gonna make you (not) sweat til you bleed

I sweat.  A lot.  I think it runs in my family and it is totally gross and uncomfortable.  

I think it also has something to do with living in the south, where in the summer, you sweat standing still.  Well, summer, fall and spring.  And parts of December.  

Anyway, I have tried several various deodorants to limit my sweat output.  Out of high school, a friend recommended I try Certain Dri. 

 

This stuff actually works really well.  The only thing about it is that you have to put it on at night, before you go to bed.  And you can't put it on after showering or shaving.  So you can't shower before bed.  BUT it does all but stop underarm sweat (which I began to wonder if that was unhealthy or not) and after I stopped using it, for a long time, I still sweated less.  

But of course, like stupid acne, the sweating came back.  I guess the excessive sweating phenomenon is sweeping the country, because starting some time last year, several major deodorant brands came out with their own "prescription strength" products.  I myself have only tried the Dove version.  Behold:

What I like about this deodorant is that it smells great, like regular deodorant.  However, this one is a little bit tricksy.

The directions say to apply the deodorant at night, before bed, like the Certain Dri.  

AH HA!

I have some friends who also tried this, and they discovered that if you put it on in the morning, like regular deodorant (or whenever you put on your deodorant), it works so much better than applying it at night.  I recently ran out of this and have been using regular anti-perspirant/deodorant and I have not been sweating excessively.  

There you have it, friends.  My secret to smelling great and being confident when raising my hand.  At least until this stops working and I start pouring sweat again.  In like, May.  

a dream, a freaky freaky dream

I had a dream last night that was very strange and upsetting.

I often have very odd dreams involving the people around me, some that manifest in real life in similar yet altered ways.  I'm hoping that if anything happens with this one, it is nothing like the dream. 

I dreamt that I was in bed, when a man came in my room (a stranger to me, but in my dream, I knew him well), sat next to my bed, and told me that my neighbor, Matt, had died.  I started crying, I was very upset, and what happened after that is hazy.  However, the next few parts, are very clear.

-REMEMBER, THIS IS ALL STILL PART OF MY DREAM-

Parker, my brother, told me that Andrew, Matt's roommate, had also died.  He was with his girlfriend (which is weird, because she is in Athens this weekend) in her car and they were in an accident.  I was upset, crying, thinking if I could keep the puppy he just adopted.  

THEN

I walked outside, and there they both were, Matt and Andrew, standing on the porch.  I was elated, until I realized that they were ghosts.  They looked completely normal, just like they do in real life.  I kept asking what was going on, and they assured me that they were dead, but would be sticking around for a while. I kept thinking "boy, that apartment is going to get crowded when new people move in".  Then Andrew asked me to go somewhere with him.

He got in A car (his car in the dream, not his car in real life) and we started driving.  I asked where we were going.  His first response was "Atlanta", which was a little daunting, a dead guy driving through Atlanta?  But we ended up just going to a grocery store, a Harris Teeter, which is funny, you know, 'cause that chain is "dead".  I kept asking if this was all a joke, if he were actually still alive.  He tried showing me that he could put his hand through me, but that didn't work, so he asked me to try and find his pulse, to prove that he didn't have one.  Before I could, we were all of the sudden at some like water park/river/obstacle course.  He made me lead him through it.  I think I was walking along some concrete barrier and snakes kept appearing on it, but slithering out of my way as soon as I got close ( I don't know what the hell that means).  Once we accomplished that, we were at some singles-type party, but there were adults there of all ages, races, etc.  There were quite a few midgets there too, some that were twins.  We went inside the building and all of the sudden, Andrew disappeared.  I soon found his cell phone in my bag, which had somehow taken pictures of text messages on my phone (wtf).  Eventually, I wondered around long enough (without asking anyone "have any of you seen a dead guy?  About 6'4"?)  Then we ended up back in his car and drove back to the apartment.  I asked him something like "What happens now?"  His response?  "I'll be around."

-CUT TO REAL LIFE-

Today is Andrew's birthday. 

I have to stop eating so much sugar. 

 

and all that jazz

I have nothing of note to say, really.  

I went to Thai Spoon last night with Chelsea and Charles.  It was oh so good this time.  Vanessa called during dinner to tell me that she started reading my blog and really enjoys it (thanks, Vanessa!)  I then went to Borders to listen to bluegrass and look for the newest issue of Paste, D.C. Matt recommended.  He told he it had a CD in it like the last issue I bought.  I went and looked through all the copies they had, not one had a CD.  I even asked the cashier, thinking maybe they would give them out as people bought them.  She did not know anything about the magazine.  I was also this whole time trying to avoid eye contact with the guitarist from one of Wyatt's bands, hoping he would not recognize me or my "why the hell are you playing the guitar like that" face.  I bought the latest In Style (only because I felt bad for asking the cashier a question and then just leaving-I cannot tell you how many guilt purchases I have made) and went to Barnes and Noble, where I bought my first issue of Paste, with a CD. 

I got there and looked through their copies, NO CD.  Wtf.  Finally, as I should have done 30 minutes previously, I read through the section with the music sampler.  

It includes a code to download the sampler online.

Oops.  

I also ended up buying a book called Flapper.  That whole era of the wild girl whathaveyou really intrigues me.  

I also skipped my afternoon classes today.  Because it was raining.  

I will probably skip Italian tomorrow too.  Because it will be raining.  And Professoressa drives me insane.  

BUT TOMORROW NIGHT I AM GOING DANCING AGAIN AND I SO CANNOT WAIT RAIN OR MOONSHINE.  

Have a good day.

voltage running through her skin

I had like THE best weekend ever.  

Ajyra's roommate Maddie had her birthday party at Go Bar on Saturday night and....

IT HAD A THEME.

I am a sucker for any function that is themed, and this one did not disappoint.  The theme was a video, "Electric Feel" by MGMT, which if you have never heard the song, please oh please listen to it NOW.  Along with that, you could incorporate themes from the movie Hook.  So...

I wore a feathered headdress and painted a big strip of blue and pink across my eyes.  I wore a plaid shirt, black pants and silver heels.  And motorcycle gloves.  

I am a badass.

It took about an hour for the party to really get started, but once it did, oh man, it was intense.  I danced like I have never danced before.  The music, the people, everything was just so perfect and fun.  

Electric. 

this makes me want to eat a cheeseburger

No seriously, this is one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen.

http://ca.askmen.com/top_10/dating/top-10-subtle-ways-to-tell-her-shes-getting-fat_10.html

color me angry

I know it has been a while since I last posted, I apologize.  I can't help it if I'm totally popular and have been busy every night this week.  Well, really just Wednesday and last night, Monday and Tuesday were spent doing homework and right now I am in bed, as I have been since around 7pm.  So I'm really not popular, just busy.  I did spend last weekend in Atlanta, Wednesday I spent with some old friends and one marginally attractive new friend and last night I had a fun night with my Chelsea and my neighbors.  But let me tell you why I'm angry.

First let say that the last time I posted, I asked for suggestions on my best post.  You know who responded?  ONE person.  And thank you, Leah, for your ever diligent willingness to give me feedback, I cannot tell you how appreciative I am.  And to the rest of you who read it and have been reading this, thanks a lot.  Sarcastically.  

On Tuesday, I awoke to discover that my kitchen sink was not working.  Water was not draining, which I believe was caused by a large amount of greasy food put down the sink.  You can guess who did that.  Anyway, I tried and tried to get it fixed and could not on my own.  I called my landlady on Wednesday and she didn't really say it would be fixed, just thanks for telling her there was a problem.  Dammit.  Thursday between classes, when the sink was still clogged, I had cereal for lunch.  Not knowing when I would eat dinner, I decided to have a second bowl of cereal before my next class.  There were two bottles of milk in the fridge, one was mine, which was good and one was Parker's that was very much expired.  I was not paying attention and I grabbed the first one I saw and poured it over my heaping bowl of cereal.  When I was putting the milk back, I noticed that I got it from the front of the shelf, not the back.  I had poured rancid milk over my cereal.  Not being able to put the waste down the sink like I normally would have done, I walked out my front door and poured the cereal next to the bushes next to the porch railing.  I guess that is kind of trashy, but I didn't think much of it.  As I was leaving for my class, the plumber showed up and when I got home, it was fixed.  

I have been so tired all day.  I went to Italian and then work and FINALLY, I got to come home.  Neighbor Andrew's girlfriend Ashley came up from Savannah for the weekend, and she brought her cute little dog, Marla.  Also in dog news, Matt and Andrew adopted the cutest little puppy and brought him home today.  He is some sort of pit bull mix (we think) and has blue eyes!  Oh so cute.  I didn't play much with them when I got home, but hope to soon.  Anyway, the anger.  

Neighbor Matt sends me a text that says "You have now made two dogs sick with your cheerios.  You might consider doing something about that".  

Expletive.   Expletive.  Expletive.  

My response was, "Maybe you should prevent the dogs from eating them".  Maybe a little immature, but it really pissed me off.  

He said something about having to then micromanage the dogs even more than they already are having to.

  Ok.

#1  YOU JUST BROUGHT HOME A MONTH OLD PUPPY YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK AFTER IT.  That made me furious.  Sure, I put food outside.  But I think any fool knows that DOGS TRY AND EAT THINGS THEY FIND ON THE GROUND.  Cheerios are probably the LAST thing he should be worried about.   

#2  I wonder if the excitement of being a new environment could, I don't know, make a dog feel ill?

#3  How in the hell are cheerios going to make a dog sick?  THEY EAT OTHER DOGS POOP.  WASTE.  I don't think some oats will make them sick.  

#4  The boys have had that dog a few hours and are already blaming someone else for the behavior of their dog?  

Like I said, I have been super tired all day and consequently have been in a bad mood, all day.  I have not wanted to talk to other people, look at other people.  And I certainly don't want to be blamed for a puppy's upset stomach.  

Grr. Argh.  

simply the best

Hello my friends that follow my blog, and any strangers that follow it as well.  I've been thinking a lot lately about how one day I really want to write a book, and I've done a good job so far of documenting my life, so I have plenty of material.  I do feel that I need to increase my blog readership A. because I'm kind of vain and want people to tell me how funny and I am and B. because it would only help my book-writing situation.  

What I am asking of you, then, is to tell me which of my postings you think is the best.  I'm going to post it as a note on facebook.  If you recall, the last time I did that, I got a HUGE response. Granted, it was about the election and EVERYONE has a damn opinion about politics, and fewer people have an opinion about my life; however, I think if I post it on facebook, more people will see it, more people will read this, one day I'll be Carrie Bradshaw etc etc.  SO, if you could, please comment here which post you liked the most.  I would really appreciate it.  

PS I'm going to hotlanta this weekend with Chelsea to spend some time with our friend-turned-grown up Kendra.  I hope we will do something worth mentioning here.  We usually do something ridiculous OR we just sit around and do nothing.  I'll let you know what happens.  

take me to the river

I have a 1 1/2 year old black lab puppy.  I use the word "have" loosely.  I acquired her, but she now lives with my mother after a heated custody battle.  However, it is in the best interest of said puppy that she live in a large house with people who can constantly pay attention to her instead of with a college student.  This is my Dagny, just under a year ago: 

I made a deal with my mother that yesterday, I could have Dagny for the day.  I picked her up and we set off.  

First, we took a stroll through the intramural trails.  She seemed to quite enjoy that, but I had to keep her on her leash, which I don't think she appreciated.  

After the trails, we came home and took a nap.  Nothing says leisure like a nap right before lunch. 

We got up, ate lunch, let Neighbor Matt put his glasses on Dagny and exclaim how smart she was, and headed to one of our favorite spots.  The river.  I'm not really sure what river it is, it is on the east side, less than half a mile from where I used to live.  There is a handy walking trail right next to the water and it is quite lovely.  I used to take her there often when she lived with me, and we had a lot of fun there together.  As soon as we get to a certain point, far enough away from the road, I let her off her leash to run and jump in the river as she likes.  There is one spot that I really like, where a tree has fallen out over the water.  I like to go there and sit while she swims.  Near the tree, there is a large rock, in the middle of the river.  A large portion of it is above the water and ever since the first time I saw that rock, I wanted to conquer it.  I knew today would be the day.

In my thin cotton sundress (really not appropriate attire for traipsing through the woods and/or a river),  I first stepped in and sat on the tree.  I then swung my legs over the trunk and cautiously felt the rocks beneath my bare feet.  It took a while to get through the water that way, finding good footing before each step.  I walked over rocks and sand and algae and finally, I made it to my rock.  I immediately lay down on the rock, stretching my whole body out.  It felt so exhilarating.  There I was, just me and my dog, on top of the rushing water, basking in the spring sun.  Granted, there was a bridge visible from where we were basking, and I was worried that my reflective-pale skin would blind the drivers, or that they would think I was a corpse washed upon the rocks.  With a dog.  Anyway, it was a beautiful moment.  It felt so good to just be there, in nature.  I didn't want to leave.  

But I soon realized that I was in the direct sunlight, not wearing all that much and my poor pale skin was probably roasting.  And it was, I have a strange looking sunburn on my chest, arms and legs.  

Exhausted from our play together, Dagny and I drove back to Danielsville.  We parted ways and I was so happy to have spent the day with such a beautiful and loving animal.   

are you that singer girl?

What a crazy last couple of days it has been.  Friday morning I had an Italian test, and after that, it was non-stop party.  And by "party" I mean doing whatever I want instead of studying.  Which, come to think of it, is kind of what I do all the time.  Oops.  

Friday night, I went out with my friends Charles and Chelsea.  We had dinner at Clocked.  Oh. My. Gosh.  I have not had a cheeseburger that good since...I don't know when.  We then went to Flicker, where they had no popcorn and the chairs were uncomfortable, but all of that was made up for by some very cute boys playing some fun songs. 

Saturday, I did very little.  I rented a bunch of movies, ate cheesecake and then watched lots of Seinfeld.  I then went to Neighbor Matt's to play Apples to Apples and we then went to see Watchmen.  Now, I am probably the least nerdy out of this circle of my friends, and I'm not saying that as some sort of superlative, just stating an attribute.  That being said, I LOVED THAT MOVIE.  It was beautiful.  Visually.  It was very violent and there were some kind of awkward/I'mnotsureiftheyweresupposedtobethiswaybut comical love scenes.  Overall, a good film.  Daylight savings time hit and I didn't end up going to bed until after 4am.  

Woke up Sunday at almost 1pm.  Yikes.  I got up, did some cleaning.  Mom asked if I wanted to go to her house for pot roast.  Um...yes!  It was sooooo good.  Like so so so good.  I can't even describe it.  

Today, though, I had to work.  At our sister store, Off Campus.  Which I always feel tense in, like everything I'm doing is wrong.  Oh well, work today is done and I only have tomorrow and then the rest of the week off.  

Is it just me, or does anyone else really hate those pictures on Facebook with all the cartoon characters with labels like "the smart one" and "the rebel"?  I get irritated every time I log on and see a new one.  Thankfully, no one has tagged me in one yet.  I would have to be labeled as "the bitchy one" after they did.  

If I wasn't labeled that already.  

are the bangs shorter?

I only have seven minutes to make my Wednesday deadline....

I got a lovely haircut today.  I went with the bang look again.  I tried taking pictures, but I mostly look weird or bald.  But I am happy with it.  Finally, bangs done by a professional.  Not in a bathroom and not with craft scissors.  Le sigh.

Also, I just returned from seeing The Reader.  One of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching films I have seen.  Simply beautiful.  Maybe I will one day get sick on someone's staircase and then have a summer affair with them until they run off to join the Nazi party and I don't find out about it until I'm in law school but my lover won't admit that they cannot read or write...but that is not likely to happen.  Like I would get into law school.  

the woods are lovely, dark and deep

OF COURSE I have to post about the March snowstorm of 2009.  First day of March and what do we get?  Several inches of snow.  My heart was all a flutter when the rain started turning into snow, with the prospect of the light dusting we usually get if it snows.  

And it just kept snowing.

I live kind of in front of the intramural trails, and they are lovely any time of year, but one day as I was walking them I thought, "If it ever snows, this is the first place I am coming".  I bundled up (as best I could...I quickly realized I'm really not prepared for this kind of weather) and headed to the woods.  It was breathtaking.  What is it about snow that makes everything beautiful?  

Those are just a couple of my (poor quality) pictures I took.  All of them are on Facebook, if you're interested.  I'm about to go to Danielsville to spend the day with my family, and will probably take more there.  

Oh and to mention food....

We had now power between 4pm and sometime before 5am this morning.  I had a peanut butter sandwich and some cheese its for dinner last night.  Yep.  Was not happy about that.  BUT, I had that meal while playing Apples to Apples with my neighbors.  By candle light.  : ]