Mamma's Monday(belated): Reality TV

To all my Little Dee's,

It has been a very interesting few days.  Since last I posted last, I have broken my foot while restocking the shelves at Wal-Mart, so that means I have to stay home for A WEEK!!!!  Since I already have nothing to do, I started watching lots of TV.  This past week I have found some "jewels" of a TV show.  My new favorites are Project Runway and Toddlers and Tiaras.

This week on Project Runway, the designers had to create an avant garde outfit that is androgynous.  That means that they need to make something new that can be worn by both a man and a woman.  The designers ran around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to finish their outfit.  I don't understand why it's so hard!  Hhhhmmm, let me make an outfit that can be worn by both a guy and some girl.  Here, take this old man's bathrobe and wear it like a Snuggie.  BOOM, an outfit that can be worn by both men and women!  I would so win that TV show.

Toddlers and Tiaras is just a national treasure.  Where else can you watch crazy Southern women use their daughters like puppets to compete in beauty competitions?  No where!!  I love watching those little kids that no one can understand, walk across the stage in their little beaded dresses and spray tans that are so orange they look like Oompa Loompas.  I get really into it too!  When one of the kids starts acting like a little brat, I start screaming at the TV.  All the other residents here at the Sunshine Meadows Senior Centre complain.  They say they can hear me cursing at reality TV shows!  I guess I'm addicted now....

Well, I need to get going now.  The other seniors are getting ready to start heading down for dinner.  I don't want them to get a head start or else all the apple sauce will be gone!!!

Love,
Mamma Dee

Thursdays with Rachel: Busy Little Bees

Goodness, finally, a Thursday! Yes, I missed a week while away overseas, however, I am back, and here to speak my piece. And today, it's the issue that I know a good chunk of us deal with: how busy we are. I know it definitely affects me. Clearly, since I've been rather terrible with keeping to my promise of updating every Thursday due to a million other things that seem to rear their ugly face (AP Biology exams, trips all over the place for various things, unplanned illnesses...) But I'm not just addressing how teenagers have schedule juggling issues, because face it, that would be boring.

I want to go on about how I'm kind of getting tired of hearing about how busy you are all. While I do sympathize to the occasional need to vent (and am guilty of even abusing the privilege from time to time), I think we all need to calm down and stop ragging on each other. It isn't a competition to see who can rack up the least hours of sleep and the greatest amount of crankiness. There is no benefit in going on about how you can't get your assignment done because of your extracurricular activities. And above all, most of these choices are yours.

The Honors classes. The music lessons. The sports practices. All of these things are decisions that you made to partake in, because you know that you like doing them, or know that they're for the best in the end. We all need to understand that our issue of time management for things like this is very different from someone who has a serious issue with not having enough time because they have to do something like work two jobs to support a family. That's a serious time issue. Now, staying up until midnight at school for musical rehearsal (cough cough, pointed comment...), or working your tail off at basketball practice? That's a choice, and no matter the consequence, it was one you made.

Most teenagers in America especially are working the juggling act between top classes, family life, clubs, volunteer work, and go yeah, time for a social life. It's basically the most ridiculous calendar one can look at. But the only thing that us youth can be comforted in is knowing that we aren't alone in this madness. And along with this we should know that most people don't want to hear about our problems, when they've got their own pestering them of similar nature. I'm not talking about a quick groan to a buddy, and then moving right on to your next task. I'm addressing shoving these problems at people, as if they're suddenly supposed to grant you a pardon and throw you a pity party. Sorry, not going to happen...

And I'll apologize for my own grief. For those of you who know me, I've got sort of spastic attendance record mixed with an admiration for traveling whenever possible. This year alone I've wracked up six absences for traveling to concerts, weddings, and one foreign country. But I take total responsibility for any stress or agony it causes me. When I miss work, I bitch about it to myself for a bit, and then I try to just move on. If you want to do the things you enjoy, then you have to be willing to handle the consequences that come along with the fun. That's the way all things in life work. A little give, and a little take.

Really, I understand that you've got problems. But everyone has them, so you're not alone. Please, stop making your pretend ones sound so much greater than the rest of ours. Thank you in advance...

Happy Thursday :) Infinite xoxo,
R

Long Weekend

Oops

Mamma's Monday: Wal-Mart

Hello all my Little Dee's, I have decided to take some time out of every Monday evening and tell you all of Mamma's adventures from the past week.  Thus giving these Monday's the title of Mamma's Monday!

So today I started my first day at that hell hole known to everyone as Wal-Mart.  Lets just say it was interesting.  I hobbled in at 4:30 AM for my first shift.  Since I'm new, those idiots decided to give me a shift at the butt crack of dawn!!  So as I entered those sliding doors, I took the first step into my new life...wearing worn out bunny slippers.  I guess those slippers weren't as good on wet floors as I thought, cause suddenly I realized I was on the ground in the frozen food aisle.  Some man who looked liked Honey Boo Boo's mom helped me up off my butt.

Next they showed me my register, lucky number 13.  As the manager started to show me how to use it, I suddenly noticed that I had no idea what he was saying.  So I asked him to repeat that again. After a half hour of wasted time, I found out he didn't speak English!!!  WAL-MART IS HIRING IDIOTS WHO CAN'T EVEN TALK TO THE CUSTOMERS!!!!  I was so angry that I pulled a cigarette out of my purse and started to light it.  While smoking it in the store, Dakshi, the Indian manager, started to jump around screaming something in Indian.  I jumped to the ground thinking that a suicide bomber was about to blow our brains out.  Then Dakshi pulled something out of his pocket that looked like a bomb!!!  What happened next went by so quickly, that I couldn't make any decisions and ended up acting out of pure instinct.

I jumped at Dakshi and knocked him to the floor, biting his hand.  After a few minutes of struggling, he finally dropped it.  Only it wasn't a bomb, but a phone and he wasn't screaming in horror, he was just trying to tell me to put out my cigarette...

Lets just say that my first day was spent in the Emergency Room with my manager who can't speak english.  Don't you just love Wal-Mart?


Love,
Mamma Dee

Thursdays with Rachel: Greetings from Across the Pond

Again, I know it's Friday, but yesterday I was a bit too preoccupied to blog. And that was because I had a flight out of JFK airport to London, England, where I currently am right now. Yes, sitting on a couch in a cozy hotel room with boxes of chocolate biscuits and Walker's salt and vinegar crisps as they call them. Life is definitely looking up, even though I've been awake for almost forty hours straight, living off of pure adrenaline and perhaps a few too many sweets. But what's a few dark circles underneath my eyes if it means I get to indulge in one of the best places in the world?

This afternoon, we ate at a French restaurant, where I was painfully forced to order in French for everyone, because the waitresses spoke only broken British tongue. Now if you know anything about me, it's that I have very few language skills, especially when it comes to foreign ones. The only word I've even attempted to learn in more than one language is "cow" (for no apparent or useful reason...). But despite this fact, I managed to do so, pleasing and surprising myself quite a bit. Although I'm still pretty certain that I could never make it on my own in France without major help from Siri on my iPhone translating every thought.

I'll be in the country for nine days, and they're definitely nine that I am thrilled about, more excited over than most other things that have happened in my life lately, or ever for that matter. It'd been seven years since I'd last touched down at Heathrow Airport, and it was certainly overdue. And perhaps what I'm looking forward to the most are the littlest of things, like the cozy chats with the cab drivers over what to do in the area, or seeing what the new holiday advent calendars look like in Marks & Spencer (a popular chain store here that has a little bit of everything... sort of similar to Target but about a million times better). Those are the minuscule little memories that I like to make the most.

However, enough about me, off here in the country that my native land once had a revolution with. I also want to take a quick paragraph to say break a leg to all of you Coleman Theatre kids out there, as tonight is the opening night of the fall show, Meet Me in St. Louis. All of you, cast, stage, sound, & lighting crew, I know you'll be terrific! It's only about four o'clock there for you, so just know that while I may be asleep by the time you hit the stage, I'll be thinking about y'all ;)

So for now, I think I'm going to sign off, have one last Cadbury chocolate finger biscuit, and then go off to bed to stop this no-sleep-a-thon I've got going on. To fully experience "The Big Smoke" (London's nickname for the record...), I think I should at least catch a little shut eye, even if the childish, adventurous side of me would be just as happy going out experiencing thing after thing so I don't waste a second... Have a lovely weekend, all!

Infinite xoxo,
R

Father Joseph's Mass

Today, my cousin is visiting and spending time with my three brothers and I.

My cousin, Margaret, was discussing Church with my twin brother and I earlier this morning. She was questioning us about the responses at mass, since she has recently been regularly attending mass.  Joseph, the youngest brother of age seven, joined into the conversation, and was inspired by it.

"Let's play Church!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Before we could even respond, he began to collect his plethora of stuffed animals and arrange them in the living room.  Due to the fact that Joey is the youngest of us, we are often expected (mostly by him) to accept everything he says and play whatever game he demands that we take part in.  With this, and seeing the hard work that he was putting into it by writing down hymns and arranging his "altar", we had no choice but to go along with his idea.

The living room "chapel" was soon finished being decorated.  Margaret placed a white blanket over the coffee table "altar" and lit a small candle, while Matt set up the church organ and choir demo music programmed into our electric keyboard.

"You've got to record this." Margaret said to me.  When Joey began to get upset by our lack of seriousness toward his mass, she quickly added, "It's so you can watch this years from now.  Marisa, go get a camera!"

So, I turned on the video camera on my cell phone, and the procession began.  The choir music played as  Joey entered in wearing his blue bathrobe and a red scarf around his neck.  He held up a small crucifix until he got to his altar and set it down.  He looked at us awkwardly and turned around to turn off the background music.

"Welcome to Mass."  Joey addressed his audience of three family members, and then lost track of what he was supposed to do.  After we made the Sign of the Cross, he grabbed his children's Bible and read out loud.  "The First Rainbow: Many years after Adam and Eve...."

After he read the story of Noah to us, Father Joseph prepared the communion (with our reminders of how it is supposed to be done at mass).  We said an Our Father together as a family and gave each other the sign of peace.  As the church organ demo played, we ate our cookie Body of Christ one by one.  The mass soon ended, and we watched in amusement as Joseph led his Beanie Baby altar servers and organists out with the processional hymn.

With this little anecdote, I would like to conclude with just a couple of thoughts.  For some odd reason, this stupid little game made me realize the value of family and religion.  It's nice to see that religion brought all of us together today. In addition, I am glad to see that although he did not understand much of it, Joey has shown a genuine interest in religion and the Bible.  Coming from a very Catholic family, this meant a lot to me.

God bless my family! I love them more than anything.

Thursdays with Rachel: The "First Love" Complex

No, I'm not crazy, I am fully aware that it is Friday, and not Thursday. And perhaps it is not the best way to earn a loyal reader by skipping out the second week on the job on the semi-promise I made to post once a week on the same day, but alas, the insane life of a student often takes over, and instead of being able to do what I love, I must study organelle parts and how to find slant-asymptotes. Oh, the joys of high school. But tonight, I am here for a hot night of philosophical theories and poorly written alliterations for all of you. You are both welcome and apologized to.

Tonight, I tackle the task of the fickle, feeble, and free-spirited heart. While I know very little of the subject, I do have a thought on the matter: people, specifically males (oddly enough...) , have the hardest time getting over the hump of their first, heavy romance. It seems that they aren't able to fully pull away from the relationship, even if they were only fourteen at the time. I call it the first love complex. And while I don't like to stereotype, it often comes in useful, like here, where I am going to state that this ailment of the heart often affects guys before it does girls.

Perhaps it's because females are the stronger sex (c'mon, dudes, as much as I adore you, y'all know it's true. We push babies out of our private parts... I'd like to see all of you deal with that). But whatever, the reason, I see lots of examples. Good guys, some even being great guys, seem to fall into the trap, even the really smart ones. There seem to be two ways that this complex rears its less than wonderful face.

Case A: The guy, despite having other possibilities out there who are standing right in front of them (practically screaming "I like you" in their face, mind you), just can't seem to commit. Now they often claim that they just aren't ready for another commitment, that you two can just have "fun". But take this with a grain of salt and warning. Look into his face, his eyes, his mouth, and mention that "first love's" name. Watch him react, with every squirm, every smile, every slight squint like he's trying to pretend they don't know or don't remember what you're speaking of. Then listen for the answer. Sometimes the words will speak the truth, and others, the body will say it for him. It's like an instrumental version of a song. The words might not be there, but the notes and the chords say a lot.

And then we've got Case B: This is perhaps the more publicized problem at hand. The guy continues to go back with the "first love", even if it didn't work out the first, second, eighth time around. The hang up is still there, as if the problems didn't exist. You'd think a person would be able to realize that eventually, the same pattern is bound to repeat itself, like a really bad pop song on the radio with unoriginal lyrics. Sure, the chorus might seem catchy at first, but eventually, you're going to get sick of it. That's how these kinds of relationships are.

So there you have it, my indefinite but overly-explained idea on how the most vital, and in our minds most emotional, organ in the body functions. Perhaps I'm wrong. Boys, if you haven't had this issue, I'm sorry for throwing you into a generalization. But, some of you, whether you want to or not, might realize how you fall into this group. And maybe this post doesn't change anything, however I can be optimistic enough to think it might at least get you thinking. That's all a writer can hope for.

To sum things up, girls who are the "first love", take heed of what you might be getting yourself into. That relationship is going to leave a very big imprint in the heart of your mate, a fact which can be fantastic and friction-causing at the same time. And to the rest of us, just living among those who have had their heart broken for the first time and are secretly hung up on the person, hang in there. All things will pass, and as people mature, they'll realize that the first try is not always the one that sticks. Maybe they'll stop playing those "songs" on their radios, and switch to an uplifting tune, or a serious love song that means the most to them out of everything they've ever heard. One can only hope.

Have a lovely weekend. I know I will, as I am currently on the Connecticut coast, snuggled up in a warm room with a fire place, snow outside on the ground, and an iTunes playlist full of inspiring songs. What more could a person ask for?

Infinite xoxo,
R

The New Old School

And why I wish I could go back a few grades

I was listening to an Albany radio station a few months ago that was having an "old school all request weekend. "I was amazed that I loved every single song and that they wre classified as "old school." (Isn't that Run DMC territory?) But Christina Aguilera, 50 Cent, Len, Nelly Furtado, Lifehouse, Train, 'NSYNC, Outkast, Britney Spears, Green Day, and Usher's biggest hits at the turn of the millenium sounded better to me than their current contemporaries. Listening to all of these songs brought me back to my childhood and my first ever Compilation CD: the original Kidz Bop. "All Star", "One Week", and "Kiss Me" have skipped since the US sent troops to Iraq. I'll always be partial to two-dimensional animation, with the excpetion of Pixar. Pixar is always a good idea. Belly shirts and oversized hoop earrings will always have a place in my heart. And as much as I adore mobile internet, dubstep, flowy skirts, loose tops, the app store, Mockingjay, chunky bohemian braids, stud earrings, and social networking, I always wanted a bubblegum pink Nokia I could play snake on.



Possibly my favorite magazine cover. These are the actresses who dominated Hollywood while I was a child, in all of their 2003 glory. (I do not own this photo.)
 

 

EDITED: Hurricane Preparations Are No Joke

Especially when lawn ornamentation is involved.

Yesterday, my best friend since at least 2004, and I had a long conversation via text message. We talked about all kinds of things. Naturally, the hurricane came up since we live right in Sandy's line of fire. And while flashlights, non-perishables, bottled water, and a fully-charged cell phone are all important, my friend Alexa's priorities were elsewhere:

Me: That's the other thing that's worrying me.

Alexa: The storm?

Me: Yeah

Alexa: I have to bring my gnomes in =(

Me: Lol

Alexa: They're like my cats.

Me: Except they're in animate objects

Alexa: That's what you think

Alexa: My gnomes love me, I'm their mama gnome.

Alexa: My gnome that releases the butterfly is missing

Me: Well I'm sure that was a coveted piece of lawn decor on Valentine Ave.

Alexa: It was in the flower box

Me: Oh good.

Alexa: It's not good. I can't find him

Me: Oh I thought you found him.

Alexa: No, but I did notice an animal defiled my jack-o-lantern. Her eyes and mouth are now one =(

Alexa: She was legitimately raped =(

Alexa: Squirrels are evil. They are probably the ones who ran off with Butters. (Butters is my missing gnome. I named him Butters because he releases butterflies.)

Alexa: You are ignoring me in my time of need.

Alexa: I feel suicidal.

Alexa: Why is God punishing me this way?

Alexa: I'm so empty without Butters.

Me: Chill, I was taking a shower.

Alexa: You could've warned me. I'm on edge.

Me: Sorry, it was an impulsive hygiene urge.

Alexa: Ben said ew.

Me: I needed a shower!

Alexa: I needed someone in my time of need. I was there when Jasper died.

Me: Jasper was also a living animal...

Alexa: Butters and my pumpkin were living in my heart.

Me: I'm very sorry for your loss.

Alexa: Thank you.

Me: You're welcome.

Me: Is there anything  I can do?

Alexa: Unless you can bring my pumpkin back to its former state and return Butters, idt there's anything that can be done.

Me: I'm sorry. =/

Alexa: I'm sad.

Me: Don't be sad. Look on the bright side: at least you're not that girl whose water broke during pool.

Alexa: Yeah.

Me: Maybe Butters will turn up?

Alexa: Yeah but what about my pumpkin?

Me: Without eyes it doesn't have to see the storm!

Alexa: It has one eye.

Me: Well it can't see how deep the storm is.

Alexa: Why?

Me: You have no depth perception with one eye.

Alexa: It's just a pumpkin. It can't see anything anyway.

Me:...there's no emoticon for what you make me feel

Things that students on high honor roll think about each other

Lazy comic.  You have to admit, though. Every academic kid does this.  I'm even guilty of it!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! 

<3 Marisa

Thursdays with Rachel: Thou Want What Thou Can't Have

In order to keep the blog regular (and to not bore all of you with my random, messy thoughts), I'm keeping my posts to once a week, on Thursdays. And so we begin.

Today, I was pondering this thought in my head. Everybody wants something. Single people want love. People with bad grades wish they could be more studious. Brunettes have a time when they wish they were blondes. You catch my drift with these generalizations, but the point is, people want the opposite of what they have, a lot of the time. But if they don't, they want something, and I've found that it is often the case that people want what is off limits.

Me, of all people, understands the attraction to something rebellious. I'll admit, I've had my fair share of admiration for things that are bad for me, partially because of that fact alone. What you cannot have automatically becomes irresistible. The girl with a boyfriend suddenly starts to stand out to the boy that never would have glanced twice before. The red velvet cupcake that was never your taste becomes appetizing as soon as someone else buys the last one. The dance you aren't allowed to attend is suddenly the social event of the year in your head. Face it, being unattainable is a damn good quality.

But why is this? Is there a biological reason why humans, the complex creatures that we are, don't have the common sense to enjoy what is in our reach, instead of hoping for that which is out of our league? Shouldn't we have the reasoning skills to know that it will only lead to disappointment and heartbreak? Or perhaps we already know these things, and are just stubborn enough to keep on chugging along with the dream. I believe we can all attest to being guilty of such a thing at one point in our lives...

So I'm beginning to wonder if there is an answer to this problem. If people never are allowed to dream wild and crazy for things, life would be very boring. You know that without that single, love-crazed friend in your life, you'd have one less person to poke fun at but adore for their ambition to find someone. If you got every little thing that you wanted, you'd probably start to appreciate less things, because getting stuff wouldn't be as special. And really, wouldn't the world be a frightening place if absolutely everything went our way and was perfect? Okay, it might be nice for a while, but then, I know I'd even start to get bored.

I'm not sure if I'll ever stop wishing for a few select things, even though I'm fully aware they're about as out there as out there can get. Some part of my heart will always hope that I will end up marrying a Jonas Brother, and we will live in a castle with ponies and a pool filled with strawberry Jell-O. But I think that's okay, because it only adds to the spice of life. While I may not know a lot about the way life works, and whether or not everyone's dreams will find a way to their reality, I am fairly certain of one fact.

To quote the Rolling Stones, I'll leave you with this last tidbit of wisdom. You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, well you just might find, you get what you need.

Infinite xoxo,
R