Monday, January 31, 2011

Class Appropriate Dress

Class appropriate dress? Huh? What's that!?!
Yeah I feel like that's a question that many a girl in my classes wonders.
I'll tell you what CAD is not:
It is not showing up to class in a negligee leggings for your Social Psych class. Yes I realize that our professor looks like what would happen if Johnny Depp á la Secret Window and Robert Downey Jr. (if he didn't dig the heroin so much) had a child, but that doesn't mean you should dress like a H-O! I mean surriously, if he looks like that, do you really think dressing to show your cleavage (or lack thereof) is going to get you a better grade, or for that matter a date? He teaches Social Psych, do you think he doesn't realize what you're up to? Sigh

Also, let me clarify something: if leggings are NOT pants, and tights are less opaque less structured leggings, it therefore stands to reason that: TIGHTS ARE NOT PANTS! Get that? Do you read me? For the love ladies--just say NO!
Finally, girl in the Yeti boots (and tights): what were you thinking? I'm not lying, there was a girl at Starbucks wearing tan boots that looked like she had skinned the Abominable Snowman and superglued the fur onto the tops of her boots. Y-uck!

Oy but that's all for now folks!
I'm off to see the wizard--and by wizard I mean go to my BIO class.
Keep Reading
-RRR


My Blog in Wordle

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Pet Peeves

Since my blog is titled "Rants,Raves, and Randomocity," I figured I'd get a nice rant out there. Like most people I have some pet peeves; things that absolutely drive my bonkers, and not in a good way. So, I'm going to get 'em off my chest:

-when people use the word Bipolar to mean a mood"OMG Jennie you're being so bipolar right now." How does that work? Just because I'm upset with someone doesn't mean I'm "being bipolar." I mean, bipolar is characterized by periods of both mania and depression so how can I be both at the same time? And if I have bipolar, I'm bipolar all the time. It's an illness; that'd be like saying "OMG Jennie, you're being so AIDS right now."

-Weird iPhone autocorrecting: The author day I was trying to type the word "Fascist." My iPhone autocorrected it to "caviar." No joke.

-Phantom hairs: If you're a girl, hopefully you understand this and don't just think I'm nutso. Basically, it's when you can feel a piece of your hair somewherei on your body (for me it's usually on my chest or back of my arm) and you CANNOT find it! But you can feel it. Ugh

-My cat licking: This drives me crazy; my cat is an obsessive groomer. I don't know if you've ever heard a cat lick himself (and his brother) over and over and over but I have and I swear my eye starts twitching like crazy whenever he goes on one of his hair-licking benders.

-When someone loses my place in a book: not naming any names but MY SISTER lost my place in a book once...it has forever scarred me. See, I was reading the 4th Harry Potter book when my sis asked if she could read it right quick (she's a speed reader on crack) so being the fabulous little sister I am, I said yes. Well she finished it and gave it back to me; only SHE LOST MY PLACE!! And I detest reading the same thing twice so I never read it...or any of the subsequent books. Oh and I never watched the movies after the 3rd one because I don't watch a movie until after I've read the book..ugh

But, that's all for right now folks!
(I know I know you're surprised the list wasn't longer...)

Keep Reading and commenting!
-RRR

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Foods from my childhood...aka the 90s

In continuing with my theme of "stuff from my childhood," I present to you the final chapter: food from my childhood. Hope you dig what I'm throwing down!

I know what you're thinking-- "food from your childhood? But Jennie...food hasn't changed much! What, are you going to talk about how apples used to be smaller and e.Coli wasn't in everything back in the day?"
Why no kind sir, I'm going to talk about the fun snacks, cereals, and such that are no longer around, depriving kids everywhere of their amazing awesomeness!

1. Fruit-By-The-Foot
You may say it's still around but I say NO SIR IT IS NOT! All they have nowadays is that ridiculous tie dye flavor (what kind of flavor is that? were they that indecisive that they could flippin pick a flippin flavor?!?) and strawberry. Now, I like strawberry and all, don't get me wrong, but WHERE THE H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS IS THE GRAPE?!?!? Where I ask you?! WHERE?!?! Fruit-by-the-foot just isn't the same *sob* without that amazing grape flavor. Oh how I miss it!

2. Dunkaroos!
Who remembers Dunkaroos? I do I do! Oh my goodness I flippin loved those things! Small graham cracker-like cookies in an airtight single-serving pack all cuddled up to a small serving of creamy chocolate to dip them in! Sigh those things were OMGasmic! Although, I'm not gonna lie, I hated having to ration the chocolate dip...I feel like there wasn't a good cookie -to-chocolate-ratio. Fun fact of the day: If you get a box of graham crackers and a tub of chocolate icing you have insta-Dunkaroos!! Your welcome!

3. String Thing
It might be a horrible name and not terrible satisfying but it was a nifty and tasty snack. For those of you who aren't gangstas like me, String Things were these fruit snacks that were long, thin and string-like that came on these paper trays and were wound into these crazy designs which you quickly devoured. One time...I got one in the shape of sunglasses. I tried to hold them up to my eyes like a B.A. but it didn't work so well once I took the paper tray off...it was just a mass of fruit string (what a letdown).

4. Trix
Ahhh I miss the days when Trix wasn't just a bunch of multi-colored balls...back in the day, every color was a different fruit. I remember when I wrote in and voted on what the new fruit should be--it wound up being this flower with turqoise petals and a pinkish center (don't ask me how that was a fruit...). I used to eat the fruits separately even though they all tasted the exact same. I miss them horribly...even though the bananas were a bit too sharp for my liking; they always poked my mouth :(

5. Grape Bubble Tape
If you know me IRL then you know that I'm trying to bring Bubble Tape back (your welcome). You should see kids' envious faces when they see me break out a roll...of Bubble Tape. Yeah I know I'm a badass! I can decide how long a stick of bubble gum should be...can YOU? Ha in yo face! Anywho, they still sell the original flavor, and even Blue Raspberry...but alas they no longer sell Grape (trust me I've checked everywhere)! What is up with that?!?!?!?! I swear there is a huge conspiracy against grape flavored stuff! The anti-grape people are slowly but surely eliminating grape--next thing you know, they'll quit making grape Jolly Ranchers..hell even grape cough syrup! And then what will become of us? Kids will stop drinking too much cough medicine because it doesn't taste like a grape and a sugar cube had a baby..and that baby became cough medicine. WE CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN! Say no to Anti-Grapism! Grape Lovers of the world unite!!

On that note, that's all for now folks!
Keep reading AND COMMENTING!
-RRR

A Letter to my Readers and Followers

Dear Loyal Readers and Followers,
Wow! I'm up to 12 followers! Thanks! And thanks to all of you who take the time to read and comment on my blog. You wouldn't believe how much it means to me--it's hard to put it into words but basically, when I see that people are not only reading but following and commenting on my blog, it makes me feel like people care; like they like what I have to say. Not only that but, my blog is really just a written version of who I am so I guess when people like my blog they're really liking me.
But enough of the mushy stuff... I'd love to hear from you ladies and gents about what you think of the blog! Don't be shy! I want to hear what you like, what you hate, what you wish I'd blog on and what you'd like to see more (or less) of!

Thanks again for reading!
I hope to hear from some of you soon!
Have a fabulous day!

That's all for now folks
-RRR

Monday, January 17, 2011

TV Shows from My Childhood

I didn't watch all that much TV growing up; most likely because my parents hated it and so we usually didn't have cable. But whenever my grandpa came to visit they caved and got it because my grandpa has to watch his Jeopardy.
I remember if my parents caught me out of my bed watching TV they would cut the plug off the cord of the TV. Literally take a scissors and snip snip there'd be no cord. By the time I was 15 there was no cord left.

Anywho, those rare times we had TV I would park myself right down in front of it with my bowl of frozen peas (or carrots depending on the show) and soak up the shows like a sunflower in Seattle soaks up the rarely seen sun.

If there was an episode of Scooby-Doo on I was there! I would sit and cuddle with my Golden Retriever and we'd eat carrots together and when I got scared I'd hide in his fur. After awhile though we couldn't help but notice the monsters were never real. So I hid less and less in my dog's fur and I spent more time yelling at Scooby and Shaggy for not realizing the monsters were just people in disguise! Of course the show wasn't just about catching men dressed in costumes, it was also about romance! Now, Fred could never be accused of being subtle about his crush on Daphne; heck even a 6-year-old could tell he had a thing going for her! I mean, could you be any more obvious Fred?? You always go with her when you guys split up! Always! But I loved the show despite Fred's transparency and Scooby and Shaggy's cowardliness.

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"I'm the baby got to love me!" If you know where that quote is from you are clearly almost as awesome as I am. I was really young when Dinosaurs came on but I remember loving it and tormenting my siblings by constantly saying "I'm the baby got to love me"; of course my siblings usually responded with something along the lines of: "no we don't Jennie...no we don't". (It was a love-hate relationship.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Remember that show Legends of the Hidden Temple? Yeah, I wanted to be a Blue Barracuda so badly! I would have given anything as a kid to be on that show-- my Tamagotchi, Skip-It, anddd my Flintstones Orange Push Ups, anything! But alas I never did wind up on that delightful show. Except now, I'm kinda happy about that. I managed to catch an episode of it not too long ago and I saw the part where the kids go into the Hidden Temple and then all of the sudden one of the temple guards popped out of nowhere and I screamed like a little baby! Looking back, I don't think I would have been able to handle the suspense of trying to beat the clock and the horror of running into a guard. If one of them had leapt out at me I have a feeling I would have either a)peed my pants or b)punched them in the face. Neither option appeals to me.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -  -
Doo doo doo doo do you have it? Na na na na na na! GUTS! What a great show! I had almost forgotten about it and what a travesty that would have been! That show had everything--knee pads, competition, 90s fashions (or lack thereof), goggles, flashing lights and sound effects--*sigh* those were the days. Although, if you get the chance to look at it now it was just a little much. I have to give props to the host though; he managed to make every challenge seem like it was life-or-death even though of course there were safety nets, harnesses, knee pads (and shoulder pads and elbow pads and helmets, and mouth guards and...) and a bigger safety crew than on most big budget Hollywood action films! I always loved when the kids would get interviewed after a challenge and they'd be all "yeah, it was really hard; there were some moments when I didn't think I'd be able to get over that obstacle but ya know I just kept going!YEAHHHH!" It always cracked me up; they acted like they had just won the Super Bowl! Then again, I highly doubt most kids in our country would have been able to complete any of those challenges. Just another reason why 90s kids are superior!



But that's all for now folks!
-RRR

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Movies From My Childhood

Growing up I wasn't allowed to watch PG-13 movies until I was 13. The same went for R-rated movies. Some might call that strict but I say it makes sense; there's a reason why the movies are rated the way they are. Just because little Timmy really likes Batman doesn't mean you should haul him to the theater past his bed time to watch the Dark Knight...yet people do!

You know what movies I watched when I was a kid? The Brave Little Toaster, The Land Before Time (1-infinity), All Dogs Go To Heaven...now those were movies! Although...The Brave Little Toaster scarred me for life. FOR LIFE! I know what you're thinking: it wasn't that traumatizing; but it was. Every single time I vacuum I have a flashback to that scene in the movie where Kirby the vacuum chokes on his cord and almost dies. Because of that scene I take twice as long vacuuming because I have to hold up the cord because I'm afraid the poor vacuum cleaner will choke to death. I realize it's an inanimate object but I've been brainwashed by the Brave Little Toaster. (Don't even get me started on the nightmares I had where Kirby accidentally sucked up Blankie (or in my case Wooby) and they couldn't get Blankie out in time; he died).

Now, the Land Before Time was a pretty darn good movie(s) and I'm not just saying that because I get the whole "oh my gawwwd are you Lil' Foot?" thing No ladies and gentleman I am not...we just share an uncanny resemblance. Like I said the movies were good but eh some of the characters irked me. What was up with Sarah? She was a bitch and a half and they just took it. Ugh. They should have just said: "You know what Sarah? You're a jerk and a Negative Nancy. We don't dig what you're throwing down. Go get lost in a tar pit." But alas they never told her that and apparently her parents didn't believe in discipline so the audience had to suffer through countless movies with her in it. Grr.

Another movie that was as much a part of my childhood as frozen peas and Scooby-Doo was the movie All Dogs Go to Heaven. That movie scared the crap out of me! I mean it gave me nightmares and it still haunts me to this day. I saw it once and I will never watch it again. Whose bright idea was it to make a movie about dead dogs that could wind up in Hell? I mean that movie was just plain disturbing. I was just a kid! I didn't want to think about the fact that if my Golden Retriever ate one too many pans of brownies too many he'd wind up in doggie Hell surrounded by meanie pants. Yikes!

Oy but that's all for now folks!
Keep Reading and commenting prettyyyy please!!!

(Follow me! I swear I won't call the cops on you for stalking ;-)
-RRR

The Role of Alcohol in Different Countries

First of all, I'd like to apologize to my faithful readers for my lack of writing...my computer had a complete meltdown (wouldn't even start) so blogging was kiiinnndddaaa difficult.
Alright, now that that is out of the way, in honor of my first trip to a bar in the U.S. I've decided to blog about the role alcohol plays in different countries and how they handle it...


Did you know that the United States has the highest rate of alcoholism in the world? Not Germany...not Russia...but the USA. Now that might come as a surprise to some people but definitely not to me. I think Americans as a whole have a skewed view of alcohol and their own drinking habits.
As a little aside I was walking across my college campus when a guy behind me was trying to impress this girl he was walking with. Unfortunately neither of them was too intelligent; the conversation went like this:
Guy: Did you know Native Americans can't drink? Their body lacks the enzyme to process alcohol so if the drink it they die!
Girl: Oh my gawwwwd. No way!!!!
Guy: Yep. It's because they're from the New World and their bodies didn't evolve right to handle it.
I was soo tempted to turn around and yell at the kid. Native Americans have the highest rate of alcoholism of any ethnicity within the USA. Way to be a dumb ass buddy.

But I digress. As I was saying I think Americans lack self-awareness when it comes to drinking. How often do people (especially college students) say that they are social drinkers (as though that makes a difference)? See , I don't think what college students do is social drinking. In Europe social drinking means you enjoy a glass of wine with a meal shared with friends and family; here it means getting as drunk as possible and making an ass of yourself then posting the photos you took on Facebook so everyone can see what an awesome time you had. Yikes! Not pretty!

I've always believed that a country's attitude toward alcohol determines the amount of alcoholics, alcohol-related deaths, drunk driving, etc.
I think that if you make something illegal or make it so you need to be older to do something, the more likely people are going to be to abuse it.
For instance, did you know that alcoholism is now on the rise in Russia because the government cracked down on the issue? Bars and clubs close earlier and alcohol isn't as easy to get (legally) which of course led people to get their alcohol on the black market and drink all they can when it's available.
I honestly think that the people responsible for making the alcohol laws in this country did not have teens or understand how a teen's mind worked. Every parent knows that when you tell a teenager not to do something, they do it. "Timmy don't drink!" "F U Mom I can drink if I want to!" Not the brightest idea.
I don't think it's a coincidence that as the country with one of the highest legal drinking ages we also have one of the highest alcohol abuse rates.

In Germany, you can start purchasing alcohol and going to clubs when you're 16. You can't drive until you're 18. Because of this, there are fewer cases of drunk driving. It just makes more sense. Why on earth would you let someone drive at 16 and then have them wait to drink until they're 21? I think Germany has the right idea...let kids have 2 years to figure out moderation and not have to worry about driving!
Also, the attitude towards alcohol is completely different in Germany. By making it "no big deal" kids are less likely to abuse it. I remember when I was growing up my parents let us kids have a glass of wine on special occasions. Now when I say a glass I mean a tiny glass that could barely hold a thimble full of wine. By doing that, I think my parents helped us kids see that alcohol is something to be enjoyed in moderation surrounded by loved ones; not chugged down at some random kegger surrounded by strangers. Alcohol should be treated the same way you treat a cigar not a a cigarette...with moderation during celebrations.


That being said, at this point I don't think it would be a good idea to lower the drinking age. Why? Because our view of alcohol is so incredibly skewed, our culture too different in order for us to change the laws now. Teens will go crazy! We do not live in a culture of moderation. We live in the great country of more is better. Every aspect of our lives is super sized. America and moderation go together about as well as ham and peanut butter....I'm just sayin....

But that's all for now folks!
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
-RRR
 
 

Monday, January 10, 2011

What Was God Thinking When He Made Me?!?!

You know that saying: "God has a sense of humor--just look at the platypus." Yeah well I'm the platypus. Literally! (Well..not literally, obviously I'm not an actual platypus; they don't have fingers and can't type...duh. )

Sometimes I look in the mirror and ask myself: What the @#!$ was God thinking when he made me? Surriously! It's like he was just feeling lazy: "Oh hmm..Mike and Cate want another baby? Let's just slap this together and badaboom badabing DONE!" I mean, I've always questioned why he made me as...special personality-wise as he did but now that I'm reasonably sure this is what I'm stuck looking like for the rest of my life I can't help but wonder what he was thinking in terms of my appearance.

I'm a mish-mash (that's a technical term). I'm freakishly tall but wayyy too curvy...I look like a stretched out hourglass; I'm pale as a ghost (or cocaine as someone once said...bizarre I know) but have the bone structure of a Native American; I have wide childbearing hips yet children are definitely not in my future (I don't want to pass this hot mess on); I have bones sticking out everywhere yet I am most definitely not skinny (seriously it's like you can see every single bone in my body...my ribs are almost as prominent as my boobs);

Ayayayay Dios!!! Por qué??? 


Anywho...That's all for now folks!
-RRR


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