Because I enjoy anything that makes fun of it. And Chupacabras.

Thank you, Jimmy, for making me laugh.

Twilight in Spanish?

Another thing checked off on my bucket list

Every year on the Thursday night in November prior to the Ohio State-Michigan football game is an event known as the Mirror Lake jump. Basically it is people jumping into a "lake" (pond) on campus in the middle of November. Last year when we went to watch it was about 20 degrees out and even though I told myself that one day I would jump in, I figured I probably never would if it was this cold outside. Well, this year it was 45 degrees out (practically tropical). There was a ward activity that night and plans were made for a few to jump in. I had just come from work and did not have extra clothes but was able to borrow some. A group of 15 walked over to Mirror Lake. I made the first jump-it was cold, but not as bad as I thought. More of our friends showed up. I jumped in a second time. Then a friend said she would take pictures of the actual jump and another said he would record it. So I jumped a third time. Then about 5 of the guys in our group, who had previously said they wouldn't jump in, took the plunge. By this time I was smart enough not to jump in.

Taking the plunge for the 3rd time
(I'm second from the left)

Some of the jumpers

Jumpers and spectators

2008

2009

What a waste of money or At least my friends won't shun me

Last Wednesday I woke up with two bumps on my left cheek (and it wasn't acne). On Thursday I woke up with three more bumps on my right cheek. I was perplexed. Friday there were some bumps underneath my chin. They started itching too. I started thinking I had bugs. I'd gotten fleas once when camping, but it had never been on my face. When I woke up Saturday with even more bumps, I started freaking out. After reading about it online, I was convinced I had bed bugs. Gross. I clean my apt at least once a week so I had no idea where they had come from. The bumps/bites started showing up on my upper arm too.
So I did the following:
I bug-bombed the entire apartment.
After the bombing, I sprayed my mattress and box spring and everything around them.
I washed all my bedding...three times
I washed my curtains
I washed most of the clothes in my room.
I spent 4 hours at the laundromat cleaning my comforter.
Slept in the living room (probably spreading the bugs)

I'm still waking up with a few more bumps each day. When I went into work the following Tuesday the first thing this girl tells me is how much worse it's gotten since last week. Great. Now I'm convinced I need to stay home so I don't spread my disease. I talked to a Dr at work and she asked me if I had tried anything new in the last week. And then it dawned on me what could be causing all of this:

Hairspray

I didn't think of it in the beginning as I had used it a few days before the bumps appeared. And my scalp never itched. I had never used this brand before. But it makes sense why the bumps were only on my face, neck, and upper arm that I spray my hair with. So there you go. I'm sad because this stuff worked great. And I paid more than $5 for it. More like $40 if you count all the money I wasted on bug killing equipment.

I've made a tiny huge mistake

I got my hair cut a few days ago. I cut off several inches in certain parts. You know that feeling when you take your first shower after cutting off several inches of hair and you realize how short your hair is? I've been reliving that moment since the haircut-I've been freaking out the past few days in the shower. Especially when I realize I can't fit it into a ponytail. And I think, "what have I done?"
The end.

Too soon

I heard Christmas songs on the radio for the first time (this time) yesterday. I actually thought they would have started playing them on November 1st. I guess 6 days isn't that late, but still way too early. Maybe because it is 65 degrees out. I like Christmas songs but I'm not ready for them yet. Thankfully I have yet to hear "Christmas Shoes." It's a horrible song. I don't care if it has some sweet message, it's awful. It makes my ears bleed. Seriously. Also, what does the Peanuts theme song have to do with Christmas? Is it because they play it during A Charlie Brown Christmas? That seems like a silly reason.

I know it is early for Christmas decorations and I don't put mine up till after Thanksgiving, but I want to put one of mine up early. I bought one of these in Germany in March:

You put candles at the bottom and when they are lit, the heat causes the blades at the top to spin, and the nativity scenes rotate. Anyway, it is very beautiful, but because I only bought it in March, I haven't had a chance to admire it. So I want to put it up in order to enjoy it for more than a month. I must resist the urge and not become on of "those people" that decorate too early.

It's the little things that make me smile

You may have seen this, but I rediscovered this the other day and it makes me laugh every time.
It is both disturbing and hilarious at the same time.

Not too bad, if I say so myself or Happy Halloween

I love Halloween. I love seeing everyone's costumes. I love planning my costume. I usually start thinking about it in September (ok, sometimes in August). I've usually come up with some good costumes. Past winners:

2007

Flight of the Conchords robots

2008

Smurfette

This year it took me a little longer to find one. I keep coming up with ideas at work, but when I'd ask the 21 year olds at work what they thought, they'd give me blank stares (Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Bright, She-Ra to name a few). It isn't that fun to dress up if no one will recognize your costume. And then I had a moment of inspiration:

2009

Homer & Marge Simpson

I was going to go as Marge alone, but my friend Jacob decided he'd like an awesome costume and came as Homer. Yes, my wig is homemade. A little posterboard, batting and spray paint. The rest of the costume is homemade too. Ok, well I bought the turtleneck, but dyed it yellow. A special thanks to my neighbor, Laurie, who helped me with the costume. All I wanted was to win. And we did-People's choice.

Remind me not to come to you for advice

I was talking with some coworkers about student loans the other day. One was a nurse, married, in her 30's, no kids. The other was a PCA (nurse's aid), 22, in her last year of nursing school. We were discussing how much we love having student loans and how we wish we made enough to pay them back in 2-3 years. The younger girl was saying how she heard about how you could go live on an Indian Reservation or in some rural Appalachian town for two years and get it paid off, but she wasn't ready to do that.

The older lady said, "You should totally do that while you're young and single."

I had to bite my tongue before saying something I'd regret. Sure, it would be nice to have those loans paid off, but why would someone in their 20's want to go and spend 2 years without a social life? In your 20's and 30's you should be out having fun and enjoying life (especially if you are single). Not sitting in the middle of nowhere on a Friday night for two years. I'm not saying it is any easier once you're married, but at least you'd have someone to talk to on Friday nights. I don't think I could convince any of my single friends to go with me.

My mom told me the other day that the Cleveland Clinic offers to pay your student loans if you go work in Dubai for two years and that I should look into it because I'm "young and single." I asked her if she ever wanted grandchildren, and ended that discussion. Dubai would be fun to visit, but I can only imagine how much fun I'd have there for two years. What if I met and married some guy who was a wife beater (sorry to judge but I just read what happened to Mary Murphy from SYTYCD-sad).

So to further prevent you from sounding like an idiot around a singe person, I've made some lists.

Fun things to do while you're young and single:
Travel
Start new hobbies
Learn a new skill
Travel
Semester abroad
Humanitarian projects
Humanitarian projects in foreign countries
Make [funny] movies for ward talent shows
Stay up late
Grad school in most of Western Europe

Anti social things to do while you're young and single
Work in a rural village for two years
Work in the Middle East for two years
Sit at home alone every Friday night

Next time you hear about a "great" opportunity for a singleton, ask yourself how much fun it would be to do said opportunity by yourself. If you wouldn't want to do it alone, the singleton probably wouldn't want to do it either. Even if they are young.

Birds of a feather

I called my parent's today and, as usual, talked to my mom first. I don't always talk to my dad when I call home but I wanted to discuss some things with him that my mom couldn't help me with. So after I was done talking to my mom I asked her to tell my dad to pick up.
(As a side note my dad is an old man. Very old compared to your parents. And before he retired he was a physician so my family discusses medical conditions like people would discuss the weather.)

Dad: "Hello?"
Me: "Hey Dad, I was having some issues I wanted to talk with you about."
Dad: "Well, usually when I have itching I..."
Me: "What? No, Dad, issues, not itching. I don't have that problem."

I guess my parents are similar. And make me laugh.

Please turn your personal pop-up blocker to ON

The past three days of work I've been taking care of this 40-something year old. His dad comes to visit him daily. He's a nice man (at least in his 60's, with a cane and white goatee), but by today his filter was clearly broken. He'd say that he'd like to take me home (yikes!). It started out innocent enough today when he came in in the afternoon and I was in his son's rooms passing out meds:

Old man: "You are by far the best looking nurse I've ever seen."
Me: "Well you must not know very many nurses."
Old man: "Oh no, I was in the hospital last year for 6 weeks..."(and proceeds to tell me that story-not gross, thankfully.)

I'm sure he says that to most of the young female nurses he encounters. His son is sitting in bed trying to get him to come and sit back down in the room. The conversation with the old man and me is repeated at least twice that afternoon. Another example:

Old man: "There you are, the cutest nurse ever."
Me: "Don't say that too loud or Jim will be jealous." (a male nurse had just left the room).
Old man: "You are just the prettiest nurse ever."
Me: "Thanks."
Old man: "You don't need to thank me. I'm just stating a fact."

Later that afternoon I was across the hall from said room sorting out meds for a patient. I was facing their room and the old man was near his son's door facing me. I could seem him staring at me. And then I heard this:

Old man: "She just has the most amazing body."
(I pretended I hadn't heard anything.)
Old man: "And she has a nice tight butt."
(The son, my patient, mumbles something I can't hear)
Old man: "I may be old, but I'm not blind. I can look. And I like what I see."

I wanted to crawl under a rock. Please old man, think before you speak. And saying things when you're across the hallway is not that far away from someone if you're talking about them. Your personal pop up blocker prevents whatever is going through your mind from spewing out of your mouth unfiltered. Old man, please turn your pop-up blocker back to on so no one feels violated like I did today.