Wow...It's been awhile!

Just a quick rant here. I find it incredibly ignorant and irritating that the majority of people think you aren't a family unless you've got kids. I get so sick of people thinking my boyfriend and I spending time together isn't a worthwhile reason to say no to going out or other plans. The two of us (and our ferret faces) are just as much a family as someone with a million kids!

What's God got to do with it?

I don't want kids, and don't really like kids at all. So, I find myself in annoying situations where people argue with me about having kids.
Here is the most recent one..

My co-workers were discussing different things about pregnancy, I mentioned that all those things made me glad I don't want kids. At that point, the youngest co-worker (she doesn't have kids yet), asked what I'd do if I get pregnant. I said that I won't. She replied with, "What if god* wants you to have a baby?". Unknown to her, that point is moot since I'm an atheist, but to avoid further conflict I just replied that I "Don't care" and "Do not want kids". Her next reply was, "What about people that want kids and can't have them?" I don't really understand how that applies to ME not wanting kids, but I said "I feel bad for them, but I really don't want kids." And, I made an ill-advised joke about throwing myself down some stairs if I discovered I was pregnant (I'm not very smooth sometimes). She exclaimed that what I said was AWFUL! and I went on my way.

*I find the "god" comment from her to be amusing because she doesn't seem like a fervent religious type. She's promiscuous (to put it nicely), drinks a lot, smokes pot, and goes out to strip clubs with friends. Not a particularly pious person.

Twilight.

First off, no, I haven't actually read the books. I have read enough here: Mark Reads Twilight (So you don't have to) to know that reading them would be a frustrating waste of time (to say the least).

Yesterday, my boyfriend and I decided to drink mudslides/pina coladas and watch the first Twilight movie. The entire thing was completely ridiculous and, honestly, the Edward character gave me the creeps and made me want to shower off the "icky" feeling.

I don't understand the appeal of Twilight. Not only that, but I find nothing at all romantic or remarkable about it. The popularity of this series (books & movie) are beyond my comprehension. The main character (who's described as a strong female) is actually extremely whiny and self-centered. The love interest is a creepy stalker with control issues. I mean, the guy sounds like your classic abusive boyfriend. He straight out tells her that he follows her all the time, sneaks into her room and watches her sleep all night and the stupid girl falls for him? Seriously? I'd be taking out a restraining order! What confuses me even more, is how teenage girls and grown women can find this character attractive and romantic. Don't even get me started on the werewolf dude falling in love with a fucking baby. That's just too weird and creepy for me to think about.

If anyone can explain the appeal to me, in an intelligent, non-omfg, Edward is like the hottest thing EVAR! sort of way, I'm all ears.

Ps: Glittering vampires in the sun. Really?
Pps: Stephenie Meyer is a terrible writer.

Old people.

First off, don't get me wrong, I don't dislike old people/the elderly. These are just a couple of things about them that bother me. Believe me, there's plenty of stuff that younger people do that irritate me even more.

At work the people who come in or drive up right before we close are usually retired. This is annoying because, well, we wanna go home and because those people tend to be the most talkative. I don't mind this normally, but when you're making it so I've gotta leave later and you've had all damn day (because you're retired & most older people wake up early) to get to the bank, it's really inconsiderate and lame. Seriously. What have you been doing for the 8 or so hours the bank has been open? You couldn't stop by earlier? My co-workers have this complaint also.

Driver's licenses should just be taken away at a certain age or people of a certain age should have to be tested more often. There was an episode of South Park about this. Old people are really bad, sometimes really scary drivers. My boyfriend and I went on a road trip last month for my birthday and 99% of the time there was a car in front of us driving too slowly (5-10 or more under the speed limit) or erratically, it was an old person driving. Now, this part is from my boyfriend and though it may seem harsh, I agree with him. He thinks old people shouldn't have driver's licenses and should take public transportation. They're usually retired so they have time to catch buses. Also, instead of having brand new cars they can barely drive (like his grandparents), they can put that money into public transport to make it better. Makes sense to me. Old people pulling up into the drive through at work make me nervous a lot. They always pull in at scary angles and one lady is so frail and old that it takes both her hands and arms to work her stick shift. I might look back on this when I'm old and think I was an asshole.

Just for the hell of it.

Guess it's time I post something that amuses me. And in this case, baffles me as well!

I moved to the Midwest a year ago (god, has it really been that long?) and I'm still getting used to the people here. So completely different from where I'm from. I've noticed that a lot of the women here have a kind of "I give up" look about them. No makeup. Bad haircut. Sweat pants/pajama bottoms. Baggy (sometimes stained &/or holey) t-shirt. That's the basic uniform. Not only that, but they look at least 5-10 years older than they are. Here's the part that amuses/baffles me, they all have a perfect tan or at least have their nails done! So, what's the point? Why bother getting your nails done and/or tanning when you don't care about how the rest of you looks? It makes me laugh and makes my brain ache at the same time. If only I had the balls to ask one of 'em.

Radio is for people who don't really like/care about music.

Yeah, you heard me. Now I'm gonna back it up. For years and years I didn't listen to the radio (I'm talking basic radio, not satellite, internet, etc) and now I work at a job where it's on constantly. All the stations play the same songs over and over, all day. There isn't much variety at all. So, if I happen to like a song, find it catchy, or whatever, I'm sick of it by the end of the week. I only work part time (4 & half to 5 hours a day, 4 days a week) and one day I heard the same song on the same station twice during my shift! Now, this should be impossible within 4 or 5 hours with so much music out there, but no. With basic radio, variety does not seem to be the spice of life. I hear (at least) four Katy Perry songs on a regular work day (if we aren't listening to the "country" or oldies station). And, about the same amount of Lady Gaga songs (I liked her music before, but I'm getting sick of it now). Seems to me that only people who aren't really into music would be able to tolerate radio. It's there to tell people what to like/what's cool and pound the same songs/artists into their heads. It gives people who don't have their own opinion about music something to list on their Facebook page.*

On another note involving radio, have you ever listened to the DJs "opinions"? They're completely ridiculous. There's no way a guy in his 30s-40s, etc. really gives a shit about the new Miley Cyrus/Taylor Swift song or the Justin Bieber/Zac Efron movie! They're just promoting. Seriously. It turns out that most male radio DJs actually wanted to be sportscasters/sports announcers and that's why they got into broadcasting in the first place. I know this because my boyfriend (he sides houses and installs windows) went into a local radio personality's house that he was working on and saw nothing music related, only sports memorabilia. He mentioned this to me somewhere and a woman who actually works at a radio station told us about the sportscaster thing. I found it interesting and it makes a lot of sense.

I guess with the internet being how it is, radio doesn't really need to introduce people to new music and bands. I just wish there was a bit more variety.

*A girl I went to high school with added me on Facebook awhile back. In HS she was into all the boy bands (they were really popular at the time). Now, on her profile she lists "top 40" and "pop" as her musical interests. She obviously moves on to whatever band/music is popular and whatever the radio plays.

Really?

I've never watched "Jersey Shore", I have absolutely no interest in ever watching it. I find everyone on that show completely mindless and nasty. Complete wastes of space. I just found out that these bits of walking garbage are actually from New York (except for one)! Yes, that's right. These assholes are promoting and furthering stereotypes about a state that they aren't actually from! Even more disgusting is the fact that they make more money than most people will in a lifetime. It's no wonder the economy is failing and we're in a recession. Someone should take all of Snooki's money, give it to the needy, and get her some mindless job where she doesn't have to be seen or heard from. Ever again.

Warning: Taking public transportation may cause hearing loss.

I was on the bus to work yesterday, and this older man was yelling on his cell phone. It wasn't angry yelling, he was carrying on a regular conversation, he was just so loud it couldn't be called talking. I was forced to turn the volume up on my iPod to near deafening levels. Even then I could still hear him over my music. I could tell that everyone else on the bus was irritated. I don't wanna hear about your colon, old man river. And I'm sure no one else does either.

In a sort of related note (related in that 4th cousin, twice removed kinda way), I was out to lunch on my birthday last month and my boyfriend and I were seated near some old ladies. Now, the 2 more elderly ladies were just fine and spoke quietly. The other one however, she was one of those who feels the need for everyone in the room to hear her. And, she wouldn't shut up. She was so loud that my boy and I could barely manage to hear each other. She was talking about really unappetizing things, too. Like her friend's medical problems/procedures. Later on she said, "The First Lady was wearing TIGHTS! Honest to goodness TIGHTS*!" in a shocked tone. Followed by, "She could take a lesson from that Kate who married the prince. She's knows how to dress! She's way too thin, though". The waiter brought their check and I was relieved that they were going. But, alas, she told him they were going to just sit there and talk. They ended up leaving 5 minutes before we were through with lunch.

The point of these stories? Have some damn courtesy when out in public! Has everyone forgotten about "inside voices"? I don't want to be forced to listen to your conversations. Your voice might be able to go all the way up to 11, but turn it down about 5 or 6 notches. My ears will thank you. And yours probably will, too.

*Tights is in bold because the woman put a lot of emphasis on this word. Like it was a crime against humanity for the First Lady to be seen in public wearing tights.

Auto tune...over-used + annoying

I work at a bank, and my supervisor likes to put the small radio (located in the drive-up area) on a station that plays nothing but popular genres (pop, hip hop, "country"*). I've noticed for some time now that pop & hip hop (especially) use a lot of auto tune for effect only. I find this sound incredibly irritating. Clearly these people have no actual singing ability, yet they make millions upon millions of dollars! The station even uses this auto tune effect on their station ID commercials. The worst of all these so-called artists (in my opinion, of course) is Ke$ha. She sounds like she's in a constant state of constipation and has no discernible talent. What happened to the music industry? It appears that talent is no longer required to have a successful career in mainstream music.

* I refer to "country" in quotes because I don't believe that the modern music style is TRUE country. It's more like disposable pop. True country is Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn etc.

Popping my blog cherry...

I created this on a whim. Mostly as an outlet for pet peeves and anything I find amusing or interesting.. Not really expecting any sort of following (except probably friends). If anyone out there is reading this, welcome!