grab a friend and grow up

when the Ikea directions tell you not to assemble something alone, just follow the directions. You trust the rest of the directions, don't you? Oh well. Somehow I managed to construct my used bed frame without much injury. Thank you, Woot, for giving me a box that was exactly the height I needed to get the frame together.

But enough of that. More importantly, I have a bed.

I have not had a bed since college. Not a real one, anyway. I've been sleeping on air mattresses, my futon...*ahem* and other people's beds. But now I have my very own (not so comfortable) bed. It makes me one step closer to being an adult.

I've been criticized for lack of bed, lack of "real" drinking glasses, lack of regular leftovers, lack of other furniture, lack of cleanliness?...etc. All of these times, it's been hinted that "damn, girl, you need to grow up."

Usually I ignore and justify. I say I don't *need* these things. And since I don't need them, it makes future moves easier. Why do we feel that certain things define us as adults? And why does it even matter? As if cooking, owning a cat, owning a house, and generally keeping house is distinctly grown up. I can see how it's good...financially sound...or perhaps gives you a feeling of independence and maturity, but I don't understand why exactly it matters. I feel the same pressures and ideas, but I don't know what to make of it. And in my head, I have a very specific and not universally applicable definition of adulthood: the ability to make good decisions. Most of the time. And when you don't, know what the good decision is, even if you don't go that path. (For example, right now I'm having tortilla chips and dip for dinner. Is that a good decision? No. But I know it.) And I think I'm getting to my definition of growing up.

Anyway, I own a bed. Happy now?

you are what you say you are

(a superstar...)

Fewer people *think* they're overweight these days, and people are accepting their bodies. Yay, right?

CNN: As nation gains, 'overweight' is relative

Or are we just becoming complacent?

Apparently women with normal BMIs are less likely to say they think they're overweight than they used to. This is good. This means happy healthier people, who know they're okay, and won't obsess about it.

But then again, apparently brands are downscaling sizes, so that you might think you're awesome and in a size 8, but it's only a matter of labeling and you're really wearing a size 12. And that quick fix illusion may not be so much a good thing at all. Also it might be what's making it difficult to buy jeans online these days.

And getting back to BMI...
NPR: Top 10 Reasons Why The BMI Is Bogus

I'd add in comment but I am hungover and this was difficult enough. Good day.

I'll be back

I think this blog is a summer thing. I've been getting the urge to write lengthy posts not suitable for my tumblelog. Also would like to post pictures that facebook and tumblr don't need. See y'all soon. YAY!

in case you haven't seen

I would totally dance to this at a party. Oh, Vince.

re-jingamajob your skin

With the billion commercials about rejuvenating, revitalizing, renewing, re...verbing your skin, are any other girls out there worried that if we don't start now, we'll get real wrinkly really fast? Should I be nipping this in the bud? I realize it's marketing, but damn, I feel like it's working on me.

My grandmother always had really nice skin. She always wore hats to protect her face from the sun, had a slew of skin products and traditional know how...maybe I should find me some placebo night cream.

Because spring weather is boring

(from howstuffworks)

Hello blog! I remember what this is for again! For things that aren't super silly and would depress my animal filled tumblelog.

Having never really lived through another recession, I can't be sure how much advertising has exploited the term and how much people talked about it. But all of a sudden, fuel efficiency and all things budget are awesome, car commercials will scream "recession!!!" at you and still try and convince you to drop tens of thousands of dollars, and instead of "oh this weather" people in line at the supermarket will just say "hey how about this recession?".

I guess I'm just entertained by the tangental things I hear. Being amongst the snarky young educated types (let's admit it), this seems to boil down to commentary about commentary.

• using terms like "oh this recession!" or "these are my recession shoes" in a sarcastic manner (though yes, all based in fact)
  
• one of my friends says that everyone's favorite thing to do (and by everyone, he meant young guys who are trying to out-intellectual the other) is to say what they think about the economy and the recession and it's usually just what was last said on This American Life
  
• another one of my friends likes to say that the economy and the recession has ousted talk of religion and God (I don't really get this one, but okay)
  

Anyway. I've got nothing more to say for now.
What prompted this post was an article in the NYTimes.
Recession Anxiety Seeps Into Everyday Lives
Apparently even those who still have jobs, and even children, are just suffering from general anxiety about the economic situation. I don't buy some of the stories, but I think it's an important thing to be aware of. Let's not let things that we can't control necessarily stress us out. Yes, being unemployed does suck, but other than working hard to prevent losing your job (and even that isn't always enough) there's not much to do! I feel like some people are suffering from some sort of post-traumatic stress syndrome, even though the recession is not a traumatic event by most definitions of the term, unless say, you actually did lose everything all at once.

But a few months ago, Ms. Hubbard, a graphic designer in Cambridge, Mass., began having panic attacks over the economy, struggling to breathe and seeing vivid visions of “losing everything,” she said.

She “could not stop reading every single economic report,” was so “sick to my stomach I lost 12 pounds” and “was unable to function,” said Ms. Hubbard, 52, who began, for the first time, taking psychiatric medication and getting therapy.

Madness. Stay afloat, kids.

a Pececito

I found this on the internet. Happy Birthday, Warren!

(as I break my posting hiatus. Been busy/busy with other blogs. Oh. You know.)
I also recently got promoted (not a big deal, and a year behind most people). So that ~15% increase in work is gonna be GREAT. :-)