could i be a bigger dork?

as you may or may not know, i love dyson vacuums... there is something about seeing all the nasty shit that turns me on. i've had the opportunity to use dyson's several times, and i have always found it quite fulfilling. how dorky is that? i know, i know... but you just can't see how much shit is in bags, and the no loss of suction sales pitch really enticed me. while i have always been excited about dysons, i've never actually owned one. until today! i am now the proud owner of the dyson dc14 full kit. after brining it home i vacuumed the living room, which was pretty clean to begin with, and the entire container was full of pet hair. it's quite the exciting investment. =]

fed up with the set up

so while i try to ignore the majority of banter the middle aged soccer moms spew during my night classes, i was rather annoyed by a verbal out burst of dierahia in tonights class. this woman was complaing about the economy and how the government supports people. she was irate with the idea that the government would allow individuals to retire by providing minimal finanical aid. now, i honestly consider myself moderate. i usually find myself in middle grown, but her ignornat comment pissed me off. i'm not suggesting that the government support its people 110% and allow for everyone to sit around and play wii, but what's so wrong with a little help now and then? i'd personally rather my money go towards my fathers retirement than to the death of soliders in iraq.

bait and switch

it takes a lot of courage to stand up for what you believe in, and speak up when something is wrong. it also takes a lot of strength to keep your mouth shut. as they say, "blood in my mouth beats blood on the ground". so a few weeks back i entered to win a year membership to a well known gym, recently i was contacted and informed that i had won a vip membership to that facility for a year. after playing phone tag for quite some time the gentleman assured me that he would get me in "the best shape of my life" right... so i woke up early this morning and made the track to Appleton to check out the place. as you may imagine they attempted to sucker me into signing a contract with unlimited amount of hidden fees and dues. so i took the high road, filled out the contract and went to my car to get my credit card, where i then locked my doors and drove off. i later called the place and let them know i would not be signing up for the contact. this simply story brings me to a mach larger aspect of my personality. while i did "run away" from the problem, i realize how much i value honesty. a co-worker and close friend of mine recently commented that i don’t put up with shit, and in a way it’s true. i don't understand why we must pretend so much. just because i don't care for you, doesn’t mean i am going to deliberately be mean to you. i'll be pleasant, but i'm not going to go out of my way to pretend we're best buds. i'd rather be real than deal with all this fake glitter of high fives and hyper handshakes. the "personal trainer" (questionable to say the least) attempted to give me a high five at the gym this morning and commented that i didn't seem energetic. i told him i thought he was hokey. that people can be committed and excited without being fake. his face looked as if i had run over his week old kitten. but it's true. i believe a lot more can be accomplished if we avoid the bullshit and get down to the real stuff.

learning to say no

when people ask, "what do you do in your free time", i struggle with a creative answer. yes, i enjoy to travel and take photos. i also tend to be crafty and often scrapbook among other artistic revenues. however, when it really comes down to "free time" i'm limited as to what i actually do. free time for me typically consists of sleeping, napping, or trying to cram more things into the day. i love playing with my dogs, but this needs to be done, regardless if i have free time to do it... i have graduate school, i work a stressful job for a minimum of forty hours a week, and i commute, a lot. so when i have a minute or two, i enjoy doing nothing.

something has to give, but i'm just not sure what. i would love to have a day off, without using it to cram everything i don’t have time into one eight hour day. yesterday was my "day off" (of work) so i woke up early, cleaned the house, did six loads of laundry, walked the dog, got my oil changed, got the dogs licensed, mailed a package, went to the bank, all before my six pm night class, which of course i needed to commute to. (did i mention monday's "off" still mean i have rounds from 2:30-3:30, which requires me to drive to work?)

i would like to have time to... learn to play the piano, read a book for leisure, create a photography portfolio, and explore my hobbies and interest. but whenever i get a moment or two of free time, i am usually two exhausted to do anything.

so how is one to make time, with no time?

it's suppose to warm up...

I'm so sick of people bitching about the snow. It's Wisconsin. What do you expect? If anything, the recent amount of snowfall should remind us how much global warming has affected winters of the recent past. I'm not claiming to love the ice and slush and enjoy winter driving, but I don't dwell and complain about it. I think people don't actually distain the weather as much as they enjoy having something to complain about. It seems like any common chit chat has turned to complaints about the weather to merely fill empty time. I'd prefer silence.

There is a Moose in my house!

I'd like to introduce you to the newest guy in my life! His name is Max, or Roonie, and recently even Moose. He's a 16 month old golden retriever, and after having co-custody of him for the past year, he has official made the leap from outside wanderer to inside garbage disposal.

I still have my one and only, Sammy... and Charlie the tenant, but they both seem to be adjusting to the addition quite well. Charlie no longer hisses at Roonie, but rather tolerates him, and Sammy plays with him when their in the snow and avoid getting trampled on while their in the house. I have only had Moose for three days but over the short time have taught him to: lay down, high five and shake (he already knew how to sit). So I am pretty impressed with how fast he is learning.

While it isn't the best photography, I've tagged the following photo to give a better idea as to how humongo Max-a-Roonie really is. This was taken this evening in our kitchen, he is sitting next to Sammy (my cocker spaniel) and I left the baby gate and kitchen cupboards in the picture for scale.

if you havn't been there, you should go.

Post Secret rocks, if you havn't checked it out yet... you should: http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ . I visit it every Sunday, and typically a few times through out the week. I rescently purchased the first book of the series, and I can't wait to get the rest. That is all.