Hmm...

Is it sad that the highlight of my day was buying a coffemaker for me and my coworkers to share? Maybe I shouldn't even care, since I'm going to be such an incredibly productive employee...

Random Video!

I want to kidnap this kitty!

Wake Up!

So, I tend to have this chronic problem of being 15-20 minutes late for work. It's not that I'm a complete slacker or that I keep my finger glued to the snooze button each morning. I'm just a heavy sleeper and will often completely sleep through my multiple alarm clocks. Since I'm sick of leaving the office at 5:20, I've been shopping around for a new alarm clock and have found some interesting discoveries which I figured I should share.
One of the more interesting alarm clocks I have found is the amazing helicopter alarm clock. This alarm clock wakes heavy sleepers like me, by launching a mini-helicopter in your bedroom. There is no simple snooze button available on this clock. Instead, the sleepy-eyed person must get out of bed and catch the flying alarm clock in order to turn it off. At first, the concept of this not only sounded hilarious to me but also genius. That is until I had visions of me either spraining my ankle or stepping on my cat in my crabby-morning state.
Another alterna-clock, is the alarm clock on wheels. When the alarm goes off on this clock, it rolls off your night stand and around your bedroom, which also forces you out of bed, running around trying to turn off its obnoxious alarm. I worry about this alarm clock slamming into my walls, and thus making enemies with my neighbors.
I also found a surprising number of specialty alarm clocks with a bed-shaking unit. The bed shaking unit is a pad that hooks up to the clock and basically vibrates when the alarm sounds.
I was amazed at the number of cleverly designed alarm clocks I found in the short period of time I spent googling. Perhaps I will purchase one of these fancy clocks and will start a new trend of showing up early for work!

Jitterbug Days

Typically on my days off of work I feel as if I have a long list of things I need to do or things that I should be doing. Today I woke up with the overwhelming urge to do absolutely nothing on my day off. The hot, rainy weather was just begging me to stay inside, relaxed on my couch with my book. Though the thought of doing nothing made me feel guilty and honestly a little anxious. My days off of work are precious to me and I feel the need to spend this time wisely and productively. As I was contemplating what to do, I looked over and saw my cat, Jitterbug. There he was, sprawled out on the floor on his back, legs in the air and eyes closed. This is a common pose for him, as he is a very calm cat who spends 90% of his days lounging around my apartment. I know it sounds strange, but seeing him so peaceful motivated me to give myself a Jitterbug day. A day to do nothing, but relax, read, and laugh my ass off while watching South Park reruns.

Not So Random Cotton Candy...

Random Video...

Painting and whiskey...

What's Goin' On...

Some days I find myself wondering if the world has completely given up on common decency. Treating others with respect, displaying good manners, and simply minding your P's and Q's seems to be totally out of fashion. I'm not claiming to be Polly Perfect, but I do put forth the effort to follow the golden rule. Sometimes I'm successful, sometimes I'm not. However, the past week I've been witness to several situations that has made my inner cynic grow stronger. I could blog on each separate occasion that I've seen these random acts of rudeness, but for fear of sounding like a whiner I decided to condense them into this one little post so that I can plead to the few readers of my blog (if any?) to stop the madness! Please, remember the manners your parents taught you! Be nice to others! Don't honk your horn when you're in traffic for no good reason. You can't move your car because no one else can move theirs in rush hour! Don't talk in movie theaters. It's not your living room. Your seats don't face each other for a reason and your fellow movie-goers didn't pay $10 to hear your commentary! Don't flake out on your friends. If you don't want to honor your plans with them, at least have the common courtesy to call and make up an excuse, any excuse! And finally, don't dump your beer on baseball players. Yeah, they get paid an insane amount of money to play the best sport ever created, but that doesn't give you carte blanche to get drunk and act like a douchebag and make us other fans look bad! My point is, if we all start treating each other better, then people are going to start treating us better. So, just be nice!

My Guilty Pleasure

One of my favorite summer guilty pleasures is the television show Big Brother. Before you get all TV snobby with me, hear me out about why this show is so fantastic. First of all, Big Brother is basically a sociological experiment for our viewing pleasure. The season begins with a mixed bag of characters, who are forced to live in one house together. In this house, there is no television, music, reading (except for the Bible, of course), and no telephone. Essentially, they are cut off from the outside world which really messes with their minds. Since it is a reality show, there are of course a variety of competitions, wherein the houseguests must compete with each other for food, luxury prizes, and the title of Head of Household. As with other reality shows, people are voted out of the house each week and the last person in the house earns a sizable amount of cash.
So, each summer I become obsessed with this show. It's strange and somewhat shameful how I am always able to choose my favorite people in the house and root for them all summer long to win the prize. Sadly, most of the time the most vile people end up winning. Perhaps I'm just a creepy voyeur, but I like to think of Big Brother as one of the smarter of the reality shows.

Friday Fun Flix!

I miss 80's music videos!

A Tribute to Walker and Dunn-Barton Halls

This past weekend I visited my good friend Adam in Bloomington-Normal. During my visit, Adam and I took a tour of our old campus at ISU. As expected, many things have changed at ISU. One of the saddest changes to see was that my old dorms, Walker and Dunn-Barton are no longer in existence. All that was left of my beloved dorms, was a mess of a construction site. I'm assuming ISU has finally decided to tear down these old dorms, so that they can offer newer and better housing for their students. So I've decided to share with you, some of my memorable moments at Walker and Dunn-Barton.
1. Sister Bertha
Sister Bertha was my freshman year RA. She was a 40-something year old nun from Kenya, studying at ISU. Obviously, I was very surprised when I first met my RA, but not nearly as surprised as when my boy-crazy, club-loving roommate asked Sister Bertha to help her mend her favorite sparkly, green thong. Yeah.
2. The Tissue Incident
My sophomore year at ISU, I was sitting on the front steps of Walker Hall with a friend one evening. While talking and enjoying our cigarettes, we noticed a couple, sitting in their car in front of Walker getting a little frisky at the end of their date. After finishing our smokes, my friend decided to go inside and grab some tissues from the front desk. She then proceeded to walk down to the car, knock on the window and hand the couple the tissues, before adding, "Looks like you'll be needing these."
3. Chatters
Chatters was the coffee shop/sandwich shop/pizza shop/smoothie shop, located in Walker Hall. I spent many hours at Chatters hanging out with my friends, listening to bad Open Mic night acts, and was also an employee at Chatters my junior and senior year of ISU.
4. Sweltering Hot Dorm Rooms
At the beginning of each fall semester, ISU posted signs throughout the dorms reminding students that Walker and Dunn-Barton were the oldest dorms on campus, and due to the age of the buildings they were unable to provide air conditioning. Thus our affection for these old dorms were tested during the fall days when our rooms felt more like an oven.
5. Top Gun Moments
In the space between Walker and Dunn-Barton, was a sand volleyball court. My friends and I were very appreciative of this volleyball court, as it provided us with our very own Top Gun moments while we watched tall, attractive, shirtless men playing volleyball in the sun.
6. The Porch People
In the front of Dunn-Barton Hall, was a large porch, on which my friends and I used to smoke cigarettes and of course, people watch. During the day, you would of course find other smokers and the occasional guy acting as if he could play the acoustic guitar and sing (not easy on the ears!). However, in the evenings, especially the weekends, we could be endlessly entertained by the drunks who would congregate on the porch. We were witness to girl fights, heavy make-out sessions, and of course drunken Tom Foolery.

So these are just a few of my most memorable moments of Walker and Dunn-Barton. This list could go on and on, but the point is that ISU will never be the same to me without Walker and Dunn-Barton.

Friday Fun Flix!

I saw this video this week and couldn't stop laughing! I heart laughing at cats!

Procrastination is like...

So it's no secret that I've become a bad blogger. However, I plan to put an end to this. It began innocently at first. I had a valid excuse, considering I was preparing for my move to a new apartment in July. Then, of course I was too busy unpacking from said move to find the time to blog. But, I've been unpacked for a couple of weeks now, so I'm out of excuses!
I've always had my problems with procrastination. I'm not sure why I do it, especially when I procrastinate doing things that I actually enjoy, like writing. Maybe I just have a short attention span. Anyway, this little post is just the beginning of many regular posts to come! Because, as the old jokes says....Procrastination is like masturbation. It's fun in the beginning, until you realize you're just fucking yourself.

Friday Fun Flix!

I recommend watching this while you are less than sober.

In Memoriam...

This past week has been one of the most bizarre and eerie weeks, due to the number of celebrity deaths. Obviously the most shocking death of all was that of Michael Jackson.
As a child, I was completely fascinated and smitten with Michael Jackson. I would regularly inform my parents that we needed to move to California, so that I could marry Michael. I would watch his music videos in awe and would repeatedly peer into my Viewfinder at my Thriller reel.
Through the many changes of Michael and allegations against him, my feelings for Michael had changed. He was no longer the magical person I once saw him as. I had mixed feelings for him. I began to feel guilty if I didn't change the radio station when one of his songs played, for fear that I was listening to the music of a pedophile. While I may never know if the allegations were true, I do know that Michael led a very difficult life. In fact, the media has continued to make it difficult to allow him to die with any dignity.
However, I am choosing to remember Michael as the man who brought a bit of magic to my childhood with his music, incredible dancing, and charisma.

Friday Fun Flix!

A commercial for my favorite grocery store...

My Pretentious Summer Reading List

Remember those days as a student, when the glorious days of summer break had finally arrived? Then, horror of horrors, you receive your required summer reading list for the next school year! Well, I feel enough time has passed that I can finally admit that I actually enjoyed those required summer reading lists. I realize that this makes me somewhat of a dork, but I'm at the age where I don't care. In fact, although I am sadly no longer a student, I have continued providing myself with my very own summer reading lists. So, today I would like to share my pretentious summer reading list!

1. Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
Tom Robbins has been one of my favorite writers for a long time. I even named my cat, Jitterbug, after his book Jitterbug Perfume. I've been told by some that Still Life With Woodpecker is one of his best, and seeing as its a love story that takes place inside of a pack of Camels, I'm very excited to read it!
2. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Lately, I've been infatuated with memoirs. Since, I've been fascinated with the interviews I've seen of Ayaan Hirsi Ali it seemed only appropriate to add her memoir to my summer reading list!
3. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Since I have yet to read a piece of Russian literature, I figured I would choose this classic as my first. Although, this book is slightly intimidating with its total of 923 pages, I am determined to finish this before the fall!
4. The Hours by Michael Cunningham
This is a Pulitzer Prize winner with Virginia Woolf as one of the main characters! Plus, I'll be able to watch the movie afterwards. What's not to love?!?
5. Dark Place by Gillian Flynn
I was hooked when reading this Chicago writer's first novel, Sharp Objects. Her writing is dark and haunting, and I love every word of it! I'm very excited to read Dark Places and am even more excited to see her speak at the Printer's Row Literature Fest tomorrow afternoon!

Friday Fun Flix!

This is dedicated to the cat in heat that keeps hanging around outside of my apartment building.

Thank You Cigarette Tax Hikes

Yesterday, I hit my two month milestone of being smoke-free. I had finally had it with the Cook County cigarette taxes being raised every 2 days (at least that's what it felt like) and decided to quit on April 1st, the same day a pack of cigarettes went up in price to $10 a pack in Chicago. So, today I would like to share with you some of the things I have noticed in the past two months since I have quit smoking.
1. Although I am using the nicotine patch, I did at first find myself having some nicotine cravings. However, I did not break down in tears unlike the last time I tried to quit smoking, cold turkey!
2. I was not able to drink coffee until about a month after quitting. It used to be impossible for me to start my day without first having my two cups of coffee, which were accompanied by at least two to three cigarettes. I knew that if I continued with my coffee routine, sans cigarettes, I would want to punch someone in the face! I am proud to say that I am now back on the coffee and am not experiencing violent urges.
3. Smokers do not want you to succeed at quitting. Whether I was stressed out at work or under the influence of alcohol, certain friends, who will remain nameless, were very quick to offer a cigarette as comfort. However, my determination to remain smoke-free was too strong for their sabotage!
4. 7-Eleven employees are still trying to get me back on the Marlboros. No matter how many times I tell my beloved local 7-Eleven pals, that I will no longer be needing my daily pack of Marlboro Ultra Lights, they continue to offer them every time I patron their store.
5. I am still jealous of smokers. I can't help but feel pangs of jealous anger when I am around smokers. While, I quietly enjoy the second hand smoke I am still pissed that I am not smoking with you.
6. I find it funny that I'm grateful they raised the taxes on cigarettes, because it was the final push I needed to quit. I was well aware that my smoking was a disgusting, unattractive habit, but I loved it. I had been wanting to quit for a while, because I was scared of the damage I was doing to my lungs. Once I heard of the tax hike, I knew I could no longer justify spending my hard-earned money on such a harmful habit. Thank you Crook County!

Friday Fun Flix!

Enjoy this clip from one of the best television shows ever made, Sifl and Olly...ROCK!

Happy Memorial Day!

While at work today (yes, some of us worked today), I spent some time thinking about the many ways we, as Americans, celebrate Memorial Day. Many Americans choose to celebrate by tossing back a few beers and grilling burgers in their backyards. While, some choose to focus more on the throwing back of beers. In fact one of my co-workers referred to Memorial Day as one of the boozin’ holidays. Others celebrate by heading out to see their local Memorial Day Parade. In the retail world, Memorial Day is used as a way to drive in the customers with another blow-out sale. Because don’t we all want to use one of our precious few days off of work, standing in line to save 10% off of overpriced goods, that in reality we don’t even need.

Thinking about this made me realize that Memorial Day is one of the many holidays that I truly don’t understand. Obviously, we are supposed to be commemorating our fallen service women and men. Yet the traditional Memorial Day celebrations don’t seem to do these brave men and women justice. Perhaps a better way to honor them is to practice, meditate, and demand peace. 

Okay, I am now stepping off of the soapbox so I can offer this hilarious view on holidays....

Random Puppet Show...

I realize this is a blurry picture, but I had to share it! This is the random puppet show I caught while walking through Andersonville yesterday.  Oh how I love summers in Chicago!

Cotton Candy for the Brain...

Welcome friends! You should be pleased to know that you are currently reading the very first posting of Random Cotton Candy! How are you feeling? Excited? Curious? Terrified? A sudden desire for a sugary treat? Well, stick with me and I promise everything will be okay while I attempt to entertain you with my random, and occasionally odd views on life. 

So, you may be wondering why I chose the title Random Cotton Candy for my blog. Allow me to explain myself. A couple of years ago I began noticing an odd and oh so random phenomenon in my beautiful city of Chicago. Every so often I would spot men selling random cotton candy on the street. Let me be clear, there were no neighborhood festivals or parades occurring at the time this cotton candy was being sold. No, these men were simply carrying around large quantities of cotton candy down the street for any sugar-loving pedestrian to purchase. I couldn't help but be amused by this business venture. I began to wonder on what occasion one would need to purchase some random cotton candy. Perhaps some random cotton candy would be appropriate after being fired from a job, being dumped by your lover via text message, or maybe after having heard your favorite band split up. I still have yet to figure this out. So for now, I'd like to offer this blog as my random cotton candy for your brain.