Day 16

Sometimes coming up with new things is hard. Sometimes it gets to be 10:45 and my Tar Heels are losing and I have a headache right behind my eyes and I contemplate standing on one foot while brushing my teeth as a new thing but realize that given my tendency to stand like a flamingo, I'm sure I've already done it.

And I won't cheat only 16 days in. Instead I headed to Wikihow and calculated my age in chocolate.

1. Determine how many times a week you want chocolate, between 1 and 10: 10
2. Multiply that number by 2: 10x2=20
3. Add 5 to that number: 20+5=25
4. Multiply that number by 50: 25x50=1250
5. Add the current year: 1250+2008=3258
6. Subtract 250 if you've had a birthday this year, 251 if you have not: 3258-250=3008
7: Subtract your birth year: 3008-1984=1024
8: The last two digits should be your current age: 24!

Wow. Whoever said chocolate could not be a teaching tool was clearly wrong.

Day 15: The rest is still unwritten

First, I'm going to start responding to comments left in each entry's comments section. So if you ask me something I'll answer it there.

Click the picture to make it bigger, if necessary. Hope you can read my loopy writing.

Day 14: The hunt continues

I have a feeling that a disproportionate amount of the new things I do will be based on something I saw in a movie/tv show, or that I just think everyone else does in the movies but not real life. (But I've only been in "real life" for about a year now, so I may be way off.) Tonite I scoured the want ads and circled relevant jobs with a red pen. (I feel like the red pen is the key here.) The Post had a "mega job*" section on Sunday, so I got even more use out of yesterday's new thing. Of course, I don't know how "mega" it can be since I only found four that applied, but I guess all it takes is one.



*Yes, that's what they called it.

Day 13: Driving slow on Sunday morning, and I never want to leave

For as long as I can remember, Sunday mornings at home revolved around the newspaper. A parent here, a dog there, the contents of our two newspapers strewn across the living room. Joey laughing over "Fox Trot" until he cries. Mom and I dissecting the lifestyles sections. Daddy commenting on political this and laughing at the idiot who did that. I shouldn't be surprised that years of this ritual have left me with an intense obsession and love for the news, in all its forms, but especially in print.

But I'm not at home anymore, and newspapers cost money. But in my head I have an image of what a Sunday morning should be like for a single girl in the city. Chilling in a coffee shop, reading the paper and people watching. Or, cozy in pajamas, reading the Sunday paper in bed, with a steaming cup of tea. So I took my must-be movie-made image out of my head, and into real life today.
It was nice. Different, but nice.

Day 12: The cookie monster would be proud

No long and winded posted tonite. Just the facts.
Before:After:
I made a giant chocolate chip cookie.* And it was awesome.

*Technically, peanut butter cups, chips, and chocolate chunks cookies.

Day 11: Temporary worker to permanently dead

When all is said and done, I think I will be able to write a book on my temping experiences, and all the embarrassing mishaps that have gone along with them. Tentative title: How I was almost crushed to death by a moving file cabinet.

After one of the worst mornings of my life, involving a wrong bus, wrong stop, wrong rain, I finally got to my new temp job two hours later. The people were very nice and understanding, however, and had tons of stuff or me to do, which I prefer. One of them was filing.

We made our way to the filing cabinets, which from my desk I thought were giant speakers because of these big, black circles in the middle. Strike one. But once we got in the room, they looked just like a safe that use a wheel to open. Strike two. They are actually shelves full of files that you could move left and right to get to, thus fitting double or triple the files in a space. So today I filed in a room of moveable filing cabinets. (Picture from Google.)

I had a little too much fun moving them back and forth, delighting in trying to crash them into each other. (Which they don't do, they just move the next one along.) I liked that I could sit on the floor in between them and no one could see me. Now, I wasn't trying to flake on my work. I had worn new shoes, with the slightest heel, and my feet were killing me. I sat down for just a minute to rest the poor dears, when one of the shelves started closing in on me. Very slowly at first, but then rather quickly so I had to hop up and push it back.

My life flashed before my eyes as I could picture the headline, "Poor, jobless UNC grad crushed to death in filing room tragedy." And then all I could see was that scene from one of the Star Wars films where the heroes are almost crushed to death in a trash compactor. And I just had a feeling there was going to be no Han Solo or Chewbacca to save me. Thus today has two new things in one: filing with moveable cabinets, and almost dying because of them.

Day 10: Chef Bonnie (No, really.)

The last time I boiled an egg it took me an hour. It is not uncommon for me to have popcorn for dinner. I think chicken nuggets and honey mustard are the lost food group. And any attempt to cook anything that involves more than opening a package and throwing it in the oven, requires at least two phone calls to my mom and almost always leads to me consuming something burnt, rubbery, or under-cooked.

My sister asked for baking pans for Christmas. My brother asked for a crock pot and convection oven. I asked for a DVD player. I think that pretty much sums it up. (Though I did ask for a blender a few years ago, but that was just so I could make daiquiris.)

But I've decided that there are some "adult" things that I really must attempt to take part in. And one of those is cooking real, balanced meals for myself more often than...never. Tonite I made a healthy, balanced meal, with more than 1.5 food groups represented. And I touched raw chicken, which was indeed as vile as I imagined it to be. Big thanks to Perdue, you may torture your chickens, but at least you aren't prejudiced against single people since you now offer individually packaged, idiot-proof chicken.

Preparing the feast.
The feast. Italian-seasoned chicken, mashed potatoes, and Green Giant (microwaveable) steamed vegetables.

Day 9: Rolling to victory

As I told my friends in an email after Sunday's DRAMATIC Carolina win over Clemson, I have decided that it will not be carbs or jaywalking that kills me, but a Carolina basketball game. (Just hopefully not for 60 or 70 years.)

Luckily, my heart got a rest during Wednesday's game versus UNC-Asheville, which I watched at the Crystal City Sports Pub,with my friends, on the third level, sitting down, eating chicken fingers and fries.
I have previously watched a game here, but it was an exhibition, downstairs, standing up ,crowded around one small TV because the Redskins were playing. So, this really is a new thing.

Watch one of the best parts of the night below:


Though, I have to say, I feel sorry for George. My friends and I were discussing it, and at 7'7", think of what the poor guy must have to deal with. Can't fit in cars, probably has to put two beds together, having to lug 360 pounds up and down the court, always the last to finish, probably never finds jeans that fit in the waste and length. (Which I totally sympathize with.) I just want to hug him, even though I'd only make it to his knees.

Day 8: Wise men say, only fools rush in

Now, for no particular reason, and maybe just by accident, I'm not a big Elvis fan. I guess I was never really exposed to his music and just don't seek it out. But as a note on my History Channel "On this Day" calendar informed me it was his birthday, I thought I should do something new in honor of that. So I bought "Suspicious Minds" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" on iTunes, and then headed over to Elvis.com to do some exploring in honor of the King's day of birth.

I read his biography, some of his quotes, watched a video on the Graceland holiday decorations, and read the informative FAQ section. I watched a virtual tour of a few rooms in Graceland, including a living room with a 15-foot couch! (And Daddy thought keeping up with the pillows on our old furniture was hard.)

Finally, I left him a birthday message on the virtual wall. I may not be a huge fan, but I can certainly appreciate the heartfelt messages left by people of all ages from all over the world.

"I ain't no saint, but I've tried never to do anything that would hurt my family or offend God...I figure all any kid needs is hope and the feeling he or she belongs. If I could do or say anything that would give some kid that feeling, I would believe I had contributed something to the world."
-Elvis Presley

Day 7: The price is wrong, Bob.

I'm not a huge "The Price is Right" fan. I'm not good at it. I hate cooking and grocery shopping so I fail at those pricing games. I have no idea how much a new car cost nowadays, nor am I too familiar with the asking price for an armoire. If it involved the prices of take-out meals or clothes from H&M, I could do it.

Nevertheless, today I watched part of "The Price is Right" with Drew Carey as the new host. I know he's been hosting for a few months now, but I never got around to watching it. He does ok, I suppose. He didn't really seem that into it, though. Kind of like he was above Plinko. And nobody is above Plinko.
I think I'll stick with my re-runs of "Gilmore Girls" when I'm home in the morning, but it's good to get outside my comfort zone every now and then.