If you could wake up as anyone tomorrow, who would it be?

I am really bad at imagining myself as someone else. Perhaps this is because I know a more valuable action would be to simply do yourself what you'd imagine that coveted person does. If I want to wake up as Michael Jordan, why don't I instead embark upon being the person that and doing the things that Michael Jordan does.
Secondly, this is a poor question for me to answer because I simply don't want to be anyone but me. Being me is enough of an adventure without having to experience someone else's adventure as well. Right?
And furthermore, why does this transition from me to them have to happen upon awakening from sleep? A bit cliche. Not to mention, I don't get enough sleep.
I guess, then, if I could wake up as anyone tomorrow, I would wake up as a narcoleptic. That way, I could have seemingly random moments of sleep, and if this body-switch was contigent upon sleep patterns, I have in essence pitched an individual with some fucked-up sleep patterns.

Ask me anything

An investment in knowledge

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
Says Benjamin Franklin.

I wholeheartedly agree with him.

The things I learn go into my bank of skills. In my life I've felt blessed to add more and more skills to my savings account.

In intermediate school my English teacher encouraged me to write. I took a creative writing class. Imagine if I stopped there. But I did not. I enjoyed writing so I took a print journalism class. I enjoyed that and then tried television journalism class. I signed up for Spanish and enjoyed that, so then I took French. Upon graduation from high school I was awarded a couple hundred bucks in scholarships for creative writing, journalism and French.

I went on to write for my college paper and decided it was time to learn copy editing. I then learned how to write headlines. Then I learned how to design pages and soon I was the editor in chief. After graduation I landed a job in graphic design. Now in my current position, I am editing, assigning, writing, designing, paginating and still learning.

If I had stopped at reporting, where would I be? Every skill has been fun to learn (because I like learning!) but also has led to a new adventure or chapter in my life (pardon the book metaphor).

My love of music and movies put me ahead of other applicants applying for a part time job in an electronics store. That I could rattle off both the first and newest Sam Raimi film impressed my boss and everyone in the store turned to me to play name that tune.

When I worked at Home Depot, I studied all the care tags for each plant that came in, just out of curiosity, and soon earned monthly cash bonuses for customer service excellence as the only employee who knew that Cheddar Pink, Sweet William and carnations are all dianthus plants.

The things I learn are often random and extemporaneous but I'll always have them with me. Who knows how, when and why I will use them, but I am delighted when I can.

Steve Martin's biography points out an example that he experienced. He decided to learn rope tricks, lassoing as part of an early performance job at a magic shop, where he also juggled, etc. He honed these skills but it would seem unlikely that a stand-up comedian would ever use these skills in a comedy act. And yet, it was exactly what set him apart for the Three Amigos, a film where he did his own lassoing and rope tricks.

And on that note, I'm off to learn how to lasso.

Pickin' Apples

You'd think that if you have to pick your own apples, the farm's rates per pound of apples would be less than the supermarket, because the cost of labor is, of course less.

You would be wrong.

Apples at Conte Farms are 95 cents a pound. Three pounds of bagged apples at the supermarket are $1.95.

Do they somehow taste better, et cetera, et cetera? Not particularly. And you're talking to a jerk who likes apples.

Well, maybe you're paying for the EXPERIENCE!

I am certainly paying for it, alright.

Eh, I guess this was fun. I got to learn about apple picking. I've never been to a you-pick farm before to pick apples "off the tree." Problem is most of the apples already fell and were rolling around on the ground. Flies, everywhere, the smell of rotting apples in the sun. And, no granny smiths. My fave.

Yeah it was fun. Maybe when I am a property owner I'll just plant an apple tree and that'll be it. No more donations to the local commercialized 'family farm'.

Total bill:
$17 in pumpkins and apples. (one bag filled with apples [you have to buy the bag as well],and two medium pumpkins)

Grilled Cheese toward the future

Robbie and I were out and about and wanted to stop for something to eat. Let's go get some pizza, we agreed.

As we hopped in the car, he said he was having a great time and couldn't wait for the future. Thinking back to my ridiculous spending on casual dining last month, I wondered how far off those future goals would be with our current discretionary spending. All this money spent on pizza and the like was hampering us, really.

So I suggested we skip the pizzeria and head home. Robbie promised to make some grilled cheese. That way, we could satisfy our hunger and our wallets.

It was the perfect suggestion. Of course it was cheaper than pizza out, but on this chilly early fall night it was a great food to eat. Robbie was proud to make his "famous" grilled cheese for me. Our bellies were warm and we felt productive.

It was a nice moment.

OM NOM NOM

September regrets, I think

So in analyzing my September spending, I found that I spent more than $300 in restaurant dining.

Ridiculous.

They were some nice times, a night out of the house for dinner, since I have no kitchen of my own, really, instead sharing it with my parents. To have a guest and cook dinner with the guest is an intrusion of sorts into my parents' dinner plans.

So out I go, to casual dining for dinner. To the tune of $300.

You can guess what I won't be doing in October. Instead, I will be dining at home.

Back on Etsy

I previously had an etsy shop, , where I sold handmade and vintage items as well as supplies.

I've sold more than 200 items there, but since re-activating my shop, I've sold 3.

I am trying to upload the buckets of things I have in storage that could feasibly be sold under the handmade and vintage banners. This is going to take forever!

Hopefully you see something you like! Go check out my shop!

Etsy SweetyPrize

Expired earnings

While cleaning up my bottomless pit of paperwork I found two items that made me sad:

A $9 rebate check that was valid for 90 days after issue, and had thus expired months ago.

The rebate form for something I bought and had hope to recoup the entire purchase price of, via rebate check. Rebate form expired.

The item I bought was a fancy face cream for $39.95.

So, the total lost moolah that is a direct result of my disorganization: $48.95