cake wrecks (blog link).

This is the funniest website I've seen in recent memory. I kept calling my co-worker back into my office to show her yet another crazy ridiculous cake. I wish I had that photo of my little brother's 11th birthday cake on which the decorator had represented him as a stick figure. With a third leg. Unfortunately that was before digital cameras. And I don't have a scanner.

menstruation.

according to Molly's nurse:





according to disney and kotex:






according to brian de palma and stephen king:

late summer cleaning.

I was talking with a friend about astrology the other day. Do I believe in it, etc? Some of my colleagues are surprised that I follow it - which I do out of curiosity rather than faith. However, in my life I (choose to) see a great deal of support for the personality aspects (not so much the daily horoscopes, in which I have absolutely NO faith).

I'm a Virgo. I have thought that to be so funny for some time, as I cannot for the life of me keep my apartment presentable (seriously, I mean presentable and not spotless or even mostly clean). However, I have realized that with this transitional period, I am cleaning out my life.

Now is my time to decide what I want and what I don't want. Finishing my dissertation enabled me to get rid of my albatross, so to speak, and I'm excited to see what else I can get rid of. I'm streamlining. I am afraid, though, that perhaps there are some things that should be retained even though they are stressors. At what point, for example, is a person worth getting rid of?I want to surround myself with positivity, but is that selfish? Or healthy? I can't tell with these things. To what extent do I sacrifice my own happiness in the interest of patience and "tolerance"?

I just feel so liberated and free from the dissertation, that I want to get rid of everything that's holding me back! To what extent am I obligated to wait for others? Is their happiness more important than mine? Can someone be truly happy if he or she is holding someone back or being held back by that person? At what point does self-sufficiency turn into snobbery or intolerance?

I want to approach people and my world with an open heart, but I feel strongly that I must protect myself, because of the way I've been hurt in the past. At what point do common sense and "lessons learned" become stubborn refusal to trust or tolerate others?

[And why did I get a sinus infection? Isn't my life supposed to be perfect from here on out?]

I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak, but I also don't want to hang on to things I don't need anymore or that are holding me back. I guess the fact that I have a hard time trusting, forgiving, and letting go is making this a little more difficult than I expected.

Sometimes I miss the days when all I had to worry about was my dissertation.

[NOT.]

the ten

In honor of my achievements, I am here listing a collection of Charity-approved activities:

1) laying out at the pool for however long one wants to
2) listening to the soundtrack from Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist
3) reading for pleasure
4) watching (movie) Rachel Getting Married (not for everyone)
5) watching (tv show) Jericho
6) feeling the breeze on a summer's day
7) drinking margaritas
8) enjoying long weekends
9) skipping days in dieting
10) living with cats, esp. Sam y Max

I'm going to go do yoga and pretend I have enough money to pay rent.

Dr. Charity :)

sweet relief?

Soooo,

I finished my dissertation!! Hooray!! My therapist says I should really allow myself to enjoy things--that I don't usually do that. I was enjoying things. Then I went to pay my rent (note: 5 days late) and realized that I am $300 short. Now, I'd love to not sweat the small stuff in this case, but how exactly does one not sweat the inability to pay for one's residence?

I am supposed to start my new job in September, but as you may or may not have noticed, it is now only the beginning of July. This puts me, well, in deep trouble, basically. It's sad, too, because I was just thinking that I would reward myself with a new computer since my current one is really REALLY tired after six long years of labor. However, I imagine Henry the computer will have to just soldier on, since at this point I can't even afford to pay for my home office, my less a new computer to go in it.

And how's this for sad--I didn't think I would be able to go to the pool, because it was raining, so I opened my champagne from finishing my dissertation (a lovely gift) and now 1) It's not raining, 2) I'm tipsy, and 2) if I could drive, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the bubbly.

Oh, woah is me. Have you ever heard such a sob story? I can't wait until I actually have REAL problems. Oh wait, I mean...