fall and winter seasons (which are horribly long for those of you not experienced in Michigan weather and seasons).

However, when spring's daylight savings time rolled around mom would arrive back home around 6, and we still had a couple of hours of daylight left to be a family that didn't revolve around homework and the boob tube.

I awoke this morning thinking it was 9:30am according to my alarm clock, but as I checked my blackberry (to delete the daily emails I inevitably receive in the middle of the night), I realized we had sprung forward at 2am. I instantly got a smile on my face and realized that, despite how shitty winter gets every year (and it was pretty shitty this time around), that spring really IS on its way.

tax evasion vs. domestic violence

Being a recent college graduate means that money is constantly tight. I am employed full time, but it still does not allow me to afford the luxury of cable television AND making my regularly scheduled payments to the overlords of my life over at JP Morgan Chase Bank that financed the piece of paper hanging on my wall. Fortunately basic cable is included in the price of my rent. This means that I spend a lot of my television viewing time watching TBS and E!.

I usually avoid watching E! regularly because, generally, I couldn't give a shit less about celebrity gossip. However, the Kardashian's are a guilty pleasure of mine and E! also occasionally plays a decent movie. This evening was one of those nights, upon returning to my home, "Knocked Up" was on. For lack of anything better afterward the boyfriend and I were watching Chelsea Handler's new reality "After Lately," where on the bottom of the screen "breaking" news was scrolling (a al, a 24-hour news channel). Two of the headlines read thus:

Richard Hatch ["Survivor" season 1 winner] sentenced to 9 more months in jail for tax evasion.
News Story Here
and
Mel Gibson convicted on a domestic violence charge, sentenced to 3 years probation, a 52-week class, and $400 fine for "allegedly" striking his girlfriend.
New Story Here

Are. You. Kidding. Me?

Tax evasion earns Richard Hatch 8 original years in prison and an additional 9 months now? But Mel Gibson physical and verbally (at the very least) assaults a human being and gets a slap on the wrist? This is a short description of the incident that Mel Gibson was charged for:

"The case of "People V Mel Gibson" stemmed from a disputed incident on Jan 6, 2010 when his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, a 41-year-old Russian pianist and singer, claimed he punched her and knocked out her teeth during an argument at his Malibu home.

Months later, tapes of the actor ranting at her down the phone, spewing racial slurs and sexist comments, began appearing on the internet. The choicest tirades included "I'll put you in a ------- rose garden you ----! You understand that? Because I'm capable of it" and "You need a ------- bat in the side of the head."

That just makes me sick. I work with women (and men) who are survivors of this kind of abuse, and I see perpetrators go unpunished all the time. Either because the survivor does not wish to press charges because of fear or shame, or because domestic violence is notoriously hard to prosecute. However, when there is video/audio evidence of the abuse and documentation of physical abuse from medical professionals, Gibson should be serving some serious jail time. He's clearly unstable, and will probably perpetrate this kind of abuse again.

from the girl who knows what it feels like...

The Mitten is Fucked like a 12-Year-Old's Crusty Sock

This isn't a new blog, but it's been cleared out of random ramblings in the hopes of creating something of worth with perhaps a theme. Which this post does not pave the way for...

I wish I were articulate enough, witty enough, or able to organize my thoughts better than a 3 1/2 year old to be an actual writer. Or, heck, if I even had something interesting enough to write about I might be half way decent. Hence, my last update was circa 2008.

Today though, I find myself unable to contain my contempt for certain actions happening in my lovely home state shaped like a hand. Indeed, I reside in the the doomed state of Michigan.

In November, Michigan elected the failed CEO of Gateway to be our Governor. I say failed, because he moved the company to China. 'Cause that REALLY helped the job situation in America. Good job, dude.

In the beginning, as a pretty loyal Democrat, I had some VERY secret hopes that perhaps a Republican Governor was what Michigan needed. Mostly this was to ease my daily anxiety behind the prospect of having this dip shit at our helm. However, in light of our current situation, all my hopes got flushed down the toilet.

This is where my lack of mental organization and articulation becomes a problem. I have a hard time writing in an organized way that doesn't seem like random rambling. So I will let links speak for themselves.

First, an excellent facebook note that which is a 3-point discussion on how our Governor has alienated those who voted for him, and is systematically fucking Michigan.

Second, a video of Rachel Maddow discussing the recent actions of our Governor.

Third, a blog post by a friend of mine who is an excellent writer and far more versed in politics than I ever will be.

Something has to be done about this man and his crazy ideas. I see two scenarios here:

1) He's a crooked bastard propelling his own agenda for his own selfish reasons
or
2) He really does think these things are what's best for Michigan, in which case he needs to be institutionalized

In short, we're fucked.